Amazon was taken by surprise when a deluge of heartfelt 5-star reviews brought the “Three Wolf Moon” T-shirt, containing a timeless airbrushed image of 3 wolves howling at the moon, to the forefront of their most popular products.

While the appeal of such wolf imagery may not be your first thought when you think “I need a cool T-shirt,” there’s a fact about Animal T-shirts that we’ve seen ring true for years:

Wolves may not be man’s best friend, but they still have a lot of fans out there.

Wolf admirers may, of course, recognize the bitter irony in the domesticated canine’s wild popularity over the original canis lupus species – survivor of the ice age, prehistoric ancestor of your fat, lazy childhood Labrador (note to self: if you can balance a food tray on your dog’s back, the dog needs a diet) – but of course it’s hard to beat out a subspecies that’ll fetch the paper, listen to your commands (well, selectively) and sleep on your bed without eating the cat.  Or you.  Or Gerald Ford.

And yet while dogs reign as the Homecoming King and Queen, wolves are still a contender in the popularity contest that is the Animal T-shirt.  Sure, cats and horses might be on the Homecoming Court, but the wolf is at the very least in the band.  The poor coyote is sequestered inside in the AV club and doesn’t even go to Homecoming.

Perhaps it’s the primordial nature of wolves that appeal to wolf T-shirt lovers; perhaps it’s the wide range of design style.  From humor to photography; from traditional illustration to tattoo art; from pop culture references to childhood bedtime stories, it would seem that those raving about the Three Wolf Moon T-shirt aren’t the only ones out there whose imaginations have been captured by this ancient creature.

And so, we pay tribute to the wolf today with a haiku (feel free to share your own):

Venerable wolf
Conservation is working
Live long and prosper

And now, just for kicks, we’ll revisit that classic SNL skit that led to the serious question as to whether wolves pose a clear and present danger to those occupying the Oval Office:

Stand Up To Cancer started with an audacious mission: to cure cancer, quickly and decisively.  SU2C realized that the key to the cure is in productive collaboration, and brought together world-renowned researchers and celebrities in order to raise a huge amount of money in a short amount of time.  The original telethon was followed by a benefit concert, and all the while the SU2C shop offered Stand Up To Cancer T-shirts and other gifts so that you can sport your support for cancer research.

All told, in one year SU2C has raised over $100 million for cancer research.  So where does the money go?

With only 10% of the money going to administrative costs, SU2C has been able to put over $70 million directly toward their “Dream Teams” – teams of groundbreaking cancer researchers and scientists who have banded together towards a common goal for the cure.

And to reward their community and prove that the race to the cure isn’t all doom and gloom, SU2C has placed celebrity-signed T-shirts in undisclosed locations so that you can participate in the race yourself.  The celebrity T-shirt Twitterhunt is underway, with T-shirts hidden in 20 U.S. cities.  Clues to the whereabouts of the prizes are being released via the Stand Up To Cancer Twitter feed, so if you’re good at deciphering 140-character clues and really want a signed T-shirt, get on out there and start looking.

The California Supreme Court upheld the passage of Proposition 8, which narrowly passed by California voters in November.  Prop 8 added a clause to the California constitution to define marriage as being between a man and a woman.

The Court did not, however, invalidate the 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place in the window that occurred between the day that the Court overturned the gay marriage ban and the day that the voter-added ballot measure passed.  So if you got married during that time period, no worries: you can keep your gifts and your spouse.

The Court’s ruling was specifically about whether or not California voters had a right to add Prop 8 to the November ballot in the first place.  Prop 8 opponents argued that the ballot measure was a fundamental revision to the constitution.  A constitutional revision, unlike an amendment, requires a 2/3 legislative vote and cannot be decided by popular vote.

On our end, the T-shirts swing heavily in favor of equal rights/gay marriage, and against Proposition 8.  This has always been the trend, and usually the T-shirts are a good crystal ball when it comes to things like votes and popularity contests.  However, because gay marriage is a touchy issue that has involved both politics and religion, it’s not a surprise that the T-shirt design collection swings heavily toward those activists who feel a sense of unjustness and outrage.

Which is to say that a ballot box is much more private than a T-shirt, and it’s to be expected that those in favor of Prop 8 might not want to advertise their position so publicly as those against it.

With Maine following closely in Iowa’s footsteps with a recent gay marriage provision, there are now 5 states and 7 countries (including Canada) in which same-sex couples can legally wed.  Other states have ballot initiatives being debated and various protections already in place; New York governor David Patterson, for example, has called for the legal recognition of same-sex marriages that have occurred elsewhere.

