Er, blog?

Oh yeah. I have a blog. Shit.

Is it just me, or do other people sink in and out of reality on a fairly regular basis? I don’t mean the Right Wing-stick-your-fingers-in-your-ears-and-scream lalalala-pretend this-shit-isn’t-happening reality schism. I’m talking more like I’m driving through the mountains, enjoying Reality FM playing all your classics and every time you pass a peak, it fades into static. When the broadcast comes back, the song has changed, the world looks a little more fractured, and everything makes just a tad less sense.

So, I sort of come to again, resurfacing into the turbulence of the world around me. I’m watching the TV while I try to explode my heart this morning (see also: Running on a treadmill) and I see one of those lawsuit commercials. I have a lot of theories on why these monstrosities run so much during the early morning, but that’s a topic for later. The commercial at hand was for Mesothelioma, that rather nasty result of inhaling too much asbestos if I’m not mistaken.

In said commercial (they call themselves a public service announcement, yet it was a law firm that bought air time for their pending civil suit) they described Mesothelioma as a “serious form of cancer.”

Serious cancer. As opposed to all those light-hearted, whimsical types people have. “No, no, I have serious cancer. Not your girly, ascending bowel cancer.”

Every so often, I worry I’m getting a bit too sociopathic. But then I watch the cattle-call for law suits, please sue someone with us because they didn’t know that X insulation or Y medicine, at the time, was dangerous. Life not going the way you want? Blame someone. Blame anyone. But not yourself. You’re a moron, and obviously you shouldn’t be trusted to wipe your own ass.

Not five minutes later, there was another lawsuit commercial, this one for any recent patients of open-heart surgery who also had to undergo dialysis. According to this commercial, some patients may have been given medication that caused kidney problems, including failure.

So, of course, the smart move is to ramp up huge lawsuits attacking the very doctors, nurses and drug companies who, just coincidentally, saved your heart from melting in your chest. That’ll show them to try and, you know, HELP sick people. Bastards.

Let me clarify. I believe the Healthcare industry, in particular for-profit drug companies which regularly push new products past the FDA so quickly their head spins are in dire need of reformation. But throwing litigation around like they’re dinner mints seems a less than ideal way. But that’s just me, and as we all know, I’m disconnected from reality.

But not so disconnected I couldn’t avoid the media blitzkrieg about Michael Jackson’s death. There were birds on my patio squawking about that. We have truly reached an age that unless you’re in a cave somewhere and the stalactites get crap reception, some information just can’t be avoided.

But much as I complain, that’s a good thing. I like to think that, in the age of instantaneous information, people will not longer be able to justify ignorance. “I didn’t know!” Wrong, you did. Companies won’t be able to hide the side effects of their products, politicians won’t be able to pretend ignorance, people will not be able to sue rabidly..... no, that's far too Utopian of a concept.

Sorry, reality disconnect. See you on the other side of the mountains.