No, not Shawntay. And if he was a drinker, I wouldn't mind, he's old enough to know what he's doing. *sigh* The saga of my younger brother continues, and I will not hide my dissapointment.
He's been nailed for drinking before, when Mom discovered the empties in his room (christ, you'd think he'd at least know to hide the damn evidence). He had pilfered it from their own supply. Mom and stepdad are far from heavy drinkers, but they do enjoy entertaining and keep a decent stock of beer as well as hard liquor around for just that. The first time it was about a six-pack worth of different beers from the 'party fridge', as I coined it.
I know, I know, we all did that at his age. But with my brother's constant battles with depression, not to mention chronic fucking up in general, this was a good sized blow to the whole situation. I know they rode him pretty hard (well, hard for them) about it, and I had hoped that he had learned his lesson. I know a big concern is that he is turning 16 this week, as most of his friends already have, and the friends he had over could've very likely driven while intoxicated. And we all know how that would've gone, Mom and Step would've been held accountable. I know my Stepfather doesn't take this lightly, as he had a very close friend about ten years ago get into an accident while driving drunk and had killed a child. Your stupid teenage son drinking in the house in one thing, your son's stupid teenage friends getting drunk on your stash and possibly endangering all around them in a vehicle is a freaky matter all in it's own. Knowing how stubborn my brother is, I can only imagine his friends would not have the common sense to say "Hey, I've got the spins, maybe taking a little trip to 7-11 in mom's car ain't the hottest idea right now." No, we know how the adolescent mind works...it'd be more like "Wow..hu huh huh...I'm drunk...let's go get cheetos...I'm INVICIBLE!"
So, there you go, a bad situation getting much worse. I am not sure exactly what measures my folks took to prevent this event from happening again, but likely NONE from the sounds of what has happened this weekend. Adam was depressed, and rightly so this time. Beyond the typical teenage angst, coupled with his uber-gothness, his lovely girlfriend had to move back to Romania...yup, three days before his 16th birthday. Talk about SUCK! I felt bad for the kid, and upon finding out Hunter S. Thompson died, who was one of his literary heroes, I was almost wondering if Adam was going to end up throwing himself off a bridge (well, not really, but then again, little gothy teens can be melodramatic.)
Well, he chose his method of self-destruction as...you guessed it...drinking! Apparently he went to hang out with a friend who is a notoriously bad influence (the kid doesn't live at home, has an Aunt who loves doling out sizeable amounts of cash, and has been a little too friendly with a few drugs, aka heroin and E). Adam came stumbling home way after his curfew, and attempted to hide something in the bushes outside the house, which my thankfully observant mom noticed and immediately sent Step to go investigate. BTW, in case I've never noted this before, Adam is my halfbrother, his father being my stepfather. Anyhoo, turns out the secret treasure was a water bottle full of alcohol. Later examination of their liquor stock revealed that bottles of tequila, triple sec, and vodka were mysteriously absent.
So, big family blowout, Kid's grounded three days before his birthday, and mom is currently bashing her head against the wall. *sigh* She's been adamant that he get his license when he turns 16 so that he can go get a job, but I am really thinking that's a very bad idea. Not the job, kid needs to learn some fucking responsibility at this point, but the license. After all, as much hassle it is I am sure to cart him around everywhere at his whim, driving is a priveledge that I think at this point he is clearly proving unworthy of. I mean, if he can't knock off the drinking, what's to say he isn't headed towards his own lovely career of DUIs and possible accidents?
I guess I just can't figure out how a kid can be so friggin smart in one instant, reading Kafka at his young age and actually grasping the meaning of William S Burroughs, and then so completely goddamn STUPID the very next. I seriously wanted to just give him a nice sized whack with a whiffle bat upside the head at this point. *ugh* God help me, if Anthony dares put me through this shit in a few years, I am headed straight for teh looney bin...or jail for battery.
Monday, February 21, 2005
Friday, February 18, 2005
Hilarity ensues
So, without going into the gory details of how or why, I will say that my older brother Shawntay is now in temporary residence here at the House o' Hood. Good thing we have a third bedroom! The situation really does suite all for the better. He has a landing pad after a mighty big fall, I have companionship during the day and an extra hand helping with Monkey, and Rick has someone to play video games with and help keep him in a positive mood. Pleasantville all around, I'd say!
