Shoppers following their own advice. (And , no, we didn't have to pay to use this image.) (Photo by Brave New Films) When getting or giving a gift, we often hear, "It's the thought that counts," implying that it doesn't matter what we buy, as long as we buy something. So, every year on the day after Thanksgiving, American shoppers hurl themselves into malls in a frenzy, desperately hunting for Black Friday bargains. After the shelves been picked clean and the registers closed out, economists anxiously await the day's totals, hoping to forecast a strong economy for the upcoming holiday season. But there are some who believe that the only forecast this consumerism points to is damage to ourselves and our planet. And if folks like the Reverend Billy have anything to say about it, we won't be buying anything. The good Reverend is one of those critics of rampant consumerism who urge you to participate in the holiday madness by not participating in it. "Reverend Billy" is the nom du theatre of performance artist Bill Talen, who founded the Church of Stop Shopping. His mock gospel of anti-consumerism became deadly serious when he attacked a certain mouse-headed corporation for its "Disneyfication" of New York's Times Square, and Starbucks for driving out small local businesses in the name of creating a "fake Bohemia." It's not that Billy is anti-capitalist; rather, he stands for a "real human experience" and against corporations that seek to homogenize or erase the uniqueness of small mom 'n' pop stores in the name of efficiency and profit. But it's not just Reverend Billy. On this day of all days, there's a whole movement that asks you to buy nothing at all -- not even gas, bread, or coffee! Proponents of "Buy Nothing Day" claim that it serves as a brake on the rampant consumerism that has spoiled society. If you do decide you must shop this weekend, remember that wise spending -- such as understanding where purchases come from and what kind of an impact they'll have on our environment -- may make all the difference between wasteful overconsumption and practical resource conservation on our planet. So before you make that rush to the mall over the next few weeks, ask yourself if you're doing all that shopping just for shopping's sake. And pause to think if your purchase will be the one that brings on the Shopocalypse. Suggested Sites... Adbusters: Buy Nothing Day - information on observations worldwide. Reverend Billy and the Church of Life After Shopping - stop the insanity. Buy Nothing Day.org - sit around the house and get to know your family. What Would Jesus Buy? - official site for the documentary about Reverend Billy's work. But would it be a sin to buy it? Money Can't Buy Happiness, Er, Can It? - Nobel Prize-winning economist asks whether America's consumption boom is really a good thing.

Directory categories: Buy Nothing Day, Reverend Billy, Black Friday Sales, Anti-Consumerism, Consumer Advocacy

Archived under: Business, Consumer Advocacy, Counterculture, Culture Jamming, Economics, Environment, Events, Issues and Causes, Shopping, Society and Culture

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Krispy Kreme-bacon-cheeseburgers (Photo by Clay Caviness) Thanksgiving: Time to give thanks for and celebrate our bounty... but have you seen our bounty lately? It's ... well, it's bountiful. Bountylicious. America is having something of an epidemic of, er, bounty. And what was once a celebration of oh-thank-heavens-we-have-enough-food-to-survive-the-winter has become more of a gluttonous culinary dare to see who can eat a winter's worth of calories in a single day. But wait -- we're not saying that's necessarily a bad thing. Those of us with plenty on our plates should be thankful (and we should also remember -- and help -- those in need), and honestly, most of us could probably be a little more mindful of just how bountiful our everyday meals are, for the sake of our hearts and waistlines. But it's awfully hard to resist the urge to celebrate a harvest festival by eating everything in sight. We think the occasional celebration of gluttony is a wonderful thing, and Thanksgiving seems like an appropriate day for it. If there's ever a time for deep-fried turkeys, fowl stuffed inside one another, obscene quantities of carbs, and several dessert courses in one meal, this is it. But why stop with the traditional Thanksgiving fixings? Why not get all of the indecent cravings for food obscenities you want to try but know you shouldn't out of the way at once? Load that Thanksgiving table with bacon-crusted bacon with bacon dipping sauce, deep-fried pancakes, sandwiches with fried chicken breasts instead of buns, and deep-fried butter. And don't forget to save room for the deep-fried Twinkies, supersized creme eggs, and Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding. We can have salads Friday -- and not the kind served in bowls made of bacon. Suggested Sites... This Is Why You're Fat - mostly meaty food obscenities that will either make you hungry or make you never want to eat again. The Bacon Show - one bacon recipe posted per day. Don't worry -- you can cook as many as you want. Super Sized Meals - the bigger, the better, according to these folks. Their doctors may disagree. Fancy Fast Food - turning fast food items into gourmet (looking) meals. Pimp That Snack - junk food writ large.

