How to turn a pear into an apple

Just had my first mammogram since my surgery, and I'm relieved to say that the radiologist saw nothing out of the ordinary.

My oncologist recommended taking aspirin or ibuprofen about half an hour before the screening. Mammography is a low-dose x-ray of the breast while compressed to the thickness of luncheon meat. I have some internal scar tissue, and the muscles leading from my armpit to my ribs are pretty tight. On top of big squeeze, it felt like my entire right side was being slowly pulled apart like taffy.

What's with all the food analogies, you ask? I blame my current anti-cancer drug, tamoxifen. I gained about fifteen pounds during chemo, and put on another five during radiation. I don't eat more than I did a year ago, and my activity level is about the same, so what gives? My oncologist said "Some people blame tamoxifen, but it's probably just menopause." I have noticed that doctors are reluctant to admit the extent of drug side effects. This kind of dismissal always drives me straight to MedLine, which is why I'm such a pain-in-the-ass patient.

There's some relatively recent literature linking tamoxifen to excess visceral fat. Visceral, as in gut. I'm trying to get used to my new belly. Ever since I hit puberty, off-the-rack pants ballooned around my waist, even while they were too snug in the hips and thighs. I guess I should thank tamoxifen for transforming me into a more conventionally-shaped fat woman.

"Relationships between tamoxifen use, liver fat and body fat distribution in women with breast cancer." Intl. J. of Obesity. Feb. 2001. [Link]

Sunday Music: The Fugs

In 1965, East Village poets Tuli Kupferberg and Ed Sanders formed The Fugs, the name being inspired by what it sounds like. Kupferberg, who was born in 1923, was a beatnik freak well before Dylan hit town, and had the distinction of being mentioned in his friend Allen Ginsberg's epic poem, Howl.

As much satirical theater as a musical group, The Fugs often performed at antiwar protests. Their songs were full of drug references and frequently critical of the U.S. government, just the thing to earn the scrutiny of the FBI. Their most memorable performance, which Norman Mailer included in his novel "Armies of the Night," was Sander's "exorcism" of the Pentagon during a 1967 antiwar rally.

The clip above is from a Swedish television program. It's long, but I kind of enjoyed listening to Ed Sanders ramble on about "homosexual aardvarks," and other nonsense while a no doubt earnest Swede recorded every word. If you don't want to listen to the intros, jump forward to 2:20 for "Crystal Liaison." Tuli Kupferberg's dance interpretation is at least half of the fun, the other being lyrics like this:

In the great bowling alley of your mind
I am your pin boy!
I am your pin boy!


The Fugs official website [Link]

Exorcism of the Pentagon, October 21, 1967 (scroll down) [Link]

The Incredible Shrinking Man

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Someone asked me where we could get copies of the great old sci-fi horror movies I mentioned in an earlier post. The Amazing Colossal Man and Teenagers from Outer Space are out of print, although TOS is available online for free under a Creative Commons license. My friend also mentioned his vivid memories of The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), which included a battle between the tiny chief protagonist, wielding a needle, and a spider 10 times his size. You can watch the entire scene above. I think the special effects great considering the budget involved. In any event, most of it's done with jump cuts and off-camera action. It actually had me at the edge of my seat! The movie is available in the boxed set, "Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection," put out by Universal. The Amazing Colossal Man and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman were reissued a few years back on VHS, but I wasn't able to locate anything more recent. Mystery Science Theater 3000 did their thing with ACM, and I remember it as being an especially hilarious episode. All are listed at Amazon.com.

Mystery Science Theater 3000 "The Amazing Colossal Man" quotes [Link]