Yesterday I decided to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies. I dragged out my mixer, washed off the dust which had accumulated since its last annual appearance in my house, and began laying out ingredients. I then discovered, to my horror, I didn't have enough flour to make the cookies. So I headed to the grocery store, bought flour, came home, and proceeded to make cookies. Sadly, I had neglected to check the rest of the ingredient list before I left the first time, and now found myself sans pecans. I didn't feel like driving to the store again, so I made the cookies without nuts, and I have to say, they sort of suck.
There are two morals to this story. One, you should always check everything on a list before going to the store, and two, sometimes no matter how hard you try the best you're going to do is suck. I think those are both good lessons.
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I had a full post all ready to go for this morning, even typed it up in Word and everything the other day. I was planning on starting a multi-part series covering all the teams in the National League Central and what their offseasons should, could, and most likely will, look like. However, I learned my lesson a couple years back with a very involved Thanksgiving post: avoid putting the really big stuff up on or around a holiday.
If you've spent more than 20 minutes researching something, you don't want it to get lost in the shuffle of people just checking the site in between traveling and cooking and trying to remember which of their aunt's former husbands they aren't supposed to bring up this year. No, just stick with the wistful, sad, and occasionally off-putting short stories of alienation and loneliness, and you're golden. Again, I think this is an excellent lesson.
I bring you, for your reading pleasure, the Thanksgiving posts of Viva El Birdos past:
The First Thanksgiving - Okay, so that isn't what it's called, nor what it's about, but I like to think of it that way. A blast from the past, all the way back in the waning moment of 2005.
thanksgiving open thread, Lb style- Nineteen comments. Seriously. We've come a long way, baby.
Holiday Wishes. Tidbits. The Draft, two. - My first Thanksgiving post (and source of the lesson I referenced just above), and part of a big series I did about past drafts. Also, I was still doing that weird title thing from my early days when I was just stating what was contained in the post, separated by periods. Not sure why.
Thanks.- My post from last year, in which I learned the previous year's lesson and just got real sad, rather than research anything baseballish. It's kinda my thing.
I am Thankful for... - Chuckb's actual Thanksgiving Day post last year. I wouldn't have done something holiday related if I had realised he wasn't going to take the day off. Interesting to read his thoughts regarding Albert's second MVP award in light of the way his third played out.
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A bit of housekeeping: VEB now has an official Twitter feed; twitter.com/@thebirdos be the address. Apparently, someone already has @vivaelbirdos, but it isn't any of us. I, of course, will not be using the Twitter feed much; I can't say good morning in less than 600 characters. (And now that I pull up the page to check the address is correct, I see Dan has already made the same joke. I've become predictable. Hmph. Wake me when I get to kitsch.)
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This here's gonna be one of them open thread things; feel free to talk about whatever. Things you're thankful for, the awesomeness of Albert or Carp or A.D.A.M., favourite holiday meals, whatever. I'll be sitting here on my sofa drinking this delicious apple cider I just cooked up for an hour or so (and I hope whatever you're doing you can be so content as I am at this moment), so if anyone's around we can do sort of a half-assed chat if you like.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, and I hope the holiday treats you well. Be careful if you're traveling, be kind to those you love, and take a bit of time to tell them the same.
The Baron's Playlist for the 25th of November, 2009: The Early Christmas Kickoff List
"Fairytale of New York" - The Pogues
"O Tanenbaum" - Vince Guaraldi Trio
"A Change at Christmas (Say it isn't So)" - the Flaming Lips
"Christmas At the Zoo" - the Flaming Lips
"I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" - Gayla Peevey
"Peace on Earth/ Little Drummer Boy" - David Bowie and Bing Crosby
And yes, for the record, I am ashamed of making a Christmas playlist the day before Thanksgiving, but there just aren't many Thanksgiving songs, never mind good ones. Hell, even trying to build a list around songs with "Thanks" featured prominently was a bitch. Unless, of course, you wanted me to resort to that awful Alanis Morissette song. (Oh, and I'll warn you now: at some point in the coming weeks, I'll make up a full album-sized playlist of all my favourite Christmas songs. It's going to be ever so irritating.)