Directory categories: Thanksgiving Recipes, Holiday Side Dishes, Deep Frying Recipes, Turducken, Thanksgiving Desserts

Archived under: Cooking, Eating, Fanatics, Food and Drink, Holidays, Recipes, Society and Culture, Thanksgiving

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Seriously, does this kitty look like bad luck? (Photo by Adhi Rachdian) Today is Friday the 13th, which is supposed to be an unlucky day. Why this is, no one is exactly sure. There are plenty of theories, ranging from the numerological to the religious to the historical, but nothing concrete. For some folks, it's just another day, but for others, it's something to be taken seriously while being reminded of our phobias. With that in mind, we polled some of our fellow Yahoo!s to find out what they were afraid of, and what they do to ward off bad luck. In fact, there turned out to be so many fears and cures that we had to break it all up into three parts. Not surprisingly, some of our colleagues suffer from coulrophobia, or an unnatural fear of clowns: Sarah: I'm afraid of clowns and roller coasters, which is interesting, considering I worked at an amusement park for two years in college. Mike: People with a lot of makeup on make me ill -- literally. Like, I can't eat around clowns and stuff. I'll totally hurl. (Editor's note: That might inspire emetophobia in some other folks.) Mahlon suffers from xyrophobia: Razor blades, especially straight razors or double-sided razors, creep me out! Whenever I see them, I feel especially vulnerable around the throat and inner arms. Eek! And gum chewing -- not a phobia exactly, but I will cross the street or leave the room to avoid seeing or hearing it. Adam has acrophobia: Heights. Even driving over on-ramps or off-ramps that are way off the ground freaks me out. Majorly high bridges, zip lines, and other activities that put your body more than a dozen feet off the ground freak me out, too. Robert: I'm afraid of mirrors in dark rooms and doors that are open to dark hallways. I don’t know what might come through them. Helene: I can't stand alignments, like military parades. ("Don’t put that one in," she says. "People will think I’m crazy.") Personally, I have a fear of things that are too big. Not big objects, but things that are larger than they're supposed to be. The first (and only) time I saw Howard Hughes' "Spruce Goose" airplane, I nearly had a panic attack, because the thing was just too damn big. Coming up Monday: Media-inspired phobias. Watch out for those black cats this weekend! Suggested Sites... Snopes: Friday the 13th - myths and legends about the date. Wikipedia: Friday the 13th - an historic overview. How Friday the 13th Works - doesn't it just roll around? Wikipedia: Luck - what it is, and how to get it. Skeptic's Dictionary: Paraskevidekatriaphobia - a rational view of the fear.

Directory categories: Friday the 13th, Superstitions, Phobias, Friday the 13th Movie Series

Archived under: Curses, Friday the 13th, Holidays, Numbers, Phobias, Psychology, Society and Culture, Superstition

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Spc. Jesse A. Murphree greets his comrades returning from deployment in Afghanistan (Photo by The U.S. Army) War, with all of its accompanying horrors and destruction, doesn't seem to be on the decline. It is a huge part of our past and future, and is a shaping force in human culture. Regardless of how one feels about war, or politics, or military policy, I would hazard a guess that most people support, in one way or another, the troops who ship off and fight. It follows that we should set aside politics in our commitment to these soldiers after they've completed their service. As much as ever, veterans need community support. They face PTSD, homelessness, high suicide rates, unemployment, and general difficulties transitioning back into civilian life. Fortunately, many communities and national organizations are stepping up. In Michigan, jobless veterans can participate in a new training program designed to prepare them for farm jobs. Across the country, many restaurants will be offering veterans free meals on Veterans Day. At the national level, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki recently announced that he hopes to end veterans' homelessness within five years. The VA has also recently begun a program to address mental and emotional issues early on in a service member's military career. Private organizations are playing a part as well. Puppies Behind Bars, where prison inmates train service dogs, has started training many of their dogs with the special needs of veterans in mind. The recent tragedy at Fort Hood illustrates the desperate need for mental health services in the military. This surely includes indentifying and fixing those parts of the system that are failing service members, but each of us can increase our awareness and sensitivity to the needs of these people in our communities... because if you don’t already know a veteran, you probably will. Suggested Sites... U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs - Mental Health - resources for veterans and their families, connecting people to the services they need. National Coalition for Homeless Veterans - providing advocacy for homeless veterans and support for service providers. Transition Assistance Online - lists employment opportunities for separating military service members and veterans. Take A Veteran To School Day - a national teach-in on veterans history. U.S. Department of Defense Community Relations - connecting the troops and the community.

