Posts by Matthew Lee15

Thanos, Michael. 🙂 So, I heard your cousin was diagnosed with cancer. 😢 They told me mine was just some kind of preventative treatment, though I guess I'm not entirely sure about that myself... maybe I'm misinterpreting things. 🙄 Anyway, I appreciate you getting back to me. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for your cousin and hoping everything turns out alright. 👍 🙂

What would that actually imply? Like, they’d be giving her the therapy as a preventative measure?

I’m honestly not quite sure why everyone refers to this specific therapy as "yellow." I guess maybe it’s because of the color of the medication itself, or perhaps it’s just a nickname that stuck for some other reason entirely.

It looks like there's been a fair amount of reading done here, so... come on, folks, please share your thoughts. 😉

So, here is the situation. A woman in her mid-fifties was diagnosed with colon polyps. After a series of tests, she had to go in for emergency surgery, where they ended up removing about half a foot of the large intestine in several spots. Even though the doctors initially mentioned it would be a fairly routine procedure—since polyps are somewhat common for people in that age group—it turned out to be much more complicated than they expected.

Now, even though the surgery went well and her recovery has been relatively smooth, they are sending her for what they call "yellow chemotherapy."

What does that actually entail? 😕 I have tried searching on WebMD and Google, but I haven't been able to find anything specific (I don't exactly have a medical encyclopedia handy, I guess). At the hospital, they told her this isn't "traditional" chemotherapy—the kind where you lose your hair and things like that—and they said it's being given as a preventative measure.

Does this mean there is actually some kind of intestinal tumor present that the doctors aren't telling her about? Or is it truly just a preventative step? I wonder if anyone here knows more about this. I would really appreciate any insight. 🙂

shadowgardener12 said:not really, but how many of you actually pay attention to or try to avoid those E321... ingredients? I mean, is there even anything in your local grocery store that doesn't have stuff like E338 in it?

I do look at the ingredient lists, I suppose, but I have to admit I don't exactly know by heart which e-dodak additives are okay and which aren't, and I guess I just can't be bothered to go grocery shopping with a giant printed list from the internet in my hand.

What worries me most when I'm buying food is labeling deception, you know, where they don't write down every single thing inside a product. For instance, some of our domestic companies (specifically, Grand Canyon) will put only selected ingredients on an American product, but then when they export to the United States, they include a much, much more detailed list to comply with American regulations, which are way stricter. Who knows how many additives, pesticides, and GM products we're actually eating without even realizing it?! 😕

I'm especially wary of those "natural" products sold by ladies at the farmer's market. They always claim that "nothing was sprayed," but that's a huge question mark, and you can't really verify it.

Personally, I know this Goldie lady who acts like a total hipster with her own little farm, selling her "organically produced" goods out of some garage in Zvonimirovo (maybe I remembered that wrong), but most of what she sells is actually just stuff she buys from farmers around Des Moines, specifically at the market there! 😲 So, she's basically buying fruit and vegetables from people she doesn't even know, with no idea if they used chemicals or not, and then she sells it to Americans at astronomical prices under the guise of "organic food." 😲 👎

Christian Sanchez44, props to you. 👍

You’re pretty much the only one who actually "dared" to address this topic here. It’s kind of funny, I guess, how people still act all shy about certain subjects—claiming they "don't know anything," or saying they "just heard about it from someone else," or even the whole "my friend has it, but not me" routine. People can be so weirdly hesitant sometimes. 🙄

Anyway, Robert Newman5, if you head over to a local pharmacy, you'll find various creams for hemorrhoids. Some are made by big manufacturers like Pfizer and stuff like that, while others are prepared right there in the pharmacy and come in those little white boxes (they usually keep them in the fridge, too, since they need to stay cold). Maybe just ask the pharmacist; I'm sure they'll be able to answer everything you're wondering about. 🙂

Does anyone actually consider Lush cosmetics to be made from all-natural recipes? 😉 They claim everything is totally natural. 😉 Anyway, they have this cinnamon soap over there that supposedly boosts circulation, and they market it as having an anti-cellulite effect. I guess some people might be allergic to cinnamon, or maybe their skin just reacts poorly to it—though perhaps there isn't much cinnamon in this specific Company soap—but my wife is fine with it; she uses it regularly and everything is cool. 😎

driftingeagle27 said:I find these general discussions about flavors to be quite unappealing, and honestly, I’m just getting tired of commenting on them.

