Eras Defined by Media

Eras Defined by Media

We define eras by the media of the time

Whatever was prevalent is what is remembered

Cave paintings, mosaics, bones

The snippets of music and writing

Art and sculpture

Even some photographs

Other artifacts

Those are all we ever have

To glean what it was like to live

Way back when

No matter how far

We actually take the way-back machine

What we have now

Defines our era

We look around and see media

All around us

Records and books

Photos and recordings

Digital storage devices

Newsreels and sheet music

Social networks and television

Blogs and v-logs

What will Your slice of media

Tell the people of tomorrow

About you?

5/12/11

Form: free

I actually wrote this before the Occupy Movements got rolling. Hell, I wrote this before I even knew that the Occupy Movements existed. 

We see now how the media of today and the social media networking is replacing the Main Stream Media (MSM) and their propaganda machine for getting the messages of what is happening NOW out to the masses. Word of mouth moves as fast as people can click a link, now. 

Poor outmoded MSM. 

Their media blackouts just aren't working like they used to. 

Dehumanizing Pain

Dehumanizing Pain

Pulsing…

Pounding…

Debilitating…

Dehumanizing…

Pain.

Constant and unrelenting

Chipping away at what passes for sanity

Till less than an animal is left

Keening to the colorless sky

All joy and hope gone

From soul-dead eyes

Form: depressed shit

10-6-11

Pain in small doses can be fun, though when it is constant, it can wear away at the self. There are tricks to keeping the self from eroding away, and there is help available. If you suffer from constant pain, in addition to the doctors and the medication, seek therapy and counseling. 

You are a whole person. 

Be treated like one.

Chanting Like It Will Get You Something

Chant Chant Chant

Chant that number

Like it would actually help

You win something

And end up looking like

A complete moron

Who still lost

5/17/11

Form: free

I have spent a lot of time in casinos and in bingo halls in particular. Something that I have seen is people chanting a card or number that they need to win something big, as if it would help. 

I have been guilty of doing this, which makes me, too, look like a complete moron as I lose.

What's funny is all of those times that I look like a moron seem to be magically transported away the one time it "magically" works and I win! 

Not really.

MS Medication is SCARY FUCKING SHIT

Reviewing Meds

Wow.

MS Medication is some seriously scary shit. My doctor initially wanted me to try Rebif. Then we got to discussing in broad strokes some of the side effects, which, one of the major ones is depression. I mentioned that I have a tendency (a tendency HA!) to be slightly (SLIGHTLY?!?!?!?!) bi-polar. Then I expanded that for her.

After that enlightening discussion, she changed her recommendation to a drug called Copaxone, which I would have to inject every day.

Now, there are a myriad of MS medication options open and available to me. I asked for information about a bunch of them so that I could compare my options.

I can’t say this enough: MS Medication is some SCARY FUCKING SHIT

What side effects can this medication cause?

Glatiramer may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

• pain, redness, swelling, itching, or lump in the place where you injected glatiramer
• weakness
• flushing
• depression
• abnormal dreams
• pain in the back, neck, or any other part of the body
• severe headache
• loss of appetite
• diarrhea
• nausea
• vomiting
• weight gain
• swelling of the hands, feet, ankles, or lower legs
• purple patches on skin
• joint pain
• confusion
• nervousness
• crossed eyes
• difficulty speaking
• shaking hands that you cannot control
• sweating
• ear pain
• painful or changed menstrual periods
• vaginal itching and discharge
• urgent need to urinate or defecate
• tightness in muscles
• white patches in the mouth

Some side effects can be serious. The following symptoms are uncommon, but if you experience any of them, call your doctor immediately. In some cases, your doctor may tell you to stop using glatiramer:

• dizziness
• excessive sweating
• chest pain
• sore throat, fever, chills, and other signs of infection
• runny nose
• coughing
• fast heartbeat
• fainting
• skin rash
• hives
• itching
• difficulty breathing or swallowing
• very severe pain at the injection site

Glatiramer affects your immune system, so it may increase your risk of developing cancer or a serious infection. Talk to your doctor about the risks of using this medication.

Glatiramer may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while using this medication.

If you experience a serious side effect, you or your doctor may send a report to the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) MedWatch Adverse Event Reporting program online [at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch] or by phone [1-800-332-1088].

((Glatiramer is the base name for Copaxone))

Now, the above is the side effect list for Copaxone as listed from  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0000225/  Oh wait: That’s the drug I am probably going to be put on. Go on, re-read the list. I’ll wait.

Some of the other drugs are worse. Like the one where at the top of the list they warn of the risk of a brain infection that can result in death or severe disability, and then goes down the list. As far as I am concerned, I am perfectly happy never going on that fucking drug.

MS Medication is Scary Fucking Shit.

There are also drugs that I could go on later that are also Chemo drugs. Whee!

Not.

Fucking fuckity fuck fuck!!!!

/rant… for now

Do I Live the Nightmare or the Dream?

Do I Live the Nightmare or the Dream?

Nightmare ridden sleep of being

Always alone facing life,

No one wanting me…

Even as it happens

During the experience I know

That it isn’t true.

Do I live in the nightmare?

If so, I would hope to

Never wake from this dream I live.

5/30/11

Form: free

I wrote this poem before I had this last flare up of my MS, or I should say, the first one that got me this diagnosis. The question I suppose is whether I am living the nightmare or the dream. The truth is, though, that I don't think that I would want to be alone and perfectly healthy, if it meant that I would be alone always. Alone, I am not the nicest person. It helps me to have touchstones to remember why I need to try to be a good person. Perhaps that is a little co-dependent, but I am aware of it. I am still responsible for me and how I act, it is not on my partners and my friends. I don't pretend to put them on some sort of pedestal or anything, but them being around me makes me want to be someone better than I would be without them. 

Maybe that's silly. 

It didn't take this disease for me to realize it, though. I knew it before, but looking at this poem that I wrote I ask myself that question: If a cure meant being alone for the rest of my life, would I take it? I say no. Right now, I say no. 

Then again, ask me if the Universe decides to take away more of my ability to function. I might have turned bitter enough to change my tune. I hope not though. That would mean the disease had won and there would be less of the person that I like left. I don't want this disease to win that way. 

MS will become something that is just a thing, not something that rules me. At least, that's what I am working towards. It's only been a month, after all. It's all a work in progress.

Soul Eating Ice Fox

Beware the soul-eating ice fox. It will eat the stuff of your eternity. It tastes like strawberries. :)

From the Bright to the Dark and Everything In Between

From the Bright to the Dark and Everything In Between

When I got the news

I wanted to hide

Like an ostrich

With my head buried

Deep in the safety of the sand

Pretending that it would all

Just go away and pass me by

But doing that with anything in life

Is not a viable option

For me, or anyone else, really

To do that is really to choose to die

And I choose to live my life

It isn’t the first time

This choice has come to me

Though, it is one of the hardest choices to make

This road before me is hard and dark

But I won’t be walking it alone

And even if I were

I’d like to think that I would choose

To walk down it anyway

With my head held high

If only to see what was down this path

No matter how wonderful or horrible

The fate that awaited me

If this is the only life I have

Or the only life I will ever get to remember

Then I deserve to experience everything

That it has to offer me

From the bright points to the dark

And everything in between

Form: cautiously hopeful

10-6-11