Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

The revolution will be supervised.

You don’t get to peddle hatred on saturday and offer condolences on sunday.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

We know you aren’t a Democrat but since you seem confused let me help you.

It is possible to do the right thing without the promise of a cookie.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

So many bastards, so little time.

Trump should be leading, not lying.

No one could have predicted…

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Quote tweet friends, screenshot enemies.

The poor and middle-class pay taxes, the rich pay accountants, the wealthy pay politicians.

It’s easy to sit in safety and prescribe what other people should be doing.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

Balloon Juice, where there is always someone who will say you’re doing it wrong.

Red lights blinking on democracy’s dashboard

Republicans got rid of McCarthy. Democrats chose not to save him.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

The republican caucus is covering themselves with something, and it is not glory.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Happy Thanksgiving Open Thread: The Fun, The Family, The Food

Happy Thanksgiving Open Thread: The Fun, The Family, The Food

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Posting from the wilds of Nebraska, where the wind is cold and the waves are red. Though much of my family shun that. How things are going as we prep for Thanksgiving:

My favorite family:

May be an image of 5 people, people standing, food and indoor

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving! As we celebrate, let’s give thanks for all the blessings in our lives and give back when we can. We’re also thinking of the brave men and women serving our country far from their home. – Barack Obama

Obligatory:

We are having the traditional. I was somehow tasked with spatchcocking two small turkeys around midnight last night. Happy to say I did not amputate any fingers in the process. I also made my first mincemeat pie (hello jarred mincemeat and Pillsbury refrigerator dough for the win!). Okay, off to enter the fray!

Hope those of you who celebrate have a wonderful day and for the rest, may it be a happy Thursday!

Open thread

Reader Interactions

232Comments

  1. 1.

    zhena gogolia

    Sasha has grown into such a beautiful woman. They’re all beautiful, but I’m struck by the character in her face.

    Grading papers. Going to a friend’s later for goose. We’re thankful for friends and family, for President Biden and Vice President Harris, and our great senators Murphy and Blumenthal. Praying for the people of Ukraine.

  3. 3.

    Citizen Alan

    Watching that clip from WKRP is as much a holiday tradition for me as eating turkey and refusing to talk about politics with my relatives for six hours. Still the funniest episode of one of the funniest sit-coms of all time.

  4. 4.

    UncleEbeneezer

    In laws both got Covid.  MIL is in Covid ward of hospital to be safe since she is a double-lung transplant survivor, but apparently doing well (thank the FSM for these vaccines!)  FIL is back at the retirement home isolating but his phone isn’t working so my wife is emailing him a zoom invite to try and trouble-shoot the phone issues.  I swear it never ends with these people, lol.

    We are gonna go have some ramen for lunch/dinner and don’t have much else planned for the day besides continuing to plan for our Yucatan trip in January (pyramids, flamingos, cenotes…oh my!)

    Just had our bedroom re-painted (from a dark red to a soft/pale blue/gray) and the brighter color makes it seem so much bigger!  It’s kind of amazing how much of a difference it makes.  I’ve always known that was the case from interior design tv shows etc., but to see such a drastic change in person is really remarkable.  We live in a pretty tiny cottage-style place so I’m all for anything that makes it feel more spacious.  In other news, finally went for an eye exam and at 48, it’s time to get reading glasses.  Kind of excited since I’ve always thought glasses were cool, but never needed them.

  5. 5.

    Ella in New Mexico

    Woke up to the  young couple who rent the place next door screaming the F word at each other. “All I asked you was what YOU were thankful for and you had to say a bunch of stupid shit and make fun of me you fucking asshole!!!””

    Ah, love families on Thanksgiving. Lol

  12. 12.

    lowtechcyclist

    With 20 for dinner, the cooking is well distributed. I’m bringing the pumpkin pies, and my wife’s bringing a veggie tray and a cranberry dish with bourbon in it. I had a taste of it last night and it was wonderful. Assuming my wife has done the veggie tray, all we have to do now is get showered and dressed. I think I can manage that.

  13. 13.

    Honus

    I’m cooking the turkey for our family gathering at my sister’s house (25 people right now with immediate families and some orphans).  We were discussing when/where to slice the turkey yesterday and she said “Do it however is easier for you, I just want you to be in good mood” I said “I’ll cook the goddam turkey but don’t ask for the impossible”

  14. 14.

    narya

    I love you John Cole.

    And the rest of you jackals, too!

    I have an ongoing text thread with Nephew the Younger, who is at a roommate’s family’s house, making all the desserts (coconut macaroons; biscotti; cream puffs with pumpkin and regular pastry cream plus caramel on top; cannoli cups to be filled w/ cannoli cream (I suggested that so he could bake rather than fry)). Glad to see I was able to pass along the enthusiasm for baking.

    I will soon start my chores–excited that I have four whole days to Do Stuff.

  16. 16.

    MomSense

    The bird went in the oven at 830.  We have stuffing and dressing made with a leek, Pearl onion and rosemary focaccia that DIL baked.  Lots of other goodies to go with it.

    I cooked up the giblets for the dogs and now they are following me around looking their absolute cutest.

    Sending greetings to all the jackals.  Hope you are enjoying this day!

  17. 17.

    Xavier

    Pie crust is easy as, well, you know. The secret is to not work it any more than you have to. Overworking starts to turn it into bread, which is not what you want. Where commercial crust fails is that they make it in large batches that have to be overworked to mix sufficiently.

  18. 18.

    Suzanne

    @Ella in New Mexico: I hope she DTMFA.

    In fine SuzFam tradition, the thing we are all more excited about is the cheese plate. There’s a triple-crime Brie, white Stilton with apricots, and a chèvre with honey. And various flat carb items to use as carrier devices to convey the aforementioned cheeses from plate to food-hole.

  19. 19.

    p.a.

    I cut loose from the family MAGATs years ago and relied on Chinese restaurants on holidays until I was in a relationship w coincidentally like-minded fellow oddball GF & family.  One of the last MAGAT-family-holiday-torture-dinners (h/t EatDrink Man Woman) included MAGAT patron arguing with me that a lime is an unripe lemon.

     

    Happy 🦃 everyone.

  22. 22.

    dmsilev

    @Suzanne: My mom is making a salad that she likes for festive occasions; the taste is dominated by a strong truffle cheese that we dice up and toss along with the greens and the sautéed mushrooms and other things. Good stuff.

    Bird just came out of the oven, so now the making-of-gravy begins.

  23. 23.

