Well, the long hard winter here in New York City thankfully appears to be coming to an end. There are definitely signs of spring, some trees are starting to bud, the birds are singing, and the bakeries are brimming with bright, happy cakes.
If you can’t make it to New York, Bake Me a Wish is a New York Bakeries that delivers their freshly made cakes nationwide. They just announced that from now until April 30, you can save 15% on cakes if you use promotion code SPRING15.
Bake Me a Wish has cakes which support all kinds of charities, from their “Operation Birthday Cake” where a portion of every purchase is dedicated to delivering fresh cakes to soldiers serving overseas to their “Change your Life Cake” wihch supports Friends of Island Academy.
It’s the result to two years of deep work by Erica Frager which has deep meaning besides just being a fan book. X-Files director Kim Manners passed away in January 2009, and it was talking to those close to him that inspired Erica to write about the X-Files in its Southern California years. It’s filled with memories from cast and crew sharing their experiences with Manners and the show. 100% of the profits from the book’s sales will go to the American Cancer Society in memory of Kim Manners.
Chris Carter, Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny, R.W. Goodwin, and Laurie Holder, and more share their behind-the-scenes stories, many which have never been told before. There are also fascinating details describing actual filming locations in LA, which you can visit yourself.
Judd Apatow’s humor is certainly not for everyone, but that’s what makes him the perfect editor for I Found This Funny: My Favorite Pieces of Humor and Some That May Not Be Funny At All. In it, he compiles stories from as diverse humorists as Philip Roth, David Sedaris, Steve Martin, Nora Ephron, Jonathan Ames, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Conan O’Brien, Lorrie Moore, Paul Feig, Jonathan Franzen, Alice Munro, and many, many more.
It’s an interesting look into humor. It’s not meant to be a textbook or a deep study into the definition of humor. Instead, it puts together a lot of writing, from poems to short stories to essays, that at one time or another has been considered “funny” and lets you decide.
Proceeds from the book will go to 826 National, a nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization that promotes creative writing to kids ages 6 to 18.
This Sari Scarf from Uncommon Goods is available in blue, cinnamon, or red/cream color. It is an incredibly beautiful silk scarf, handmade in India.
The process these scarves are made with is fascinating. Fine vintage saris are selected, cut into strips, and hand-stitched together with others to create beautiful, unique patterns (it’s almost like “quilting” using silk). The scarf is moistened, twisted, and wound around a bamboo pole. The result is a truly unique, eco-friendly, comfortable, and stunningly beautiful fashion piece that can be wrapped around your shoulders or your head.
Not only is the “upcycling” of the saris eco-friendly, the vendor will also plant 10 trees via the non-profit organization Trees for The Future.
Paying $400 for a watch may sound like a ridiculous idea, but the Suunto Core Extreme Edition Everest Watch may be worth every penny if you’re a hiker, mountain climber, or do a lot of travelling. It’s a watch that does everything but give you a chauffeured drive to your doorstep. It includes an altimeter (which helps you to calculate altitude, ascent and descent speed, and more), barometer (which you can use to predict weather), compass (to give you direction), and depth measurement (perfect for snorkelers, as the watch is water resistant). It’s a limited edition watch (only 8848 units were made, the number signifying the ), and each has Apa Sherpa’s signature engraved on the back. It’s a whole tracking station, all on your wrist. It’s not for everyone, but for the outdoor enthusiast in your life, you can hardly do any better than this.
A portion of the proceeds from the Suunto Core Extreme Everest will go directly to befefit the Apa Sherpa Foundation.
Well, since we highlighted a book by President Obama in the last post, I figured it’d only be fair to highlight a book by someone in the Bush family.
In President Bush’s best-selling book Decision Points, he talks movingly and proudly about his daughter Barbara and her work with the nonprofit she founded, Global Health Corps, as well as his daughter Jenna and the work she did volunteering for UNICEF in Latin America. Whatever your feeling about President Bush, one thing that’s clear is that he loves his daughters and he loves his country.
During her volunteer work, Jenna met a young woman named Ana, who had been infected with HIV from birth. Her mother died when Ana was three, and she was then shuffled from home to home, enduring horrific abuse and poverty, and all the while hiding her illness from others. The story is an inspiring one of how this young woman overcame the odds, fell in love, had a baby (not infected with the disease), and is today living in hope.
Jenna Bush’s writing style is accessible and inspiring, especially for younger readers who can experience her volunteer work vicariously through her. It (and the other book she wrote with her mom, Read all About It), are impressive coming from someone as young as her, and that both her books donate a portion to charity is equally impressive.
Of Thee I Sing: A Letter to My Daughters is a wonderful book by President Obama. It’s framed as a letter to his daughters Malia and Sasha, beginning with the words, “Have I told you lately how wonderful you are”.
He then proceeds to talk about thirteen great Americans, introducing them with the same phrase, “Have I told you”. To introduce Abraham Lincoln, he writes “Have I told you that you are part of a family?” For Billie Holliday he writes “Have I told you that you have your own song?” For Sitting Bull, he writes “Have I told you that you are a healer?” Each is followed by a short paragraph talking about the American he is paying tribute to. And each is beautifully illustrated by artist Loren Long.
Whatever your feeling about President Obama, one thing that’s clear is that he loves his daughters and he loves his country. Proceeds from this book will go to support charities.
Here’s a great deal for the comic book lover in your life.
