I am very grateful to Jennifer Navarrete who invented National Podcast Post Month (this is our fifth year!), and Dave Winer  and Adam Curry, the inventors of podcasting and the duel “podfathers” of the technology. I am also very grateful for my boss at the Podcasting Track . . . → Read More: Flyswatter Show 11-24-11]]> Voicemail: 678-368-4935. This is my Thanksgiving show. Happy Thanksgiving!

I am very grateful to Jennifer Navarrete who invented National Podcast Post Month (this is our fifth year!), and Dave Winer  and Adam Curry, the inventors of podcasting and the duel “podfathers” of the technology. I am also very grateful for my boss at the Podcasting Track at Dragon*con, Robynn “Swoopy” McCarthy, and am sad that this past year was her last as director. I am grateful to my past co-hosts in podcasting: Sasha Katz, Dwight Lyman, Sean Boyce, and Cesar Macedo. I’m grateful to the first online friend I had from Livejournal days who actually podcasted a very angry retort to people who voted for George W. Bush over John Kerry in 2004, which was the very first podcast I ever listened to, Richard Bluestein, aka Madge Weinstein of Yeast Radio. I’m grateful to Nate and Di, as well as Dawn and Drew, who first showed me that a husband and wife can be a comedy duo in podcasting. And I’m very grateful to Shawn and Jen, a couple whose creativity, intelligence, raw talent, and support of other podcasters is amazing. You are both so very kind. And I’m grateful to Graham Holland, whose hilarious and wonderful song “Never Trust A Panda” was one of the first songs Sasha and I played on the old Coffee and Tea Show podcast, and who has gone on to do It’s A Frog’s Life all these many years, which is an important UK-based acoustic podcast. And to George Smyth, who was the very first person to interview me on his One Minute How To podcast–the subject was “how to remove a bra without taking off your shirt.” Thanks to all the people on the Podcasters Yahoo Group and to Rob Walsh of Podcast 411, all of whom taught me to podcast. And lastly to Amber and Rusty, who first welcomed me into their group which was called The Georgia Podcasting Network.

I’m playing Steve Stellavato‘s “Thanksgiving.”

Short show. I have quite a lot of work to do today before I can even get Thanksgiving cooking going. And I’m not feeling my best.

And Dwight will be wrapping presents.

I play Countless Thousands‘ song “A Pirate’s Shanty” from the album We’re Just Really Excited To Be Here 

Countless Thousands

Halley and I were trapped in the house by boxes marked “Fragile: Glass” and stacked an inch from our front door. This is not the first time that delivery person has pulled this either.

I bought two of the . . . → Read More: Flyswatter Show 11-17-11]]> Voicemail: 678-368-4935. Another busy day – lots of design work for pay, which is good news.

Halley and I were trapped in the house by boxes marked “Fragile: Glass” and stacked an inch from our front door. This is not the first time that delivery person has pulled this either.

I bought two of the last five Tofurkys from Trader Joe’s. Watch out Thanksgiving, here we come!

I bought some soap nuts on sale the other day and am trying them out. You stick them in a little bag and toss them in with the laundry and you can get three uses out of them before they are finished. They are dried fruits from the Sapindus tree and have been used for centuries to launder clothes and it’s supposedly 14¢ a load. But you have to use warm to hot water and they also recommend washing soda and/or color safe bleach with them, so it makes me wonder just how much money we’re saving. But hey, nature, and all that.

I am playing another mystery band, The Romantic Era. They have a website under construction with no contact information, and a Facebook page that has been opened but not used, and all I can find is their listing on Music Alley. Heck, I had to do a screenshot from their website in order to have a picture of the band for this blog.

I hope that they are able to be contacted through them to let them know I played their song “Ever After.” It’s really cute and I liked it a lot.

Just hanging around the house, not doing the Black Friday sales, even though I really need to run to the grocery store. I am torn, because there is the movement to avoid shopping on Black Friday, but then again, we really need a few things like bananas, flax seed, kale. How bad can . . . → Read More: Flyswatter Show 11-26-2010]]> Voicemail: 678-368-4935.

Just hanging around the house, not doing the Black Friday sales, even though I really need to run to the grocery store. I am torn, because there is the movement to avoid shopping on Black Friday, but then again, we really need a few things like bananas, flax seed, kale. How bad can a grocery store be post-Thanksgiving?

But there are some good Christmas sales out there. If you got up at 3:00 a.m. to go wait in front of Walmart, well then my friend you are a hero. Be proud. Wave that American flag!

Here’s some music for your shopping pleasure–some good old Al Phlipp and the Woo Team! I’m playing “In a 50s Mood” from The Instrumental Album (1987). This group played music on a Casio and they were popular in the 80s and 90s. You can still find some of the old Al Phlipp information on the web as well as a discography listing. I found them on Music Alley from Mevio.

