We have the cutest new card collection in stock at copacetique today! Please click by and check out the designs by Portland duo Robot Candy. They take original artwork, hand-carve stamps, and then they hand-stamp each individual card… phew! The process is so worth it though, because just look at how cute these cards are!

I’m so super-excited about the latest addition to the copacetique family: Humblechan! Since getting her collection in at casa de copacetic, I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been getting dressed for the day and thought to myself, “You know what would go perfect with this outfit? That necklace!…” You will feel the same way once you see her work.

Plus, this Canadian cutie donates a percentage of her profits to organizations that help animals! What a warm heart! And even her company name is a combination of her name (Chan) and her kitty’s name (Humble). We send hugs to them both!

We’re absolutely delighted to have cold licorice joining copacetique again with her super-pretty accessories!

Super-astute copacetique shoppers may have noticed her pieces slowly going online all last month — the perfectionist in me couldn’t stop fussing with the pictures, so it took me forever to finally get the whole collection on the website! The vintage pieces that Michelle uses in her work are so exquisite, I felt my pictures just weren’t doing them justice… you’ll be so thrilled to see how even prettier these pieces look in person! (That sentence has a lot of “p” words!)

And speaking of the perfectionist lurking inside of me… I’ve been wanting to do some serious maintenance stuff on copacetique, things that are above my pretty-darn-high level of geekiness. If you know of a super-awesome webperson, please let me know! I have a couple of people in mind, but your personal testimonial would be great.

Hooray, we have an awesome new designer joining us today! Join me in welcoming Glamourpuss Creations to copacetique!!!

Anyone who knows me knows I am a sucker for accessories from the 1960’s, which is what totally drew me into her work! She takes components from vintage accessories and re-works them in an updated modern way. So cool! Click on by and check out her designs!

PLUS, we have an old friend returning to copacetique soon (some of her work is already up, if you’re sneaky… just a few more pieces to add), AND an AWESOME new friend coming up soon! And more adorable-ness on the way, as always, but I don’t wanna give away any surprises! Thanks for reading, and stay tuned! ;)

We’re super-happy to announce that Maryland-based designer Art School Dropout has rejoined the cavalcade of cuteness at copacetique! I wish I could remember when Jessee first joined us, but I sure as heck remember how immediately people starting freaking out over her designs. It’s so nice having her aboard again!

And we have so much more around the corner, including another old copacetique friend and a brand-new friend who you’re sure to love, too! Yay!

The always-wonderful Jeremy has brought this awesome new book to my attention!

From the co-author of Zine Scene (yes, featuring copacetic!) comes A La Cart: The Secret Lives of Grocery Shoppers. The cover features a quote from my hero Amy Sedaris, and whoever designed it obviously has great taste in fonts. (Look familiar?)

I don’t know a lot about Twitter, but I like the Fantagraphics Twitter. This cracked me up this morning:

Overheard in the office: Jim Woodring: You never want to criticize your friends’ work. Jason Miles: Well I would. JW: Well you’re an idiot.

HA! Mike, we need more “Overheard in the Office” twitters. And who said they wouldn’t mind being told they look like Gary Busey? Eric??

Faythe of Handmade Nation recently sent out an update, and says the editing on the documentary is coming along, yay! And the book version is in the design edit process as we speak. It’s all pretty gosh darned exciting. And…

… to help Faythe out with funds, she’s got a raffle goin’ on! It will be open through March 26th, and is the first of many monthly fundraisers they plan to hold.

This one contains: the I Heart Felt book, Handmade Nation T-Shirt (you pick size), Handmade Nation Pocket Mirror, 3 Sublime Stitching iron-on transfers, and one skein of handspun yarn from yarnpunk!!

Tickets cost $2, and one winner will be selected at random from entries. Enter as many times as you want, winners will be announced the last week of March and the package will ship thereafter. All proceeds will go towards production cost for film!

So, surely all my crafty/artsy/fartsy friends support Crafters for Critters and send awesome handmade goods to the lovely Miss Melissa, right? Of course you do!

Then, you might already know, but Melissa sent out the call that SASHA Farm, the recipient of the very first round of CFC, is looking for donations for a banquet/silent auction they’re organizing. Please read the message below from Sarah of SASHA Farm, and feel free to contact her directly with any questions.

Hello Crafters!

I am organizing a fundraiser for SASHA Farm in Manchester, Michigan, and I could really use your help. SASHA is the Midwest’s largest farmed animal sanctuary, with over 200 rescued or abandoned animals currently living there. We have abused cats, retired race horses, a boar who was orphaned when his mother was killed in a hunter’s trap, goats rescued from meat markets, two steers who escaped from the slaughterhouse truck, and much more. Our animals come from sad beginnings, but their stories end happily because at SASHA Farm each of our residents is given food, shelter, medical care and lots of love for the rest of their lives.

