Union organizers don't have arguments with workers, they have "structured organizing conversations" -- conversations in which the organizer asks someone to think about what change they want to see, what the obstacles to that change are, and then asks them to think about whether that change will come about unless they form a union. Read the rest
Dealing with family drama at the Thanksgiving dinner table isn't fun. So I was amused to see that a friend of mine, mixologist Jared Hirsch, was asking folks to help him name his new mixed drink — one he crafted for "when you can’t take another word out of your politically-opposed relative this Thanksgiving." I've written about Jared before, he's the co-purveyor of a line of craft cocktail syrups.
His original request:
I need help naming a cocktail. I'm designing a Hot Toddy that uses Nickel Dime Cocktail Syrups' Caged Heat and Crimson Smoke. I want to evoke escaping to the kitchen to make yourself a drink when you can't deal with your bigoted uncle. Go.
The original name he came up with: Racist Relative Remedy (which I love).
Others quickly chimed in. In total, there were 275 comments in the thread.
The suggested names were fun. Here's a few:
Family staycation Relative Reinforcement Toddy, Take Me Away... Me Time Ear Smokin' Mad Archie Bunker Mentality Hot Disembody The Amway Uncle The Oh Brother The Factual Reply The Quick Kitchen Getaway No Smoke Without Fire 🔥 Crimson Tide, or Wave Let me get your coat Red Hot Ambivalence Red Hot Honey Badger A Sticky Situation Fire Escape Hold that Thought The mute button Relative relief Cry Uncle Can't Relate Only Joking and, so many more!
Hivemind FTW!
The winning name...?
Read the restThe Turkey Time Out
Recipe by Jared Hirsch, Name by Camper English
Ingredients: Any aged spirit. Be it bourbon, rye, anejo tequila, dark rum, or Calvados.
The American right -- always prone to conspiratorial thinking -- has tumbled off the cliff in this century, supercharged by the Trump years, with a series of outlandish conspiracies about Ukrainian election-meddling and climate change that make birtherism and trutherism look positively hinged by comparison. Read the rest
You never knew you needed it. Now you have it.
“Pop-tarts and Fine Whiskeys, a Pairing Guide,” by IMGURian @acetech09. Yes, it includes rums and sake and other liquors.
Pop-tart: Cookies & Creme Spirit*: Zacapa XO, Guatemala Rum
The creamy, chocolately, and surprisingly tasty richness of this pasty is quite satisfying. Zacapa XO is an equally decadent rum that is aged in an array of wine casks. This slightly tannic fruitiness that is imbued in the spirit compliments perfectly with the pastry.
Enjoy the whole gallery.
Talk about being irresponsible, Sunset posted an article that suggests serving a "THC-laced turkey gravy" as a way to avoid, or smooth over, uncomfortable conversations with your family at the Thanksgiving table. Read the rest
The queen of polka dots, the a-mazing Yayoi Kusama, is making her mark on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with a three-story-tall balloon float. "Love Flies Up to the Sky" will be included as part of the Blue Sky Gallery, the parade's contemporary art series started in 2005. Previous artists have included Tim Burton, KAWS, and others. Kusama is the first woman to participate in the series.
“Her work lends itself to that playful whimsy that we like to see in the sky,” Susan Tercero, the parade’s executive producer... "What’s fantastic about her art, and why I think she’s so world-renowned, is that it is so accessible. Everyone can look at her art and appreciate it, understand it, and feel something from it, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
As wide as six taxi cabs, Kusama's balloon will require 40 handlers to march it through Manhattan on the morning of Thursday, November 28.
The ninety-year-old Japanese artist also has a new NYC gallery show. Every Day I Pray For Love includes one of her popular Infinity Rooms and will be exhibited at David Zwirner in Chelsea from November 9 to December 14, 2019.
(ARTnews)
images via ARTnet News and Macy's Read the rest
The Mighty Carver electric knife ($59.95) might be the most badass way to rip into the holiday bird, besides using an actual chainsaw.
Here's how it came to be, as told by its creator, Kimberly Burney:
At Thanksgiving dinner as far back as I can remember, I would get out the electric carving knife for Grandpa. He would carefully carve the turkey to serve the family. This is a wonderful tradition shared by most Americans. But Grandpa’s been gone for a year now and at the last Thanksgiving dinner I asked, “Hey, who wants to carve the turkey this year?” No one looked up, no one said a word. I thought to myself, come on you guys, you all love power tools, what is the problem? Then it hit me. “If this were a chain saw, you boys would be fighting over who gets to carve the turkey.”
It's also good for slicing up bread, fruit, and god-knows-what-else in the most glorious fashion ever!
Thanks, Kent!
image via The Grommet Read the rest
Do you remember when Barney parade balloon ate it during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1997? The internet sure does. Footage of the schadenfraude-inducing incident is making the rounds again, proving that hating on the annoying purple dinosaur is timeless.
The day after it happened, The New York Times reported the accident was due to high winds and that Barney wasn't the only damaged float:
...For a while, the balloons seemed to be falling like flies. Barney suffered extensive damage and had to be removed at 51st Street. The Pink Panther succumbed at 42d Street. Quik Bunny and the Cat in the Hat limped away at 36th Street...
