gobble, gobble

We here at PfRC wish you and yours a peaceful and bountiful Thanksgiving. Thanks as always for stopping by.

cinematic titanic or play MSTIE for me

The name PfRC is a nod to the series Mystery Science Theater 3000—the 1998 episode lampooning the 1958 Jack Arnold feature, The Space Children. Just ahead of the abduction—encounter, the children gleefully announce the discovery of an ominous cave—to which one of the Bots quip, “It will be perfect for our delicious Roquefort cheese.” MST3K premiered 25 years ago on Thanksgiving Day on a UHF broadcast station in the Minneapolis area. Mental Floss has more on the show's history, legacy and some trivia. The Mads are calling.

till by turning, we come around 'right

Writing for the ever surprising and peripatetic Neatorama, Miss Cellania turns our attention to the avatars of Thankgivings past. Of course, originally, the feast was a communal celebration—an aspect that continues to the orphaned. I have enjoyed quite a few good and grateful meals in the company of strangers in the mess-hall. With gentrification, however, it became a chance for being seen and ostentation, by dining among peers in the swankest, most exclusive restaurants. I like the idea of community though the idea of privilege over noblisse-oblige and flaunting of ones means not so much. Thanksgiving dinner retreated to a private affair, prepared at home and an inviting rather than insular affair, with the signals from the economic downturn that followed this gilded age.

leftovers or turkey in the straw

Did you know that the turkey got its name in English, at least, because early explorers and settlers in its native New World range mistook it for an already known African complement?

Not realising that the birds were distinct species (albeit, they do look very much alike, like mistaking a pheasant for a quail or crocodile for an alligator), they named it with standing convention for the guinea fowl—a so-called turkey since the birds came to Europe through the ports of Ottoman Turkey. Similarly, in the Turkish language, the American turkey is called Hindi, based on the idea that the exotic poultry comes from the Hindu Kush mountains, sticking to Christopher Columbus’ original mission to reach India by sailing westward but not knowing there were unexpected lands in between.  Also, in French, the bird is called Dinde—that is, a contraction of poule d'Inde.

winterval or humbug

Today is the German holiday of Buß- und Bettag (Day of Repentance and Prayer) which marks a time reserved for praying real hard and reflection and hope of deliverance. Although the day off from work was mostly given back in order to help finance the short-fall in the pension and retirement system.

I think schools in Bavaria are out on this day, despite parents having to go to work, so they have to scramble a little bit to find someone to mind the kids and not all the mindfulness of the day is not totally ignored. The pension-gap is not quite bridged; however, it is amazing what a difference a day can make in either a spirit of solidarity or with the herd-instinct. Splashy, crass and reputed cultural differences aside (which I hope are exaggerated and not underestimated), it seems appropriate that the non-holiday falls on the second-to-last Wednesday before Advent—just before all the pressure of seasonal logistics, shopping, planning and travel, come to a boil. It ought to be about charity, peace, family and trappings (decorations and music and food) and most pressures relent when it becomes otherwise, surely. Another statutory day that’s a non-holiday that is coming up soon (back to the question of herding over solidarity with the option to give something back as well) is the decisive shopping day for American retailers, Black Friday, the day of big sales after the Thanksgiving holiday—and same, otherwise: Buy Nothing Day. Marketing and promotion has managed in some places to steal away a lot that is sacred, but the same kind of commercial guilt should also not be reverse-psychology turning us all into Scrooges.

salutations and studio cards

The one-holiday-at-a-time approach is probably best, but it is the thought and planning that counts.