By the way, Thanksgiving with the inlaws was great!

Related articles

• Wal-mart Black Friday Deals (socyberty.com)
• Quotebox: Black Friday shoppers speak about their deals – Reuters (news.google.com)
• Black Friday After Thanksgiving Day Sale (shmula.com)
• Shoppers storm stores for Black Friday deals (theglobeandmail.com)
• REFILE-REFILE-U.S. shoppers queue up for Black Friday deals (reuters.com)
• Black Friday/Cyber Monday Travel Deals From BestTravelDeals.net (prweb.com)

In this episode I talk about animals I’ve lived with–dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, hissing cockroaches, a pony, quails, chickens, ducks, a mouse, hamsters, gerbils, Guinea pigs, fish, canaries, and a squirrel.

Happy Thanksgiving, by the way. I’m recording this at home instead of at my sister-in-law’s, due to the fact that it’s really . . . → Read More: Flyswatter Show 11-25-2010]]> Voicemail: 678-368-4935.

In this episode I talk about animals I’ve lived with–dogs, cats, rabbits, rats, hissing cockroaches, a pony, quails, chickens, ducks, a mouse, hamsters, gerbils, Guinea pigs, fish, canaries, and a squirrel.

Happy Thanksgiving, by the way. I’m recording this at home instead of at my sister-in-law’s, due to the fact that it’s really difficult to upload podcasts from the road. Plus my laptop isn’t exactly ready to go.

I end up by playing Jonathan Coulton‘s “Shop Vac” from Thing A Week I. Yeah, he’s the King of Internet Fame, but I got this from Music Alley from Mevio.

Voicemail: 678-368-4935.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and I don’t know whether to go ahead and cook the Tofurkey tonight or get up super early in the morning–we are going out of town to my sister-in-law’s to eat and if I don’t bring something vegan for the main course, I’ll be eating mostly raw . . . → Read More: Flyswatter Show 11-24-2010]]>

Voicemail: 678-368-4935.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving, and I don’t know whether to go ahead and cook the Tofurkey tonight or get up super early in the morning–we are going out of town to my sister-in-law’s to eat and if I don’t bring something vegan for the main course, I’ll be eating mostly raw vegetables and cranberry sauce. It’s really hard to be vegan on Thanksgiving if you aren’t doing all the cooking, you know? Lots of hidden butter and meat broth lurking. But I don’t expect people to change their eating patterns just because I’ve made certain life choices, so I’ve learned to plan ahead over the years. It’s more important to enjoy family, and I love them and am so lucky to have them. And luckily, Tofurkey is really good–a lot of people ate it along with their turkey.

There are a lot of small planes flying over today. I imagine the pilots are flying home to see their families, but it’s like a traffic jam in the skies. I hope nobody runs into anyone else!

I am playing “I Heart Thanksgiving” by Robert Lund. He is part of the Funny Music Project, aka The FuMP. From their website:

The FuMP quite simply is The Funny Music Project. We just thought The FuMP had a nice ring to it. Like the ringing a boxer hears after he’s been hit in the head one too many times.

The FuMP is a collaborative effort made up of a core group of comedy musicians. These are Devo Spice, Possible Oscar, Raymond and Scum, Rob Balder, Robert Lund and Spaff.com, Sudden Death, the great Luke Ski, Tom Smith, and Worm Quartet. These artists have committed to releasing new or unreleased recordings of their music to the public under a Creative Commons license. This means we promise not to be upset when a video of you lip syncing to our song in your underwear appears on YouTube.

Robert Lund’s music came from Music Alley from Mevio. I tell ya, if you happen to be a musician and you want your music played on a podcast, simply release one with a Thanksgiving theme. I only counted eight or so songs with Thanksgiving in the title.

Related articles

• Make Your Own Tofurkey : Faux Turkey Without Fear (theawl.com)
• Jessica Simpson Making Tofurkey For Thanksgiving, Thanks To Fiance’s Healer (huffingtonpost.com)
• Jessica Simpson kind of going vegan for Thanksgiving (hollywoodnews.com)
• Jessica Simpson To Have Vegan Thanksgiving (socialitelife.com)
• Jessica Simpson Hosting A Vegan-Friendly Thanksgiving (ecorazzi.com)
• Jessica Simpson is Having a Vegan Thanksgiving (lezgetreal.com)
• Our Thanksgiving Survival Guide: 25 Ideas to Get You Through the Holiday Weekend (blisstree.com)
• True Tales (Mostly) of Horrendous Thanksgivings (humor.gunaxin.com)

Voicemail: 678-368-4935.

Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans listening to this, as well as those who are not Americans, because we all have something to be thankful for, I hope!

On November 4 I was interviewed by Jennifer Navarrete of Morning BrewCast and Tech in Twenty. She was the one who came up with and . . . → Read More: Flyswatter Show: Happy Tofurky Day!]]>

Voicemail: 678-368-4935.

Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans listening to this, as well as those who are not Americans, because we all have something to be thankful for, I hope!

On November 4 I was interviewed by Jennifer Navarrete of Morning BrewCast and Tech in Twenty. She was the one who came up with and started National Podcast Post Month (NaPodPoMo) back in November 2007, and this is the third year of it. She decided to interview people who are participating this year and she was very kind to consider me worthy of her focus. I decided that I would save reposting this until Thanksgiving this year and am very glad to share it with those who maybe didn’t hear it.

I play “Perfect Day” by Atomic Brother from their EP Silence Collide. I found them on MusicAlley by Mevio.

Sadly, I’ve gained about six pounds from just messing around . . . → Read More: NaPodPoMo 30 – Jumpstarting a diet, again]]>

It’s the last NaPodPoMo for 2008, and I’m pretty pumped about that. Now I can get into making longer, more elaborate shows, and not having to rush around getting a show recorded and on the feed right away in order to hit the deadline.

Sadly, I’ve gained about six pounds from just messing around and not being careful, and am now going to use the Mary McDougall mini-diet to eradicate some of the baggage and get back on track. Being a no-added-fat vegan is not so easy, especially when you can’t expect people to accommodate your eating plan (It would be nice if they did, but I don’t expect it.).

Once again, if you know of any musicians who would like me to play some of their pieces or if you have some expertise in the areas of liberal politics, atheism, skepticism, freethought, veganism, or anything else along those lines, I would like to have you on the show.

Thanksgiving Survival Tips for Vegans I thought it might be fun to put together a quick ad hoc list of some of the “survival tips” that have served me well when faced with . . . → Read More: Here are some great tips for vegans at Thankgiving]]> This is by the fabulous Mark Sutton at the SoulVeggie blog and is full of great ideas for surviving this tricky holiday!

Thanksgiving Survival Tips for Vegans

I thought it might be fun to put together a quick ad hoc list of some of the “survival tips” that have served me well when faced with attending a Thanksgiving Dinner with carnivorous family and/or friends. I take no responsibility as to whether these will or will not work for anyone in particular as they are based upon my own experiences. Use them wisely…

1. BRING VEGAN FOOD: often people will tell you it’s not necessary to bring anything, but I’ve found it’s best to ignore that advice and bring one, preferable at least two vegan dishes. It’s best (and safest) to have made them once before, unless you are very skilled in the kitchen. I think it’s rare that anyone would turn you away at the front door for bringing food! Find out if you can bring a big salad (with fresh veggies and a fine no-fat dressing). Find out if there’s something you can bring veganized. If nothing else, you’ll look less conspicuous with a full plate than one with some crudite sans dressing and limp greens. Don’t have a recipe? Use the GOOGLE, Luke.

2. BRING FOOD THAT DOESN’T ATTEMPT TO MIMIC MEAT: with the possible exception of “Gimme Lean Sausage” for making a stuffing (it’s really close to that ground up dead spiced pig taste and texture), I’ve found that bringing meat analogues (particularly that odious and overpriced “Tofurkey”) invites people to miss the point. They focus on contrasting the “fake” meat with the real, instead of relishing the intermix of fresh vegetables, fruits, legumes, and grains. If fellow guests are a bit more veg’n friendly than most, maybe seitan or tofu done right (gravy counts), but think that out carefully. I tend to think that incorporated IN a dish rather than as “steaks” or the like is more likely to be accepted. Mom couldn’t handle the TVP chunks in an entree I brought once (but then, I pointed them out to her in advance… bad move). Try to define yourself, if asked, by the incredible variety of nature’s bounty that you will eat rather than that which you won’t.

3. BRING A CROCKPOT DISH: soup, entree, or better yet, dessert (if you’ve not already made something). The beauty of the crockpot is that it’s easy to prepare something, travels well, and in case the oven and burners are already used up in your target location, you can always find a plug (I usually bring a power strip or extension cord), and serve FROM the crockpot. Winter Squash Bisque, Tofu/Artichoke Spread (“No-Cheese Cookbook,” Stepaniak), Apple Brown Betty, Fruit Cobbler — examples of very easy and effective crockpot foods.

4. BRING SUBTLETY: resist the temptation to proudly proclaim that the food you bring is “no-added fat vegan.” They will probably already know you are vegan, and it’s more fun when sometimes, after sampling your wares, they say, astonished: “Hey! This is good… is this vegan?” I’m more inclined to live with “added fat vegan food” at a holiday gathering if someone has been thoughtful enough to at least make something vegan. Let’s face it: to many vegan is radical, a “no added fat” vegan could easily cause conceptual brain seizures. Now, if I had heart disease or diabetes, I would let the main host know in advance, and have a short concise explanation as to why I won’t eat “added fat” vegan ready to use when asked. It’s also usually pretty obvious as to what has dairy in it, but eggs are a bit more devious when it comes to bread. I tend to go situation dependent: if things are hectic, I’ll either skip the debatable food product or have a very small helping. If things are a bit more laid back, I would have already asked, in the kitchen, what’s vegan and what’s not (esp. if chicken broth is used invisibly). Doing this at the dinner table can easily (and rightly so) be seen as rude and draws the wrong kind of attention.