The crash of Barney, the purple dinosaur beloved by preschoolers and loathed by some parents, was heart-stopping for those at the end of its ropes. ''Everything turned purple,'' said Antonella Laggiano of Mamaroneck, N.Y.
''Barney attacked us,'' said a still-stunned Isabella Fasciano of Hoboken, N.J. After it fell, police officers rushed to puncture it with knives and relieve the danger.
Thanks, Andy! Read the rest
And in accordance with tradition, Uncle Bill will now lead us in "A Thanksgiving Prayer" (1986).
If you're planning on taking a salad to your Thanksgiving potluck this year, be wicked careful of what you throw into it: The Centers for Disease Control is currently warning everyone, frigging everywhere to avoid romaine lettuce as if eating it could dose you with E Coli... because there's a pretty decent chance that it will. According to the CDC's Twitter feed for the time being we none of us should be eating "...any romaine lettuce, including whole heads and hearts, chopped, organic and salad mixes with romaine" until they figure out what the source of E Coli is and how much of the romaine supply chain has been contaminated by it. For the complete lowdown on what the CDC knows so far, you'll want to check out their E coli alert page.
For those unfamiliar with it, E coli (Escherichia coli,) bacteria can be found in the guts of healthy folks and many animals. It's fine, for the most part! Some strains of the bug, however, are not so fine. Should one of these strains of E coli get into our systems, typically via the ingestion of contaminated water or food, those stricken by the bug can suffer symptoms ranging fa quick bout of the trots to serious issues with symptoms including severe abdominal cramps, bloody diarrhea and vomiting.
So, maybe serve up a kale, iceberg or coleslaw salad this year, instead. It'll give everyone gathered around your table one more reason to be thankful.
Image via Wikipedia Commons Read the rest
Patrick Costello (previously) writes, "My mom shares her recipe for cranberry orange bread with help from my dad. They have been married for fifty years and they are still crazy for each other. The full recipe is in the video description." Read the rest
Do you like Flaming Hot Cheetos? Well, heck. Why not enjoy a Flaming Hot Cheetos Thanksgiving turkey dinner with the whole family this year. Read the rest
The secret word of the day is: Marathon.
As in, IFC is hosting an 24-hour marathon of Pee-wee's Playhouse on Thanksgiving. Aaaarggghhhhh! (That was me screaming real loud.)
Starting at 6 AM, you'll be able to watch every single episode of this quirky TV cult classic, from "Ice Cream Soup" to "Accidental Playhouse." Do note that THE best Christmas special in the whole wide world -- Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special, of course -- begins at 6:12 PM sharp on Thanksgiving Day evening.
Save room for Pee-wee. #PeeweesPlayhouse marathon Thanksgiving day on @IFC. pic.twitter.com/lWmxvPOgzV
— IFC (@IFC) November 13, 2018
Plus, you'll get a chance to watch them again when IFC starts running the episodes (sans the Christmas special) on every Saturday morning this December.
[Psst... take a look at Pee-wee Herman's Instagram. It's full of weird gifs and images, just as you would hope and expect.]
To the best of my recollection, this was Thanksgiving 1993.
I was 21 and living in Chicago. I'd moved there a few months earlier, under the promise of a job at the Second City, a famed comedy club, that evaporated before I'd ever set foot in the door. Being young and refusing to give up, I stayed for the adventure. My apartment was incredibly cheap, and I was performing a lot more than I had been in LA. I thought I'd make this my new home.
My two roommates had left town to visit family. Greg, a fellow improvisational comedian who'd suffered the same retracted job offer as I, was off to Massachusetts. Marko, a 6'6" pre-frontally lobotomized hoarder who suffered from homophobia, anti-semitism, and only experienced joy while performing as a children's party clown, was someplace I did not care.
Over the many years, I have come to recognize that homophobic, anti-semitic, hoarder, children's party clown roommates come with an increased incidence of violent death. The rent was really cheap.
My friend Kevin came into town from Los Angeles, we didn't even think about dinner. Mostly, we liked to drink. We were 21 and it was cold.
It was Thursday, everything was closed and we were hungry. We realized it was Thanksgiving. I am absolutely certain this very-good-idea-were-we-not-broke-as-fuck was Kevin's and not mine: we would go to the Chicago Ritz-Carlton and join their Thanksgiving dinner.
We decided that appearances would matter and that we should look nice if we intended to have dinner with rich and fancy people at a rich and fancy place. Read the rest
Pop culture historian Charles Phoenix, the culinary kitsch king behind the Cherpumple, accidentally created this Astro-Weenie Roast Tom Turkey Dog in his test kitchen a few years back.
His space-agey "bird" is made of "turkey meatloaf skewered and studded with turkey wieners, turkey kielbasa, ‘lil turkey smokies and fresh cranberries."
He writes, "I didn’t mean to do this, it just happened. I didn’t think about it, I just did it."
Previously: 'Addicted to Americana,' Charles Phoenix's new book on 'classic & kitschy American life & style' Read the rest
Scientific American consulted biomechencial engineers on how to win the wishbone wish fair and square and also by cheating.
