So I was thinking, you ever see old pictures? Portraits are probably even worse. Anyway, when you look at them like everyone in it is really pissed off. But you see pictures today, and people are usually happy and smiling, unless they're pissed off I suppose. I think there's two reasons for this. The first is the world has kind of gone soft. The US and Europe I think have kind of turned into the height of the Roman Empire, when they sat around covered in gold eating grapes being all fat, and then they got smashed by the barbarians. I know there's probably a lot of reasons for Rome's fall, but part of it is they turned into some wimps.
But, the other reason is because of the quality of dental care. Seriously. Having rotted out teeth that hurt all the time has to put you in a bad mood. And drinking whiskey all day doesn't help. For real, you tell a guy from 1800's, knowing he's been taking shots of whiskey since he woke up and knowing his teeth hurt really bad because they hadn't invented dental floss and they brush their teeth with a stick with grass tied to it, to sit in front of a camera for an hour because that's how long it takes to take a picture, that guy's not going to be too happy with you. The rest, as they say, is history.
How many wars could have been avoided with proper dental hygeine? I leave that for you to speculate in the comments section.
I know because I just came from the dentists office, again. It was supposed to be my last appointment for the year, but the company that makes the crowns messed up and sent the wrong color. As a smoker, who frankly doesn't take good care of his teeth (I'm using the grassy-stick no floss method in case you were wondering), what am I going to do with a bright white tooth? That doesn't mesh well with my smoke stained yellow ones I've got. Worst part is they didn't notice until after they removed the temp and gave me a shot. Now I have to go back again.
I'm telling you, the dentist is like the cops. Whenever you talk to them, it's never good news. Usually costs you a grip matter of fact. I can't even remember the last time I had an incident with the police, though. It's been years, probably when I got a ticket for lighting illegal fireworks around the fourth of July, which goes back to my point about being wimps. What kind of society doesn't like lighting off things that explode in your back yard while drinking beer? Screw baseball, that is the American pass time.
But whatever, that's not even it. My daughter had a ballet/tap dancing recital on Saturday, and that was a huge nightmare in the way that nothing went right. First, my camera had a dead battery (even though it spent all night on the charger. I think the "on" switch was in the "on" position when I put the battery in and it died before I got there), then someone stole her leotard (accidentally or not? Makes you wonder who has a grudge...) backstage and I spent much of the second act finding one. I ended up going up to the store that was selling the extra uniforms and taking one from them. After that, I was getting her dressed and the teacher thought it would be a good idea to place me in charge of the room of 5 and below kids. I'm talking about at least 50 kids in this little room that, for who knows what reason, was seemingly designed with the sole intent of echoing sound, highlighted by the little girls in their tap shoes insisting on kicking the sheet metal cover of the heater over, and over, and over...
So that was nice way to spend Saturday night. Especially after telling my wife the camera battery wasn't charged, which you can imagine she was thrilled about!
But you're here to read about Subtlety of Thay. Still working on it. Got some bug reports, trying to fix those and expand the content. I should have a new version up on the download site in a few days. Or not, I've been really unreliable lately about guesstimating things.
Oh, and you all have to read this:
Read it!
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4 comments:
You know, the only reason I ever read why people in old photos never smile actually *WAS* because they had to sit still for hours to have them done. And it really makes sense (especially if you consider the horrible contraptions they invented to keep the people seated straight and without moving too much. *shivers* That can't have been comfortable.).
Also, on your description of the crowns, my first reaction was: *blink* "They make yellowed crowns?". I just never realised it. I mean, it makes sense, but I never really thought about it. Also, I remember how a friend of mine accidentally knocked out half of one of one of her front teeth during our school's school fair, while we were playing in the courtyard. She was brought immediately to the dentist, to save as much of the tooth as possible, but the upper part had to be replaced, and to this day that tooth is clearly off in colour, being a bit darker (I think it was darker. It has been a while since I saw her, since she now studies in another country. It's funny how we know little things about our best friends and our family members that other people might not, yet when it comes to remembering exact details, we often get flustered. I know the repaired tooth of my friend stands out due to the tone of the colour, but I can't for the life of me remember whether it was because it was darker or lighter.).
I myself never had problems with the dentist. I never understood why people were afraid of going there. The dentist always told me I was one of his favourite patients because I was so unproblematic in that manner. ^_^ That made me smile every time. Also, he was always impressed with how good my teeth were. Sure, I had a few holes, but not as many as other kids - and never ones that reached down to the root.
And the last time I was at the dentist, I was delighted to find I am still able to impress the doctor (yes, I've visited the same dentist all my life.) - I was there to get my teeth sealed again (a procedure sealing the tiny fissures in the teeth where bacteria would normally have it easy to hide. So they seal it, to prevent that to keep the teeth healthy.), because he realised he couldn't remember when I had been there to have that done the last time, and so decided it must be about time (of course he has other patients, and can't remember all of their visits and why they were there. But at least he should have had a vague memory of me having been there to have my teeth sealed at one point when I visited at other times.). Still, he was quite surprised when he found out that yes, it was indeed a while since I last had my teeth sealed: 10 years. 10 years ago I had gotten my teeth sealed for the first time in my life, and hadn't gotten it renewed since then. And that was where he was *really* impressed, because as he prepared my teeth for the new sealing, he realised, there was still a rather large percentage of the old sealing intact, even after 10 years. He said never before in his entire career had he seen a sealing last that long. Sure, it wasn't complete any longer, but there was still more than enough left in patches. Afte 5 years it should have been worn away to a great deal, he said. Heh, I never realised I took *that* good care of my teeth. I don't even brush them after lunch, only in the morning and evenings, and I rarely use dental floss (though I really should on a regular basis, because that would save me from my gums bleeding on my next visit to the dentist. It's the plaque that collects there that weakens the gums in those areas, you see. That's why you should floss, because bloody gums be no fun.).
As for the linked thing, I know it, and I counter with this:
http://maradydd.livejournal.com/374886.html
Seriously, it's old news, and nothing to get worried about. Someone misunderstood something greatly. But the Internet wouldn't be what it is if it wouldn't make me groan in half-hearted annoyance once in a while.
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See, you've never had a toothache I bet! I've been going every two weeks since Feb. I've had root canals, crowns, teeth pulled...it would be easier for me to count the teeth that haven't been worked on than the ones who had.
Bad teeth run in the family though. I could do more to make them better, but at this point it's probably easier just to get crowns because the fillings break down and the teeth start to crack. Crowns last average 30 years.
Because the crowns don't stain, they try and match them with your current teeth. Mine are still off, but I need to have the whole front 6 done so they'll all be the same by next year.
I guess there goes my plan about copyrighting Picasso's stuff because I was first in line, eh?
Could very well be the case that guy didn't do his homework. I didn't. I usually got a nose for that kind of stuff too!
Oh well. Thanks for reminding me to be more skeptical.
Yeah, luckily I never had toothache. And I am the only one of my two siblings and me who never had to have braces. I do have a slightly overlapping incisor in my lower jaw, but it doesn't overlap much with its neighbour. You hardly notice it from looking at it from a distance (though it is clearly visible, and not so little that it's not obvious. I guess it just blends in well). At least it gives me the ability to leave a bite with character. :P
I am glad I never had tooth ache, really. I hope you'll be better soon.
Also, don't be too hard on yourself about panicking what that guy wrote. When I first got a link to it, I believed it too at first, until someone else cleared up that the guy hadn't done his homework. And that's even though I do know that I should take everything with a grain of salt, and usually remember that. But nobody's perfect, not even I (and I'm glad about it.). :)
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Thanks for writing this.
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