Post #2 - My Night of TV

Well, if you consider Sunday the first day of the week, I didn't post at least two times this week. However, if you consider Sunday the final day of the week, as I usually do -- you know, that day of rest and contemplation I take after a hard week of working nine to five, er, nevermind -- then this will be post number 2! And the first post for February!

How is it already February? I spent far too many hours in January sitting on my fattening butt (meaning, my butt is getting fatter, though I'm sure if a cannibal were to eat me, he'd find my gluteal cuts to be pretty well marbled). February hasn't been much different. I'm in the process of re-knitting the sweater I finished, as it was just too ugly to wear. I have two sleeves to reknit, as well as a few more inches of the lower torso. Sadly, I've had to knit in front of a TV that has offered very poor viewing of late. When I get into a knitting groove, I have to get to a good stopping point, and that often means I will watch anything on TV as I do so. Friday night, I watched the premiere of Eli Stone, which I had recorded Thursday night, followed by 20/20, the local news, Nightline, Jimmy Kimmel, and then finished off by watching an infomercial about the Collector's Edition of the Carol Burnett Show available on DVD. Yep, once I get to watching infomercials I know I've stayed up too late. And I really didn't have too much to show for my knitting, as I'd done a lot of frogging that night - ripping stitches from the sweater so I could re-knit it.

The TV started out well - Eli Stone is another lawyer show (wait, there are TV shows that focus on lawyers? Really?) but the central case on the premiere involved a woman suing a pharmaceutical company for causing her son's autism by having "Mercuritol" in its vaccines. Hmm. Nothing I recognize in that. Of course, the American Academy of Pediatrics had a kitten and forced ABC to post a note at the end of the show that the preceding was in fact, fiction, and that if you want information on autism, please go to the CDC website. Yep, the CDC has lots of bullshit good information on autism, I'm sure! I'll go check. Let's see, they have these choice quotes:

Entertainment-based television shows can be a source of education for viewers, but should not be a primary source for health and medical information. We understand this program may cause concern among parents, so we urge parents to speak with their child's physician or health care provider.

Extensive reviews of the scientific and medical evidence have concluded that recommended childhood vaccines do not cause autism or autism spectrum disorders. At CDC, we place a high priority on vaccine safety and the integrity and credibility of our vaccine safety research, and we are fully committed to the health and well-being of children.

I don't know about you, but if I saw something on TV on a fictional show the piqued my interest, I'd probably do more research on it, even before I spoke to my child's physician. Did you know that some things you hear on TV aren't true? Some things you read on the Internet aren't true either! Golly! Sometimes you have to think for yourself people! But this: they place a high priority on vaccine safety. So, is that why there's never been research into the effects of all of the current recommended vaccines on babies and young children? Vaccines are typically given together -- several vaccines at one time. Have they researched the safety of multiple vaccines given at the same time? Oh, I'm just sure they have. Sarcasm. And why most flu vaccines, which are recommended for babies and pregnant women, still contain mercury, a neurotoxin? And most other vaccines may still contain trace amounts of mercury? Oh, but I'm sure small amounts of mercury are just fine for those babies. I mean, sure pregnant women shouldn't eat tuna fish because of the mercury they might ingest, but mercury is perfectly safe when injected in small amounts. Right? Those other ingredients -- including aluminum and formaldehyde, aren't exactly my idea of healthy treats, either.

I found the show entertaining, but don't know if I'll become a regular viewer. Then again, it's not like there's a lot of other things to watch right now!

I have lots more to write, but will now go take a shower so we can go out to eat lunch without offending anyone with my greasy hair. I'll be back later.

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I'm back. We went to lunch, and now I'm watching the Super Bowl. I'm pulling for the Patriots, since I grew up in Massachusetts.

Back to my earlier talk. So, after watching Eli Stone, I watched 20/20, which was about Amanda Knox, an American student from the UW who was arrested for murder while studying abroad in Italy. She's currently in prison in Italy. Thinking about this, along with the latest in the Natalee Holloway case (a Dutch investigator taped Joran Van der Sloot confessing to her killing, though of course, Van der Sloot claims now he was lying) I am thinking if I had a daughter, I wouldn't let her travel in a foreign country without a trusted male chaperone. I traveled to Europe when I was a junior in college. I was on a program in London, but arrived a few weeks early to do some traveling. I flew to London, then took a ferry to Belgium, and traveled by train to Germany to visit friends. This was before the ubiquity of cell phones, and when I first arrived on the continent, I wasn't able to contact my mother by phone for several hours, then when I arrived in Berlin, my friends weren't where they were supposed to be and there was bit of craziness until we met up a few hours later. My mother knew about this because I phoned her asking if she'd heard from my friends. Needless to say, Mom was freaked. Did I mention I didn't even speak German? Ahh, good times. But, I wasn't murdered or accused of murder. And I realize thousands of American girls and young women manage to travel independently every day without dying or being imprisoned, but still, if I had a daughter...scratch that. I don't think I'll even let my sons travel alone if the day ever comes, unless they are third degree blackbelts and have good street smarts.

So, after 20/20, I watched the local news, which went on about Amanda Knox, since her family lives in the Seattle area, and about the huge amount of snow in the mountain passes, which sounds good for skiing, but is not, as it meant the main roads were closed for avalanche control. The ski mountain we usually go to didn't have any electricity yesterday, for that matter, so even though the roads were re-opened, you still couldn't ski.

Nightline was about an obese 4-year-old girl and her family. The girl weighs 105 pounds. Hutton, who is 6, weighs 42 pounds. Given, Hutton is a boy, and slim, but still. It seems obvious that this girl has some underlying medical issues, but her mother said they have had her tested and not come up with anything. When not demanding food, the daughter was throwing tantrums and yelling at her mother. It was hard to watch. It showed the mom grocery shopping with her daughter, and filling the cart with things like Top Ramen. Man, that sent chills up my spine. If nothing else, this family should try a diet of NO processed foods, and cutting the sugar. I know it's hard. My boys eat too many "healthy" junk snacks - granola bars and fruit leather are faves, but they're still just sugar to the body. I have been wanting to change our diet to more of a cave man style - meats and veggies, no processed foods, grains or dairy. I think the boys and I would greatly benefit from it, but it means pretty much no eating out, no "easy" dinners on those nights I don't feel like cooking -- wait, do I ever feel like cooking? -- and most importantly, the end of my latte habit. Right now, Hutton is gluten, casein, corn and egg free. The corn is the real hard thing to eliminate, as corn syrup is in so much, but it is possible. I hope the family on Nightline can come up with some solutions so their daughter can grow to be a healthy adult.

Jimmy Kimmel - Not much I remember, other than the Sarah Silverman video here, which I found quite amusing.

As for the Carol Burnett infomercial? I don't really remember her show from childhood, though I think I was usually playing with toys while the reruns provided background noise. I do remember and have always liked the Went With The Wind sketch - Carol as Scarlett O'Hara with the dress made from drapes, complete with curtain rod. The infomercial didn't get me to order the DVD, though. So, I'm not that desperate for entertainment, yet. Sure, I'll watch an infomercial at 1 a.m., but those are free!