Drunken Pumpkin

Lots of people falling down. Woo-hoo!

Where all think alike, no one thinks very much

Jeff must have been remembering all of those horrible presents he’s received in the past and decided to do a little something about it. Because you can’t live on hope.

Well, if you were thinking of sending a gift to Jeff you now know a couple of things that probably won’t work out. Make certain that you get him an attractive statue, instead of one of those on sale at Hobby Lobby. And don’t be offended if it gets regifted.

Another hint from Jeff is that maybe he would like a hip flask. You need a little comfort in the cubicle, and the boss tends to notice when you install a wet bar, so something a little more discrete is the best route.

Tune in tomorrow for more fun and excitement, but I’m going to a comic book convention and won’t have access to a computer until late in the evening. But I’m sure Jeff will hold down the fort.

He that lives upon hope will die fasting

Jeff was let out of his little cage yesterday in celebration of Thanksgiving. And, I think, there may have been turducken involved. After all, nobody else was willing to spend that much time deboning all of those fowl, and Jeff is used to being up to his elbows in unpleasantness. He’s the one that handles most of the coding problems on this site, and chicken guts are probably pretty pleasant in comparison.

Today is what’s known as Black Friday in America. Supposedly, it’s called that because today is when most stores move from losing money to turning a profit. Perhaps that was what Jeff was investigating when he found that little tidbit about the origins of the holiday. I think that Roosevelt had an interesting idea about shifting the holiday back to extend the Christmas shopping season, but it is rather a moot point now, as most retailers have unofficial done that anyway. It’s funny that you can buy a Halloween costume on the same day that you can buy your Christmas wreath. I blame Jeff for that. I’m not sure why, but it only seems appropriate, as Jeff is normally behind most of the insidious marketing schemes out there.

Tune in tomorrow for stories of that other reason today is called Black Friday and probably some funny animal pictures.

Thanksgiving became an official holiday in the United States on October 3, 1863 via proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln. This was largely due to the lobbying efforts of Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey’s Lady’s Magazine who had lobbied for 17 years for the holiday. The proclamation declared the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.

Interestingly enough, in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt attempted to move the official Thanksgiving date to earlier in November in order encourage a longer Christmas shopping season as a Depression recovery strategy. His idea was shut down by Congress, and the official date was declared permanently as the fourth Thursday in November via Public Law #379.

Q. What international disaster would be caused by dropping the Thanksgiving dinner tray?
A. The fall of Turkey and the destruction of China.