Cherries for a Good Cause by Parra for Converse. Price and availability, TBD.

A portion of the proceeds from Dutch artist and designer Parra and his collaboration with Converse goes to support The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

More on Parra, here.

Meet Zeke. One of the 62 dogs rescued from “death row” in Southern California last week by the Seattle Humane Society. Photo by Lori Penney.

Zeke the Chihuahua is one of 62 dogs now up for adoption at the Seattle Humane Society in Bellevue, Washington.

For more information on how to  adopt one of these lucky pooches or, to make a donation to help support the tireless efforts of the Seattle Humane Society, click here.

Thanks to Surly for the link and his dedication to all things canine.

Alan Grayson has guts!

In response to last weeks Supreme Court ruling that stripped restrictions on campaign contributions from corporations, Florida Representative Alan Grayson filed a Reform Package called “Save Our Democracy”. The package contains six pieces of legislation including H.R. 4431 or, “The Business Should Mind It’s Own Business Act”. H.R. 4431 would assess a 500% excise tax on corporate political donations. Here’s more from Grayson on this the latest and quite unbelievable “is this really Democracy?” debacle:

If we do nothing then I think you can kiss your country goodbye. You won’t have any more senators from Kansas or Oregon, you’ll have senators from Cheekies and Exxon. Maybe we’ll have to wear corporate logos like Nascar drivers. The Supreme Court’s ruling opens the floodgates for the purchases and sale of the law.

You can read about more about the “Save Our Democracy” Reform Package here.

Fucked Up, Do They Know It’s Christmas, 2009.

Canadian band Fucked Up teamed up with the likes of Bob Mould, Kevin Drew, Tegan and Sara, and Yo La Tengo to rework the 1989 Band Aid Christmas classic, Do They Know It’s Christmas.

All proceeds from the sale of the single (available via iTunes) will benefit the following charitable organizations: Justice for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (Montreal), DTES Power of Women Group (Vancouver) and Sisters in Spirit (Ottawa).

The groups are working together to end the frightening epidemic of missing and murdered native women in Canada. Since 1980, there have been 520 documented cases of missing or murdered Aboriginal women across the region.

More information via Amnesty International, here.

Fear and Hate Destroys but Love Unites. Shepard Fairey’s “Love Unites” print, signed by Wonder Woman herself, Lynda Carter. For Wonder Woman.

Copies of Shepard Fairey’s famous “Love Unites” poster, signed by supporters like Arianna Huffington, Lynda Carter (Wonder Woman!) and the cast of the only television show I actually watch, 30 Rock, are up for auction through tomorrow.

If you’re one of the last few people in this country that A: Have a job and B: Detest retail and the mass, vapid consumerism otherwise known as the month of December, please click here and consider supporting a cause that not only needs your support, but deserves it.

Ace Frehley, Behind the Player. Coming in 2010.

The new Ace Frehley doc, “Behind the Player“, is set to hit the shelves on January 10th, 2010. The up-close-and-personal DVD includes classic live clips and guest appearances by members of White Zombie, G&R and Alice Cooper. And, if you think you’re man enough, Ace also teaches you how to play “Cold Gin“, from the first KISS record and, “Shock Me” from Love Gun.

Part of the sales from Behind the Player will benefit Little Kids Rock, a children’s charity that provides musical instruments to disadvantaged youth in 23 cities across the United States. Take that Nickelback (see next post).

More Ace, including Frehley’s new iPhone app via the official Ace Frehley website.

Joe Perry’s Toshiba Qosmio® X505.

All proceeds from the sale of Perry’s laptop will go to the Project AWARE Foundation.

More info can be found at Toshiba’s special laptop website or, you can bid on one via eBay by clicking here.

I want YOU to care about animal rights! For Surly and LP.

Last Saturday, Ronnie James Dio, his wife Wendy and other volunteers from the Brittany Foundation helped raise about $20,000 for the LA based non-profit canine rescue.

To help raise awareness of what a day in the life of a rescue dog is like, Dio’s wife Wendy and 12 Brittany volunteers spent most of the day locked inside a dog kennels. Attendees to the fundraiser bid $1 a minute to get the volunteers out of their “kennels” for the day. Dio also spent time signing autographs and taking photos with fans, the proceeds of which also went to support Brittney. Said the 67 year old rocker:

It certainly shows the power of your fame but it also shows how people want to take part in the things people do that are good.

