but thats silly i guess. cuz who cares about this old coffeetable.
splurged and paid the laundry $50 to do all my laundry and then fold it. while they were laughing at my wardrobe i drove to westwood and saw cloverfield at the Village which is a really big super old movie theatre in the college town.
reason i went there is cuz i was scurred that it would be sold out everywhere and for some reason westwood has this terrible curse where noone wants to shop there or watch movies there so the theatres are always half empty. when i went it was 4:30pm and it was 3/4s empty but for some reason some dude decided to plop down right in front of me right as the film was gonna start. so i flicked the back of his head.
he turned and said wtf
i said you took the letters right outta my mouth, move to ANY OF THE EMPTY 275 SEATS UP IN THIS PIECE.
he huffed and turned around and went back to eating his popcorn.
so i moved.
if i wasnt so happy i would have beat his ass after the movie. but it was sorta a good film and by the time i left i forgot to abuse the testosterone which still flows at a rapid pace through my old body. how is this happening?
when i got home i got my laundry and the lady had put it into two gigantico blue plastic bags. all of my clothes were in these perfect squares in blue bags. it was almost scientific.
i didnt wanna ruin her artistry so i cleaned out my closet as i watched football and talked to my old college roommate. later karisa called and asked me why i was cleaning and i didnt really know why.
then the academy of motion pictures arts and sciences called and wanted to know if i wanted some oscar screeners to watch because for some reason they still think that the busblog is important on the blogosphere as AN INFLUENCER a word i never knew about until they told me.
i said, hey since youre so smart, why do you think im totally into cleaning my house, a trait ive never in 101 years been interested in. and they said
cuz you know that youre probably gonna get some welcomed guests very soon.
above, conan obriens new dining room in brentwood, and the dining room in graceland
martin works for Reuters in some fancy capacity. he just came out with a book.
today on amy’s blog she writes about her hubbys book. it made me laugh.
Did I mention my husband has written a book?
They’ve sold the rights to more than a dozen languages – though so far it’s only in print in Polish, Czech, Italian, Dutch, (British,) and German. And while sales are still doing well in the UK, and iffy in the U.S., it’s apparently selling quite well in Germany. But the reviews on the German Amazon are hilarious. They hate hate hate it. Passionately. But they’re buying it. Maybe they hate it so much they go buy extra copies to hate it some more?
So far there are 14 reviews of “The Malice Box” on Amazon.de. Martin translated a few choice bits for me:
“one star is too many” “an entirely new dimension of awfulness” “threw it into the trashcan”
The best review, three stars, says it’s “not so bad.
speaking of books, our buddy Welch wrote a scathing tome about Senator McCain. while he was writing it i was all, why bother, that dude doesnt have a chance to be president!
a phrase im very glad to be wrong about because maybe it means welchy will make a fortune selling his book Myth of a Maverick, which sadly now I will have to read.
me: hey busbloggers I have Ms. AJ Goddard here. hi AJ!
amyjogoddard: Hey Tony!
me:I hear you have a new film coming out about … vaginas?
amyjogoddard: Well, yeah, vaginas, pelvic exams, cervices. I seem to like to do work that has to do with our “organs.”
me: Nice. Well I saw the trailer of the film on your website. And I loved it. Even though it sorta creeped me out a little.
amyjogoddard: What creeped you out?
me: Well, as a man, I suppose anything having to do with steel instruments being shoved up the magical nether regions of the female anatomy makes me cringe. Or do women feel the same way?
amyjogoddard: I think a lot of people feel that way. No film has ever been made exploring the way medical and nursing students learn to do pelvic exams and WHY women so often have such a horrible time with pelvic exams. They get seen as a necessary evil. We are making the film because they shouldn’t be that way.
me: It seems to me that there should be enough women doctors these days who would have called BS on the archaic methods of pelvic exams. Is that not the case?
amyjogoddard: No way! Many female AND male ob/gyns are really great. But I teach students how to do pelvic exams and I can say that gender doesn’t make a difference. I’ve had many male students who were really super wonderful, gentle and sensitive to the patient’s needs. I think that sometimes the women are actually at a disadvantage because they come in to a gynecological teaching session with baggage the males don’t have–either about their own bodies or sexuality or about their past experiences with exams. But we have had some strong support lately from incredible female ob/gyns as well as many midwives who really get what we are doing.
me: In the trailer there is a scene where a doctor talks about women who are given pelvic exams while under anesthesia – is that legal?
