Insane consumerism, campout edition

I guess this kind of thing is what makes the world go around on some level.

And so the Black Friday lines begin. The streets of Boulder are fairly tame and the majority of store-fronts are dark on Thanksgiving evening. However, at this point in time, about 30 people have set up camp in front of Boulder's new Best Buy.

They're here for the Black Friday deals. Best Buy won't open until 5 a.m., but these folks are braving the cold, and eventually sleep deprivation, to not miss out on the early bird specials. (Best Buy and other retailers will have a limited amount of "door-busting" items such as the new Guitar Hero for $80, a desktop computer for $300 and a laptop for $379.

Waiting in line or camping overnight is a tradition for some of these people in line. They put aside money all year, plan out their purchases weeks in advance by perusing the advertisement fliers leaked to Web sites like bfads.net, and then brave the cold and eventual sleep-deprivation.

I'd like to feel superior to these people (well OK I do), but then I remember I've done things like spend $700 to go to a Michigan-Ohio State game in which Michigan got 91 yards of total offense while the game was held in a freezing drizzle that was two degrees too warm to turn into snow, and I stayed for the whole thing. While wearing running shoes. (My toes were nearly amputated).

BTW when did Black Friday become an evergreen news story/free advertisement for rampant consumerism? Ten years ago? Longer? I don't remember it being talked about much before then. Especially since the whole thing is crap even on the empirical level of it being the busiest shopping day of the year (there are always a couple of days before Christmas that are busier. Lots of men in this world after all).

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