Thanksgiving escape plan

What to avoid your family and their awkwardness? All you need is a laptop and hulu.com and you're well on your way to avoiding any and all pesky "family" conversations.

We've all been there. Thanksgiving. The table is set. The food is awesome. The room is crowded. And someone pipes up with an awkward or stupid joke ("I read a book about adhesives, I couldn't put it down"). Or your mom or pesky aunt asks when you're going to start having kids. Maybe your Uncle Ralph starts talking about how screwed this country is now than "an inexperienced community organizer" is in charge of the country.

You will need, desperately, something else to do or else this kind of conversation will never stop. (And then grandpa starts railing: "In my day, football players didn't put so much mustard on their hot dogging" — what does that even mean?)

Thank Goblox for hulu.com. (And, to a lesser extent, justin.tv and YouTube.)

So, tomorrow afternoon, after consuming turkey and while trying to avoid having to watch the Detroit Lions lose by 56 points to the Tennessee Titans, take your laptop with you to a quiet bedroom somewhere (if you have to use an excuse to get grandma off your back, "I have explosive diarrhea" almost always works) and catch up on everything that hulu has to offer.

Hulu, if you didn't already know, is a great place to watch full-length movies, current NBC/Fox TV shows, classic TV shows and shows that just never got a chance to shine. (Consider the following an incomprehensive, but altogether awesome, guide to the Hulu catalog.)

You can ...

... catch a movie that you absolutely should see but maybe haven't: "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three" — which is the world's greatest subway heist movie.

... finally find the time to watch "Arrested Development." Every episode, for free.

... do what I'm going to do, and re-watch every episode of "The Highlander" TV show.

... hulk out with the original Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno "Incredible Hulk."

... watch a really good vampire movie: 80s cult classic "Near Dark" starring Bill Paxton and Adrian Pasdar.

... remember when Eddie Murphy was really, really funny in "Eddie Murphy: Raw."

... enjoy the great Charles Bronson flick, "Deathwish."

... be reminded that this election was actually kind of funny. On more than one occasion.

... find out why nearly everyone who's seen it, really likes "Andy Barker, P.I."

... discover, if you haven't already done so, the hidden sci-fi geek inside of you, by watching "The Fifth Element" or "Starship Troopers."

... delve into the enthralling documentary "Hoop Dreams." (If hoops are your thing, also try "The White Shadow.)

... laugh your ass off at classic "In Living Color" episodes. They've got clips and episodes. I can't be the only one that misses when Jim Carrey was funny.

... find out why "Flipping Out with Jeffrey Lewis" is both absolutely mind-numbingly difficult to watch and completely impossible to turn off. (Thankfully for your brain, hulu just has clips from this show. So, you're not going to be stuck watching 30 minute eps.)

... or you could just enjoy "Raising Arizona." And, really, who doesn't enjoy that?

(If hulu.com doesn't quite do it for you, you could always delve into the madness that is justin.tv. The highlights that I've found: a Mystery Science Theater 3000 marathon, an all Saved By The Bell channel and an all-horror movies channel.)

And now ... some news

:: Are you eagerly anticipating the first trailer from "Wolverine"? Well, Dec. 12 is your lucky day. (But it means you're gonna have to see "The Day The Earth Stood Still," and nobody wants that.)

:: And in news that's completely shocking to no one.

:: For your consideration ... "The Dark Knight's" campaign for Oscars.

:: Check out some reviews (not good ones either) for the three movies opening today. Read the mothership and Ink's take on "Australia." And the mothership's take on "Transporter 3" and "Four Christmases."

:: For the record, two of those movies are on my list of holiday movies to avoid this year. Guess which two before clicking that link.

And now ... the funniest thing to happen in sports this week

[The Canadiens lost the game in overtime. I guess that's not funny if you Habs fan, but, most of them are cheaters anyway.]