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A6 THE GAMECOCK ♦ Monday, November 24, 2003 CONTACT T!S THEY SAID IT VJW1> Lrvyj 1 UU W.T. PURKISER: “Not what we say about our Story ideas? Questions? Comments? blessings, but how we use them, is the true E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com - „ ...... , . ........... , measure of our thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving dinner doesn’t have to include turkey and pumpkin pie BY CARRIE GIVENS THE GAMECOCK Last year, Katie was pardoned, and in 1998, Jerry was saved. Every Thanksgiving, the President has one civic duty: to pardon a turkey. That turkey will be sent to a Virginia petting zoo to live out the rest of its life. But mil lions of other turkeys will be fac ing the ax this Thursday — and then the dinner table. You think Thanksgiving, and you think pilgrims and Native Americans, cornucopias and, of course, turkey. For many, the holiday would not be the same without the fried and basted bird. And it is not just the turkey — the traditional Thanksgiving meal is not com plete without dressing, cranber ry sauce, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, and delicious pump kin pie. Vegetables are a little more varied, including green beans, fried okra, lima beans and squash. Although many people eat the traditional Thanksgiving meal, not all USC students are turkey lovers. First-year English student Jesse Sky has been a vegetarian for many years and thinks “meat tastes like a corpse.” Instead of eating turkey, Sky enjoys tofu turkey. Available at the Rosewood Market, he vows that “tofu tastes better,” espe cially when it’s paired with veg etables. Diana Torres, a first-year biol ogy student, says her roommate is normally a strict vegetarian; how ever, “she eats turkey for Thanksgiving because her family deep-fries it.” If you are not a lover of meat or tofu, a “mock turkey” is an option. Brown rice can be molded into the shape of a turkey, complete with drumsticks. First-year computer engineer ing student A. J. Alon does eat meat for Thanksgiving, but not turkey. He says, “I don’t think my family has ever had turkey for Thanksgiving.” Instead, the Alon family has en joyed “spiced ham with pineapple slices as far as I can remember.” Alon added that sometimes they also have “bistek — that’s just seasoned and marinated beef, Filipino style — and gulay, a vegetable garnish made of sea weed.” Some students combine the turkey dinner with nontraditional side dishes. Gerardo Marrazzo, a first-year premed student, enjoys “Italian food as well as tradition al turkey.” He enjoys eating pasticho, which is lasagna with a white sauce. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Marrazzo does not for get his Spanish background dur ing Thanksgiving, either. His Thanksgiving dinner would not be complete without allaca, which he described as “thick beef stew placed in maize and folded in ba nana leaves.” In place of lima beans and com, he eats yucca, a Venezuelan root that tastes like a potato. Marrazzo does not even have pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving. He said, “We’re apple-pie folks.” Like Marrazzo, Alon does not favor pumpkin pie; he would rather eat key lime pie and ice cream. If you want a change from the traditional pumpkin pie, one can be made from tofu and pumpkin puree. Other options for delectable Thanksgiving desserts are banana pudding, peach cobbler with ice cream and caramel cake. For many, food is very impor tant for an enjoyable Thanks giving celebration. As Marrazzo comments, food “brings us back home.” Thanksgiving is a “day for my mom to cook” and “an excuse to eat really good food,’’Alan says. Whether you are a turkey fan or a tofu connoisseur, Thanks giving remains a day to eat a lot and to eat well. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com PHOTO BY KATIE KIRKLAND/THE GAMECOCK Preston Dining Hall serves tofu turkey as a vegetarian alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving main course. CD Releases for Tuesday “UNEARTHED” “LIFE ON (BOX SET): DISPLAY”: Johnny Cash Puddle of Mudd “FILMS ABOUT “THE SINGLES GHOSTS”: 1992-2003": Counting Crows No Doubt 1 “BOOM BOX”: No Doubt “FOLKLORE”: Nelly Furtado “THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE “SEVEN”: Enrique Iglesias RETURN OFTHE KING” “LET IT SNOW” (EP): Michael (SOUNDTRACK): Howard Shore Bubie “REMIXED & REVISITED” (EP): Madonna A 17th-century style Thanksgiving BY MEG MOORE THE GAMECOCK The proverbial first Thanksgiving has always been one of bounty: The table is clut tered with platters of turkey, corn on the cob and green beans; pilgrims and Indians sit side by side feasting on the cornucopia of hearty foods; the afternoon air is thickened by the delicious smell of Grandma’s homemade pumpkin pie cooling on the counter. Right — and the pilgrim men look forward to enjoying an after noon of NFL action on television after the meal. Unquestionably, the popular image of the first Thanksgiving has evolved — and been romanti cized — over the years. Not only has it been skewed, in fact, but the recognized year of the inaugural celebration has changed. The first “official” day of Thanksgiving in the Plymouth colony was actual ly held in 1623. Yet the three-day fall harvest festival of 1621 has come to be regarded as the “First Thanksgiving.” That initial celebration of thanks was actually a much dif ferent event than the modern world envisions — turkey likely was not served, and cranberry sauce was-nothing more than a culinary dream. The connection between the pil grims, the