they need support

hi today!
i am going to be slowly making a few changes to this space and before i do, i have to do a post that i've been meaning to do for awhile. see those three pictures on the right sidebar? scroll down a bit, yes, those ones under my contact info. those are my little handmade, makeshift public service announcements (psa). let me tell you a bit about them and why they are important to me.

 support local retailers

this mini-psa links to a great project that i found via (don't laugh) molly moon's blog. the 3/50 project's tagline is "saving the brick and mortars our nation is built on" and their challenge is for you to think about 3 independently owned businesses that you would hate to see die. for one month, spend up to $50 total at those businesses. "pick 3. spend 50. save your local economy." i think that it is useful to just think about which businesses we are attached to and that make our community vibrant. whatever our income, going in and saying hello and purchasing something is a manageable and important task.

support independant bookstores

this psa is close to my heart. okay, you probably know i work in an independant bookstore. and you also probably know that i am strictly against that huge giant we call "amazon.com" but why? well, most people don't know that thier local bookstore can order just about anything you need for you. and your local used/rare bookstore often times carries those hard-to-find or out of print books you are looking for. oh, and the people who work there are real people, devoted to books and to helping you, so why undermine their business by giving your money to one global, online company that seeks to stamp out physical bookstores and the book itself by their aggressive tactics? (i know, i get emotional) my solution to those of you who don't have as wonderful access to local independant bookstores as seattlites have? 1. even a corporate bookstore like barnes and noble and borders employs your fellow neighbors. walk in and say hello. 2. powells.com: because the new and the used and the hard to find are all there, online. and because though it may not be your local bookstore, they do have a physical sight and they are fiercely independant.

best of all, if you aren't sure who is indie and who is not and why indie is important and where is your closest indie....my little tab on the right that i call a public service announcement, it links to indie bound and indie bound will tell you everything. *thanks for listening!

support local and organic farmland

it will soon not be practical to eat food that has travelled across countries and hemispheres just to get to your table. we might as well start supporting our local and organic farmland before it is too late. whether it is shopping at farmer's markets, participating in a csa, requesting from your grocer to stock regionally produced food, or growing your own produce, starting little will make a huge difference on the environment, your local economy and even your health. take a look at local harvest for more information.

all i really want to say is it is important where we put our money and who we support. in whatever way feels important and passionate for you, follow that. i hope these links are fun and this post was more interesting than preaching.

happy monday and to those of you observing, have an easy fast.