Buy Nothing Day & Homemade Gifts

Nov. 28 is National Buy Nothing Day, and Nov. 29 is International Buy Nothing Day. BND protests against rampant consumerism and the idea that only a constantly expanding economy is a healthy economy. Here's an article about BND and the economic meltdown.

What I recommend is that people use the day to make or plan gifts instead of buying them. Homemade gifts are usually less expensive and more personal than storebought gifts. Consider sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, cooking, gardening, painting, sculpting, beading, scrapbooking -- whatever craft(s) you enjoy and do well. Some projects, like scrapbooking and cooking, particularly lend themselves to teamwork. (I think I was about two when my mother and grandmother first started having me hold patterns down and other simple sewing tasks.) Some people dislike homemade gifts, but many treasure them beyond all others. My favorite cookbook is the home-printed family one that my mother made for me and still adds to every year. Sort through your family memories and see what you think would work for you and your relatives.

Here are some links to get you started.

General:

Buy Nothing Christmas

How to Make Your Own Gifts [Vocabulary tip: "mahalo" = "thanks" in Hawaiian)

How to Make Your Own Christmas Gifts

DIY Make Your Own Gifts

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

Specific Holidays:

Christmas

Hanukkah

Kwanzaa

Yule

Specific Crafts:

Add Embroidery to Projects

Cookie Creche

Crochet Gifts

Gift Baskets

Gift Wrap

Gifts Scrapbookers Can Make

Gifts from Your Kitchen Recipes

Holiday Beading

Knitting Gifts

Make Your Own Gift Certificates

Making Gifts from Your Garden

Painting Craft Patterns

Scented Bath Salts

Sculpey Holiday Projects

Sewing Gifts

If you find this post useful, you are welcome to link to it from any relevant venue.

Buy Nothing Day & Homemade Gifts

Nov. 28 is National Buy Nothing Day, and Nov. 29 is International Buy Nothing Day. BND protests against rampant consumerism and the idea that only a constantly expanding economy is a healthy economy. Here's an article about BND and the economic meltdown.

What I recommend is that people use the day to make or plan gifts instead of buying them. Homemade gifts are usually less expensive and more personal than storebought gifts. Consider sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, cooking, gardening, painting, sculpting, beading, scrapbooking -- whatever craft(s) you enjoy and do well. Some projects, like scrapbooking and cooking, particularly lend themselves to teamwork. (I think I was about two when my mother and grandmother first started having me hold patterns down and other simple sewing tasks.) Some people dislike homemade gifts, but many treasure them beyond all others. My favorite cookbook is the home-printed family one that my mother made for me and still adds to every year. Sort through your family memories and see what you think would work for you and your relatives.

Here are some links to get you started.

General:

Buy Nothing Christmas

How to Make Your Own Gifts [Vocabulary tip: "mahalo" = "thanks" in Hawaiian)

How to Make Your Own Christmas Gifts

DIY Make Your Own Gifts

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

Specific Holidays:

Christmas

Hanukkah

Kwanzaa

Yule

Specific Crafts:

Add Embroidery to Projects

Cookie Creche

Crochet Gifts

Gift Baskets

Gift Wrap

Gifts Scrapbookers Can Make

Gifts from Your Kitchen Recipes

Holiday Beading

Knitting Gifts

Make Your Own Gift Certificates

Making Gifts from Your Garden

Painting Craft Patterns

Scented Bath Salts

Sculpey Holiday Projects

Sewing Gifts

If you find this post useful, you are welcome to link to it from any relevant venue.

Buy Nothing Day & Homemade Gifts

Nov. 28 is National Buy Nothing Day, and Nov. 29 is International Buy Nothing Day. BND protests against rampant consumerism and the idea that only a constantly expanding economy is a healthy economy. Here's an article about BND and the economic meltdown.

What I recommend is that people use the day to make or plan gifts instead of buying them. Homemade gifts are usually less expensive and more personal than storebought gifts. Consider sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, cooking, gardening, painting, sculpting, beading, scrapbooking -- whatever craft(s) you enjoy and do well. Some projects, like scrapbooking and cooking, particularly lend themselves to teamwork. (I think I was about two when my mother and grandmother first started having me hold patterns down and other simple sewing tasks.) Some people dislike homemade gifts, but many treasure them beyond all others. My favorite cookbook is the home-printed family one that my mother made for me and still adds to every year. Sort through your family memories and see what you think would work for you and your relatives.

Here are some links to get you started.

