How I like my male TV sociopath. And how I don’t.

If you have been on my (fabulous) About Me page, you will have seen, somewhere and if you have the patience to look at all the rather random stuff (not much to read, I promise), that I LOVE the series HOUSE MD.
So much so, that we had to buy all available seasons on DVD and I have actually watched and re-watched certain episodes up to 4 times. Yep.

Now this is a big novelty for me who never had the consistency and the nerve to watch a series regularly enough to get really attached (DVDs certainly help with that!) and I do know that this hospital series is far from representing a true reflection of what even a diagnostics department anywhere in the world would be like! But if you like House, like me, then you will know how the mixture of factual medical wonders and disasters, the social behaviour of the rather limited participating staff and – above all – the borderline psychopath character of Gregory House is addictive and always entertaining to watch.

Yes, it’s true, I had a long hard Think about wether House finally getting ‘together’ with Cuddy and reluctantly taking on his role as a – gasp! – stepfather to Rachel is something that would be becoming to the storyline and our addiction to his sarcasms and the bluntness that only a single, miserable House could deliver. But it’s all good : The relationship is rocky (of course) and the episode where House babysits toddler Rachel and then secretly tries to find out if she did – or did not – swallow a BIG (and dangerous) coin under his supervision was one of the funniest one of season 7 for me.

But here is the thing : While I love Hugh Laurie for the brilliant actor he is, I know literally nothing about his private life – and I don’t care! He comes from comedy, he’s a friend of Stephen Fry.  He is obviously sharp and witty enough a person to live up completely to the complex role he got in the show.

Note : A role. In a TV show. When actor Hugh Laurie visited the Ellen DeGeneres Show last week, he was funny, friendly and dignified, although victim of what he described as ‘his first cold ever’ (?).  I personally thought Ellen’s questions were a bit random and not.. very interesting, sorry. Left hand side traffic and how whether he gets confused between his own British and his character’s (American) Accent? Who cares ? When he jokingly confessed he’d sometimes finds himself on the wrong side of the road in the UK, talking with the US accent, he certainly found an elegant and humorous answer to these questions but i would have really liked to know a few more series related questions .. or maybe other stuff he does or plans?
Yeah, never mind.

The only reason I am talking (am I gushing a little ?) about Hugh Laurie is that there is another, successful male TV actor who was all over the news this week with never-ending reports about multiple interviews displaying what any layman psychologist will clearly label as narcissistic rage and delusional public display of “losing your marbles”.
You all know who I mean : Yep, Charlie Sheen. (In my blog now too, indeed!)
I kinda used to like his show. For the LOLs. The character of “Charlie” in “Two & a half Men”, the goofy brother, the odd son, the housekeeper, Rose… Like many, their adventures, always circling around the same clichéd stories of womanizing, inappropriate parenting and so forth, amused me.
But I am just not amused anymore.

The  total overkill this “actor” (wasn’t he really always playing just a version of himself?) delivered via all kinds of news channels, and now – advertising! – on twitter, is beginning to seriously annoy me. Charlie hasn’t jumped a shark, he has jumped a fully grown blue whale, with his Tigerblood-Rockstar-from-Mars-has-two-girlfriends attitudes.
We are, like, getting it, Charlie. You totally rock (your own world). Winner?
First I was stunned, then I laughed like all the followers  (1 million on twitter ??) and sloth macro creators on the internets (never mind now, if you didn’t see them) but now I am pissed off.
I don’t care that the show is stopped and some people now might lose their jobs. That happens all the time in Hollywood.
But after dating porn stars, shooting at his girlfriend (accidently..), being accused of several drug delicts, acts of domestic violence and rioting incidents, in and out rehab and reportedly having lost all his teeth in the process too, you would think, it’s time for even the most delusional narcissist to wake up and see the damage done? Well, I’ve met some of his kind in my life and the truth is, they just can NOT stop themselves, once launched like a rocket. Until they glow out. Can really nobody help this man to stop?

What saddens me is that not less than 5 children will grow up to hear what a total wanker their father is (or maybe was soon, who knows, he might leave for Mars).
And the media will not forget. The internet will not forget. We all won’t.
Who remembers “Platoon” now ?
Tigerblood!! 2 girlfriends! “Dyin’ is for amateurs!”
It’s a bit like Britney without her knickers now.
Get out of the news, Carlos, and get back to reality. Show’s over.

