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12.14.06

What ever happened to Sugar Crisp?

I remember it gracing my breakfast table in 1983 or so, at the coaxing of that smooth voiced, doe-eyed bear singing “can’t get enough of that Sugar Crisp” in between the Snorks and the WWF cartoon. It was so sugary, it turned your milk a nice toast color.

But then all of a sudden he was singing “can’t get enough of Super Golden Crisp”, which threw the entire rhythm of the song off. What happened Sugar? Afraid parents were starting to question whether or not feeding sugar to their kids for breakfast?

And now it’s just a shadow of its former sugary self. Golden Crisp. Not even super. Did they change the recipe to make it un-super? Were both super and un-super on the shelf at the same time? If so, I’d totally buy the super over the un-super, hands down.

Hang down your head, Sugar Bear. You’re dead to me.

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Filed in: Nostalgia
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December 14, 2006 - 11:16 am

Heather - Nothing like a breakfast cereal that made your teeth hurt.

Mmm. Those were the days.

December 14, 2006 - 12:24 pm

Alicia - I’m a Cap’n Crunch girl myself.

A cereal that actually shreds the insides of your mouth.
Good Times.

December 14, 2006 - 2:01 pm

shannen - I hate Cap’n Crunch for that very reason. The ‘top of the mouth’ shreddage. It’s painful.

My sugary fave was Lucky Charms. Though I haven’t tasted a Lucky Charm in 15 years or more, I know that they are still magicaly delicious. Same goes for pogos and the cold, square pizza from Montreal.

December 14, 2006 - 4:30 pm

Sonja - I can’t believe no one has mentioned Fruit Loops. Tucan Sam would be very disapointed in all of you (except for me, I’m still loyal).

December 14, 2006 - 4:42 pm

shannen - Lucky could kick Toucan sam’s ass any day. Just say the word.

January 20, 2007 - 10:03 pm

Brandon - Post dropped “Sugar” from the name around 1986, when the cereal name changed to Super Golden Crisp. By about 1992, they dropped “Super”, and it’s just been Golden Crisp since then.

Funny how they still call him *Sugar* Bear.

12.13.06

Growing up.

You’d think that I would already feel like a grown up. I’m over 30, have owned two houses, been married, am 8 months pregnant, have been out of university for 8 years and my high school just had a reunion which marked 12 years since I graduated.

But I have to admit, the thing that has really put it into perspective is a chat with my lawyer last week about setting up a will. (Ok, he’s not ‘my’ lawyer, he’s my good friend EAP who happens to practice law and will dole out free advice over lunch sometimes.) There wasn’t a second of hesitation when I posed the question about Dan and I needing to set up a will. “Of course you need a will…” And then came the list of necessary steps to make it happen, including that it apparently takes only half an hour and is relatively inexpensive.

It’s not that I didn’t ever think I’d need one, but having a baby puts a new spin on things for us. If something would have happened to me before this, I doubt my family would have fought each other very hard for my teeny CD collection, my Disney (VHS) tapes, my burgundy coloured ghetto blaster or my 1988 Volkswagon Fox. Or maybe they would have. Who am I to place a value on such stellar items…especially the Fox.

But now we have greater things at stake. We have to make decisions that I never thought I’d have to make. What if something happens to both of us? It’s no longer about the ridiculous material things (though I still have the Disney tapes – anyone want to call dibs?), but now these decisions could possibly affect our babe and the lives of our family should the unthinkable happen. Egads.

Hmmm…deep thoughts for a Wednesday afternoon, and on the second last day of work to boot. I need to get my head back on striaght and into celebration mode. No better way to do that than a Peppermint Mocha Latte from Starbucks. Oh wait. I should have said no better non-alcoholic way………

Filed in: Life
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December 13, 2006 - 12:15 pm

Kristin - Of COURSE you should have a will. Glad you’re taking this very important step. My Dad practices some estate law and has seen so many horrible situations over the years with people who were unprepared. I’ve had one for awhile and Kurt and I will do the same when/if we walk down the aisle.

December 13, 2006 - 12:18 pm

Kristin - BTW…remind me to amend my will to bequeath to you my spare SD memory card and various girly TV shows on DVD. You’re welcome.

And my Little Mermaid pen will go to BGF.

December 13, 2006 - 1:12 pm

Shannen - BGF will cherish it…if and when it comes to her.

🙂

(Does the girly TV show collection include Felicity?)

December 14, 2006 - 9:31 am

mike machargo - Excuse me…but if no one minds, I’d certainly like the Disney Movies…I’m a nut for Cartoon Movies….ok, just wanted to put it out there…thanks…Did I mention you Rock!

See you at Hat Game
Mike 🙂

December 14, 2006 - 10:42 pm

Danielle - Ok, strange enough that I read your blog religiously (on my down time across the office from you usually) and have yet to comment, but even stranger that my silence is broken on a blog about you making a will. In any case, I had to – you have a 1988 VW Fox?? ME TOO! Is that something we should celebrate? Probably not, but let’s… tomorrow. From say, noon until 4pm?

December 15, 2006 - 8:32 am

shannen - SHUT UP! I never knew our bond ran that deep, Danielle. I’m forever a changed girl.

12.12.06

Cracked pots.

Augusto Pinochet died over the weekend. I don’t know much about his time in power beyond what wikipedia tells me. But reading up on it led me to other despots and tyrants. Let’s do a rundown:

  • Idi Amin ruled over Uganda from 1971 to 1979. His self-appointed title was “His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular.”

Not a man known for brevity. I like the part about the beasts and fishes.

I wonder if they’ll opine on whether or not the moon landing happened as well?

  • Kim Jong-il, leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, commonly referred to as North Korea.

