1. Decided to find another stalking target on Flickr. I like LJ Gervasoni's pictures, but I can see his sets have a lot of repeat photos. If I spend a lot of days on his photos, I think I'll end up seeing the same photos too many times. Also, I prefer to look at accounts which allow you to download the photos. I want more photos for my screensaver.
2. Found my next stalking target. It's Sirstualot (Stuart Lovell). He has a huge set of Tasmania photos.
I'm not going to look at the photos now, though.
I'll do it later.
3. Saddened and disgusted by article, I read, about a western Sydney child who died of a burst appendix in 2009. There's been an inquiry that showed his death could have been avoided if there hadn't been so many treatment delays.
The child was taken twice to a medical center and then to the emergency room. Despite this and the child's troubling symptoms, there were delays in giving him antibiotics, fluids, and an ultrasound.
Why?
Maybe it was a matter of the hospital being too busy and understaffed. That's bad in itself but somewhat understandable. But I keep imaging it was also a matter of condescending and dismissive doctors. There're those doctors who are quick to diagnose people as hypochondriacs. You're fine. Go home. Just get some rest. Stop reading so many medical websites.
I had a schoolmate who almost died after being sent home with something. Maybe peritonitis? Fortunately, the parents sought out a second opinion. Otherwise, according to the story, she would have been dead a few hours later.
4. Saw a Kermit bike on Jayne's blog and learned of a restaurant called Naked For Satan. That's pretty interesting.
Jayne had a craving for the scent of sweet pea flowers. I don't think I've ever had a craving for a scent before. I have cravings for food, places, and movies.
5. Found the website for Naked For Satan. It's owned by a Satanic cult. If you eat there, you become cursed with an insatiable craving for sweet pea flowers. Weird.....
No, actually Satan is a nickname for a Russian guy named Leon Satanovich. He escaped the pogroms and came to Australia in 1928. That was around the time that Phyllis Margery Anderson was studying the gastroenteritis epidemic.
During the Great Depression Mr. Satanovich made Vodka and sold that. Sometimes it was horribly hot and he'd end up dispensing the vodka wearing only his underpants. That's where the restaurant gets the naked bit of the title.
Although then shouldn't it be called "Satan is Naked"?
The title of that little bit of history, on the site, is called "Urban Myth or Fitzroy Legend". So none of it may be true.
I looked at their Facebook Page and the restaurant is described as Melbourne's newest Vodka and Pintxos bar in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. So it could be a new restaurant that simply made up a fun history. Or maybe the history is real, and it inspired the restaurant owners to name their place after it.
6. Googled Leon Satanovich. I see a lot of websites talking about him, but in relation to the restaurant. That doesn't prove to me the story is real because all these people could be passing on the story from the restaurant.
I decided to look at the Australian Dictionary of Biography. That website seems to talk about everyone who's ever lived and died in Australia. Okay, that's probably an exaggeration. Not every Australian gets an entry. But they don't just have typical famous people—like opera singers and politicians. They have things such as pediatricians, business owners, and farmers. If there was a man known as a legend, in Fitzroy, for selling Vodka; I'd imagine the Australian Dictionary of Biography would have an entry about him. As far as I can see, they don't.
It doesn't prove that Leon Satanovich is fictional. But it does give me doubts that he was real.
7. Loved a brilliant quote from Michelle's blog. It's about people who cut off all ties with their family. She says:
Such an an overt attempt to shed the excess baggage, the things that weigh us down from our childhoods, is a step most of us are unwilling to take. Even those with the most complicated of family dynamics will usually seek out a compromise, attempting to minimize the damage to their own psyche while remaining connected to the people who shaped their formative years. People who they feel a debt of gratitude towards or an overwhelming sense of duty, often accompanied by genuine love and affection, but not always.
I have a hard time understanding people who completely cut off ties from their family. Well, I can understand the motivation. But unless there's severe dangerous abuse, it seems worth it to me to have at least a minor connection. I don't know—send a card at Christmas and email once or twice a year. For those who try to completely cut off any contact or connection, are they happier? I don't think so. The family members may be out of their life, but they're not always out of their head...or their hearts.
8. Read article about a poll regarding asylum seekers. 53% of the people surveyed believe that asylum seeker claims should be processed in Australia rather than another country (Malaysia). Of those that want people processed in Australia, 53% said those waiting for their claims to be processed should be held in detention centers. 41% believe that the asylum seekers should be able to live in the community.
For those who want asylum seekers to be free in the community of Australia, how do they feel about all the refugees already waiting in Malaysia? Some of them have been there for years. What should be done with them? How about all the people who were going to be brought to Australia under the trading scheme? What's going to happen to them now that this Malaysia plan is on hold?
