Nobody enjoys being stopped and guilt-tripped on the street by a canvasser, nor is it fun to look at your own dwindling cash-flow and wonder when you’re going to be the one receiving gratuity.  Whether you’ve dropped some loose change in a cup or donated hundreds to charities every year, the reality is that money does make a difference. But I’m not looking to tell you to just donate money.

The truth of the matter is, we’d all like to be actively contributing to solving some of the world’s crises on a day to day basis, but we have mouths to feed, burgers to flip and other things on our agendas. I know there are things in my life, like ultimate frisbee, which doesn’t necessarily contribute to the common good beyond my own interests, but damned if I’m going to quit that while I still have working knees. That’s the glory of charities, you’re donating your money so someone else solves the world’s problems for you. It’s like you’re hiring those dancing brooms from Fantasia to clean up the world.

But by “Do Something for Charity” I don’t just mean donate money. I mean participate in the culture of donating. For example: In March, I am participating in an event called The Big Climb in which I will race up 1,311 steps to benefit The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I’m currently raising money for me team and need $135 more to reach my goal. Click here if you want to help out and donate.  The Big Climb is a fine example of meshing some of what you enjoy (be it running up flights of stairs or running in a marathon, etc.) with contributing to a good cause.

Two other examples of this (which I’ll note are shameless plugs for donations) are The CLAW and The Melon’s charity drive.

The CLAW (or Cartoonists League of Absurd Washingtonians) is a group of Washington based cartoonists who gather to await our robot overlords and prepare for the zombie apocalypse, all the while drawing tons of cartoons and having two awesome meetings a month. While our primary goal is to draw cartoons, we’ve integrated charity into what we do by offering a Young Cartoonists’ Scholarship composed of member dues and donations from local businesses and supporters.

The Melon in its annual drive for support has vowed to send half of all funds raised to Friends of the Orphans Haiti Earthquake Relief fund in honor of Molly Hightower, a native Tacoman who passed in the recent earthquake while working to aid children in need. We’re still looking for support btw .

Both CLAW and Melon are prime examples of integrating charity into what you do already. Not only is this a more active approach which helps promote your different issues and charities, but it’s a hell of a lot more fun.

So, donate to charity. But don’t just donate, do a relay, join a race, start a haircomb enthusiasts group which supports young barbers, I don’t know. Just make charity part of what you do already instead of just dropping a few coins in a cup.

YOUR TURN:

What are some of the events or organizations do you take part in to support charity? What can you recommend to others?

As Chris Van Vechten’s article so candidly presented, it’s time for a change in Washington State and we need to start with our name. Washington State is the most uncreative State name in the country and by changing it to something far more interesting and representative we’d be the first State in history to do so.

Vote for the name which you believe suits Washington best and we will then draft a proposal to the state legislature asking our elected leadership to adopt legislation to formally change the name of our state.  In 2010, The Melon will endorse only those candidates who agree to change the name from Washington to our newly endorsed alternative.

Since graduating college, some of my sparky idealism has worn away. As a result, I’m realizing it’s not as easy to make a serious impact on society as I once thought. For a while, this was a bit of a downer. I still hope to make a lasting impact, as many of us do, but haven’t found out yet where I am best suited to do so.  However, in thinking a lot about this, I came to the realization that there are some easy steps I could do to improve your life and your community and help contribute to a greater good. While this notion isn’t groundbreaking, I thought I’d present some of the ways in which I am trying to make a positive difference day to day in some clear easy steps in hopes that I may inspire others to do the same.

Step 1: Move your money into a Credit Union.

It’s no secret that the greed of Big Banks have not only greatly contributed to the current recession, and furthermore millions of taxpayer dollars have slipped into the hands of BB CEO’s thanks to the botched bailout.  If this is the first you’ve heard of this do a google search and type: I have been living under a rock for the past 2 years. Continuing to leave your money in the hands of Big Banks like Bank of America and Chase only supports a crooked system and crooked businesses. This is why you should pull your money out now and join a local Credit Union.

Credit Unions are locally-based, non-profits which act like co-ops. Which means, when you open an account with one of these banks, you own a piece of the company. Here’s some internet-style bullet points which should make the decision clear.

Why should I join a Credit Union?

1. Not supporting the crooked Big Banks and their economic poison.
2. Credit Unions are local institutions, which means the money stays within the community as opposed to supporting global or national interests.
3. CU’s are non-for-profit, which means they’re not out to make a serious profit. Of course they have to survive, so there are fees, but you know where their interest lies.
4. CU’s are co-ops, which means you own a piece of the company and can vote as to what direction you want the company to move.
5. Better interest rates. You make more money.

So to recap. By joining a CU you’re:  Supporting your community, not supporting a volatile system, and making more money.

When I first considered joining a CU, I was a bit concerned that their online system may not be advanced enough to handle transactions as well as my BB. I was pleasantly surprised that not only did my local CU have a system just as advanced as any BB, they also supported green by rewarding paperless accounts with even better interest rates.

Another concern of mine was receiving money abroad or when out of state. But like all banks, CU’s give you a nifty Debit/Credit card and most of the more established ones have a wide network. My CU doesn’t charge fees anywhere, and I can deposit and withdrawal in most 7/11’s or almost any other CU around the US.

