Week 2 - The True Potential Begins to Sprout

Mr. Geoduck

Do you love 826 Seattle? Do you think kids are the future? Do you understand the importance of writing and learning? Do you believe in do-goodery? If you do, and you want to support 826 Seattle but don’t know any of the mustache farmers listed below, donate to Mr. Geoduck’s mustache! Mr. Geoduck is the cantankerous publishing magnate who owns Justa Geoduck Publishing Co. and leads school kids on the wild Mr. Geoduck Publishing Fieldtrip. He is grumpy and ill tempered, but his heart is in the right place. A $20 donation sure would lift his spirts!

Adam Cox	Adam Spencer	Andew Dempsey	Ben Busby-Collins	Blaire Notrica	Brad Wilke and Elizabeth Duffell
Brendan Kiley	Brock Grubb	Christopher Morris and Manuela Insixiengmay	Cy Delgado	Dan Baumfeld	Team Brotherton-Cockburn
David Newman	Doug Woodbury and Rebecca Brinson	Drew Johnson	Eric Delfel	Frederick Stivers	Joel Ballezza
John Duffell	John R. Huddlestun	Jon and Alex Allred	Justin Allan	Lucas Anderson	Martin Cron
Michael Brotherton	Reed Hutchinson	Robert Iff	Sam Smith and Alice Pedersen	Scoop Jones	Sean Bates
Shawn Foster and Jen Koogler	Tim Lloyd and Julie Dekovich	Tim Miller	Tom McDonald and Meredith	Willow and Kevin Emerson

At Bumbershoot, Justin stumbled across Burlesque of North America, a poster and print design company. Amongst their awesome posters (of which he purchased several), he found a pack of Moustache Bandanas – two bandanas imprinted with four different mustaches. Good for robbing banks or for those with ‘stache envy, these hankerstaches were a hit at the second weigh in!

Justin sporting one of the Burlesque Moustache Bandanas!

With a robust turnout of farmers and fundraisers, this week's weigh-in was durn good, just like the weather and the beer that accompanied it. Mustache things were discussed: we found that a bright flash on a camera can wash out newer upper-lip hairs that have not yet fully matured. This led to a "to dye or not to dye" query. Would taking the Just-For-Men to the 'stache be a bold step in embracing and celebrating your fundraising tool, or would it be cheating? Discuss.

After almost two weeks' of growth, civilians outside of the 826 universe are starting to notice our brave heroes' mustaches for what they are, rather than assuming they merely forgot to shave. Farmers reported that people often looked at their upper lips instead of their eyes when conversing - we'll give Seattleites the benefit of the doubt and attribute this to awe and inspiration, rather than coarse objectification (hel-lo, my eyes are up here!).

We always stoutly defend mustaches, of course - and we made new internet friends that do, too! Check out the American Mustache Institute ( http://www.americanmustacheinstitute.org) for all things 'stache, including the determination that Keith Hernandez has the top sports mustache of all time and a blog called "The Opinionated Mustache." AMI is all about bringing the mustache back to mainstream America, and seeing as they're headquartered in the stately shadow of St. Louis Arch - the world's largest mustache - we think they have a great start.

Elsewhere in the blogosphere, Farmer Brendan posted about his progress on your favorite blog and mine, the Stranger's Slog: http://slog.thestranger.com/2007/09/all_about_my_mustache. Hooray! If you found us through the Slog, and you can find a couple bucks in your budget between your Cap Hill rent and buying Bud Light out of a cooler at Pony, give us some love!

Other cookieduster news for the week: We brainstormed some pretty clever weekly names for Team Brotherton-Cockburn, but we can't tell you because their pictures wouldn't be as funny. Justin modeled his new mustache kerchiefs found at Bumbershoot (reversible! suitable for blondes AND brunettes!), temporarily obscuring his own beginnings of a wraparound. We also recruited 826’s new intern, Drew, to join in on the 'staching.

In closing, we'll leave you with another point of possible mustache contention that pries even deeper into our societal mores than the aforementioned dyeing question: To what extent should significant others have a say over their partners' facial hair? Is it something that must be decided as a couple or an individual? Would your political mustache shirt say, "My Face, My Choice!" OR "All Mustaches Deserve Two Loving Parents"...?