Happy Thanksgiving: Don't Forget to Listen to Arlo

By Jeralyn, Section Blog Related
Posted on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 09:00:00 AM EST
Tags: Thanksgiving (all tags)

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Of all the Thanksgiving Day traditions, my favorite is still the one that comes at noon, when KBCO in Boulder (and other stations around the country) play the 23 minute version of Arlo Guthrie singing "Alice's Restaurant" in 1967. While everyone else is cooking turkey, the TL kid and I are eating bacon and eggs and listening with the sound turned up loud, smiling as if it's the first time we've ever heard it. If your local station isn't playing it, you can stream it live (noon MT) here.

Or, you can pick your own time and listen, courtesy of KDKP in Arizona. But you'll miss that special feeling that comes with knowing thousands of others around the country are listening at the same time and sharing the tradition. How to describe it? It's like our nation has a liberal anthem, but only for one day each year, so you don't want to miss it when it comes around.

Two other songs I like listening to on Thanksgiving: [More...]

Gimme Shelter and You Can't Always Get What You Want. Gimme Shelter seems particularly relevant this year, in light of the crisis in Israel and Gaza. "War, children, is just a shot away." Here's an extended 9 minute version from 2003 in Toronto:

You Can't Always Get What You Want: 2003 in London:

Let us know what you have planned for the day, what you are thankful for, and most of all, what you're cooking and listening to.

From Big Tent Democrat and me, a very happy Thanksgiving to all.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome,

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Happy Thanksgiving: Don't Forget to Listen to Arlo | 25 comments (25 topical)

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Happy Thanksgiving to all (5.00 / 3) (#2)
by MO Blue on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 07:34:35 AM EST

Happy feasting and a safe trip to all who are traveling during this holiday.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! (5.00 / 5) (#3)
by Angel on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 08:03:09 AM EST

I'm grateful for so many things, one of which is the opportunity to hang out here at TalkLeft with so many intelligent and caring people. Thanks for letting me participate in the conversations.

Happy Thanksgiving to all (5.00 / 1) (#4)
by Militarytracy on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 08:22:32 AM EST

Freedom of Speech at least hasn't been killed off. A common traditional Thanksgiving here with some kimchee added. Not as much cooking of different items though because we are joining up with in-laws, just larger quantities of certain things.

Are you and the in-laws (none / 0) (#5)
by oculus on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 08:42:11 AM EST

politically compatible?


That is a good question (5.00 / 2) (#7)
by Militarytracy on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 09:05:40 AM EST

I don't even think they vote. It is my in-laws via my daughter. My husbands family is kind of distant from each other, and his mom is gone. I think it is safe to say though that his mom's tea party Christian sister hates my guts. Her nephew has married the daughter of Satan. I have been unfriended with a vengeance. I used to be so sweet and quiet about politics, and then one Republican Presidency enabled insurance companies to kill people for profit and took aim on my son while sending my husband into a war of lies. She believes very much in God's will and all I can say is it must be God's will that I will go to my grave now being loud and liberal.


: Tell her she's right, God is dead... (5.00 / 2) (#8)
by Dadler on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 09:17:45 AM EST

...and in the almighty's will he granted you the nice china, twenty grand in Apple stock, and all the fire and brimstone toward injustice you can fit in your trunk.

Thanks, food and peace (5.00 / 2) (#6)
by koshembos on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 08:54:51 AM EST

Thankful for the ceasefire in the Middle East for all my many friends in several countries in the area. Thanks for my good life, my kids and my grandkids. Most of us will gather and celebrate on good food and the many traditions we come from.

Happy thanksgiving to all TalkLeft readers and especially to Jeralyn and BTD.

It's a small, quaint Thanksgiving here (5.00 / 1) (#9)
by Dadler on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 09:24:10 AM EST

The Dadler three are going to spend this one sans other family for the first time in awhile. Everyone is scattered, no one could make it up our way this year, traveling didn't appeal, so my wife is doing her usual boffo turkey, stuffing, all the traditional fair, in smaller quantities this year, and usually she throws in some wild card surprise. 12 y.o. sonny boy and I, while mom is cooking, will engage in that most enjoyable of turkey day traditions: cleaning all the useless sh*t outta the garage. Yipee.

But I will say, with RGIII makes the Cowboys/Skins game this year something to watch.

