Thanks to everyone who contributed - we raised a grand total of $5335!
Ten years ago on this date, I spoke to a very kind doctor at Evanston Northwestern Hospital (since sold and renamed NorthShore Evanston Hospital), and he told me that in all likelihood, I had testicular cancer. One week later, and one testicle lighter, a different doctor, with the associated Kellogg Cancer Care Center, confirmed this likelihood as a certainty, and we made plans for my chemotherapy schedule and eventual surgery to remove a mass from a lymph node near my left lung.
I'm not going to bother retelling all of that, because I've done it enough times - the morbidly curious can find my thoughts on the matter recorded in real time over yonder - but one doesn't pass a milestone like this without feeling obliged to stop by and pay it a little extra attention. Particularly as I realise, the further away in time I get from being sick, that it's still springing surprises on me and altering how I move through the world in ways that I don't always perceive right away.
But you're not here to be my therapists. You are here because as I sit and ponder and deal with life, I also want to celebrate a decade of much internal conflict, of triumphs and frustrations, of making the most of the time I'm given and wasting time when it makes sense to, a decade, primarily, of being the fuck alive, by giving back a little bit. Thus do I proudly announce the Second Quinquennial Antagony & Ecstasy ACS Fundraiser & Review Auction. Readers who were here five years ago perhaps remember my last exercise in soul-bearing, and the subsequent fundraising effort it kicked off. And we did it again to even better effect this time!
(The rest of this post has been deleted on account of being totally unnecessary now that the fundraiser is done).
26 January 2015
11 comments:
Just a few rules so that everybody can have fun: ad hominem attacks on the blogger are fair; ad hominem attacks on other commenters will be deleted. And I will absolutely not stand for anything that is, in my judgment, demeaning, insulting or hateful to any gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religion. And though I won't insist on keeping politics out, let's think long and hard before we say anything particularly inflammatory.
Also, sorry about the whole "must be a registered user" thing, but I do deeply hate to get spam, and I refuse to take on the totalitarian mantle of moderating comments, and I am much too lazy to try to migrate over to a better comments system than the one that comes pre-loaded with Blogger.
Thanks for writing this. My sister's fiancé just passed the date for his two year remission from leukemia, and we'll probably always worry about him, but its really comforting to here from someone's who's still in the clear after 10.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the reviews. :)
My partner's mother lost her battle with leukemia a year ago this week. Fuck cancer. And thanks for everything, Tim.
ReplyDeleteSo to recap, I get a review of a movie, plus the satisfaction of knowing I done good?
ReplyDeleteSeems like a bargain to me! Thanks to our host for being generally awesome.
Thanks for all that you do Tim, making this blog the best source for film criticism anywhere. Happy to donate and be well, Sean.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe it's been five years since you reviewed American Beauty for me, totally destroying it and crushing my dreams! :)
ReplyDeleteThis time around I think I will ensure that my pick for Summer of Blood doesn't lose out on a review by a few measly percentage points!
Sadly, I get the feeling it's another movie you don't like nearly as much as I do. Only time will tell.
I just recently hopped onto this board so - despite supposing it based on your comments and tone in the Fault in Our Stars review - I didn't absolutely know this about you.
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading your blog documenting your struggle. You can expect my donation and request sometime this year.
Congratulations on ten years!
ReplyDeleteThis is a bit like letting a kid loose in a toy store and telling him "just one toy! " I'm going to have to think about this for a while.
Ah yes, a great cause indeed. Time to think of a really good way to use my £ ~15!
ReplyDeleteIf I'm interpreting what you're saying correctly, does this mean...you're going to voluntarily re-watch the Holiday Special? Because, oh my god.
I will most definitely be donating, though since you did review House this year, what else have I to possible ask for?
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to point out that your American Beauty review was the first on your site that I read, and it hit the mark so well that I became a constant reader. So thanks, Mike!
I'm absolutely committed to donating, but I'm racking my brain to try to come up with a good film to choose.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment Shion Sono's Love Exposure is jockeying around near the top place on my list but that seems.... unsporting. On that note, are there any guidelines in terms of running time/basic watchability for requests?
Regardless, I've had a great time keeping up with the blog for the last few years and I'm excited to be a part of this!
Fuck cancer. My grandmother had cancer just over a year ago now. Fortunately, like yours, it was relatively easily treated, but, like you, she was still exhausted and miserable for months. So I just want to extend a big thank you for this post, and indeed this entire blog. A donation from me is a certainty. Congratulations on your first decade since, and many more to come!
ReplyDelete