Thanksgiving Post 2009, now with extra stuffing for Black Friday

Well, we are almost done with another year, and we are about to celebrate Thanksgiving. Last year's holiday celebration was a bit rough for my family and I since my mother passed away shortly after Thanksgiving. My mother, optimist that she was, was big on family and all of us coming together for fun and good times. So, in the spirit of having a good time, of some amusement, and to entertain my three readers, here are some links and things for Thanksgiving.

You can find my 2008 post here, and the bonus features for last year over here. Those links will lead you to the 2007 posts as well. It seems this is becoming a tradition here at The Itinerant Librarian, and that is fine by me because I have fun finding these things for my three readers. I take the time to scour the web to find fun links every year to educate, help out, and amuse my three readers. All you have to do is just click.


Some of the basics:

• Once again, our friends at the U.S. Census Bureau have put together some facts and figures for Thanksgiving 2009.
• On the positive side, or maybe a sign of the bad economy, it seems that "Classic Thanksgiving Dinner Costs Decline for 2009" according to American Farm Bureau. You can read the details at the site, or you can watch the video they provide as well. A hat tip to Docuticker.
  
• GovGab has some links, mostly from government sources, for "American recipes." There are even some for our friends who may be on special diets.
  
• Dumb Little Man has "9 Secrets to Cooking the Perfect Turkey." These are some basic tips.
• Now, the last thing you want is an undercooked turkey or some other food safety issue. Visit FoodSafety.gov to get good information on food safety. This is not just for Thanksgiving. Get advice and tips on proper and safe food preparation. A hat tip to Lori's Blog.
  
• And here are more tips on cooking the turkey as well as selecting one in the first place, and other useful links on "Turkey for the Holidays" from University of Illinois Extension. They have put a lot of stuff together: history and lore of the holiday, fun links, trivia, and what the heck to do with the leftovers. This is worth a look.
  
• From Cook's Illustrated, a primer (on video) on how to get that turkey safely cooked. A hat tip to Lifehacker.
• For some, getting up at 4am to cook the meal is a ritual. But maybe you want to save some time. From Lifehacker, here are some ways to "Get a Jump on Thanksgiving with Make-Ahead Dishes." Hey, make some things ahead of time, so you can get a bit more sleep.
  
• And because, well, things happen, Bob Vila has provided a list of items for a "Holiday Host Emergency Kit." No, this is not about those people who burn houses down because they tried to fry a turkey and failed miserably. Vila's advice is more for small things from what happens if the turkey is taking longer to finish than estimated to how to deal with stains.

Doing things a little different:

• Are you interested in a "sustainable Thanksgiving"? This means are you interested in doing something different such as a meatless meal or trying to get a turkey that has been humanely killed? From AlterNet, here are "10 Tips for a Sustainable Thanksgiving." Some things may take a little work (like starting a garden), but others are simple (drink tap water).
• Maybe you want to look at some old cookbooks? Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project may be your thing. From the site, "The Michigan State University Library and the MSU Museum have partnered to create an online collection of some of the most influential and important American cookbooks from the late 18th to early 20th century. The goal of this project is to make these materials available to a wider audience."
• Want more history? How about some historical recipes? Find them here, from the Pilgrim Hall Museum.
  
• Maybe you are not traveling this year? Or maybe you live in a new town, and you have not established your holiday traditions yet? Mashable has put together a very nice "HOW TO: Prepare a Thanksgiving Feast With Help from the Web." From how to send invitations to how to cook the meal and even iPhone apps.
  

Humor:

• Do you remember the ever popular jargon bingo games you might play in your office during meetings? Well, here is a Thanksgiving Bingo Card, from the folks at Holy Taco. So, if you are stuck with less than nice relatives, you can at least entertain yourself.
  
• Want some cake? Here are photos of "25 Horrifying Thanksgiving Cakes." A couple of those are kind of cute actually, but some should have been Halloween horror spectacles. Via BuzzFeed.
  
• If you thought you were just having turkey and the fixings with family and friends, you were wrong. Here is a graph on "What You're Really Having for Thanksgiving." Via the SF Weekly.
• Are you traveling to your Thanksgiving gathering? Or are you returning, and you think you want to bring some leftovers for the trip? Sorry, but take those leftovers and ". . .shove them down your piehole." This is a tongue-in-cheek reminder about some of the restrictions the TSA has in terms of flights and foods, especially liquids. Via YesButNoButYes.
• And if you are like me, then you are not regular people. Like grad students, I have to work a significant part of the holiday (don't even get me started on that). Jorge Cham of PhD Comics knows my pain.
  

• Of course, you can always have Thanksgiving PETA style. I know this is a serious commercial, and they are trying to make a serious point. But, the commercial is quite depressing, and in the end, the effect may be somewhat more humorous (in a dark sort of way):
  
  

And after you are done eating that turkey, there is Black Friday:

• Last year was notable because people actually got killed during those stupid early morning doorbuster promotions. The last thing retailers want is to get a bad reputation if someone dies in their stores this year. So, retailers are making plans to keep things "safe" on Black Friday (via Bizmology). If you follow the link, you get the article, and you can also get links to materials from OSHA and the National Retail Federation. These are kind of interesting in terms of seeing how retailers think.
• Target apparently is ready to cater to the psychotic shoppers anyways, as their recent advertisements indicate. Via AdFreak.
• On the other hand, you may want to consider staying home. According to Consumer Reports, a lot of shoppers are saying that retailers are out of line. "The survey was conducted as part of Consumer Reports' annual "Dear Shopper" campaign that highlights holiday gotchas and shopping traps." Found via Docuticker. The top annoyance is: "Stores that don't open all the checkout lanes." This is in my top peeves for retail as well. Nothing that pisses me off more than a store filled to the gills, and they don't open more checkout lanes. Pony up a bit more to pay some more cashiers, you cheap bastards. Having only 3 lines out of 40 open is not good customer service.
• Once again, GovGab to the rescue. Here are some tips and links to help you "get ready Black Friday."

If you are driving, please be safe and careful. Also, please do not drink and drive. If you are staying home, have a safe and peaceful holiday.