"De gustibus non est disputandum." That's the first thing. It really is the foundation of culture and having a decent upbringing.

And you haven't actually addressed a single one of my points. So, that's the second thing.

driftingeagle27 said:I'm also bored with these sort of "one step forward, two steps back" discussions. When there is something new that I want to comment on within this thread, I will chime in again; in the meantime, I suppose I'll just point readers toward my previous posts if they need my references regarding things said after them.

I mean, who even are you?!? 😕 Just some kid sulking because they aren't right, and when asked what they plan to be when they grow up, they just answer "a false idol." 🙄

There is way too much noise over nothing. 🙄

When I mentioned that the movie was made to please everyone, I meant it in a positive sense, I guess. As you all pointed out, the plot itself is quite banal, but it’s told in a rather original and—well, in my opinion—quite charming way. By saying it was designed to please everyone, I suppose I meant it was filmed with multiple layers, intended to reach different types of audiences and offer various levels of engagement. For instance, people who enjoy those Hollywood "fairytales" like "Amelie" will likely find a familiar little story there (plus a charming lead actress, some funny moments, a happy ending), whereas a more demanding viewer might appreciate the excellent camerawork, the very solid and thoughtful direction (even if it isn't the director's absolute masterpiece), the perfectly suited production design, costumes, well-written dialogue, and so on, and so forth.

Of course, every single film is made to appeal to everyone, or at least as many people as possible. It’s just basic math, especially with big-budget studio productions. But then again, not every film succeeds in that—and "Amelie" didn't exactly succeed either, judging by these comments.

People tend to criticize films for stirring up emotions or manipulating the audience. But, I mean, isn't that why people go to the theater in the first place? To be manipulated, perhaps, and to experience or awaken certain emotions in the dark of the cinema that they might not find the time or space for in real life. Every film is a manipulation by the very definition of film as an art form. I mean, driftingeagle27, or anyone else for that matter, do you watch Star Wars believing it's actual reality? 😉 Or especially those big Hollywood blockbusters?!? Aren't they pure manipulation?!? But the fact that films are manipulative isn't some hidden secret from the audience; it's not like you're deceiving someone who bought a ticket, nor is it some groundbreaking revelation you've uncovered.

It is entirely your right to like or dislike a film. Personally, I don't like every movie I see, far from it. 😉 But I think the point is that each of us has our own value system, our own ways of judging aesthetics and emotional impact. So, I suppose it would be a sign of immaturity (and a few other things, though I really wouldn't want anyone to get the impression that I'm trying to be insulting) to judge people based solely on their taste, wouldn't it? 😉

Cliché emotions?!? 😕 I guess you've got me a little confused there.

It seems to me that "Amélie" is one of those movies that was crafted specifically to appeal to everyone. It feels like the team behind it (and I really mean the entire crew) worked so hard to ensure the film had no glaring weaknesses; it’s almost as if they anticipated every single criticism a reviewer might throw their way and then preemptively neutralized them. Personally, I find "Amélie" to be a lovely film precisely because it stirs up emotions. Art, at its core, is meant to be a medium for escape—a bit of fantasy, a touch of unreality, perhaps a representation of a parallel world, or just a glimpse of our dreams.

"Amélie" is the kind of movie that will leave anyone watching it feeling "opened up" (as Michelle Howard2 mentioned) and will brighten up at least that hour and a half in the theater, along with the time right after the credits roll. But, at the same time, it’s a film that might "nudge" most viewers to reflect on things that seem trivial at first glance. And maybe, in certain life situations, it could lead someone to choose an option they perhaps hadn't considered before. The better one. 😉

There’s this specific thing, some people even call it the extra slice, which I think is just a direct take from the German term "extrawurst."

Look, you can fidget with your nails all you want, but honestly, nothing changes until you decide to stop. It’s really just a mental thing, I guess. Maybe if you find something else to keep your hands busy—like playing with someone's lighter (or your own, if you smoke), texting, or just messing around with games on your phone—it might help when you're alone. But then again, when you're actually out talking to people, having your fingers in your mouth just isn't very polite, is it? 😁