Suburp’s Sunday Seven–2nd edition

I quite enjoyed this last week, so I decided to give it another go. Not so easy with 3 very attention-seeking boys in the house (my son, my husband, the dogthing – the lady dog and the fish are much more self-sufficient I must say).  But I got through the list. So here are the seven things of the week :

The PHOTO
This photo captures so many things for me.

My boy with his school hat.
So ‘grown up’ now.
So Aussie.
So beautiful too.

(With pizza in the park )

 

The THOUGHT
For Queensland, after the Floods came Cyclone Yasi and while it seems that surprisingly few people have lost their lives, many have still lost so much! I think it can’t be said enough that while some of the things we gather in our houses during a lifetime are replaceable and futile clutter, many have lost everyday items, furniture and electronics of immense value. But the truly irreplaceable things are the objects we are holding on to because they come from a dear (maybe disappeared) person or remind us of times that were very precious to us. It’s incredibly hard to part with a few bags and since I have been there, sort of, and you NEVER know what happens, I really thought this is yet another excellent reason to continue to declutter my home.
Just in case one day we will have to grab a few things and run.

The WORD
In the context of some incidents on and offline, the word ‘evil’ either appeared or popped up in my mind. I have been called evil in the past and felt it was one of the most insulting, yet vague accusations of all.
But what does it really mean? What is the origin of the word and is it appropriate that we still use it today ? Are we using it right ? I looked up the usual definitions via dictionaries and thought about when and why I am using this word.  One site listed no less than 44 articles with people’s definitions of what is evil. Different religions have different approaches to the understanding of the existence of evil in the world, in the human society. Then I found a paragraph in Wikipedia about how useful the term evil is extremely interesting. Read here. 

The LINK
“Things Your Grandmother Knew
…and you wish you did too.” A blog.

More than living simply, more than living ‘green’, thrifty grandmas knew the importance of the ‘economics’ in Home Economics.
 I have seen similar blogs before (also in different languages). They are often a mix of interesting trivia and useful tips with sometimes hilarious illustrations and sidenotes.  While our grandmas might not all be on the internet, some of their knowledge has fortunately made it there. Worth checking out.

The PROJECT(s)
Always to many projects, oh my! My project – since the beginning of the year ! – is to actually keep track of projects a little bit better. It’s.. in process. Obviously, you can write down every thought and idea that flashes through your brain, but I have taken to actually use one (and only ONE) of the many journals and notebooks I have to write down things that seem noteworthy, am finally using Evernote on my phone and pc and I think I see a bit more clearer as to what really needs to be done. (Or would be fun and interesting to do..! ) Update on last week’s project : fail.

The SONG

This song, written originally in the 1930s and recorded by Nina Simone in 1958 for her debut album, became a big hit after it was featured in a Channel No.5 commercial. People of my generation ( x ) will remember the odd Aardman Animations (Wallace&Gromit, Chicken Run..) Play-Doo video. It made me discover, at an early age, a great jazz/blues artist who was also a civil rights activists. There are plans to make a movie about her life, with Mary J.Bligh in the title role. Can’t wait!

The IDEA
I found an awesome European website, that makes quality surface stickers to customize Ikea furniture with great designs. “Say NO to naked furniture” they say.  Artists can also submit their own designs. Now if they even do shipping to Oz, it might be a bit expensive, but it gave me the idea to do something creative with the screaming yellow monster buffet in our family room bought 1/3 of the price! in their bargains section – love it!!).  A suivre!

Cuteness overdose : Black Baby-Rhino! Look!

I love rhinos, they’re special to me, my ‘totem’ if you like  – don’t ask, it’s a bit of a personal story, wouldn’t even make sense for an outsider I guess – as you can see on my random AboutMe page.

In the US zoo of St Louis, a black rhinoceros was born on January 14, and the first photos are now in the press. If you missed it, just have a look !

DON’T YOU JUST WANT TO TAKE IT HOME AND CUDDLE IT ?
(mind you, 120 pounds at birth..)

Things that made me go "Mmmh..?!" (or ‘Mooh?’)

