Thanks, Now buy Nothing or be loudQUIETloud...

Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good feast.

Or something like that. I have always enjoyed Thanksgiving as more so that Christmas, the day seem more relaxed (and the fact that I never seem to get any presents, only coal- I blame it on bad karma from another life). It could be that Thanksgiving is the first long holiday after a while (more so this year as we did not have Veteran’s Day off) and more likely, because I never had to be in charge of the cooking.

And nothing says America more than an All American Thanksgiving Day feast with all the trimmings at the Filipino household of my Uncle’s place (and the noticeable lack Filipino food making it odd as well). I will not be there this year as I live a couple of thousand miles away now. And I also will not be at the other place where I like to have Thanksgiving, which is with the left-behind-neglected kids at my old job (with all the Turkey and Cider you could take home!).

I do not have a Texas tradition for Thanksgiving yet, last year as it is this year; it was just sexy Holly, the wonderful, wonderful cats who provide much fun and warmth on cold days and me, the troll. We will probably stay in that day, I will make my noodles with bok-choi and fake meat, and Holly can have her ossu-boocoo (or whatever it is called) and the cats can have their wet food as we sleep in till 1pm and watch movies all day (I am hoping to finally finish off the X-Files and watch the extended version of Peter Jackson’s King Kong. The theatrical version had tons of pacing problems very much like the Return of the King, but I am hopeful because the extended version of ROTK solved all the pacing problems and became a very kick ass movie instead of an incoherent sucky one).

This is also my first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian which means I will never have a real traditional Thanksgiving ever again. This is fine by me, damn weird looking birds (reminds me of the time I helped my Uncle slaughter a chicken and cook it. I love adobo, but for the love of Ganesha, for some reason I could not eat what I helped kill. Doesn’t man-law state that if you kill it, you eat it? I guess I am not a real man. You have found out my secret- I am a robot. Have any of you seen a guy by the name of John Connor, by the way? Contact me if you do).

Then there is Black Friday. When the rest of you try to kill me for taking that parking spot at the mall.

The only places I want to be at are the comic book stores so I can finally (hoping they are sold out) get Absolute Sandman and Lost Girls and not worry about what to eat the rest of the month. Looking at the Black Friday ads online, I am currently under whelmed at the offerings, which is a good thing as I am trying to save some money.

And by strange coincidence, the day after Thanksgiving is also the day designated in the States to be Buy Nothing Day, a day I have followed but not necessarily participated in for a few years now. The notion is one that I love. Massive consumerism is one of the downfalls of our present way of life. We have way too much than what we need (which includes me too, by the way; I am as guilty as you are, but I want to streamline my life). The trash generated from all the packaging alone is very disheartening. That and many people turn into assholes when they want to grab something on sale.

The other problem is that Black Friday is one of the few times of the year that certain things come within range of affordability of some people (again, me included as I do not have as much disposable income as some of you, hence me waiting rather than waste $175.00 pre-tax for two comic books). My only consolation is that on Black Fridays I underbuy, getting only what I need (with special thanks to the internet for posting in advance the sale prices days, sometimes weeks earlier) and refraining from any and all impulse buying.

And also, I do tend to observe the international date of Buy Nothing Day which is the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I know the organizers behind the event are trying to make a statement by making Buy Nothing Day the same day as Black Friday, but I believe they would make a bigger impact (and be nice to those with tight wallets) by making it Saturday locally as well.

And some stores are opening at 12:01am on Back Friday. That is just fcuking nuts.

Anyway, here is a press release from Adbusters:

NOVEMBER 24 IS BUY NOTHING DAY - NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
(November 25 [and for me] outside of North America)


THE ULTIMATE REFUND: On November 24th and 25th - the busiest days in the American retail calendar and the unofficial start of the international Christmas-shopping season - thousands of activists and concerned citizens in 65 countries will take a 24-hour consumer detox as part of the 14th annual Buy Nothing Day, a global phenomenon that originated in Vancouver, Canada.

From joining zombie marches (!) through malls (if anyone is doing any local Dawn of the Dead reenactments, contact me!) to organizing credit card cut-ups and shopoholic clinics, Buy Nothing Day activists aim to challenge themselves, their families and their friends to switch off from shopping and tune back into life for one day. Featured in recent years by the likes of CNN, Wired, the BBC, and the CBC, the global event is celebrated as a relaxed family holiday, as a non-commercial street party, or even as a politically charged public protest. Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending.

Reasons for participating in Buy Nothing Day are as varied as the people who choose to participate. Some see it as an escape from the marketing mind games and frantic consumer binge that has come to characterize the holiday season, and our culture in general. Others use it to expose the environmental and ethical consequences of overconsumption.

Two recent, high-profile disaster warnings outline the sudden urgency of our dilemma. First, in October, a global warming report by economist Sir Nicholas Stern predicted that climate change will lead to the most massive and widest-ranging market failure the world has ever seen. Soon after, a major study published in the journal Science forecast the near-total collapse of global fisheries within 40 years.