The fundraiser is a silent auction, and in past auctions handmade items have sold exceptionally well. I’m looking for jewelry, paintings, pet stuff, home goods, anything that will generate bids for the animals. The only guidelines are that donations must be vegan (no wool, feathers, suede, bone, etc) and I must receive all items by April 12, 2008.

SASHA is a 501 ©(3) non-profit, so all donations are tax-deductible. Your website will appear on the list of donors that is part of the evening’s program, as well as on the SASHA website so that auction guests can find your shop. If you have business cards for your shop, send them along and I will display them with your donation.

To learn more about the sanctuary, you can visit the website at www.sashafarm.org, or contact me at silentauction@sashafarm.org.

Thank you so much for your time, I appreciate any help you can provide!

-Sarah Maki

I completely intend to get my butt in gear and send something for this.

Today, I was told I am “the sweetiest at everything!”

It’s the nicest compliment I’ve gotten in a long time, so yes, I’m tooting my own horn. Toot, toot.

Kitten Found After Scampering Into NY Subway 25 Days Ago

The discovery of the resilient 7-month-old kitten was as remarkable as it was unlikely.

Captivated by the tale of the missing pet, track flagman Mark Dalessio and track inspector Efrain LaPorte had been diligently checking the area where Georgia had been spotted by a Con Ed worker on Wednesday.

The two MTA workers combed the rails below Lexington Ave. near 55th St. with a cat’s pajamas of a strategy.

“As I was walking down the track, I was making cat sounds, meowing,” Dalessio told the Daily News. “I heard a ‘meow’ back and I thought it was LaPorte. I thought, ‘Wow, LaPorte is inspired.’ “

“Then I heard it again,” Dalessio said. “I looked down, and said, ‘It’s Georgia!’ “

The frightened feline was taking shelter in a foot-deep metal drain between two tracks when she was spotted.

As Dalessio extended his hand toward the cat, sweet Georgia gave him a lick.

“It was kinda cute,” he said. “I can imagine the fear the cat had with trains going by.”

The track workers called police, and in minutes, NYPD transit cops Sgt. Daniel Green and Police Officer Ilker Ozuk climbed down and rescued the cat.

The cops immediately recognized Georgia’s blue collar from photos shown in The News.

NYC Transit President Howard Roberts hailed the search-and-rescue operation.

“A subway tunnel is a very dangerous place, especially with the third rail,” he said. “I am very happy that we found the cat before she used up all nine lives.”

source: nydailynews.com

Way to go, little kitten! I couldn’t survive in the NY subway system for 25 hours, let alone 25 days. And I’m glad the giant rats didn’t eat you.

So, the groundhog saw his shadow earlier this month, which is supposed to mean six more weeks of winter, but as you can see, I decided to chase the snow away from the website and break out springtime a little earlier. Screw you, groundhog.

To help get you in the mood for spring, I’ve rounded up some of our cutest products, yay! And speaking of cute products…

Welcome to the latest addition to our collective of cute, Destroyed by Design! Each necklace is handcrafted using recycled paper and plastic by St. Louis-native, Shelah. They’re so adorable!

We have more cute stuff on the way! Hopefully the weather in real-life will take its cue from the website, and the sun will come out so I can take better product photos!!!

David Sedaris is releasing his next book, When You Are Engulfed in Flames on June 3rd!

“David Sedaris’s ability to transform the mortification of everyday life into wildly entertaining art,” (The Christian Science Monitor) is elevated to wilder and more entertaining heights than ever in this remarkable new book. Trying to make coffee when the water is shut off, David considers using the water in a vase of flowers and his chain of associations takes him from the French countryside to a hilariously uncomfortable memory of buying drugs in a mobile home in rural North Carolina. In essay after essay, Sedaris proceeds from bizarre conundrums of daily life-having a lozenge fall from your mouth into the lap of a fellow passenger on a plane or armoring the windows with LP covers to protect the house from neurotic songbirds-to the most deeply resonant human truths.Culminating in a brilliant account of his venture to Tokyo in order to quit smoking, David Sedaris’s sixth essay collection is a new masterpiece of comic writing from “a writer worth treasuring” (Seattle Times).

Can’t wait!

It’s Valentine’s Day, a day on which Mr. Al Capone ruined a romantic night out for many diners by massacring them. Died of syphilis, he did, so there is some justice. — Alan Partridge

Alas, I did not receive any chocolate oranges with superficial damage to the packaging.

Steve Coogan-quotes aside, I’m actually having a really horrible day. The guy who killed Adrienne was sentenced today, which is good, but there were things said today in court that weren’t in the original report, and which hurt my heart to read. A friend of mine said that now that justice has been served, maybe it will give me closure and help my heart to heal or something. I dunno, I hope she’s right.

The lovely folks at Matador have directed our attention to the brand new video from The New Pornographers for “Myriad Harbor". I love the animation by Mark Lomond, and am reminded both of The Beatles’ Revolver album and of Kid from Kid N’ Play.

