I'm vaccinated, are you?

Yesterday I got my whooping cough vaccine (seeing as babies seem to be popping up everywhere at the moment).  Apart from my arm still being sore where the needle went in (which actually didn't hurt at all during the event, it's just NOW it's decided it's sore) I feel pretty good.  I found a place that does fried rice the way I like it (just outside the doctors too) and Australia smashed the ever-living crap out of England in the Cricket World Cup last night.

Just got my jab for whooping cough, protecting those who can't protect themselves! #provaxxer #vaccinate #vaccinesforever #preventableillness

A photo posted by Kerryn Wik-Grutt (@kezzstar24) on Feb 13, 2015 at 5:22pm PST

The thing that scares me still are the number of people who won't vaccinate.  Now, I understand there are people who CAN'T vaccinate - just like with any other food or medication there are people who are allergic to the ingredients, are already ill or are too young to have the injections.  It's THEM I got vaccinated for.  Because if enough of us are vaccinated, we can wipe out these diseases.

However there are STILL people who believe it's a big conspiracy, a way for the "Big Pharma" to steal their money.  I hope these people never take a painkiller or go to a doctor in their lives, otherwise they've just made the biggest hypocrites out of themselves.  I mean, really?  Getting vaccinated is one way to ENSURE the "Big Pharma" doesn't get your cash.

Actually, let's take a look at who the "Big Pharma" actually are, so that the "anti-vaxxers" can avoid supporting these evil establishments.  The some of the biggest players in the game are:

Johnson & Johnson
These people make bloody good band-aids, although I tend to use other brands as well.  They're also responsible for baby products such as baby oil and baby shampoo.  Their over-the-counter medicines include Nicorette (for those who want to quit smoking) and Sudafed (for those stuffy sinuses). They're also responsible for Listerine Mouthwash and the Stayfree line of womens sanitary products.

Pfizer
WOW.  Pfizer are responsible for a lot of antibiotics and other medications that you need a script for. Things like Viagra, ear drops, eye drops.  I got to admit, that website impresses me.

Roche
These guys are responsible for the wonders of Valium (aka diazepam) as well as a few anti-virals.

Bayer
Lots of mothers would LOVE this company - it's the one responsible for that lovely cream Bepanthen. Young people would love them for their product Berocca.  Dads with bad toes and ladies with a bit of an itch downstairs love them for Canesten, Farmers love them for their wide range of herbicides.

GlaxoSmithKline
The company responsible for Niccobate and Sensodyne (without which a lot of people could never enjoy ice cream).  Also responsible for my current sore arm.

So, to all those "anti-vaxxers" out there who "don't trust the Big Pharma" - are you SURE you don't trust them?

BTW remember to check out Chuckles and Giggles and also give artist Ginc Dmon a bit of love - he's opening up for requests of all sorts so if you're looking for someone to design your next tattoo or a nice piece of art to put up on your wall, give him a go!

Top Ten M*A*S*H episodes

This will be by far the hardest blog post I have ever written in my entire life.  M*A*S*H is the single greatest TV show ever to air ("Good-bye, Farewell and Amen" holds the distinction of being the most-watched episode of anything ever) and now I'm going to try and pick ten of my favourites.  Wish me luck!

10. "The General Flipped At Dawn" Season Three

"That General is nuts! I've seen that look in every Hitchcock movie!"

Harry Morgans (RIP) debut at the M*A*S*H 4077 as General Max Steele is easily one of the funnier episodes of the series.  My favourite scene is when he, Major Burns and Col. Blake are inspecting a new campsite - Frank and Henry warn the General that a salute will probably set the snipers off, but he inisists on one anyway.  Cue snipers and Frank and Henry suddenly thinking lunch is the best meal of the day.

9. "Kim" Season Two

"How can you make a mistake giving a kid his life?"

To be honest, if I'm going to choose between Trapper and BJ, then BJ will win hands down every time.  Trapper was just a little too much like Hawkeye for me, only with the added "I'm cheating on my wife" tagline. However, Kim makes me like Trapper just a little bit more, because it shows him as a great father, even if he is a bit of a lousy husband.
 