General:

Buy Nothing Christmas

How to Make Your Own Gifts [Vocabulary tip: "mahalo" = "thanks" in Hawaiian)

How to Make Your Own Christmas Gifts

DIY Make Your Own Gifts

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

Specific Holidays:

Christmas

Hanukkah

Kwanzaa

Yule

Specific Crafts:

Add Embroidery to Projects

Cookie Creche

Crochet Gifts

Gift Baskets

Gift Wrap

Gifts Scrapbookers Can Make

Gifts from Your Kitchen Recipes

Holiday Beading

Knitting Gifts

Make Your Own Gift Certificates

Making Gifts from Your Garden

Painting Craft Patterns

Scented Bath Salts

Sculpey Holiday Projects

Sewing Gifts

If you find this post useful, you are welcome to link to it from any relevant venue.

Buy Nothing Day & Homemade Gifts

Nov. 28 is National Buy Nothing Day, and Nov. 29 is International Buy Nothing Day. BND protests against rampant consumerism and the idea that only a constantly expanding economy is a healthy economy. Here's an article about BND and the economic meltdown.

What I recommend is that people use the day to make or plan gifts instead of buying them. Homemade gifts are usually less expensive and more personal than storebought gifts. Consider sewing, knitting, crocheting, embroidering, cooking, gardening, painting, sculpting, beading, scrapbooking -- whatever craft(s) you enjoy and do well. Some projects, like scrapbooking and cooking, particularly lend themselves to teamwork. (I think I was about two when my mother and grandmother first started having me hold patterns down and other simple sewing tasks.) Some people dislike homemade gifts, but many treasure them beyond all others. My favorite cookbook is the home-printed family one that my mother made for me and still adds to every year. Sort through your family memories and see what you think would work for you and your relatives.

Here are some links to get you started.

General:

Buy Nothing Christmas

How to Make Your Own Gifts [Vocabulary tip: "mahalo" = "thanks" in Hawaiian)

How to Make Your Own Christmas Gifts

DIY Make Your Own Gifts

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas

Specific Holidays:

Christmas

Hanukkah

Kwanzaa

Yule

Specific Crafts:

Add Embroidery to Projects

Cookie Creche

Crochet Gifts

Gift Baskets

Gift Wrap

Gifts Scrapbookers Can Make

Gifts from Your Kitchen Recipes

Holiday Beading

Knitting Gifts

Make Your Own Gift Certificates

Making Gifts from Your Garden

Painting Craft Patterns

Scented Bath Salts

Sculpey Holiday Projects

Sewing Gifts

If you find this post useful, you are welcome to link to it from any relevant venue.

Environmental Leaders Recommend Clean Energy

Environmental leaders have made a wish-list for Obama, detailing steps that will help America toward clean energy:

Clean energy recommended to revitalize economy

WASHINGTON -- Don't wait until the financial crisis is over to attack global warming, because cleaner ways to produce and use energy will lead to a stronger economy, leaders of environmental groups said Tuesday as they outlined their wish list for President-elect Barack Obama.

The recommendations from 29 of the nation's most prominent environmental and conservation groups emphasized a clean-energy approach to economic revitalization but also included detailed suggestions for Alaska's Arctic region and for conserving land and water resources nationwide.

Environmental Leaders Recommend Clean Energy

Environmental leaders have made a wish-list for Obama, detailing steps that will help America toward clean energy:

Clean energy recommended to revitalize economy

WASHINGTON -- Don't wait until the financial crisis is over to attack global warming, because cleaner ways to produce and use energy will lead to a stronger economy, leaders of environmental groups said Tuesday as they outlined their wish list for President-elect Barack Obama.

The recommendations from 29 of the nation's most prominent environmental and conservation groups emphasized a clean-energy approach to economic revitalization but also included detailed suggestions for Alaska's Arctic region and for conserving land and water resources nationwide.

Environmental Leaders Recommend Clean Energy

Environmental leaders have made a wish-list for Obama, detailing steps that will help America toward clean energy:

Clean energy recommended to revitalize economy

WASHINGTON -- Don't wait until the financial crisis is over to attack global warming, because cleaner ways to produce and use energy will lead to a stronger economy, leaders of environmental groups said Tuesday as they outlined their wish list for President-elect Barack Obama.

The recommendations from 29 of the nation's most prominent environmental and conservation groups emphasized a clean-energy approach to economic revitalization but also included detailed suggestions for Alaska's Arctic region and for conserving land and water resources nationwide.

