I spent a ridiculous amount of time this morning listening to a recorded voice tell me, again and again, “We are experiencing a large number of calls. You are currently number …. In the queue.” I could have slept longer! Instead I sat up in bed, reading my book, awaiting my turn. Eventually I managed to make an appointment to see my GP in a couple of weeks time. It’s a good job this is a routine matter and not an emergency!
My plan then was to run to Uppermill to collect the items from the chemist’s that I failed to collect on Saturday when I got on the wrong bus! It was supposed to be timed so that I could catch a bus home at 10.05, but of course, after all the time spent listening to the pre-recorded message, I was just a few minutes later than planned. As I went up the side road to the chemist’s shop I saw my bus making it’s way past the end of the road. So it goes.
So I slowed down, had a chat with the chemist about travel adventures (she once missed her stop because she was deep in a book as her train went through the station where her husband was waiting for her) and then went and did a bit of shopping before the next bus came along. Now maybe I won’t bother with the market on Wednesday, especially as the fish-man is going to away on holiday!
Of course, all of this put the real start of the day back even further than usual. The day never feels properly started until I have showered after my run, organised myself and had coffee, even though I have often done houseworky things like start the washing machine before I set off. Of course, all of these things, these sort-of-deadlines are all self-imposed. Gone are the days when I had to be on the road early to be sure of being at work on time! No regrets!
Image, and who your image belongs to, seems to be ever more important than ever these days. I read that Tom Hanks has put a notice out on instagram, telling fans and followers that a promotional video of “him” giving advice on using dental floss does not really feature him at all but an AI version. I suppose he could have ignored it. After all, as long ago as 2004 a computer-animated Christmas fantasy “The Polar Express” featured a CGI version of the actor. And ore recently, in 2022, he was ‘de-aged’ in scenes in the film “A man Called Otto”. The important thing is that he gave his consent, I presume, on both those occasions. And if the AI image creation business is not better regulated, films will be made without actors” permission, indeed without their even needing to be aware of it. What a strange world we have created, like something out of science fiction films like “Blade Runner”.
Thinking of image brings me to a new-to-me word: tweakments - cosmetic treatments which may be anti-aging or just fashion-related, leading perfectly fine-looking young people to have their lips plumped (pumped?) to enhance their image. It seems that people have been quietly having tweakments since the 1970s (who knew?) but back then it was mostly older women trying to get rid of wrinkles. Now it’s a fashion thing for a younger generation. What you might describe as cowboy establishments are offering such tweakments and sometimes, probably frighteningly often, they go wrong and have to be reversed.
There is even an organisation, Save Face, which is largely a UK register of accredited cosmetic practitioners that campaigns for improved safety standards. Apparently it received 2,824 complaints during 2022 – up from 2,436 in 2021 and 2,083 in 2020. More than two-thirds of these related to dermal fillers and almost a quarter to Botox-like treatments.
A spokesperson for Save Face says: “We had one girl who was literally hours away from having to have her lips surgically removed, because the filler was blocking the blood supply. The person who treated her kept telling her it was a bruise and would go away, but obviously it didn’t. Luckily, she didn’t have to have that surgery, but it was it was very touch and go for a while.”
Now that IS a horror story!
And finally, further to my remarks about reality TV yesterday, here is a link to an article about a reality TV shown that never was. The desire for celebrity status can lead people:astray, it seems.
Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!
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