live bloggin’ thanksgiving pt 3

9:35 pm
Thanksgiving is a holiday that I have never truly understood. I mean, of course I understand the idea of taking a moment to stop to consider all the things you have to be thankful for, it’s just the way that it is practiced that I don’t truly understand. Seeing as we already live in a very glutinous society, the idea of taking a day off to really indulge in the finer things in life comes off to me as much more hedonistic than thankful. I know that traditionally, Thanksgiving has been an ‘unofficial’ religious holiday to give thanks to God for the bounties that (hopefully) came with the harvest season. But these days, with factory farming and all the fertilizers and pesticides, it barely feels right to be celebrating a harvest that we, as a society, take for granted and don’t really know anything about. I’d be all for having a “thank a farmer’ day, and think that it would be great if we, as a society, spent a day every year learning and thinking about where our food comes from. But instead we eat five times as much as we should, get drunk, argue with our in-laws, and watch football.
But I do agree with the basic concept that we all have a lot to be thankful for, it’s just that I think the way our country acknowledges the holiday plays off more like a bad joke than something sincere. How about a day of fasting? Or maybe we continue to spend all day in the kitchen making delicious meals, but then when the feast is finished we bring the food to some poor family or old folks who can’t get out of their homes? That seems to me to be such a more obvious way to reconcile a notion that we need to show gratitude for our excesses than sitting around all day gorging ourselves until we can’t eat anymore.
But I should probably stop complaining.
Lately it seems like there has been a bountiful harvest in the digital realm. While we are on the topic of giving thanks, let me declare my gratitude towards Jona for starting up Music-By-Friends-For-The-Radio; a wonderful internet radio show (pod-cast? I am so not hip with the lingo) that has turned on many people, myself included, to some great new music. I can’t stop listening to last weeks mix, and am particularly excited to have been introduced to the French electro-pop outfit o.lamm
I am also super stoked on the new digital pog revolution, brought into the world by Michael Bell-Smith and brought to my attention by our very own E-Rock. It is obvious that Digital Pogs will soon be everywhere; I just wonder how long will it be before some advertising agency totally rips-off the idea. And speaking of advertising agencies ripping off artists, I am very thankful that someone is finally making a huff about how blatantly the new Nissan Sentra commercials are ripping off (fellow Uncertain States of America) artist Matt Johnson’s piece Bread Face. (and thanks to Jeff Jahn for the heads up!)
While I am in the groove, I should probably announce my profound thanks for Urban Honking! UrHo is a great thing, and the opportunity to blog here is an honor. The dudes behind it work their behinds off, entirely on a volunteer basis. They could probably make a wad of cash if they decided to sell ads, but their choice not to shows their true dedication to this community. THANKS DUDES!!!
OKAY. IT IS TIME TO DEFROST THE TURKEY POT-PIE