I've been working my ass off on getting an online store put up for Corvo, but as G and I discussed our goals, we realized that we didn't want it to be purely band merchandise; we wanted it to be a place to further express ourselves and proudly display our art.

I'm sure you've all heard of CafePress.com. It's been around for a long time, and I've seen a few of you sell stuff there. Since there's no overhead to start a shop, this seemed the best way for a starving band to get some t-shirts and stickers created for fans, without paying a ton of money and being stuck with a closet full of stuff we can't sell. Shortly after finishing our first two band designs, we started to come up with fun and original Gothic designs, which has been so much fun! Recently, I created a New Orleans Vampire themed design called "Lost Soul," and G created a creepy tree design called "Strange Garden."

For Halloween, I created a new design that I am so proud of, because I finally went out and bought myself a sketch book and illustrated my vision by hand. My idea was to create "wings" made of spider webs for the back of the shirts, and a black widow's "hourglass" for the front. Of course, Edward Gorey and Tim Burton are always huge inspirations to me visually, so... I'm sure you won't be surprised to see how my design turned out:

I even designed the widow herself! I am like a "proud mommy" with how this drawing turned out, and I'm already scheming to create more hand-drawn designs. The biggest surprise about this store is how I've reconnected with my ability to draw, which was buried a long time ago... I feel like a little kid again, and I'm having so much coming up with all sorts of deviant things.

So this is the part where I tell you to buy my "Widow Noir" t-shirts and accessories, especially if you want something for Halloween that nobody else will have! You'll help G and I with band expenses and you'll be contributing to a greater cause too. -We're donating 10% of sales from the "Dark Nature" collection to Oprah's Angel Network, to help continue to rebuild hurricane-ravaged areas of the United States. Not only are we donating 10%, we're going to match each 10% made from sales! Since black widows are the creepy crawly side of "dark nature," we've included this design in that collection, which will continue to grow [pun intended]. What's really cool about the Angel Network is that even $5 can go a long, long way. We realized this after watching what she and Jon Bon Jovi had done by building new houses for Katrina victims... and it inspired us to do something on a continual basis for people who are trying to rebuild their lives after having gone through natural disasters.

If you have any advice or input on the way we've designed our shop, or regarding ease of navigation, feel free to email me. I really want to make this a special place filled with unique and darkly artistic stuff that can help fund the band. What I'm really loving right now is that I want one of everything! It's really satisfying creating the kind of designs that I truly love myself, and would wear or put in my own house.

Labels: Accessories, apparel, black widow, Cafe Press, CafePress, clothing, gifts, Goth, Gothic, Horror, HorrorArt, illustration, Merchandise, Original Design, spider web, spiders, whimsical

From: NiNi
To: Husband
Subject: Huh?

"Our school children should never fear safety when they enter their classroom," Bush said.

Um... I doubt that they're fearing safety. Maybe concerned about their safety, maybe fear for their safety? What a blue-blooded cornhole.

-----Original Message-----
From: Husband
To: NiNi
Subject: RE: Huh?

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933 Address

"The only thing we have is fear." -- George W. Bush, 2006 Address

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Labels: Bush, Commentary, politics

[Contributed by Working Assets]

Americans were shocked to learn this past weekend that a United States Representative, Mark Foley (R-FL), had been sending sexually-explicit e-mails and instant messages to 15- and 16-year-old boys participating in the House Page (internship for high school students) program. Rep. Foley -- who, ironically, co-chaired the Missing and Exploited Children Caucus in the House -- has now resigned and checked himself into a clinic for rehabilitation of alcoholism.

But the members of the House leadership -- foremost among them Dennis Hastert -- were not shocked, because they already knew.

It's become quite clear in recent days that several other high-ranking members of the House of Representatives knew about Mr. Foley's despicable (and possibly illegal) behavior -- and took no steps to stop it. At least five prominent Representatives (Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-IL; Majority Leader John Boehner, R-OH; Rep. Tom Reynolds, R-NY; Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-LA; and Rep. John Shimkus, R-IL) have admitted that they knew of the initial set of inappropriate emails from Foley to a 16-year-old former House page.

Could it be that the House leadership cared more about protecting one of their own than protecting the safety of their teenage pages?

It has also been revealed that the FBI had copies of these email messages in July -- yet failed to act. Why? Was the Bush administration more concerned with protecting a powerful ally in Congress than with protecting children?

We need to get to the bottom of this matter immediately. The best disinfectant in a situation like this is sunshine -- and lots of it. Who knew what, and when? What laws (such as those prohibiting the solicitation of sexual acts from a minor) may have been broken, and who may have failed to report such cases to the appropriate authorities for prosecution? The American people have a right to know.

Congress rushed back into special session to intervene in the case of Terry Schiavo. They should interrupt their campaigning, return to Washington, and insist on an immediate full investigation and disclosure.

Call to action:
Click Here to Send an Email to Your Representative to return to Washington immediately for a special session of Congress to investigate the possible cover-up of Representative Mark Foley's sexual-predatory behavior.

The Los Angeles Times is now reporting that Rep. Foley's behavior was anything but secret on Capitol Hill.

Labels: activism, CyberActivism, Foley, GOP, petitions, political, political watch, politics, scandal