Your Pop Medicine Thanksgiving/Black Friday Link Roundup

What kind of pop culture blog would this be without calling attention to all the fantastic Thanksgiving and Black Friday links from across the Web? The answer is not a very good one. So, without further ado, here’s a compendium of interesting links from the World Wide Web for your perusal.

What’s not to love about Thanksgiving? Family, food, and football are a tremendous recipe for enjoyment. Many families stick to traditions, but if you’re looking to explore new recipes this holiday, perhaps this one might be of interest. After all, nothing says delicious like a White Castle hamburger-infused turkey, right? Or better yet, wrap your bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a bird in a pig.

While we’re on the subject of Thanksgiving gluttony, here’s an article from Popular Science that covers how science has changed the way you experience your Thanksgiving meal. Just to give you a taste (<-- see what I did there?), here’s a little excerpt for you:

This time of year, the result is a Thanksgiving menu that may, on the surface, look much the same as the one your grandma cooked 20 years ago. But at the genetic level, it is very different, and it's a far cry from the fabled feast shared by the pilgrims and American Indians in the 17th century.

Are you visiting your in-laws this holiday or simply trying to make a good impression on someone and their family? If so, the Daily Beast has compiled some cliff notes of hot topics so that you can not only bring yourself up to speed on current events, but you can also sound well educated when your niece starts talking about Kate Middleton.

As we all know, the post-Thanksgiving-dinner, tryptophan-induced sluggishness inevitably turns everyone into a sloth. Many of us snooze away or try to keep one eye open to see the end of the Detroit/Dallas/random third NFL game. But some people use this time to rest up to make sure they are prepared for what is to come; yes, I am talking about Black Friday, the night/day on which all the crazies come out to play and feast on the outstanding sales and bargains that retailers are offering up.

If you or someone you know decide to brave the consumer craziness, here are a few resources to check out to get prepared for the mayhem. The best place to start is to check out what deals are happening where. A couple of good websites for checking circulars and staying up to speed on which stores will have what are BF Ads, BlackFriday.info, and Black-Friday.net. Also, a few tips to pass along to those brave souls who are camping out and doing their 5:00 AM shopping, courtesy of on Reddit user:

1. Don't plan on getting the super good deals. Plan on getting the decent ones. You can show up as the store opens for those.
2. Check the returns area first. People that had a super good deal may change their mind and drop their item off there.
3. If you can, drive around the night before and see how prep'd stores are. The more prepared the store is, the more people they expect, so that store might be a bad target.
4. Don't compete / rush. It is not worth the risk.

Of course, you could also try and talk your friend/family member out of risking their life for a Tickle Me Elmo, but of course that will be easier said than done. Perhaps the best stance to take would be to make sure they are ready for battle by snacking on some Thanksgiving leftovers prior to braving the elements and other crazies.

Well, there you have it. From our family at HCPLive to your family, we hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and a safe Black Friday.

Oh, and one last thing: do you know James West?