h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The Reverend Billy's Ten Commandments:

(all grammar and punctuation issues are [sic])

1. Thou Shalt Not Shop 'til You Drop

2. Thou Shalt Not Go so deep into Debt that you are paying the Banks next summer. That is Hell and Damnation.

3. Thou Shalt Stop Pretending that this is NORMAL. The Buy-As-Much-As-You-Can-Christmas was invented by retailers.

4. Stop Shopping and Start Giving. We all know What a Good Gift Feels Like. Its not about what you buy.

5. Save Your Soul From the Axis of Consumer Evil! #1-Big Boxes #2-Child Slave Labour #3-Sexual Abuse at The Feet of Three Story High supermodels.

6. Thou Shalt Have NO False Idols: Playstation 3 is Not as Good as Real Life. Thats why we'll forget about it by New Years Day.

7. Thou Shalt not Trample Thy Neighbor for Sale Items.

8. Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor's Motorized Ashtrays or Shopping Channel Zirconian Chandeliers.

9. Remember! You don't have to buy a gift to give a gift.

10. Lets save Christmas from the SHOPCOALYPSE! Are we shopping Ourselves to Death? Christmas makes intense Plastic Trash and Burns lots of Fossil Fuel. Its the LAKE of HELLFIRE!

Below is some statistics on American spending during Christmas and on the back is a guide to being a better consumer. And if you do a video search for "reverend billy" you'll find some great clips on YouTube and Google Video.

That's great!!

BTW, did you know that the link to their Yahoo! group is defunct? I'm in the process of getting rid of 30+ years of STUFF, a prelude to a move to the San Francisco bay area, and I could use some advice! Also, it'd be nice to find some like-minded souls when I get up there!

Which Yahoo group - the Compact? Odd, but oh well. All good things must end. They probably quarrelled over a remodelling or something. Alternatively, they've moved on to bigger and better things. There's bound to be a San Fran freecycle chapter, and a friendly "Hi I'm here" may get many equally friendly replies.

I'm currently with one of the L.A. chapters, and I've joined one of the SF area ones, just yesterday.

There's even a Green Fesival up there the weekend after I land...I'm sure I'll meet up with like-minded folks in a place like that.

LA to San Fran...

Green Festival sounds promising. And there's bound to be a Really Really Free potluck thingy coming up - when you're green, it can't be too hard to find friends.