Consumerism & Christmas
Ho Ho Ho Friends ......
Not that I'm particularly 'christian' but all of us who are non-jewish around the holidays, i guess
get bagged into the whole christmas schtick (i personally would prefer to celebrate hanukkah... i mean, it does last 6 entire days longer...awesome). I haven't really thought much about what Santa is leaving for me this year. As an adult, Santa no longer spends quite as much time shooting his bounties down your chimney (if you're even lucky enough to have one... mine personally, here in a 3rd floor greenpoint, brooklyn apartment has been cemented and plastered shut for longer than my life span, and i'm pretty sure a family of squeaky mice reside there in the winters). The whole idea of Christmas and what it has spawned in our modern day technologically-advanced-credit card-debt-ed-keep-up-with-the-jones'-even-though-you-dont-need-to kind of world, kind of grosses me out. All this stuff. Stuff with pictures of more stuff inside. Stuff that produces more stuff and requires more stuff to maintain it's function. The perpetual cycle. God Love America & the Free Market. Oh, an Capitalism. So this Christmas, my gift to our wonderful system of capitalism is this here blog. I've tried to think of some ways that this year's (inevitable) christmas spending can be put to good use. Here are a few things I've come up with. If you have ideas, please share!!!!
1. Give your friends & family charitable donations in their name. A few I like in particular:
Invisible Children: www.invisiblechildren.com -
All of our programming is a partnership between those of us at Invisible Children and those in the Ugandan community. We focus on long-term goals that enable children to take responsibility for their future and the future of their country. Our programs are carefully researched and developed initiatives that address the need for quality education, mentorships, the redevelopment of schools, resettlement from the camps, and financial stability.
Kiva: www.kiva.org
Really awesome organization that allows common folks (like you and me), not
necessarily with a lot of dough, but with a lot of heart, to help fuel micro enterprise in
the places that financing is needed the most. They connect you with & let you give loans
to small businesses in the developing world. And you get paid back (in most scenarios), just like any other loan. Help people help themselves!
2. Forget the whole charity thing (because some people might consider this a selfish gift, since it really revolves around YOUR interest in charity and not necessarily theirs)....and buy some stuff!
The catch? Buy from economies that can really benefit from the sales. Have I ever mentioned this great little city that was ravaged from one of the worst national disasters in us history? Great... here are a few really cool places to buy really thoughtful, unique gifts:
I. http://www.missmalaprop.com - Handmade, super unique finds.
II. http://www.frenchquartercandles.com - Amazingly delicious all-soy, all-natural clean burning
candles. Aside from all the hippie soy stuff, these candles simply smell amazing- as wonderfully pungent as those fancy schmancy ones big companies sell for the designer price of $30 and up. French Quarter Candles are just $12 each! Extra bonus, the mason glasses they are in can be easily cleaned and used as a drinking cups once the candle has burned out.
III. Buy art/music from New Orleans artists. I love great folk art, and here are a few different sites where you can find folk art and other styles:
http://www.antonart.com
http://www.drbobart.net
http://www.louisianamusicfactory.com
3. Support independent musicians (and artists). Buy some music direct from an artist (in general, if you buy the actual
record from them direct, rather than downloading through iTunes, etc, the artist makes a much greater profit). Handpicking
albums to give as gifts is an incredibly thoughtful way to turn the people you love on to new artists (creating a new fan,
and helping the artists you love even more by growing the fan base!).
http://www.cdbaby.com - a great resource to buy from indie artists. if possible, try to buy direct from your favorite artists
personal website (where they keep an even greater % of the profits).
So.... here's to a lovely season. Hope yours is filled with friends, family, food and quality time.
much love,
kd
Not that I'm particularly 'christian' but all of us who are non-jewish around the holidays, i guess
get bagged into the whole christmas schtick (i personally would prefer to celebrate hanukkah... i mean, it does last 6 entire days longer...awesome). I haven't really thought much about what Santa is leaving for me this year. As an adult, Santa no longer spends quite as much time shooting his bounties down your chimney (if you're even lucky enough to have one... mine personally, here in a 3rd floor greenpoint, brooklyn apartment has been cemented and plastered shut for longer than my life span, and i'm pretty sure a family of squeaky mice reside there in the winters). The whole idea of Christmas and what it has spawned in our modern day technologically-advanced-credit card-debt-ed-keep-up-with-the-jones'-even-though-you-dont-need-to kind of world, kind of grosses me out. All this stuff. Stuff with pictures of more stuff inside. Stuff that produces more stuff and requires more stuff to maintain it's function. The perpetual cycle. God Love America & the Free Market. Oh, an Capitalism. So this Christmas, my gift to our wonderful system of capitalism is this here blog. I've tried to think of some ways that this year's (inevitable) christmas spending can be put to good use. Here are a few things I've come up with. If you have ideas, please share!!!!
1. Give your friends & family charitable donations in their name. A few I like in particular:
Invisible Children: www.invisiblechildren.com -
All of our programming is a partnership between those of us at Invisible Children and those in the Ugandan community. We focus on long-term goals that enable children to take responsibility for their future and the future of their country. Our programs are carefully researched and developed initiatives that address the need for quality education, mentorships, the redevelopment of schools, resettlement from the camps, and financial stability.
Kiva: www.kiva.org
Really awesome organization that allows common folks (like you and me), not
necessarily with a lot of dough, but with a lot of heart, to help fuel micro enterprise in
the places that financing is needed the most. They connect you with & let you give loans
to small businesses in the developing world. And you get paid back (in most scenarios), just like any other loan. Help people help themselves!
2. Forget the whole charity thing (because some people might consider this a selfish gift, since it really revolves around YOUR interest in charity and not necessarily theirs)....and buy some stuff!
The catch? Buy from economies that can really benefit from the sales. Have I ever mentioned this great little city that was ravaged from one of the worst national disasters in us history? Great... here are a few really cool places to buy really thoughtful, unique gifts:
I. http://www.missmalaprop.com - Handmade, super unique finds.
II. http://www.frenchquartercandles.com - Amazingly delicious all-soy, all-natural clean burning
candles. Aside from all the hippie soy stuff, these candles simply smell amazing- as wonderfully pungent as those fancy schmancy ones big companies sell for the designer price of $30 and up. French Quarter Candles are just $12 each! Extra bonus, the mason glasses they are in can be easily cleaned and used as a drinking cups once the candle has burned out.
III. Buy art/music from New Orleans artists. I love great folk art, and here are a few different sites where you can find folk art and other styles:
http://www.antonart.com
http://www.drbobart.net
http://www.louisianamusicfactory.com
3. Support independent musicians (and artists). Buy some music direct from an artist (in general, if you buy the actual
record from them direct, rather than downloading through iTunes, etc, the artist makes a much greater profit). Handpicking
albums to give as gifts is an incredibly thoughtful way to turn the people you love on to new artists (creating a new fan,
and helping the artists you love even more by growing the fan base!).
http://www.cdbaby.com - a great resource to buy from indie artists. if possible, try to buy direct from your favorite artists
personal website (where they keep an even greater % of the profits).
So.... here's to a lovely season. Hope yours is filled with friends, family, food and quality time.
much love,
kd
posted by kristin diable | 1:08 AM
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