Allyson, I got this response from someone:

Would you mind having her write up something short about what the project is/what it's for? It can just be a sentence or two but if it's something i can pass on it would help getting people to hook me up with shit.

Could you whip up something short and sweet? I think people would be willing to help.

About the various PR stunts: they contribute to writer morale. Which helps the writers continue not to write. (Not to say that the $40,000 spent on pencils might not have been better directed. But I think most of the other, cheaper stunts were well worth it for the morale boost.) Also, to the extent public opinion is affected, that is morale boost for the writers too.

I'm not all bent out of shape about $40k in pencils. People make the gesture that feels right to them. They're not all going to be directly to the Food Bank. School kids get the pencils and that's one less thing out of that teacher's budget. Not in a dumpster.

That noted, giving help to out of work crew members seems like a far more productive gesture.

What can fans do to make the weapons of writers stronger?

I'm not sure they can do much. However, what I do think is needed is some good PR for the writers. I would have much rather seen the story "Writers help raise $40,000 for non-WGA members affected by the strike" in the news. I think this could have taken a lot of the spin out of what the AMPTP are selling as the writers being the bad guys in putting people out of work. The pencils and things just seem like childish stunts and doesn't help the misguided image that a portion of the public has of the writers being spoiled and asking for more money. The average person out there really doesn't get it that not everyone working in Hollywood has a mansion in Beverly Hills.

Okay, with that I need some sleep. I've been travelling all day and just got into my hotel in Toronto a have to be at the rehearsal hall at 8:30 AM.

have to be at the rehearsal hall at 8:30 AM.

Speaking of the glamorous show-biz life. :-)

The average person out there really doesn't get it that not everyone working in Hollywood has a mansion in Beverly Hills.

I actually had to have a discussion with someone about the mean vs. the median because they said that the average writer makes over 50K a year. Me! Talking about math! For the writers!

People think everyone making TV and movies is rich. They just do. The publicity stunts don't help, people interpret it as spoiled writers playing at having a strike. We may know that is not the case, and most of fandom knows that is not the case, but Joe Average TV viewer does not. The AMPTP is doing a very good job of spinning these things in their favor by making the WGA look childish.

Just moved on the wire: "Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien’s late-night shows will return to the air with fresh episodes on January 2 after two months of repeats due to the writers’ strike, the network said Monday."

This is the crafts thread. Right? Can anyone tell me the best fabric store in Hollywood/West Hollywood? Mom wants to recover the seats on my dining room chairs and who am I to argue with her.

I'm working on something, Polter-Cow. It's difficult because every three words the phrase "fucking pencils!" keeps finding its way onto the page.

Which, while satisfying, won't help.

Also waiting for a callback from the Work Stoppage Relief Fund people so I can see about doing a tally.

Then I just need to:

Set up dates for collection
Work out a plan for raffle
Convince people to mail me signed scripts for raffle
Publicize the fundraiser
Hope it all goes well