Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Time to stock up on sin

New Hampshire alarmist Cyndi Desrosiers has apparently decided that a Hallmark card touting wine as "liquid clothes remover" (which, frankly, I think would be an excellent marketing campaign for all wine) is inciting local teens to cavort in the streets.

You know what is MUCH more likely to lead to teen sex in seacoast New Hampshire and other parts of northern New England: Allen's Coffee Brandy. Don't worry Cyndi, they check IDs pretty closely at the state liquor store. Even mine ... and oh look, wine is on sale.

Bringing culture to the cards

Robert Jeffers' card company, Lyrics Personals, is working to keep it real. Lyrics strives to reach out to the younger, urban market in a way few of the giants are.

"You have a lot of cultures that aren't represented in the greeting card industry. They have to go buy what they can find," said Jeffers, 31, who also writes and takes pictures for his line. "You're not going to see a picture of the projects on a Hallmark or American Greetings card."

Angel kisses someecards

Someecards has raised a $350,000 seed round from Google’s former "Head of Special Initiatives" and generally brilliant guy Chris Sacca. Smart move. The site is now averaging 1.5 million unique visitors a month. And it remains funny as hell.

Tasty things were meant to be licked

I missed Ben & Jerry's cone day. It stopped last night at 8 p.m. last night -- and I even saw a participating shop and walked on by... Oh, and I have an "issue" with lactose. This, however, has not stopped me in the past.

Tonight (run out right now, readers) is Baskin-Robbins' 31 Cent Scoop Night to benefit the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. So, go eat some soft serve, even if it gives you a stomach ache.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Is it Mother's Day again, already?

Nearly every married woman I know over the age of 27 is either 1) trying to get pregnant, 2) pregnant or 3) just had a baby -- so I can't possibly give them ALL cards this year, as much as I would love to. Instead, I will focus on a card for MY Mom. Lover of the Beatles, walks in the woods, sweets, premium dipping oil and overflowing Christmas stockings. Former competitive skier, bread baker and sometime model. And a great giver of cards herself.

I'll be home for Mother's Day this year. I'm working on a food piece for Maine Food and Lifestyle (my most recent piece was on vodka...) and after a few days of driving around the state eating chowder, blueberry pie, mac-n-cheese with hot dogs and lots of beans, we'll settle in for a nice meal -- and the presentation of many cards.

Some contenders:

-- First there were the music cards (I now own several) -- and now Hallmark has RECORDABLE music cards. Confused? Watch a (really lame) demo online.

-- She does finally check e-mail nearly every day ... so perhaps a little sock puppet opera.

Or .... what else? Is Mother's Day so sacred that there are no fun greeting cards out there?

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Honk if you love cheese

You probably didn't know that April is Grilled Cheese month. And you probably didn't know how much Doreen and I love cheese. In fact, if we didn't already have a mascot (aka Baxter), we would probably have a mascot that was a grilled cheese sandwich with legs ... or something (this is why I'm not the designer).

So, if you love cheese as much as the ladies at PEPCards do, then let us know. Oh, and let Kraft know too. They may reward you with FREE FROMAGE. We'll probably just rejoice by sharing our favorite recipes for fondue.

Damn, this posting makes me crave Mt. Tam and a box of lactaid.