I know this was mentioned in the other ME Day thread but because of the quick deadline, I wanted to start a thread.

Julesong | December 08, 06:49 CET

I am not drawing the winner tonight the time is the finishing time for the raffle, the winner will be announced on Sunday.

RavenU | December 08, 07:01 CET

Yeah! I got more pencils! Anything we can do... contest or not... should be done!

Shelly | December 08, 07:12 CET

I've seen the bag. Take it from me, it's covered with signatures.

zz9 | December 08, 07:21 CET

Miss Mutant Enemy Day sounds like some kind of whacked-out beauty contest.

Which, on reflection, would be incredibly fun!

missb | December 08, 07:23 CET

Won't everyone who paid have only one receipt, no matter how many pencils they bought? RavenU, how are you handling this? Mmmm, bag.

[ edited by Suzie on 2007-12-08 04:32 ]

Suzie | December 08, 07:31 CET

Suzie, the receipt is just verification of the ammount of boxes you bought. When it comes to the raffle your name gets entered once for each box purchased.

RavenU | December 08, 08:28 CET

Hi peeps -- hijacking the thread for a mo to say how inspirational today was. Nobody expected the kind of numbers we saw, or the energy (or the sun), yet the whole event was still organized and focussed -- a real protest. Thank you all, especially the ringleaders -- only some of whose names I know.

As you may have heard, the AMPTP walked out of the negotiations today, ensuring a job-free Christmas for everyone. I knew they planned to do this and I'm still paralyzed with rage. We're in this for the long haul. Today's picket was an actual joy, when we couldn't have needed it more. As Tim so eloquently put it, "We're out here with the people we really work for." It's gonna get really rough for a lot of people, but the studios are not going to break our union. It's a lot easier to stand, knowing we don't stand on our own. Bless you all.

I signed the bag. The bag is cool. Buy the pencil, maybe get a bag (or a drunken phone-call, don't forget that!) Stay with us. Stay informed, and please please tell your friends, family, postman, guy at bar who makes a crack, anyone who'll listen, what's going on here. They're not gonna read it in the papers.

I'm on to Boston next week, and judging by today's events, it won't be the last city I visit. The more of you I get to thank in person, the better. I'm too tired to be either funny or articulate, but my gratitude is very very real.

Now, on to more bag-chat! -j.

joss | December 08, 09:36 CET

Bills got paid and I'm broke for a few days, damn it. I hope there'll be a pic of the scribbled over tote so I can see what I'm missing out on.

Joss, see you in Boston!

Love's Bitch | December 08, 10:01 CET

For those waiting who have see the before shot of the pristine bag, well here's the after shot, with over 30 Whedonversian signatures on it.

As of 10pm PST - I have over 1200 entries.

Those who have been waiting to see the fully signed bag, well now you have just under 2 hours left.

I would just like to say thank you to all those wonderful people who signed the bag, and I hate to hear the news that the AMPTP walked out on the talks. But I think after they hear about today and see that the fans are not swayed by the hype. Maybe they will realize that the writers are not alone, and the consumers are with you.

RavenU | December 08, 10:20 CET

Joss, judging by the number of people who honked as they drove past the writers have quite a bit of support in town. People driving everything from beat up trucks to brand new Lexuses, Lexi, Lexus's, Mercedes were very vocal in their support.

zz9 | December 08, 10:33 CET

Thanks for the posting the photo, RavenU. It's positively beautiful!

Love's Bitch | December 08, 10:47 CET

http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/ The before count: 489,024 pencils sold as of 12/07 10:12 am

Anonymous1 | December 08, 11:01 CET

It was absolutely amazing being a tiny part of such a massive fan turnout and chatting with a wide range of really cool people at the picket and picnic. But for me, the real highlight of the day was seeing The Tote Bag in person. Trust me, photos just don't capture the almost ethereal beauty and grace of The Tote Bag. While we didn't have the opportunity to speak (didn't want to bother it when it was busy with people far more important than myself), I was moved just basking in its presence. It's truly magic, folks.

Lady Brick | December 08, 11:05 CET

Bought more pencils since I couldn't make it there today. I 'm glad that joy was brought to some war-weary faces by my fellow fans and saddened by the lack of humanity shown by the AMPTP... will send more postcards and buy more pencils.

Keep on fighting the good fight.

digitalMindy | December 08, 11:15 CET

That is a truly fine bag RavenU.
Great idea--excellent execution.

jcs | December 08, 11:19 CET

Thank you for posting the picture of the tote RavenU, thank you to everyone who posted pictures: they are worth a thousand words (particularly when pencils are down!).

It is disheartening that the AMPTP walked out of the talks, again, but they are under pressure too. It isn't only the writer's on the picket lines who feel the pressure. Remember that the stock prices are going down and advertisers are getting nervous, so the studios & networks cannot hold out forever (they only pretend that they can).

embers | December 08, 11:49 CET

I did actually mention it on the front page earlier.

Simon | December 08, 12:15 CET

Pay day meant I could finally buy me some pencils so hopefully it was good timing on my part.

I'm kind of hoping for the drunken phone call, because then I might permaybehaps wheedle a few more Goners details out of Joss. Or even persuade him to add a llama or two to Mia's neighborhood. I could certainly believe that llamas are endemic to places with mystical underbellies! ;-D

cabri | December 08, 12:33 CET

Hey All!

