Just Following Ancient History
 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2003Jun12.html

(Spree: Adam Ant arrested for, well, stripping)

Meta Reality Show
 

I watch a lot of reality tv, but watch is too strong a word.

Perhaps because I am usually working at home in the evenings, I cannot watch regular tv. Nothing an hour long with a complex narrative structure. I just cannot follow it.

I watch sports, shows about sports (especially PTI and Summer SportsZone), reality tv and King of the Hill (in Texas, airing twice daily!).

Last night, the OM flipped on the tv and found a reality show we'd never seen before and now I am fascinated -- Making the Band 2. They had rap battles, dueling egos, and not very much Puffy.

Worst Passengers
 

I'm all for that. Provided the same rule can be applied to so-called "adults."

Worst Passengers
 

Right. When I cannonballed into that big netting cage filled with plastic balls at McDonalds', it really pissed the little kids off.

Of course, my niece had the courtesy to drag me out of there before I really got into my tantrum.

Meta Reality Show
 

King of the Hill is STILL on TV? Good lord, that might be the most unbearable shit I have EVER seen. I thought that hillrat sheepfucker show had ended long ago.

Rant of the Day
 

please never mention the crickets again. that was truly gross. similar to the summer when I was growing up that the gypsy moth caterpillars took over the northeast.

(shudder)

Rant of the Day
 

You are correct (I googled). Luke managed to save the day and to decode the Ice Princess. I watched GH sporadically back then. I do recall that Luke was the object of many a crush. Can anyone explain this phenomenon?

http://generalhospital.about.com/lib...lukelaura2.jpg


For the record, I have never had a crushon Luke. Blackie on the other hand....

Meta Reality Show
 

I am afraid it might not be funny north of the Red River (except in Bilmore's house). Around here, however, it's a laugh riot.

Rant of the Day
 

Do you remember the cicada's? Otherwise known as the 17 year locust. They invaded when I was in highschool. It was disgusting. Crunching underfoot, clogging up the lawn mower, getting stuck in my hair. Ewwww! (shiver)

Rant of the Day
 

I was just thinking how I couldn't imagine anything more disgusting than going outside when every car, tree, driveway, patio, etc. was covered in gypsy moth caterpillars . . .

and then Anne Elk posted that picture of a shirtless Anthony Geary.

No lunch for me today.

P.S. Anne, I think the locusts are due again next year!

Meta Reality Show
 

I love that show!
I don't live in Texas and only went to Fort Worth on business once.

Rant of the Day
 

No idea why anyone would have had a crush on Luke. The entire Ice Princess storyline is what made me stop watching GH once and for all. After that I was only an All My Kids watcher. I mean really - a plot to freeze the earth -- how ridiculous is that?! Much less likely than Erica having been raped (by a clown?) and borne a child with no recollection of it. Or Tad returning from the dead.

Medical poll
 

I was explaining (read: whining) to a friend of mine last night about my injured toe and her response was "And as usual, you didn't go see a doctor about it."

The concept of going to a doctor over an injured toe never occurred to me. I explained that there was nothing that anyone could do to fix the toe even if it is broken, so there is no point in going to the doctor. She was like "yeah, but they could give you something for the pain."

For reasons that I've probably blathered on about before, going to a doctor when limbs aren't severed or arteries aren't gushing is just a foreign concept to me. I can't imagine any self respecting physician giving me anything more than a glare for wasting his time and / or tell me to take some Aleve.

So my poll question is what's the threshold for making the decision to go to the doctor about something?

Usually, I'll take a few days to see if whatever's bothering persists, and then I'll mention the problem to whichever physician relative happens to be around and I'll go with whatever they say. This is an incomplete science. For example, none of my physician relatives specializes in anything nearing orthopedics or wherever other specialty crushed toes fall under. I haven't mentioned the injury to any of them yet, because I know that they'll a) laugh, b) poke and prod at something that I've already poked and prodded at to determine how much it hurts, and c) tell me to take some Aleve.

Meta Reality Show
 

Around here, it's considered a documentary.

Meta Reality Show
 

On the contrary, it feeds into all our smug Northeastern liberal stereotypes about Texas. Though I do worry about Bobby--fat, stupid, into show tunes, of ambiguous sexuality (NTTAWWT), lives in semirural Texas? I think he's heading for serious beatings by the high-school football team.

But then, that could just be Northeastern smugness. Though that's exactly what would happen to him here too. :rolleyes:

Medical poll
 

I too am a doctor's child and the concept of going to a doctor never occurs to me. I didn't go to the doctor when I had the chicken pox as a child. I didn't go to the eye doctor until I failed the eye exam to get my driver's license.