5. BRING BREAD: if you’ve mastered making bread, especially with a bread machine, time a 2 lb. loaf to finish close to when you leave (if by car). People ALWAYS like homemade whole grain bread (I often make a no-added fat spread like hummus or something more holidayish to facilitate slathering onto bread slices). Vegan cookies are also a winner.

6. BRING A BEVERAGE: alcoholic or not, it’s always a sign of good etiquette. Also: I always have a few caffeine and no-caffeine herbal teas in my computer bag, jacket, or pocket. It’s rare that you can’t get hot water! Vegan egg nog in a crockpot is a show-stopper, made easier these days with Silk Soy Egg Nog (and recipes for making it from scratch on the Web).

7. BRING SOME PREPARED EXPLANATIONS & WEBSITE ADDRESSES: memorize a short 30 second and longer 2 minute explanation, that’s not insulting or derogatory, as to why you are vegan. Voice the first ONLY if/when asked “why are you vegan?” As Howard Lyman, aka, The Mad Cowboy” puts it: that’s your 30 second window of opportunity when they are paying attention. Sometimes family members or friends will express interest in learning more about your diet. In my case, I might write down my soulveggie blog, www.fatfreevegan.com, www.goveg.com, www.madcowboy.com, www.pcrm.org, and www.vegblogs.com, as starting points for learning “why” and “how.”

8. BRING A SENSE OF HUMOR: preferably self-deprecating… if teased, laugh… use that disarming smile… if the situation is particularly mellow, you might risk teasing back, but BE CAREFUL. Often it’s okay to tease the vegans, but not the reverse (people tend to rationalize, feel defensive, or guilty). During one Thanksgiving my father was confused that I was drinking wine during dinner. I lightened the moment by saying, “whoops… I better go call the Vegan Guru and double-check!” Then I mentioned something about great vegan margaritas. I’ve also made jokes about “hunting down” wild vegetables, the danger of dealing with a rabid block of tofu in a soybean field, and that I’m not completely vegan: do you realize how many bacteria are dying in my gut as we speak?

9. BRING UNDERSTANDING, A POLITE ATTITUDE, & (if necessary) SILENCE: trying to convert carnivores to veganism at Thanksgiving is like trying to talk people into joining AA at a beer or wine-tasting party — akin to “spitting in the wind” and just torques people for no justifiable reason. Exclaiming “ewwww, how gross” loudly when being offered a drumstick isn’t necessary or particularly useful. The same probably holds true for throwing tomato sauce or catsup on Great-Grandma Pearl’s mink sweater or yelling out: “I can’t believe you all are eating slabs of a giant dead mutant bird’s corpse with it’s organs minced and sauteed delicately in gravy as a topping!” Bonus tip: an in depth discussion of pus cell counts in milk and cheese might get you shot by a blunderbuss or tossed out into the snow.

10. BRING COMPASSION & LOVE: these are family and/or friends. This is a festive gathering, not a lecture on animal rights, diet and heart disease, or environmental degradation. Focus on the good in the people there and not what they eat or what they wear. Focus on setting and being an example. Like it or not, you will be seen as representative of vegans everywhere, and if you misbehave, unfortunately (if not unfairly), it reflects on all of us. I’ve converted more people to veg’nism by setting an example than by proselytizing, and I suspect its more effective in the long term (and takes less emotional energy). A loving, thankful, thoughtful, understanding, giving, and happy vegan will accomplish more than an arrogant sanctimonious obnoxious know-it-all malcontent.

Having been both, I prefer the former. That’s the “me” I want remembered. Here’s my “Thanksgiving 2005″ Post where I think I really started to catch-on to the best way to approach these events. Enjoy.

…and a “Happy Vegan Holidaze” to all! Mark

@2008 by Mark Sutton… if used elsewhere, please credit me and my blog. Thanks!

By the way, if you want to go out and check out some vegan-oriented blogs to get ideas about what to cook, make sure to check out VegBlogs: Vegan Blog Tracker. I have found tons of sites there–it’s quite helpful.

So have a good . . . → Read More: NaPodPoMo 25 – Not even a good show]]> We all went out for Italian and got sick. My stomach really hurts and I feel kind of sick–there was apparently cheese in the food I got. Also Clifford’s behavior at the restaurant was appalling. I was embarrassed. So yeah. Happy Happy day. The good news is it’s a short show.

So have a good Thanksgiving.