Big Thanks To Everyone!

I am proud to announce that from beginning to end, our Sneaky Santa Holiday sale was a raging success. It started with the smooth ballads, boogie and blues stylings of Susquehanna Industrial Tool and Die Co. (Homepage, Myspace) at the Members party:

…continued through an AMAZING Saturday and ended a week later on a cold, cold Sunday. Throughout that time B. and Phreddie Claus held things down as only they can, while the elves Jon, Bryan and Jessica made everything happen. Were it not for a spate of terrible weather, it would have been the best winter sale we ever had (and despite the inclemency, we came real close). Gracious thanks go out to the good people at Earfarm, Slimehag, Whatsupnyc, Blogcritics, the Analog Arts Ensemble, American Towns and Bellook for blogging about the sale. We deeply appreciate the help. We’d also like to thank whoever it was who put us up on Digg. It was great to see that (even if we were Dugg a mere 8 times). So, a big thanks to everyone. We look forward to seeing you at the summer sale in June!

In other news, Jon’s wife Karen made holiday cookies this weekend and Jon brought in a box. Because holiday cookies are by nature ephemeral (much more so than holiday fruitcakes), I took a moment to make a festive holiday scene out of them for everyone to enjoy before they’re gone:

It’s diorama-esque in its majesty, isn’t it? Anyhow, they’re delicious and Phreddie will be thrilled that today the cookie hustle came to him. Thanks Karen!

Larry King Live From Death Row

From CNN’s webpages: “It’s another Larry King Live exclusive! Damien Echols’ interview from Death Row. Does he belong in jail at all? Evidence – or lack of it – has many asking questions in this controversial case involving the murders of three boys in 1993.” Anybody who read my first West Memphis Three post, or the follow-up will know I’ll be watching for sure. And you should too, if you are interested in the story of three teenagers who were convicted of murder on the basis of their record collections. Wednesday night at 9 on CNN.

– Jonny

Yeah, so I watched.  Not surprisingly, Damien came off as quiet, thoughtful and articulate.  Larry King presents an image of a senile troglodyte with questionable fashion sense.  So far so accurate.  Why this smug, wizened egoist can’t just retire and do his pointless show from poolside at the Polo Lounge for an audience of none, and why CNN continues to pimp him as a star are two questions that will persist.  King’s tin ear as an interviewer, his evident ignorance, and CNN’s confused interstitials leading into breaks were some heavy hurdles to overcome, but Damien did a remarkable job holding the story together.  More time could have been spent detailing how shot full of holes the prosecution’s “theory” has become (especially the significance of animal predation as the cause of what at the trial was described as “satanic ritual abuse”) but that would have required a journalist, or at least curious human, which is way beyond Larry’s skill set.

Whatever.  The idea was to raise awareness (again) and get a few more people involved.  I hope that’s what is happening.  Hearing Damien talk about his marriage is enough to tear your heart out, and of course that’s what Larry King Live is all about, but there is more going on here than melodrama.  Please read the defense’s latest motion for a few more facts if you are interested at all.