    Ken

    @narya:  all the desserts (coconut macaroons; biscotti; cream puffs with pumpkin and regular pastry cream plus caramel on top; cannoli cups to be filled w/ cannoli cream)

    I am a failure as a human being. Though at least this year’s store-bought pumpkin pie needs to be baked, not just unboxed.

  24. 24.

    Suzanne

    @p.a.: MAGAT patron arguing with me that a lime is an unripe lemon

     
    Entire cohorts of white people have terrible taste in food. My grandmother was one… everything she “cooked” was straight out of the Protestant church picnic. Jello “salads”, marshmallows on top, canned cream-of-whatever soup mixed with FSM-knows-what.

    I remember Mr. Suzanne’s Granddad one time complaining that “food has too much flavor”.

  27. 27.

    arrieve

    Happy Thanksgiving to all. I am in the last weeks of my master’s program and have too much work to get done in too little time, but I’m going to take today off anyway. I had a chocolate cupcake for breakfast, because I’m a fucking adult and there’s no one to tell me that I can’t, and I have roast chicken, spaghetti cacio e pepe, and broccoli rabe with garlic (all courtesy of Fresh Direct) to eat later. Plus I’ll finish watching Karen Pirie on Prime (I like it more than the reviews I read led me to expect–I read the whole series of books from Val McDermid early in lockdown and love the character.) And possibly finish the cupcakes.

    I brought pumpkin pie for my ESL students last Saturday, and showed them video of the parade, and introduced them to the tradition of saying what they were thankful for. They’ve been in the US for anywhere from three months to twenty years and struggle with basic English, but I’m so proud of how much they’ve learned this semester. These are the immigrants I’m supposed to hate and fear and they are uniformly lovely and hard-working and smart and funny and truly grateful for everything they have. They are a joy.

  29. 29.

    P Thomas

    Ahhh…mincemeat pie…from a jar….with premade pie crusts.

    You made me think of my Irish mother this morning, thank you!

    She knew I liked it (about the only one in the extended family) and when one would show up on the holiday menu, the siblings would roll their eyes.  “You always make it for HIM”.

  30. 30.

    narya

    @Ken: Nah–not at all! The trick is befriending people like me or my nephew: we love to make all that stuff, but there’s no way to eat it all ourselves, so sharing it is part of the absolute joy of the whole enterprise. I dragged both nephews in the kitchen at a young age, but only the younger really took to the baking (though the older one is a fine cook). I love sharing that with him, too.

  31. 31.

    Suzanne

    @arrieve:

    I had a chocolate cupcake for breakfast, because I’m a fucking adult and there’s no one to tell me that I can’t 

    That’s goddamn right.

  32. 32.

    scav

    Our turkey’s not being baked until later in the week: it being a purely leftover dedicated bird.  Oven nevertheless occupied at a traditionally early hour stuffed full of bread and (near future) a cacophony of roasted root vege. And huzzah!  If destined for a non-private meal, at least they are just past strangers with no histories or agendas, demonstrated conversational skills and numbering less than a handful. Yeah, I’m thankful for that.

  33. 33.

    narya

    @Suzanne: I’ve come to realize that I’m a direct result of my Italian-immigrant grandmother (grandfather’s parents were also immigrants) and my mother. I grew up eating great food, though in retrospect it wasn’t always “American” food–we always had a big antipasto tray to start a holiday meal; we never had gravy on Thanksgiving; we never had macaroni & cheese as part of the T-day meal. Still had the turkey, but a lot of the surroundings were subtly different. And tasty.

  34. 34.

    Mike in NC

    Looks like our dishwasher decided today was a good time to leak all over the kitchen floor. Not like we were expecting a crowd for dinner.

    A quick look at the newspaper indicates that Brazilian dictator Bolsonaro has still refused to concede and will likely pull off some sleazy Trumpian stunt to try and cling to power. Not surprising at all.

  35. 35.

    AliceBlue

    I pretty much lurk here, but BJ is my first internet stop every morning.  I feel like I know so many of you!  It will be a quiet but lovely meal at home today, just me, my husband and our dog Dreyfuss.

    Happy Thanksgiving to all!

  37. 37.

    CaseyL

    Our Thanksgiving get-together was upended by medical issues (not Covid).  I will make the blueberry oatmeal crisp anyway and take it over there, to hopefully give the would-be host a little bit of a lift.

    It’s a stunningly gorgeous day here in Seattle: cold and very sunny.  I may or may not go out for a walk later.  I like neighborhood walks, where I can admire houses and gardens.

  39. 39.

    zzyzx

    I’m doing an anti-Thanksgiving since the wife has to work. There’s not much food in the house that isn’t reserved for tomorrow (we’re doing a day delay) and I just expect to sit here, maybe watch a football game or two, and go to bed early. I kind of have fun going to the other extreme and just go into self pity.

  41. 41.

    Percysowner

    I’m home by myself today. Kids were supposed to be at my SIL’s mothers house, but my 4 year old granddaughter has been sick all week (Not COVID) so my daughter will stay home with her and my SIL will go to his parents with the 3 month old baby. Whatever my GD is having has hung on for all week. I hope she gets better by Tuesday. I take care of the kids when their parents work and 2 of them at once is a LOT.

    Since I’m alone I got myself a Cornish Hen, sweet potatoes, brussel sprouts and beets for roasting. I forgot to get a dessert to make, so I stopped by a restaurant last night and picked up an individual carrot cake. I’m all set for Kdramas and other bingeable shows.

  44. 44.

    Ken

    @zzyzx: There’s not much food in the house that isn’t reserved for tomorrow

    Ah, yes, the Great Terror: Hearing the cry, “Who ate the  carrots? Those were for Thanksgiving.”

  45. 45.

    raven

    Well, I’m off the schneid, one whiting in three days but I’ll take it! Back up to the house to cook dinner and watch real football!

  46. 46.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Gather round kids and let vodka auntie explain the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

    Dear non-American friends:

    I know Thanksgiving is a little confusing, so I’ll try to break it down for you. Today is the day we celebrate the freeing on the United States from the reign of terror or Lord Gobble, a 50-foot tall turkey/Sasquatch hybrid who demanded human sacrifices every November. In 1863, Abraham Lincoln rode his eagle-griffon into battle, singlehandedly slaying Lord Gobble and freeing us from our blood oath to our fearsome tyrant.

    In celebration of this momentous victory, we consume the corpses of his descendants and parade our largest and most influence cartoon characters through the streets of New York as a display of power, so that history will not repeat itself.

    Hope that clears things up.

  50. 50.

