Happy New Year

Wishing everyone a very happy, healthy and SAFE New Year!

We'll be back in 2010 with lots of new stuff... so stay tuned.

Holiday Shopping Time

I have a couple of those impossible to shop for people in my family. You know the types - the person who has everything, the person who says that they don't need anything even though they know that you'd never just not get them anything, the person who tells you what they want and then buys it for themselves before you have a chance to buy it for them, and so on. So even though my holiday shopping for this year is over, I feel like I should start now on next year's shopping to cut down on stress. (I'm sure this feeling will pass about as quickly as I forget what my New Year's resolutions are.)

So my idea of the moment is watches. Who doesn't want a new watch, right? (Okay, I'm sure there are plenty of people who don't, but don't tell me about them, cause I'm having a nice fantasy shopping moment right now.) These Bulova chronograph watches are kinda cool, and they're all on sale on this site that I'm looking at, which is totally okay with me. They also have free 2nd day shipping and free sizing, which makes it easier to justify super-early gift buying.

As usual, I like the men's watches better than the women's watches - ladies watches are usually too girly and dainty for me.

I also love that they have blinged out Swarovski crystal watches for men. And if you do want some girly and dainty options, they've got those too:

My shopping problems are totally solved...for now.


*Super early fantasy holiday shopping brought to you by BlueDial.com.

Happy Holidays from the ESC!

Debunking the AFA's Christmas Boycott: Bass Pro Shops

This is another in our series of posts about the American Family Association's "Naughty or Nice" list of retailers. If you haven't been following along, here's the background:

~The AFA's War on the War on Christmas
~Debunking the AFA's Christmas Boycott
~Our Long National Nightmare is Over: The AFA's Gap/Old Navy Boycott Ends
~Debunking the AFA's Christmas Boycott: Starbucks

And here's the AFA's description of their list:

Based on current advertising, below is a list of companies that avoid, ban, or use the term "Christmas" in their advertising. We will continually update the list, so check back often.

Criteria - AFA reviewed up to four areas to determine if a company was "Christmas-friendly" in their advertising: print media (newspaper inserts), broadcast media (radio/television), website and/or personal visits to the store. If a company's ad has references to items associated with Christmas (trees, wreaths, lights, etc.), it was considered as an attempt to reach "Christmas" shoppers.

If a company has items associated with Christmas, but did not use the word "Christmas," then the company is considered as censoring "Christmas."

Color Code:

GREEN: Company uses the term "Christmas" on a regular basis, we consider that company Christmas-friendly.
YELLOW: Company refers to Christmas infrequently, or in a single advertising medium, but not in others.
RED: Company may use "Christmas" sparingly in a single or unique product description, but as a company, does not recognize it.

A company may be removed from the "bad" list by providing documentation to AFA.

So, I'll admit that Bass Pro Shops is not exactly my favorite store. (Shocking, I know.) I've never been in one, and there aren't any near here so I don't think I've ever even seen one of their stores or one of their ads. The AFA has put them on the yellow list, and even though I don't know much about their stores, I figure that their website can give me a pretty good idea of whether the AFA made the right call on this one.

Here are some screenshots and images from the Bass Pro Shops website:
























































Since they also offer photos with Santa in their stores (you know, like all anti-Christmas retailers do), there's a whole page on their site about that too:



































You can view part of this free holiday fun guide online, and if you do take a look you'll see that it's full of Christmas stuff, and the word Christmas appears twice on the cover and many times inside.

One final thing from the website - there's an article on the site in the OutdoorSite Library section called "Catch and Release Shouldn't Apply to Christmas Gifts", and it's about using fishing and boating as a good way for families to spend quality time together. Now, this is on a site that sells fishing and boating products, so of course this is self-serving, but it also has a message that you'd think the AFA would approve of:

So this Christmas, don't make it the usual video games, computer programs and other stay-inside, couch-potato items for under the tree, give the gift of family togetherness. Fishing and boating items go beyond just getting people outdoors, they create bonds and memories that last a lifetime.

If all of that stuff from the website isn't enough, how about some catalogs?















Well, we can certainly see how Bass Pro Shops marginalizes Christmas and refers to it so infrequently, can't we? Do you think that anyone at the AFA actually did any research at all into this list, or did they just randomly pull names out of a Santa hat? At this point, my money's definitely on the hat.

It's not too late!