As the gay marriage debate continues in California and elsewhere, we’ll expect to see some new and interesting T-shirts crop up.  So remember: if you have something to say, don’t be afraid to say it with a T-shirt.  And if you prefer a more private form of self-expression, hey – there’s always the thong.

Last week we talked about our partnership with Operation Gratitude and the special edition 4th of July t-shirts that will benefit the cause.

Today we’re giving you a heads-up that Operation Gratitude has kicked of a massive drive to try to reach the goal of 100,000 care packages to be sent to overseas troops this year.

This weekend, a couple ‘Press folks headed down to Van Nuys to help with the care packaging drive.  The founder of Operation Gratitude was on-hand to welcome several hundred volunteers, and give a nice chat with the media about their efforts:

While Operation Gratitude is located in Southern California, the website lists multiple ways that you can help with the cause.

With Memorial Day on Monday and visions of 3-day weekends and camping trips and BBQ’s on people’s minds, we’ll take a moment to remember the American soldiers out there who have sacrified in the name of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Of course, the CafePress Community has always been staunchly pro-troop, with millions of troop support and soldier T-shirts created – and more being added every day.

If you’re looking for a way to support a troop-positive organization via the almighty T-shirt, Marine Parent Inc, the Wounded Warrior Project and Operation Gratitude are all great nonprofits to explore.

Happy Memorial Day weekend, all.

The shock heard ’round the world: Kris Allen won the American Idol title, and his own look of shock and awe went right along with the soft-spoken humility that fans have noted all season.

Speaking of Kris Allen fans, their groovily-named “Operation Ding Dong” illustrated how fans can mobilize and utilize Social Media to connect, coordinate and craft a movement toward putting their favorite crooner in the winner’s circle.  With Kris Allen t-shirts to support such initiatives, fansites like KrisAllenation.com were able to bring likeminded fans together in huge numbers to propel their contestant toward victory.

Big congrats to all the Season 8 Idol contestants, as well as all the fans who got out there and got actively involed in making noise online – as well as, of course, making some great American Idol T-shirts.

President Obama infuriated the ACLU and other human rights activists last week when he reversed his decision to publicly release photos of American soldiers allegedly torturing prisoners at locations beyond Abu Ghraib, from which photos were first brought to public light five years ago.  The Abu Ghraib photos became symbolic of alleged human rights abuses in the name of counter-terrorism, and led to a national backlash and debate about the treatment of prisoners in other detainee facilities, as well as the use of torture as an interrogation technique.

The ACLU has been trying to access these photos for 6 years.  To that end they sued the government in 2003 under the Freedom of Information act, and in 2008 a federal appeals court ruled in favor of releasing the documentation and photos sought by the ACLU.

Obama, in his theme of transparency, had originally announced that the government would release the photos to the public.  He however now claims that the release of the photos could “further inflame anti-American opinion,” thus endangering overseas troops.

While some embrace Obama’s refusal as a welcome stance against the liberal establishment, others see his announcement as a crafty way to play both sides of the argument.  What we know: the T-shirts would indicate that the issue of detainees and their treatment is a highly-charged one, with most shirts about Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib clamoring for human rights.

Which is to say that while the government won’t release the current batch of photos, the American people are more than willing to create their own imagery to make a point.

Operation Gratitude is one of those organizations that was borne out of one person’s determination to do something that mattered.  After 9-11, founder Carolyn Blashek resisted the urge to watch 24-7 news coverage and wring her hands, and instead got up off the couch to start something.

Her first thought was to join the Military.  It turns out that being a 46-year-old mother of two she made her too old for duty, so instead she volunteered at the military lounge in the Los Angeles airport.

One day in March 2003, a soldier came into the office.  He was on leave from a war zone for his mother’s funeral; his wife had left him; his only child died as an infant.  With nobody else in his life, he broke down at Carolyn’s desk and told her, “I’m going back over there; I don’t think I’ll make it back this time, but it really doesn’t matter because no one would even care.”

This soldier’s torment led to an important insight: when bullets are flying, it’s critical for troops to know that someone cares about them as an individual.  And that’s when Operation Gratitude was born.

Carolyn wanted to provide a personal and hands-on connection with our troops overseas, and that started with her personal network.  She started asking everyone she met if they knew a deployed service member needing extra TLC so she could send them care packages of snacks and entertainment items.  Most importantly, each package would include letters of encouragement from appreciative citizens.