    J R in WV

    Here’s a post repeated from a probably dead thread:

    I had a big day yesterday, starting with an early afternoon appointment with my orthopedic surgeon, who replaced my shoulders back in 2016, along with Wife’s knees. I have bad knees, worse hips, and something going on with my back which he declined to diagnose specifically after that x-ray. Told me to see my family practice Dr, whom he knows well who may refer me to a neurosurgeon who works on spines and saved Wife last spring.

    Also — Got a giant injection of steroids into my worse knee, left, which made me gasp, though not twitch. Seems to have helped some. Very little cartilage in knees and hips, scary x-rays. Also have a appointment next month for surgery to remove an incipient tumor in my bladder. Hurray! Hope to meet with urologist/surgeon to discuss that in more detail soon.

    Then off to shop for T-day foodstuffs. Went to Steak and Seafood shop, where I bought oysters, scallops and shrimp, thence to Kroger’s which was a madhouse, but thankfully, everyone was being on their best behavior, asking “Please could you, tall person, reach that thing on the top shelf? Thank you so much” etc, etc. Was somewhat surprised, but really, everyone was totally polite and helpful. Was pitch dark when I got home! I stopped at Family Dollar and bought a $5.89 headlamp to negotiate the path up to the front door.

    I have a little utility wagon I use to move provisions up to the house ( and trash beck down), it’s 230′ of uphill, with one sharp switchback 1/3 of the way up. At which point I had to dump the big bag of DF kibble and one sack of groceries, as the cart was too heavy for me to get rolling after the switchback. That stuff is still out there, I hope the dogs didn’t spread it all over the hillside. Going to look after I finish my coffee. Slept til 11 am thanks to modern medicine, after a V long Wednesday. Had nice love session with the two big dogs, which are cuddle bunnies.

    No bird this year — just the Wife and I for dinner, which is going to be seafood with deviled eggs and a big mixed greens salad, and a store bought pecan pie, which we have had before, it’s quite tolerable. Should have bought heavy cream to whip, oh well, can use the butter pecan ice-cream instead…

    Happy Holidays, everyone.

  54. 54.

    J R in WV

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: ​
     

    That sounds like an exhausting day

    It was, that’s at least part of why I slept til 11 am today. But oysters only take 6 minutes to cook, after the long breading part. I’ll have extras for a soup tomorrow, also too. Getting tired of medical BS, also too !!!

  55. 55.

    BeautifulPlumage

    I’m thankful for all you jackals and the laughs, sorrows, and general weirdness that is human life. And politics. And….

    I’m also thankful that the psycho GM at my workplace quit and has ghosted us.

  56. 56.

    BruceFromOhio

    Caught a fun comment thread on Instagram with this one: what sentence can you say that is appropriate at the Thanksgiving table with family, or during a sexual encounter?

    Stop, stop, that’s too much.

    Should I stick it back in for awhile longer?

    I’m so stuffed I can’t move.

    Let’s finish, football is starting.

    Oh no, it’s too dry.

    You have to stick your hand all they way in there to get it.

    Sit wherever you want.

    Thank you for coming.

  60. 60.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Reposting from the late-night threads. “This holiday, I’m going to a gay bar.” (I’ll be headed to one in SF tonight myself.) This week especially, I’m thankful that we have these spaces, although there’s fewer than a dozen lesbian bars left in the entire U.S.

    It’s a FTFNYT, but it’s a gift link. Beautiful and heartbreaking, and absolutely true — Thanksgiving is usually one of the busiest nights of the year for gay bars as a refuge for those who don’t have families to go home to, and those who need a respite from their biological families.

    Just as soon as we walk through those doors, past the bouncer checking IDs, up to the bar, where the impossibly cute bartender nods to let us know he’s seen us. He did see us. Someone finally did. It’s been a while. This is where we’re safe. For many of us, it’s the only place. They told us it would be OK, behind those closed doors. They’d leave us alone.

    Often there’s a drag show, a fund-raiser for a homeless shelter for the queer kids whose parents listened to their evangelical leader and threw their children out onto the streets. We’ve heard the panic about drag queens, and it’d be hard to not laugh if we didn’t know the intent behind the manufactured panic. Drag queens talk about sex the way politicians talk about thoughts and prayers and Christians talk about love. Everyone knows they’re full of it. Drag queens are in on the joke.

    If you’ve ever been to a gay bar on a holiday or ever worked at a gay bar during a holiday, and I have, you get to watch the transformation of every person who walks through those doors: the unwinding of jaw muscles and shoulders, hips that start to roll about halfway across the room, the tone of voice that changes between the front door and the bar. You watch people become themselves as they throw back that first shot, the medicinal shot, then find immediate friends down the bar or out on the patio. It’s as beautiful as it is tragic.

  61. 61.

    BeautifulPlumage

    @CaseyL: it is lovely out today in the PNW. Sorry that your day was upended, though. Warm blueberry crisp sounds therapeutic.

    I’m headed to a small dinner at friends in Snoqualmie (city, not pass) ~ 1 and looking forward to the views from there.

  66. 66.

    Another Scott

    I’m thankful for my J, this place, the good people here, a good job, good colleagues, and all the good results in the November elections.

    And that I don’t live in the UK:

    There’s something strangely inevitable happening in Britain. Now, a majority of Brits think Brexit was…a mistake. Brexit’s turned into Bregret, as they’re beginning to call it. In that, there are some profound lessons for a world turning, foolishly, desperately to the far right for salvation. How does it end? Just ask Britain.

    Right about now, Britain’s something like the English-speaking world’s Austria or Poland. It’s a far right nation, in which nothing exists, or is allowed to exist, but xenophobia, spite, hate, and lunacy, and if you think I go too far, don’t worry, I’m about to demonstrate it to you. It’s so far right that compared to a nation like Canada, it’s off the scale. It’s now so much further right than America — with the exception of obvious issues like guns — that it’s not even in the same league. How does that experiment end? What happens when a nation goes from flirting with the extreme right, to wedding itself to it?

    Britain wedded itself to the extreme right, and I mean that literally — because Trump was temporary. But Brexit? Brexit is forever. Britain’s now trapped in a marriage made in hell — and sadly for it, there’s no way out. Don’t worry, I’m going to demonstrate that, too.

    It’s not so hard to see why Brits are being consumed by Bregret. Right now, the number’s at 56 percent, and it’ll only grow. Why? Because the country is in meltdown. Utter and complete meltdown, and I don’t say that lightly, and it’s not my opinion. Take it from former PM Gordon Brown, who’s watched his prediction of Britain becoming a “failing state” play out, or from the current Chancellor, who speaks of the NHS in a state of “collapse,” and then grins, shrugs, and walks away.