9. Saw that the cows are going back to Indonesia. The ban on live transport has been discontinued. Hopefully the cows will be treated better than the cow featured on the Four Corners program.
The story isn't over, though.
On Thursday, there will be parliamentary voting on bills. One is from the Green Party and they propose the immediate end of live transport. The other is Andrew Wilkie. He's looking for a three year phase out program. Although I like the Green Party's sentiment, Andrew Wilkie's plan might be a more realistic and reasonable proposal.
10. Read another article about Jacob Belim, the child who died from appendicitis. It makes me so incredibly furious.
And I was right. The medical staff was dismissive and condescending. The mother of the child asked for an ultrasound. She was refused. Dr. Sam Nassar told her to get an ultrasound out of your mind.
Jacob finally did get the ultrasound and he did get surgery. But something went wrong there....or maybe it was just too late. He died the next day during a second (emergency surgery).
11. Read another article about Jacob's story. Jacob's mother says Dr. Nassar said to her, your son has no sign of an appendicitis, 100 to 110 per cent your son has not got appendicitis. I say 120 percent, that guy should lose his medical license. Not only did he disregard the concerns of a parent Which is 190% inexcusable) but he also disregarded the diagnosis of another doctor.
Jacob's general practitioner (Chandra Gounder) examined the child and said she believed he had appendicitis. She sent a letter of referral and contacted Liverpool Hospital. Her efforts were ignored.
12. Felt intense hatred towards Sam Nassar and all the doctors out there who are like him. I'm guessing that doctors like that not only belittle patients and parents but also their staff.
13. Read blog post about Jacob Belim's story. It's in a blog about Sydney doctors.
David Beck says, Incidentally, those who say that “the system” let Jacob Belim and his parents down also almost make me want to throw up. To me it wasn’t the system that let them down, it was four people, real live people who are still out there right now somewhere, who made errors.
Yes and those people should pay for those errors.
David explains why he's spending so much time on Jacob's case. He says, It’s because I want to coolly and calmly try and work out if there is a way of minimising the likelihood of what happened to Jacob Belim happening to any of my 5 children, or any of my 11 grandchildren, or in fact anyone who ever seeks treatment in a NSW government hospital.
With any horror story like this, it's not just about feeling sorrow for the families involved. I think it's also a terrifying worry that it could happen to our families as well.
All the doctors responsible for Jacob's death should lose their jobs. That should be the minimum punishment. Then, also, any doctor who acts in similar ways to Sam Nassar, and the three others, should be severely reprimanded. I'm not talking about after a death happens. I'm saying if staff or patients report that a doctor arrogantly refused to provide testing or treatment; they should get in some kind of trouble for that. Of course this is within reason. If a parent comes in with a cheerful child with the sniffles and screams the child needs to be tested for meningitis; it's understandable that she be reassured and the child not given unnecessary tests or treatments. But if a child is in severe pain and showing symptoms of a serious illness, it should be unlawful for them to be denied appropriate medical attention. This is especially the case if another doctor has raised alarm.
14. Went to Tallygarunga. Today I'm going to read a story called Lost. It takes place in the Narragyambie Shopping Centre.
The story takes place on August 16; late afternoon.
So far, there's one post from one character. Lilith Au Lutonaiaen. There's two dots over the e in her name; but I have no idea how to do that.
15. Started to read the story. I thought Lilith was a girl because of the name. I guess I ignored the face claim picture which is very male.
I can't imagine Lilith as a boy's name. Am I being gender-biased? Or is there something going on here that I don't understand?
16. Finished reading the post.
I'm going to have to read it again. It's all very mystical and mysterious. I'm guessing maybe there's a vampire involved? Demonic Possession? Maybe reincarnation?
17. Intrigued by these lines. People ignored him as usual but he didn't have his master to hound over his shoulder all seconds of the day every day. Her voice, though still apparent here and there, was less and less.
Who is the master? I'm picturing some kind of body-sharing situation.
18. Started to read the biography of Lilith au Lutonaiaen.
His face claim is Tyson Ballou. Lord Wiki says he's a model that was born in Texas.
19. Learned that Lilith is a "Failed Sorceraic Replicate." Is that like a Socrates thing? Is he some kind of cloning experiment?
No, wait. I just googled, and now I feel stupid. It's not Socrates. It's a sorcery thing. What annoys me is I encountered that word before on Tallygarunga...or a word like it. I learned something and then I forgot it. That's the story of my life.
