Whedonesque : Comments on 22890 : Dollhouse finale delayed from Jan 22nd to Jan 29th.

The Masked Scheduler is a good source, but something more official will no doubt appear soon. The Haiti telethon is definitely happening on the 22nd though.

VaughnOfTheDead | January 15, 18:13 CET

If this is true, at least the delay is for a good reason. I'll still watch on the 29th.

RiverKillsReavers | January 15, 18:16 CET

Masked Scheduler is Preston, the scheduling VP for FOX.

gossi | January 15, 18:20 CET

This works out well for me...not for the poor people in Haiti, obviously, but I'm off to Vienna for the weekend next weekend and was worried about having to avoid spoilers until I can see the episode.

Edited for tact.

[ edited by jamesthegill on 2010-01-15 20:31 ]

jamesthegill | January 15, 18:30 CET

Two quickies:

1) People are really complaining about this online. Dudes, 100,000 people just died, and FOX are giving up the airtime for free to try to help survivors. They're also matching employee donations like for like. It sucks that we've got to wait a week, but if that's a problem for you, it's a high class problem to have.

2) Every other fandom I know is trying to raise money for this one. Except us. Anybody got any clues?

gossi | January 15, 18:34 CET

Can't really complain about this. Looking at what's happening in Haiti, where the epicentre was their capital and took out what little infrastructure they had, is pretty shocking.

zz9 | January 15, 18:35 CET

It's actually very exciting in a way to see the networks banding together for a telethon to help Haiti right now.

Gossi, how have charity drives started in this fandom before?

WilliamTheB | January 15, 18:41 CET

Gossi... I've been trying to think of some sort of whedonesque tie-in for a fundraiser... I know nothing about starting up these kinds of things (and no useful skills like web design)... but still, what should we do?

witch_kat | January 15, 18:43 CET

A post on a website, usually.

I was thinking we could do something next Friday. Not sure what.

gossi | January 15, 18:43 CET

@gossi: on the second point, can we maybe set something up to try and raise some funds for the cause? If we so, that'd be fantastic. You're pretty swell at organizing things, so if no-one else jumps forward, could you maybe...? ;)

Something next Friday would be fabulous. Maybe space on the whyiwatch site could be tasked toward it?

CZGoldEdition | January 15, 18:54 CET

There's a multifandom auction going on at a Livejournal community, Gossi.
Many people taking part are whedonverse fans but not exclusively so. Perhaps we could do something similar on .org - offer art/fic/vids/crafts/collectables for the highest bidders? It's just an idea.

The Do That Girl | January 15, 18:54 CET

Those greedy survivors.

Ugh.

... Yeah, I did it.

CowboyCliche | January 15, 18:54 CET

@gossi: count me in for charity drive. i will design stuff or help with whatever we need. off the top of my head, maybe we can give away whedon-y backgrounds for twitter & desktops and ask ppl to donate in return. also, if any of you have stuff to auction off - art pieces, whatever it is you do for a living/hobby that could sell - we could ebay that. will try to think of more ideas.

whyiwatch | January 15, 19:03 CET

I was truly hoping that our Dollhouse fans wouldn't complain about this one. Guess I was wrong.

Jaymii | January 15, 19:09 CET

A very simple thing we could do is link to the various ways to donate everywhere we have presence. There's the texting thing, I think iTunes has a thing. Ben Stiller's charity. I just found out NYC medics are heading over to help out and money can be donated to help them do as much as possible at NYCMedics.org. There's lots of outlets, and the more websites that point to them, the better.

bobw1o | January 15, 19:11 CET

I guess it's the tie-in aspect that will really make a fandom charity drive pick up - people who are going to donate anyway will do so of their own accord, you have to reel in those who will donate out of a spirit of community. There ought to be a Firefly angle that could be tapped, though, what with the themes of surviving on the raggedy edge and 'take my love, take my land' etc. Not that I have any idea how a fandom money-raiser would actually work: are auctions etc a standard way to do it?

Oh, and if anything I'm happy that Dollhouse gets to be alive for longer before it's over. :)

skittledog | January 15, 19:13 CET

I know!

We could imprint our Actives with Red Cross skills and send them to Haiti to save lives.

