Thanksgiving Has Been Rick Rolled

Well, perhaps not all of Thanksgiving (I don't think anyone is planning on springing the Never Gonna Give You Up video on their families just as the turkey s about to be carved and I don't think it would be physically possible for Rick Astley to make like Santa Claus and visit every household for an impromptu singalong). But the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was Rick Rolled, which is pretty excellent.

This year, in addition to all the obvious things for which I am thankful (a roof over my head and food on the table, Barack Obama winning the election, the continued health of my family and friends) I am thankful for moments of unexpected goofiness such as this. It is good to remember that the unexpected is not always bad, that sometimes it is funny, and we have the ability to laugh even while we are crying.

I say something about what is happening in Mumbai right now, but it is too enormous, too immediate, and too remote. What is there to say? But to not say anything is callous and not a true reflection on my current state of mind. I want to scream at the television stations which are continuing regularly scheduled programming for not breaking in with updates and information, I see the images on CNN of the Taj Hotel burning and hear the stories of Americans being targeted and think "I was there, that could have been me." But then I remember that, for most Americans, this is just a tragedy that is happening on the other side of the world. So while I am thankful for all I have, I am saddened as well, and I hope for a day when terrorism is eradicated from the face of the globe, like smallpox.