HAPPY WORKING SONG: I don't have a lot to say about Enchanted. It's cute-but-not-great, though Amy Adams is just as good as they say. If you're up for That Kind Of Movie, it delivers, but only rarely (the Central Park sequence) does it soar. It's a movie that aspires to be Splash but never develops that level of depth of feeling, though I suspect drag queens will be riffing off Susan Sarandon's evil Narissa for decades to come. It is good seeing Idina Menzel working, though she's not given much to do.

Two character actors worth noting: Timothy Spall (Wormtail!) in the kind of sniveling role he's born to play, and do look out for (and listen to) Jodi Benson, who voiced Ariel, as Lawyer McDreamy's assistant.

AND BOULDER HAS A LOT OF HIPPIES: For ABC, Eric Cartman introduces the Colorado Buffaloes starting lineups.

YOU PROBABLY THINK THE SONG IS ABOUT YOU: So, as it turns out, Neil Diamond's inspiration for "Sweet Caroline" was Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, who was not yet twelve years old at the time when Diamond started thinking about hands touching hands, reaching out, touching him, touching her. Of course, that's probably less creepy than the last explanation I heard (video).

For more, see this 2004 Rolling Stone list of songs and their inspirations, to which we can also add Alice Brock, an artist and gallery owner in Provincetown, Mass., but who used to own a restaurant in Great Barrington, just a half-a-mile from the railroad track ....

ELBOW DEEP IN NAZI GUT: It is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, for crying out loud! Is it too much to ask that my Grey's Anatomy have a little uplift and maybe a smidge of thankful mixed in? Sheesh.

I STRONGLY DISLIKED THIS MOVIE: The A.V. Club's take on Rob Reiner's film North, part of its My Year of Flops series, is of course very much based on seeing the film through the prism of Roger Ebert's legendary 0-star review, but Nathan Rabin also raises two fine thoughts worthy of your input:

1. "Watching the film, I was reminded of my late, great Movie Club colleague Anderson Jones’ comment that he hated kids films, hated kids in films, and hated children in general. I don’t hate children, but I do hate the way children are deified in films. I’m sickened by the endless deluge of parenthood redemption comedies about hard-working parents who learn, through some manner of metaphysical magic or bizarre quirk of fate, that the only way to be a good parent is to devote every waking moment to catering to their child’s every need. These films coldly exploit both the innate narcissism of children and the guilt of dual-income couples worried that their professional success is coming at the expense of their children’s happiness. Most parents try their best under challenging circumstances. They don’t deserve to have cynical kiddie fare propagating the message that if you miss little Timmy’s softball game even once he’ll end up a serial killer all because of your terrible parenting."

2. " Ebert expresses hope that North represents a mere 'lapse from which Reiner will soon recover'. Yet Reiner never really did recover. North marked the turning point where people stopped saying, 'Oh wow, a new Rob Reiner movie!' to 'Oh shit, another fucking Rob Reiner movie.' Reiner’s impressive string of triumphs was in the past (All in The Family, the aforementioned directorial hits, fucking Penny Marshall) while The Story Of Us, Alec & Emma, and Rumor Has It loomed ominously in his future. Reiner and Barry Levinson have strangely similar career arcs. Each triumphed throughout the ‘80s with critics and audiences then wiped out with a deeply personal labor of love early in the early 90s. Reiner and Levinson obviously put a lot of themselves into North and Toys, respectively. Reiner and Levinson clearly thought they were giving the world another Wizard Of Oz. So it must have been traumatic to have the world treat their gift-wrapped whimsy like a vial of the bubonic plague. They expected to be greeted as liberators of the world’s collective inner child. Instead they were treated like a guy who comes to the family Christmas party high on crack and hand-cuffed to a dead hooker."

Indeed, after a run including Spinal Tap, Princess Bride, Stand By Me, Misery, When Harry Met Sally and A Few Good Men, Reiner hasn't had a good film since 1995's The American President; Levinson has directed one solid film (Wag the Dog) since 1991's Bugsy, though he has a lifetime pass thanks to helming "Homicide: Life on the Streets". What happened?

ruhlman.com: Thanksgiving: THE best time to make stock

HOPEFULLY, THIS WARNING DOES NOT COME TOO LATE: If you don't turn your turkey carcass into a stock, Michael Ruhlman will be disappointed in you.

I'm reading Ruhlman's new book now, The Elements of Cooking, and I feel like I'm being humbled by Dick Helmholz, page-by-page -- energized by all the new ideas and insights, but worn down by the berating over the fact that I don't yet know how important veal stock is to, apparently, everything.

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO LOCATE THE NEAREST EXIT: Last November, our friend Mike Ward graced us with the Pre-Meal Thanksgiving Safety Demonstration. For 2007, Mike has recorded an audio version, but I have no idea how to upload it to a site where we can share it. If you can let me know how, I'll do it. In the meantime:

The Pre-Meal Thanksgiving Safety Demonstration

Welcome to this Thanksgiving meal, with non-stop service from passive aggression to outright yelling. This afternoon's meal will last approximately two hours and 14 minutes. At this time, please direct your attention to the head of the table for the pre-meal safety demonstration.

Emergency exits are located at the door into the kitchen and through the living room into the front hall. Please take a moment to locate the exit nearest you.

When the meal begins to take off, you must fasten your lips shut. To do so, insert an alcoholic beverage into a glass, and pull it to your lips for a long swig. We suggest that you keep your beverage glass full throughout the meal, as we may experience turbulence.

In the event of a sudden pressurization of the dining room's atmosphere, various members of the family may drop insults that they don't actually mean. Remain calm. Pull the defensive psychological mask that you have constructed over your face and breathe normally. Insults will continue to flow even after the mask is in place.

In the event of water flowing from eyelids, please remember that your Walgreen's Thanksgiving print paper napkin can be used as a tear-soaking device.

This is a non-smoking meal. Tampering with, disabling, or destroying the smoke detectors located in the bathroom is an offense punishable by substantial yelling and cursing.

At this time we ask that you turn off all cell phones, pagers, and other electronic devices. Please make sure that you have stowed away all painful memories and disappointments in preparation for the meal.

For complete information on meal safety procedures, please review the email provided to you by your cousin Joe detailing which family members are not talking to which other family members and which subjects are prohibited.

Thank you for choosing this side of the family for your Thanksgiving meal. At this time, you may sit back, relax, and enjoy the fight.

And if you've got eighteen minutes or so to fill, and you'd like to see a guy perform a song about the littering laws of Stockbridge, Mass., and the Army induction process, click here.