    (via jonrog1)

    It’s all so stupid and unnecessary and damaging. But too many people don’t bother to take their voting responsibilities seriously. :-(

    Hang in there, everyone. Especially all the good people in the UK.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  68. 68.

    Madeleine

    Husband and I just celebrated by putting up a bookcase.  Also duck breast + orange veg + orange pie later.

    But we are especially grateful for having seen one of our oldest friends yesterday who is visiting family in the area for the holiday. We haven’t seen each other since before covid snd she just lost her husband after long cancer. It was good to be with her.

  72. 72.

    JoyceH

    @Another Scott: ​
     

    I had the impression that the British people regretted Brexit even before it was implemented. A lot of them apparently voted for it, confident that it wouldn’t pass, just to register that ‘I’m not happy with things as they are’, and were dumbfounded when their vote mattered. And in all the years it took them to finally make Brexit happen, I kept silently urging them to take a new vote – “okay, if most of you vote yes, this is definitely going to happen so — are you SURE?” I think an official vote pre-Brexit would have just shut the whole thing down. But… they didn’t.

    And just an observation. Have you noticed, I’ve seen it several times on this thread, that these days when reporting that someone is sick, the usual cold and/or flu, it’s now standard to add “(not COVID)”. Which I guess short-circuits the otherwise usual comeback ‘did you test for COVID?’ These times we live in…

    And it’s still out there. There’s a woman in my neighborhood, we run into one another walking our dogs. Her husband had some form of cancer, big long name I can’t remember, had surgery etc. And their kids didn’t come to see them because they wouldn’t be allowed into the house unvaccinated and they refused to get vaccinated. (Even though their grandfather actually died from COVID.) Well, husband is still hanging in there, and a few days ago, ran into her and she said they were going to her daughter’s for Thanksgiving, first time in years she will see her granddaughter. Saw her again yesterday, and that’s off – because daughter has COVID and so do son and daughter-in-law.

  74. 74.

    CaseyL

    @Sister Golden Bear: Oh my god, that is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time.

    @BeautifulPlumage: Just spoke to my neighbor, who will be heading off to visit his wife in the hospital around mid-afternoon. I want to go with him. So if I’m gonna get a walk in, I better put down the computer and get moving :)

  76. 76.

    cope

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: The neighbors across the street had to finish their bird in our oven.  “Error” messages suddenly appeared on their control panel midway through cooking.

    Ours was not in use due to things I posted about earlier elsewhere and am too tired to repeat or even copy and paste.  Day saved (I think).

  77. 77.

    Dan B

    @BeautifulPlumage: We’re headed to my brother’s, actually h8s girlfriend’s house, on the south side of Cougar Mountain.  I’m glad the weather is mild and sunny since it can be ugly by the mountain.  My partner has a cold that’s gotten much worse so he’s going to sit in the far end of the rec room in a mask.  My nephew and his partner and their new puppy are coming down from Bellingham so it should be lively.

  78. 78.

    JoyceH

    Question for the group. I’m looking at artificial Christmas trees – I switched to artificials a few years ago, really like the convenience and non-mess of them. But my current tree is a few years old and getting kinda rickety, so I’m looking at trees on Amazon. I always got the unlit trees and added my own light strings, but now I’m wondering about these pre-lit trees. So – who here uses the pre-lit trees and are they complicated?

  82. 82.

    Citizen Alan

    @Suzanne: Currently remote-temping for a judge for 2 months.  I’ve interviewed for Houston, Louisville, and Pittsburgh but haven’t heard back yet on a second round. I’m waiting to hear about interviews for jobs in Rhode Island and Fresno.

  84. 84.

    Citizen Alan

    @raven: I do like Atlanta, and if Warnock wins, I may add it to my list of “places I would consider living even though it’s in the South.”

  85. 85.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @JoyceH: I’d get an unlit tree since the lights tend not to last too many seasons, and it’s a pain to remove the lights after they die (so that I can replace them with regular strings of lights). Ask me how I know.

  86. 86.

    Gary K

     Happy to say I did not amputate any fingers in the process. I also made my first mincemeat pie…

    Oh, yeah, and just where did that mincemeat come from? You’re not fooling us.

  87. 87.

    West of the Rockies

    In 1996 I spent Thanksgiving with my late father in a hospital in Sacramento where he was having open-heart surgery.   Thanksgiving dinner was in the cafeteria by myself.  My father recovered and lived another dozen tears.

    This Thanksgiving is considerably worse.

    We’ve got my wife’s youngest daughter and her husband and two kids visiting from red Missouri.  He’s an ex MMA fighter, conservative, and a CT.

    They arrived sick:  high fevers, vomiting, diarrhea,  rash… everything is sticky and germy.   TV on constantly.   The MMA dude has a major man-cold and can’t be tasked with anything.   He evidently passes out in the bathroom and hit his head and may be concussed.

    Thanksgiving today is postponed.   They were supposed to leave tomorrow but decided to extend until Tuesday.

    I am not without sympathy,  but right now I loathe everybody.  The grandkids are cute (2 and 6), but I’m tired of Disney movie marathons and stuff everywhere.

    Blah.

  88. 88.

    Gary K

    I celebrated Thanksgiving morning with a positive rapid antigen home test. It wasn’t a big surprise, since my wife tested positive two days ago. We had already cancelled our plans to host two children and three grandchildren today. They’re in the vicinity, but we’ll have to content ourselves with a FaceTime.

  91. 91.

    Suzanne

    @JoyceH: I used to have a pre-lit tree. The one that I had was really easy to put together, it was basically just three separate pieces that slid together, and then you had to plug them together and that was it. I had an artificial tree because I was worried about my pets messing with it. I always had a hard time putting it up because I am allergic to dust, and I would do my best to keep it clean, but there’s no good way to do that with an artificial tree. So every year when putting it up, I would break out in a rash.

    Mr, Suzanne talked me into giving a real tree a try, and my animals didn’t mess with it, so I got rid of it and have gone with a real tree for the last ten years or so.

  92. 92.

    Suzanne

    @Citizen Alan: Well, good luck! I have learned that some companies just take forever to get back to you, and I have very little sympathy. I hope you get a positive response soon!

  93. 93.

    Citizen Alan

    @Suzanne: Oh, they’re all government jobs. Which means a month for the second round (if I get it) and then probably 4 months for the background check.

  97. 97.

    Kent

    @Citizen Alan:@raven: I do like Atlanta, and if Warnock wins, I may add it to my list of “places I would consider living even though it’s in the South.”

    There are blue cities with interesting culture and such all across the south.  But if you actually choose to live in one you will be forever subject to a revanchist and fascist government at the state level and find that your opinions will always be in the minority at the state level.  Where things like education, environmental protection, energy, transportation, gun, and health care policy are actually made.

