Loin Like A Hunting Flame

[Libby]

I tried posting about this a couple of days ago but however I tried it ended up as ultra-serious. So, I'll discard my medical secretary hat, and put down points in no particular order of relevance. I'd include one of those warnings the TV stations like to add about "viewer discretion" despite the fact that they don't actually show you very much, but I don't really think TIWWA-ers need that; but you might want to check who could also be reading this over your shoulder...

- My job at work is to type surgical operation notes.

- The main character in this episode is called "Nesbitt".

- "Nesbitt's operation" or "Nesbitt's plication" is an operation to correct a deformity in the penis.

- I typed such an op-note a couple of days ago, as I have done many times in the past, but only now made any connection to Millennium.

- The deformity, if sufficiently severe, can result in an inability to have sexual intercourse.

- A dysfunction of this kind does not automatically lead to criminality or sexual perversion.

- The character was able to eventually consummate his marriage.

- Hollywood et. al. give the impression that if a man doesn't have a ramrod-straight todger about 6 foot in length, he's deficient.

- Many people are unaware of the variations of many physical attributes that nevertheless fall within the range of normal.

- The character may have fallen into the misbelief that he was deficient and that exacerbated a pre-existing emotional flaw.

- As a pharmacist, the character should have known of the remedy for this condition, but may not have wished to go through the operation - it's not a pleasant procedure.

- The sexual dysfunction of the Detective is of a different kind - the stress of crime led to his problem, whereas the stress of Nesbitt's problem led to crime.

- Googling on "Nesbitt's operation" will give more details.

- Getting your penis straightened is just as valid as getting your teeth straightened - except fewer people will notice.

[4th Horseman]

I tried posting about this a couple of days ago but however I tried it ended up as  ultra-serious. So, I'll discard my medical secretary hat, and put down points in no particular order of relevance. I'd include one of those warnings the TV stations like to add about "viewer discretion" despite the fact that they don't actually show you very much, but I don't really think TIWWA-ers need that; but you might want to check who could also be reading this over your shoulder...

- My job at work is to type surgical operation notes.

- The main character in this episode is called "Nesbitt".

- "Nesbitt's operation" or "Nesbitt's plication" is an operation to correct a deformity in the penis.

- I typed such an op-note a couple of days ago, as I have done many times in the past, but only now made any connection to Millennium.

- The deformity, if sufficiently severe, can result in an inability to have sexual intercourse.

- A dysfunction of this kind does not automatically lead to criminality or sexual perversion.

- The character was able to eventually consummate his marriage.

- Hollywood et. al. give the impression that if a man doesn't have a ramrod-straight todger about 6 foot in length, he's deficient.

- Many people are unaware of the variations of many physical attributes that nevertheless fall within the range of normal.

- The character may have fallen into the misbelief that he was deficient and that exacerbated a pre-existing emotional flaw.

- As a pharmacist, the character should have known of the remedy for this condition, but may not have wished to go through the operation - it's not a pleasant procedure.

- The sexual dysfunction of the Detective is of a different kind - the stress of crime led to his problem, whereas the stress of Nesbitt's problem led to crime.

- Googling on "Nesbitt's operation" will give more details.

- Getting your penis straightened is just as valid as getting your teeth straightened - except fewer people will notice.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks Libby for the great information...you have found another "nugget" of how MillenniuM tried to incorporate everyday life situations occasionally into their episodes. As we all know, any deformity can have a devestating psychological effect that can last a lifetime. I myself have been bald for the past 27 years (also considered a "deformity" by society). My "manlihood" has been relentlessly and doggedly challenged by decades of advertisements on both radio and television. I have been told that i am not a "whole" man unless i have wavy, curly, "run your fingers thru it" hair. Is it ANY wonder that we have for years bore the cross of "inadequecy'? We have all seen the pitiful man who grows his hair long on the sides only to comb it over the top when it reaches the appropriate length..BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!!. We have also seen the man who, being bald on top, tries to compensate by growing a pony tail down to his waistline...BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!! Hair implants you say? The Bosley Institute for Men? BEEN THERE, DONE THAT as well!! The cruelty was always present and evident, judgements pronounced not on the basis of character, but solely because one lacked the appropriate amount of hair. During those long years of being single, i cannot tell you the countless conversations i overheard that went something like this..so many times repeated i could recite it in my sleep..." He is a really neat, sweet guy, but i dont date bald men". A reproach not based on Who I Was, but what i wasn't, cast not only concerning myself, but others who also shared in my "deformity". So now we come back to the issue at hand...the seriousness of any deformity is often exacerbated by its physical manifestation, (baldness, etc). The particular one you have brought up Libby, even being "out of sight" for the most part, does not lessen the impact. When a stranger walks by someone affected by this particular stigma, true, it is not "on the sleeve" for all to see, and that person will most likely walk on by without ever knowing of the other's plight. But the pain is still there, the feelings of "imperfection" remain unaddressed. As complicated as human beings are, to a man, in particular, this most certainly could bring forth those uncomfortable feelings of inadequecy, etc. The myth you talk about has been perpetuated by the Hollywood types since the first on screen kiss. Yet having a 6 foot ram-rod straight John Thomas can bring about its own problems, suffice to say that the surveys of women's likes tend to blatently contradict any adherence to the belief that Hollywood's perpetuation of said physical endowments are what makes a man a "man".. I know you were exaggerating a bit there Libby, but being at the other end of the "extreme", it can also be considered to be a "deformity" as well..i have now accepted my lot in life, and yet the relentless assault on my being a "man" continue today without ceasing. I now shave my head completely instead of trying to vainly cover it with hair. I have dealt with a lot of the demons that haunted me for years, but i will never be able to completely erase the scars from the damage they caused...

