News of the Week: Black Friday, Tupperware Parties, and How to Start an Argument in Four Words

In the News for the week ending November 29, 2019, are where to store your Thanksgiving leftovers, what to do with them, how to start an argument, how not to shop, and more.

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Shop Till You Drop

Is Black Friday still “Black Friday,” a one-day cornucopia of sales and discounts and craziness? It seems to have extended to other days in addition to the day after Thanksgiving. Now you can get deals throughout the whole weekend! Black Friday sales start on Thursday! There’s Cyber Monday! Toyota has a Black Tuesday. I’ve even seen ads that say the company is having “Black November” deals throughout the entire month (also the possible name of a new horror film franchise).

It reminds me of those Macy’s One-Day Sale commercials, where they tout all the deals you can get that Saturday. At the very end of the commercial the announcer says, “Sale starts Friday!”

I’ve never been a Black Friday person (though this one is pretty good). Not only because I don’t want to fight the traffic or fight other customers for the last 4K TV that’s 60 percent off, but there are sales every day of the year, both online and in brick-and-mortar stores. I know some people who go to the mall on Black Friday not for the sales but for “the atmosphere.” Which is sort of like going to a building on fire for “the pretty colors.”

Wirecutter has a feature on why it’s not worth shopping in stores today. But they’re realistic about it too, and if you insist on shopping, they have a piece that lists 5 things to avoid buying on Black Friday. Today has hunted down several gifts you can get for under $100, and if you need to refuel during all that deal-hunting, CNBC has a list of restaurants that have specials today and all weekend. If you buy a tumbler at Starbucks for $40 you get a free coffee or tea in January, which is … a deal, I guess?

I say just relax at home (if you don’t have to work) and watch some movies with your leftovers and do your shopping after Black Friday. Or hopefully you did some before. It is legal to do Christmas shopping a little early, you know. And then when the news comes on at night and they have all those stories about people pushing and shoving each other at the mall and stores running out of items and computer systems crashing, you can just sit back on the couch with a wry smile and shake your head, happy that you stayed home.

Really Locks It In

That phrase was the refrain of Tupperware commercial jingles many years ago. Did you know Tupperware is still around? The colorful plastic containers aren’t as popular as they once were (there are lots of cheaper competitors now), but it’s great to see people still host Tupperware parties, as this CBS Sunday Morning story shows.

Hello Emma

If this is what the average office worker is going to look like in 2040, I’m glad I work at home.

Four Words

It’s meme time! The newest topic of discussion came up on Twitter, where someone asked his followers to start an argument in four words. Some of the replies were film-oriented, some food, some music. I thought since it’s now Christmas time, I’d say something controversial that’s appropriate for the season and you can argue about it in the comments below. Ready? Here goes.

Artificial trees are better.

RIP Michael J. Pollard, Gahan Wilson, John Simon, Nick Clifford, and Arthur Marks

Michael J. Pollard was a veteran character actor who received an Oscar nomination for his role in Bonnie and Clyde. He also appeared in Dick Tracy, Scrooged, Melvin and Howard, and Roxanne, as well as TV shows like The Andy Griffith Show, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, I Spy, Route 66, Gunsmoke, and Wings. He died last week at the age of 80.

Gahan Wilson was known for his weird cartoons published in Playboy, The New Yorker, National Lampoon, Collier’s, and other publications. He died last week at the age of 89.

John Simon was a caustic and controversial critic who spent over 50 years reviewing the arts and culture for such publications as New York, Esquire, The New York Times, National Review, The Hudson Review, and recently his own blog. He died Sunday at the age of 94.

Nick Clifford was said to be the last living person to work on the creation of Mount Rushmore. He was also the youngest, starting on the mountain when he was 17 and working on it for two years, from 1938 to 1940. He died Saturday at the age of 98.

Arthur Marks was a producer on Perry Mason and also directed 76 episodes. He later went on to direct other TV shows like I Spy, Mannix, and Starsky and Hutch, as well as the movie Detroit 9000. He died last week at the age of 92.

Quote of the Week

“Doesn’t this thing know the skin is the best part?”