Most would find the prospect of Shawntay and I living together again as terrifying at best. We have this weird symbiotic sense of humour, we get insanely giggly around eachother and constantly trade zingers and bizarre one liners back and forth all day long. We have a history of getting into too much trouble, though, however I think our collective aging (and breeding) has mellowed us some. At one time we used to take pride in getting permanently banned from public places for attempting to throw eachother in fountains, doing the tango through the entire length of a light rail train (during rush hour), or chasing eachother through a mall with ice cream cones screaming "BONZAIIIIIIIIIII". He is my living breathing silly side, and God bless 'im for it.
Just thought I'd post a little update. Oh, yeah, here he is, as a result of a bet I forced him into for bragging too much on Madden 2005. My hubby is the masta!
Most would find the prospect of Shawntay and I living together again as terrifying at best. We have this weird symbiotic sense of humour, we get insanely giggly around eachother and constantly trade zingers and bizarre one liners back and forth all day long. We have a history of getting into too much trouble, though, however I think our collective aging (and breeding) has mellowed us some. At one time we used to take pride in getting permanently banned from public places for attempting to throw eachother in fountains, doing the tango through the entire length of a light rail train (during rush hour), or chasing eachother through a mall with ice cream cones screaming "BONZAIIIIIIIIIII". He is my living breathing silly side, and God bless 'im for it.
Just thought I'd post a little update. Oh, yeah, here he is, as a result of a bet I forced him into for bragging too much on Madden 2005. My hubby is the masta!
Friday, February 04, 2005
People have too much time on their hands
As obvious by my recent blogged spat with a commentator, the close-minded ignorant sods of the world do tend to stir my ire to no end. It never ceases to amaze me how people willing run around desperately seeking to be offended, then when they stumble upon a website, human, or opinion that clashes with their precious moral, they get all yippy skippy and climb onto a soapbox to cry indignantly. But I have seen a sliver of humanity hit an all time low in this particular 'quest to be offended'...
A short time ago, my wonderfully cynical little brother (already enjoying Nietzche at 15! YES!) came to visit with the 'rents for a spell. We were perusing some interesting musical websites together, when he decided to show me one of his favourite blog-ish type websites. It amusingly goes by the name The Best Page in the Universe. Some insanely sarcastic dude named Maddox basically just writes out caustic entries dappled with cynicism and dark humour, similar to a blog about his ires in life (hmmm....sounds familiar, dear readers?). I found it funny, especially since the guy includes some interesting little illustrations. I hadn't read through all of it though, and bookmarked it until a later time.
Well, upon finally reaching said 'later time', I was perusing his back entries and came upon one noting that his site was recently blocked by the filters from Websense (a company that creates 'net filters for companies and schools to keep employees and students from wasting their time and warping their fragile little minds). Apparently, his website falls under their one special category of "Tasteless". Now, I felt my hackles go up, because I personally do not think anyone should predetermine what anyone else should find "tasteless". If this were to happen in a broader sense beyond the internet, we would be a world without Beavis & Butthead, the singing hampsters, and, in a more literal sense, tofu. And seriously, what kind of crappy, NPR type world would that be?
But what finally sent me tumbling off my chair was a further addendum to this notation on the Stick-up-the-ass mentality of such a company...
Some twad has actually started up a website, organization, and petition to get Mr. Maddox's website shut down. Yeah, I'll give you a minute for the sheer stupidity and audacity to actually put forth such an effort to really sink in....k, still there?
Mothers Against Maddox is a website this gal who goes by Beth started when she noticed her eldest son, at the oh-so-imressionable age of 14, reading Maddox's site. She decided to peruse it herself, and upon finding the humour unappealing to her, launched her holy crusade to blast him off the cyberplatform. She says her proof is in her own son, whom, and I quote..."an increase in his hatred towards certain groups of people and his negative attitude towards life."
Now, of course the cause of this behavioral shift couldn't possibly be from hitting puberty and thus an awakened view of the dismal state of society, or, oh, say, having a religious zealot of a mother who is determined to shove her own close-minded and moralistic opinions down the throats of her offspring. No, this delicate step towards Satan himself must have been from viewing a WEBSITE. And this isn't some major site, like yahoo or MSN that is most likely to be emblazoned across your scren on a constant basis, with hundreds of employees and engines creating content, this is just some random guy's website. And because she is such a highly respected member of society who of course knows what's best for everyone on the damn planet, she has humbly taken it upon herself to ensure that this one, tiny, insignificant little speck in cyberspace gets obliterated. It's not enough to block the site in her parental controls, she has to make sure it's bricked up with concrete from anyone who would ever dare wander near. And certainly, it's not enough to go to such drastic measures as say....TALKING TO YOUR FUCKING KID.