On a lighter side...

Speaking of Hollywood, i can see the commercial now...spinning what its best know for...fantasy..

lack of sex due to stress on the job........$10.00

lack of sex due to feeling deficient about yourself..........$20.00

having your codger straightened into a 6 foot ramrod.......priceless

anyway, Libby, again, thanks for the information, and i applaud and thank you for the tireless job you do in the health industry...we need more like you...

The Fourth Horseman..

[Libby]

Well, I'm glad someone responded - I really wasn't sure about posting this as I know only too well how much so-called "imperfections" can really rule a person's life. I've had phone conversations with so many people through my various jobs in the hospital to know that patients are people, and dealing sympathetically, but not in a coy way, is the most welcome to them. I know that it's not just the condition itself - ranging from cancer to varicose veins - that's the whole story. Every condition has a person, and sometimes it can seem a very trivial condition (in medical terms) that can nevertheless have a devasting effect on their lives.

(And being female, I don't understand the appeal of a huge wotsit - apart from the obvious discomfort that would cause a female, I've often wondered about the impractibility of such to the guy concerned. I have wondered how inconvenient that must be.)

My son blames me for his baldness! He lost quite a bit of his hair in his late teens. I put it down to stress - he had the most miserable time when he was away at university. But he prefers to focus on the science that indicates that male-pattern baldness, which is what he has, is inherited through the maternal line. I'm making a bit of a joke about it, but I don't argue the point - whatever it is that enables him to feel more comfortable about not matching up to the "ideal" is OK by me. I know the "ideal" for what it is - mostly a lie. And actually so does he, so his lack of a full head of hair doesn't really bother him - he just keeps it cut very short (a No. 2 I think? Good heavens, I don't understand these things! Youth of today, etc. etc. )

I really hoped to get across the information and the connection to Millennium. But I also hoped to get across to people to not believe the hype. I've just finished editing the "Jose Chung" episode (soon to be published here) and I love the comments about Frank's face. What woman in her right mind would be attracted to a "pretty boy" when there are the likes of Frank around? :grin:

And don't get me started on Peter Watts....

Thanks for the thanks - the bit of the health service where I work is particularly stressful at the moment - too many people resigning.

[HighPlainsDrifter]

hey my imperfections are piling up:

overweight

balding

hypertension

diabetes

sleep apnea

how do i deal with it? my wife loves me anyway....i have been struggling with my weight problem for 10yrs.....my diabetes is under control and so is my blood pressure. I am hoping for the rest of my hair to fall out so i can shave it off so i can look like Micheal Chiklis

[4th Horseman]

hey my imperfections are piling up:

overweight

balding

hypertension

diabetes

sleep apnea

how do i deal with it?  my wife loves me anyway....i have been struggling with my weight problem for 10yrs.....my diabetes is under control and so is my blood pressure.  I am hoping for the rest of my hair to fall out so i can shave it off so i can look like Micheal Chiklis

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Joe and Libby, as i mentioned i have overcome the issues that bound me in my younger days...i take pride now in shaving my head, and ask gunslinger, i could shed a few pounds as well, but Joe, we are lucky to have women who love us for Who We Are...nothing like the comfort of coming home to someone you love...I long ago learned that those who judge based on imperfections are those who never look in the mirror...

The Fourth Horseman

[Raven Wolf]

Joe, we are lucky to have women who love us for Who We Are...nothing like the comfort of coming home to someone you love...I long ago learned that those who judge based on imperfections are those who never look in the mirror...

