Bad News, Worse News

Good News and Bad News

Bob gets a call from his doctor with the results of
his blood test.
"I've got bad news and worse news," says the doctor.
"The bad news is that you've only got 24 hours to live."
"Oh no!" says Bob. "That's terrible, how can it
get any worse than that?"
"I've been trying to reach you since yesterday."

11 PEOPLE ... ON A ROPE

Eleven people were hanging on a rope, under

a helicopter.10 men and 1 woman.

The rope was not strong enough to carry

them all, so they decided that one had to leave, because

otherwise they were all going to fall.

They weren't able to choose that person,

until the woman gave a very touching speech.

She said that she would voluntarily let go of the rope, because,

as a woman, she was used to giving up everything for her husband

and kids or for men in general,

and was used to always making sacrifices

with little in return.

As soon as she finished her speech, all the men started clapping ...

Tags:News,Rope

Current Mood: Amused

Infidelity

A couple of nights ago, a brand new programme premièred in Spanish TV, with an interesting Title 'Infidels' (Infidelity or the unfaithful), a dramatic series in 12 episodes. The word is usually applied to both sexes, but the protagonists in this fiction series are about 5 women. Guess It's infidelity from women's point of view. For weeks there had been all sorts of publicity about this programme with each actress, or all of them, appearing in interviews, or advertisement, news flashes and magazine reports, revealing no story at all just a lot of short suggestive phrases and mysterious looks, leading you to come to the conclusion that there's nothing more to discover now. Doesn't 'infidelity' says it all already?

Ah, but no. They came up with a new and tantalizing definition, which is written in huge capital letters in every publicity article or picture: 'To be faithful to yourself, sometimes you have to be unfaithful'. It stops at the word 'unfaithful', I presume it means 'to another' as indicated or understood. It's a curious idea. If faithful or unfaithful is used in the concept of a sentimental relationship, lovers, marriages, I feel that it's strange to say one 'have to be' unfaithful; same as there's no such thing as one 'have to say Yes' to a marriage, or 'have to' love someone.

As to being faithful to oneself, all one needs to do is just that, BE. Taking into consideration all the personal and social complexity, and the multitude of it's derivations, one's own desires, aspirations and goals in life, weigh it all up, and just be faithful to yourself. Your reasoning and conscience would not allow you to satisfy yourself at the cost of others because, if you do, you are first of all being unfaithful to yourself.

Tags:unfaithful,faithful

Current Mood: Awake

You Are Fine, But How Am I, Doctor?

The question is: what do we look for, hope for, or expect from our family doctor? I used to have a fantastic one, Doctor Lee, when I was living in Hong Kong. He always received me with a sympathetic and warm smile, that made me immediately feel better already before I even sat down. Even though he hadn't seen me for months, he had remembered, without checking my record, what my problem was the previous time, and solicitously inquired if whatever it was had cleared up totally. By now, I felt there's perhaps nothing wrong with me this time after all. He just seemed to have this magic to make you feel safe and well cared for.

To Doctor Lee it's as if there's no illness or disease, just health and how to acquire it. After he established that he was not your doctor and you were not his patient, but friends (at least so seemed to me), he began to talk to you like a friend (see? I was right), listened to you attentively without once checking his watch, and never made me feel I have taken up too much of his time, or had asked too many questions, nor the kind of look some doctors give you (with intention, I suspect), to make you wish to apologise for being alive, or need to thank him for prolonging it.

I had since changed abode several times in as many countries. Never had I come across another doctor I feel half as comfortable with and wholeheartedly trust. Many of them are good and competent doctors, at least according to their credentials which pronounce so in neat frames all over the wall behind the consulting table. But I often feel, in their presence, I am inadequate even as a patient, not able to convey exactly what my sickness is (I usually hope they would tell me) and therefore I should be apologetic, and grateful that he hadn't exactly told me off.

Too many doctors are Doctor House, brilliant, but rude and intolerable. I am glad he is but a fictional character. How I wish there were more Doctor Lee-S.

Tags:patient,doctor

Current Mood: Awake

Giant ClothesPeg

Is this some form or art?

Or that we are ants in someone else's world?

Tag:ClothesPeg

Current Mood: Amused

The Matchmaker

** The matchmaker ~ Benny goes to see Abe, a confirmed bachelor for many years. "Abe, you mustn't wait too long. I have exactly the one you need. You only have to say the word and you'll meet and be married in no time!" says Benny. "Don't bother," replies Abe, "I've two sisters at home, who look after all my needs." "That's all well and good," said Benny, "but all the sisters in the world cannot fill the role of a wife." "I said 'two sisters'. I didn't say they were mine!" ** What a coincidence! ~ Maurice and Isaac found themselves sitting next to each other in a New York bar. After a while, Maurice looks at Isaac and says, "I can't help but think, from listening to you, that you're from Israel." Isaac responds proudly, "I am!" Maurice says, "So am I! And where might you be from?" Isaac answers, "I'm from Jerusalem." Maurice responds, "So am I! And where did you live?" Isaac says, "A lovely little area two miles east of King David's Hotel. Not too far from the old city" Maurice says, "Unbelievable! What school did you attend?" Isaac answers, "Well, I attended Yeshiva University." Maurice gets really excited, and says, "And so did I. Tell me, what year did you graduate?" Isaac answers, "I graduated in 1984." Maurice exclaims, "Amazing! This is Berschert. Hashem wanted us to meet! I can hardly believe our good luck at winding up in the same bar tonight. Can you believe it, I graduated from Yeshiva University in 1984 also." About this time, Moishe enters the bar, sits down, and orders a beer. The bartender walks over to him shaking his head & mutters, "It's going to be a long night tonight, the Goldberg twins are drunk again." Tags:matchmaker

Current Mood: Amused

Easy Virtue

Noel Coward is one of the authors and playwrights I most admire. He had great sense of humour, often bordering on sarcasm, contained and usually justified. He showed with great insight of human nature manifested in his creation of colourful characters, and always armed with the wittiest dialogue. Even his tragedies could seem funny, and his comedies were hilariously convincing and simply delightful and delicious.

One of his many legendary work was 'Easy Virtue' which, as early as in 1927, the era of the silent films, was already adapted by Hitchcock, 2 years after the play was premièred. Now once more, It's taken up by the Australian director Stephen Elliott, this time with the title 'A classy family'. A title quit befitting Coward, with his outrageously aristocratic air, mannerism and speech, often laced with wicked humour and double edged observations.

Stephen Elliott changed the chronological order, and starts the film with the arrival at the Victorian family mansion of the young master and heir (Ben Barnes), with his new bride (Jessica Biel), American and divorcee with a questionable past.

The imposing mother (Kristin Scott Thomas), matriarch of the respectable dynasty, possessive and elitist, immediately dedicated herself to make life impossible for the intruder, a foreigner at that, who would add blemishes to the impeccable honour and reputation of the classy family. "Any piece of furniture in this house is older than your country." she would say to her daughter-in-law.

Colin Firth plays the master of the mansion, a position in name only, barely tolerated by his tyrannous wife, and the only one truly welcomes the daughter-in-law, to him like a breath of fresh air into the long been suffocating home.

Coward's vitriolic dissection of the British aristocracy in the Victorian era was vivid and cutting in the book, baring the hypocrisy of a society, decadent and perverse. Another 'must-see' in my already near a mile long film list.

Tags:coward,easyvirtue

Current Mood: Accomplished