Directory categories: Veterans Day, Veterans, Veterans Organizations, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Employment Resources for Veterans

Archived under: American History, Government, Holidays, Mental Health, Military, Society and Culture, Veterans, Veterans Day, War

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Ross in his prime. You wouldn't think a guy with hair like that would be such a cultural icon. In the 1920s, only one American city was the center of art and commerce: New York. And in that city, only one magazine kept track of it all: "The New Yorker." And in that magazine, only one person mattered: founder and editor Harold Ross. Ross was born November 6, 1892, in Aspen, Colorado, and soon developed printer's ink in his blood. By 13, he had dropped out of school to work at the Denver Post, and by 25 he had worked for six other newspapers, from San Francisco to Atlanta. During World War I, Ross' talents got him a job in Paris, editing the Army newspaper, "Stars and Stripes." His fellow staff members included drama critic Alexander Woollcott and New York columnist Franklin P. Adams -- both of whom would go on to play roles in Ross' plans. After the war, he settled in Manhattan, where he worked on those plans -- to create a weekly magazine that would analyze, comment on, and play a role in the cultural life of the city. It would not, Ross insisted, be a magazine for "the old lady in Dubuque." It would be sophisticated and urbane -- but not snobby. It had standards, but if a reader was witty or informed enough, he or she would be a member of the club. In the depths of the winter of 1925, the first issue of "The New Yorker" rolled off the presses. Despite some glitches, such as a joke ("Pop: A man who thinks he can make it in par. Johnny: What's an optimist, Pop?") that ran with the set-up and punchline reversed -- a error reprinted in every anniversary issue for years -- the magazine was an instant hit. In the decades since, it has come to be considered the gold standard of American magazines. That respect is due almost entirely to Ross. He personally edited virtually every word that appeared in every issue until his death in 1951, and, despite his own poor spelling, his meticulousness for precise grammar, clarity, and good writing attracted such notables as Vladimir Nabokov, John Updike, Ernest Hemingway, John Hersey, Ann Beattie, John Cheever, Roald Dahl, Alice Munro, John O'Hara, Philip Roth, J.D. Salinger, Robert Benchley, Dorothy Parker, Irwin Shaw, Woody Allen, James Thurber, E.B. White (whose own prose style was crucial in setting the magazine’s voice and tone), and even Marlon Brando. But the literary aspect of "The New Yorker" was only part of the package. Each issue was filled with cartoons by artists like Charles Addams, Peter Arno, George Booth, Roz Chast, George Price, Saul Steinberg, William Steig, and Thurber again. So good were (and are) the cartoons, that many readers never get past them and are still satisfied they got their money’s worth. Despite Woollcott describing him as looking like "a dishonest Abe Lincoln," Ross' contributions to the culture of Manhattan and America are impossible to calculate. His sensibilities shaped the ways plays were written, movies received, and books were published, and it's almost impossible to imagine American -- and world -- culture without him. Suggested Sites... Wikipedia: Harold Ross - overview of Ross' life and career. The New Yorker - bringing the world to New York -- and vice versa -- since 1925. The New Yorker Cartoon Bank - pretty near every cartoon ever seen in the magazine, yours for the asking. Harold Wallace Ross - biography of The New Yorker's founder. Harold Ross: The History - the BBC takes a look at Ross and his magazine.

Directory categories: Harold Ross, The New Yorker, E.B. White, Magazines, Manhattan

Archived under: 1920s, Authors, Biographies, Birthdays, Cartoons, Journalism, Literature, Magazines, Media, New York, Society and Culture, The New Yorker

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