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Wednesday, March 1, 2017

Let's Boycott Boycotting

I guess it's a part of the aging process, but I often have occasion to reflect on simpler times.

I wrote a while ago about the state of perpetual outrage that people seem to be in. It's quite puzzling.

But the other day, I saw where someone said they were going to "boycott" some store or fast food place because of some micro-aggression the business had perpetrated.

Just as people used to get dressed up for dinner, wear hats, and engage in assorted other bygone behaviors, they also used to be able to quit buying things without wailing, gnashing teeth and boycotting something. They could quietly just stop being a customer, with no drama whatsoever and without informing 1500 of their closest friends.

But now - NOW we must BOYCOTT ALL THE THINGS. And we MUST TELL EVERYONE ABOUT OUR BOYCOTT.

(Did you know that the word Boycott is actually a person's name? A poor, put-upon Irishman who was shunned for trying to evict some tenants who didn't pay their rent. True story.)

I would think that people are in a perpetual state of hyper-adrenalinatedness (that is an awesome made-up word, by the way) with all the boycotting everyone is doing. I think you'd probably live longer if you just peacefully and quietly stopped spending your money where you didn't want to spend it.

And, by the way - my friend Deborah Smith - who also holds the record for attendance at my retreats - 100% and going strong - still DOES wear beautiful hats. She's known at her church as "the hat lady."

It is people like Deborah that give me hope that we can once again bring back some old civilities and have less drama in the world.

You know who LOVES drama?

Cats.

Or maybe it's just my cats. Actually - okay - I will tell you - it's just Maddie. Or as I call her - DRAMADDIE.

When she and Splotchy were kittens - sometimes Splotchy would hurt his leg acting like a nut and jumping off something and he'd limp a little. Maddie would actually FAKE A LIMP until he stopped limping. I tried to think of why a cat would do a thing like that. I wondered if it was sort of protective - like if all the little kitties were limping, maybe the one limping one wouldn't get picked out of the herd by a predator - the predator would just think they ALL walked funny, and not that one was injured.

But I settled on drama as Maddie's motivation.

Someone - I don't remember who - posted about this adorable Project Bin stamp set on Facebook, and I think it was all of ten seconds between when I saw it and when I ordered it. I love these fat cats. I also love the owner of the Project Bin. Incredibly nice lady.

So I colored this for the first day of the 30 Day Coloring Challenge hosted by my friend Kathy.
Feline Good by Understand Blue with video tutorial



Isn't he hilarious? I colored him with Prismacolor Pencils, and die cut him with the matching dies, and then just took my watercolor paper folded it in half to make a small notecard, and did Wrinkle-Free Distress on the front with the inks listed above. Now the price on the set I bought is only $10 more than what I paid at Dick Blick right now - so it's still a great price - but also you can buy those pencils in open stock there, so I listed the individual colors as well. So if you want to watch me color this fat little guy - here's a video.




Here's an example for you of how not to flamboyantly boycott something and yet still solve a problem. My desk has for its base two Bisley filing cabinets. You can see them here. In the bottom drawer of the right-hand one, I have hanging folders that I keep my MISTIs in, so I can just grab them quickly while I'm filming. However, the folders have just sagged and ripped and the hangy things are bent all to heck, and I finally had enough. WITHOUT boycotting, I ordered these from Amazon, and I love them. They are plastic, and much sturdier. My MISTIs and I are much happier.
http://amzn.to/2lXNK3F

So it can be done in a drama-free way. And substandard folder people won't get my money anymore, but no one will get yelled at or about. 

I encourage you to boycott boycotting. It will make the world a better place. 

Also - you should wear more hats. 

And get more cats. 

And eat more ice cream.

I think that's it. 

Loveyameanitbye.

14 comments:

  1. Hahaha. Did Maddie really do that? I love your short stories and fat cat!!!!!

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  2. Thanks for another great post I agree with you!