BUT I am here to spread the message of going to get an annual physical. This is very outable but I am pretty sure no one I know reads these boards. My father got on a kick about cholesterol and my family has genetically high cholesterol. So he made me go get a blood test and yes of course I have high cholesterol. (though it is not that bad.)

However, this sent me to the internest for the very first time who subsequently discovered a large mass growing in my thyroid. So in less than a month I went from being perfectly healthy and fine to having high cholesterol and having major surgery to have a portion of my thryroid removed, to a cancer scare b/c some of the cells seemed atypical.

SO go see your doctor and have an annual physical. I must mention as well for women that this involves more than going to the gynecologist b/c i think my gynecologist may have noticed a few years ago that my thryoid was a little enlarged but didn't do any further tests.

I will now be going to the doctor more frequently.

So anyone have any suggestions for scar care?

Medical poll
 

As an adult, I have never been to the doctor b/c of an illness.

I've been to the doctor for injuries once in the past 7 years b/c of a dislocated finger, and I wouldn't have gone if the finger wasn't perpendicular to my other fingers (flag football injury).

Medical poll
 

I go to the doctor once a year. It is required for a new birth control prescription. I share the aversion for doctor visits and I'm pretty healthy. I had a sinus infection that kept recurring this winter, so I finally got a Z-Pac from a doctor friend after months of recurring gunk, but no doctor visits.

If I had something that was obviously not a cold or the flu and it persisted for more than 4 days, I'd probably go to a doctor, but that just hasn't happened in so long, it isn't worth discussing. (knock on wood)

Basically I am the sucker who is subsidizing the insurance companies by paying my premiums every month without using the services (thankfully).

I would not go to the doctor for a crushed toe either. Unless a bone was sticking out or something.

Medical poll
 

I call the "doctors" in the family, especially the OM's mother who has actual medical training, if something unusual happens. If it's something weird, I'll call my actual doctor after a day of no improvement or increasing pain.

When I broke my arm a couple of years ago, I didn't see the doctor until the second day after the injury when I just couldn't take the pain any longer. Same thing with a car accident-related back injury.

Edited to add: my beloved mother almost died when I was in law school from a five year undiagnosed illness, so I am often on the phone to the doctor when it comes to illnesses beyond a cold or allergies. I second the importance of annual physicals. I get a full physical every year, just to make sure everything is in order. The earlier something is caught, the better.

Meta Reality Show
 

In Texas, Mesquite is not semi-rural (though it would be in the Northeast). It is suburban.

I don't watch the show, but I did recently meet the guy who I swear must have been the inspiration for the ball-capped funny-talking neighbor. Spoke exactly the same way. I couldn't keep a straight face while he was talking.

Dallas has a thriving gay community, so if he leans that way you can rest assured that it is only a 20 minute car ride to Oak Lawn for him. Though he really should get into shape before he ventures there -- the gay community is no less superficial than the straight community in Dallas.

n(yes, I know he is a cartoon character)cs

doctor doctor
 

I think I feel the same as you do on this one. Broken fingers and toes don't warrant hospital visits unless you can't use them at all. I dislocated my pinkie a while back, popped it back into place, wiggled it and got on with my life. I probably tore something too, since it still doesn't feel right, but I'm going to have to learn to live with it.

A few weeks back I was poked in the eye while playing ball. Now this was no ordinary finger-in-the-eye. Somebody was trying to knock a rebound loose from my grip, completely missed the ball and proceeded to shove his finger into my eye socket (no exaggeration) up to his second knuckle. I honestly thought my eye exploded and I could see roughly nothing. Not a far walk to the emergency room from where I was playing, but, I decided to walk it off a bit and see what happened. Went to the mirror, eye was scratched, bloody and red all over, but intact. Waited two minutes, put my contact back in and played another hour with limited depth perception.

I guess my rule would be: No doctor unless major bone is broken, major ligament is damaged or cut is deep enough to see the white. I hate going to the doctor, but I think it's only because I'm so impatient.

TM

Medical poll
 

For Mr. PJ or anyone else in my family, I demand that they go to the doctor immediately on noticing they have a hangnail. For me, it's "Gee, my heel has been hurting sharply with every single step I take for the last 3 months straight. That's odd. Maybe I ought to call the doctor's office."

Though natch I go to the gyn annually. But really begrudgingly.

Meta Reality Show
 

Entertainment Weekly recently reviewed KofH and gave it an A (of course). An interesting observation is that, as a sitcom, it breaks the mold by having the wife/mother be a doofus instead of the husband/father.

doctor doctor
 

You? Impatient?

