Comics and Critters

Well, it seems that while I have mostly kept up with my music blogs, I have most definitely fallen behind on my charity resolution blogs.

Partly because I fell behind on donating in the month of March, but mostly because I am far from a professional writer and when my ideas come to me at work or in the shower, they don't do me much help. Especially when they make their escape before I ever navigate to a computer.

Because of this, and the fact that it is more than halfway thru May, I am combining my post about my charities for both March and April.

For March, I stayed local and donated to the Geneseo Animal Shelter, on behalf of them building a new shelter. Although the weather was a bit deceiving, spring was nonetheless on its way and with it many unintended baby critters. As much as I'd like to adopt a second (and third and fourth) kitty, in a few months I will be moving and unable to bring my Phoenix with me. At least initially. (I am beyond unhappy about it, but I keep reminding myself it is only temporary.) Because I can't offer my own place as a secondary shelter, I thought making my donation specifically for the new shelter would be a good idea.

HOWEVER, if you have a little extra room in your home and your heart, LOOK AT THESE BEAUTIES! They currently have an overflow and any help would be welcome! LOVE THEM. LOVE THEM ALL!

For April, I chose the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) because basically, well, fuck censorship.

Lazy, I know, but to quote their F.A.Q., the CBLDF is "...dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment rights of the comics art form and its community of retailers, creators, publishers, librarians  and readers. The CBLDF provides legal referrals, representation, advice, assistance, and education in furtherance of these goals." Basically, the CBLDF helps protect and defend those from stupid people who take offense easily. Helping keep books & comics from being banned in schools, freeing authors/artists from uncalled-for arrests, etc. As an avid reader and purveyor of arts in general, I wholeheartedly support this. And I hope that if you are my friends, you do too.

For such a late post, I feel like I should have more to say, but being as the world "charity" alone tends to scare people away, I feel less is more.

And once again, if you have any suggestions as to what charities I should look into for upcoming months, please share!

Live Proud, So That Others May Live Free

At the very beginning of the February, heck, even the end of January, I was still gung-ho for my "A charity a month" idea. Not to say I'm not still enthused by it.

But February just snuck up on me. I didn't even mail/write out a single Valentine this year, if that gives you any indication.

(If it doesn't, I've been known to spend over $100 on postage to send candy, or spend the whole day writing [sometimes] witty Valentine messages to every single person I am friends with on Facebook.)

Initially, I found this video at the end of January and thought "Wow, found it already!"

Then February came and went and it's already a week and a half into March.

I was hoping for other people to chime in on charities they'd like to see me donate to (and I still am!)

However, that did not happen during February. So I went back to that video, and clicked the link they provided. There are a lot of great ideas on that page, however I had no info about any of them except Landfill Harmonic, and unfortunately the last mention of plans appears to be written in 2011, about what they hoped to accomplish in 2012. This does not give me great confidence in what my money will be doing. Because of that, I decided to find a different charity for February, though I plan to keep checking on Landfill Harmonic, because I truly hope it is still underway.

Now this left me scrambling, I had no suggestions and my one idea didn't seem optimal... So I resorted to a more well known charity, that I have known about for a while, but never delved into.

Welcome to the It Gets Better Project.

(I was going to provide a video from their site, but I teared up over every single one that I saw so I figured I'd spare you. However, their main pages has a few featured and the ability to browse the most popular [if you feel like bawling, I recommend Pixar's submission] but also if you just want to search the videos, you can do so here.)

I think this one might not need as much detail as my January charity, but I'm gonna play it safe.

The It Gets Better Project message is simple. It gets better. You are a wonderful human being, and your uniqueness should be a source of pride and strength  not insecurity and doubt. This message is for everyone, but the project focuses specifically on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and questioning youth who need to know that they are supported and that it does indeed get better.

Technically I was a victim of bullying, even throughout High School. But nowhere near the extremes that media reports today. Partially because I didn't (usually) let the hateful words have any power over me, but partially because there were other kids besides me to pick on. Don't worry, I'm not getting out my violin. I know that despite the trouble I had, I was lucky. Other kids had/have it much worse. But that's the point, everyone at some point in their life gets told that who they are is not okay, that it's something to be ashamed of. AND IT'S NOT.

So although I did not do my research this February, I have no qualms about donating to the It Gets Better project.

Be proud of oddities and uniqueness. It makes you a beautiful, beautiful human being.

And I know this wasn't a motivational essay and I didn't really tell a story, but whether you wandered here by accident or on purpose, if you or someone you know needs help/support they have a list of wonderful helplines. 

Also, I am always available for hugs. I may not check my blog on a daily basis, but that matters not. Whether I'm here or not, I love you all. <3

A Little Less Than a Flock of Chicks

Just a warning, this will be a tad be wordier than any following blogs regarding my monthly charity resolution.