And the blog has some fairly new stuff up, if anyone hasn't read my latest piece of satire, I take on the Discount Double Check and Jimmy Fallon's Capital One whoring. (LINK)

Peace and Love to all.

: Happy Thanksgiving Dadler family (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by Militarytracy on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 09:42:37 AM EST

oculus (5.00 / 2) (#11)
by CoralGables on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 09:47:42 AM EST

A little more info on your poll question from the other night. Here are some details from a few swing state polls now that most states are close to being finished counting.

Best and worst with last poll an outfit took in each state:

Colorado:
Final - Obama +5.5%
Best PPP Obama +6
Worst Rasmussen Romney +3
RCP Obama +2.9

Florida:
Final - Obama + 0.88%
Best PPP Obama +1
Worst Mason Dixon Romney +6
RCP Romney +1.5

Wisconsin:
Obama +6.79
Best We Ask America Obama +7
Worst Rasmussen Tie
RCP Obama +4.2

The majority of polls were skewed towards Romney enough to even skew the averages by more than 2 points in each of these states.

Good documentary (5.00 / 1) (#13)
by MO Blue on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 11:25:25 AM EST

The disenfranchisement of Native Americans continues today

Thanksgiving in Kazakhstan (5.00 / 3) (#14)
by observed on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 11:27:48 AM EST

One of our professors who also has a background as a professional chef cooked turkey dinner for about 100 people today. It was served at my institution, in one of the cafeterias. The food was phenomenal---maybe the best Thanksgiving food I've ever eaten. The turkeys were grown in Kazakhstan, supposedly naturally and without antibiotics. What I can say for sure is that it was a much better bird than I can remember eating in the states.
Generally speaking, meat and poultry are not superior to US products, but this turkey was.

On a related note, a new store opened in my huge apartment complex. This one is very close to my apartment, unlike the others, which are hundreds of meters away. When it's -40, as it will be before long, you don't want that long walk outside.
Anyway, the store owner likes to entice you by saying that his products are "organic", a word he intones repeatedly, like a prayer (many products are quite good, in fact). I realize that "organic" is a universal word. It's meaning is "this guy is going to pay SOOOO much money!!!!!"

Heading to a mob scene (5.00 / 2) (#15)
by Towanda on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 12:32:45 PM EST

of more than 30 family and friends today, a couple of hours away, thanks to a sibling and sister-in-law who offered to host Thanksgiving this year. We usually do so, but they know that this year will be hard for the Towanda kids, the first holiday since their dad's death. And he did love holidays. So a change of scene for the mob scene is in order.

It's a relief to not be organizing the menu, fielding the emails from family members who forget what they promised to bring or up and change their minds and the menu.

So I signed up this year for the easy stuff, for a change. But Towanda Dotter is still so young and so determined to impress her boyfriend that she enjoys doing everything from scratch. She signed up to bake pies nad proudly posted photos of her pretty pastries on Facebook. I resisted the temptation to post photo of our breads still in the bakery packaging, our cans of cranberry sauce, etc.

Have a Happy, all -- and be patient with those who may be most maddening. We learned this year that, despite the medical prognoses for many more ahead, they may not with us next year.

: Our 30-yr-old daughter and her partner (5.00 / 1) (#16)
by Peter G on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 01:10:50 PM EST

are in the kitchen making bread from scratch right now, to be followed by the annual family pumpkin-pie-making festival, using a 1930s recipe from one-and-only-wife's Kentucky family, starting with the innards of our Halloween jack-o-lantern.

: Here's to a safe, peaceful and ... (5.00 / 1) (#22)
by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 07:28:13 PM EST

... contented holiday season for you and your kids. That's probably the best way to honor someone since departed who so loved this time of year.
We're at home this weekend, and having dinner here tonight. My mother and aunt are here from Pasadena for the week, and Younger Daughter flew home last night from college over in Hilo, and she's invited her boyfriend and his sister (both of whom attend college here on Oahu) to join us tonight, as their parents are out of town this weekend. So much for the empty nest.
It's nice that she's only 220 miles and a 50-min. flight away, so coming back home occasionally isn't so problematic as it is for her sister, who's 5,000 miles and 12 hours away on the eastern seaboard.
Take care, and enjoy the fall weekend. Aloha.

A very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone (5.00 / 2) (#18)
by caseyOR on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 01:38:31 PM EST

here at TL. I am grateful to have found this snug and cozy port in the storm that is the political blogosphere.

