Canasta Blasta!

Does anybody know how to play or want to learn how to play Canasta? It is a really fun group card game that requires the usual bit of luck and a tad bit of strategy and brain power as well. I think we should try it out the next time we all get together! My family (on my mother's side) used to play it a bunch when I was growing up. Most of the games ended peaceably enough, but every once in a while tea-cups and saucers got thrown around, but that has mostly to do with the egg-nog and/or white-russians that accompanied the holiday games more than anything about the game itself...