The holiday season is upon us, with Black Friday less than a week away. Of course, you probably already knew that given all the Christmas decorations lining store shelves well before Halloween. Ah, but if only the Spirit of Christmas Future could see us now...

For some, it is a grim reminder. How does one give that which one does not have? Then again, you probably think I'm only talking about Christmas. Think about it for a moment here - Thanks ... Giving. It's not all about getting stuffed with turkey.

But why does it seem everyone has deviled egg on their face when I ask "what are you thankful for?"

This goes well beyond the personal level. When was the last time you saw a major outpouring from corporations in the spirit of Thanksgiving customer appreciation? I mean, they exist because of you. Sure they give you a big sale around this time of the year - but only because they don't want the credit card companies to get ALL the money.

Personally, I'm thankful to have a brain. Yep. A brain. Oh, and my sanity too. It's great to be able to think, and think straight at that. I would be totally lost without my brain and sanity. So in appreciation of that wonderful gift, I make it a point to use my brain and my sanity to benefit others.

See how easy that is? Now you try.

Heck, I'll even show you a few great ways to give thanks in this week's "Giving Thanks" posts. See you next time - and thanks for stopping by!

I don't know about you, but I hate going to a store to rent movies. For one, all you're going to find is mainstream drivel, and even if you like mainstream drivel it's just about impossible to find something interesting if you didn't go there for a specific title.

Not to mention the fact it is utterly and completely inefficient to go about renting movies that way. I mean you have to drive there, waste time hunting for something decent to watch, stand in line for 20 minutes only to be checked out by someone who looks like they would rather shovel manure than give you even the slightest smile, then drive back home only to make another round trip to the video store in a couple of days so you don't get charged a late fee.

You probably waste about 2 hours and $10 in gas in the process - and for what? A few hours of entertainment? That's just not worth it to me.

Hence one of the many reasons why I adore Netflix. According to their website, "If Netflix members drove to and from a rental store, they would consume 800,000 gallons of gasoline and release more than 2.2 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually." Not to mention how much oil is saved because they don't ship the movies in plastic cases.

And they have excellent customer service. I called today to ask a question that wasn't answered in their FAQ (specifically how much online instant viewing time each package receives), and do you know how long I waited on hold? About 3 seconds.

If that wasn't enough to "Wow" me, the representative who took my call, Vince, was very pleasant and treated me as though he had all the time in the world.

We had an interesting conversation about the DVD industry too. I mentioned that I would prefer to have a package that was just online instant viewing instead of part DVD and part instant viewing - but that isn't going to happen because those greedy film companies want to keep their massive DVD profits.

And being cut out of DVD profits is a big part of the reason writers went on strike. All this adds up to why I prefer to watch documentaries and foreign films - genres next to impossible to find in a video store.

In practicing responsible consumerism, I refuse to support gluttonous corporations - with very few exceptions, such as Evan Almighty. Even though I wasn't terribly interested in the movie, I saw it on opening day, in the theater (also something I typically abstain from), just because of the great lengths they went to produce the movie in a green-friendly way.

In a fashion I suppose this is great news for social enterprises. I suspect there are many more consumers like me who will support anything green-friendly or socially responsible, irregardless of the fact they don't need it, don't like it, and have to completely inconvenience themselves to get it.

Every now and then you get a group going on strike because they are actually underpaid.



The big issue on the table for the Writer's Guild is new media residuals. With the advent of DVDs and podcasts, writers ended up getting left with nothing but hope and an empty promise. Honestly, I really don't hold it against the writers - it is obvious the studios have been dragging their feet on contract negotiations because they new about the problems writers were having with their contracts almost a year ago.

Fortunately for the directors, the writers' strike has spurred negotiations for their new contract. The current directors' contract expires in June of next year.

What does the strike mean for us? Well, I hope you like reality shows - but for more in-depth coverage Shouting Into The Wind would be a good blog to visit.

Let's say you are raising a child. One day you decide that it is unfair to make said child clean their room, so you do it for them. What do you think that child is going to learn?

Perhaps that everything should be done for them? Perhaps that they do not have to clean up after themselves? And what do you think that child will do if you change your mind - will they balk at the notion of cleaning their room? Will they resent you for it?

Back in the early 90's, the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed with the intent of enforcing empathy for persons with disabilities. Unfortunately, the unintended effects of which have been quite the opposite. I'll let Penn and Teller elaborate on that.



But how do we reverse the damage that has been done? We can't exactly just repeal the act. Much like every other government agency created under the guise of public service, the people must be gradually weaned off.

Take for instance Social Security. It was instituted back in the 20's as a means to help sufferers of the Great Depression make it through their retirement. However nowadays, it seems this system has taught the public it's alright not to save up for their future, and the people have forgotten money truth. Of course, the same can be said for Welfare too.

However, if these systems were simply abolished, there would be a lot of people left to the whims of Darwin's Survival of the Fittest. It's sad to say, but we would need to slowly indoctrinate those brainwashed by modern society back into the "School of Normalcy and Personal Responsibility."

And who will, or even can, do this, in a world where most people are so wrapped up in the latest news about brittany spears? Doesn't anybody realize what is truly important anymore?

In a rather bold move, Bank of America has decided to offer Spanish language services and statements for its MLB branded credit cards. I say bold for two reasons.

Granted we don't have an Official language in the USA, but there is a very large population of people who disagree with having to "press 1 for English." And here we have Bank of AMERICA offering Spanish language options. They just might lose a few customers over that.

Secondly - why baseball? I mean, I can understand why they wouldn't create an entirely new "Spanish Speaker" branded credit card - because that just screams discrimination - but... baseball?

Maybe they did some market research and found most of their Spanish speaking customers have the MLB card, I don't know. But I think it's a bit sad that a bank is offering extended services to Hispanics while 911 and 411 in areas densely populated by Hispanics still can't service them.

Or should I say, Halloween? If you ask me, it's just plain Hollow nowadays.

You know, this holiday used to mean something - but public opinion has changed vastly. So few people even honor or respect the living, I suppose it would be too much to get them to honor the dead.

Why has public opinion changed so much? Well, I'll let someone else explain that.



So, with that in mind, are you going to send your kids trick-or-treating and get candy for the kids that come to your door because it is your "job as a propaganda fed consumer"...

Or, will you light a candle in your window so your loved ones who have passed can find you? Will your costume represent the spirit of a person you want to be for the next year, whose attributes you admire and wish to possess? Will you visit each grave in a nearby graveyard and leave a white cloth for them to wear as they wander and a candle so they can see?

Will you even honor and mourn the beloved who have passed?