Sounds like a Pay Pal thing. Maybe we could pay $10 to see a sneak peek at E2?

korkster | January 15, 19:15 CET

Maybe we could pay $10 to see a sneak peek at E2?

Love it. Off to make some calls.

gossi | January 15, 19:16 CET

I've seen hardly anyone complain about the bump. Also I think time is of the essence so give money now regardless.

Furthermore if people want to make jokes about the disaster here then they'll find that they will be looking in from the outside for a while. I've no sense of humour about these things.

Simon | January 15, 19:17 CET

I actually quite like the pay-per-sneak-peek-viewing. 2 minutes of footage, tops. Or perhaps even the trailer since it hasn't come out yet for E2?

Or, we could pay bobw1o $10 to charity so he can give out his clue on where to look for... something.

ETA: Yay! Can't wait gossi for the PPSPV!

korkster | January 15, 19:19 CET

I've no idea if I can make it happen, korkster. I can barely put me feet in front of each other without standing on myself so it may not fly.

gossi | January 15, 19:23 CET

I like the spirit of a fandom effort but I do think speed is not just a virtue but a real need in this case. I think directing donations to the organizations already on the ground would be the most effective use of people's time and effort. Yéle Haiti is airlifting supplies and doctors in tomorrow and they're getting my donation. What are some others?

Sunfire | January 15, 19:23 CET

By all means, donate away. You can use other things (e.g. Clooney) to bring in more interest and donations, which is what I'm on about.

gossi | January 15, 19:32 CET

The key thing here is, as Sunfire mentioned and as I'm sure most are aware, is haste - every minute counts, basically, especially at this critical point.

While we as a fandom can work together to do a group effort and enhance existing efforts, I think we also need to make sure we don't lose sight of the fact that we already can and should, as individuals, most quickly and effectively spread word of organizations and campaigns already on the ground and moving.

That said, I can be also tapped for graphics and writing if needed for a whedonesquey/BC/whatever whedony kindof appeal.

I sent my donation to Mercy Corps. Consumer Reports pulled together a list of reputable places, as well as hints for avoiding the fundraising scams that pop up like toxic mushrooms after a catastrophe like this.

(Oh, and I believe cidergirli noted Jonathan Woodward's efforts in Haiti with The International Association for Human Values here.)

ETF: typo'd

[ edited by QuoterGal on 2010-01-17 03:33 ]

QuoterGal | January 15, 19:35 CET

Here's a post collecting reputable charities (incl. international ones):

http://community.livejournal.com/help_haiti/660.html

[ edited by ruuger on 2010-01-15 19:36 ]

ruuger | January 15, 19:35 CET

The American Institute of Philanthropy has a list of groups that are helping with the Haiti effort, and that also rank highly in terms of actual aid dollars vs. administrative costs:
http://www.charitywatch.org/hottopics/Haiti.html

Personally, I'm a big fan of Doctors Without Borders, who have been providing some of the only medical care available to poor Haitians for many years. They lost all 3 of their hospitals in the quake, but are still on the ground working.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

[ edited by mostlyfiller on 2010-01-15 19:44 ]

mostlyfiller | January 15, 19:37 CET

Hollywood Unites for Haiti has direct Paypal donation.

gossi | January 15, 19:39 CET

DEC is the umbrella organisation in the UK for aid agencies like Oxfam, Merlin, ActionAid, Save the Children, etc.

Doctors Without Borders is known as Médecins Sans Frontières in the UK.

moley75 | January 15, 19:56 CET

For UK people, I'm a fan of the Disasters Emergency Committee, since they act as an umbrella for several of the most major UK disaster relief charities (Oxfam, Red Cross, Save the Children etc) and will target the funds wherever they feel is best. They did the same for Aceh and Kashmir, and I believe they've done it well each time. I think they're broadcasting appeals on terrestrial stations this evening. (Edit: d'oh, took too long to type and got beaten to the link... ;)

I agree that speed is of the essence right now. However, I do feel there'd be space for a considered fandom appeal later, because Haiti is going to need support for years to come - even more than they did before.

[ edited by skittledog on 2010-01-15 20:00 ]

skittledog | January 15, 19:59 CET

Doctors Without Borders is known as Médecins Sans Frontières pretty much everywhere except the USA.

