Saturday, December 17, 2005

You've Got Herpes - a new Film by Nora Ephron

It's a film that reunites Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks as they playfully blame one another for a recent STD.

Let me just say this: It's about time the Los Angeles County health officials caught up with me.

Los Angeles County health officials launched www.inspotla.org this week in a bid to reduce the rapidly rising spread of STDs by encouraging sexually active men and women to get tested.

"This is another opportunity for people to disclose STD exposure to partners because sometimes people don't always have that face-to-face opportunity, or that level of relationship," Karen Mall, director of prevention and testing at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, said on Thursday.


Over two years ago I talked about this on "Unscrewed," this very idea. This particular website hadn't yet been created, but there was another site, one that could send out anonymous emails (can no longer remember which one), and I suggested a good alternate use for said website would be to warn former lovers that they may have contracted a venereal disease. People laughed at the time, but I was obviously onto something.

I fear that my genius is two years ahead of its time. What other things have I "joked" about that are now standard operating procedure? I wonder.

Here's something else I wonder. How long will it be before a vindictive lover sends one of these emails out of spite, just to freak out the other person? Ha ha! But guess what? The other person was a distrustful jerk who cheated regularly and already had an STD he didn't know about and the spiteful email causes him to get tested.

I guess this is a win win.

But what if the government gets involved and tracks everyone's email, using that information against the person at a later date?

Now I've got to go.

2 comments:

duboisist said...

Trailblazer!!

Butternut said...

Herpes, the gift that keeps on giving.

I'm wondering how many of these will be sent as gag gifts this season. I think I'm going to send a few myself today!

I still think you have 6 months tops to capitalize on the baby eating gag before Robin Williams or Carrot Top or someone uses it in an HBO special and you're screwed. Take advantage while you can.

As far as being ahead of your time... I predicted spray cheese, the Internet, elephants and the letter Q. I'm still waiting for my paycheck.