Despite my natural curmudgeonly state of denial, there’s no doubt that the holiday season is upon us.
It is not really my favorite time of year. I find the constant bombardment of songs extolling the birth of a God that is not mine irritating, and the forced merriment infuriating. But all that has already been written up about a zillion times by people angrier and funnier than I’ll ever be, so that’s not what I’m writing about today. So don’t worry – this isn’t another one of those “angry pagan lesbian rants against the sacred national institutions of Christmas, Family Values, Truth, Justice and the (fictitious) American Way.”

Instead, I thought I’d spend a moment looking into the *real* meaning of this season – unadulterated greed and conspicuous consumption. I’m totally for these things, myself. :-) In the spirit of such things, let’s talk about SHOPPING!

Firstly. Let me extol the virtues and variety that await the Yuri fan on the Yuricon Shop. When you are creating your wishlists for friends and family, please consider using adding some Yuri anime, manga, apparel and/or gifts from ALC, Amazon, Amazon JP and Cafepress to that list. (If you’re making an Amazon wishlist, if you use links from the Shop, or generated through clicking through the shop, it would be extra lovely of you.)

Of course ALC has the usual 100% yuri manga – you know you want it. ALC will be running a post-holiday, “Get something you REALLY want” sale, so keep your eyes peeled for that in mid-January, after I return from Comiket. :-) If your relatives are paying, make ’em buy books now. LOL

But, what I really wanted to tell you about was the great new shirt designs on the “Gifts and Apparel” section of the Shop. The picture at the top is one of our three new designs – a long-sleeved black “I Love Yuri” shirt. We have this in a women’s fitted style and white, as well – and of course in short sleeve, hoodies and a variety of great shirt colors and pictures. These make terrific gifts for the yuri fan in your life – and even better gifts to get for the winter holiday of your choice. :-)

But enough about buying from me – let’s talk about buying *for* me. LOL

For the last six years I have spent an entire village’s worth of food money on anime, manga, books, drama cds, etc. I’ve been reviewing and promoting and traveling and in all that time, I’ve rarely accepted gifts – with some few exceptions.

(In fact, I’ve always kind of thought it icky to accept gifts from fans when they were offered. When people asked, I always said that the nicest thing they could do for me was buy something from the Shop.)

Last night, an intelligent and cogent person who I like to think of as a fan (and a friend) pointed out that some people might not feel comfortable buying things for themselves to make me happy. It does not compute. After another friend (Sean Gaffney, who owes me a review on Ichigo Mashimaro, Volume 1) shared his wishlist with me, I was persuaded to make a wishlist of my very own. You can see the link on the bottom of the righthand sidebar, subtlely entitled “In Case You Want To Buy Me Something Nice For My Efforts…” :-)

This is not a random wishlist, full of “Crap I Want.” It is a specifically yurilicious wishlist of things I will, should you decide to reward me for entertaining you, review, to further entertain you. (In other words, it is a wishlist of “Yuri Crap I Want.”) So its a win-win. At least for the moment, this wishlist will remain relevant to our shared interests. This way you don’t feel like you’re just getting who knows what – a little value-added “feel good” factor. ;-)

Lastly, while I am shamelessly begging for things that make me happy, if you really, really don’t know what to get; you got all the anime and manga and don’t wear t-shirts, use mugs, or need a clock, let me once again remind you that a copy of Shoujoai ni Bouken: The Adventures of Yuriko, Volume 1 makes a fun and unusual gift for the budding babydyke or Yuri fan in the family – or for someone who is looking for something “different.” Buying my book is also a win-win. If you buy through the Shop, tell me you’re a reader of Okazu, and I’ll make sure the book is autographed – I’ll even write any message you request, provided it doesn’t make me feel dirty. :-)

So there you go. Buy from me, or buy for me. Either way, you get something you like (book, gift, shirt, review, etc) and I get something I like (income, prezzies.) We can all be happy with a holiday like that! LOL

It’s still a bit early, but as Chanukah begins Friday, let me take this opportunity to wish all my fans, friends, readers and itinerant visitors a happy and healthy holiday season!