So anyway....
Lilith was created by magic.
His creator is Edith. I believe she's the master referred to in the story thread.
20. Learned that Lilith has badly aligned teeth, and he has a disorder called Polydatyly. This means he has extra fingers and toes. But in his case, they were magically removed when he was a baby.
Lilith also has that disorder where people can't feel pain. It's called CIPA (Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis). Lilith can't feel pain, heat, cold, and he also doesn't feel the need to urinate. Victims of CIPA also lack the ability to sweat.
Lord Wiki says it's a very rare but deadly disorder. Infants usually don't survive past the age three. If they do survive, they're unlikely to live past the age of 25.
Discomfort is awful, but it does help help to alarm us about serious conditions. Of course none of that matters if doctors blatantly ignore and disregard our pain.....
It's really sad, though. Lord Wiki says it has been suggested that children with the disorder have their baby teeth removed. This way they won't bite through their own tongue and fingers. The idea is that once their permanent teeth come in, they could be taught not to bite themselves.
21. Found this website via Lord Wiki. It's run by people who actually suffer from CIPA. They have a FAQ page.
They say they DO have feelings. If a knife slices through their skin, they'll feel it happening. It just won't hurt them. Well, at least then they could probably suspect something is wrong. I can imagine the person might get paranoid. Someone could come up and tap them on the back; and the person with CIPA might wonder if he's been stabbed. I felt something there, but I don't know if I should be screaming or just turning around to say hello.
22. Thought these lines were interesting. At the time I enjoyed the reaction I received from others and the time I would spend in the hospital. Touching hot objects was another one of the most frequent injuries I had. I loved to hear the sizzling of my skin. Broken legs were a very common injury for me.
Sickness and injuries are awful because they make us very uncomfortable...and they hurt. But there is a pleasurable bit to it sometimes. The extra attention! The love! The cards! The presents! The concern from others.
There's that feeling of wow, this would actually be fun if it weren't for the fact that I feel like crap.
But what if you could be injured, make people worried, and not feel like crap? Mature people would worry about causing permanent damage to their body....and dying. A child might not. So I can imagine them putting their parents through hell. Then again, there are children (and adults!) who ARE capable of feeling pain but still continue to risk bodily harm.
23. Went back to reading about Lilith.
He uses magic to keep himself at a healthy temperature. He doesn't have to worry about being too cold and too hot. He's also luckier than Muggles with CIPA, because he can use magic to heal himself.
24. Read that Lilith is a sociopath, probably because he was raised without love and affection. His creator treated him like a useful object rather than a beloved child.
25. Started to read the history of Lilith. There's something about Adele here. If I'm reading it right.... when it was announced that Adele had conceived a child, Edith started creating a child.
It didn't come easily. Before Lilith was created, there were other created children. They had severe deformities and disabilities.
26. Thought the description of Edith's care of Lilith was very well-written and insightful.
Being the smart woman that she was, Édith figured how to change the typical life style of both the child and herself to keep him alive. His teeth were yanked, temperatures were always checked (L'Arine was cool so he didn't have to worry about overheating much, as L'Arine's summer is even cooler than that of Australia's winter), her magic was always in use, and she checked him often through out the day for any injuries of any kind, and taught him that the sign of blood was bad and he was to never ignore it. She even cast a spell on item for the lad to shake when it was time to go to the bathroom, she'd position him in bed so he wouldn't sleep awkwardly and wear at his joints and muscles... the care and observation just never ended.
I think it does a great job of describing the difficulties in caring for someone with the disorder.
27. Learned that Lilith was created to kill Améa, Adele's daughter.
Would it not have been easier for Edith to use her powerful magic to kill Améa herself? Why go through all the trouble of making a child?
Then again, Adele and Améa have their own magic. Perhaps a pre-murder seduction is the only plan that would work.
28. Learned that Lilith had a crush on Améa as a child but was told he wouldn't ever marry. That shattered his dreams a bit, and he became more focused on killing Améa.
So basically Lilith is a magical assassin.
29. Felt a lack of interest in learning about my Australian of the day. I feel guilty about that. But there's just some type of people that interest me less than others.
Anyway, my person for today is Sir Robert Murray McCheyne Anderson. It sounds like he has a surname for a middle name.
Robert was a businessman and government person.
The Australian Dictionary of Biography says he was born 1865 at the Mint, Sydney. The Mint? Where they make the money? That's where Sam Pickled worked. Well, he didn't work for the one in Sydney. He worked for the one in Perth.
