Half of Grandpa’s mouth is missing

by sassywho

(It’s Turkey day in the states, so please excuse the personal nature of the post)

Growing up I only knew my maternal grandparents, Garnet and LaVernie. As a child I loved my goofy Grandpa and despised my critical Grandma. Later on, as they both aged, my grandfather became a little less silly and my grandmother a little more nutty… both in a good way.

I was only 5 years old the year that we lived in their house, after my parents divorced. Being the seriously Devastatingly-Dramatic-“OMG” child… there was very little that could make me laugh. My days were spent on a very strict schedule–no time for kid shit. The morning news before being dropped off at my babysitters; once there I would head downstairs to the 2nd T.V. to watch more serious news, followed by soap operas.

The world was tough and I was convinced that I needed to do all I could to prepare for it.

My Grandpa was the person who would pick us up from the sitter’s after he got off work, taking us home to fresh snacks from my oh-so-serious Grandmother (runs in the family). I usually had chicken noodle soup, but my Grandfather loved his crackers and milk—- mixed together. Usually he would take out his teeth first, hand them to me and see who would giggle first. Without fail I could never contain my sky-is-falling smirk.

Afterward, I would watch Brady Bunch before the evening news.

My Grandpa died 8 years ago, and my Grandmother hung on for 6 more. I took care of her the last year of her life, and it was then I met a woman who lived life the best way she knew how. When she passed away the year before last, we decided to sell her house and I had part of the responsibility of cleaning it out. Rummaging through an old box I found a set of dentures, the old set of my Grandfathers from when I was a child. I tucked them away as a keepsake (gross says you).

This time of the year always feels strange, not going to the same house where we always celebrated the holidays. We gathered at my Aunt’s house this year, ate turkey with Grandma’s dressing. Actually had wine, too–which was never allowed while she was alive.

When I got home tonight, I walked in to find a torn up old bag and a half-chewed pair of dentures. Scattered across the floor were Grandpa’s porcelain teeth. So far, I’ve only found three or four. Have no idea how my golden lab Kiwi got a hold of them, but I can’t stop giggling.

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The Real War On Christmas

guest post by Dynamic

Don’t let the warm temperatures, lack of snow, or surprisingly Novemberish date fool you – Christmas is here! Feeling merry, I hope?

Heck, for those of us who spend our time hanging around retail land, the “holidays” have been in full swing for weeks, even months in some cases. I can tell it’s the season for spending time with the family, because I have to work all the time instead of spending time with my family. I can also tell it’s the holiday season because I get to hear all about how Christmas is under attack – at least, if I can get away from the Christmas carols, the Christmas trees, the decorations, the choirs dressed as angels, the religious ornaments, and the evangelicals long enough to watch Fox News.

The irony, of course, is that Christmas IS under attack – swamped under a rising tide of greed, consumerism, and all the other hallmarks of capitalism at work. And nothing exemplifies that assault more than the chaos of “Black Friday.”

Often cited (erroneously) as the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday – the day after the American Thanksgiving holiday – represents the ultimate in consumer excess. With massive deals designed to entice the holiday shopper into spending early and spending often, stores open their doors from their holiday break (those that took one) well before the sun rises – but despite the early hours, many shoppers still spend hours waiting to gain access, hoping to be first in line. It is not at all unheard of for fights to break out over particularly in demand items, such as the latest video game system, the hottest movie, or – and I’m not kidding – Tickle Me Elmos.

Now, I’m not the sort of person who likes to complain without offering a couple alternatives, for the most part. I’m not going to ask you to give up the holiday season entirely. I truly don’t believe there is anything wrong with giving a heartfelt gift (but if you don’t know someone well enough to give them anything more meaningful than a gift card, then you don’t know them well enough to need to give them a gift, no matter how ‘close’ you may be in society’s eyes), and Christmas remains my favourite holiday in spirit and in meaning. But just for one day, take a break. Don’t be a part of the great consumerist orgy that is Black Friday. This November 23rd, buy nothing. All day.

It’s both harder, and easier, than you think.