8. "None Like It Hot" Season Seven

"All right, let's hold our water everybody. This can still work. We hide this when we have to, we respect each others privacy, change the water every now and then and above all we be greedy and keep this thing to ourselves!"

There's no such thing as a secret when you work closely with other people.  You knew the minute that BJ and Hawkeye decided to keep their beautiful tub a secret that the news would be all over camp within a week.  This episode is NOT one you watch on a hot day, especially with one Maxwell Klinger trying to get his Section Eight by wearing his winter clothing in the middle of summer.  Also not an episode to watch if you have a sore throat.  Poor Radar.

7. "The Nurses" Season Five

"Did you ever show me any kind of friendship? Ask my help with a personal problem? Include me in one of your little bull sessions? Can you imagine what if feels like to...to walk by this tent and hear you laughing...and know I'm not welcome?"

I've always loved Major Margaret Houlihan (Loretta Swit has to be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen), not so much in the first few seasons while she was fooling around with Frank, but in the later seasons where she really came into her own as a character.  This episode shows how isolated her life is, being the highest-ranking female, the one who is torn between being a woman and her career.  It makes you wonder if she would have been with Frank at all if the girls had let her in.  I really do feel for the Major in this episode.

6. "Morale Victory" Season Eight

"Don't you see? Your hand my be still, but your gift cannot be silenced if you refuse to let it be."

Major Charles Emerson Winchester III.  Easily the most complex charecter in the whole series in my opinion, the snotty upperclass brat who is capable of the most amazing feats of compassion seen in the show.  This episode shows so beautifully how compassionate and passionate the man is, about not only healing the body but the spirit too.  This man is able to recognise beauty and acknowledge and encourage it, even if it far surpasses himself.  I wonder sometimes if the character ever had a family after the war, I daresay any child would flourish with a father such as Charles (where do you think the male lead of Chuckles and Giggles gets his name from?).

5. "Sons and Bowlers" Season Ten

"But...where I have a father...you have a Dad."

I love this little combination of my three favourite characters - the emotional connection between Charles and Hawkeye (seeing more of Charles compassion and learning more about Hawkeyes past and how he lost his mother) and Margaret kicking bottom against the camp rivals, using not only her feminine charm but simply by being better than the boys.  She is such a kick-arse character!

4. "Out of Sight, Out of Mind" Season Five

"One part of the world has closed down for me, but another part has opened up. Sure I keep picturing myself sitting on a corner with a tin cup selling thermometors, but...I'm going through something here I didn't expect. This morning I spent two incredible hours listening to that rainstorm. And I didn't just hear it, I was part of it. I'll bet you have no idea that rain hitting the ground makes the same sound as steaks when they're barbecuing."

One of my number one worst fears (amongst my many, many fears) is going blind.  I'm too paranoid to go blind, I could never trust my other senses not to be fooled.  I'd constantly be questioning who people were or where I was, terrified that I was being mislead by people out to get me.  This episode sort of soothes me a bit, Hawkeye seems to wear his lack of eyesight very well.  It opens up a new world for him, that he would probably have never experienced if he hadn't lost his eyesight.  The fooling of Frank Burns is always good for a laugh too (fink) and the ending always makes me laugh.  There's sleezebags, and then there's Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce.

(By the way has anyone else compared barbecuing steaks to rain?  They do sound very similar!)

3. "Life Time" Season Eight

"If we cut off the blood to the spinal cord for more than 20 minutes he stands a good chance of winding up paralysed. What time is it?"

"1432 sir."

"Right, let's go!"

This whole episode is a race against time to get a new aorta for a wounded soldier.  Unfortunately the aorta they want is attached to a guy who's slowly dying and whose buddy isn't so thrilled about watching his mate get cut up for spare parts.  You know, just writing that made me look at my arm, at the little holes that will always be there from previous blood donations.  I keep telling myself that I need to go and fill out a form to become an organ donor, but I never get around to it.  It really needs to be an opt-out system, I hate to think of someone lying there near death and the organs that can save them just get buried in some grave.  What a waste.  I hope my family will honour my wishes to be used for spare parts, there's a lot of me that could be made use of.