30. Consulted Lord Wiki about the Sydney Mint. It was a hospital before it was a mint. So I was thinking maybe the ADB is just specifying the hospital where the birth took place.
However, Lord Wiki says the building stopped being a hospital in 1854. That's eleven years before Robert Anderson was born. Maybe they had a small maternity area still open?
31. Continued to read about Sir Robert Murray. He went to school, then did banking work in New Zealand.
He did military stuff.
From 1897-1900 he was the town clerk and city treasurer of Sydney.
Then he did more military stuff. He did work in London and Egypt.
Sir Robert Anderson fought against bureaucracy. He also didn't trust permanent soldiers. He felt they close up their ranks very solidly against the outsider, specially if that outsider possesses outstanding abilities. It's kind of like people in a clique. They bond together, find strength in number, and then become closed off to others. And sadly it makes sense to be especially closed off to those with outstanding abilities. Jealousy is likely to play a part in all that.
32. Started to look at page 1 of SirStuarlot's Tasmania photo set.
Here's a cruise ship at Port Arthur.
And here's another Port Arthur photo. Is that the prison? I've never seen that view of it before.
33. Liked this photo. It says it's taken from Port Arthur. It's trees and not an old prison building.
I should remember that Port Arthur is more than just a historical tourist attraction.
Or maybe not. Lord Wiki says there's a population of 499. But it seems the focus of the town is history and tourism.
34. Thought that, in this picture, Port Arthur looks like a university campus.
35. Wondered about this house picture from Port Arthur. I'm guessing the people who live there work at the tourist attraction. I would assume many people in town have a tourism-related job.
36. Listened to iTunes and this song came on.
I love it.
37. Though the scenery in this picture was beautiful. It's from Mount Stuart Signal Station.
Lord Wiki says Mount Stuart is a suburb in Hobart. It's all residential. There was one shop, but it closed. But now there's a hairdresser. Would that not count as a shop?
Here's another beautiful view of Mount Stuart.
And I totally love this one. It gives me a warm eerie fuzzy feeling. It must remind me of something—like from childhood. I don't know.
38. Amazed at this picture of Coles Bay. Stuart says it was the view outside of their holiday unit. It's beautiful!
39. Looked at beach photos while listening to Lost music on iTunes. It fits together quite well.
40. Listened to this song on iTunes. It's a little inappropriate for August. But that's okay.
The version I have on iTunes isn't Rolf Harris. It's from a group called Santa's Little Helpers. I like it better than the Rolf Harris version; probably just because I'm more accustomed to that version.
41. Felt sad about Jacob Belim.
There're so many sad stories about children out there. Why do some effect us more than others? I mean I THINK all the stories are sad, but I don't FEEL sad about all of them. Often I try to ignore and avoid them, because I don't want to be scared, worried, sad, angry. When I do pay attention, I feel a slight sadness but mostly I feel fear. I feel more sad than usual about Jacob.
You know...it could be related to Heather O'Rourke. I was a huge fan of her as a child, and I was devastated when she died. Her death was sort of like Jacob Belim's. She had a misdiagnosed abdominal issue. And then there's the fact that I knew someone in high school that almost died the same way.
You add that to the general I'm-a-parent-too thing; and it's hard not to feel sad.
42. Thought about how it feels better to be angry and want justice; but then I think about it, and I feel empty. It's not going to bring him back. If only we could turn back time......
I still want justice done. It won't bring Jacob back, but maybe it will prevent it from happening to another family.
43. Started to look at page 2 of SirStualot's Tasmania photo set.
A lot of pictures were taken at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, so there's lots of flower photos.
Here's some palm trees.
I like palm trees.
44. Liked this bright yellow flower.
And I like this yellow one too. I think it's a daisy, maybe?
Maybe I'm in a yellow mood.
If I said that in front of Tim, he'd make some racial joke (about being Asian). He does that a lot.
Here's more yellow, and it even comes with a bee.
45. Realized I went past page 2 of the photos. Now I'm on page 3. It's hard to keep track sometimes.
46. Wondered if any cactus is indigenous to Australia when I saw photos of cactus.
Lord Wiki says it's native to the Americas, but it's been brought to Australia.
47. Liked this photo. It reminds me of the Medusa scene from Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief. I'm not sure why. The picture has a lot of plants. I don't remember if there were a lot of plants in the scene. I just remember lots of statues.
48. Watched Medusa scene. It does have plants. It looks sort of like a greenhouse; and I think the photo is a of a greenhouse.
49. Thought the horses in this carousel looked a bit scary. Gertie looks mean.
50. Liked this picture from Richmond. It looks like a nice place to play....I don't know, tag or something?
50. Continued to read Finnikin of the Rock. All the different names confuse me at times. But besides that, I'm enjoying the book.