Environmental Leaders Recommend Clean Energy

Environmental leaders have made a wish-list for Obama, detailing steps that will help America toward clean energy:

Clean energy recommended to revitalize economy

WASHINGTON -- Don't wait until the financial crisis is over to attack global warming, because cleaner ways to produce and use energy will lead to a stronger economy, leaders of environmental groups said Tuesday as they outlined their wish list for President-elect Barack Obama.

The recommendations from 29 of the nation's most prominent environmental and conservation groups emphasized a clean-energy approach to economic revitalization but also included detailed suggestions for Alaska's Arctic region and for conserving land and water resources nationwide.

The Misfit Genius

This guy has some inventions that could help save the world. Trouble is, they're not immediately profitable, so nobody wants to put them into production. It just goes to show that being brilliant isn't important; being effective isn't important; only being profitable is considered important.

And people wonder why the world needs saving.

Maybe we should introduce him to cyberfunded creativity.

The Misfit Genius

This guy has some inventions that could help save the world. Trouble is, they're not immediately profitable, so nobody wants to put them into production. It just goes to show that being brilliant isn't important; being effective isn't important; only being profitable is considered important.

And people wonder why the world needs saving.

Maybe we should introduce him to cyberfunded creativity.

The Misfit Genius

This guy has some inventions that could help save the world. Trouble is, they're not immediately profitable, so nobody wants to put them into production. It just goes to show that being brilliant isn't important; being effective isn't important; only being profitable is considered important.

And people wonder why the world needs saving.

Maybe we should introduce him to cyberfunded creativity.

The Misfit Genius

This guy has some inventions that could help save the world. Trouble is, they're not immediately profitable, so nobody wants to put them into production. It just goes to show that being brilliant isn't important; being effective isn't important; only being profitable is considered important.

And people wonder why the world needs saving.

Maybe we should introduce him to cyberfunded creativity.

POLITCS: People and Change

Here are a couple of articles about Obama's possible appointments:

Obama Says Change Is in His Vision - if Not Appointments
Steven Thomma, McClatchy Newspapers: "As a presidential candidate, Obama's central theme was that he'd change the way politics and the government work, and suggested that it'd take a fresh, outsider approach to do that. 'Change doesn't come from Washington,' he said. 'Change comes to Washington.'"

I'd like to point out that there is no possible way for Obama to make appointments that would please people. If he picks newcomers, he'll be hounded for inexperience; if he picks experienced people, he'll be hounded for continuing the same system. So he's doing the right thing: when you can't please people, don't waiste your time trying, just follow your own plan. I'm not thrilled with all his appointments -- I can see the potential for trouble -- but I'm hopeful.

Michael Winship | Michael Pollan's Food for Thought
Michael Winship, Truthout: "Writer and activist Michael Pollan has no interest in becoming Barack Obama's secretary of agriculture, thank you very much, even though there are a lot of people who think he'd be perfect for the job."

Dude, if you wanted to convince people that you're NOT the right guy for that job, you went about it all wrong.

I hope Obama talks him into it.

POLITCS: People and Change

Here are a couple of articles about Obama's possible appointments:

Obama Says Change Is in His Vision - if Not Appointments
Steven Thomma, McClatchy Newspapers: "As a presidential candidate, Obama's central theme was that he'd change the way politics and the government work, and suggested that it'd take a fresh, outsider approach to do that. 'Change doesn't come from Washington,' he said. 'Change comes to Washington.'"

I'd like to point out that there is no possible way for Obama to make appointments that would please people. If he picks newcomers, he'll be hounded for inexperience; if he picks experienced people, he'll be hounded for continuing the same system. So he's doing the right thing: when you can't please people, don't waiste your time trying, just follow your own plan. I'm not thrilled with all his appointments -- I can see the potential for trouble -- but I'm hopeful.

Michael Winship | Michael Pollan's Food for Thought
Michael Winship, Truthout: "Writer and activist Michael Pollan has no interest in becoming Barack Obama's secretary of agriculture, thank you very much, even though there are a lot of people who think he'd be perfect for the job."

Dude, if you wanted to convince people that you're NOT the right guy for that job, you went about it all wrong.

I hope Obama talks him into it.

POLITCS: People and Change

Here are a couple of articles about Obama's possible appointments:

Obama Says Change Is in His Vision - if Not Appointments
Steven Thomma, McClatchy Newspapers: "As a presidential candidate, Obama's central theme was that he'd change the way politics and the government work, and suggested that it'd take a fresh, outsider approach to do that. 'Change doesn't come from Washington,' he said. 'Change comes to Washington.'"