Kalle Lasn, co-founder of the Adbusters Media Foundation, which was responsible for turning Buy Nothing Day into an international annual event, said, “Our headlong plunge into ecological collapse requires a profound shift in the way we see things. Driving hybrid cars and limiting industrial emissions is great, but they are band-aid solutions if we don’t address the core problem: we have to consume less. This is the message of Buy Nothing Day.”

As Lasn suggests, Buy Nothing Day isn't just about changing your habits for one day. It’s about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste. With six billion people on the planet, the onus if on the most affluent - the upper 20% that consumes 80% of the world’s resources - to begin setting the example.



For more information and media interviews contact

MEDIA LIASON: Laura Fauth
TELEPHONE NUMBER: 604-736-9401
EMAIL: media-pr@adbusters.org

Editor’s Notes

[1] For more information on Adbusters, Buy Nothing Day, or to watch Kalle Lasn’s 2004 Buy Nothing Day interview with CNN visit www.adbusters.org

[2] Buy Nothing Day facts:
* The first BND was organized in Vancouver in September 1992, an idea by artist Ted Dave, as a day for society to examine the issue of over-consumption.
* In 1997, it was moved to the Friday after American Thanksgiving, which is the busiest shopping pre-Christmas weekend in the US. Outside of North America, BND is usually celebrated on the following Saturday.
* Despite controversies, Adbusters managed to advertise BND on CNN, but many other major TV networks declined to air their ads.
* Soon, campaigns started appearing in US, UK, Israel, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, and Norway. Participation now spans over 65 nations.

[3] Shopping and consumption facts:
* Per capita consumption in the U.S. has risen 45 per cent in the last 20 years.
* Although people today are, on average, four-and-a-half times richer than our great-grandparents were at the turn of the century, Americans report feeling “significantly less well off” than in 1958.
* A recent article in New Scientist featured research suggesting that the more consumer goods you have the more you think you need to make you happy. Happiness through consumption is always out of reach (New Scientist, 4th October 2003, Vol.180, Issue 2415, p44. Available online after registering at www.newscientist.co.uk).



And on other things:

Seen this past weekend: loudQUIETloud

The documentary about the reformation of one of two bands thought to never reform (the other being the Smiths, and when that happens, I lose all respect for Morrissey) and one of my favourite bands, the Pixies. Now, to begin with, I never really liked indie rock, despite living in Austin. Most of the bands just fall into pretentiousness and they all end up sounding alike. Besides, what is indie rock? Is it any band that is not in a major label (then so, I recant because I tend to like a lot of bands that just happen to be on Metropolis Records which is not a major label) or is it any band wanting to be Weezer? I like Weezer, especially the Blue album but are they still considered indie?

I stop now before I rant about emo and sound like an old man. I am not old. I am a hair shy of thirty.

Okay, I am old.

Anyway, The Pixies- the first album I got was a cassette of Trompe Le Monde that was selling used for $0.99 at the Wherehouse when I was a sophomore in high school and the next day Luke Rhodes was crying like a baby because he just heard they broke up (edited for entertainment value, Luke was not really crying that day). Since then, the Pixies have become the only pure guitar band I like (as bands I usually like have a lot of synth or are electronic based). And if you are ever diving down the Pacific Coast Highway or through any desert (preferably in Arizona), listening to them is a must.

And a decade or so later, they fooled the world again as they reunited. This documentary is an interesting take on their daily lives on the comeback tour with some snippets of their regular dysfunctional lives. Interestingly enough, Black Francis aka Frank Black aka Charles Thompson, has the closest to a normal life with two point five kids and a mini van. True story: he almost killed me. I saw him in Santa Barbara years ago and I was up front. At the end of the show he went up to the very tip of the stage, precariously standing and waving to the crowd. He is three times my size, a small slip and he would have squished me. The crowd was very thick, so I had nowhere to go. I later shook his hand, thanking him for not ending my worthless existence.

Then there is the greatest Filipino who ever lived: Joey Santiago. He is just a regular FOB complete with an apartment overrun with his kids’ things. But he plays the surf guitar like no other.

Kim Deal’s damage has been brained after years of being on drugs (like wise for her clone, Kelly). It was cool to finally see Mr. John Murphy who tinges with regret in his small fame as the ex of Kim Deal, as releases his angst as he gets rid of old memorabilia and moves on with his life. Kim Deal has a voice like an angel, plays a mean bass and inspired hordes of cute bass players. She is not a screw up; it just seems she has no life.

The less said about Dave Lovering the better.

Separately, the four of them seem like your everyday losers (of which I am the patron saint of) and when they just hang out, there is that odd uncomfortable silence you see in The Office all the time. But when they are on stage doing what they do best, you can see why they are musical legends. It just sounds so cliché, but ROCK they do.

A decent documentary about a band no one thought they would ever see again. If you love your indie music, you will go nuts for it. If you love the Pixies you will enjoy it as I did, tremendously.

Three Stars.



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