The Band last played 39 years ago: Salmonella found in raw milk sold at NY farm

A Tompkins County farm was ordered to stop selling raw milk after a sample tested positive for salmonella last week, according to New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A Ball.

Officials say the “unpasteurized” raw milk from Jerry Dell Farm on Fall Creek Road in Freeville agreed to stop selling raw milk in light of the results.

The contamination was found during a test on Nov. 18. Sampling is performed every three months, according to the state.

And for no particular reason, today in 1976, The Band made their final performance, “The Last Waltz”, at Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco. Not bad for a bunch of kids from around my hometown in southern Ontario, and an amazing drummer and vocalist from Arkansas.

King Harvest has Surely Come: Everything you need to know about Canadian Thanksgiving

We decided to forgo the Canadian Thanksgiving this year for the first time – ever.

thanksgiving,south.parkTwo intense weekends of hockey, jobs, school, and turkey about $5 a pound (although they walk around the neighborhood and Amy could take one out with a crossbow and clean it in no time except they’re a protected species in Australia) means maybe I’ll use up the can of Spam.

And we’ll aim for the American one.

Funny or Die has its own take on my favorite celebration of the harvest.

In addition to being Indigenous Peoples’ Day, today is also another important holiday: Canadian Thanksgiving (or as they call it in Canada, “Canadian Thanksgiving”). To understand how our northern neighbor’s version of the holiday differs from our own, consume the following Fact Blast:

  • On Canadian Thanksgiving, Canadians make a big roast turkey, clasp hands, and tell each other how grateful they are to be a family, just as at every other Canadian meal.
  • Today is the traditional day for children to receive their first maple leaf tattoo.
  • A common table centerpiece is a cornucopia filled with free healthcare.
  • The holiday takes place two weeks after Canadian Halloween, which is the 31st of Canadian August, and always on a Monday, which is known as Canadian Thursday.
  • Canadian Thanksgiving is a national holiday, but all Canadians still go to work in case Americans need anything.
  • The holiday is always followed by “You’re Welcome, Eh” Day.
  • The Prime Minister ceremoniously pardons a turkey, and also every criminal.
  • The traditional Canadian Thanksgiving prayer goes, “Thank you Lord for all of Canada, except of course for Quebec.”
  • There is also pie, but it is made with the Canadian equivalent of pumpkins, chewing gum.
  • Canadian Thanksgiving marks the first day of Canadian Burning Man, an anarchistic (within reason) festival that culminates in a huge statue of “the man” being told politely “no thank you.”
  • Canadian Thanksgiving does NOT involve playing mean pranks on Native Americas, as U.S. Thanksgiving does.