The Fourth Horseman

Beautifuly said, Horseman!

All I can say is.....This is a weird thread!

[Gunslinger]

Joe and Libby, as i mentioned i have overcome the issues that bound me in my younger days...i take pride now in shaving my head, and ask gunslinger, i could shed a few pounds as well, but Joe, we are lucky to have women who love us for Who We Are...nothing like the comfort of coming home to someone you love...I long ago learned that those who judge based on imperfections are those who never look in the mirror...

The Fourth Horseman

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

"the measure of a man is not in what you see, but what you see coming from his eyes.", cant remember who said that but ive always found it to be true, if you could lose to stand a few pounds horseman then i could stand to lose 3 times as many as you, cant tell you how many times ive endured that particular ailment on the street, but since ive had a weight problem all of my life, i think at some point i became completely immune to it. for that matter, people who judge based on looks are the same narrow minded people that unfortunately run most of the country, perception equals reality, not a nice thing but true nonetheless. dont worry horseman, to anyone that has the privilege of meeting you, you are a man of high stature and a good human being, ive met all kinds, from one end of the spectrum to the other, and people like you are rare, in fact good people are always rare, thats why it is always nice to meet one, take care my friend, not everyone in the world is wrapped up in looks and 6 foot long broadswords..lol :grin:

[The Old Man]

LOL! I have to say this is one of the most interesting threads I've read at TIWWA!

[Libby]

LOL! I have to say this is one of the most interesting threads I've read at TIWWA!

OK, let me add to the possibly interesting (though this has now completely veered away from the episode):

I'm currently reading a book[1] that refers extensively to Darwin's "Origin of Species", and the thought that's occurred to me is that a lot of so-called "imperfections" maybe should be seen in a somewhat different light.

Remember that species evolve slowly, in response to their environment. Think of the rapid changes in recent years in western lifestyle (I'm 55 years old, and like most people of my age I was raised in a home that didn't have central heating, we didn't have a car - actually we didn't have a TV until I was about 7 years old and then it was in black-and-white!).

Now think about how we are constructed - we still have the bodies that were effective in an environment of being dependent solely on seasonal foods, heat and light came from fire, water had to be collected and heated for cooking, washing.

Now think about how successful were those who could cope with a variable diet (including not much food at all), who could cope with quite extremes of temperature (by laying down fat layers); then think about how those successful bodies now have problems of weight gain (and possible consequent diabetes, hypertension, and so on), not because they're lazy or dim, but just because their own genes now don't work in their favour.

If we suddenly face a breakdown in society, where food becomes scarce, power is limited or non-existent, then it would be those "imperfect" people who would be the survivors.

In the meantime, what we demand is that those people change their lifestyles - and they could easily solve the problems by giving up every improvement in modern life. Well, I for one wouldn't want to do that - I recall that the so-called "healthier" lifestyle included the misery of chilblains from toasting my feet at the only available source of heat!

[1] "The Science of Discworld III - Darwin's Watch", Ian Stewart, Jack Cohen & Terry Pratchett, ISBN 0091898234 - just a plug for my favourite author!

[Guest SouthernCelt]

hey my imperfections are piling up:

overweight

balding

hypertension

diabetes

sleep apnea

how do i deal with it?  my wife loves me anyway....i have been struggling with my weight problem for 10yrs.....my diabetes is under control and so is my blood pressure.  I am hoping for the rest of my hair to fall out so i can shave it off so i can look like Micheal Chiklis

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

As someone who's has to deal with 4 of the 5 you list (not bald, though my older son who's 27 is swiftly headed toward a chrome dome), my recommendation is to get on the 1800 calorie/day diet recommended by the Amer. Diabetes Assoc. If you adhere to it, you're guranteed to lose weight unless you just veg-out all day, every day. I lost from 210 down to 160 in about 6 months after I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes. Although the weight loss didn't reduce my need for oral medications for enhancing insulin use, once I got down to 160 (which is in the non-overweight range for my height/age) I can actually indulge in a few treats for meals or snacks occasionally w/o endangering my weight or health otherwise. The most critical time is the initial weight loss period and you have to avoid any cheating during that time.

Another advantage of the diet plus the choleterol drugs I take is reduction of the "bad" cholesterol (LDL) level. Mine has dropped from well over 100 to 41 which is amazingly low, even to my doctor. The new recommended LDL value is 70 which is frankly not achievable by most people without cholesterol medicine and diet control.

Hope I'm not boring anyone but wanted you know you're not alone in most of your trials and tribulations. Bear up, hope springs eternal.