Kim’s father Kim Il-sung holds the title of “Eternal President of the Republic,” but he’s had troubles providing effective leadership ever since his death in 1997. I was close to North Korea (north east China) this past summer and blogged some thoughts. It’s a fascinating place due to the Kims’ megalomanic rule.

  • Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe. From the start of Mugabe’s rule in 1980, Zimbabwe has gone from the bread basket of Africa to hyperinflation (1204.6% in August 2006).

A few years ago I read the story of Roy Bennett, a white farmer who opposed Mugabe when he started to appropriate land from white farmers to give to his war veterans. Roy became an MP in the Zimbabwe parliament to try to change things. His time in parliament ended with his imprisonment on charges of assault of another MP (captured in Hansard). It makes for some surreal reading.

And these are just the tip of the iceberg. More kooks and genuinely evil chaps can be found on Wikipedia’s list of dictators.

Makes you wonder at the things we inflate to crises in Canadian politics …

Filed in: Rants | Weird Stuff
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December 13, 2006 - 8:04 am

Shannen - Would you have to address a letter to Idi Amin as:

“Dear His Excellency President for Life, Field Marshal Al Hadji Doctor Idi Amin, VC, DSO, MC, Lord of All the Beasts of the Earth and Fishes of the Sea, and Conqueror of the British Empire in Africa in General and Uganda in Particular, ”

If so, it might make for a tight squeeze to fit the rest of the letter in on the letterhead. Maybe their standard paper size is longer in Uganda.

12.8.06

Scared of Santa

We all have one.  A photo of ourselves as a child on the big guy’s lap.  For some, it was what they’d been waiting for all year.  They were finally in control.  They had Santa’s undivided attention and the opportunity to spill all of their wordly desires and then follow it up with a lie about how good they’d been all year.

For others, words cannot describe the sheer terror they felt at being deserted by their parents and being plopped on a fat stranger’s lap with camera bulbs flashing all around.

Thankfully, in this case, a picture tells 1000 words.

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Make sure you pay attention to the Santas…Even now, at 31, some of them would frighten me.  In my opinion, if your beard is made of a pile cotton balls that someone has glued together, you are not going to fool anyone into believing you are the real thing.  Spend a few extra bucks and get the good beard.

And just in case you were wondering…Some of us also have mall photos of ourselves with other celebrities.  And it doesn’t appear that I’m the least bit scared.  I’m very proud of this one…mullet and all. 

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**Thanks to Caitlin for sharing the ‘Scared of Santa’ webpage that almost made me pee my pants.

Filed in: Holidays | Nostalgia | Photos
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December 8, 2006 - 1:45 pm

Alicia - Is that Shannen or Dan with ET? heheheh 🙂

I too had a ‘girl mullet’. I preferred to keep the long ringlet-y part in a HUGE satin bow. It went with my teeth. (I’m so relieved my parents don’t have a scanner.)

December 8, 2006 - 2:12 pm

shannen - Seriously…Could my hair be any worse? Not only was it cut into a boy mullet, but it looks like I just crawled out of bed too.

I may have to ask Lorraine for these pics you speak of to scan and bribe you with. She’d totally give them to me. We’re pals.

December 8, 2006 - 5:29 pm

contributor mark - Shan, your mullet was AMAZING. it looks like a helmet.

December 10, 2006 - 3:48 pm

Dean - that third santa was pretty creepy looking…are you sure he was acutally getting paid to take pictures? .. or did he just sit down there to regain his balance…he looks slightly inebriated…

December 11, 2006 - 12:23 pm

Jessie - Best. Mullet. Ever. Wow.

BTW, the Santa holding the two kids appears to be really into the holiday “cheer”… Very scary indeed.

12.7.06

Dual Citizenship

It’s pretty clear to me that the Prime Minister of Canada should be a citizen of Canada only. This would be true whether it’s a Liberal dual citizen of Canada and France, or a Conservative dual citizen of Canada and the US. It puzzles me that Stephane Dion disagrees, even more so because it would be so much easier politically to just ditch the French citizenship. The latest news indicates that he may not have the chance – France may revoke it. French citizens aren’t allowed to take up positions in foreign governments.

This is the second event in 2006 that calls into question the whole concept of dual citizenship. Dual citizen Lebanese-Canadians were evacuated from Lebanon when war broke out between Hezbollah and Israel. Roughly half of those evacuated are reportedly back in Lebanon. Should a Canadian passport be one of convenience? The worst case scenario is people coming to Canada long enough to obtain citizenship, then returning to their country of origin, relying on Canada as a backup plan: in case of war, infirmity, or misfortune, head back to our generous social programs.

I don’t deny that I’ve envied people my age who have been able to obtain citizenship to various european countries due to their parents or grandparents being born there. Between the two citizenships, you can work in the two largest economies in the world.

However, there has to be limits. What should Canada expect from its citizens? Andrew Coyne (my favourite columnist) argues for a rethinking of what it means to be a citizen. Macleans magazine explores the entire issue of dual citizenship.

My proposal: if you have dual citizenship and your Canadian passport comes up for renewal, you must prove residency in Canada for a given period of recent history. No residency? Citizenship revoked. Seems pretty simple …

Filed in: Canadiana | Rants
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December 8, 2006 - 10:22 am

Kristin - Great post, Dan. Kurt has dual citizenship to Canada and Bermuda, which means that he can very easily obtain his British citizenship, which is very cool. My Mother also has dual Canada/England, which allowed her to work in England for two years but more importantly, allows her to bypass the brutally long “Alien” lines at Heathrow.

I would get it if I could…but I see what you’re saying. We allow ourselves to be so easily abused. On one hand, I say in or out. On the other, the thought of being able to transport myself to Europe and buy property there and/or work (totally a possibility at some point) is pretty awesome.

Your proposal gets my vote.