Herowiz.com is selling 10 randomly pulled comic books for only $1, all of which will be donated to Doctors Without Borders. All the comic books will come in fine or very fine condition, and may be from Marvel, DC, or Image.
To be eligible to win a pair of free tickets to this concert, click the Facebook “Like” button on the right of this page, and then post a message with your favorite Selena Gomez, Jonas Brothers, or AllStar Weekend song (you’ll need to provide your email address but don’t worry–it won’t be published and it will never be used except to inform you if you’re the winner)
If you are a teen or tween or have one in your life, chances are you find yourself humming a Selena Gomez, Jonas Brothers, or AllStar Weekend song at random parts of the day without even realizing it.
On March 20, 2011, at the Universal Amphitheater in Universal City in Southern California, all three of these stars will be performing a benefit concert to benefit City of Hope, a phenomenal independent research, treatment and education facility located North of Los Angeles that is paving the way in finding ways to conquer cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening diseases. It is consistently named among the top cancer treatment facilities in the world.
To get your tickets, you can visit LiveNation.com or Ticketmaster.com. But hurry, tickets for any ONE of these acts sell out quickly, I’m sure that once word gets out that all three of them are in concert, tickets will be gone fast.
If you’re in or will be traveling to SoCal around that time, give the teens or tweens in your life the thrill of a lifetime. Here are the event details:
Sunday, March 20 @ 5 PM
Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City Walk
100 Universal City Plaza
Universal City, CA 91608
I was contacted by Phil from City of Hope’s social media agency who offered to give a pair of tickets to one lucky reader of CharitableGiftGiving.com. Just click the Facebook “Like” button on the right of this page (if you haven’t already), and then post a reply to this blog post with your favorite Selena Gomez, Jonas Brothers, or AllStar Weekend song (I have to screen these to make sure you’re a true fan :)). I’ll pick a random winner shortly!
Every year, it seems every Superbowl advertiser wants to be The One that everyone talks about the next day. It’s no wonder, since advertisers can pay $2.5 million to $2.8 million for a 30 second spot. That’s $93,333 each second they’re on the air. So each year, advertisers get more and more outrageous. As a result, we’re subjected every year to commercials involving monkeys and people getting kicked in the groin.
It’s no wonder that Groupon decided to get into the game. They were one of the hottest Internet companies of 2010–so hot that Google offered to buy them, and they turned them down. I get their emails every day, and I routinely save 50% on great restaurants in New York (you can get daily email offers for dozens and dozens of cities around the US). Just the other day, I saved 50% on their phenomenal national deal with Barnes and Noble.
Groupon did something interesting for the 2011 Super Bowl. They hired actors Timothy Hutton, Cuba Gooding Junior, Elizabeth Hurley to film a series of commercials for them.
Each commercial starts out with moving music in the background, with scenes of a serious charitable cause and the actor or actress (all who have been on the Hollywood A-List not too long ago) doing an impassioned voice-over. Then, suddenly, the tone changes and they end up talking about how they ended up Saving The Money (a play on Saving the Children or Saving the Animals) on a self-indulgent activity by using Groupon.
Judging from early voters on YouTube, people are not amused. How dare Groupon take important causes and trivialize them by hocking things like whale watching trips, expensive restaurant food, and Brazilian waxes! Tweets and blogs are lighting up with outrage.
Of course, this is what Groupon’s ad agency was going for. Of course, the company and the actors and actresses are part of an elaborate inside joke. These commercials are parodies of the sanctimonious, maudlin charity commercials that permeate the airwaves. They’re poking gentle fun at them, as well as the actors and actresses that lend their names and their voices to these causes. (Of course, at the same time they’re building brand recognition for the Groupon brand and probably making a little chunk of change for themselves).
Time will tell, of course, if the humor was a little too subtle. One thing that Groupon’s ad agency may have underestimated is the mass audience’s grasp on irony. For a company that needs to build a strong brand, they’re really rolling the dice on this one. Will consumers view Groupon as a fun company that gives great deals and doesn’t take itself too seriously? Or will they see this as using important causes to build their own fortune? Either way, it’ll be an interesting conversation to watch over the next few days.
Before you cast your judgment, keep in mind that Groupon does have legitimate “deals” where you can really donate $15 to save the whales, help Tibet, and save the rainforests, and they will match the donation.
Here are the Groupon Superbowl spots:
Clever or Crass? You be the judge.
Although at the end of the day, the clear winner this year has got to be Volkswagen. Ironic how the most talked-about commercial this year was not one that involved multi-million dollar special effects, dancing animals, or various body parts getting beaten up, but just a kid in a Darth Vader outfit.
Judd Apatow’s humor is certainly not for everyone, but that’s what makes him the perfect editor for 
Paying $400 for a watch may sound like a ridiculous idea, but the 
Well, since we highlighted a book by President Obama in the last post, I figured it’d only be fair to highlight a book by someone in the Bush family.
, he talks movingly and proudly about his daughter Barbara and her work with the nonprofit she founded, Global Health Corps, as well as his daughter Jenna and the work she did volunteering for UNICEF in Latin America. Whatever your feeling about President Bush, one thing that’s clear is that he loves his daughters and he loves his country.
If you are a teen or tween or have one in your life, chances are you find yourself humming a Selena Gomez, Jonas Brothers, or AllStar Weekend song at random parts of the day without even realizing it.