Dan Aykroyd and I Have Something in Common

As described in my previous post, I recently underwent major surgery.  Part of the recovery involves being heavily medicated and taking a shit load of prescribed pills.  One of the requirements of post-op is a 4 week regimen of blood thinner, in my case, Coumadin.  It's something to which one doesn't give much credence unless one cuts a nick in their skin. I was told not to shave my legs, clip my cuticles, etc.  What I didn't think about was chewing a hangnail in the middle of a sleepless night while heavily doped on an opiate.

My finger started to bleed and bleed and bleed.  It wouldn't stop. It dripped all over my sheets and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why.  I stumbled into the bathroom, ran it under cold water; applied rubbing alcohol, Bactine, a nice band aid.  The blood soaked through everything.  At this point I became nervous and started making a lot of noise so my husband would wake up and fix it.  He did.  He cleaned the cut (tiny one too), swathed it in bandages and tied it off with medical adhesive.  It finally stopped bleeding.

The next morning I realized I couldn't stop bleeding thanks to the Coumadin.  I'd had a Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child moment.  I now know just how he/she felt.

Off the Grid

Have you ever been rolling merrily along without a care in the world, only to receive an unexpected and unwelcome bit of news that sidelines you for a while?

That's what happened to me one month ago after visiting my orthopedist who originally replaced one of my two artificial hips.  He informed me I needed another new hip.

Yeah.  It's like this.

I was on a short vacation with the spousal unit.  I heard squeaking.  It wasn't the bed.  It was me!!  (Yes, I know what you're all thinking but it wasn't even during THAT).

WTF!?  My right hip produced a faint squeak if I moved a particular way. I could feel it too; the way one feels a cell phone on low vibrate.

I telephoned the doctor's office who had me scheduled the following week for X rays and a meeting with the doc.  I was hoping I had something that was nothing.  I knew better.  Squeaky parts are not consistent with functioning replacement prosthetics.

Three weeks later, I'm on the operating table, about to have the original prothesis removed and replaced in what is known as "revision" surgery.  I hadn't had time to process any of this.  I just accepted the urgent nature of the problem, a loosening prosthesis wearing unevenly on a polymer shielded hip joint with potential for fracture of the ceramic ball atop the femur.

I have been off the grid since early May when this began.  I wanted to write but heavy drugs don't stimulate creativity regardless of what some folks say.  As of last Wednesday, I weaned off the opiates and  am hoping Tylenol will hold me til I see the doc this week on my 4 week post-op follow up.

All I can say is, at the tender age of 61, three hip replacements and a knee replacement are not what I foresaw when I imagined growing old gracefully.

Snowden and Ellsberg: Are Comparisons Valid?

The NPR headline reads "Daniel Ellsberg Expected Life in Prison After Leaking Pentagon Papers".  

  

 Daniel Ellsberg was called a "traitor" and every other name in the book. I was in high school. I remember. He may still be that in the eyes of a few, but for the most part, history has exonerated his actions. It's easy to compare Edward Snowden to Daniel Ellsberg because he appears to have done us all a service revealing this information on the NSA's government sanctioned overview of private phone calls of private citizens, aka, you and me.

The Political Carnival referenced this LA Times article with a fresh perspective on the revelations of Edward Snowden, focusing on, not whether or not he's a traitor but rather if the information he reveals is true. 

"Standing on principle is meaningless if there is no risk attached. That’s his cross to bear.But in the greater scheme of things, the 29-year-old infrastructure analyst did the country a service.Even President Obama, while condemning the leak, seemed to acknowledge as much. “I welcome this debate,” Obama said last week. “And I think it's healthy for our democracy.”    

BREAKING NEWS: Genes May Not Be Patented

This is HUGE.  The Supreme Court has unanimously decided human genes may not be patented.  

The US Supreme Court unanimously decided Thursday that human genes cannot be patented, in a landmark decision that is seen as a major win for researchers and patients, who have argued that allowing patents on human genes impedes research and harms patients’ ability to find out their risk for disease.   boston.com

Having read "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" last year, I can only wonder what her family is feeling right now.

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance.   Rebecca Skloot, author of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks"

Given all that's ongoing in our country now, the invasion of personal privacy without our knowledge or consent, the government's callous disregard of First Fourth & possibly Ninth Amendment rights, this is a very large victory. 

The Bitchy Waiter sez "Mind your manners"

One of my favorite blogs of all time is "The Bitchy Waiter".  He's a guy in NYC, working as a waiter, who writes about his day or evening or experience.  And boy is he funny.  He makes the simplest event a slapstick comedy.  I have been following him approximately four years now.

While perusing his brand new blog site and design at TheBitchyWaiter.com,  I ran across the televised video of him on CBS Sunday Morning.  I remember his excitement at being chosen.  He asked his readers to write CBS and request a segment using him.  It worked.  I am sure I've posted this in the past but here it is again.  Enjoy, laugh and remember . . . be nice to your waiter.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte Approval Rating Drops 15% After "No" Vote on Background Checks

And yesterday it was "in your face" time from the daughter of the principal killed trying to protect her students during the Sandy Hook massacre.  The N.H. Town Hall meeting was fraught with emotion.  (Turn up the volume for Erica's questions.)

New Hampshirites are NOT okay with this.  

Misogyny, Rape, Violence, Objectivity are in the eyes of the beholder...or are they?

Does the media influence perception?  

Do people begin to react differently after excessive exposure to violence, misogyny, demeaning objectivity?

Does the gender of the "victim" alter our perception of the visual?


For decades, popular media, particularly movie studios and advertising agencies have denied that violence, et.al.  above, do not influence same off screen.

Three women at the University of Saskatchewan beg to differ.

See for yourself.

This school project was created for a Women and Gender Studies class at the University of Saskatchewan by Sarah Zelinski, Kayla Hatzel and Dylan Lambi-Raine.  "We wanted to show how ridiculous media portrays gender roles and stereotypes in advertising through presenting gender roll reversals."