Joining a CU may seem like a stretch at first, but it’s really easy to do. If you’re nervous about it, try moving some of you money first and sit on it for a couple months. You may not realize the impact on your wallet or community right away, but trust me, this is a step in the right direction. (Cue cheesy end of sitcom music.)

If this brief, non-data supported article didn’t convince you to act, maybe Bill Maher will.

Your turn:

Have you joined already joined a Credit Union? Why or why not? Share your experience!

Comic by RR Anderson. Some other CU comics by RR.

Need more convincing?:

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain/article/0/1/1520862/KPLU.Local.News/Credit.Unions

Friend of The Melon, David Tveite has begun presenting his work on “A Regular Dude’s World Atlas, ” a presentation of the world by someone with a really good internet connection. Here’s a clip from one of his hilarious entries:

“Andorra is a thoroughly unimpressive little country of some 88,000 citizens located in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. Andorrans speak Catalan, a language which is kind of like Spanish but not nearly as useful. Andorra was first discovered in 1278, when France was taking a shower and noticed a kind of abnormal growth near its genitals. Distraught, France rushed to the doctor, who assured it that the growth was Andorra, not cancer. France was very lucky this turned out to be correct because relatively speaking, 13th-century oncology wasn’t exactly the most reliable science ever.”

David is only on the A’s right now, but I’m excited to see this develop.

Pecha Kucha Night, devised and shared by Klein Dytham architecture, was conceived in 2003 as a place for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public.

Each presenter is allowed 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds each – giving 6 minutes 40 seconds of fame before the next presenter is up. This keeps presentations concise, the interest level up, and gives more people the chance to show.

more comics at btdcomics.com

It’s time once again to help The Melon see another great year. The costs of The Melon are very limited, our writers offer their own free time and craft their amazing articles/content out of their passion for doing so. But, like all things, there are some costs to maintaining our space and making sure it is meeting out needs, which is why in this drive we’re hoping to meet our goal of $1000 to update The Melon infrastructure and pay for our maintenance costs. We need your help to keep The Melon fresh. As a Melon Supporter, you’ll be added to our supporters list for FIVE WHOLE YEARS. FIVE! What’s more, is we’ll mention you from time to time as a Supporter who makes our content possible. Imagine your logo or name in one of our videos. Yeah, pretty cool.

While we here at The Melon value our content and contributors greatly, and hope you enjoy what we are able to do for the community, we realize there are those with way more need than us. This is why we’ve decided to donate HALF of the total donations received to the Friends of the Orphans Haiti Earthquake Relief fund in honor of Molly Hightower, a native Tacoman who passed in the recent Haiti Earthquake while working to aid children in need. Read more about her here.

Even if we don’t reach our $1000 goal we will still donate half of it to this fund. So please, for The Melon and for those who really need it, help two great programs strive forward and continue making a difference.

We just received word from Jen Drake that one of our guest writers and regular contributor to our old KUPS radio show, Walid Zafar, is now writing for the Huffington Post.

Walid’s Huffington Post bio reads, “Walid Zafar is a writer and researcher for Media Matters Action Network, a progressive research and information center dedicated to analyzing and correcting conservative misinformation coming from politicians and advocacy groups.”

You can read his first Huffington Post article here. Congrats, Walid!

It’s here. Time for all the Melonites to walk the purple carpet and take photos in front of the Hummer/GM backdrop for the last time. Your votes have been tabulated, considered, rejected, re-tabulated and accepted to achieve a 82.5% democratic voice in this year’s Golden Melon Awards. Below are the winners. Congrats to everyone and thanks for another great year.

Interview of the Year:

The Melon Underground – Ep 01

With 6 episodes, The Melon Underground stands as The Melon’s longest running post-KUPS podcast. This episode of TMU featured Tacoma Urbanist, Erik Bjornson and went on to be one of the landmarks in discussion about Tacoma.

Melonite of the Year:

Erik Bjornson

A one time writer for the Melon, many times guest, Erik Bjornson has become just as ingrained in Tacoma lore as has RR Anderson. Erik Bjornson stands out as a first-class citizen for his public action and honest to goodness Tacoma advocacy. What would Tacoma be without Erik Bjornson? I don’t want to find out.

Seedling Award:

Best New Melon Contributor

John Hathaway – New Takhoman

In a lot of ways John Hathaway is the embodiment of Tacoma. Old fashioned, true to himself, gritty and willing to dig through grime to find just what he’s looking for.  When we met John Hathaway in an old dinner, we found him in a 50s gangster hat, dressed in a suit and tie, as if he was about smuggle something. But behind the hat, sharp mustache and focused eyes, John Hathaway is an idealist with a heart. We were pleased to be able to record a podcast with him and help promote the oldest Tacoma comic in existence, The New Takhoman. For his dedication to telling it how it is, and pushing the city to think no matter what, the Seedling Award is far to unimportant an award for John Hathaway. Tacoma should be giving him a medal of honor.

Honorable Mention: Erik Connell

Adam the Alien treats the world with a glimpse of the secret Cartoonists League of Absurd Washingtonians End of Year Ceremony.