Chef Brockett

Some Things I Know About Thanksgiving

These are things that I know about Thanksgiving.

• Some would say that the Pilgrims didn't have much to be thankful for. Half of them died in the first year.

• Cranberries were not served at the first Thanksgiving. Pumpkin Pie was not served. The Pilgrims had no sugar for these things. It is also VERY unlikely that there was any turkey. The pilgrims did shoot some foul, but it is very unlikely that turkey was one of them. The main meat was provided by the Wampanoag Native American participants... they provided deer which was prepared boiled with vegetables.

• What we call the first Thanksgiving was not a feast of  thanks at all. It was most likely a harvest celebration that was also used as a peace understanding between the settlers and the Native Americans of the area. The Pilgrims didn't celebrate thanks to God with feasting, their days of thanksgiving were days of fasting.

• The settlers were not called Puritans. Puritans were a separate group that didn't agree with all the practices of the Church Of England, but stayed within the church. The people that we call the Pilgrims were Separatists from the church.

• The Pilgrims were constantly being taken advantage of by the people who financed their expedition. 

• The Pilgrims were not trying to break away from England. They considered themselves proud English people, they just wanted to be able to worship according to their conscience (which they could not do in England). The Mayflower Compact was not seen by it's signers to be any precursor to democracy or a new way of government. It was to make sure that  the settlers that were there purely for profit and the settlers that were there for religious reasons were united in their goals. There is also some evidence that there was talk of a mutiny. This document helped squelch it.

• The Pilgrims probably did not land at Plymouth Rock. They were actually anchored about a mile offshore. It is unlikely that they approached land via the rock. It would have been more difficult to go over the rock than not go over it. There is no mention of the rock in any account of the time. The rock was identified as the place they came ashore by the third leader of the colony when he was in his '90s.

For being an invented tradition, Thanksgiving is a pretty wonderful thing. Regardless of religion or ethnic background all are invited to participate. Although Thanksgiving is often overshadowed by the commercial behemoth known as Christmas, we should hold in mind what the holiday is supposed to be. Rather than being the beginning of the buying season, it is a time for being with family and loved ones. It is a time to be thankful for the good things we have.

New Mario Trick Discovered - 30 Years After The Game Came Out

A recently discovered glitch in Super Mario Brothers allows you to get 128 1-ups!

The catch is, you have to beat the game first.

First you have to beat the game. Then you start a 2 player game. Next you have one player die when the vine is growing. Then the vine continues growing at the next payers turn. IF you have two trapped enemies, you can bump them for infinite free lives (but it only lets you keep 128).

I know it sounds confusing, but hey, that is what the video is for.

thanks to: geekologie.com

Sam I Am

He always did seem a little too eager to have the nameless guy try them!

OK Go - Writing On The Wall

If you haven't seen this video yet, take a look! It is filled with really cool optical illusions and interesting visuals, and as far as I can tell, it is all done in a single take! Plus, the song is kinda catchy too!

Top Most Expensive Substances

I got swag - my grill is made of Plutonium!

Instead of telling your loved one that their presence is more valuable than gold, why not say "more valuable than Californium?" It is worth so much more than gold. Besides, it makes you sound like you got some fancy book-learnin'.

 # 16 - Saffron - $11/gram

# 15 - Gold - $56/gram

# 14 - Rhodium - $58/gram

# 13 - Platinum - $60/gram

#12 - Methamphetamine - $100/gram

#11 - Rhino Horn - $110/gram

#10 - Heroin - $130/gram

#09 - Cocaine - $215/gram

#08 - LSD *Lysergic Acid Diethylamide* - $3,000/gram

#07 - Plutonium - $4,000/gram

#06 - Painite - $9,000/gram

#05 - Taaffeite Stone - ~ $20,000/gram

#04 - Tritium - $30,000/gram

#03 - Diamonds - $55,000/gram

#02 - Californium 252 - $27 million/gram

#01 - Antimatter - $6,25 trillion/gram

Courtesy of http://www.sciencedump.com

Come On, Tell Your Boss "I Love You"... Or Be Fired!

In news from both the "Weird Religions Department" and the "Evil Corporations Department" comes a very strange story…

The Messiah?

A federal agency says New York health care firm United Health Programs of America and its parent company Cost Containment Group forced employees to pray, to thank God for their jobs, and to tell their supervisors and co-workers "I love you."
In one example, according to the Toronto Sun

...an IT project and account manager was disciplined after she complained to management in 2010 that she was Catholic and did not want to participate in the spiritual activities, according to the complaint.

A month after she complained, the employee was removed from her office and relocated to an open customer service area, while a large statue of a Buddha was placed in her former office. She protested to the owner that the move amounted to a demotion and was fired, the complaint said.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a discrimination lawsuit on behalf of three employees that were demoted and fired for not staying in line with Onionhead doctrine.

Wait a minute… did you just say Onionhead doctrine?
Why yes, yes I did. The Onionhead religion is part of the Harnessing Happiness Foundation which just happens to be an organization created by the aunt of the accused company's owner. Onionhead is a cartoon onion and according to the foundation's website…

Onionhead is this incredibly pure, wise and adorable character who teaches us how to name it – claim it – tame it – aim it. Onion spelled backwards is ‘no-i-no’. He wants everyone to know how they feel and then know what to do with those feelings. He helps us direct our emotions in a truthful and compassionate way. Which in turn assists us to communicate more appropriately and peacefully. In turn, we then approach life from a place of our wellness rather than a place of our wounds.

His motto is: peel it – feel it – heal it

Wise words indeed.

There is an Onionhead youtube channel - badly drawn, badly written, badly animated.Here is Onionhead in Space Part 1.

Wow! That IS bad. It should be against the law to make anyone watch that crap.

This is a link to the Onionhead website - Harnessing Happiness Foundation

Their website and videos are bad enough to make you cry. Get it? Cry? Onions? Never mind.