2. Found my next stalking target. It's Sirstualot (Stuart Lovell). He has a huge set of Tasmania photos.
I'm not going to look at the photos now, though.
I'll do it later.
3. Saddened and disgusted by article, I read, about a western Sydney child who died of a burst appendix in 2009. There's been an inquiry that showed his death could have been avoided if there hadn't been so many treatment delays.
The child was taken twice to a medical center and then to the emergency room. Despite this and the child's troubling symptoms, there were delays in giving him antibiotics, fluids, and an ultrasound.
Why?
Maybe it was a matter of the hospital being too busy and understaffed. That's bad in itself but somewhat understandable. But I keep imaging it was also a matter of condescending and dismissive doctors. There're those doctors who are quick to diagnose people as hypochondriacs. You're fine. Go home. Just get some rest. Stop reading so many medical websites.
I had a schoolmate who almost died after being sent home with something. Maybe peritonitis? Fortunately, the parents sought out a second opinion. Otherwise, according to the story, she would have been dead a few hours later.
4. Saw a Kermit bike on Jayne's blog and learned of a restaurant called Naked For Satan. That's pretty interesting.
Jayne had a craving for the scent of sweet pea flowers. I don't think I've ever had a craving for a scent before. I have cravings for food, places, and movies.
5. Found the website for Naked For Satan. It's owned by a Satanic cult. If you eat there, you become cursed with an insatiable craving for sweet pea flowers. Weird.....
No, actually Satan is a nickname for a Russian guy named Leon Satanovich. He escaped the pogroms and came to Australia in 1928. That was around the time that Phyllis Margery Anderson was studying the gastroenteritis epidemic.
During the Great Depression Mr. Satanovich made Vodka and sold that. Sometimes it was horribly hot and he'd end up dispensing the vodka wearing only his underpants. That's where the restaurant gets the naked bit of the title.
Although then shouldn't it be called "Satan is Naked"?
The title of that little bit of history, on the site, is called "Urban Myth or Fitzroy Legend". So none of it may be true.
I looked at their Facebook Page and the restaurant is described as Melbourne's newest Vodka and Pintxos bar in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. So it could be a new restaurant that simply made up a fun history. Or maybe the history is real, and it inspired the restaurant owners to name their place after it.
6. Googled Leon Satanovich. I see a lot of websites talking about him, but in relation to the restaurant. That doesn't prove to me the story is real because all these people could be passing on the story from the restaurant.
I decided to look at the Australian Dictionary of Biography. That website seems to talk about everyone who's ever lived and died in Australia. Okay, that's probably an exaggeration. Not every Australian gets an entry. But they don't just have typical famous people—like opera singers and politicians. They have things such as pediatricians, business owners, and farmers. If there was a man known as a legend, in Fitzroy, for selling Vodka; I'd imagine the Australian Dictionary of Biography would have an entry about him. As far as I can see, they don't.
It doesn't prove that Leon Satanovich is fictional. But it does give me doubts that he was real.
7. Loved a brilliant quote from Michelle's blog. It's about people who cut off all ties with their family. She says:
Such an an overt attempt to shed the excess baggage, the things that weigh us down from our childhoods, is a step most of us are unwilling to take. Even those with the most complicated of family dynamics will usually seek out a compromise, attempting to minimize the damage to their own psyche while remaining connected to the people who shaped their formative years. People who they feel a debt of gratitude towards or an overwhelming sense of duty, often accompanied by genuine love and affection, but not always.
I have a hard time understanding people who completely cut off ties from their family. Well, I can understand the motivation. But unless there's severe dangerous abuse, it seems worth it to me to have at least a minor connection. I don't know—send a card at Christmas and email once or twice a year. For those who try to completely cut off any contact or connection, are they happier? I don't think so. The family members may be out of their life, but they're not always out of their head...or their hearts.
8. Read article about a poll regarding asylum seekers. 53% of the people surveyed believe that asylum seeker claims should be processed in Australia rather than another country (Malaysia). Of those that want people processed in Australia, 53% said those waiting for their claims to be processed should be held in detention centers. 41% believe that the asylum seekers should be able to live in the community.
For those who want asylum seekers to be free in the community of Australia, how do they feel about all the refugees already waiting in Malaysia? Some of them have been there for years. What should be done with them? How about all the people who were going to be brought to Australia under the trading scheme? What's going to happen to them now that this Malaysia plan is on hold?