*sigh* I think what perhaps irks me about all of this is that the guy isn't promoting racism, or violence, drug use, or even gender prejudism. He's just a guy venting, and the opinions he chose to air are in the negative aspects of life and the current world. You want to make a difference in the world your child is growing up in via censoring the internet? Take it out on sites discussing religious-based hate, white supremacy, or gender dominance. Take it out on the pedophiles who still feel justified in stalking our children, and frequently post 'enabler' websites to help them with their legal issues. Take it out on easily accessable weapon-building/supply sites. But zeroing in all your obviously abundant freetime on one guy who's sense of humour hit a raw nerve? Get a life.
A short time ago, my wonderfully cynical little brother (already enjoying Nietzche at 15! YES!) came to visit with the 'rents for a spell. We were perusing some interesting musical websites together, when he decided to show me one of his favourite blog-ish type websites. It amusingly goes by the name The Best Page in the Universe. Some insanely sarcastic dude named Maddox basically just writes out caustic entries dappled with cynicism and dark humour, similar to a blog about his ires in life (hmmm....sounds familiar, dear readers?). I found it funny, especially since the guy includes some interesting little illustrations. I hadn't read through all of it though, and bookmarked it until a later time.
Well, upon finally reaching said 'later time', I was perusing his back entries and came upon one noting that his site was recently blocked by the filters from Websense (a company that creates 'net filters for companies and schools to keep employees and students from wasting their time and warping their fragile little minds). Apparently, his website falls under their one special category of "Tasteless". Now, I felt my hackles go up, because I personally do not think anyone should predetermine what anyone else should find "tasteless". If this were to happen in a broader sense beyond the internet, we would be a world without Beavis & Butthead, the singing hampsters, and, in a more literal sense, tofu. And seriously, what kind of crappy, NPR type world would that be?
But what finally sent me tumbling off my chair was a further addendum to this notation on the Stick-up-the-ass mentality of such a company...
Some twad has actually started up a website, organization, and petition to get Mr. Maddox's website shut down. Yeah, I'll give you a minute for the sheer stupidity and audacity to actually put forth such an effort to really sink in....k, still there?
Mothers Against Maddox is a website this gal who goes by Beth started when she noticed her eldest son, at the oh-so-imressionable age of 14, reading Maddox's site. She decided to peruse it herself, and upon finding the humour unappealing to her, launched her holy crusade to blast him off the cyberplatform. She says her proof is in her own son, whom, and I quote..."an increase in his hatred towards certain groups of people and his negative attitude towards life."
Now, of course the cause of this behavioral shift couldn't possibly be from hitting puberty and thus an awakened view of the dismal state of society, or, oh, say, having a religious zealot of a mother who is determined to shove her own close-minded and moralistic opinions down the throats of her offspring. No, this delicate step towards Satan himself must have been from viewing a WEBSITE. And this isn't some major site, like yahoo or MSN that is most likely to be emblazoned across your scren on a constant basis, with hundreds of employees and engines creating content, this is just some random guy's website. And because she is such a highly respected member of society who of course knows what's best for everyone on the damn planet, she has humbly taken it upon herself to ensure that this one, tiny, insignificant little speck in cyberspace gets obliterated. It's not enough to block the site in her parental controls, she has to make sure it's bricked up with concrete from anyone who would ever dare wander near. And certainly, it's not enough to go to such drastic measures as say....TALKING TO YOUR FUCKING KID.
*sigh* I think what perhaps irks me about all of this is that the guy isn't promoting racism, or violence, drug use, or even gender prejudism. He's just a guy venting, and the opinions he chose to air are in the negative aspects of life and the current world. You want to make a difference in the world your child is growing up in via censoring the internet? Take it out on sites discussing religious-based hate, white supremacy, or gender dominance. Take it out on the pedophiles who still feel justified in stalking our children, and frequently post 'enabler' websites to help them with their legal issues. Take it out on easily accessable weapon-building/supply sites. But zeroing in all your obviously abundant freetime on one guy who's sense of humour hit a raw nerve? Get a life.
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