Apparently when we said it was the "last chance" a few days ago, we were wrong... You can still get some of our merchandise on Zazzle (see our general shopping page for details on which designs are available through Zazzle).

If you order any of our items by December 22, 3pm PST, you can save 50% on express shipping and still get your orders by Christmas. Use code: XPRESSZAZZLE



Give the gift of Evil Slutopia! Shop now! (We promise to return to normal posting after this final holiday shameless self-promotion blog. Thank you for your patience... and your purchases!) Happy holidays!

Last Chance!

It's your last chance to get holiday items from Cafepress delivered by December 25!

Shop all of our holiday and every-day merchandise: here

Greetings and Salutations... and Promotions!

Apparently Taylor Swift is designing her own line of greeting cards. (She is too cute for words.)
You maybe already know this, but the ESC has their own line of greeting cards as well. So we thought we'd do a little shameless self-promotion (as usual) and give you the opportunity to grab some last minute cards before the holidays get here.

If you order today, Cafepress will give you a Free Shipping Upgrade to ensure delivery by December 24.

(Choose Standard Shipping and at no extra cost they will automatically upgrade you to 2-Day Shipping, when needed to ensure December 24 delivery -- promotion ends December 18, 2009 at 11:59 p.m. EST, so hurry!)

Also don't forget that each of designs comes on a variety of products - not just greeting cards - so if you still need last minute gifts take advantage of the free shipping upgrade today!

Although some of our items are currently on Cafepress only, we do have quite a few designs on Zazzle as well. They are offering a similar promotion today: Get a FREE upgrade to 2-day shipping on orders over $50 to guarantee delivery by Christmas. Use Code: TWODAYZAZZLE



So here are some of our holiday favorites, plus some brand new stuff!

Feeling a little naughty?
Merry XXX-mas!

[Shop now on Cafepress]
[Shop Now on Zazzle]

Forget about keeping "Christ" in "Christmas"...
Keep the HO in HOLIDAY

[Shop Now on Cafepress]
[Shop Now on Zazzle]

Show what's important to you with our "Equality" line...

All I Want for Christmas is Equality


[Shop Now]


All I Want for Hanukah is Equality


[Shop Now]


And something non-denominational...

[Shop Now]

For non-seasonal "equality" items, check out the rest of our Gay Rights items:



[Shop Now]

*Note: The "time to re-define" design is no longer Prop 8-specific.

Give the gift of Chlamydia (but not literally)...

Got Chlamydia?

[Shop Now]

Now 100% More Chlamydia Free!



[Shop Now]

Suck It!

And of course, we still have our entire Suck It Series for political junkies or just anyone else who likes to tell people to suck it! Including our brand new design dedicated to Joe Lieberman:

[Shop Now]



[Shop Now]

Or maybe you just want to show some love... some Vamp Love:


[Shop Now]

Most of these designs are also available on T-shirts and other fun items. Browse our catalog of seasonal items or shop our entire collection of merchandise. If you order today, Cafepress and Zazzle will give you a Free Shipping Upgrade to ensure delivery by Dec. 24 so it's not a bad idea to stock up on last minute gifts as well as cards. Happy holidays!

Joe Lieberman Can Suck It

Do we even have to explain this one?

If you do need some background on this one, start with Media Matters (for facts and transcripts) and then Wonkette (for the dose of humor that you're going to need once you're thoroughly depressed by the facts and transcripts.) And check out our Joe Lieberman Can Suck It store for more products.

Do This Random Santa Voting Thing!

This is too delightfully bizarre and random not to pass along. There's this site called World Christmas Tree - it's a virtual Christmas tree that you can claim a square on, add an avatar, send virtual gifts and cards, and vote for other members to boost them into the tree's "VIP zone". (Because what Christmas tree would be complete without a VIP section, right?) It's virtually festive!

Apparently they're also planning some sort of Christmas Eve Twitter party, so right now they're running a vote for santa campaign where you can vote for the Santa that you want to "host" the party. The choices range from "Gangsta Claus" (no comment) to an Elvis Santa to Homer Simpson as Santa to the current front-runner, House M.D. Santa. We're thinking of throwing our support to the Metrosexual Santa, partly because he's down near the bottom of the list right now so he could use the votes (he's currently tied with Drunk Santa and only two votes ahead of Homeless Santa), but mostly because of his snazzy red blazer. He looks like virtual party host material to us.

