In My Younger Days...

Quincy Jones - Summer in the City

This song came on in the iTunes shuffle while Nelson and I were at the shop on Tuesday. You might recognize the intro as the sample from The Pharcyde's '92 single, Passin Me By. I have to say, 1992 was a great year for hip hop.

_Daniel

Shopping Activism

Apolis Global Citizen - Indigo Wool Chore Jacket

The holiday season is a time when our values are put into practice. The activities that we most cherish during these winter months are more or less a direct reflection of our values. For some, the highlight of this season is spending time with loved ones, for others, it's shopping for friends and families and yet for some, its winter sports. These three activities may seem different on the surface, but they are similar on a deeper level because these activities involve some form of bonding and community building which could result in more empathy, understanding and compassion for our fellow man.

Why is this seasonal zeitgeist of compassion for humanity so short lived? How can we hold on to this special form of compassion indefinitely? It's shame that this feeling of kindness happens only once a year. Temporary compassion can't result in any positive far-reaching global changes because there isn't enough time to nurture it. We have to be compassionate and empathetic year round and we must understand it and hone it into something tangible and constructive so that it effects the community globally not just locally.

It is clear that our fundamental values are for building a better community worldwide and for the making the world a better place for future generations, but more often or not, our values are either squandered, misdirected or not fully realized. I don't have an answer to combat our apathy towards our values and our apathy towards our fellow man. I do believe that I have a few good tips that we can all put into practice starting this holiday season.

You can start by supporting your local businesses if you must shop and do research on the origin of your purchases. I am not going to demonize foreign made goods and praise American made products because it is more complicated than that. For example, companies such as Tom's Shoes and Apolis Global Citizen use foreign supply chains and manufacturing but are actually philanthropic in nature. Other companies that pride themselves as being made domestically such as the automakers of Detroit have their priorities in profit. I will not squander my time in talking about the pros and cons of for profit companies at this time.

Shopping smart this holiday season just the start. Active thinking about your purchases will eventually lead to the purging of passive activism.

_Nelson

Penfield Fall/Winter 2010 Collection

Penfield Fall/Winter 2010 from Shot by JFK on Vimeo.

Department Seventeen will be carrying Penfield this coming Spring. While cruising the Internet, I found this video of their Fall/Winter 2010 collection, which got me pretty excited for their 2011 line. We love our outerwear over here and Penfield's got the ish.

_Daniel