Carolyn is now contacted by leaders and commanders in the field who see the positive impact the Operation Gratitude care packages have on their troops in combat.  This grassroots organization that started in her dining room now encompasses churches, schools, businesses and service groups all over the country donating items and writing letters to service members through Operation Gratitude.  Since November 2003, Operation Gratitude has conducted its packing Drives in the California Army National Guard Armory in Van Nuys, California.

Of course, any great group needs great gear.  Carolyn started a CafePress shop to support Operation Gratitude; here’s what she says about it:

As a grass-roots organization, word about Operation Gratitude primarily spread through word of mouth–and online.  We started receiving a lot of requests for Operation Gratitude logo items so people anywhere in the country could display their support for Operation Gratitude.  As we have no budget for marketing or advertising, publicity through logo items was a great way to expand our reach.  Yet, we also had no budget to stock inventory of items.  As soon as I learned about Cafe Press, I knew we had the perfect solution!

In order to help Carolyn help our troops overseas, CafePress has partnered with Operation Gratitude to bring you special edition premium 4th of July t-shirts for the whole family.  The “go fourth” design at the beginning of the post and the “remember” design at left are available on Premium men’s', women’s and kids’ apparel.

So if you’ve been itching to stimulate the economy, here’s one way to do it in good conscience.

Danny Gokey fans were stunned last night when their favorite Idol was eliminated, leaving Kris Allen and Adam Lambert to duke it out (or sing it out, as the case may be) in next week’s finals.

Kris’s placement in the final was called “a big ding dong,” the meaning of which is up for speculation.  Perhaps it means that Kris is knock knock knocking on Adam’s door; perhaps it’s pointing out, as others have noted, that these two performers are at polar opposites in personal and performance style; or maybe it’s a simply a wakeup call for America to pay attention to these two seasoned performers in what some are calling the best Idol matchup to date.

Although Danny won’t be in the finals, he won’t soon be forgotten by the millions of people who were moved by his voice and his story.  Who they’ll vote for next week, though, is anyone’s guess.

Speaking of guessing…

Miss California was allowed to keep her crown today by virtue of the ever-benevolent Donald Trump, who has a history of treating his Miss USA pageant winners with a lot more leniency than his Apprentices.

Carrie Prejean first made headlines when Perez Hilton, celebrity blogger and Miss USA judge, asked her about her stance on gay marriage.  Her response:

“I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one or the other … same sex marriage or opposite marriage,” then noted, “I believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman … that’s how I was raised.”

Her comments infuriated the openly gay Hilton, which led to heated online critique of Prejean, which led to the anti-gay-marriage camp (or pro-opposite marriage, as the case may be) getting vocal and using Prejean’s remarks in advertising, which led to a C&D letter from the Miss Universe Organization, which led to an additional media flurry for both sides of the gay marriage/equal rights/opposite marriage/traditional marriage argument(s).

While Prejean felt that Hilton’s question unfairly cost her the Miss USA title, it was actually semi-nude photos of her that put her Miss California title in jeopardy.  That set of photos was followed by a topless set being discovered, at which point Trump and the Miss USA pageant posse noted that they’d make a final determination as to whether these photos constituted tiara removal.

The answer: nope.  Prejean will retain her tiara for the time being and, one might hope, her clothes.

Given that Miss California Co-Executive Director Shanna Moakler is a former Playboy playmate, perhaps it’s not so surprising that Donald Trump isn’t shocked or offended by the discovery of racy photos having been taken by an aspiring model.  Moakler’s stance on gay marriage, however, is at diametric odds with Prejean’s; Moakler recently appeared in a “NOH8″ PSA to support the overturn of California’s Proposition 8, which passed in November.

With her tiara intact and an Urban Dictionary entry honoring her unexpected contribution to the American dialect, the future looks somewhat bedazzled for Prejean.  And if she tires of the beauty queen circuit, at least one of our Shopkeepers has an idea for a future career (seen here at left).

Controversy aside, we too bestow an award to Carrie Prejean.  She is the winner of a Fantasy T-Wearer award today, with the “sanctity of opposite marriage” T-shirt above.  May she wear it with pride.  And in lieu of documented toplessness.

UPDATE: Prejean has blamed the topless photos on Mother Nature, noting that the photographs were taken on a windy day which led to a wardrobe malfunction, and that she was “unaware” that the photos were taken.  (You may judge for yourself how unaware she might have been and the wind’s alleged culpability from the photos themselves.)

And so we will award Prejean a second Fantasy T-Wearer Award.  This time we regale her with a button, which can work wonders in keeping clothing from blowing open.  (Caveat: said buttons only serve this purpose on clothing that would close in the first place.)

UPDATE, part deux: Shanna Moakler has resigned her post as the co-executive director of the Miss California pageant.