2. "Bless You, Hawkeye" Season Nine

"Arsenic would solve your problems Pierce, I know it would solve mine."

I gotta use that line one day.

Another character I have a lot of love for is Dr. Sidney Freeman, the psychologist who comes over to play poker and help the staff of the 4077 (usually Hawkeye).  This time Hawkeye has a psychomatic reaction to stale water from a ditch, leading to some repressed memories.  I'm sure I probably have some repressed memories, for example I can't for the life of me remember what happened in September of 2004, although I have a seething hatred of port adelaide for some reason.  Brains are weird.

1. "Adam's Rib" Season Three

"I've eaten a river of liver and an ocean of fish!"

Pick any moment out of this episode and it's memorable.  Hawkeye starting a riot in the Mess Tent.  Forgetting the colesaw.  Just settling down for ribs and choppers come in.  The succotash in the stoal.  I love this episode.  Just watch it, the episode speaks for itself.

Anyone else feel like BBQ ribs now?

Top 5 Creepypastas

This blog post is NOT for the faint of heart, as I count down my 5 favourite Creepypastas.  Given that I'm a mounmental coward who scares easily, it's fair to say a few of these have given me nightmares.  As such I'm not providing links - you can search them and be scared yourself.

5. Squidwards Suicide

It's mainly the artwork that people have come up with in regards to this pasta rather than the pasta itself that scare the living daylights out of me.  This is a pasta about a intern at a Nickelodeon studio who with a few other people come across a rather disturbing episode of Spongebob Squarepants which never aired thankfully, which concludes with Squidward committing suicide.  This one resonates with me because I've always identified strongly with Squidward - my siblings were the type to always try and intrude on my personal space in a similar fashion to what Spongebob and Patrick do to poor Squidward (hence why I hate Spongebob and Patrick so much).  Poor Squidward

4. Jeff the Killer

Again, it's the picture that does me in.  Especially those eyes, considering that whenever I leave the house I try to avoid eye contact as much as possible.  However I eventually found out the story behind Jeff and now I feel a bit sorry for him (although the picture STILL gives me nightmares if I see it) as I too got bullied pretty badly when I was younger.  However, even though homicide does seem appealing sometimes it's not my preferred method of dealing with conflict.

3. Abandon Lonliness

This Pokémon-themed pasta is probably more of a sadpasta than a creepy one - everyone knows the theory that in the Gen 1 Pokémon games you killed Blues Raticate on the S.S. Anne right?  Well, this pasta explores the three Gen 1 characters, Red, Leaf (from the remake) and Blue as Blue in his grief abandons his Eevee Lonliness to Leaf, who is tricked by ghosts into killing the poor little Eevee.  It's not so much scary as it is upsetting, to think of that poor little Eevee being regarded as a "curse".

2. Sonic.exe

Now THIS one I will gladly link you to, as I find it very hard to be scared by this one.  Mainly because it's Sonic, and there is absolutely nothing scary about Sonic in the slightest.  Click here to watch the Super Gaming Brothers Johnny and Elliot tackle the fan-made game that accompanies the pasta.

1. Tails Doll

THIS one makes me laugh, mainly because of the aforementioned Super Gaming Brothers.  You see, the original pasta goes that while playing Sonic R one day some kids get murdered by the unlockable character the Tails Doll.  Given that in Sonic R the Tails Doll is fairly useless, it's actually quite a surprising pasta.  The Super Gaming Brothers took this to the next level by including the Tails Doll as a character in a few of their reviews, mainly as an incompetent, murderous animation.  Click here to watch all the reviews that include the Tails Doll, including reviews of Sonic Genesis, Sonic R, The Saw Game, Mega Man and Ghosts and Goblins.  Even if you aren't interested in the Tails Doll, you can at least appreciate Johnnys reviews.

BTW I accept NO responsibilities for any nightmares you might have from reading this. 

:)

It's time to vote again.

WARNING: This is going to get preachy.  So if you want to be closed-minded and/or don't like being preached at, look away now.

