TV Trivia: Chuck Lorre Productions

For awhile now, I've noticed that at the end of the certain TV shows (e.g., "Two and a Half Men"), there's a one-screen-shot flash for "Chuck Lorre Productions." The shot shows a screen full of text, but it goes by too fast to read. I've made a conscious effort to read it and got enough in my fast glimpse to be able to tell it was more than jibberish, but that's it. And it goes by so fast that I normally forget about it a few minutes later.

The routine goes like this: TV show. Flash-and-glimmer-of-curiosity. Next show or commercial or whatever--curiosity gone.

It's an interesting exercise in how short our (or at least my) attention span is.

Anyway, today, I finally remembered to Google it and, of course, they're called "Vanity Cards" and they're all online here. They're basically mini-essays on life, the universe and everything (sort of like a non-blog, blog).

And now I know who Sheldon Leonard is. (I knew the 2 characters' names on The Big Bang Theory sounded familiar but all I could come up with was Sally's ex-boyfriend in When Harry Met Sally...You know. The days of the week underpants.)

Anyway, enjoy.

Movie Recommendation: U.S. vs. John Lennon

I always knew John Lennon was my favorite Beatle and it's just been reaffirmed.

This documentary takes us through his late Beatle, post-Beatle period and his growth as an anti-war activist. And the Nixon administration's fight to get him deported for it.

Featuring interviews with Yoko Ono, Angela Davis, Bobby Seale and even J. Gordon Liddy.

Really interesting stuff.

We saw "Across the Universe" a couple of weeks ago and I think the two movies actually work well together to give you a picture of the times and the Beatles place in it.

Public Service Announcement: Ask EPA

from http://www.epa.gov/askepa/

Ask EPA is an online interactive forum where you can discuss a wide range of environmental

and human health issues with EPA's senior officials.

In our first session, join Administrator Steve Johnson to discuss EPA's efforts to promote clean and dependable energy solutions, including the Change a Light Campaign.

Date: Thursday, November 1
Time: 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm ET

Submit questions for Admininstrator Johnson

Wow. This is really powerful...

Thanks to Melly for leading me to this site!

Check out their other films "Evolution" and "Amy."

What a Sad, Crazy Day

As I've mentioned, my main "support group" is the YSC bulletin board. It's an amazing, wonderful, horrible place.

It's amazing and wonderful because the women there are so open, so giving, so knowledgeable, so strong, so honest, so funny...you get the idea. Any question you have, there's someone (usually several someones) there who can answer it. If you're having a bad day and need cheering up, someone will do that. If you're having a good day and want to share, you'll find lots of welcoming virtual ears. It's also wonderful because you see women on there with "late stage" BC (Stage IV, aka "mets") who are going strong (sometimes 7 years, 9 years or even further out), having fun, getting married (and, yes, dealing with the incurable version of this disease and the truly crude and harsh methods we have of treating it).

It's horrible because you also see the worst-case scenarios all the time. When I started chemo, the doctors told me about all the weird, rare possible side effects that "1 in 10,000" people get. Same thing with radiation. Same thing with surgery. Well, on the boards, it seems like there's always someone who gets that side effect (for example, one friend lost all sensation in her legs from the knees down after 2 doses of Taxol--a condition know as neuropathy--and had to stop treatment; she's currently wearing leg braces to walk and can't drive).

And it's really horrible when someone dies. Which happened yesterday. Melinda, 35 years old, first diagnosed in 2005, relapsed with mets in May this year. Too young and too fast. Too sad. Oh yeah. And she was an oncologist. Which, to me, makes it seem even more unfair.

Moment of silence for Melinda and her family.

It's B-a-a-c-k...(Hair Chronicles #75,363)

Well, the hair on my head is still a little too baby fine and sparse to be called an actual hairstyle yet, but it's definitely coming in and the hair everywhere else is pretty much back.

My eyebrow and eyelashes are about 1/4 inch long and my eyebrows were getting unruly enough that I actually had to get them waxed this weekend! (I had gotten so used to drawing in these delicate little eyebrows it was a little bit of a culture shock when my real ones came in. Whoa baby! We're going to need to keep these puppies under control.)

I think my eyelashes will be substantial enough to handle some mascara about a week from now.
(I remember posting awhile ago that I had read of people getting their eyelashes back "overnight." They lied. The lashes have been creeping in for a couple of weeks now and are still not very noticeable to the naked eye.)

1 Down, 32 to Go!

Had my first radiation treatment today. The rest will be administered Mon-Fri at 5pm each day. We skip Thanksgiving but not Veteran's Day so that means I should be done December 7th. So, between now and December 7th please send nice, happy vibes to my boob around 5pm. (Actually, anytime would be nice, but 5pm would be particularly nice.)

Here's what to wish/pray for:
- that the radiation finds its target (i.e., any cancer cells)
- that the radiation leaves harmless the healthy cells in the area: skin, rib, lung, heart
- that the radiation doesn't cause me any fatigue...I have too much to do!

Thanks!