Welcome to Gaia! ::

Today is Black Friday, when most of the retailer in America start the Xmas shopping season with bargains and door busters and everything goes on sale. The term comes from all the income the stores make I.E. black is a good financial status, red is not.

This is the American version of The Running of the Bulls

Another reason they call it Black Friday is because it's a really tough day on the employees.

So far we've had one confirmed kill of a Wal-Mart Employee who was trampled to death by 300 people as he opened the doors friday morning.

Why do people stampede? I hear you ask?

Well, when the stores start selling 2000 dollar TVs for 600 dollars but they only have 50 in the store, and 500 people sit outside for that 1 in 10 chance to get a TV on the cheap, then let the stampede begin!

I still remember the news stories of the Target with 34 PS3s and a few hundred people who wanted it at it's opening market price of... what was it? 700 dollars or something?

I will say one of the more insane variants of this is the semi-annual running of the brides in Boston's Filenes Basement Bridal Dress Sale. That's when you have a 3500 dollar wedding dresses being sold for 600 dollars.

I believe the record for "bridal gown selection" is an entire store, picked clean, in under an hour. It's amazing, women will show up with handmade cardboard signs with their dress size written on it and hunt in packs for dresses and trade with other packs of women for dresses they like and have.

And that's why I'm sitting at home on my computer.

Or it could be that the English are above taking the doors of the hinges at a Tesco's to stampede en masse to get a discount on imported electronics?

No lines of people waiting out for hours patiently behind a security fence, and once the fence is removed they all race to try and jockey for position to get their kids a tickle me something?

Nope, not in Britain.

Meanwhile over here... we have 2 more confirmed kills.

This one inside a Toys R Us in California, which raises the question, who brings a handgun to a toy store?!

Didn't go shopping, and I'm glad I didn't- people are insane. Oo

Right now I embroider to pass time. It calms me. I've decided to make a Galaga themed pillow next. biggrin

After I get my sewing machine I want to start making my own clothes out of refashioned material. Reduce, reuse, recycle! At Michael's all I got were paint brushes. They were for makeup though. I got 4 authentic hair brushes for 10 bucks where I would spend 50 on the same thing at Sephora. Told you I was a tight wad.

I'm so down for a stitch and b***h. Of course I've never really learned to knit proper.

http://www.coramico.com/images/patterns/galagachart.gif

If you're down for whatever that is. I'm using it to make my pattern the old fashion way: tracing graph paper onto tissue paper and stitching away.

Who's up for a craft forum?

Yeah, I think you are crazy if you go to black friday. I feel bad for my aunt. She manages a target, and can never get holidays off. She can go nowhere for Thanksgiving or Christmas.