Whoa, there. How was your Thanksgiving? I ate turducken and deep-fried turkey down in North Carolina with Carl, his brother Brian (who just moved there), their parents (who drove their moho up from Tejas), the family that they all lived next to back in the day, their families, etc. Everyone was really nice, providing us with ample food and drink and laughs. Especially our excellent hosts, Lauren and Joey, who provided us with a comfy bed and awesome coffee, and Carl's mom, who wore not one but two cowboy outfits (different hats, too). She is a trip. Just a hilarious fountain of nonstop stories, most of which she plows through as Carl interrupts her at every turn, heckling her with corrections as to points of fact. Extremely amusing.

What else did we do in Charlotte, besides eat a chicken wrapped in a duck wrapped in a turkey? Well, we ate out in Charlotte, and visited one of its nicer lounges, and heard lots of talk about its traffic. Apparently it's the next Atlanta in that regard. We had "Friday Night Freakout" in Missy and Pete's garage, which they have converted into a paradise for beer drinkers, dart throwers, and football watchers that they call the Pub. We also did what we seem to always do when in a suburban area, which is to shop at stores we never get to visit here, such as Kohl's (that shittty Vera Wang line needs to go on, like, 70 percent sale, and then I'll consider it...though looks like it's about 50 percent off online...hmmm!) and Goodwill (where I scored a nice suede skirt). We watched The Incredibles. Cute movie. And Carl spent some time with Frank Zappa. For the record, by the way, I think I enjoyed the deep-fried turkey more than the turducken. Sorry Carl!

There is a disturbing trend lately among my friends that is starting to get to me, and I need to publicly declare that this "I'm too old for" such-and-such fun plans is bullpoop. You're too old to attend a rock show on New Year's Eve that starts at 2 a.m.? It's New Year's Eve, people! Are you gonna run home after the clock strikes midnight? Unless you're doing the Polar Bear Plunge the next day (recommended!) or boycotting the evening altogether, there is no need for you to be tucked in your beddy-boes by 1 a.m. Also I have heard some people say that they are too old for running around the city in a Santa suit with hundreds of other drunken-idiot Santas. Too old for fun! I just don't get it.

I mean, I am going to see Ween tomorrow night, a band I don't really even like that much, all in the name of FUN! Here's a story about the Bowery Presents and its newest venue, Terminal 5. (I do like Ween a little bit though. They do all those funny voices, and some of their songs are downright hilarious....)

Do you like books? Do you like free books? Free books that are probably good? Then you should enter Jami Attenberg's contest to win a copy of her upcoming book, The Kept Man. Officially it is called the Kept Man Galley Giveaway Contest, and it involves photographing a flyer with the word "man" on it in any environment you choose. You'll see. Maybe you'll win!

While I am pimping my friends' shit, I must insist that all who like music go to see Mussels play the Mercury Lounge this Sunday. Have you heard their start-to-finish awesome record, "Little Voices"? No? Well, you will be able to hear songs from it on Sunday, and I bet they'll even let you purchase a copy, which you will then want to place atop your annual nerdy year-end list. Here is the key info, including Brandon's description of the other bands:

Black Horse 10:30 (sexy blues duo)
Dark Meat 9:00 (18 member collective featuring ex-Neutral Milk Hotel dudes, Elephant 6 alumni)
Mussels 8:00 (4 man powerhouse [Ed note: you forgot the Built to Spill comparison!])
Gold Streets 7:00 (fantastic indie pop trio)
$8

Be there! But now, everyone go listen to the Hold Steady covering the Violent Femmes. It made me smile and forget about those cocky-ass comments Craig Finn has been throwing around in interviews.

Hey guess what? I've have decided to bring back songs of the week. But not just punk songs. First up, we have a doozy....

WEST INDIAN GARAGE/SOUL SONG OF THE WEEK! Brian Jones sent me this one and I instantly loved it. Within like two seconds. It's by the Equals, Eddy Grant's band before he rocked down to Electric Avenue.

::: The Equals, "Diversion" :::

Finally, we have the greatest cat video ever posted to YouTube: Fat cat watching TV SITTING on the couch. This sounds so dumb, but it is so hilarious when he turns his head. Watch it!

UPDATE: Reader "mechanic" (is that an actual mechanic or a Dan Mechanic? I wonder) notes that this talking cat video is also awesome, and I must admit it gave me a pretty visceral chuckle.

I bet you were pretty sick of those pumpkins, huh? I debated posting a pic of a friend's cat in a lobster costume, but I refrained. My Halloween, should you be curious, involved sitting on Matt and Tamar's stoop for candy dispersal, Dominoes pizza, and a triumphant Yahtzee game at Abilene in which I got Yahtzee twice and won $20. Gambling is fun (when you win)! It did not involve, as planned, seeing Australian punk band the Saints play a show in Manhattan. Sometimes it's just too far. Most times, really.

What else...weekend report, anyone? It started early, on Friday. I left work at 1 pm and met Carl for a nice lunch at Otto. We spent $70 on beer and pizza, essentially, but that was some good pizza, folks. Then we went and saw American Gangster, which was exactly as you'd expect it to be. Then Carl gave me pool lessons at Ace Bar, where Petey B. popped in for a quick beer before heading out to see his precious Superdrag. Good times. A fairly perfect Friday afternoon.

Pretty much nothing of note happened until Sunday morning, when we leaped out of bed to go watch the marathon, which is one of my favorite events in New York. I get all teary-eyed at these insane people of all shapes and sizes (and costumes!) pushing themselves to the very brink. Plus, there's this great spot in Park Slope where some people throw a party every year with blaring music and a PA system so they can call out funny things to the runners. Except this year, no party! Kind of a letdown. And I didn't see my friend Elisabeth go by, and I didn't see Katie Holmes go by, but I did see stupid Lance Armstrong go by. But congrats to Elisabeth and everyone else who finished, including Carl's cousin Terry, with whom we ate oysters at the private, swanky New York Athletic Club post-race. And while I'm sending out happy vibes, happy birthday to Alison, who celebrated one of her many, many birthdays (I kid) with a nice dinner at Sidecar. I stupidly didn't take any pictures.

Moving on to some exciting links, we have:::

Carrie Brownstein is writing music blog for NPR. She's going to be talking about how we live with music, us music lovers. And she's doing some original reporting, it seems, too, on such hot-button topics as what people who carry around animals on their shoulders are listening to on their iPods. Hee. Bookmark it. It's going to be good.

Tilda Swinton discusses her rolls in Michael Clayton. And by that I mean her fat rolls. Apparently it was her idea to gain weight for the movie?

Joss Whedon is making another TV series! Yay!

Urban Outfitters sells a "self-portrait arm" for your camera. Soooo ridiculously funny.

There's lots of really awesome design on display at Brooklyn Bride, I swear.

The New York Times runs a story on the word "vajayjay." I don't think I can say that word.

The violinist Final Fantasy covers Bloc Party, to surprisingly pleasing effect.