Medical poll
 

My grandfather was a doctor and I was brought up with the don't-call/go-unless-you-are-on-death's-door-or-you-are-deformed metality. I do go once a year for the annual check up and need to go back to the allergist for testing and shot therapy (again). I don't think I've ever gone to the doctor due to illness. My trips have been the result of sports injuries and allergic reactions.

Once I went to my doctor because of a broken bone in one foot, which they think resulted from my over compensating due to a broken toe (soccer inury) in the other foot. My doctor asked why I didn't come in for the original toe injury. Told her the pain wasn't too bad and asked what could they do for a broken toe anyway? She replied that they could have provided me with one of those nifty little velcro booties. Nah! I preferred wearing my clogs and Birkenstocks to work. They are more stylish. Well, not much more.

Double Bagger
 

And to think, you wuz already WAAAAY UGLY. Damn!!!

not7y(prettier than PLF)S

Rant of the Day
 

Even more ludicrious was the password Mikkos had placed on the computer, which brainiac Luke finally decoded after many tense moments: "Ice Princess."

I bet Mikkos's IT guy was pissed enough to send out a company-wide memo on proper password selection.

Medical poll
 

Sorry to hear that, sis. I hope you are on the mend. We had a discussion about scar care recently and I suggested Mederma, which my doctor recommended after I had a mole removed.

AOT.

Worst Passengers
 

You're braver than I am. When the Wonk Princess lost a shoe in one of those many years back, the thought of all the little tykes who didn't make out in time to get to the toilet convinced me to abandon the shoe and just buy the Princess a new pair.

Rant of the Day
 

The "raped by a clown" plotline was really used to its most spectacular effect on "Little House on the Prairie." All I can say is, Bilmore better have a pretty good fucking alibi for that one.

Besides, didn't Luke first meet Laura when he raped her in a nightclub or something? Ah, what a great love story that was!

Medical poll
 

I actually had this exact same occurrence! Joint problem on my right big toe led to a fracture on the outside of my left foot. My feet suck. Bill Walton and I are kindred spirits, except that I don't lisp and I loath the Grateful Dead. Oh, and I resist trying to coin catchphrases such as "Throw it down, big man."
Hope your feet are better Anne.

Medical poll
 

Bill Walton is one of the most annoying people on sports related television. He's more annoying than Linda Cohen and that new guy on Sportscenter (Neil someone?) put together. He is tied with Bobby Valentine for most annoying right now. And that guy with the whiny voice (Tom something, I think) who does basketball with Bill Walton is also annoying. They alienate potential audiences (I watched part of the game last night with the volume off because they were all so irritating).

Medical poll
 

Thanks for the well wishes.

I caught the mederma conversation and don't relish smelling like onions. I have a friend who is a nurse who has given me some sort of silicone patch to put on the scar that was given to her by some rep of the product. So I'm trying that.

I am doing great now that I have discovered the wonder of valium

AOT

Double Bagger
 

No kidding. At least I couldn't look at me for like 10 whole minutes!

TM

Medical poll
 

No idea. Sportscenter has become a revolving door of faceless automatons who frantically search for the new witty tagline ("Hey, what's the Portuguese phrase for 'on fire'?").

Ah, for the old days of Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann.

Gatti(riiiiiiiiiicolaaaaaaa .... ugh)gap

Medical poll
 

I stopped watching NBA on NBC, and then CBS, in the mid ninties because of Bill Walton. I cannot stand to hear that man talk. At all. I think I even wrote an angry letter about something at some point during a finals a few years ago.

Medical poll
 

Yes, please, everyone, annual Paps for you and/or the women you love. My beloved mum loathed doctors, particularly those who specialized in private parts, and died of cervical cancer. Dying of cervical cancer is so incredibly unnecessary. It's easy to detect, straightforward to treat, and highly curable when detected any time earlier than super-late. The only people who die of it are those who due to fear or stoicism or some combination of the two neglect themselves.

I'm sorry for getting on a soapbox, but it just tears me up when I hear female friends and relatives say they hate the gyno so they don't go as often as they should.

Double Bagger
 

Dude, that story totally squicked me out. Up to his second knuckle? I mean, ugh.

Medical poll
 

I've asked everyone I know how that guy keeps getting a job? No one likes him. He's annoying, has an annoying voice and generally has nothing interesting to say. And yet, he is still employed in the broadcast field.

Memo to FB
 

If anyone is looking for me tomorrow morning, I will not - repeat, NOT - be at the free "Kelly & Justin" concert being held in Bryant Park.

Thank you in advance.

not7yS