A couple of months ago, the popular television show House had a bad (in my opinion) plot line that showed a man with “locked in syndrome” diagnosed as brain dead and the emergency room physician wanted to take his heart for donation – something that would never happen in the United States.

Now, there are complaints about the season finale of another popular medical show, Grey’s Anatomy. I have to admit, I haven’t watched this show since its first year. I liked it the first year but then it got too ridiculous for my tastes, but it is still very popular.

In the season finale, one of the main characters had to make a drastic choice for treatment of melanoma that had spread to her brain. The problem is, one of the options wasn’t really an option. Rather than going into it all again, this article, Doctors, patients say ‘Grey’s’ cancer story isn’t accurate , talks about it and explains the issues well.

What do you think? Should medical shows be held to a standard that they shouldn’t play with medical facts? Do they have a strong enough hold on viewers that what they show may help people make decisions about their care, right or wrong?

~~~~~

Image: Images: PR Photos

Post from: Blisstree

Another medical show, more false info

The age when Truman fell in love with the beach!

When he was not quite 2 years old, we spent a week on the Gulf Coast of Florida (along Highway 30-A between Rosemary and Seaside, if you are familiar with the area). Truman took to the water like a fish. He played in the surf (probably drank a gallon of seawater) and rolled in the sand (probably ate a pound of that) and played in the pool and slept hard every night. The day we packed up the car and headed home, my son slept the entire way. He woke as we pulled in the driveway and began wailing. We eventually got him inside and for a solid hour he laid on the floor, kicking and screaming, “BEACH HOUSE! BEACH HOUSE!”

We stood over him in amazement. I said to Rick, “Quick, call your parents! Tell them he wants a beach house!” (Rick’s folks buy Truman a gift every time they seem him – which is almost weekly – and they let him want for nothing.) Unfortunately, (and amazingly) they didn’t bite on the beach house request.

We’ve decided, once Truman is in college, that we must retire to the beach – any beach. Right now our top choice is Costa Rica. I’d put Santa Barbara second but we wouldn’t be able to afford much there. I suppose we could live inland near the wine country but then we’d be drunk the whole time. (For that same reason, I couldn’t live in Belgium.) My Our third choice would probably be our favorite strip there along Highway 30-A in Florida. But I’m not ruling out Hawaii. Especially now!

WinHawaiianHome.com is having a contest where you can win this custom-built Hawaiian home “nestled in an enchanted forest with singing frogs about a mile and a half from a gorgeous black sand beach that is home to 30-40 dolphins.” No kidding.

Win this house in Hawaii!

To enter, all you have to do is write a 101-word or less essay and pony up $101. The contest is supervised by legal council and guarantees that each entry will be read. A group of judges will decide the winner of the house as well as second- and third-place winners who will receive $10,000 and $5,000 respectively. Other prizes may also be given.

You’d better hurry because the deadline is May 1, 2009.

If the goal of 6,000 entries is not met by that time, the contest will be extended 101 more days. And if by then the entries still come up short, cash prizes will be awarded based on the number of entries received.

For details, visit www.winhawaiianhome.com.

HURRY!

JWJourney

Post from: Blisstree

Stop Whining and Win this Hawaiian House!

So, After a long 20.5 hours of work, who doesn’t just love to plop in front of the TV for an evening’s worth of fabulous sitcoms, dramadies and cop shows? But gosh, there’s so much from which to choose!

Um…shockingly, no, there is not. Does anyone know how to write or ACT? (Sorry House fans, I don’t get time to see that one too much.)

I have to say, aside from a select few, such as Grey’s Anatomy or NBC’s 30 Rock, my favorite TV season is a disaster.

Except for one oddball commercial — the Geico Insurance caveman TV spots. I love everything about the caveman series; but this one in particular, in which the actual caveman character is disgruntled after seeing a giant caveman print ad in an airport, is simply genius.

The genius part of it all is that somehow they take a such a hot topic as cultural diversity, and put it together to sell something as boring as car insurance.

Hilarious…the music is impeccable, the copy is understated and the acting is wonderful. The whole thing is “under-the-top” — which I guess is the irony of it all.

Now if only the Hollywood know-it-alls could take their cue from Geico…maybe we’d be watching more interesting TV shows this fall. Thank goodness for you Tina Fey, I love you too.

Post from: Blisstree

Grey’s Anatomy, 30 Rock and the Geico Insurance TV Commercials.