True Cost of Black Friday

Black Friday has long been known for offering some good deals, with the name originating in stores turning a profit and moving into the black. It seems to eb starting earlier each year, with some stores now opening on Thanksgiving at 5pm and 6pm. You'll never catch me in a store on Thanksgiving night.

A website called "Black Friday Death Count" tallies up the deaths and injuries that have been reported, with links to news stories as confirmation. It currently goes back to 2006. This year there was a shooting at a Kohl's when two robbers were approached by a cop. The cop went to get in the car and the robber drove off, so the cops partner shot him. How dumb must you be to rob a Kohl's on Black Friday? Aren't the clothes supposed to be affordable on the biggest shopping day? There have also been numerous reported fights at various Walmart locations. There was a stabbing over a parking space as well.

This is just a grim reminder of what crazy people will do for a "deal" on a TV. Even though the stores jack up the prices of the rest of the equipment, like cables, that you need to make the TV work in the first place. There are Christmas deals all throughout December, plus online shopping, so there is no need to go insane for a cheap TV.

Amazon MP3 Black Friday Deals

Amazon MP3 is known for giving great deals on MP3 albums, which has helped them slowly carve out a following from the mighty iTunes. They've released their Black Friday week deals early, with 29 pages worth of albums starting at $3.99, which you can see by clicking here.

I'll list some of the better deals for you here, though there are plenty more. You might want to stock up on some new music like a squirrel stocking up on nuts for the winter. Or maybe you just need some new tunes to block out the Thanksgiving family arguments and/or critical in-laws. You're welcome!

$3.99:
"Battle Born" - The Killers. "4th Street Feeling" - Melissa Etheridge. "My Head is an Animal" - Of Monsters and Men. "Channel Orange" - Frank Ocean. "Ceremonials" & "Lungs" - Florence + The Machine. "R.E.D." - Ne-Yo. "The Spirit Indestructible" - Nelly Furtado. "Greatest Hits" & "Appetite for Destruction" - Guns N' Roses. "Speak Now" - Taylor Swift. "Push and Shove" - No Doubt. "Evanescence" & "Fallen" - Evanescence. "Greatest Hits" - Queen. "Rocket Man: Number Ones" - Elton John. "MDNA" & "Confessions on a Dance floor" - Madonna. "My Life II" - Mary J Blige. "Merry Christmas II You" - Mariah Carey. "Life is Good" - Nas. "Hands All Over" & "Overexposed" - Maroon 5. "Kisses on the Bottom" - Paul McCartney. "1984" - Van Halen. "Tuskegee" - Lionel Richie.

$4.99/$5.99:
"Wasting Light" - Foo Fighters. "Funhouse" - Pink. "Icky Thump" - The White Stripes. "Whitney Houston" - Whitney Houston. "Purple Rain" - Prince. "50 Big Ones" - The Beach Boys. "The Lumineers" - The Lumineers. "¡UNO!" - Green Day. "El Camino" - The Black Keys. "Doo Wops & Hooligans" - Bruno Mars. "The Doors" - The Doors. "Aim and Ignite" - Fun. "Rumours" - Fleetwood Mac. "R&B Diva" - Faith Evans. "The Band Perry" - The Band Perry. "Jagged Little Pill" & "Havoc and Bright Lights" - Alanis Morissette. "Kaleidoscope Dream" - Miguel. "The Suburbs" - Arcade Fire. "Clockwork Angels" - Rush.

Survive Black Friday?

Looks like Black Friday got a little heated this year. I blame the admittedly funny "Crazy Target Lady." She is portrayed by the very funny stand up comic Maria Bamford. Maybe they should hire her for Valentine's Day? I look forward to those ads more than I do the actual day, since I would rather sit on my ass and order the deals online. Yes, you can get most of the same deals online and you don't have to worry about being sprayed with pepper spray or being punched in the face! Go figure...

Pepper Spray incidents, a shooting, fights, a drunk guy getting tasered, and a mob over 2 dollar Waffle Irons. Most of these happened at Wal-Mart...does Wal-Mart bring out the crazy in people on an already crazy day?

Well, I hope everyone enjoys their 3 dollar copies of The Dark Knight or the cheap toaster or Taylor Swift CD or whatever it is you got. Happy Holidays!