    I found this out living for 15 years in Texas and working as a teacher with plenty of other progressive Democratic colleagues.  Always being on the losing end of every major policy decision gets wearisome after a while.   Being able to get good Thai food in blue cities like Austin or Dallas doesn’t make up for that

    Some people thrive by being the “loyal opposition” and fighting the good fight.  I find that I prefer to live someplace that actually shares my values at all levels of government.

  106. 106.

    opiejeanne

    @WaterGirl: 40 years ago we were hosting and our oven’s electronic ignition died the day before T day. None of the repair guys could get to us until Friday. So we lit the oven with a long match and were able to produce a nicely roasted turkey.
    It turned out to be a minor issue, but there was a bit of panic on Wednesday when we discovered that it wasn’t working.

  108. 108.

    eclare

    @Kent:   It is not just state level policies.  I live in Memphis, and the state govt does everything it can to prohibit us from doing anything good.  It took us years to get rid of a Confederate statue because the state kept blocking us with bullshit “historical commission reviews.”  Like NOLA we finally took it down in the middle of the night.

  110. 110.

    eclare

    @raven:   I used to live in Peachtree Hills.  I am sure my old, run down, but comfy and cheap apt building has been torn down to put up condos.

  112. 112.

    Kent

    @eclare: Yeah, that’s the kind of thing I’m talking about too.  I just got tired of living in a state where my own state government was devoted to undermining every one of my values and efforts

    We lived in Waco which was actually reasonably progressive in some ways.  We had a Democratic mayor and good Democratic congressman when we first moved there in 2003.  But my wife was in healthcare and worked for a public clinic network and residency program that was constantly undermined by the state’s refusal to expand Medicaid.  And I worked in education where we were at the mercy of state funding and insane state mandated standardized testing and curriculum standards.   One tires of always fighting against the tide.  At least I do.  Some people actually seem to thrive always being the underdog

    If we had deep roots in Texas I might have felt more obligation to stick it out.  But we didn’t.  Our roots were actually in the Pacific Northwest to where we returned and chose to finish raising our kids.

  119. 119.

    Kent

    @raven:@Kent: Fuck the “state level” I’m staying in Athens!

    Two of my oldest and best friends live in Athens and raised their kids there.  Seems like a really nice place.  But your governor is still Kemp and the GOP still has an iron grip on your legislature.

  120. 120.

    eclare

    @raven:   Oh…I used to go there all the time.  It was down the road from me pretty much everywhere I lived in ATL, from Druid Hills to Peachtree Hills.

  125. 125.

    prostratedragon

    Love the Patinkin video. Not so strangely, since my whole family has the true name of Blessed or something,  he and I crossed paths as kids. I realized it only recently,  and it was confirmed by a friend. Explains why once, when I saw him at a Cafe, he seemed about to stop me. I thought he was merely a nice, pleasant man, but it might have been that he recognized me.

  126. 126.

    Steeplejack

    Unexpected T-Day excitement at Sighthound Hall: the sizable Brazilian contingent is (loudly) watching Brazil-Serbia on some sketchy Brazilian streaming service. I should have been prepared.

  130. 130.

    Trollhattan

    Howdy from Monterey Bay, sunny and 66. We’re probably doing Thai for dinner, depending on what’s open. Runner girl on a training run and I figure that’s exercise enough for the both of us.

    Cheers!

  133. 133.

    Geminid

    @Yutsano: I too am thankful that immodium exists, and I’m also thankful you spared us the details. Reticence can be a virtue.

    Happy Thanksgiving!

  134. 134.

    JPL

    We had spatchcocked Turkey on the grill.   It was a serious eats recipe, and it was the juicy and delicious.

  135. 135.

    FastEdD

    @Kent: Me too. As teachers we fight the good fight every day. We try to have a positive impact on our local elections. But it is just too hard to fight it at the state level and know you can’t win.

  138. 138.

    opiejeanne

    I’m very thankful for you good people, jackals all. You’ve helped keep me sane-ish over the years and I’m grateful.

    im on the train to PortlandOR with a basket of pies. We get to see our granddaughter because her mom has relented and is willing to risk her being exposed to a party with turkey and Methodists, and agnostics, and atheists. She’s JW. The baby is 4 weeks old. 🙄
    I like this woman most of the time, but there are moments when my patience is sorely tested. But right now I’m really happy.

  139. 139.

    Martin

    See, the problem is that Thansgiving is like choosing guests for a wedding, but the budget isn’t dollars, it’s your sanity. Who gets to come depends quite a lot on what place you and the other people who live in the hosting house are in.

    Traditions are what kills you. Not wearing a mask is a tradition. And now your great aunt is dead. That’s what you’re trying to avoid here. MAGA uncle Harry doesn’t get to come any more. It was also a tradition he wasn’t a fucking asshole. He changed that, so does the invite list. You got vegan relatives that will help make sure the menu is suitable to them and won’t complain? They’re in. Your mom whines about not having that fucking green bean casserole? She’s out. Yeah, you fucking kick mom out – it’s the only way she’ll learn. Go ask her how she handled your shitty behavior when you were 8 and that’s how the fuck she did it.

    Holidays are supposed to be enjoyable and help strengthen families. Voting the assholes off the island is how that works. Do not give in on this. I’m sitting on my patio typing this. My turkey is on the grill. Relatives are getting some FaceTime today. Daughter is relaxed. Wife is happy. And I am not responsible for anyone else.

  141. 141.

    Martin

    @Kent: I just want a state that aspires to do better. They don’t even have to succeed at it. Just make an earnest effort and invite the public along. It’s such a small, easy thing.

  142. 142.

    opiejeanne

    @Martin: I wouldn’t kick Mom out, I’d tell her to bring that dish. I never make it because I really don’t care for it, but my kids love it. I’m not sure they’re really mine.

  143. 143.

    Martin

    @JPL: I am. It’s 78 degrees and breezy. I can hear all of the neighbors doing their thing. The Chinese family behind me does a big thing with friends and family and makes kind of a ruckus. The filipino family next to me will have 8 million people over and also make kind of a ruckus. There’s a family behind them that always does a big football thing today.

    It’s a lively place today and I just enjoy soaking it all in.

    I hope everyone else has a wonderful day. Take care of yourselves. You’re the only you there is. Don’t let anyone steal that away.

    I’m thankful for everyone here. Coming here in the comments always makes me feel like the world can be a pretty good place and worth fighting for. Especially thankful to Cole and Watergirl for making it happen.

  144. 144.