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To Defence Minister Peter McKay, On Behalf Of Myself And All Canadians Who Dare To Show Dissent

by matttbastard

Here’s a “scurrilous” gesture for you.

Kee-hrist – “un-Canadian”? My Taliban-appeasing black ass. Apparently Stockboy isn’t the only member of the Tory caucus who thinks trollspeak is an appropriate response to legitimate opposition.

h/t pogge, who is far more dignified and decorous in his response to McKay than yours truly was.

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PSA: Speak Out For Nuclear Disarmament

by matttbastard

From Steven Staples @ Ceasefire.ca:

November 22, 2007

Dear friend,

Canada’s voting record at the UN on crucial anti-nuclear weapons resolutions indicates an alarming shift away from Canada’s traditional role as a supporter of disarmament.

Yesterday, the Toronto Star published [an article] written by Anthony Salloum, program director of the Rideau Institute (Ceasefire.ca’s parent).

Anthony outlines what happened at the UN and why we should be concerned about the direction the government is heading.

If you have not done so already, please send your letter to Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier, urging the government to support nuclear disarmament.

Best wishes,

Dear Minister Bernier,

I write to express my concern that Canada recently abstained from voting on an important resolution at the United Nations calling on Nuclear Weapons States to lower the operating status of nuclear weapons. Fortunately, that resolution passed even without Canadian support.

I urge you to redouble Canada’s efforts towards nuclear disarmament, by supporting global initiatives that aim to lessen the risk of nuclear use, such as working to develop a treaty prohibiting these dangerous weapons.

With 27,000 nuclear weapons still remaining on the planet, Canada must not relent in working towards a safer, nuclear-free world.

I await your reply.

Your name here

h/t Alison @ Creekside.

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Utah Man ‘Stunned’ Over Speeding Ticket (Or, Respekt Mah Authoritay! The Policeman Said)

by matttbastard

Via Radley Balko and pale: another day, another video involving the discharge of an electronic control device™^SM®^{OMFGWTFBBQ!!!1}:

Five double yews here, more from Digby [edit: h/t Mandos] and Libby Spencer. Is it really a good idea to give trigger happy law enforcement officials carte blanche just because the phallic icon in question is purportedly ‘non-lethal’ (ahem)?

Frank Frink in comments @ ACR nails it:

I can’t see how this situation (refusing to sign a traffic ticket) would merit the use of a gun or a baton. It’s another use of a taser for sake of convenience and compliance rather than it’s actual intended use. Being ‘mouthy’ means it’s OK to be tasered? Not going to convince me of that.

The other thing that bothers me, and much in the same way as with Mr. Dziekanski and the Jama Jama case in Toronto, is law enforcement’s seeming indifference to investigating things unless you shame them into it by either catching them on film or in Mr. Massey’s case, using access laws to get a copy of what they film and then posting it.

In Mr. [Dziekanski’s] case absolutely nothing would have been done or said further about it if Mr. Pritchard had not caught it on video. In Mr. Massey’s case?

“We’ve known about the incident since it occurred,” Cameron Roden, a spokesman for the Utah Highway Patrol, told ABC News. “But with it coming out on the Internet, we’re trying to move the investigation along.”

Oh, and another day, another death wholly and entirely unrelated to the victim being jolted with a life-protecting electronic control device™^SM®^{OMFGWTFBBQ!!!1} Luckily for Halifax City Police, this lethal incident wasn’t caught on video, meaning they can pretty much make shit up with impunity let the facts speak for themselves. Bring on the full departmental review and RCMP investigation!

Related: Alison gets letters! Fuck life; apparently the primary corporate concern is protection of intellectual property (and calming nervous investors). So affirming to see that TASER International has its priorities straight.

Update: TASER International cares so much about product safety that it wants to participate in a recently announced review by Paul Kennedy, head of the Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP, of “all RCMP protocols on the use of CEDs (conducted electrical devices).” The investigation will also “assess the compliance of the RCMP with these protocols.” Apparently TASER co-founder and chairman Tom Smith didn’t get the official grammar memo:

“I have been Tasered myself. I have Tasered my brother.”

Thanksgiving in the Smith household must be a real jolt.

(h/t ReWind.It)

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