Behold the power of Rock ‘n’ Roll indeed…

Victory is sweet.

Today, nearly 72 hours after the polls officially closed in Washington State, AP has confirmed that the Domestic Partnership Initiative, R-71,  has been approved:

With about 72 percent of the expected vote counted Thursday in unofficial returns, Referendum 71 was leading 52 percent to 48 percent, with a margin of about 60,000 votes.

In other breaking news, fuck you Eastern Washington.

The word according to Al Gore: “It’s Going to get really fucking hot if we don’t do something people!” Amen…

Everyone’s favorite killjoy, former Vice President Al Gore, will be speaking about his upcoming book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, on November 17th at Seattle Town Hall. Gore took a lot of flack during his VP gig for being about as rousing as limp lettuce, but here’s the truth: the man is not only a brilliant and impassioned speaker, he’s actually trying to save the world. True story.

Climate Crisis is due out on November 3rd. More on Al via his official blog.

“Patriot” protester in DC yesterday.

Estimates for yesterday’s protest in D.C. put the crowd somewhere between 20,000 – 30,000 people. A far cry from ballpark estimates of 2 million that were predicted by 912.org and conservative columnist Michelle Malkin via her Twatter Twitter.

Not too long ago, I took a break from reading “the news” because it was making me feel like James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause. After all the negative events from last week (including the Bellevue School system’s ban of President Obama’s address on September 8th), I’m having a hard time finding my happy place. Even in my own backyard.

Anyway, make sure you check back starting tomorrow (or even later today) as I’ve got a ton of stuff to lay on you that I’m sure you’ll dig. Meanwhile, I’m going to snap out of my funk by starting Happy Hour a little early today. Not only is it noon somewhere, it’s actually noon in Seattle right now. True story.

Posts will be slow today as I’m boozing working on redesigning the site. Thanks for your patience and stay tuned.

Approve R-71 in November. More at www.approve71.org.

R-71, Washington State’s version of California’s Prop 8 (or Prop “Hate”) has made it onto the November ballot. According to the homo-haters at Protect Marriage Washington, over 137,000 signatures were collected, about 17,000 more than the referendum needed to make it to the ballot. R-71 was sponsored by Larry Stickney of the Washington Values Alliance. State Representatives Matt Shea (R-4th District) and Jim McCune (R- 2nd District) as well as Washington State Senators Dan Swecker (R-20th District) and Val Stevens (R- 39th District) have all endorsed the referendum. Additionally, the names and addresses of people who have provided financial support to the referendum will be made public in accordance with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission.

In order to ensure R-71 does not remove the constitutional right for same-sex couples to marry, please make sure you vote to approve the measure this coming November. Confused? Don’t be like Courtney Love who mistakenly voted “YES” Prop 8 in California thinking she was “approving” the legalization of same-sex marriage. Passage of R-71 will mean that domestic union rights of all Washington State residents will be upheld.

More on how to support R-71 here. Thanks to AFJ for the vote-or-die link.

Exactly my thought on 2012…

Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington in Seattle, wrote a dead-on take on what makes Sarah Palin tick. Or should I say, why this bitch ticks us off so much. Below, Schwartz delves into Palin’s recent rambling resignation speech to make a point regarding one of Palin’s key downfalls; her extreme narcissism:

Her speech about “Not being a quitter” just because she was deserting the governor’s office in mid-term, was a miracle of contempt for her audience. Her desire to stay on the road and in the spotlight without consideration for her large young family, a special needs baby and a teenage mother of her grandchild, is ambition without the slightest nod to other’s needs. She is as ruthlessly self-indulgent and narcissistic as any man ever born. She reconfigures my previous thinking about gender and narcissism.

This article really struck a cord with me, especially since “Screech” (as my liberal-minded Father refers to her) was just on the cover of TIME Magazine with the words “THE RENEGADE” emblazoned across her photo. A word generally reserved for a higher echelon of human being. People like MLK, Nelson Mandela or Ghandi. Is Sarah Palin a renegade? Only when it comes to her unfiltered, non-fact-based communication style and her penchant for shooting stuff. An activity generally reserved for her male counterparts. Or Dick Cheney.

