Tuesday check in

Feels like Monday, doesn't it?

Two things of general interest.

#1 GO SEE WALLACE AND GROMIT! I laughed so hard I had tears on my glasses and my sides ached. The sendup of old horror movies mixed with Aardman lunacy makes this the Best. Movie. Ever. I'm trying not to think why they put a Christmas short with a Halloween movie (this makes as much sense as the shudderingly bad summer movie that is being released at Christmas for reasons unknown), but that's a small quibble.

One little note, not a spoiler if you know your old movies - there's a scene in the local chapel. Hard as it will be to tear your eyes away from the characters, take a good look at the first stained glass panel you see in the background.

For those of us in mourning over the fire that destroyed the Aardman Productions warehouse, go see and remember - the important things didn't burn.

#2 Washington Post prints list of 10 books most banned in 2004, with the reasons why. Banned book week may be over, but read a banned book anyway. And keep an eye on your local library. There were 458 challenges to books in 2003. Last year, there were 547.

Strike back. Read a book.

Another tragedy, another auction

I've been assessing my donation bookshelves, which still are burgeoning even after filling 10 Team Wench raffle baskets in advance. I've also been reading the earthquake news, and think it's time for another silent auction as soon as I pick some charities working in the area.

But last time the stuff I thought would be really bid over wasn't, while the "maybe someone will want this" got into a bidding war. So this time, I'm asking your opinions:

[Poll #588018]

CHARITY: Who would be willing...?

...to help me launch a new LJ community? Yes, I *know* there are a thousand out there and plenty of dead ones, but bear with me. This one would be dedicated to disaster relief in the nature of the silent auction I ran before - people post what they have, and give it away according to who donates the most to a marked charity.

Why a community? For three reasons:

1) This community would not be disaster specific. Instead of one for Katrina, one for Rita, and one for the earthquake, this would be established once and can be gone back to every time. Do an interest search for "charity donations" "donate charity" "charitable donations" and you don't get a lot; search on "charity" and you don't get a lot of disaster relief. Search on "disaster relief" and you get a lot of single-issue groups but none ready to swing into action whenever anything awful happens.

2) Communities are easier to advertise and ask people to join than a personal LJ; there would be no signal-to-noise problems because the community would be *only* for charitable offers.

3) The given readership of any one of us is pretty low, but a community could bring in many more interested parties, both as bidders and offerers. C'mon... don't you have a single book you read once and don't want that you'd be willing to drop in the mail? That blouse you never ever wear? That perfume that someone gave you that you don't like? Have a craft you like to do - can you knit a scarf, embroider a baby bib, make soap, quilt a pillow cover - that you could give up for a good cause?

My idea is to open a space where anyone who wishes can put up such auctions in quick response to anything. The auctions would run like this: You name what you're auctioning off and which charity you want the donations to go to. You mail the winner the item at your own expense (c'mon, a stamp or two isn't that much) when they send you proof of having made the donation.

Who's with me? And who has a clever name? C'mon y'all, I've got some really witty friends; if you don't want to donate money or goods, at least donate a name and a little advertising for the community.