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How could you deprive these little guys of their comics? Honestly.

December 14, 2010 - This month, Reading is Fundamental begins collecting old and used comic books for their National Literacy Project. Comic shops across North America are taking donations for their local RiF chapter throughout the holiday season.

This is a call to please donate your comics to the cause! Last year’s inaugural donation drive totaled 10,000 comic books and graphic novels. The comics were then distributed to after school programs all over the country. Efforts are being doubled now and hopes are that RiF can collect 20,000 comics this month – the goal is to get kids hooked on reading and clear your shelf space for more comics.

After the jump: a list of participating comic shop locations!

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I could easily be pinned as one of those people who like to claim ownership of bands, or at least their discovery. You know, one of those a-holes that’s always like “Pshaw, I listened to them like 5 years ago.” And here I go again with The Aviation Orange, a Brooklyn-based band that I’ve seen KICK ASS live. I don’t like to try to convince people to like something – I like to think of myself as a provider of sorts, so I’ll let you decide for yourself.

Click “Read More” for the music video for their single “Hips & Maladies.” Let me know what you think – leavez the commentz!

As you know, Lucy and I headed out to the supposed “birthday celebration” for DMC (from Run DMC) on Thursday night, and holy crap, was this not one of the worst planned events I’ve ever shown up to.

The bartenders at The Plumm, first of all, had no idea that there was supposed to be open bar. Do you think Adri Leya and Lucy Vonne show up to events this early because we have nothing better to do? No. I told the bartender to go ask her manager about it, because, hell, we didn’t come all the way out to 8th Ave to pay $15 a drink. The girl returned saying that she guesses it is open bar and that the free beverage would be well vodka. Well vodka? Not so well. There’s a reason why it’s called “well,” because it tastes like it’s pulled up via bucket and rope from the underground.

We left the venue immediately, at the chagrin of the four other attendees – hoochies draped over the couches, sipping their fruity drinks, waiting for DMC to arrive so they could hump his leg.

We needed to rid ourselves of the douchebag smell from The Plumm, so we headed off to a dive bar a few buildings over, which, in reality, is where Lucy and I feel most comfortable – thank you, Boston, for setting our standards. Donning my black skirt and super-high red heels, we traipsed triumphantly through the door of the dive – and I took a dive. It was one of the greatest tripping sequences I’ve ever had, frankly. My heel got stuck in one of the three stairs going down into the bar, and my feet hit the ground several times, but each time I would scramble for balance but end up still falling. I think the actual fall took a good thirty seconds, which is an incredible feat. I was the primary entertainment for the twenty-five or so bar patrons, and I was proud.

With bruised knee and ego, we subwayed it home about an hour later and ended up eating organic popcorn and watching some new porn movie she got from work. Here’s hoping that the next event isn’t such a bust.

Finally, another cool event to go to so that I can blog about it. Wow, sad. Anyway, DMC (from legendary hip hop group Run DMC) is having a birthday, and he’s…

going to be performing, along with a few DJs. Sweet, I think for my birthday I will have a performance as well – a little karaoke action, a little interpretive dance, if you will.

Tonight should be a good time – open bar from 10-11pm. So Lucy and I will be there promptly at 9:59 to begin double-fisting (ie. each going up to the bar, getting two drinks, bringing it over to the table, then going back for more) for a good hour.

Photos and stories after the jump tomarrah!

Gah! What a busy two days I’ve been having – you can probably tell by the minimal posting. Yeah, I’m a blogging machine/nerd and I can’t live up to those expectations. Dammit. But you’ll be happy to know that I’m actually working on exciting stuff…

I’m psyched to have the Wendster (Wendy Diamond) back in the office, and we’ll be seeing a lot of her around the next month or so once Greatest American Dog, her show on CBS, premiers. It’s supposed to be one of the top new reality shows of the summer, and I’m kinda interested in seeing what happens with it.

We’re also working on this big doggy fashion event in July hosted by Lauren Conrad, with an impressive handful of designers (Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch, Mark Ecko, Badgley Mischka, and many others that I can’t afford. woh woh!) and a healthy spattering of celebs. All the proceeds go to the Humane Society of New York, so we’re hoping to garner a lot of press for the cause.

Anywhooooo, Lucy and I (and hopefully Jamie…where the hell are you, girl!!) are going to a verrry cool event tomorrow, which I will post about tomorrow. So stayyyy tooooned!

NEW YORK – Freelance journalist, Adri Leya, suffered from a partial nervous breakdown this morning in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen when a pigeon unexpectedly took a shit on her head.
Witnesses say that the pooping on the head was hilarious. “It was like God was trying to say, hey, I feel like throwing poop at your face, but I missed and got your hair,” says Taneesha Smith, a worker at the Dunkin’ Donuts where Adri “Crazy Eyes” Leya purchased coffee soon after the incident. Leya has refused to comment, but a representative says that she will be spending the rest of the day clutching her knees in the fetal position, simultaneously sobbing and laughing.

On Sundays, there’s ample time for my mind to whirl, which is always very dangerous. I stand at the salon reception desk, smile, swipe credit cards, answer phones, and obsessively check to see how many visits my blog has gotten. And in between those actions, I’m left with this brain that never stops.With all the worry, and speculation, and room for error, I find myself making a slow descent into self-doubt, specifically about my hopes for a writing career.

Confidence is a warm blanket that keeps me comfortable in my endeavor most of the time; but there are moments that I just feel stupid for even pursuing this. What would lead me out of all these other capable writers in New York to be succesful? What steps can I take to make my success imminent? Am I doing all that I can?

I’m hoping that starting this blog has been a positive step towards my goal. It keeps me writing constantly, which is the only way I can improve. Any feedback from my blog readers would be amazingly helpful, especially as constructive criticism; comments, emails on what you’d like to read about, or if you think certain aspects of my writing sucks – seriously!

Now that I’ve crossed over into “woh woh” land, I’m going to continue to count down the hours till I can go home and watch my Netflix and prepare for a long day in the magazine office tomorrow, where they will hopefully have me do some writing (rather than anything else they can throw at me).