9. Saw that the cows are going back to Indonesia. The ban on live transport has been discontinued. Hopefully the cows will be treated better than the cow featured on the Four Corners program.
The story isn't over, though.
On Thursday, there will be parliamentary voting on bills. One is from the Green Party and they propose the immediate end of live transport. The other is Andrew Wilkie. He's looking for a three year phase out program. Although I like the Green Party's sentiment, Andrew Wilkie's plan might be a more realistic and reasonable proposal.
10. Read another article about Jacob Belim, the child who died from appendicitis. It makes me so incredibly furious.
And I was right. The medical staff was dismissive and condescending. The mother of the child asked for an ultrasound. She was refused. Dr. Sam Nassar told her to get an ultrasound out of your mind.
Jacob finally did get the ultrasound and he did get surgery. But something went wrong there....or maybe it was just too late. He died the next day during a second (emergency surgery).
11. Read another article about Jacob's story. Jacob's mother says Dr. Nassar said to her, your son has no sign of an appendicitis, 100 to 110 per cent your son has not got appendicitis. I say 120 percent, that guy should lose his medical license. Not only did he disregard the concerns of a parent Which is 190% inexcusable) but he also disregarded the diagnosis of another doctor.
Jacob's general practitioner (Chandra Gounder) examined the child and said she believed he had appendicitis. She sent a letter of referral and contacted Liverpool Hospital. Her efforts were ignored.
12. Felt intense hatred towards Sam Nassar and all the doctors out there who are like him. I'm guessing that doctors like that not only belittle patients and parents but also their staff.
13. Read blog post about Jacob Belim's story. It's in a blog about Sydney doctors.
David Beck says, Incidentally, those who say that “the system” let Jacob Belim and his parents down also almost make me want to throw up. To me it wasn’t the system that let them down, it was four people, real live people who are still out there right now somewhere, who made errors.
Yes and those people should pay for those errors.
David explains why he's spending so much time on Jacob's case. He says, It’s because I want to coolly and calmly try and work out if there is a way of minimising the likelihood of what happened to Jacob Belim happening to any of my 5 children, or any of my 11 grandchildren, or in fact anyone who ever seeks treatment in a NSW government hospital.
With any horror story like this, it's not just about feeling sorrow for the families involved. I think it's also a terrifying worry that it could happen to our families as well.
All the doctors responsible for Jacob's death should lose their jobs. That should be the minimum punishment. Then, also, any doctor who acts in similar ways to Sam Nassar, and the three others, should be severely reprimanded. I'm not talking about after a death happens. I'm saying if staff or patients report that a doctor arrogantly refused to provide testing or treatment; they should get in some kind of trouble for that. Of course this is within reason. If a parent comes in with a cheerful child with the sniffles and screams the child needs to be tested for meningitis; it's understandable that she be reassured and the child not given unnecessary tests or treatments. But if a child is in severe pain and showing symptoms of a serious illness, it should be unlawful for them to be denied appropriate medical attention. This is especially the case if another doctor has raised alarm.
14. Went to Tallygarunga. Today I'm going to read a story called Lost. It takes place in the Narragyambie Shopping Centre.
The story takes place on August 16; late afternoon.
So far, there's one post from one character. Lilith Au Lutonaiaen. There's two dots over the e in her name; but I have no idea how to do that.
15. Started to read the story. I thought Lilith was a girl because of the name. I guess I ignored the face claim picture which is very male.
I can't imagine Lilith as a boy's name. Am I being gender-biased? Or is there something going on here that I don't understand?
16. Finished reading the post.
I'm going to have to read it again. It's all very mystical and mysterious. I'm guessing maybe there's a vampire involved? Demonic Possession? Maybe reincarnation?
17. Intrigued by these lines. People ignored him as usual but he didn't have his master to hound over his shoulder all seconds of the day every day. Her voice, though still apparent here and there, was less and less.
Who is the master? I'm picturing some kind of body-sharing situation.
18. Started to read the biography of Lilith au Lutonaiaen.
His face claim is Tyson Ballou. Lord Wiki says he's a model that was born in Texas.
19. Learned that Lilith is a "Failed Sorceraic Replicate." Is that like a Socrates thing? Is he some kind of cloning experiment?
No, wait. I just googled, and now I feel stupid. It's not Socrates. It's a sorcery thing. What annoys me is I encountered that word before on Tallygarunga...or a word like it. I learned something and then I forgot it. That's the story of my life.
So anyway....
Lilith was created by magic.
His creator is Edith. I believe she's the master referred to in the story thread.