As this is a 'buy this cool bag' thread (and I say there arent enough of them!!) I thought I would try and up the price by letting everyone know that I recently bought a yummily autographed Buff poster (ebay Item: 260168700230) and it was the offical COOLEST thing I ever bought.
It hangs on my wall with pride. The only thing its missing, sadly, is Joss himself. Oh... and I would of loved Emma Caulfield on it too, but :( oh well.

Maybe they will come to Australia one day, and sign it then :D

BID ON!

Beren77 | December 08, 13:37 CET

I gather that the collapse of talks happened at some point while a number of us were at La Cantina and then the movie, because as I sit here at 3:45 AM, it's the first I've heard it.

The One True b!X | December 08, 15:45 CET

Read a few blogs about ex studios negotiators and their standard tactics. Stuff like giving hope for an early resolution and then withdrawing it to dispirit the strikers was quite high on the list.

Here's the thing: it can't work when you know that's what they're doing. And because of this collection of wires and tubes and the people holding it all together, the writers know, we know. Knowledge is power. I think that makes us mighty. Again ;).

Saje | December 08, 16:37 CET

Hey, when Joss posts could that be put as a new thread? That way everyone can see and read it.

Hey, Joss, hope you come to New York City. Lot of Browncoats would turn out for an event.

Dietcoke | December 08, 19:06 CET

Everyone can see and read it as it is ;).

Saje | December 08, 19:20 CET

This is why you need to read everything Dietcoke. Be an avid Whedonesque person already! Seesh! ;)

The bag is awesome. I saw it, loved it, will remember it for always.

BrownCoat_Tabz | December 08, 21:08 CET

Actually Dietcoke you can just check the right hand column of the 'home' page, where it says Joss+post, and that will call up all of his posts so you won't miss any!
Because unlike BrownCoat_Tabz, I just can't read everything.

embers | December 08, 21:32 CET

The bag is cool. Juliet Landau has lovely handwriting.

Tonya J | December 08, 22:07 CET

Thanks, RavenU, for the bag raffle! I caressed the photo of the bag on my computer. I've bought pencils and will buy more pencils. The thought of a drunken phone call keeps me up at night.

For those of you who are broke, please remember my drawing to win a Joss-signed "Serenity" poster at www.lmsdr.org/serenity.php. No donation required.

Jossgod, please consider Florida. It's warm and sunny here.

Suzie | December 08, 22:48 CET

About following purpley posts: I've bookmarked Mr. Sexy Brain's profile page, and check it periodically.

I'm glad to see that the news items covering the break-down of talks do give the writers's side. I'll actually watch the news tonight, to see if TV news spins it (which I suspect they will, or give a bogus "fair" "they both say the other won't negotiate, so who knows?" spin).

I commented on the article on my local paper's website, and suggested someone send Coulter a dictionary with the word 'negotiate' flagged. "We'll talk when you take all of your demands off the table" is NOT negotiating. You freak!

What the writers are asking seems to me UNfair, as it's such a tiny percent. In a just world (yeah, I know, fantasy [sigh]) they'd get a REAL percent of the money made from THEIR work.

How the Senior Partners (I wrongly referred to them as the PTB before) can think that 0% is reasonable is beyond me.

Oh, grr arg again! Why does this site grr arg me half the time? Make that 75% of the time?

tehabwa | December 08, 23:03 CET

Well in fairness it is negotiating, it's just really, really bad negotiating ;).

Saje | December 08, 23:14 CET

Thankyou Joss, ME Day was beyond anything my family and I could have hoped for. It was so awesome to be side by side our hero actors and writers and be there to show the studios they can never win.
RavenU, the bag is truly the coolest thing ever, and all my fellow browncoats, thankyou too for all the superb memories.

Teacherdarling | December 08, 23:53 CET

The site does grr arg a lot because we're too big or busy or whatever for the (shared) database that powers the site. Unfortunately, we are not big or busy enough (read: the advertising doesn't make money enough - and we want to keep advertising pretty low profile, cause we're not doing it for the money, yo) to be able to afford getting our own server and database.

Cool bag.

Caroline | December 09, 03:33 CET

The before count: 489,024 pencils sold as of 12/07 10:12 am

http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/ 517,944 pencils sold as of 12/08 10:11 am

Anonymous1 | December 09, 04:45 CET

I want to purchase more pencils, but someone hacked into my Paypal account and spent $1628.30 with it. Paypal refunded the money, but my account is frozen for the moment. :(

Nebula1400 | December 09, 07:34 CET

That sucks bigtime, Nebula - but can't you also pay with a credit card and bypass your account? I have a PayPal, but it annoyed me, so I never sign in to it and just use their cc option...

QuoterGal | December 09, 08:00 CET

The only credit card I had was my Paypal debit card. :(

I don't do real credit cards.

Nebula1400 | December 09, 08:27 CET

Darn, I had no chance to buy anything before the deadline as I was picketing then picnicking then collapsing. The bag is indeed a thing of beauty and I envy whoever gets it. And huge huge kudos to Lexigeek and Quoter Gal and RavenU and cymerin and JenskiJen and Dreamlogic and Amedawg and the others who worked so hard to get the fans there and organized.

[ edited by Lioness on 2007-12-09 07:05 ]

Lioness | December 09, 10:04 CET

Joss, I'm pretty sure it meant as much to us as it did to you. :)

Samantha | December 10, 00:01 CET

tehabwa, it's Counter and not Coulter, but the conflation is pretty damn funny.

TamaraC | December 10, 21:46 CET

Do we get to know who won the bag so we can say congrats? I looked at Fans4Writers and I don't see anything.

Tonya J | December 11, 06:25 CET