    John Revolta

    See that’s why being an old guy is cool. I would be all “OMG Barack Obama is standing right there WOW!!”

    And that guy is like “Now don’t be skimpin’ on the gravy buddy, c’mon now…”

  148. 148.

    Geminid

    @zhena gogolia: I was making a more general appraisal of Christie as a politician. He did win election as Governor in blue New Jersey by 4 points, and won reelection in 2014 by a bigger margin.

    But fortunately (or maybe not), we will get more data! I expect Christie will enter his low slung Cadillac in the upcoming Republican Presidential Demolition Derby.

  149. 149.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    DH in the UK means we have a traditional thanksgiving dinner when noone knows what the hell it is.  In any event we had sis, bro in law and my late mum’s partner Norman over for our grand thanksgiving feast.  We got a 6KG gammon joint (to be honest it was the size of a small child), and did all the trimmings, mashed taters, roast taters, cabbage, green beans, carrot and swede mash, pigs in blankets, cresent rolls and gravy. Our nice butcher scored the gammon joint for us and I studded it with cloves and then sprinkled applewood smoke rub over the skin and then drizzled apple wood smoked glaze over it just  before it went in the oven. Wrapped it in foil and banged it in the oven at 12pm. Had a chicken and veggie soup to start at 7pm and then loaded the table up with the feast.  Did a take out for our neighbour (elderly gentleman living alone), with soup first, and then a full dinner, followed by raspberry trifle and pumpkin pie.  Everyone was stuffed and we sent everyone home with a doggy bag with loads of gammon (in Norman’s case we sent him home with an entire dinner for tomorrow night including dessert). Good time was had by all and I felt really good taking care of our neighbour and Norman.  It has been a good day, and one to be thankful for.

  150. 150.

    Brachiator

    Slept in late today, spoke to family and friends, and now just enjoying a quiet day at home. Going to re-watch one of my favorite movies, The 39 Steps, later today.

    Hope that all who celebrate it have a Happy Thanksgiving.

  151. 151.

    karen marie

    @UncleEbeneezer: Did your eye doctor suggest a second pair with a prescription for working in front of a computer screen?  I’ve got a pair. It’s made a huge difference for me.

     

    As for cooking, I wasn’t going to but backed into making applesauce with some macintosh I bought last week that have been glaring at me.  As it was cooking down, I thought it would make a lovely filling for tiny pies, so I made pie crust.

    Then I decided, instead of chicken piccata, since I’ve got the pie crust chilling, I’d make Sally’s double crust chicken pot pies, because they were so good last time and I had all the required veg on hand. Instead of a large pie, last time I made four 5″ pies. This time I’m going to make tiny chicken pies in the same tiny tart tins I’m using for the apple pies.

    Everything is now prepped and chilling. I may well have run out of steam but tomorrow is another day that will do as well. I have leftover tomato soup and bread that I made yesterday, so I certainly won’t starve.  And the soup and bread are so delicious! Last night I threw a spoonful of leftover pesto into my bowl of soup, and wow!

    Happy Thanksgiving, kids!

  153. 153.

    karen marie

    @Suzanne: You people!  *shaking my fist as I wander to the fridge to get out the chevre to make JUST A COUPLE chevre-honey-cracker treats

  154. 154.

    CaseyL

    Turns out I was in the middle of the forest when my friend called to say he was going to visit his wife in the hospital, so I wound up not going with him.  I feel bad about that, but the day is too glorious – the rest of the week is going to be rainy and cold – I just had to get out and enjoy the sunny not-hot weather.

    And I had an amazing walk!  I went to Carkeek Park, which is near me and combines beach, meadow, forest, wetland – you name it, Carkeek has it.  Plus a pedestrian overpass over the railroad tracks that separates the picnic meadow from the beach. I walked along the beach, watching all the birds (gulls, ducks, crows.. no Great Blue Herons, which seem to hang out everywhere else but here).  The day got pretty warm, around 50+ degrees, so I shed my jacket.  Went up some of the forest trails, along a bluff looking out over Puget Sound, about 100 or so feet above where I had been on the beach.  Called it a day, went back to the car…

    …and decided to hit the overpass one last time to see if a train might be coming.  And one was!

    I love being on an overpass when a train comes thundering through.  It looks like it’s bearing right down on you.  The trains that come through here always whistle at the people on the overpass watching them, so we get the train whistle along with the thunderous choo choo engine sound.  And the windy afterdraft of the cars is some serious gusting.  Not to mention the whole overpass shaking a bit.

    It’s magical, and I accidentally timed things just right to be there for it.

    I said my thank yous to the Universe at large and came home, where I am now baking the oatmeal crisp.

  155. 155.

    raven

    @Martin: I was talking to a couple on the beach this morning. Their son just quit his Phd program at the UCI Art History program. They were despondent but I tried to tell them he’d be ok.

  157. 157.

    dmsilev

    Oof, long day. Everyone has gone home and the cleanup is just about done. It was good seeing a bunch of family, and we even got to introduce my cousin’s dog to my parents’ pup. That was potentially fraught; a Doberman mix and a toy poodle are just …a tad mismatched in size, but they both have friendly personalities and got along fine.

    (yes, we had a Plan B prepared in case they didn’t get along, but it wasn’t needed)

  159. 159.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Martin:

    I’m thankful for everyone here. Coming here in the comments always makes me feel like the world can be a pretty good place and worth fighting for. Especially thankful to Cole and Watergirl for making it happen.

    Amen!

  163. 163.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Raven: I wasn’t gonna say, but since @Steve in the ATL: did, I’ll join in: from everything I’ve read, art history (and philosphy) programs are only for scions of wealth; for us hoi polloi, they’re sure-fire tickets to poverty.  There’s more to life than eating, but OTOH, it’s a useful habit, so unless these folks are wealthy, it was probably a wise move on their son’s part.  Cut your losses, so to speak.

  164. 164.

    Chetan Murthy

    I read over at LG&M that after T-day, grocery stores will have deals on turkey parts (like, say, thighs).  Gotta say, that’s my favorite part of the bird, and I’m kinda thinkin’ of getting a few thighs to try to learn how to cook ’em.

  167. 167.

    Suzanne

    I am now having my piece of pumpkin pie.
    AFAIAC, the rest of the traditional meal is highly meh, and this is the only part I look forward to.

  168. 168.

    Citizen Alan

    @Raven: I question whether the Ph.D program is “early.” Although, any undergrad/masters degree will get you into law school if your grades were good.

  169. 169.

    eclare

    @Suzanne:   I would be a perfect dinner guest.  I don’t care for most desserts and spend my calories hoovering up dressing, potatoes, etc.