20. Learned that Lilith has badly aligned teeth, and he has a disorder called Polydatyly. This means he has extra fingers and toes. But in his case, they were magically removed when he was a baby.
Lilith also has that disorder where people can't feel pain. It's called CIPA (Congenital Insensitivity to Pain with Anhidrosis). Lilith can't feel pain, heat, cold, and he also doesn't feel the need to urinate. Victims of CIPA also lack the ability to sweat.
Lord Wiki says it's a very rare but deadly disorder. Infants usually don't survive past the age three. If they do survive, they're unlikely to live past the age of 25.
Discomfort is awful, but it does help help to alarm us about serious conditions. Of course none of that matters if doctors blatantly ignore and disregard our pain.....
It's really sad, though. Lord Wiki says it has been suggested that children with the disorder have their baby teeth removed. This way they won't bite through their own tongue and fingers. The idea is that once their permanent teeth come in, they could be taught not to bite themselves.
21. Found this website via Lord Wiki. It's run by people who actually suffer from CIPA. They have a FAQ page.
They say they DO have feelings. If a knife slices through their skin, they'll feel it happening. It just won't hurt them. Well, at least then they could probably suspect something is wrong. I can imagine the person might get paranoid. Someone could come up and tap them on the back; and the person with CIPA might wonder if he's been stabbed. I felt something there, but I don't know if I should be screaming or just turning around to say hello.
22. Thought these lines were interesting. At the time I enjoyed the reaction I received from others and the time I would spend in the hospital. Touching hot objects was another one of the most frequent injuries I had. I loved to hear the sizzling of my skin. Broken legs were a very common injury for me.
Sickness and injuries are awful because they make us very uncomfortable...and they hurt. But there is a pleasurable bit to it sometimes. The extra attention! The love! The cards! The presents! The concern from others.
There's that feeling of wow, this would actually be fun if it weren't for the fact that I feel like crap.
But what if you could be injured, make people worried, and not feel like crap? Mature people would worry about causing permanent damage to their body....and dying. A child might not. So I can imagine them putting their parents through hell. Then again, there are children (and adults!) who ARE capable of feeling pain but still continue to risk bodily harm.
23. Went back to reading about Lilith.
He uses magic to keep himself at a healthy temperature. He doesn't have to worry about being too cold and too hot. He's also luckier than Muggles with CIPA, because he can use magic to heal himself.
24. Read that Lilith is a sociopath, probably because he was raised without love and affection. His creator treated him like a useful object rather than a beloved child.
25. Started to read the history of Lilith. There's something about Adele here. If I'm reading it right.... when it was announced that Adele had conceived a child, Edith started creating a child.
It didn't come easily. Before Lilith was created, there were other created children. They had severe deformities and disabilities.
26. Thought the description of Edith's care of Lilith was very well-written and insightful.
Being the smart woman that she was, Édith figured how to change the typical life style of both the child and herself to keep him alive. His teeth were yanked, temperatures were always checked (L'Arine was cool so he didn't have to worry about overheating much, as L'Arine's summer is even cooler than that of Australia's winter), her magic was always in use, and she checked him often through out the day for any injuries of any kind, and taught him that the sign of blood was bad and he was to never ignore it. She even cast a spell on item for the lad to shake when it was time to go to the bathroom, she'd position him in bed so he wouldn't sleep awkwardly and wear at his joints and muscles... the care and observation just never ended.
I think it does a great job of describing the difficulties in caring for someone with the disorder.
27. Learned that Lilith was created to kill Améa, Adele's daughter.
Would it not have been easier for Edith to use her powerful magic to kill Améa herself? Why go through all the trouble of making a child?
Then again, Adele and Améa have their own magic. Perhaps a pre-murder seduction is the only plan that would work.
28. Learned that Lilith had a crush on Améa as a child but was told he wouldn't ever marry. That shattered his dreams a bit, and he became more focused on killing Améa.
So basically Lilith is a magical assassin.
29. Felt a lack of interest in learning about my Australian of the day. I feel guilty about that. But there's just some type of people that interest me less than others.
Anyway, my person for today is Sir Robert Murray McCheyne Anderson. It sounds like he has a surname for a middle name.
Robert was a businessman and government person.
The Australian Dictionary of Biography says he was born 1865 at the Mint, Sydney. The Mint? Where they make the money? That's where Sam Pickled worked. Well, he didn't work for the one in Sydney. He worked for the one in Perth.
30. Consulted Lord Wiki about the Sydney Mint. It was a hospital before it was a mint. So I was thinking maybe the ADB is just specifying the hospital where the birth took place.
