avry:
Two weeks ago I got a call from my doctor, who I’d gone to see the day before because I’d been feeling worn out and was losing weight, and wasn’t sure why.
He was brief: “Amit, you’ve got Acute Leukemia. You need to enter treatment right away.”
I was terrified. I packed a backpack full of clothes, went to the hospital as he’d instructed, and had transfusions through the night to allow me to take a flight home at 7am the next day. I Googled acute leukemia as I lay in my hospital bed, learning that if it hadn’t been caught, I’d have died within weeks.
—
I have a couple more months of chemo to go, then the next step is a bone marrow transplant. As Jay and Tony describe below, minorities are severely underrepresented in the bone marrow pool, and I need help.
A few ways to help:
- If you’re South Asian, get a free test by mail. You rub your cheeks with a cotton swab and mail it back. It’s easy.
- If you’re in NYC, you can go to this event my friends are putting on.
- If you know any South Asians (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, or Sri Lanka), please point ‘em to the links above. Thank you.
My friend Amit Gupta founded my favorite photography site Photojojo. A few weeks ago, he was diagnosed with leukemia. Amit is one of the nicest, most genuine, most creative people you could ever meet. Prior to founding the awesome Photojojo, he also co-founded Jelly in 2006 in NYC, a coworking community, that’s now spread to 60 cities across the world and helped spark the coworking revolution. It looks like Amit will need a bone marrow transplant quite soon. We can help him with that.
Unlike blood transfusions, finding a genetic match for bone marrow that his body will accept is no easy task. The national bone marrow registry has 9.5 million records on file, yet the chances of someone from South Asian descent of finding a match are only 1 in 20,000.
This is where we come in. We’re going to destroy those odds.
How? By finding and registering as many people of South Asian descent as we possibly can.
Tests are easy– a simple swab of the cheek. If you’re a match, the donation involves an outpatient procedure. It’s not fun, but it’s not dangerous either. And doing it could save a life.
We are encouraging anyone of South Asian descent to take a test to see if you’re a match.
You can get a free test by mail, or, if you’re in New York, you can join us Friday, October 14th for a special party to rally support.
We’ll have test kits on hand at the party, as well as music, booze, and maybe even a photo booth. It will, for the first time, combine a House 2.0-style party with a New Work City-style party, and if you’ve ever been to either, you know they are always something special.
Please spread the word and please do everything you can to help Amit beat leukemia. He’s a superstar.
Much thanks to Tony and pals for organizing this event, and EVERYONE who’s been tweeting and reblogging.
Please help get the word out any way you can. My life quite literally depends on it.
Signal boost! I went to the website and wanted to join the donor registry, since they need more donors of “diverse racial and ethnic heritage,” but they don’t allow men who have sex with men (or people with chronic back pain) to donate marrow. :/
I’m unable to donate bone marrow or blood (or anything) but passing this to others who can…
Tumblr Blackout Day starts 12AM Saturday/Sep 3 (this Saturday)
If you are planning on participating, make sure your last tumblr post the night beforehand is “BRB Blackout”, so people know why you are gone. Also, please reblog this post so that as many people as possible know when the blackout starts.
Whatever your respective time zones are is when to start. there is no specification.
What is the blackout?:
A day. A single day where you don’t use tumblr. No logging in. No checking it. I know it’s hard being cut off from your community for a day, but a single day, but by refusing to use or look at Tumblr, you are making a powerful collective dent that will (ideally) inspire Tumblr mods to consider that these changes are hurting and upsetting us. You are telling them that that we were very happy with many of the old features that we once had. This is a respectful silent protest.
Why a blackout:
Because social media websites, whether for profit or not, use numbers to determine whether or not their website is successful. Tumblr is a popular, ever growing website with a loyal userbase, so no matter how much the tumblr staff ruins the website, the hit numbers will continue to grow. Making a dramatic dent in that is the only way to really get our point across and demand to be heard. We are essentially making a statement that says “we are not happy with the changes that you have made, it is your users that makes your site successful, please listen to us”
BUT YOU ARE OVERREACTING1111 ITS JUST A WEBSITE WE DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT OMFGZ GRPW UP.
I’m not proposing that we seek out and gun down everybody who works for and maintains tumblr. I don’t think asking people to go outside or hang out with their friends for a day is being terribly reactionary or overly aggressive. For many of us, Tumblr is a home away from home where we talk to people who share our weird interests. I think we have a right to ask that it runs in the most user friendly way possible. I also refuse to congratulate Karp for “not making us pay” for Tumblr. Most social media websites do not require payment, and many still listen to their users. A good example is Reddit, which is among the most popular websites on the internet and still works tirelessly to make sure that users are happy with the developments they make.