    Even the dreaded green bean casserole.

  170. 170.

    Citizen Alan

    In T-Day news, all the cooking is done on my end–roasted turkey breast (which came out PERFECT), Mac&Cheese, devilled eggs and apple cobbler. So naturally, as I’m putting on my shoes to leave, my sister calls and says not to rush, “the ham’s not done yet.”

  171. 171.

    dmsilev

    @Raven: Definitely. The event was at the home of the smaller dog, so one big concern was how territorial he would be (he’s great with other dogs, of all sizes, when out and about).

  178. 178.

    Jackie

    To make Thanksgiving even more enjoyable for us all, TFG is sulking on his social media. Again. Imagine me playing the tiniest fiddle…

  179. 179.

    Miss Bianca

    @JPL: Smoke ham, yum! We had ham for our Thanksgiving up here at the Mountain Hacienda – made WaterGirl’s baked apple recipe she gave us in an earlier thread, just made it a bit savory by adding sage and onions, and ginger instead of cinnamon. That and acorn squash, and waiting till a bit later in the day for pumpkin pudding with whipped cream.

  180. 180.

    Almost Retired

    The kids and our usual collection of holiday randos are coming over at 6:00.  This being Los Angeles and all, undoubtedly there are dietary restrictions and fad diets, which on this day only we will be ignoring.  The menu is circulated in advance, so if your spiritual advisor said stuffing will unbalance your chakras or whatever, don’t have any.  Meanwhile, as per tradition, I am banished from the house until dinner is ready because I am unhelpful and generally in the way.  There are those who think I am feigning kitchen incompetence to avoid work, but I am, in fact, genuinely useless.  I get to clean up.  I think Mrs Almost deliberately makes an extra splattery mess to equalize the workload.

  183. 183.

    Kent

    @zhena gogolia:@Kent: Christie is not mediocre?

    Maybe as a presidential candidate.  But as a governor? God no.  He was a raging asshole.  Mediocre politicians don’t manage to get themselves photographed by helicopter while vacationing with family on a deserted public beach that he closed to the public due to an intentional government shutdown.  And they don’t get caught with their pants down in a mobster move to retaliate against political opponents by closing down freeway lanes and causing massive traffic jams.  That takes severe assholerly, not the mediocre kind.

  184. 184.

    Kent

    @raven:@Martin: I was talking to a couple on the beach this morning. Their son just quit his Phd program at the UCI Art History program. They were despondent but I tried to tell them he’d be ok.

    What were his professional prospects after spending a couple more years pursuing an art history PhD from UC Irvine?

    As opposed to just taking the terminal masters degree now and getting on with his life?

  185. 185.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Miss Bianca:

    That and acorn squash

    Has there been a discussion here about acorn squash and good ways to cook it?  I searched a bit for “best roast acorn squash recipe” but didn’t find anything particularly exciting online …..

  186. 186.

    Kent

    @Chetan Murthy: Twice baked.

    Slice in half and oven roast.
    Then scoop out, blend with butter, parma cheese, pine nuts, seasonings, brown sugar etc.
    Load back into the shells, and roast again.

    Google “twice baked acorn squash” for ideas.

  187. 187.

    Brachiator

    @Chetan Murthy:

    from everything I’ve read, art history (and philosphy) programs are only for scions of wealth…

    I went to a fairly elite university. Some women art history majors were from wealthy families and were going to be art museum board members after marrying well. They seemed to have their entire life mapped out. Some, of course, rejected the roadmap.

  189. 189.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Brachiator:

    Some, of course, rejected the roadmap.

    I remember when I was young, reading about the study that found that high IQ in women was anti-correlated with career accomplishments (b/c high IQ correlated with high socio-economic status, which correlated with marrying wealthier men, and a career as a full-time wife and mother).  Have to say, it’s gratifying as Teh Youngs break that “rule”.  Bit-by-bit.  Bit-by-bit.

  191. 191.

    Miss Bianca

    @Chetan Murthy:

    @Kent:

    Ooh, that recipe of Kent’s sounds really good. I just did mine the most traditional way I know, which is to bake it sunny side up for about 40-45 minutes with butter, brown sugar, and a bit of maple syrup.

    If you want to get more ambitious with it, I found this recipe online last year, which stuffs the squash with sausage and apples and cheese and things! A bit too ambitious for me this year as a side dish, tho’ I have baked it as a main dish before!

  192. 192.

    Geminid

    I spent my Thanksgiving by myself, but I am a loner (and am somewhat agoraphobic) so I didn’t mind.

    For dinner, I slowcooked pork ribs, chicken thighs, sweet potato sections and a quartered Granny Smith apple, stove top in a cast iron pot. In honor of Mary Peltola, my toast was, “To Fish, Family, Freedom…and to Friends also.” Then I chowed down.

    Preliminary reports were, “Mmh, umh!”

  193. 193.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Geminid:

    but I am a loner

    hail and well (not) met!  Me too.  I’d been cooking too much of late, and had 3-4 different dishes in 2-quart quantities.  So today was “eat leftovers so I can cook more next week”.  Ha!

  194. 194.

    eclare

    @Geminid:   That sounds good!  Also a very nice toast

    Shortly I will be reheating a roast chicken and mashed potatoes, and I bought a wonderful cranberry relish with walnuts.  I perused the  ice cream aisle today and found a new flavor:  cinnamon!  So maybe a spoon or two of that for dessert.

  195. 195.

    JPL

    @Jackie:  At first I was going to ignore him, but now I think we should vote what we think he should be given.    “Give me freedom or give me death.”

  197. 197.

    Sister Golden Bear

    For those looking for an alternative to the bird hellsite — especially since it’s gonna turn into $8chan next week because Elmo decide to reactive accounts that were suspended for abusive behavior, check out Post.news.

    Just got on and it’s looking good. It’s got a long waiting list, though I got on much faster than I expected. Plus it’s still in beta, so important functionality is yet to come, and still occasionally glitchy. (E.g. news feed isn’t always loading today, probably because they just let a lot of new people in, and the system is having trouble keeping up.)

    But it’s looking very promising. Good moderation is one of their selling points.

  198. 198.

    Litlebritdifrnt

    @Miss Bianca:

    It is like a great big ham, or an absolutely massive slab of bacon (not streaky), if that makes any sense.  I would suppose that ham would be the most likely comparison but nothing like American ham which tends to be cured and cooked before it is sold.

  199. 199.

    raven

    @Kent: Actually I posted it because I love it when Martin ignores (or pies me). He hasn’t responded to anything I asked him in years.

  202. 202.