I implore you to read the rest of Dr. Schwartz’s article, and then figure out what you will personally do to ensure this woman gets nowhere near the White House (or any other house with a zip code outside of Alaska actually) in 2012.

Thanks to AFJ for the fascinating, yet horrifying link…

Greenpeace takes on Obama and Mt. Rushmore…

Thanks to G for the link. More on Greenpeace here.

Deep fried Bacone. Made of deep fried bacon. For K.

After preparing this dickly looking deep fried bacon cone of death, you fill it with scrambled eggs, hash browns, and cheese. Then you add a layer of gravy. Then you top that shit off with a biscuit. Then, presumably, you go into cardiac arrest. The Bacone makes the Ghetto Burger look like a “healthy option” on the dinner menu in Hell. 

National Organization for Marriage, fucked up inside and out.

Of course it’s not surprising that NOM’s latest ad campaign against same-sex marriage has biblical overtones (Hurry! Build and ark! The gays are coming!). Nor is it surprising that the actors in NOM’s 60 second ad look just like programmed to hate, robotic versions of you and me. After throwing down tons of cash to pass Prop 8 in California, NOM says it will now spend another $1.5 million to run a series of anti-gay marriage TV ads in some East Coast states and Iowa.

The disgusted “I hate the Gays!” look on the chicks face from Massachusetts at about 30 seconds in is priceless. Priceless in an ignorant, hateful, intolerant, way that is.

Honk! Fest West, Seattle.

Honk! Fest West kicks off on Friday in Seattle. Honk! originated in Somerville, Massachusetts (hometown to yours truly) in 2006 as a way to peacefully show support for various grass-roots social issues and causes. To get their point across, Honk! West features raucous horn and drum performances. Which is exactly what you will find in the streets and clubs of both Ballard and Georgetown all weekend long. On Friday, a drum line from Jimi Hendrix’s Alma mater, Garfield High School will perform at 10pm at Mr. Spots in Ballard.  On Saturday, The Olympian Free Radicals (the lineup includes a very reed-blowing friend of mine, A420) will be at Squid & Ink in Georgetown. On Sunday, Honk! will hold a free showcase at Gasworks Park starting at 1 pm, followed by a horns-up showdown at Vera at 8:00.

Honk! Fest runs through Sunday. Full schedule here.

Monsanto. Cultivating chemicals disguised as food for way too long.

This isn’t so much a revelation, or a nutty liberal conspiracy theory as much as it is a fact. The point being HR 875, The Food Safety Modernization Act, was introduced by Rosa DeLauro. DeLauro is married to Stanley Greenburg. Greenburg works for Monsanto. And since I know you hate to read (not can’t, there’s a difference), here are the abbreviated reasons why HR 875 sucks:

HR 875 will pave the way for food producing giant Monsanto to prosecute farmers for seed banking. Punishment for seed banking would include prison terms and fines for farmers (to pay for the confiscation of their illegal seeds et all), enforcement of 24 hour GPS tracking implanted on their animals, easements on their property and easy government entry to an offending farm, whenever.

I know that sounds bad but I’m just scratching the surface of HB 875. Trust me.

Everybody eats and everybody farts. And while I like farting and I like eating, not everybody needs to eat and fart exclusively from food grown from the seeds of Monsanto.

We’re here. Get used to it. American, fuck yeah.

Photographer Kyle Cassidy, a man who can see into your soul (if you let him) new solo show, Guns In America, opens on Monday, March 30th on the Princeton campus in the Bernstein Gallery.

More on the insightful Cassidy here.

Source: Izismile:

Owner Craig Grant is welcomed by the residents of Caboodle Ranch…

I fought the urge to call the title of this post “Pussy Ranch” as it seemed to diminish the incredible efforts of the Florida man that created Caboodle Ranch. Founded in 2003 by Craig Grant, Caboodle Ranch is a 30 acre, non-profit cat rescue that is called home to around 200 cats. Grant spends as much as $3500 a month, caring and feeding the cats. All the cats that live at Caboodle have been spayed or neutered.

To donate to Caboodle Ranch, click here.