More than anything, I'm blaming this endeavor on The Bloggess. My first encounter with her was linked to charities. It was this entry that I first read, accompanied by Amanda Palmer & Tristen Allen's four-handed piano composition "János vs. Wonderland" in my headphones. I subsequently laughed and bawled and fell in love with the world all over again.

It's taken a few years to get my self back on my own two feet. Well, maybe one and a half feet. I think my left foot still has a wobbly ankle. Nonetheless, that's better than before. I am no longer living with my parents, I have a steady albeit far from glorious job, that pays better than any previous job I've had, and I've already managed to build a desktop computer for myself while also officially paying the last chunk of a student loan in one lump sum. Granted, I still have two student loans to go, but a success is a success.

But I digress.
The Bloggess is constantly doing things to help better the world. Be it thru her humour and snark, or immense compassion. I don't have near the impact she does with others, but I can impact myself.
And while I can't force others to donate or even be aware of charities and causes, I can keep on posting, and I can jump that chasm on my own, from the side of "I'll do this when I have more money" to the side of "This video game can wait, I'm gonna donate almost a flock of chicks."

Which brings me to the donation I made for the month of January.
There were a few charities that I debated over, but I ultimately chose the Worldbuilders 2012 team from the charity thru Heifer International. I chose the Worldbuilders team because they are the ones that brought Team Heifer to my attenion, one, possibly two, years ago. It was thru my internet stalking twitter observations of Patrick Rothfuss and Neil Gaiman where I encountered the charity. As for choosing Heifer for this month's donation, the fundraiser actually ends on the 21st. Others that I considered are ongoing.
Now, Mister Rothfuss (and other contributing authors, etc) gives a little incentive for helping the fundraiser. And while I won't deny that there are a LOT of things there that I'd appreciate owning, what captivated me the most was this. Full Circle. I doubt that it'd come to me, but if it did I know I'd have to keep it going, as my donation certainly isn't worthy of that.
I didn't even donate a flock of chicks. Almost, though. Just a few dollars short. However, I have a thing with numbers. I greatly dislike multiples of five. I do not flee the scene when they appear. But if I can control the situation, then I do, and they go away.

Anyways, I highly recommend you check out Heifer and Worldbuilders (while the fundraiser is going.) And it's just the Worldbuilders fundraiser that ends on the 21st (but will also be back next year, and the next year, and so on and so forth.) You can investigate Heifer any time of the year. Give 'em a thought, a donation, a share - they're worth it.

Alright folks, actually not quite as wordy as I thought I'd be (yikes!), but enough, I'm sure.
I'm always accepting recommendations for charities to look into! Local, or global!
And by no means am I limiting myself to only one charity a month, if dollars allow it, I'll try and do more, or larger amounts. Or both?




Also, I wish technology was advanced enough that the blog could automatically link to the things I'm thinking about on the words I wanted without my having to google, copy, click, and paste. I think that took about as much time as the actually writing did. But I will have my links, gosh darnit!

Life, greater than Resolutions

I don't even know where to begin. The title alone took me, oh, say, about eight minutes?

Let's state the obvious: This is another attempt at blogging.

No, this is not a resolution. The last few months made me realize that I need a place to speak my mind, and that place isn't Facebook. However, life got in the way. And it took me into the first week of January before I could spend some time getting this set up and gathering my thoughts.

Granted, I will still speak my mind and offend on Facebook. But it's not the place for more than a few sentences. And it's not a place meant for people to actually care. I'm not sure moving my words to a different location will make more people care. But I feel like I'll be able to at least single out the folks that do care, and have meaningful exchanges because of it. (Fingers cross'd.)

The biggest catalyst for this blog? Let me explain to you in picture form:

That's 12 likes.

That's 33 likes.

This? 5 likes.

Cat pictures, a joke my dad made. I'm glad it amuses other people. And it IS Facebook, so maybe I shouldn't expect much.

But it basically broke my heart to see how little acknowledgement the charity got. I know that majority of my Facebook "friends" don't have the budget to help out charities. I have plenty of things I am saving my money for, including  2 student loans, the inevitable replacing of my current vehicle, and my moving out of this midwestern hell hole. But if I can buy myself a video game while also taking care of these goals, then why the hell couldn't I donate a package for a homeless child? So I did.

And again, I understand everyone's priorities are different.

BUT no one even acknowledged that link.

Oh, but there was 5, you say. 

Yes. But 3 were family. And what is 5 compared to 12? To 33?

Meh.

So here's a resolution. Instead of complaining about how no one cares that I gave to charity, I am going to just give to more charities. Try not caring about THAT, douchecanoes.

No but really. Instead of focusing on how this entire world could be better, I'm just going to do what little I can to try and help on my own.

I still need to watch my spending, and make sure I'm saving for both planned and unplanned things in the future.

But I resolve to donate a minimum of $5 to a different charity every month.

Happy January kiddos!