    Citizen Alan

    Welp, dinners about to start … with the Egg Bowl playing in the background.  I am the only Dem in a house of Trump supporters,  and the only Ole Miss grad in house full of Mississippi State alumni

  203. 203.

    Emma from Miami

    Reading all these wonderful menus and recipes I am envious. I managed creditable pan-fried cod fillets and a mixed vegetables in cheese sauce casserole. Mind you, dad and I are just recovering from COVID. Our real Thanksgiving will be Saturday when my sister the chef shows up with two mules and a truck full of fantastic food ( or maybe she’ll just shop Cuban, who knows). It was the quietest Thanksgiving I’ve ever had and weirdly it felt fine. My dad napped after lunch and I listened to Old Time Radio detective shows and worked on small projects. Peaceful.

  206. 206.

    Quiltingfool

    I adopted my new kitty, Allie, on October 12.  I was so worried that she would never truly warm up to me.  She hid under the bed for 3 days; we had to make her leave the bed.  She then took up residence in the corner of the living room, protected by the couch.

    Well.  Right now she is on the footrest of my recliner (I make room for her), happy as can be.  She makes sure she accompanies me to the bathroom.  She hangs out with me all day in the sewing room and will stay with me in the basement when I do quilt work on my long arm quilting machine.  She isn’t a lap cat, don’t know if she’ll ever be one, but I’m good with whatever she chooses.

    She does like to grab my hand with her paws and bite.  Usually it is a “nibble” bite, but she sometimes gets carried away and bites a little too hard.  She dials it back when I sternly say “Gentle!” and move my hand away.  (She just turned 1, so a bit of kitten play going on, I guess).

    She’s a good kitty and I am so glad I got her.

  208. 208.

    CaseyL

    @Quiltingfool: Very happy to hear Allie is settling in!  Some cats just aren’t lap cats, but show affection in other ways.  (Like, playfully trying to disembowel and eat you.)

  210. 210.

    Another Scott

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    From their landing page:

    Post will be a civil place to debate ideas; learn from experts, journalists, individual creators, and each other; converse freely; and have some fun. Many of today’s ad-based platforms rely on capturing attention at any cost — sowing chaos in our society, amplifying the extremes, and muting the moderates. Post is designed to give the voice back to the sidelined majority; there are enough platforms for extremists, and we cannot relinquish the town square to them.

    It does sound promising. I wish them success. Let us know how it goes, please!

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  212. 212.

    Soprano2

    We had our family dinner at our pub because we’re closed until 5:00 today. We had all the traditional foods.  We have it at the pub because no one has a house big enough for all of us except the niece who lives down by the lake; that’s too far to haul everything plus she and her hubby are working in Florida right now. That way no one has to clean their house or clean up afterward. It was nice to see all of them, but on days like this I really miss my mom and sister. 😥😥

  214. 214.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Anyway: Oh, thank you for the suggestion!  Maybe I’ll get some thighs for the freezer this w/e.  And then cook ’em once the fridge clears out *grin*.

  220. 220.

    mvr

    @Chetan Murthy: rom everything I’ve read, art history (and philosphy) programs are only for scions of wealth; for us hoi polloi, they’re sure-fire tickets to poverty.

    One reads that a lot – as philosophy prof I hear it all the time. But when you read people saying that it is not generally written by anyone who looked at any statistics.  In general, humanities degrees pay less early on in a career and are harder to find work with right away, but do better mid-career and beyond.  I don’t know about the stats for art history, but I’m pretty sure philosophy does above the median for humanities degrees pay and jobs-wise.  (Some data here. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2018/08/the-humanities-face-a-crisisof-confidence/567565/)

    This should not actually be too surprising since being able to communicate relatively clearly is generally valued across many different career paths and that is generally what philosophy & many other humanities fields put much of their undergrad training into.

  221. 221.

    Steve in the ATL

    @mvr:

    being able to communicate relatively clearly is generally valued across many different career paths and that is generally what philosophy & many other humanities fields put much of their undergrad training into

    Bingo. I have mentioned here before that I prefer to hire liberal arts majors over businesses majors primarily for this reason. And don’t bother sending me your resume if you can’t write well!

  222. 222.

    CaseyL

    @Sister Golden Bear: I’m on there now, too; just put up my first post and picked some folks to follow (including you!).  Pretty limited functionality so far – the downside of simplicity – but looking forward to seeing how it goes.

  223. 223.

    Chetan Murthy

    @mvr: A different way of expressing what you’ve said, is that yes, both philosophy and art history set you up for a good career, *if* you already had the kind of networks that the scions of the rich typically have.  That’s the way I read it.  These aren’t the only degrees like that: it’s been pointed-out that MBAs are a lot like that too.

    P.S. And this has also been pointed-out about law degrees (in excruciating detail by people like Paul Campos).

  224. 224.

    mvr

    @Chetan Murthy: A different way of expressing what you’ve said, is that yes, both philosophy and art history set you up for a good career, *if* you already had the kind of networks that the scions of the rich typically have.

    I don’t want to be quarrelous but that isn’t what I said, at least I did not say anything after the *if*.  Nor do I believe it.  It could be true, whether I said it or not. But I don’t think it is since connections and networks would predict early career success better than average success, and that was not the pattern I’ve read about for humanities majors who tend to do better mid-career.

  225. 225.

    Chetan Murthy

    @mvr:

    the pattern I’ve read about for humanities majors who tend to do better mid-career.

    Ah.  What I was mentioning was not about humanities majors generally, but *specifically* about art history and philosophy degrees

    P.S. ISTR that at least for art history, the population of students skewed towards those from high socioeconomic status families, also.

  229. 229.

    Chetan Murthy

    @West of the Rockies: Holy fuck.  Holy.  Fuck.  You’re more generous than I’d be: I’d have sent them to the nearest motel for attempting to expose me to a deadly virus.  I’m 5-shots in, and wear my p100 respirator religiously in all foreign buildings and public transport.  Somebody tries to expose me like that, I’m not gonna take kindly to it.  Or them.

  230. 230.

    Kayla Rudbek

    @JoyceH: I’ve been using a pre-lit artificial tree for the last 15 years, only replacing it this year because some of the lights are burned out and I can’t figure out which bulbs are bad (last year I had to McGyver it with a separate string of lights). Mr. Rudbek ordered another tree from Target that should get here on Monday. I think that the lights on the new tree may be LEDs so we should probably be set for another 15-20 years…

  231. 231.

    Kayla Rudbek

    And I think that I have finally optimized my vegan pumpkin pie recipe, thanks to the invention of sweetened evaporated coconut milk. The quest for a good Brussels sprouts casserole continues, though.

Comments are closed.