amyjogoddard: Yes, it is and it’s totally unethical. What happens is that women will go in to a teaching hospital, usually for a gynecological surgery, and when they check in they sign a huge stack of forms and there is some kind of disclaimer that says basically, “You agree that students may be involved in your care.” They usually do not spell out what that will mean and most patients don’t realize that they can say, “No, I don’t want a group of students filing into my room,” or that they can specifically say “I do not consent to educational pelvic exams.” So when they put the patient under anesthesia, the attending doctor will have one, two, three, or more students “practice” their pelvic exams on that patient. The idea is that “Well, she’s under, and she’s already getting one pelvic exam by her doctor. What’s a few more to an unconscious patient?”
me: Forgive my ignorance, but in real life are women usually conscious when they get a pelvic exam?
amyjogoddard: Yes, Tony. Although it’s common for a patient to “check out” because it’s such a vulnerable place for patients.
me: So how can the students know if theyre doing it right if the woman isnt awake enough to say ow ow ow?
amyjogoddard: Exactly! They can’t. It’s a very poor way for students to learn because in real life they will be dealing with real live patients and have to be able to communicate with a patient. One of the things the Gynecological Teaching Associates teach students is how to communicate and that they should check in with their patients to make sure they are not in any pain. Most people have no idea that pelvic exams when done correctly (with either a metal or plastic speculum) SHOULD BE COMFORTABLE! We want to dispel the myth that they are always painful in our film At Your Cervix. Many women look at me like I’ve got three heads when I say that though, because they’ve never ever had a comfortable exam in their lives.
me: What percentage of women do you think have had a “comfortable” exam?
amyjogoddard: I really can’t say. I’ve had comfortable ones where my provider offered me a mirror to see what she was doing, and made it an experience where I could learn about and feel good about my body. I’ve also had exams that were painful, disrespectful and made me want to flee and never return. That’s what happens for a lot of patients, and that’s the big danger here–they get scared away after a bad experience and don’t come back for years, or ever!
me: Are you saying that women consider getting a pelvic exam the same way that men(and women) look in fear at going to the dentist?
amyjogoddard: Sort of. Women should be getting regular exams–it’s really important and the best prevention we have for cervical and other sexual/reproductive cancers, sexually transmitted infections and they are also an opportunity to talk about sexual issues. But it’s our genitals so it’s very very personal and scary for some people.
me: Now the craziest part of the trailer, for me, at least… is a very conscious woman getting an exam, while teaching the student. Did I see that correctly?
amyjogoddard: Yes, that’s how we teach. It’s like teaching someone to drive–you can’t teach it by talking about driving. You have to do it. We teach using our own bodies. We are all highly trained and are able to give the students immediate feedback which makes it a meaningful learning experience and the students usually show a real appreciation for how we contribute to their medical/nursing education.
me: Wait, “we”? So you have allowed students to practice on you?
amyjogoddard: Yes. I get more annual pelvic exams than you could imagine! I teach with about 20 other women here in New York. We teach in teams and I would say the GTAs (Gynecological Teaching Associates) are women who are comfortable with their own bodies and using our bodies as a teaching tool, we are committed to women’s health and to helping young providers learn how to show respect for women in the exam room. I don’t think they get enough of that in med school given the stories women tell me!
me: Can you give me some examples of how a doctor can “show respect for women in the exam room”?
amyjogoddard: A doctor can talk to her about what he/she will do BEFORE doing it. Patients want that but providers are always so rushed they often just run in and do the exam as quickly as possible and they’re half way out the door before a patient can even ask questions.
Providers should always try to meet their patient when she is fully clothed. She shouldn’t be in a gown on the table when they meet. That’s super disempowering. I’ve even heard stories of an assistant putting the woman up on the table with her feet in the footrests (often called “stirrups”) and then leave her there to wait for the doc. Yikes! Talk about vulnerable and disrespectful! It’s like she’s just genitals and not a real person. That’s really unacceptable.
me: Noted. OK so what’s next for the film? Is it pretty close to being completed?
amyjogoddard: We are almost done with production. We are shooting some of these gynecological stories of patients next Saturday Jan. 26 here in New York. If any of your NYC readers have stories they’d like to share on camera, they can contact me at aj@atyourcervixmovie.com. We’d love to hear them. Mainly we are in the difficult process of raising money for post-production. We hope to get into the editing room by the end of February but that depends on the money we are able to raise. We plan to start distributing the film in the fall of 08.
me: How much money do you guys need? Maybe there are a some doctors in the house who would like to contribute, etc?
