Santa battles bad modern dance

a more intriguing cleveland

since losing Sage last year, I've been adrift in a sea of unsatisfying watering holes.

but in the past month, I've reintroduced myself to places dark, posh and reveling in their own decadent delights. It's mostly in search of those who supply Hendrick's Gin, and I find that if the gin is there, it's a good indicator that I'll be happy to settle in and stay until the fire dies down or the pianist tires out.

Sinterklaas und Zwarte Piet

While putting things in order at my parents, I found a Christmas knick-knack that freaked me out.

It was a small santa with a little... black... helper...?

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMM!? (because at 31, when I'm at home, I'm still 13)
What's... this...?"

"Oh, that's your Dutch heritage. It's Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet. Go put it on the piano... there's a plate with them on it somewhere,too..."



In some of my reading about this tradition, I've found it said that this little guy is essentially the more cuddly version of Krampus... which lends itself to a whole mess of questions and implications.

But since I keep coming up with questionable and eccentric holiday traditions, I thought it fit the bill.

SOUP, there it is

Bring it on down to Homelessville

Lazy?
Me?
Absolutely...


While I'm reminiscing, here's my dick in a box.

more teutonic strangeness

This isn't necessarily of the season, but I bring this up because springerle cookies remind me of Christmas.

Springerle, for those who don't know is essentially hardtack with sugar, imprinted with molds made of wood.

My mother has number of these molds, and I remember her joy upon finding the "Dukatenscheisser"



Yeah...
He's shitting gold.

Here's a better view...



I wish I could shit gold.

Krampus

Thanks to those at 7 deadly sinners and to my mother's obsession with all things curious and slightly offensive (in some ways, apple not so far from the tree, I admit), I bring you Krampus...



St. Nick's alter ego, brother, frenemy and dirty dark yin to his fluffy glitter yang.

Frankly, he looks a lot more interesting...
Check out that tongue!

Annotated Nativity

In the spirit of the season...
A friend sent this.
Her niece did it.
Very perceptive, she.

fall out

dad's fine (ish): surgery went well, awaiting hormonal therapy and radiation treatment.
mom's fine (ish): waiting on dad, rearranging the house to accommodate a downstairs bed and closing his office.
i'm fine (ish): helped in any way I could, friends being very supportive, haven't had to spend an evening alone yet, which is nice.

we'll see how this all pans out.

suckie crap ass day

my father has experienced some back pain in the past couple of weeks, it turned into what we all thought was siatica.

he went to the doctor's saturday, the doctor had a hunch it might not be good, so he called in a bunch of favors to schedule an MRI for sunday a.m.

sunday night, i got three messages...
that the MRI was "bad" - no explanation
that the MRI was fine, and he needed simple back surgery on a disk
the the MRI was bad again - and that he needed a biopsy

monday morning (today)
i got a call that i was to not go to work, to come to lorain, that he was going in for surgery and that they thought it was cancer.

so today was spent at the hospital with chaplins and ministers and specialists and surgeons all speculating and throwing out numbers and being vague and talking in what-ifs.

so he had spine surgery today, it went well, they removed the offending lesions, and they confirmed cancer, but with more information to come later...

this fucking blows.

i totally dig my dad.

my carpentering, model-building, blacksmithing, basket-weaving dad.

we don't get cancer.
we're not cancer people.
we have heart attacks.
and survive them, for many many many years.
not cancer.
that's just not us.

Modern Holiday

I had a small impromptu holiday dinner thing tonight...
best hostess gift ever

and best modern remake of A Christmas Carol.

oh, and always invite an oenophile to your party, just a hint.