The Scrawl

Barry and I thank you for reading.

UMCOR is the United Methodist Committee On Relief and an organization I know and trust. Both the mission trip I did in Texas in 2008 and the mission trip I did in Iowa in 2009 were groups that worked through UMCOR and I was impressed by their professionalism, their efficiency, and their ability to organize volunteers to do real hands-on work. Even more importantly, they genuinely care about the people they’re helping. Make your donation count 200% when you join Barry and me in supporting UMCOR’s Haiti relief.

Scrawlers will match our readers’ total donations to UMCOR, dollar-for-dollar, up to $200. Together, we can raise up to $400 to help people in immediate dire need. If you haven’t donated yet, here’s a great way to get started. If you’ve already donated, amazing, we’re hoping you can give just a little bit more. Remember, every little bit helps. We’ll even sweeten the deal: one random donor will receive a $10 Amazon.com gift card.

Here’s how to participate in the Scrawlers dollar-for-dollar Haiti relief fund:

1. Click thru to the UMCOR donation website.

2. Make your donation in any amount. UMCOR is a registered 501(c)(3) charity. All gifts are tax deductible.

3. Let us know you donated to UMCOR by leaving a comment on this blog post with the amount you donated. We’re using the honor system on this one, so play nice. (Note: If you’re reading this on our Facebook note feed, PLEASE be sure to make your comment at the blog, not Facebook. Cool? Cool.)

This opportunity ends on January 31, 2010 at 11:59pm CST or when readers donate $200 total, whichever comes first. On February 1, we’ll randomly select and announce the winner of a $10 Amazon.com gift card (one entry per person, the amount you donate has no impact on your chances of winning the gift card).

Help Haiti Now, Help Haiti Later

The most important thing to keep in mind about Haiti relief, or any relief effort, is the help these people will need in the years to come. For example, the Texas mission trip I did in 2008 was to help repair homes damaged by Hurricane Rita in 2005 – three years before we got there. I remember being overwhelmed by how much work was still left to be done and how much remains. I can’t imagine what Haiti’s going to need come one, five, even ten years from now. Let your donations of time and money continue long past this moment of initial attention.

Can’t Donate Money? Donate Time Through “Feed My Starving Children”

We know not everyone can give money right now so here’s an easy and fun way to give your time. If you’re in the Twin Cities or Chicago metro areas, we encourage you to give your time to Feed My Starving Children. This organization asks volunteers to package well-balanced meals that go out to people in need in over sixty countries, including their number one mission site – Haiti. They have one million meals on the ground in Haiti and hope to get another three million there as soon as possible. I’ve volunteered at FMSC several times with my youth group and it’s both touching and really fun.

This is an experiment.

Last thing. This moment of philanthropy is an experiment, one we’re hopeful about. There’s potential for more opportunities like this and we hope you’ll continue to support Scrawlers as we try giving time, attention, and a little cash to causes we care about. Keep your creative spark alive at Scrawlers and we hope to hear from you this month.

Thanks,

Nate Melcher and Barry Hess

Scrawlers.com co-founders

For those reading my blog on Facebook, I’d appreciate your leaving comments on my blog instead of Facebook, thanks.

I enjoy Conan O’Brien more than Jay Leno and that clearly influences how I feel about this whole late-night debacle. He’s who I watched when I stayed up late in high school to do homework and he’s who I watched in college when the night was just beginning and he has been who I watched in my young adulthood. When he took over The Tonight Show, I was thrilled, and when his first musical guest was Pearl Jam – my favorite musicians of all time – I knew he understood his demographic exactly.

Or, more accurately, me.

When Conan started making high schoolers and college students laugh in 1993, Pearl Jam was the biggest band in the universe. Now here they were, in 2009, kicking off a new Tonight Show. And that’s not the only musician I can link Conan to, either. Check out this list of the guests and musical guests from his days on Late Night. For me, I take note of some of my favorites, all appearing in just the first two seasons of the show: Radiohead, Blur, Reverend Horton Heat, Weezer, Jars of Clay, They Might Be Giants, Meat Puppets, Better Than Ezra, The Goo Goo Dolls, Lisa Loeb and Nine Stories, and don’t forget Ben Folds Five made its national television debut on Late Night. ((According to the link, this was on December 26, 1995. I wonder if they sang “Brick” with it’s line “Six a.m. Day after Christmas…”)) As for Pearl Jam, blogger Chris Hanaka recalls that they only appeared on Letterman (SNL aside) until they were the premiere musical guests for The Tonight Show in 2009, and I’d argue appearing on Letterman, Conan’s Late Night predecessor, is miles closer to Conan than Leno.

And what of The Tonight Show’s musical guests from that era who I enjoy and are still kickin’ it old school? Pearl Jam, Green Day, Alice In Chains, Incubus, Wilco, Chris Cornell, The Flaming Lips, Weezer, The Brian Setzer Orchestra. And that’s in the show’s first seven months. Check out the whole list here. ((If you ask me, the only real misstep was Creed, but I suppose that’s pretty subjective.)) These bands scream me. I cannot recall musical artists who appeared on Leno because I either tuned out before they came on or I didn’t hear of anyone who really compelled me to watch (or it’s possible I was just unaware or am missing artists in my mind). This roster and the previous Late Night roster help me know Conan is shooting for my demographic and that’s okay with me.

Read more…