Clark: A little post-Thanksgiving thanksgiving

Sure, Thanksgiving is yesterday's newspapers. But I generally still feel a thankful spirit long after the holiday and pumpkin pie are devoured, and this chilly morning likely will be no different.

Yes, I'm thankful for many things, including the most important ones — the family, the friends, the job (really thankful for that one these days), the health.

Really, with all of that, who needs much else?

Still, it's nice to have extraneous add-ons to the thanksgiving list, isn't it? Silly things. Things that can be lived without, but nonetheless put a big smile on the face. Things like, oh, I don't know, entertainment, maybe?

Yes, entertainment, while certainly extraneous, still can be a treasured joy. After all, entertainment can be shared with family, friends and co-workers. Heck, entertainment probably keeps us healthier, too — laughter being the best medicine and all.

So here's a top 10 list of entertaining things I'm thankful for as we look forward to a leftover turkey sandwich for lunch, followed by a full after- noon of decking the halls:

1. Local venues. The Gallo Center, State Theatre, Fat Cat, Queen Bean and all the other theaters, clubs and music houses in the greater Modesto area make this region one of the most entertaining places to live. Maybe we don't always realize how lucky we are in this area to have easy and affordable access to such an array of options, from big-name entertainment to art house films to home-grown artists.

2. "Top Chef." Oh, yum. As the current season of this TV gem winds down to the finale, all I can say is this: "Go Kevin, go Kevin, go Kevin-Kevin-Kevin!" Yes, I like the Voltaggio brothers a bunch, but Kevin is just such a nice guy. And he's won almost everything up to now, so he must cook pretty darn well, too. As dull as I thought this season's chefs were at the beginning, they won me over. Was there really ever any doubt?

3. January. Yes, it means Christmas is over, but it also means the return of TV's "Lost," "24" and "Burn Notice." Oh, sure, it means another dreaded round of "American Idol," too. But we have Fox to blame for that. Not January.

4. Proving my son wrong. There's nothing quite so entertaining as the frustrated look on my 11-year-old's face when he proclaims that "kids these days don't like the kind of music you listened to, Mom," then ticks off a list of "current" bands like KISS, AC/DC and, heaven help us, Twisted Sister. When I tell him the members of those bands are older than Mom, it's positively enchanting.

5. The DVR. How else would we be able to watch so much great TV without it? And skip the commercials, too? Seriously, have you watched a football game on DVR? It's like your own personal instant replay. And you can fast-forward through those beer ads with that incredibly annoying guy peddling the "tailgate approved" gear. I don't need a Grooler. Or a Foozie. But with my DVR, I can slam shut this guy's tailgate post-haste.

6. My husband's old iPod. Oh, I think we'll have to talk more about this little gem another day. But, in a nutshell, I inherited his iPod in a recent household technology upgrade and discovered the guy has some great old music on that thing. Who knew?

7. Annoying people by putting songs in their head after hearing them on my husband's old iPod. Now that's entertainment, folks. And let's just say I've been a bane lately to those who suffer earworm-itis. That is, those who get bad songs stuck in their heads at the mere mention of a title. Not everything, you see, on my husband's iPod is good. In fact, some is really bad. And I can be a bad, bad girl sometimes. "Midnight at the Oasis," anyone?

8. U2. Aside from the fact that this is the best band in the world — and yes, I mean ever, all you Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones fans — Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen and their vast catalog of amazing music also are my go-to guys when I annoy even myself with one of those aforementioned earworms.

9. Awards season. Especially this year with Modesto native Jeremy Renner and his film "The Hurt Locker" in the mix for any one of several nominations and awards. Plus, Ricky Gervais is hosting the Golden Globes and Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin are teaming up for the Oscars. Fun and exciting stuff.

10. Christmas music, classic Christmas television and Christmas in general. It's all good. Literally. What's more intrinsically good than Christmas? It's the season of joy, goodwill and fa-la-la.

And with that, let's all put down those turkey sandwiches and get out there and deck those halls.

Reach Scene editor Pat Clark at pclark@modbee.com.