Not only is the company agreeable and the conversation sparkling, in addition to politics and crime talk, I get sports talk and food talk, music and and movie and book reviews and garden chat. Also, I became the captain of a pirate crew. All on one welcoming site. How lucky can one girl get?

So, thank you to Jeralyn, our gracious hostess. And to BTD for his thought-provoking political commentary and sports posts. I knew nothing about sports betting before TL. Thanks to BTD's gambling habit and CoralGable's tutorials my knowledge has greatly expanded, and now I know next to nothing about sports betting.

: thank you for that warm comment (5.00 / 1) (#24)
by Jeralyn on Fri Nov 23, 2012 at 05:55:21 PM EST

We're glad you are here!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! (5.00 / 1) (#21)
by Donald from Hawaii on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 03:44:06 PM EST

"You need a little bit of levity in this job."
- Gov. Sarah Palin (R-AK), clearly seeking to cement her newly exalted status as America's favorite political punchline in "The Great Turkey Pardon PR Fiasco of 2008" (November 2008)

This Thanksgiving holiday, let us be truly grateful for having dodged that particular vehicle, as it careened off the guardrails before plummeting headlong into the eternal void.

Aloha.

Happy Thanksgiving (3.00 / 2) (#1)
by TeresaInPa on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 07:04:36 AM EST

We had that Arlo Guthrie album when I was a kid. I don't know what ever happened to it. Someone may still have it. I am sure, like other songs from my childhood(if you can really call it that)I would still remember every word were I to sing along.
Have a fun time.
I will be taking a long drive to the middle of Pa where they have funny Pa Dutch names for towns. We're going to semi significant other's son's house for stuffing and gravy. I suppose there will be other things on the table, like turkey, but really, stuffing and gravy is all I care about.

I first heard Arlo perform (5.00 / 1) (#12)
by Peter G on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 11:19:56 AM EST

"Alice's Restaurant" live (or a recording of live) on WBAI in NYC when I was a high school senior in early 1967, about six months before the album came out. I was 17 and he was 19 at the time. Hearing that performance sent me several times into Greenwich Village from the suburbs where I lived to hear Arlo perform in basement "coffee house"-type clubs on Bleecker Street. He had at least three different story-versions he was performing then (including "Alice and the Multi-Colored Rainbow Roach"), and when he did them live they ran well over 23 minutes -- I'm thinking more like 35-40 minutes.


: those were more innocent times (none / 0) (#23)
by TeresaInPa on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 09:10:14 PM EST

even with the war and Kent State happening later. Still..... I suppose everyone feels that way about the years they were kids.

Peace and Happy T-Day to all. (none / 0) (#17)
by desertswine on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 01:17:58 PM EST

Happy Turkey Day! (none / 0) (#19)
by Jackson Hunter on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 01:38:51 PM EST

It's my second in a row in China, I am really going to miss the family and food, especially the food. LOL

One thing I am NOT thankful for is that they based the new Red Dawn dreck in Spokane, WA. At least they chose the red part of the state, but still as a longtime resident of mostly Eastern WA I am not thrilled that this stupidity is based there. At least when it was the Chinese there was some reality to the plot (take it from me, the Chinese aren't small little weaklings and they are fiercely patriotic. Of course, they also love Americans for the most part. It's hard for me to pay for a beer here-lol.) But the North Koreans? C'mon! They don't have the numbers to occupy large areas of the country. Of course, it's all about selling the popcorn I guess. Still silly though.

Sorry, rant off, I hope you all have a great day there and please pass the stuffing! Have a great one.

Jackson

New toy (none / 0) (#20)
by Jeralyn on Thu Nov 22, 2012 at 01:49:05 PM EST

I got a new toy last week, an internet blue-ray player that you choose between netflix, Amazon Prime, etc. But the best is You tube. All the videos I love to watch on the computer, I now can watch in HD on a big TV. Just before listening to Arlo sing Alice, the TL kid and I watched the two Stones videos I put in this post on TV and it was great -- both sound and picture. It was also under $100 bucks and is half the size of my old blueray player. Sony has it on sale today for $89, free shipping. I wish I could afford this TV to go with it.

: New toy: iPad mini. So far, so good. (none / 0) (#25)
by oculus on Fri Nov 23, 2012 at 06:21:14 PM EST

Butbwaitbtilnthe credit card sticker shock for int. data plans on phone & mini.