amyjogoddard: We are trying to raise $100,000. Some folks are helping by planning fund raising events in various cities like Washington DC and Minneapolis. That’s super great! I hope there are some doctors in the house. I can say that our biggest contributions to date have been from caring ob/gyns!
me: Are there any ob/gyns who might be against your style of teaching?
amyjogoddard: Good question. I think there is still an “old guard” in medicine that doesn’t want to change and doesn’t think there is anything wrong with teaching using women under anesthesia without their consent, which by the way, is free! We are an expense. I think some MDs also want to keep control of teaching and don’t want to trust it in the hands of women who are not health care providers. But many many providers and educators really see the value of the way we teach and that we know our stuff.
me: Where can people donate if they wanna help this cause?
amyjogoddard: atyourcervixmovie.com –either via paypal or they can download this form to send it with your check to IFP , our fiscal sponsor. Then it’s tax-deductible!
me: Sounds awesome. Well thank you AJ, I hope you let us know how this film develops. Many of the readers at the busblog might not be women, but we might know some [smile]
amyjogoddard: Thanks so much for the interview Tony!
he spoke to some vips and later he shook hands with some employees by the Globe entrance of our building. its the fancy entrance.
most people go through the Spring Street entrance, but i use the Globe entrance for two reasons: 1) the elevator dumps off closer to my office, and 2) its old fashionedy and killer and it will give you the chills in a nice way if you let it.
yesterday my bros from Current.tv came by to have lunch with me. Max and Jason. theyre “the face” of the Al Gore cable station. Jason kept freaking out at certain front pages that are framed and nailed to the wall. inside i freaked out when i looked at them too. fucking history, etc. its nice to see other people respect shit the way i do. and be amazed. especially in LA where theres plenty of history, you just have to have it pointed out to you. unless its nailed to the wall, of course.
we ate at the cafeteria at the Times which i eat at every day. great food. they had stir fry because they are talent and probably have to watch their girlish figures. i had the leg of lamb because the other day i saw Fast Food Nation – which i loved – but now i have a hard time ordering beef. i’ll probably get over it. just not any time soon.
right now its about midnight. i have some homework to do because i was so busy at work today. i met so many cool people. i keep meeting great people. my boss and her staff are amazing. have i told you that? everyones not just smart – theyre wise. i have so many meetings. everyone wants to have lunch meetings with me, but a man can only eat so much leg of lamb. and why is the leg the only thing they wanna serve off the poor lamb?
i drink either apple juice or orange juice with all my meals. a little classic coke for my afternoon snack as a pickmeup cuz i always get drowsy around 3pm. i never napped when i worked for LAist but for some reason i always wanna take a nap at this gig. and not cuz im bored. just the opposite. im so not bored. but man i wanna nap.
i dont wanna call her my assistant cuz i dont feel super comfortable with that, but she and i always think of little business opportunities that the Times could use, that we could do, if we ever get fired. one is a little Post Office where we would charge an extra $2 for every transaction. $2 because you can walk across the street to City Hall if you wanna go to the real Post Office, but who wants to leave the building? not us.
the other is we would start a pet-sitting business. its a lot easier than child care cuz with kids you sorta have to pay attention to them. with pets you could seriously get some good tv watching in and would the pets care? probably not. they just want you to pet them during the commercials.
and so yesterday we figured a nap room would be nice. $5 for a 15-minute power nap. why charge the $5? cuz someone has to wake you dont they? plus we would change the sheets and pillowcases after each use. sure its not good for the environment – that much laundering of sheets, etc, but in the long run, rested humans are more productive and will probably not fall asleep at the wheel on the way home and kill people, etc.
also we think there should be a dry cleaner service on the premises. i know that they have it at the Fox lot. which is where i got the idea. but i would like it to include regular laundry too. $20 for three loads. $25 for four. our motto would be “isnt it worth $25 to have clean clothes and your saturday free?”
a pretty girl said hi to me. two actually. that was better than just missing barack.
and whether or not being a bi woman is a “transitional” stage of life.
The study of 79 non-heterosexual women over 10 years found that bisexual women maintained a stable pattern of attraction to both sexes. In addition, the research appears to have debunked the stereotype that bisexual women are uninterested in or unable to commit to long-term monogamous relationships.
“This research provides the first empirical examination of competing assumptions about the nature of bisexuality, both as a sexual identity label and as a pattern of nonexclusive sexual attraction and behavior,” wrote University of Utah psychologist Lisa M. Diamond, PhD, who conducted the study. “The findings demonstrate considerable fluidity in bisexual, unlabeled and lesbian women’s attractions, behaviors and identities and contribute to researchers’ understanding of the complexity of sexual-minority development over the life span.”