However, Lord Wiki says the building stopped being a hospital in 1854. That's eleven years before Robert Anderson was born. Maybe they had a small maternity area still open?
31. Continued to read about Sir Robert Murray. He went to school, then did banking work in New Zealand.
He did military stuff.
From 1897-1900 he was the town clerk and city treasurer of Sydney.
Then he did more military stuff. He did work in London and Egypt.
Sir Robert Anderson fought against bureaucracy. He also didn't trust permanent soldiers. He felt they close up their ranks very solidly against the outsider, specially if that outsider possesses outstanding abilities. It's kind of like people in a clique. They bond together, find strength in number, and then become closed off to others. And sadly it makes sense to be especially closed off to those with outstanding abilities. Jealousy is likely to play a part in all that.
32. Started to look at page 1 of SirStuarlot's Tasmania photo set.
Here's a cruise ship at Port Arthur.
And here's another Port Arthur photo. Is that the prison? I've never seen that view of it before.
33. Liked this photo. It says it's taken from Port Arthur. It's trees and not an old prison building.
I should remember that Port Arthur is more than just a historical tourist attraction.
Or maybe not. Lord Wiki says there's a population of 499. But it seems the focus of the town is history and tourism.
34. Thought that, in this picture, Port Arthur looks like a university campus.
35. Wondered about this house picture from Port Arthur. I'm guessing the people who live there work at the tourist attraction. I would assume many people in town have a tourism-related job.
36. Listened to iTunes and this song came on.
I love it.
37. Though the scenery in this picture was beautiful. It's from Mount Stuart Signal Station.
Lord Wiki says Mount Stuart is a suburb in Hobart. It's all residential. There was one shop, but it closed. But now there's a hairdresser. Would that not count as a shop?
Here's another beautiful view of Mount Stuart.
And I totally love this one. It gives me a warm eerie fuzzy feeling. It must remind me of something—like from childhood. I don't know.
38. Amazed at this picture of Coles Bay. Stuart says it was the view outside of their holiday unit. It's beautiful!
39. Looked at beach photos while listening to Lost music on iTunes. It fits together quite well.
40. Listened to this song on iTunes. It's a little inappropriate for August. But that's okay.
The version I have on iTunes isn't Rolf Harris. It's from a group called Santa's Little Helpers. I like it better than the Rolf Harris version; probably just because I'm more accustomed to that version.
41. Felt sad about Jacob Belim.
There're so many sad stories about children out there. Why do some effect us more than others? I mean I THINK all the stories are sad, but I don't FEEL sad about all of them. Often I try to ignore and avoid them, because I don't want to be scared, worried, sad, angry. When I do pay attention, I feel a slight sadness but mostly I feel fear. I feel more sad than usual about Jacob.
You know...it could be related to Heather O'Rourke. I was a huge fan of her as a child, and I was devastated when she died. Her death was sort of like Jacob Belim's. She had a misdiagnosed abdominal issue. And then there's the fact that I knew someone in high school that almost died the same way.
You add that to the general I'm-a-parent-too thing; and it's hard not to feel sad.
42. Thought about how it feels better to be angry and want justice; but then I think about it, and I feel empty. It's not going to bring him back. If only we could turn back time......
I still want justice done. It won't bring Jacob back, but maybe it will prevent it from happening to another family.
43. Started to look at page 2 of SirStualot's Tasmania photo set.
A lot of pictures were taken at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, so there's lots of flower photos.
Here's some palm trees.
I like palm trees.
44. Liked this bright yellow flower.
And I like this yellow one too. I think it's a daisy, maybe?
Maybe I'm in a yellow mood.
If I said that in front of Tim, he'd make some racial joke (about being Asian). He does that a lot.
Here's more yellow, and it even comes with a bee.
45. Realized I went past page 2 of the photos. Now I'm on page 3. It's hard to keep track sometimes.
46. Wondered if any cactus is indigenous to Australia when I saw photos of cactus.
Lord Wiki says it's native to the Americas, but it's been brought to Australia.
47. Liked this photo. It reminds me of the Medusa scene from Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief. I'm not sure why. The picture has a lot of plants. I don't remember if there were a lot of plants in the scene. I just remember lots of statues.
48. Watched Medusa scene. It does have plants. It looks sort of like a greenhouse; and I think the photo is a of a greenhouse.
49. Thought the horses in this carousel looked a bit scary. Gertie looks mean.
50. Liked this picture from Richmond. It looks like a nice place to play....I don't know, tag or something?
50. Continued to read Finnikin of the Rock. All the different names confuse me at times. But besides that, I'm enjoying the book.