Some of the negative changes make to Tumblr:
The banning of all follower tracker services. The changes and attacks on Missing E that have resulted in many features being taken away and may result in it’s permanent banning. Askboxes having character limits. Askboxes regularly eating messages that they see as spam. Askboxes not allowing us to post links or use the enter key. David Karp responding to these problems by basically saying “let them eat cake”. The Tumblr sidebar being taken away.
If you have any more questions, please contact me via submitbox. Please do not ask anon so I can properly respond.
UPDATE!!!
panasonicyouth | miseryxchord | bunnyhips | fuckyeahafireinside:
Urgent, please help my friend’s dog receive lifesaving surgery!
My friend Ran Case of A Case Of Random on Etsy rushed her dog Kabuki to the vet after she found her unable to walk and shaking uncontrollably yesterday. The vet says she has a tumor on her spleen and needs immediate surgery to remove the tumor along with her spleen before she suffers another, and potentially fatal, internal bleed. The estimate on the surgery is $2500…which is $2500 more than she has after scraping together $900 for the emergency care.
To raise funds, she’s offering 20% off on everything in her Etsy store where she sells beautiful handmade glass and scale mail jewelry. See her blog here for details and coupon code, and if you can help, even a little… everything helps.
The coupon code KABUKI20 will give you 20% off anything at her etsy store, acaseofrandom.etsy.com
Please pass this on to your followers. Everything helps!
It would mean a lot if you guys could please reblog this… Even if you can’t afford to help with the surgery costs by getting something from her shop (we own several pieces of her work and it’s gorgeous and inexpensive), one of your followers might…
Some of these are super pretty!
I gave the butterfly barrettes in the photo last year for birthday presents (those and the flowers are only $5) and have been saving up for a custom order from her. The scale mail flower bracelets and hair sticks are really cool and unique, and I love the Steampunk orchids with little gears at the center of their petals.
She’s been sitting up with Kabuki making additional items for her store literally nonstop, trying to raise the amount the vet is asking for… please take a look and reblog!
Signal boost! Help out if you can!!!
Her work is GORGEOUS + she really deserves the money!
I hope Kabuki pulls through, I’m sending good vibes to her. :)
UPDATE: Kabukia is scheduled for surgery for September 1st and will require a downpayment of $1500 to the vet before they’ll operate.
Please reblog and check out her store, help is still very much needed!
Who Watches The Watchmen?: Jordan Brown? Did you guys hear about this case? They want to try this 12 year old as an adult and give him a life...
I can’t even
I’m reading about it- I recieved this message:
“Jordan Brown who faces life without parole in Pennsylvania. We have to submit his petition tomorrow to make sure it gets there in time. We desperately need more signatures!
Please sign and reblog, so this kid can get a fair trial!
Details about his case reblogged on my tumblr last night. :(
(Source: espritfollet)
Binder Giveaway!!
So I’m coming into a bit of money in a little bit. Instead of hording it all to myself, I decided to run a small binder giveaway contest.
Here’s how it will work:
Anyone who wants/needs a binder, I want you to write in my submit box. Tell me who you are, why you want/need the binder, and maybe write a paragraph about how you’d plan to pay it forward if you’re selected. I’m all about paying it forward.
I’ll leave my submit box open until JUNE 26TH, and then I’ll go through and choose TWO(2) winners. I’ll contact you through your askbox, so make sure you have that open. And I’ll buy two binders. One for each person. They’ll just be regular binders, nothing special(not one of those binder suits or anything) from Underworks, probably the 998 or the half-length one. I’ll purchase it in the color and size of your choice.
Once you’ve won and I’ve told you you’ve won, please give me your address, and I’ll ship it out to you!
So start writing in and telling me about yourself! I can’t wait to see you all :)
No-kill animal shelter in Montreal appeals for help to relocate
A Montreal shelter that houses about 300 cats needs to find a new home for the animals soon because it can no longer afford its lease. The president of the Animal Rescue Network is appealing for the public’s help to secure a new location.
Barbara Lisbona, who founded the city’s largest no-kill shelter 17 years ago, said the building’s new owner is raising the rent by 33 per cent.
Lisbona said public donations keep the shelter open in the Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie borough, but with such a steep rent increase, she has no choice but to get out by the end of July. However, she’s not willing to euthanize the animals.
Lisbona has saved tens of thousands of cats over the years.
The shelter says anyone who wants to help the animals should go to its website.