—
Among Diamond’s findings:
* Bisexual and unlabeled women were more likely than lesbians to change their identity over the course of the study, but they tended to switch between bisexual and unlabeled rather than to settle on lesbian or heterosexual as their identities.
* Seventeen percent of respondents switched from a bisexual or unlabeled identity to heterosexual during the study — but more than half of these women switched back to bisexual or unlabeled by the end.
* Women’s definitions of lesbianism appeared to permit more flexibility in behavior than their definitions of heterosexuality. For example, of the women who identified as lesbian in the last round of interviews, 15 percent reported having sexual contact with a man during the prior two years. In contrast, none of the women who settled on a heterosexual label at that point reported having sexual contact with a woman within the previous two years.
read the whole thing on the Science Blog, edited by our friend Ben Sullivan who has been very quietly running the fine blog for 5-6 years.
im sorry i didnt have time to properly give him a tribute, but i was living his dream
i took a bus to hollywood and sat in the front. i met a white girl in the middle of an all white bar and made out with her within minutes. why not?
went in the bathroom and was approached by two tall men from the south
and was congratulated, not assaulted.
infact they asked me how i did it.
after i told them, we all had drinks as they salivated over her and then i let them in on another secret: that mlk was not the finest black man who ever lived.
and gentlemen, if you made it to the busblog this morn, this is the photo essay i was referring to.
but since we are far more positive here in the States i will do the 26 things im omg totally grateful for. ahem.
AC/DC’s Plug Me In – one of the last freebies that i got at LAist was the box set of AC/DC’s live video collection. It was a two-disc jobbie with one being Bon Scott in various locales singing his little heart out, and the other disc highlighting Brian Johnson’s memorable performances. Of course Angus steals the show, but the quality on even the 70s vids is excellent and its neat to watch them turn into freaking monsters
Blogging continues to be way more than a hobby for me. Not only has it gotten me wine women and song, but now it’s paying for my expensive habits: drive thru delectables, 89 octane fuel, and magazine subscriptions up the ying yang. Thank you Ev and Al Gore for inventing all of this.
The Cubs are building a decent team, and they didnt fuck up and give away Sean Marshall for Brian Roberts, which makes me happy, cuz we need pitching way more than doped up infielders. We already have DeRosa and the Riot!
Drudge, cuz he links to the LA Times blogs occassionally. which makes everyone else link to us. which makes me feel as happy as a little girl… who just got a unicorn for kwanzaa.
emails from pretty girls. the only reason i do any of this.
friends – i have the greatest ones. have i told you this? and they keep coming. the list grows longer. we all help each other out. we all love each other. its sick. but it takes a village to keep idiots like me on the straight and narrow. (pictured Jeff Solomon, right)
g4tv went to vegas and all they brought back was a two hour special on CES and another two hour special on the Adult Expo. sadly it wasnt recorded in HD so it looks like crap on my new…
HDTV from Sony = tv porn. its the reason you should not have a car payment for years and years and years. so you can save up and blow it all on an after christmas sale. then pay the few extra bucks for the directv man to install it on your wall… of your bedroom. cuz youre a bachelor whose sick of falling asleep on the couch watching keith olberman.
I can has Rezearch Papar – genius and brilliance at a level that most people would not even begin to comprehend. Which is why i love all of you, cuz you do get it.
japanese girls who play in ska bands.
kurt cobain is still my american idol
la times is still my employer. sorry suckers who thought id be fired in the first month
my lunch hours at work are pretty amazing. either they are spent blogging to you, like right now. or they are involved in heavy duty lunch meetings with the movers and shakers of the blog world. our cafeteria here at the times is great. everyone says i will be over it in a few months but right now im eating salmon. the other day tofu steak. the day before that some trout wrapped in mermaid hair seasoned with the tears of orphans. all for under $10 out the door!
no work on the weekends. this might be something that i never thought would be possible. at LAist i worked pretty much every day for a year and a half. so im very grateful for this cuz now i have my weekends back. to do what exactly? wack off? clean the house? get fat(ter)? chase girls? do laundry? yes to all.
ooooooooooooo i cant believe i forgot to be grateful for my iPhone in i! and steve jobs. and fake steve jobs.
