Thursday 22 November 2001

Pic of the day: Sim thanksgiving, believe it or not.

Thanks, but no thanks

I understand that today is Thanksgiving Day in America. This is one American custom that we thankfully haven't adopted in Norway yet, though I would not be surprised if it seeps in too. It's not as if we have less to be thankful for than the Americans, quite the opposite.

We have a higher standard of living on average, and in particular we have less poverty. I'm not even sure by American standards that we have any poverty at all. Well, perhaps students, but that's rather temporary. And it's not on the level where you wonder what of your prescribed medication you can afford to buy. I was shocked to read a friend's LiveJournal today, where he mentioned how his father pleaded for his Parkinson medication, but where the family could not afford it because his mother needed insulin. This would have been a scandal over here.

The smaller differences in living standards may be one reason why Norway has much less crime, particularly violent crime, than the USA. Another good explanation is that it may lie in the genes. The most impulsive people left for America, after all, whiles the more cautious remained. This seems to be a happy choice for both parts, as they seem satisfied enough over there, and we are thankful to be here instead.

***

According to the tradition I have heard, Thanksgiving Day was instituted shortly after the first colonists came to what would later become the USA. A small band of poorly supplied adventurers, they were in the process of starving to death until the local tribe taught them what of the local plants were edible. The colonists survived and gave thanks to God. Quite possibly to the natives too, though this seems lost in the mist of history. Since then, this day has become an institution in its own right. Even today, when far more people die from too much food rather than not finding enough food. And Thanksgiving doesn't exactly help in that respect.

First they stuff those king-size chickens that for some reason are called turkeys. (Hello? Turkey is in the inner Mediterranean, due east of Greece! Are there birds called greece too? Or perhaps they confused them with geese? "Oh, they look like geese, only not quite. Funny, since Geese is a country too, we'll name them for that other country, Turkey." "Yeah, well, we can't just keep calling them 'gobblebird' forever."

After they have stuffed the birds, they stuff themselves, until they cannot move. Or at least that's the way they do it in the comics. Even The Sims, the highly realistic people simulator game, have Thanksgiving turkeys. When you buy one of those, a small band of random neighbors stop by. (I thought it was relatives that were supposed to show up, but I guess you take what you get.) Anyway, when the Sims eat turkey, they get very tired and need to sit down. If you also give them punch, the guests are likely to fall asleep on the lawn when they try to go home.

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Speaking of The Sims, I talked with the young man at the shop, and tomorrow is Hot Date day! Yay! And before you make any mistake about my sexual orientation (if any), Hot Date is the latest expansion pack for The Sims. It is out in the USA already (which I suppose is an extra reason for them to be thankful - they get the cool games before anyone else!) and now it comes to Norway. Wheee! This expansion adds substantial realism to the Sims' relationships and shopping, and the combination thereof. "In Hot Date, money can buy love" as the developers are rumored to have said. You'll definitely get a full review if I get my hands on it.

***

One last but quite good note about Thanksgiving. I recommend the latest storyline in the online comic Class Menagerie, a story fittingly called No thanks to you. It is about Thanksgiving, but it goes deeper than that. A young student, Brad, is alienated from his parents and is not going home for Thanksgiving. His friend Scott invites him to come home to his family instead. But it turns out that Scott is in his own way alienated from his family too. He uses his friend as a shield and an excuse to stay away from his family. Further complications occur as his father notices him always hiding off with his male friend ... Highly recommended. Vince may have built his fan base by his subtle humor, but lately he is delving much deeper.