From Bad To Worse: John Adds Stomach Flu to Hyper-Thyroid

Horrible, this week has been horrible. This past Monday evening I started feeling ill. I was up *all night* taking every position on and around the toilet. Nicole took me to the doctor the next day, got some Cipro antibiotics and anti-nausea meds. Horrible.

Night before last, in the midst of sickness, I dreamed that I was a Roman slave boy (yes, wearing a loincloth). I was part of a small group of misfits that was attempting to organize a Christian circus and gymnasium. We were immediately dispersed by the authorities and I ran for my life.

What is going on?

Thank God for Nicole, she's been bringing home all the sorts of food that you're supposed to eat when you can't eat anything. Popsicles ahoy. And I'm supposed to go back to work on Monday.

Nosferatu Pix 2008

My movie picks are a little late this year. The Oscars show has just started. I'm still sick but I've started taking beta blockers so that my heart will quit going bananas.

As usual, all the films in each category are listed in alphabetical order, because we're all winners! Well, usually we're all winners.

Not a great year for movies. Ordinarily "The Bank Job" would get merely a mention, but beggars can't be choosers. I'm not even very disappointed that I didn't get to see all the movies I wanted to see. I can't believe "RocknRolla" wasn't better than it was. Surely 2009 will have better movies. Surely.

Best Movie

The Bank Job
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Slumdog Millionaire
The Wrestler

Honorable Mention

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Best Actor

Gerard Butler - “RocknRolla”
Mos Def – “Be Kind Rewind”
Robert Downey Jr. – “Iron Man”
Mickey Rourke – “The Wrestler”
Jason Statham - “The Bank Job”

Honorable Mention

Viggo Mortensen - “Appaloosa”

Best Actress

Saffron Burrows – “The Bank Job”
Melonie Diaz – “Be Kind Rewind”
Thandie Newton – “RocknRolla”


Best Supporting Actor

Ralph Fiennes – “The Duchess”
Robert Downey Jr. – “Tropic Thunder”
Werner Herzog – “Mister Lonely”
Heath Ledger – “The Dark Knight”
Dylan Moran – “Run Fatboy Run”

Honorable mention

Jeremy Irons – “Appaloosa”
Ben Kingsley – “The Wackness”
Adam Scott - “Step Brothers”

Best Supporting Actress

Marisa Tomei – “The Wrestler”

Glad to see them

Billy Connolly – “The X-Files: I Want to Believe”
Jackie Earle Haley – “Semi -Pro”
Mary Steenburgen – “Step Brothers”
Alicia Witt – “88 Minutes”

Adult Men Spending Time with Young People,

Something’s Wrong Here

88 Minutes
Gran Torino
The Rocker
Slumdog Millionaire

Dismemberment

Mother of Tears
Tropic Thunder
The X-Files: I Want to Believe

Wanted To See, But Didn’t Manage To

Diary of the Dead
Frost/Nixon
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Let the Right One In
Milk
Mongol
My Winnipeg
Quantum of Solace
Revolutionary Road
Shine a Light
Twilight
Valkyrie

P.S. Many scenes in "The Wrestler" take place in a strip club, so if nudity isn't a welcome part of your movie night, you've been cautioned.

John sick with Hyper-Thyroid

I've been home from work since January 20. It took four visits to my Kaiser primary care doctor to diagnose me. In the meantime (and $700 later) Nicole's cardiologist figured it out after one visit - I got the Hyper-Thyroid!

Yes, I'm sick. I'm even too sick to post a visual aid. I'm not lying.

I've been trying to connect with an endocrinologist since last week. I have an appointment for Thursday.

With the Hyper-Thyroid you get very weak all the time. Your heart beats too fast all the time (even when you're sleeping). You get hand tremors and it's hard to type and it's even hard to turn pages. For some reason my voice is also gone - that's supposed to be a symptom of the Hypo-Thyroid. There's fatigue, lack of appetite, weight loss - last time they weighed me I'd lost eleven pounds.

This all started immediately after my birthday, as soon as I turned forty I fell apart. Nicole has been working overtime trying to get me cured - I'm a wreck and she's my angel of mercy. She also got me Nikki Sixx's The Heroin Diaries for Christmas. It's dismal stuff, but a page turner, and now I know things could be worse, I could be a rock star.