phil jackson is someone who anyone in LA should be grateful for. he basically played chicken with Kobe a year ago when Kobe said he wanted to be traded because he was being surrounded with second teamers. Phil said blow me. he said it in a zen way. but he didnt force Mitch Kupcheck to trade away the future for the past. he didnt give up Andrew Bynam for Jermaine O’Neal or KG. and even though Drew has a twisted kneecap (ouch ouch ouch!) the Lake Show is one of the top three teams in the league AND they didnt have to pay for it. AND they have a center for the future AND present. and Kobe was proved wrong. Again. so thanks phil for proving you deserve to be paid $$$ while banging the bosses daughter while telling the best player in the game that hes just a dumb negro who should just worry about putting the ball in the hole.
queen’s bohemian rhapsody was always one of my favorite songs, but after hearing alison sing it two weeks ago on new years eve (why does it seem so much longer ago than that), its a tune i play in the shower every morning and i love it that much more. oh mama mia.
ray rayner was my childhood idol growing up. he had a kids show on wgn when i was a wee lil tot. hes still my tv idol. because the LA Times is owned by the Tribune Corp (or we own them or i own them or something) we have access to WGN assets. so once i find out who has access to ray rayner stuff, look out. it will probably find its way on the busblog.
sushi. every hot chick i know loves it. every hot chick i know wants more of it. therefore no hot chick ive ever met will refuse a sushi date. thus thank you again japan.
tonypierce.net is now in the hands of duane storey. thus me. thus you eventually, so get ready.
underwear. im 101 years old. with my next pay check im gonna throw away all of my underwear that more than 10 years old. of which there are ALOT – and yes that includes the boxers that are more than 20 years old of which i dont even wanna acknowlege – and get new ones. so get ready sushi daters.
very naked girls. i used to belong to a swanky gym on wilshire. thus my 18 inch pythons. while i was there i noticed that there were some gentlemen in the locker room who would have these I Can Get More Naked Than You competitions. not only would they be totally nude and NO TOWEL anywhere, except maybe draped over their shoulder. but they would wax all the hair off their bodies. that image has been burned into my memory banks. recently i have met some very naked girls who have tried to help me either delete those old memories or create new ones. we’re about 60% there. but more therapy is necessary. and i am grateful for them for being patient with me.
while im grateful that matt good will be performing two shows in California in March, why did he have to book them during the time that i will be at sxsw?
x is a drug i havent done in a very long time. i hear theres a super x out there, but because im old that scares me. i think the older you get the less likely you are about doing things that might make you not just die, but die while trying to do things that you shoulda known better about when you were young. for the record im not the least afraid of dying, i just dont wanna embarrass my mother. she is the person i am most grateful for.
yes i did sorta cheat on that last one. y not?
zoos with fences big enough so that the lions wont jump out of them. unlike the one in frisco.
and read the very disturbing news that our friend Tim Blair has found out that he has cancer
very scary stuff even if tim seems so positive about it.
and further proof that even the worst news travels so quickly via electronic means
even accidentally.
and it also proves that there is no better medium than blogs to deliver news like this because if something bad happens to you, its easy to announce it exactly the way you want, and then get sweet sweet comments from strangers that will help soften the horrible blow.
you will be in our prayers tonight mr blair. and the next time i find myself choosing a beer, i will order up a fosters in yr honor.
update:
*WEDNESDAY MORNING UPDATE* Results of Monday’s CAT scan are in. There is no spread of the malignancy; zip, zero, zilch. It’s entirely localised. Medical science may disagree, but I think credit should go to readers and fellow bloggers. Your thoughts and prayers have eerie powers.
is that people here are so professional that even when britney spears is driving around late for court, everyone in the newsroom are so quiet that you dont even know what theyre watching on tv
down in Sports its way different. theyre cheering, theyre throwing around the football, theyre yelling. but up where i am on the Interactive floor, where theres plenty of Entertainment writers and editors and producers, everyones very very calm, waiting, watching, writing, and publishing.
very few raised voices.
fascinating.
here are some of the stories that i liked best today:
– our auto bloggers are writing from the Detroit auto show: coolest car, disneyish car, their car of the year, and the $2,500 list price car
– Giant fan tries to pick fight with Dodger fan at Dodger Stadium. Dodgers seperate the fans during the game. Afterwards in the parking lot the Giants fan blinds the Dodger fan, Dodgers cleared in lawsuit
and stain my coffeetable
about her new film “At Your Cervix”
me: What percentage of women do you think have had a “comfortable” exam?
me: Can you give me some examples of how a doctor can “show respect for women in the exam room”?
he spoke to some vips and later he shook hands with some employees by the Globe entrance of our building. its the fancy entrance.
and whether or not being a bi woman is a “transitional” stage of life.
but since we are far more positive here in the States i will do the 26 things im omg totally grateful for. ahem.
