Saturday, August 12, 2006

Death and destruction

Mr. Realdoc is an average bloke, I suppose, but he seems obsessed at the moment with death and disaster documentaries. You know the sort of thing.. tsunami will destroy the American West Coast, asteroid to hit any day, global warming to kill us all, killer bird flu will send us back to the stone age etc etc. (He particularly likes the one where half of one of the Canary Islands is supposed to fall into the sea.)
Now, I have no doubt that one or all these disasters will hit the human race and we will all perish in the most ghastly way, however I don't want to think about it particularly. My TV watching is confined almost entirely to comedy, drama and films. Does this make me a bad person, an uncaring person that I don't spend my leisure hours fretting about what may kill my children or grandchildren? Don't get me wrong. I recycle with the best of them, buy local produce try to be ethical in my shopping choices, all those things, but I don't fret, I don't want to know the details whereas Mr. Realdoc is obsessed with the detail. 'If you live in Kent, it will be so hot by 2050 that all your skin will drop off if you go outside', he will say over breakfast to send me cheerily on my way to work.
Is it a male thing? Is he secretly fantasising about a post- apocalyptic world in which he hunts and gathers and fights off invaders? Maybe it's his version of a mid-life crisis. I just wish he would buy a motorbike like all the other 40+ men around here.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thought I'd be the first to comment on Death and Destruction. Sometimes I also worry about global warming/random tsunamis/nuclear war but find I can be easily distracted by a picture of George Clooney/chocolate biccy/small child's bum needing wiped. Not sure if George would work for Mr Realdoc, i'd recommend investing in a packet of chocolate digestives and if in need, the short term lease of small child complete with poo covered bot, can be arranged for a small fee.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to have to take you out of the delicious tranquility of the "isolated, culturally backward part of the country" but at the very least, the Bird Flu virus is REAL and is growing at more than twice of the rate of the last year.

The last 2 human fatalities were announced early this week and today it appears that another person is down in Indonesia with this dreaded virus.

I would recommend that you look up some serious and focused sources of news regarding the bird flu virus.

We have today added the "Death and destruction" entry of your blog, to The-Best-Bird-Flu-Blogs section of our site, in order to be able to provide a balance against those with an opposing view.


The-Best-Bird-Flu-Blogs-Team.
www.birdflubreakingnews.com

realdoc said...

Oh I have been told off by the bird flu hit squad. Being a medical person I am aware of the real and imminent threat of bird flu I just don't think worrying about it and watching TV programmes about it will improve my joie de vivre.

Anonymous said...

I believe in the 'middle of the road' approach. I don't watch the coverage on TV either. But I am prepared. We have earthquakes/fires/blizzards here, so I have a month's worth of food/water, cash, etc. and now have added masks to the supplies. Then get on with life and not obsess with the apocalypse fortune tellers. I live in America where we are very dependent on outside sources for supplies. I'd rather be a bit overstocked and comfortable than caught short or worse if we are quarantined. It doesn't cost much and it didn't take alot of effort to pull it together.

baggiebird said...

Hey RD I know what you mean I tend to stear clear of the end of the world is nigh (well in about 500 years the end of the world is nigh) telly it's just to depressing and you get to the end of the documenatary and find all this will happen in the year 5060. Which means there ain't a fat lot I can do about it.

patroclus said...

Hahaha, I saw that programme about the Canaries falling into the sea and causing a huge tidal wave. Like every other Horizon programme, it consists of someone intoning the same sentence, very slowly and very portentously, over and over again until you REALLY BELIEVE IT'S TRUE.

I'll keep my views on bird flu (as compared with, say, AIDS in Africa) to myself, as I don't want to attract the attentions of the bird flu terror squad.

Anonymous said...

It just feels wise to me to have been prepared for emergencies, we all have them rather than get caught without.
We saw what happened to folks who thought they could ride Katrina out and thought the governmennt would/could help them. It was their own friends and neighborhoods that really came through. Simple low cost preparation prevents scare and panic later. Don't have to watch TV for that.

realdoc said...

I shall never mention the feathered friend illness again as these patronising and frankly rather rude people from tbfbt will come after me again and I do not need them on my blog ta very much

James Henry said...

I have a bit of a cough - it sounds like this:

*quack*

Should I be concerned?


Joke stolen from Jonathan Ross, oh the shame.

realdoc said...

James I am perfectly prepared to be your private cyberspace physician for a small fee but in the words of the great Hilaire Belloc "The doctors said as they took their fees there is no cure for this disease"

James Henry said...

That joke works better out loud, to be honest.

Actually, I'm quite happy to self-medicate with chocolate orange and cups of tea, but thanks.

Anonymous said...

Dear Doc,
My heart goes out to you if you get quarantined and you are the sole provider in a pandemic situation. I live in America so I wouldn't know how things would work there, or how shortages would affect you. Here we're so dependent upon cars, shortages would and so happen very quickly especially when the power goes out in the winter as we live in the country. My doctor is similar to you as she does not have the time or energy to 'worry'. And she'll probably live a lot longer and be happier. We have a choice and time to have some things put aside for comfort in case of a 'rainy day', whatever may come. It just seems common sense to me.

GreatSheElephant said...

those bird flu people are rather rude aren't they?