—Bart Simpson, about a can of cranberry sauce that comes to life and only eats the bones of people, on a “Thanksgiving of Horror” episode of The Simpsons

This Week in History

“Hollywood Ten” Cited by Congress (November 25, 1947)

The group of screenwriters, directors, and producers who refused to answer several questions about their possible association with communism were Dalton Trumbo, Ring Lardner Jr., Edward Dmytryk, Lester Cole, Adrian Scott, Albert Maltz, Alvah Bessie, Herbert Biberman, Samuel Ornitz, and John Howard Lawson. They served time in jail and were blacklisted by the studios.

National Hockey League Formed (November 26, 1917)

The NHL was formed in Montreal, Canada, after another league, the National Hockey Association, ended. The first teams were all Canadian, until the Boston Bruins joined in 1924.

This Week in Saturday Evening Post History: “Early Guests” (November 23, 1957)

Early Guests

This cover by George Hughes shows what happens when you don’t tell your boss what time the party starts and … hey, wait a minute! That’s pretty risqué for The Saturday Evening Post!

Leftovers

For most people, when you say “Thanksgiving leftovers,” they think “sandwiches.” That’s what I usually make. I put hot turkey and oatmeal sausage stuffing on white bread (not toasted). No gravy, no mayo. Here are some other sandwiches you can try.

Taste of Home has this Waldorf Turkey Sandwich, which includes apples, celery, walnuts, raisins, and mayo. This Thanksgiving Sandwich from Delish has all of the classic Thanksgiving dinner staples — turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, etc. — in between toasted sourdough bread. And AllRecipes has a recipe for a Grilled Hot Turkey Sandwich, which involves pepperjack cheese and salsa.

By the way, if you do have leftovers, make sure you store them in Tupperware.

Next Week’s Holidays and Events

Small Business Saturday (November 30)

With Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s not like we need another “official” shopping day this week, but at least this one is geared toward helping small, local businesses.

Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting (December 4)

New York City officially welcomes the Christmas season with the lighting of the 77-foot Norway Spruce. It airs at on NBC at 8 p.m. and features the hosts of Today and several musical guests, including John Legend, Gwen Stefani, and Brett Eldredge.

Featured image: littlenySTOCK / Shutterstock.com.

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Comments

  1. There’s actually a Christmas tree shortage this year. More people might start buying artificial trees. They’re certainly cheaper in the long run. My family had one that must have lasted 25 years.

  2. Michael J Pollard also appeared (along with Mayberry) in the Star Trek:TOS episode “Miri”.

    As for artificial trees, that might be the future as X-mas trees farms are slowly disappearing.

  3. The whole shopping for anything (other than the necessary grocery shopping) is something I’m avoiding. The traffic, parking lots, crowds, forget it! This was a topic of conversation on Thanksgiving. My positive remedy was to bring up The Saturday Evening Post as THE present to give, and had a copy with me to show off of course.

    The reactions were shocked at first, but happily surprised. The most common thing I heard was “I didn’t know it was still published anymore” and “I thought it went out of business decades ago.” To that I just say a lot of people assume that because you don’t see it on newsstands, it’s no longer around. It has been all new, all over again since 2013, AND for the next few days you can give it as an all-year gift for just $9 with their Black Friday sale. Let’s make this a stress-free white Christmas by ditching the whole “traditional” holiday gift giving shtick we hate anyway, and making it easy and quiet with today’s Post. I had the website and phone number to hand out on several mini legal pad sheets.

    I liked the CBS report on Tupperware and getting the word out it’s still around. Actually, they could do a report on The Post (come to think of it). Jane Pauley herself was on the cover a number of years ago. Tupperware really IS superior quality to the cheap knock-offs at the Dollar Tree and other places. Hopefully it’ll be rediscovered and enter a new Golden Age as well.

    I feel bad for Emma. It’s no joke or laughing matter. Hopefully most work places will have had ergonomic, lighting and many other upgrades before 2040 to prevent this. Having a nice dog walking around to visit is delightful. If one person doesn’t like it for whatever reason, it’s over for everyone. You know how THAT goes these days, unfortunately. I wonder how uptight and neurotic everything will be by then. I don’t want to know…

    I love this ’57 George Hughes cover for the artwork, mid-century style, the story it’s telling, AND that it’s a little risque, Bob.

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