Hey, we told you it was random.


*Virtual holiday cheer brought to you by theworldchristmastree.com.

Cosmo makes me defend Daisy de la Hoya!

I almost included this in the last Cosmo Quickies blog, but I was so angry... that I knew I would have too much to say about it.

It's no secret that I am not a fan of Daisy de la Hoya of Rock of Love 2 VH1 reality "fame", including her very own spin-off Daisy of Love. (You guys know we were Team Heather all the way.) But sometimes the writers at Cosmo are so fucked up that I have to defend someone that I don't even like.

Much in the way that they slut-shamed Aubrey O'Day and Pamela Anderson, now there's this from the January 2010 "What Not So Hot"...

Dear Daisy de la Hoya,

We think it's great that you found The One - even with the help of reality TV. But you're not going to hold on to him if you swap spit with chicks for the cameras.... Or maybe that's the only way you can keep him.

Sincerely,
Cosmo

Um... fuck you Cosmo. Just can't resist being your typical, condescending, judgmental slut-shaming selves, huh? There are so many things wrong with this short little "note" to Daisy, that no matter how annoying I think Daisy is... I still can't help but be angry on her behalf.

As short as the advice note is, every few words made me madder and madder... so just let's just dissect it part by part:

We think it's great that you found The One

Um, condescend much? Not only is it annoying the way that Cosmo tries to drill that "The One" bullshit into women, but do we really buy that they think it's soooo great that Daisy de la Hoya found love?

even with the help of reality TV.

What a loser Daisy is that she couldn't find "The One" without the help of reality TV. It would've been way more respectible if she found "The One" the old fashioned way, which is, what, by using one of Cosmo's awesome fun, fearless ways to meet a guy tips? (It's also interesting that they think Daisy really went on reality TV in order to find "The One"... um, hello, does anyone really believe that the "______ of Love" shows are actually about finding love?)

Also, not that it matters, but it doesn't seem that she found "The One" with the help of reality TV anyway. She and Joshua "London" Lee broke up back in September. Way to go on the fact checking Cosmo!

But you're not going to hold on to him if

Let's just stop right there for a sec on the dreaded "if". It doesn't matter what they say after that "if"... the point has already been made. Of course women's lives should revolve around one thing only: men. The first part of our lives must be about finding "The One" and then the second part is all about keeping him.

It doesn't matter what kind of a person you are or all the great things he likes about you... there's always one little "if" that will make him completely change his mind about everything and send him running. Forget being yourself or doing what you feel is right or expecting the person who loves you to accept you for who are... (because really, isn't the myth of "The One" supposed to be about finding the person who is perfect for you?)... nope, you better watch out for that one little "if" or you won't be able to hold on to him.

you swap spit with chicks for the cameras....

Wait. That's the dreaded "if"? ...if you swap spit with chicks for the cameras!? There's so much wrong with that. First of all, look at the picture again:

Sorry it's so blurry. But you can pretty much tell what's going on.

(If you can't, basically they are touching tongues.)

They may be "swapping spit" but they're not exactly making out. It's obvious that they're just goofing around. But what if they were? Isn't it a little homophobic (or at least bi-phobic) to consider this "not so hot". (I'm not suggesting that Daisy is lesbian or bisexual... just sayin'. What's the big deal about two girls kissing?) Seeing as she's single again, she can "swap spit" with whoever the hell she wants.

But even if she still was with "The One"... she found "The One" on a reality show, isn't is possible that he's as much of a camera whore as she is and therefore wouldn't care if she wants to "swap spit with chicks for the cameras"? I mean, they met in front of the cameras... so let's not be hypocritical.

And lastly, a lot of guys would probably be psyched if their girl friends would swap spit with chicks from time to time (I'm not going to comment on whether or not that's a good thing, just saying it's not necessarily going to chase every guy away).

Or maybe that's the only way you can keep him.

And... fuck you Cosmo.

All I Want for Hanukah is Equality

You asked and you shall receive! Our All I Want for Christmas is Equality items were such a hit, we wanted to create a design for Hanukah as well.

All I Want for Hanukah is Equality

Check out all of the items in our All I Want for Hanukah is Equality and All I Want for Christmas is Equality stores, as well as our other gay rights/marriage equality and seasonal/holiday items. We're looking forward to continuing to fight for gay rights and equality in New York and beyond in the new year.