The Golden Girls Tackle Lesbianism [television]

I happened to catch a 1986 episode of The Golden Girls this evening dealing with the issue of "lesbianism" entitled "Isn't it Romantic."

I found it interesting when the episode was made - I don't think of "gay" as becoming mainstream (ok, even talked about) until the 1990's, but these witty old ladies from Miami were always ahead of their time.

A show description from TV.com:

Dorothy's old friend, Jean comes to Miami for a visit and Dorothy decides not to tell Blanche and Rose that Jean is a lesbian. Then, after spending time with Rose, Jean begins to fall for her. Meanwhile, a new VCR, prompts Sophia to rent "dirty movies."

I also enjoy seeing the shifts in technology over the years, and it tickles me to death that Sophia is using the "new" technology of VCRs to rent and watch dirty movies!

Here is the entire episode via YouTube:

Methamphetamine [drugs, society]

Watched Meth: A County in Crisis earlier, and now watching "Meth's Deadly High" on Lifetime.

The first show detailed the meth problem in Missouri, and focuses on the epidemic in Franklin County, but meth is a plague rampant everywhere in the United States.

The Bay area is no stranger to the meth problem either but has launched rigorous campaigns to combat the meth crisis and according to Life or Meth, meth usage has almost halved in three years here in San Francisco.

Meth is also a huge problem in Los Angeles and throughout Southern California; the photo below details the admissions into drug and alcohol rehab centers over a four year time in California.

One can clearly see meth usage has spread like wild fire in California in just several years.

The San Diego area is also known for its numerous bizarre crimes involving meth; below is a video of the infamous incident in San Diego on May 17, 1995, when meth-addicted Shawn Timothy Nelson stole a tank from the National Guard Armory near Mesa College and went on a rampage through a city, only stopping when he ran into a median on the highway.