I'd like to point out that there is no possible way for Obama to make appointments that would please people. If he picks newcomers, he'll be hounded for inexperience; if he picks experienced people, he'll be hounded for continuing the same system. So he's doing the right thing: when you can't please people, don't waiste your time trying, just follow your own plan. I'm not thrilled with all his appointments -- I can see the potential for trouble -- but I'm hopeful.

Michael Winship | Michael Pollan's Food for Thought
Michael Winship, Truthout: "Writer and activist Michael Pollan has no interest in becoming Barack Obama's secretary of agriculture, thank you very much, even though there are a lot of people who think he'd be perfect for the job."

Dude, if you wanted to convince people that you're NOT the right guy for that job, you went about it all wrong.

I hope Obama talks him into it.

POLITCS: People and Change

Here are a couple of articles about Obama's possible appointments:

Obama Says Change Is in His Vision - if Not Appointments
Steven Thomma, McClatchy Newspapers: "As a presidential candidate, Obama's central theme was that he'd change the way politics and the government work, and suggested that it'd take a fresh, outsider approach to do that. 'Change doesn't come from Washington,' he said. 'Change comes to Washington.'"

I'd like to point out that there is no possible way for Obama to make appointments that would please people. If he picks newcomers, he'll be hounded for inexperience; if he picks experienced people, he'll be hounded for continuing the same system. So he's doing the right thing: when you can't please people, don't waiste your time trying, just follow your own plan. I'm not thrilled with all his appointments -- I can see the potential for trouble -- but I'm hopeful.

Michael Winship | Michael Pollan's Food for Thought
Michael Winship, Truthout: "Writer and activist Michael Pollan has no interest in becoming Barack Obama's secretary of agriculture, thank you very much, even though there are a lot of people who think he'd be perfect for the job."

Dude, if you wanted to convince people that you're NOT the right guy for that job, you went about it all wrong.

I hope Obama talks him into it.

African-Americans and E-books

There is a discussion here.

African-Americans and E-books

There is a discussion here.

African-Americans and E-books

There is a discussion here.

African-Americans and E-books

There is a discussion here.

Homeland Security in Kentucky...

... has evidently not read that bit about the separation of church and state.

0_o

Homeland Security in Kentucky...

... has evidently not read that bit about the separation of church and state.

0_o

Homeland Security in Kentucky...

... has evidently not read that bit about the separation of church and state.

0_o

Homeland Security in Kentucky...

... has evidently not read that bit about the separation of church and state.

0_o

Greatest Uncommon Denominator

Check out what GUD magazine is doing with their back-issue PDFs.

This magazine is gaining a good reputation among readers and writers. I've submitted some things to them; so far, no luck, but I keep trying.

Greatest Uncommon Denominator

Check out what GUD magazine is doing with their back-issue PDFs.

This magazine is gaining a good reputation among readers and writers. I've submitted some things to them; so far, no luck, but I keep trying.

Greatest Uncommon Denominator

Check out what GUD magazine is doing with their back-issue PDFs.

This magazine is gaining a good reputation among readers and writers. I've submitted some things to them; so far, no luck, but I keep trying.

Greatest Uncommon Denominator

Check out what GUD magazine is doing with their back-issue PDFs.

This magazine is gaining a good reputation among readers and writers. I've submitted some things to them; so far, no luck, but I keep trying.

Another Reason for Buy Nothing Day

In case you were wondering whether Buy Nothing Day is a good idea ...

... it could save your life.
Wal-Mart Worker Dies in Black Friday Stampede
SoCal Toys 'R' Us Shooting Leaves Two Dead

Another Reason for Buy Nothing Day

In case you were wondering whether Buy Nothing Day is a good idea ...

... it could save your life.
Wal-Mart Worker Dies in Black Friday Stampede
SoCal Toys 'R' Us Shooting Leaves Two Dead

Another Reason for Buy Nothing Day

In case you were wondering whether Buy Nothing Day is a good idea ...

... it could save your life.
Wal-Mart Worker Dies in Black Friday Stampede
SoCal Toys 'R' Us Shooting Leaves Two Dead

Another Reason for Buy Nothing Day

In case you were wondering whether Buy Nothing Day is a good idea ...

... it could save your life.
Wal-Mart Worker Dies in Black Friday Stampede
SoCal Toys 'R' Us Shooting Leaves Two Dead

Pie Hats

Warm, wacky headgear.

Pie Hats

Warm, wacky headgear.

Pie Hats

Warm, wacky headgear.

Pie Hats

Warm, wacky headgear.