It’s almost too late, but super-happy birthday to Nico, our awesome warehouse manager, shown here with the equally-awesome Ms. Rhea. Pic taken by the also-awesome Miss Kaela, at the Fantagraphics Bookstore!

I love my Fantagraphics family.

Ugh, I am SO BAD. I have a million things to do right now, but instead I’m spacing out on the couch doing this iTunes meme thing I got from the handsome Dave White.

It’s funny that such a meme should come up, right as I am in the process of deleting music from my laptop. (I had no memory left on my hard drive. Every time I opened Photoshop, my computer died.) But, oh well, here we go!

How many songs total: 9,636
How many hours or days of music: 23.9 days
Most recently played: “We’re An American Band” by Yo La Tengo
Most played: “Leave It Gone” by Archer Prewitt
Most recently added: “Supernatural Superserious” by R.E.M. (in my defense, I only downloaded it to make a copy for airplay at KEXP!)

Sort by song title:
First song: “A-Hunting We Will Go” by Hem
Last song: “?” by Movietone

Sort by time:
Shortest song: it’s not a proper song but… “Sweet Zombie Jesus” by Professor Hubert Farnsworth, 3 seconds
Longest song: again, not really a song, but “The Hero Who Saves the Day” by Patton Oswalt, one hour, 11 minutes, 1 second

Sort by album:
First album: Accelerate, R.E.M. (ack! it returns to haunt me!)
Last album: 69/96, Cornelius

Search the following and state how many songs come up:
doom: 15
death: 37
vomit: 22
fuck: 8
kill: 20
cake: 128

I like how I have 128 cake songs, and don’t even get close to half of that on the other words. Dave had 138 “kill” songs, but he listens to Norwegian death metal, like “Metalocalypse” but for serious. But yeah, none of these results are exactly shocking, are they?

i voted for cupcakes.

p.s. see you tonight at ellen’s book party at the fantagraphics bookstore!

Looks like I’m heading to my very first SXSW this year. Yes, my first! I know that’s surprising seeing as how I frickin’ lived in Austin for a few years, but honestly, SXSW was such a nightmare that we decided we’d rather hide out in the apartment, ordering pizza and watching “Sifl N Olly” instead of trying to attend. Plus, the whole set-up is kinda unfair for the general public. Even if you shell out the big bucks for a wristband, if some industry schmuck shows up and wants to get into the same show as you, they get first priority while you have to stand outside in some long-ass line in the blistering Texan sun.

Well, now I’m a schmuck, whee, so Austin, here I come! Here are the shows I am absolutely freaking out over:
• Antietam (New York NY)
• Half Japanese (Austin MI)
• Thurston Moore (Northampton MA)
• My Dad is Dead (Chapel Hill NC)
• Portastatic (Chapel Hill NC)
• Times New Viking (Columbus OH)
• WHY? (Oakland CA)
• Yo La Tengo (Hoboken NJ)

Looking at the list of bands I want to see, I feel like, “Hey, it’s 1988 all over again!” but I can’t help it. I am completely beside myself that I’m going to get to see My Dad Is Dead! And Half Japanese! I’m positively giddy!!!

Plus, queso queso queso.

I was so sad to read that actor Roberto Gari, who played Guy Blank on “Strangers With Candy", passed away recently. Here’s more info, quoted directly:

Roberto Gari, an actor with several Broadway credits who also had a career as an artist, died Jan. 22 in Manhattan of a heart attack. He was 87.

Mr. Gari, born in Brooklyn, was on the stage by the age of four, appearing in vaudeville under the name of Jackie Hayes. He danced with Vera-Ellen in the 1944 Broadway production of A Connecticut Yankee and later landed the lead role in the same production. His other Broadway credits included Sadie Thompson and Nellie Bly. The latter was produced by Eddie Cantor, his father-in-law.

In between his stage debut and Broadway debut, Mr. Gari attended the Art Students League, studying under Will Barnett and Ethel Schwabacher. His work was vaguely impressionistic and often took popular figures and subjects as its subject. His most famous work was the well-known painting of Judy Garland that was on display in the lobby of New York’s Palace Theatre for decades. It now rests in the permanent collection of the Museum of the City of New York.

In recent years, Mr. Gari, possessed of a long, angular face, prominent nose and droopy white moustache, received much work in prominent print ads, and played Amy Sedaris’ dead, rigor mortis-stricken father Guy Blank on Comedy Central’s “Strangers With Candy.” Mr. Gari’s marriage to Janet Cantor ended in divorce. In addition to his son Brian, of Manhattan, Mr. Gari is survived by his daughter Amanda Abel of Sherman Oaks, CA, and granddaughter Allison Abel of Sherman Oaks.

Source: playbill.com

I think it’s sweet that he has a separate section for “Strangers With Candy” on his website, even though he had no lines on that show whatsoever. There’s a cute pic of him and Amy on his site, too.