native people and their day of feasting was not even rec ognized until the late 1800s; the an nual Thanksgiving celebration was merely a traditional event, de veloped out of the Puritan days of fasting and rejoicing. According to www.plimoth.org, the official Web site of the Plimoth Plantation that recreates colony life, New England area governors would proclaim a day of “general thanks” after the harvest every fall. Although families moved apart to take advantage of the ex panding opportunities within a growing nation, Thanksgiving be came a time for them to reconnect by attending church and sharing a large meal together. Chowing down was certainly part of the original holiday for mula, but the table’s contents dif fered from the now-traditional Thanksgiving fare. The season al “fowl” that is mentioned in the lone written account of the 1621 festival was more likely a duck or goose than a wild turkey. And as for pumpkin pie, the earliest recipies for the dish — which was originally made more like an apple pie—weren’t bom until later. Alas, Grandma would not have thought to prepare one even if she had had a stove. Potatoes — mashed or otherwise — were also not a staple of the English or na tive Wampanoag diet, and the white potato was virtually un heard of. Corn, however, was not only undoubtedly served, but was also the reason for the season. The fall festival was celebrating the first crop of hard flint com, or “Indian” com. The English quickly adapt ed common recipes for foods such as pancakes to include the corn “as pleasant a meat as rice,” ac cording to colonist Edward Winslow’s journal. Other vegeta bles including carrots and spinach were also likely available during that first fall season. Thanksgiving customs have ob viously changed over the years, but today the holiday still brings people together to share food and family. And we now have the lux ury of enjoying mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce. Celebrate this year’s bounty with a heaping helping of tradition. Just remem ber it may be best to “take ’er easy there, pilgrim” when contemplat ing thirds on Grandma’s pumpkin pie. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com CD REVIEW *Come Poop with Me ’ lacks humor, falls short of triumph “COME POOP WITH ME” Triumph the Insult Comic Dog ★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ BY CHARLES TOMLINSON THE GAMECOCK Something is inherently funny about a hand puppet who hurls in suits — often filthy ones — at ev eryone from celebrities to the “nerds” at the opening of the newest “Star Wars” movie. That’s why, when he’s confined to noth ing but an Italian-accented voice on a CD, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s humor loses something. It’s nothing short of hilaripus to see him accidentally drop his trademark cigar from his mouth and start to chuckle every time he rattles off a top-notch zinger. But without video, it just doesn’t trans late when the diminutive pooch puppet takes pot shots at celebri ties and tells dirty jokes about Benji and Lassie. It’s fortunate a DVD is packaged along with Triumph’s debut com edy album. “Come Poop with Me,” which proudly wears its Parental Advisory label like a golden collar. Taken mostly from Triumph’s shows, he doesn’t stray too far from his usual formula: making fun of MTV VJ Iann Robinson’s weight and a drunk Ben “Dell Guy” Curtis’ doomed career. But people love Triumph, voiced by “TV Funhouse” creator Robert Smigel, because that’s what they’ve come to expect from him: politically in correct humor followed by an “I keed! I joke with you!” That catchphrase of Triumph’s is the best moment of the CD. The single, “I Keed,” features Triumph taking pot shots at such obvious targets as Britney Spears and Justin Timbprlake: “So many skills Justin’s,making a buck at / Does he rap? Does he sing? He doesn’t know what to suck at.” He also pokes fun at such unexpect ed parties as The Strokes and Coldplay and makes sure to dig his hole deeper with Eminem. Unfortunately, “I Keed” was added as a bonus track, and the al bum makes that clear; it’s a rela tively clean insult track tacked on to get radio play. The other songs on the album are where “Come Poop with Me” falls the shortest. “Underage Bichon” sounds like it might have been the product of too many lis tens to “The Little Mermaid” soundtrack. The other songs all vary in style from Broadway swag ger to R&B songs and sound eeri ly reminiscent of something from an Adam Sandler album — dirty lyrics over a normal tune. Oh, wait — Adam Sandler was the execu tive producer. Sandler makes guest appearances, along with Jack Black, uonan O’Brien, Maya Rudolph and Horatio Sanz. They can be funny on the CD, but on the DVD, it’s ob vious — and disappointing — that they’re reading their lines from a sheet of paper as they sing. Sanz appears on a tribute to the blue comedy of the old days that, at one point, degenerates into frivolous, pointless cursing. Sure, the old blue comics such as Red Foxx were dirty, but unlike Triumph on this CD, they actually used subtlety sometimes. Triumph would rather shock listeners with the details of his neutering or how he’s “shtupping” Lassie. Triumph goes too far and loses the humor he’s so good at during his appearances on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” Listeners will end up using a Triumph catch phrase against him: “This is a great CD—for me to poop on.” Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com Listeners will end up using a Triumph catchphrase against him: “This is a great CD - for me to poop on.”