There are certainly a few things that made me go “Mmmh!?” over the last couple of days.  While everyone was under shock and watching as in Queensland an area that represents the surface of the whole of the state of Texas went under water, followed closely by floods in NSW and Victoria,  some simple and despicable minds were not hesitating to either find amusement or profit in the misery of others.

Oprah meets real people. Really?

Oh, I have struggled with myself in the past how personal, political and opinionated I want this blog to be. Especially after the mega exposure with my ‘fairy tales post‘ that made it into “Freshly pressed”.
You know what? I don’t care. Read me or not, but this I really have to say:

So Oprah is in Australia. I really do NOT understand what all the fuzz is about. Why is she received by Australian politician like this was an official state visit ?? Does a “Talk Show Queen” who already has loads of media coverage here (and lets face it, mainly does this visit for her US public anyway) really deserve all that ? Isn’t there, like, more important things to take care of, Julia?

Here is are some extracts from two articles from theage.com.au that come across so blunt, so wrong that any Australian Oprah fan should really think again, what they are screeching about when she makes her next 5 min public appearance.

“Winfrey made the trip to Australia after the federal government and Tourism Australia paid  $3 million to bring her show and 300 of her audience to the country.”

New category : Cause of the month ! Public breastfeeding.

After my post in October, on the Domestic & Family Awareness Month, and after a bit of time-out I just decided to make at least one post about some sort of ’cause’ per month. Something that concerns me, or touches me and deserves to be out there. Maybe I can start a trend.

This month, I am inspired by two long-time blogging friends of mine, who are expecting a baby (yay!) and RSVP’ed today  an event on facebook that promotes public nursing by showing photos of breastfeeding moms with their kids. On their boob. Obviously, because that’s where it happens.

It seems that in the past, facebook with who I have, like so many, a love/hate relationship has flagged and deleted photos of nursing moms for “pornographic content”. Yeah, WTF? indeed.

This is obviously not a new issue. I was still breastfeeding when I heard for the first time about the ‘public breastfeeding‘ controversy after the cover of a parenting (sic) magazine had caused a riot in the US of A. I was shocked by the – indeed – perverted and twisted minds of people who see anything else in the pictures of nursing children than the most natural thing a woman would do with a child!

This is not a post about the pros & cons of breastfeeding. I am not joining that debate (as yet). I might post about my personal experiences sometimes this month. Raised in Northern Europe, I had my baby in a country where the breastfeeding quota – and public acceptance – was easily inversed and it wasn’t always easy. But as much as I am pro breastfeeding, I am against the raising millitantism on both sides of.. uhm, the boob. Not to mention the absurd bigotry of those who feel ‘offended’ by seeing it. Whatever!

Breastfeeding is natural. It’s healthy, hygienic and practical.
It’s not easy at times. Don’t make it hard for mothers who chose to nurse. That’s all.

Links :
- show your support with a nursing photo or change your facebook profile pic like me for the facebook “Nurse In”
- “the most intriguing nursing ‘scandals’ ever” photogallery in ivillage.com

Anniversary

A year ago today, I got married to Awesome after a long and incredible, often painful journey into his life and into his arms. It hasn’t been a “fairy tale” since (sic), there’s been mishap and grief and ups and downs.
Now the journey goes on, but I know now, we’re a family and we’re going to travel together. It’s a great and wonderful feeling.

So.much.love.

‘The Kiss” by Gustav Klimt

And now for something completely different…

Thanks to all those who have read and/or commented on my FairyTales Post. You rock! Being featured in “Freshly Pressed” is an awesome encouragement for a blogger, I was really ‘chuffed and puffed’ all day.
…and also clueless about  how to follow up on something so (unexpectedly) big.  So on the off chance, that a few of my readers and commenters have subscribed to this blog, I want to use this attention and blog about something important, something I didn’t really intent to talk about in my relatively new, and – until recently – gently cruising little ‘mommy blog’ :

No matter if you see, hear or suspect emotional or physical abuse;
no matter if it’s a child, a woman, a senior, a disabled person or a man –
talk about it to someone. If you are a victim – talk about it.
Don’t be silent. Talk!
Silence makes abuse possible, makes go on and will make it worse.
And HOME should not be where the HURT is.