For those who are unaware, the mighty state of Queensland, Australia is having a State Election on the 31st of January.  Today when I got home, I was reminded of this fact when I discovered two leaflets in my mailbox - one from the LNP (Liberal National Party) and one from Labor.

Firstly, I want to critisise both leaflets. Neither of them had a phone number on them (more on this later), and only the Labor one had a website I could go to. In fact, the LNP one was a simple "Don't vote for Labor" whereas Labor was at least nice eough to provide some minor detail on what their policies were about.  I don't want to be told what to do, I want to be told why I should give you the time of day in the first place.

Now, back to my first point about the phone numbers.  I have a rule: If you want to leave stuff in my mailbox telling me to vote for you, then you'd better be ready for me to call you and ask questions.  Yes, most of the answers I want can be found on the website, but I want to know that you have the time to talk to the people you're serving and listen to their concerns.  I had a lovely chat to a man from the Labor party, who was sympathetic to my concerns about mental health services (I have to travel to Caboolture if I want to see a psychologist, which I desperately need), public transport (especially in regional areas) and coal mining (YICK).  However when I finally got a hold of the LNP, I was told they'd call me tomorrow.

Now, this is where I get preachy.  I do this EVERY election, State or Federal.  I want to be absolutely certain that I am using the power of my vote the best I can, and they way to do that is to be informed.  Policies change, people and personnel change, new problems need new ideas and I want to make sure that I get the biggest bang for my buck.  A lot of people I know don't do this.  They're either a) apathetic and won't take the vote seriously or b) have stuck with a party for years and refuse to even consider anything else.  Nearly all of the above however LOVE to complain no matter what government we get in.  I get it, they're politicians and we know we're screwed either way, but I want the parties to know that I at least am keeping tabs on them. 

More people need to research their votes and make sure it counts.  Talk to your local Members office, call them up, make them tell you why you should vote for them, make sure they align with your values and what you believe is the best way to run this country.  You don't need to be a political know-it-all, you just need to put the pressure on and use the power of your vote.

I know voting is a pain, and I know they're all liars and cheats, but the reason they are liars and cheats is because the people have allowed them to get away with it.  If you call up a party and you don't get answers you like, then keep ringing around until you find someone who gives you what you want.  Don't vote for for the LNP or Labor just because they're the two big parties - make them earn it.  We have the power to hold these people to account, let's do it and restore some pride to our great State (hard to do when we have the plastic parade down on the Gold Coast, but we try.  Stupid cold toast scums).

And if you now have a headache from my sermon, read some Chuckles and Giggles (please)!

It's been a while, but I'm pissed off.

Yes, I know, I haven't posted in a long time.  I've been super-busy working on Chuckles and Giggles and soon Experiment 24-42 will be released.  I will try to remember this blog in future, I promise!

Anyway, something has really ticked me off, and yes, it's AFL related.  More specifically, it's a state.  There is a reason that most people refer to people from the far south as "Victards" and that's because the loudest of them seem to be the most bigoted, insular and stubborn people in the country - ESPECIALLY when it comes to their precious game.

You see, they thought this game was so great, they wanted to expand into the rest of the country (and they're right, it's a brilliant game).  They wanted traditional NRL states NSW and QLD to participate, and to love the sport as they do.  However, they didn't want those teams actually WINNING did they?

You see, most Victorians don't like the Academy System.  Why? Because it means that NSW and QLD teams will have a chance to be equal to their Victorian bretheren.  And the Victards can't have that can they? They are so concerned with their perceived superiority that they will retard their own progress in expanding the game.  They can't risk anyone beating them.  It's like that kid on your street who invites you over to play his new video game and then cracks the shits because you beat him. 

Okay, then we won't play your precious game anymore, you can go back to being your beloved VFL.  Just don't expect the lucrative TV deals and $$$ you've come to expect your game to generate.  You can forget about becoming an international game, because how can you do that when you can't even win over your nation?

