Caption Contest Results: Golden Llama

The assignment was to supply a caption to the above.  Well done, folks!  Thanks for all the submissions.  Here are some notable ones:

• “And you thought William Tell had it tough…” – Dr Dredd
• \”You light up my life.\” – Susan C
• “I can make you quit smoking in ONE SHOT.”   – Jean
• \”Hey Hit it Here!\” – Heather
• \”Sure..go ahead…check it out…heh, heh… I’LL teach him NOT to smoke…ready…aim…. !!!\”  – Seaspray
• “There were surprisingly few takers for the One Step Smoking Cessation Class, that year.”  – Bill
• \”Safer than smoking!\”  – Webhill

The four that I found exceptional (no offense to the others, but this IS a contest) were:

• \”This image was captured just seconds before a Lucky Strikes ad campaign took a tragic turn.\”- J (who seems a little short-changed in the name department)
• \”As part of the agency’s new role in overseeing tobacco, FDA leaders literally take aim at smokers. They believe if this strategy doesn’t work, nothing will.\”- Medical Mom
• \”Don’t worry. Dr. Oz said I should challenge myself, and if I make this shot I will feel almost as successful as Oprah!\” – Qkwan
• \”WARNING: The Surgeon General has determined that smoking while sitting between an archer and a bulls-eye may be hazardous to your health.\” – D Porter

So now the tension mounts.  Who wins the Golden Llama Award?  I actually find this part rather difficult, as these are all quite creative.  I thought J\’s submission was very clever, as he/she/it played on the brand \”Lucky Strike.\”  Medical mom played on the idea of \”taking aim.\”  Qkwan gave a nod to the fact that I have been a little obsessed with Oprah lately (and mentioned her and Oz in the post itself).  D Porter made fun of the obvious nature of the warnings on cigarette boxes, stating something that was equally obvious to the warnings that are on them now.

This is tough, but I have to give the nod to J.  Congratulations, J!  I hope you find the rest of your name at some point in time.

But here\’s the rub: J is not only lacking in vowels and consonants, but doesn\’t seem to have a web page on which to display the award.  If he/she/it has one, then I will certainly let he/she/it have the logo to post proudly.  But the award itself has to be given (which is a bunch of HTML gobbledygook), so I will also award a Golden Llama to Medical Mom, who can post the award with head held high.

Now, I also give out GLA\’s to people for other acts deserving of recognition.  Here are my awards based on other criteria that are scientifically derived through painstaking research and analysis.  No, actually they are totally subjective.  It\’s my award, and I can give it to whomever I want!  Here are my other awards:

• For helping me through a feline asthmatic attack (my cat had a bout of asthma, not me) and canine foot laceration (again, the dog got it, not me), I give an award to @Webhill, who is a veterinarian and has supported me through twitter.
• For saying very nice things about me on her website and then putting up with my skittishness about sharing medical records, Trisha Torrey gets a Golden Llama.  I am always honored when patient advocates say nice things.
• Along the same lines, Bill also put me on his very small list of doctors he doesn\’t think are dopes.  That may not be put quite right, because many of you like me precisely because I am a dope.  Thanks, Bill!
• Finally, I want to personally thank Warm Socks (named after her need for the clothing item due to her Raynaud\’s disease) for the incredibly nice email she sent to me.  It is very nice to feel like you are not just blogging for yourself, but are really helping people.

What about the podcast?  I have now written nine and recorded five.  Expect the big roll-out to be in mid-July.  It\’s a little hard to get used to listening to myself talking, but others who have heard some of them say I sound fine.  It\’s also hard to read without sounding like you are reading a script.  I think I do better in the later recordings.  Here is the avatar they have assigned me.

This looks nothing like me, but they say none of them do.  I am sure this is scientifically shown to increase my ratings.  Either that or it will just make the chicks dig me more.

Again, thanks to all of those who participated in the contest, and thank you to all who read my ramblings.