Kickstarter is a very cool little resource for people running small projects – or with just a crazy idea in their head.  The basic premise is, people need some $ to pull off their big ideas.  Other people like to support people with big ideas. Let’s get the two groups together. It’s all or nothing funding which is cool. If a project get’s 100% backing, then it’s a go. If it comes in shallow, no money exchanges hands, and nobody is on the hook without enough budget.

Donations are met with rewards with a few tiers based on amount donated. $5 could get you a sweet limited edition vinyl, or $50 might get you a cooking class.

If you’re an art buff, it’s definitely worth checking out. A small donation can really add up to some cool work.

I stumbled upon this great trailer for a documentary about indie folk pop band Blind Pilot this morning, and was utterly delighted. I popped over to itunes and grabbed their latest record without listening to a single preview, and after my third full listen in two days I’m happy to say it’s wonderful.

They went on rock tour – one of the great american dreams – by bicycle. Absolutely nuts. In the trailer, the bassist confirms what you’re thinking. ‘Oh, at least they save on gas. Suck, probably more expensive.’ So why do it? I guess we’ll have to wait until the documentary comes out, but suffice it to say there’s something beautifully impractical about a band traveling by bike. It comes loaded with intentions and that’s why I love it.

Thankfully for us midwesterners, they’re touring by van these days. I look forward to seeing them near the middle coast.

Check out the band here on their website: http://blindpilotmusic.wordpress.com/
or iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/3-rounds-a-sound/id318683535

Via: Nau’s fantastic blog: http://blog.nau.com/

James White

One of my favorite designers/visual artists, James White, is donating all the proceeds from his sales this week to the relief effort in Haiti. This is a great chance to pick up one of his pieces. This should be an example of how ordinary folks can continue to do their thing and make a positive impact.

Check out his site here: Signal Noise

That said, none of his work since Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius has really stuck with me. I enjoyed What is the What quite a lot, but I don’t see myself rereading it. Zeitoun, on the other hand, has been a constantly hanging out in the back of my brain since I started it.

The quick synopsis – Katrina hits New Orleans. Abdulrahman Zeitoun, a contractor sticks around to keep track of his properties. His wife and kids flee the area. Zeitoun, in an old fishing boat helps stranded New Orleanians, feeds stranded pets, and keeps track of his stranded friends. Things go down hill from here as Zeitoun is confronted by the relief effort.

Part 1 is a unique, and uplifting account of a group of people responding to the tragedy of Katrina. It’s easy to quickly fall in love with Zeitoun and his family. The Zeitouns are Muslim and the story is definitely one of the Muslim American experience. But Eggers is an adept storyteller and is able to present the Zeitouns with more than that singular dimension. I found myself smiling as I read about these people gracefully dealing with an extreme tradgedy. It’s uplifting without feeling trite.

The remainder of the book sees the Zeitoun family deal with the real tradgedy of Katrina, which unfortunately isn’t the aftermath of the storm but instead is the aftermath of our response. I will avoid too much detail because you should be as shocked as I was reading about what they had to endour. Suffice it to say the media didn’t scratch the surface of the bungled recovery effort. It would be comical if it wasn’t so disgusting.

Zeitoun = Double plus good.

Still grabbed from 180 South by Woodshed Films

Still grabbed from 180 South by Woodshed Films

Take the rest of the afternoon off and checkout 180 South. Normally I would wait until the film has been released to plug it – but there’s enough great content on their website now to give you a great afternoon distraction. The film intermingles contemporary interviews and footage with archival footage documenting the trip between two friends in 1968, and the journey of Jeff Johnson recreating the trip today.

It just so happens that one of the dudes from 1968 is Yvon Chouinard. Chouinard is one of my personal heroes. He’s the head and founder of Patagonia clothing company. If you don’t know anything about Patagonia’s business practices, or if you’re at all interested in Social Entrepreneurship I’d grab a copy of “Let My People Go Surfing.” The book recounts the evolution of Patagonia from a small climbing supply shop to the global brand that it is today. Chouinard managed to build an incredibly successful business in a socially and environmentally conscious way long before it was hip to do so.

Back to the film project. It looks beautiful. It seems like it’s got a healthy dose of implied environmental critique without being a issues film. Director Chris Malloy’s sun dappled imagery is making me anxious to get the heck out of dreary St. Paul and back to the beach. The film comes out in spring of 2010.

The film is produced by Woodshed Films. Definitely worth some more investigation.

We’ve got to hold on to our inventory until the event, so we’re not sitting at an empty table. After the 5th we’ll unlock the online sales and everything will be available for purchase through our website.

Check out the NoCoast website.

The EFF creates a network of informed and educated professionals within the industry. They’ve gone beyond a simple membership though and provided a ton of resources on sustainable fashion right on their site.

Web: http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/