No matter how many times you explain to these Victards that since most of the AFL talent is grown in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia which means that the QLD and NSW lists are more susceptable to poaching from clubs in the traditional state, they will still rant about how unfair it is that we get Academies and we get first pick at them.  "Oh it's all about culture, you just have to win more games." They argue.  The Lions were on the cusp on a hat-trick when Des Headland headed back to Freo.  Besides the fact that no team can keep winning forever, and that every team is going to face its lean years (see: Western Bulldogs, St. Kilda).  Victorian teams are able to weather these pretty well and rebuild easily, but without some sort of Academy or retention allowance the QLD and NSW teams can't, simply because at first opportunity their players will be rushing back home, not just to Mum, but to the opportunities they will get being AFL players in AFL states that they simply can't get in QLD and NSW because the game isn't big enough yet.

Of course, the Victards who read this will simply bleat "yeah but yeah but yeah but" so I've probably wasted my breath.  To the Victorians who actually understand, thank you, you're gems. And to my fellow QLDers (and I suppose those favourite-player stealing sods in NSW too), well, we've got a long fight ahead of us, hopefully one day we can find someone as loud as Eddie to fight for our cause.

Totally gross, but I've had enough

No one likes to talk about the female menstrual cycle.  It's the most disgusting week of the month, in more ways than one. 

First off, the sanitary industry seems to be under the idea that all women use tampons.  Tampons are great, and they do help alleviate 90% of the mess involved.  However, there are women like myself who can't use tampons.  Some women have suffered from Toxic Shock Syndrome, making it dangerous for them to use tampons.  Then there are women like me for whom symptoms such as cramps, vomitting and headaches are made worse by the use of tampons.  So we're stuck using pads, which in the main are often poorly equipped to handle the job.  It's all become about making things thinner, which doesn't bode well for those of us who rely on them heavily - especially at night.

Then there is the price.  For a decent pack of high-absorption pads you're looking at $7-$10 a pack.    This also affects males who are incontinent too - if they want a pair of incontinence underwear, they're looking at paying at LEAST $13 a pack (of about 8-10 pairs), and even then, I can tell you from experience that the underwear isn't as good as it sounds - it still leaks and smells.

My first question is, how hard is it to make sanitary items that work?  My slightly bigger gripe is, why do we all have to pay a premium just to feel clean?  It's not the nicest subject to bring up, but it's something that affects everyone.

#womenagainstfeminism - I'm not sure I agree

Browsing news.com.au while watching the swans murderate the dons, I stumbled across this article, and it concerns me greatly.

#WomenAgainstFeminism goes viral as people explain why they don't need feminism anymore

If these women feel like they're getting a fair deal in their lives, then I am happy for them.  However, while they seem to be happy, there are still women in this world who are being oppressed, even in our Western society. 

I believe that a person should be judged on their merits, words and actions, not on their gender or sexuality.  Unfortunately there are still people, both male and female, who insist on treating women as lesser than their male counterparts.  While this happens, then there is still a requirement for something like feminism to exist.  Evidence of this is in fact in some of these photos.

This photo really annoys me.  Who is this woman to demonise a woman for being sexually free?  What business is it of hers what a women does with whom in her own bedroom?  Who is she to judge someone who gets an abortion?  Anyone who uses the word "slut" to demonise a women who likes sex seriously needs to get over themselves.  No one should feel shamed for their sexuality, whether they're hetro, homo, bi, trans, sexually available or waiting for that special someone.  Your sexuality is your own, and no one should ever have a say about it.

I look at this one and shake my head. It's not feminism that's "defiles" the dream of becoming a stay-at-home wife, it's non-feminist men and women who think that a stay-at-home mother is less of a person than them because they get to stay at home all day and their work is unpaid.  Until stay-at-home parents are no longer looked down upon, someone needs to take a stand.

 
Again with the shaming of women for their sexuality and having a go at abortions!  What a women does with her body is her own business, whether it's having sex or having abortions.  Who are we to judge each other?

Hey, YOU might be happy with being underpaid, but I have to support myself as I live alone.  If I do the same work as someone else, whether they are male or female then I want to be paid just as much as them, 100%!

There are people, men and women, on both sides of the argument who push things too far, and who do really hate the other gender and want to dominate over them.  But I'd say the vast majority do want a world where people aren't judged on their gender.  Things like this don't help attain this goal at all.