Searching for some inspirational designs for greeting cards for Christmas and New Year’s, I stumbled on the cards, posters and other ephemera in the archives of the Geffrye collections, the English Museum of the Home—a contributor to the Europeana project, which also an excellent resource for vintage material, including old films and music as well as graphics. One could easily find elements to personalize and make one’s own unique greetings that can’t be found in shops. We’ll have to get busy designing ours. Meanwhile, for all our readers in the States, PfRC would like to send out wishes for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving feast to kick off the season.

schwarzer freitag

After a disappointing and rather tiresome shopping foray (though I exaggerate the disappointment and I was feeling the imperative of gift-giving reinforced by a talk-radio psychologist's interview that compared exchanging gifts--from the people first on one’s list to co-workers, postmen, bosses--to the human need for communication), I stopped in a church on the way home. It was nearby and one that we had seen many times before, but always awe-inspiring to marvel at the high Mary Magdalene altar, with its gracefully-turned wooden antennae projecting to the ceiling. Just the suggestion of an impending holiday or sale draws great crowds to shops but the activity never turns uncivil or cut-throat, like the Black Friday sales tradition in the States. I certainly hope that trend never spreads, where one needs to be packing pepper-spray in order to get the best bargains, and I wonder what tacit message that gifts got under those competitive circumstances impart.

For a donation of a euro coin, one can have this whole apse illuminated and meditate on and marvel at the installation. The craftsman Tilman Riemen-schneider (DE/EN) was prolific and has commissions throughout this area. This work pictured from 1490-1492 represents some of his earliest creations and captures the transition from late Gothic to Renaissance style. In his day, as Bürgermeister of the city of Würzburg, Riemenschneider sided his own contemporary Occupiers, sympathizing with plight of the peasants during their revolt (Deutscher Bauernkrieg). Tragically, his support ended up costing Riemenschneider every thing, when his former patrons inprisoned and tortured Riemenschneider and other leaders of the movement in Marienburg Fortress in Würzburg, and broke his hands so he was unable to make any more art. Fortuneately, his distinct and beautiful creations are still around and continue to inspire, and mostly in situ and not confined to museums, the major exception being, ironically, the Festung Marienburg which now is a museum with a lot of examples of Riemenschneider’s art.

sector 7G

A German broadcast network quietly announced it will practice some discretion in airing episodes from The Simpsons. In order to avoid further trauma at home and abroad, it will not be presenting shows that are centered around the Springfield nuclear power-plant.

Before the crisis in Japan and debate in Germany over the future of atomic power that has precipitated a series of documentaries on the Chernobyl disaster, what had educated (or at least introduced) the public most about nuclear issues was Mr Burns' reactor. Perhaps the network does not want to appear to be taking sides in the debate or influencing the viewers, but the same channel also showed Black Hawk Down just after the presence of US CIA operatives were working in Libya came to light, though it could be coincidental and is probably a superficial comparison since the bigger surprise would be if such agents were not already there. Hopefully, the network's selectiveness is also out of respect for the workers toiling under deadly conditions and racing against time.  This flyer seems a bit crass given the current situation--really done up for a Thanksgiving Day mini-marathon two years ago, but I have to wonder at the choice in clip-art to begin with. Cloud-Maker II does not loom over this town like that, and there are a lot of other nice landmarks to choose from.

cornucopia

What sort of daily sentiments, gems of wisdom, especially shop-talk or the poetic haikus of sociopathic rage that the boss of my boss has scribbled on all too ephemeral note pads, would you like to turn into keepsakes? Crochet it on a pillow? Steotch, the New England needle-artists, has produced a vast selection of such samplers, adding a touch of kitsch and permanency to tag-lines and memes, internet doctrines and covenants not necessarily captured in tee-shirt form, from Transportation Security Administration awkwardness to LOLCats (give us this day our daily cheezburger) to Peanut Butter Jelly Time to O RLY owl to Double Rainbow.  A happy and humourous Thanksgiving to everyone... Om Nom Nom.

gratitude, don't give me no attitude

H and I spent the Thanksgiving day holiday with my parents and it was a wonderful kick off to the season. My mother had decked up the place with the santa claus clone army--usually there have been the turkey place-setting minders but there were too many of them, tucked away in a basket and it looked like a turkey massacree. It was really a fun time and inspired us to decorate our place in earnest.