Fixed that for you.

jclemens | January 15, 19:59 CET

Not for the poor sods in Haiti

Did you really mean to write sods?

shnoods | January 15, 20:01 CET

Most complainers probably download the show anyway. If it must be delayed, let it be for a good cause!

damaged justice | January 15, 20:06 CET

However, I do feel there'd be space for a considered fandom appeal later

Indeed, I'd be quite happy to donate Whedonverse items. I've got DVDs, comic books and books to give away. We could even have a bid for a person to have their name in a colour of their own choosing at Whedonesque for a week (or something like that). Just an idea.

Simon | January 15, 20:20 CET

I'm thinking donate now, however, pretty sure that they country will need long term help.

Maybe it's worth thinking about a longer term project? Either lending our support to an International agency who will be there long term (not sure, but I suspect Oxfam would be). We could have a specific site, which Whedony fansites could link to perminately. I have the webspace but no design skills fyi.

bubblecat | January 15, 20:26 CET

Did you really mean to write sods?

'sods' in this context is just another way of saying "people" informally. In an informal setting in the UK you might say "Ooh, poor bugger" or "Poor sod" if someone told you that, for instance, a friend had broken their leg or suffered some other injury/misfortune.

Taken care of my own contribution and cannot agree more with the folks saying time is of the essence - people are dying NOW, not next Friday - but if a fan drive gets more people involved then great, go for it, there's nothing wrong with contributions spread out over time slightly too, unfortunately they're going to be needing help for quite some time.

ETA: Oh and don't forget to Giftaid it if you're a UK taxpayer (mentioning it cos I nearly did ;).

[ edited by Saje on 2010-01-15 20:35 ]

Saje | January 15, 20:30 CET

Did you really mean to write sods?

No, I didn't, and I'm glad you pulled me up on it because it was a rather tactless and insensitive thing to put. Sorry for any offence caused to anyone.

jamesthegill | January 15, 20:35 CET

Whenever I run into a situation like this, I ask myself "What would Joss Whedon, or Eliza Dushku do?"

I'm betting Joss would be the first in line to say, "Hell, Yes, push the finale back a few days if it means relief aid donations will benefit."

As information, I've given to Doctors Without Borders for years, and their record for use of donations vs. expenses is one of the very best. 87% of your donation goes to what it's intended for.

http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/

Riverine | January 15, 20:37 CET

Truly tragic news.... a whole week longer.

Aidan W. | January 15, 20:39 CET

I'd donate a bunch of cool stuff, too, for a longer-term effort that includes an auction or auctions.

I guess, unless I'm mistaken, the thing that confronts us now is the need for someone to take ahold of and helm this effort. I'd be willing to work on it, but just cannot be the one that steps up and says I'll be the Cap'n or whatever less hierarchical title is appropriate. I haven't got the webby skills, the personality or sufficient free time.

I'd imagine whedonesque.org might let us start organizing over there 'til we got something else set up... but I believe we need that person(s). Eh?

QuoterGal | January 15, 20:45 CET

*goes to .org*

bubblecat | January 15, 20:48 CET

In a weirdo suggestion - figure out a bunch of ways to raise money (links, auctions of rare stuff, signed stuff etc) and put them on sites - then next Friday shut down Dollverse, Whedonesque etc and have them all displaying the same page with links on how to help. For that day only.

gossi | January 15, 20:53 CET

Ms. Bubblecat hath started a thread at whedonesque.org (and mods/admins should tell us if this isn't cool...)

I'm hoping folks'll go there to plan, so we don't get what usually happens in these cases: the bifurcation of suggestions here and there - if bifurcation is the word I mean, and I hope it is, 'cause I really like it.

QuoterGal | January 15, 21:04 CET

I'm going to donate cash now - probably to one of the UK organizations.

Then I'll be glad to offer whedonverse merchandise, some of my original art, graphic banners, icons etc for any auction or sale we all come up with.

The Do That Girl | January 15, 21:07 CET

I added a link to the .org thread to the main description.

Sunfire | January 15, 21:28 CET

Thankee Sunfire :)

bubblecat | January 15, 21:39 CET

Thanks, Sunfire - nifty.