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  3. Ok, first of all,CAN'T HAVE ANY MORE CATS! Second, my husband and parents laugh at me when i wont buy a product if the commercial is insulting. It's my own personal (quiet) protest.

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  4. Thank you for the shout out, Lydia! Love what you did with the fat cat, too! You're so awesome.

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  5. Isn't this a fun set??? I even helped with the creation of one of the sentiments!! I saw your adorable card on FB and had to come right over for a visit! Love that fabulous background you gave your cute cat! I agree the owner of TPB is super sweet! We have daily cat drama here. They like me to believe they can't stand one another but I wake in the night with them mere inches from one another. They sit at the bay wind i in exactly the same pose less then 6 inches apart. Maybe there is hope for less drama between them one day?

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  6. Your little cat is adorable Lydia. I love colouring with Prisma but I noticed you didn't use the gamsol for blending. gxs0i (CC landed on the keyboard) This is where I have trouble, is the blending, so I will try your technique instead. I love cats by the way ... it is my bird who would be threatened!

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  7. Another one of your posts becomes my fave. I so agree with your thoughts on boycotting, hats, ice cream and more. Seriously. You need to publish a book consolidating posts like this. And i love your fat cat card.

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  8. Great card, Lydia! Love the background you created for your fat little kitty. I totally get what you're saying about feline drama. Your limping kitty story reminded me of our cat Garfield, who went to the Rainbow Bridge several years ago. When we were moving back to Texas from Virginia, we got harnesses for the cats, to help us keep them from running all over creation during the trip. When we put the harness on him, he started falling over & limping, like it was too tight. So we loosened the harness. And he continued falling over & limping. We finally figured out, after practically removing the harness by loosening it so much, that it was all an act so we would feel sorry for him & not make him wear the harness! Guess what--he wore the harness. Our three current cats can create drama, too. Pepper especially, with either Zipper or Barney--hiss/spit city! But then, she'll lie right next to either or both of the boys on my mom's lap. Go figure! When she does that, I like to joke that the end times truly are upon us. Lions & lambs and all that. LOL Anyway, thanks for sharing your artwork! :) ~ Andrea

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    1. OH MY GOSH that is hysterical!!!! Maddie used to do the falling over thing with the little plastic cone from the vet! Little punks! :D

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  9. I love your card and your post(s). While I might not always comment, I always look forward and enjoy reading your posts and see your works of art! I also agree with you - I don't boycott something because some people decide to boycott something for some reason. I am my own person and if I don't eat somewhere or partake in some store it's because I don't like their food or I don't like how their service is. Simple as that. :-)
    Hope your kitty is all better now - even the faker! LOL

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    1. I agree. If you're a chicken place - do you make good chicken? If so, that's all I require :) Thanks for commenting!

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  10. A super cute card Lydia and a great stamp & die set!
    I don't Boycott places, I just "don't DO certain places!"
    As for your cat, I can picture her faking the limp. LOL We had a cat, M.T. (short for multi toes), for 21 years and when our children were young our son, Brennan, could not help himself but from time to time he'd try and put his sister's doll clothes on M.T. Needless to say, he liked it as much as he liked a bath! Eventually, he knew when my son was going to have a little fun so rather than doing the chase he'd just flop down on the floor and let our son dress him but then he refused to get up! When Brennan was finished dressing M.T. he'd have to physically stand the cat up. As soon as Brennan let go, M.T. just let himself fall like a rag doll over on his side. LOL (I felt for the cat because Bren WAS relentless when he was in a teasing mood but it WAS funny to see! HAHA) Cats, definitely have Purr-sonality!

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  11. about the boycotting. It depends. I won't publicly boycott a company if I just don't like the product. However if a company or person is doing something that is harmful to society then I happily join boycotts and don't mind urging others to join me. It's a case by case. I wouldn't want to harm a company simply because I don't care for their ink formulation, or the taste of a box of cereal. I hope this makes sense!!!

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