Nov 26 2008
Black Friday: Now this is Science Fiction!
Last night, I decided to break away from the now monotonous routine of writing up what is beginning to feel like endless research. Research on school desegregation and current racial strife, research on the role Anthropology is now playing in the military, research about people, their lives, which ultimately constitutes the story of our lives. I gave me the night off; and that included not watching any cable news programming…
Where did that choice lead me? Straight to FX which was running Armageddon (1998) and The Day After Tomorrow (2004) back to back. Yeah, now there is some uplifting sci-fi (?). What I did not expect were the commercials, advertising the obvious desperation that can be found in this year’s holiday retail season. Wow… talk about science-fiction!
It is science-fiction for me to contemplate standing at Kohl’s department store at 4 a.m. on any morning. That is just nuts! In my half-century life, 4 a.m. is much more likely to be bed-time than it is to be any-time, for any-thing else. And yes, even that is a bit extreme. Just for grins, I decided to find out what other retailers were doing in these desperate measures for desperate times days. Lo and behold, there is an entire website dedicated to the science fiction world known as Black Friday. The site features listings of many retail establishments, their sale times in stores, and actually their corresponding sale events online. Amazing… I could simply log onto Kohl’s at 1 a.m. and then sleep in.
Coincidentally, I received an email this morning encouraging me to consider “The Story of Stuff” before participating in Black Friday… It is an interesting story and especially illuminating considering the global economic crisis. Like it or not, we are all in this together!
No matter how you spend the Thanksgiving holiday, I truly wish you a thank-ful experience. I will start by saying Thank You to all of you who make my blogging experience one of the most fascinating and enriching endeavors I have ever undertaken. You truly brighten and liven each and every day… THANKS!
Michelle Carnes, American University: Thank you for your contribution re: “The Story of Stuff” ~khl
KH:
Great post! Hey, one of the stores opens at 12:01 a.m.
I don’t know which one, and I don’t care! Rather shop at home in my p.j.s. Isn’t it crazy???
I also hope you have a Happy Thanksgiving. btw, speaking of scifi, I myself am drawn towards the bleak and dark. For instance I love METROPOLIS, BLADE, BRAZIL, DARK CITY, and 1984.
I hope I’m part of the group that makes your blogging day better! I know you’re part of mine - http://newsday.today.com/2008/11/27/gobble-gobble-gobble-what-thank-you-todaycom/
Sorry I’m late to the party…
I’m not one to get all crazy over holiday shopping anyway, let alone on the day when people are likely to get trampled trying to save some cash. It’s ridiculous.
Hope you had a happy turkey day.
Cheers
Well, at 4:00 a.m. the only thing I want to be doing is making my first roll over in bed. There were people out here who spent the entire night sleeping on the sidewalk to be there at 5:00 am. What people don’t realize and I know this because I worked retail for 12 years is that even though you think you’re getting something on sale, the stores - and I’m generalizing here, some of them hike up the price then slash it by a certain percentage so you think you are getting a deal. Stores typically price items at two to three times over their price which sets the MSRP. So, you’re really not getting anything on sale. It’s crazy.