And folks who are interested in helping - the vocal and shy alike ; > - should head on over & do as little or as much as they can - especially at this point, which is the brainstorming part. The more fertile brains, the better.

If you're not a whedonesque.org member, it's just a mere few clicks to join, and anyone can.

QuoterGal | January 15, 21:39 CET

I love you all equally.

gossi | January 15, 21:45 CET

As an add-on to QG above - the reg code is 4242 and you need to spell Joss Whedon correctly to join ;). Proud to see so many of us donating already and trying to find more ways to do so. You are all amazing and gossi is right to love you :).

Also, though gossi does love you all equally, with some of you its more mental than physical. It's not that he's not into you, it's just that he's very busy right now, but he promises to call you. I kid.

zeitgeist | January 15, 21:58 CET

Well, if you are smaller than me, female and have bouncy hair I do love you a little more. But not in a creepy way. Well, much.

gossi | January 15, 22:17 CET

If you are in Canada you can donate to any charity doing work in Haiti that is registered with Revenue Canada and the federal government will match funds to a total of 50 million dollars.

http://www.international.gc.ca/humanitarian-humanitaire/earthquake_seisme_haiti_help_aide.aspx

[ edited by Ruadh on 2010-01-15 23:42 ]

Ruadh | January 15, 23:35 CET

An activist friend who works in empowerment of young women in Haiti is recommending Partners in Health. They've got doctors on the ground and have been working there for 20 years.

http://www.standwithhaiti.org/haiti

It's the organization co-founded by Paul Farmer, for those who know of his work on health, culture, and poverty.

aygg | January 16, 01:27 CET

Burners Without Borders, an organization that formed out of an impromptu response to Hurricane Katrina, has been urging people to support Hope for Haiti. They are a Haiti-native NGO that is good at getting supplies directly to the people; they've been doing this for some time now. You can donate directly at the link above.

stuart | January 16, 02:08 CET

Thanks so much for the link Ruadh! So glad when I came here we had something in the way of helping out. I love being part of this fandom.

silent knight | January 16, 02:31 CET

No, I didn't, and I'm glad you pulled me up on it because it was a rather tactless and insensitive thing to put. Sorry for any offence caused to anyone.

Ah, think I get it now, dense of me. Weird how the word and the biblical city are pretty much entirely disconnected in my head.

And everybody doing that thing you all do, as usual (jeez, I hope at least some of you kick puppies or something, there has to be a balance, right ? ;).

Saje | January 16, 07:57 CET

FWIW, one might want to consider whether or not there's an issue with Yele before deciding on donating to it.

The One True b!X | January 16, 08:34 CET

I haven't yet checked on .org to see what's coming together there, but I donated what little I could yesterday, to Doctors Without Borders.
But as has been mentioned, there is surely going to be long term need, in the wake of this tragedy.

Shey | January 16, 11:47 CET

Ah, think I get it now, dense of me. Weird how the word and the biblical city are pretty much entirely disconnected in my head.

Ah. Is that really where 'sods' is from? I've been hearing and reading the word for years and just always thought it was kinda random. Hmm.

Also: b!X, good to know. My donation went elsewhere, but I certainly would've felt crappy if the place I donated to had a wobbly track record.

GVH | January 16, 12:27 CET

FWIW, one might want to consider whether or not there's an issue with Yele before deciding on donating to it.

Yeah I wish I hadn't been plugging Yele now that there's news they're under fiscal scrutiny. Unfortunately I already donated to them. Going to be very disappointed if it seems my donation did not get used appropriately. :( In the meantime people should probably donate elsewhere.

Sunfire | January 16, 17:46 CET

Someone sent me an email to say

This diary at Daily Kos has a remarkably thorough list:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/1/15/125350/929
The charity I've devoted most of my $ to has been Shelter Boxes (USA) which does an incredible job of getting tents and essential supplies to people in disaster and war zones. They're UK based - site is http://shelterbox.org/ - but have a US presence too - http://www.shelterboxusa.org/

Right now they're getting hundreds and hundreds of these boxes to Haiti; Virgin Atlantic is helping with transportation.

Other particularly worthy recipients include Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, and others listed in the Daily Kos diary.

Simon | January 16, 23:42 CET

January 15 2010