Or maybe I will, if they promise to include this rendition of the theme song.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Ponyo: now in Ingles
Probably won't see it in the theater, despite adding Tina Fey to Miyazaki goodness. But probably a good one for you family-types to check out.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Dull
Last week I had another medical student shadowing me. Yes, it’s scary, actually having seniority on someone. We finished doing a morning exam on a patient and left the room, and she said “So you’re the funny doctor.”
Which was itself a funny thing to say, because I know for a fact that my surgery team does not think I’m funny.
Excluding times when I’m putting on a performance, I don’t really try to be funny. It either happens or it doesn’t. Some of that depends on my mood, but more important is who I’m with. That patient we’d seen permitted me to be funny. I’d have a hard time saying what allows me to be funny, but I’m sure attitude, personality, intelligence and social situation all play a role.
Some people think I’m boring. Maybe half the people I meet, maybe most of the people I know. And it’s funny to me that I can be so different, simply depending on who’s around. I like Funny Chris better than Silent Chris (because I think I pretty well bounce between funny and silent, with little time spent in between,) though I must admit that Silent Chris doesn’t really bother me. He’s not unhappy, just not particularly entertaining.
My team only knows Silent Chris. I have found that Funny Chris and surgeons don’t get along particularly well, so this has been somewhat intentional. I’ve also found that when placed in a hierarchy, where I must report to superiors, Silent Chris predominates. One of the factors that allows me to joke around is the presence of equals. I enjoy playing with commonality. It’s much easier to be funny with peers than to try to be funny uphill to those looking down on you. Which is itself unfortunate, since it would be behoove me to ingratiate myself with superiors by amusing them. But since so much of what I find funny involves joking mockery, this jives poorly with authority.
But I suppose the two sides aren’t mutually exclusive. Even among friends, doing something fun, Silent Chris sometimes happens. I will become dull all of a sudden. I think in these situations I should be better about making an effort to be engaging. And the people who have always relied upon me to be dull will occasionally be surprised by an unintentional spark of personality. Even in situations I normally found stifling, with people I usually find to be unengaging, I’ll sometimes find a spark. And if it goes well I think that can lead to a gradual transition. And I’m pretty happy with that. I’m pretty happy being someone that you don’t get at first; an acquired taste.
I’m very much about having an internal locus of control. I try not to let people’s perceptions of me dictate my behavior or feelings of self worth. But I think people’s perceptions are very interesting. We all have people that like us, and people that dislike us, and a great many people who are neutral. It’s interesting to analyze what differences there are between them. The bigger factor is obviously the other person and where they’re coming from, but you may find that you’re simply acting like a different person. And how can people help but react differently to you if you’re acting differently. I wonder if Funny Chris and Silent Chris would even get along.
Which was itself a funny thing to say, because I know for a fact that my surgery team does not think I’m funny.
Excluding times when I’m putting on a performance, I don’t really try to be funny. It either happens or it doesn’t. Some of that depends on my mood, but more important is who I’m with. That patient we’d seen permitted me to be funny. I’d have a hard time saying what allows me to be funny, but I’m sure attitude, personality, intelligence and social situation all play a role.
Some people think I’m boring. Maybe half the people I meet, maybe most of the people I know. And it’s funny to me that I can be so different, simply depending on who’s around. I like Funny Chris better than Silent Chris (because I think I pretty well bounce between funny and silent, with little time spent in between,) though I must admit that Silent Chris doesn’t really bother me. He’s not unhappy, just not particularly entertaining.
My team only knows Silent Chris. I have found that Funny Chris and surgeons don’t get along particularly well, so this has been somewhat intentional. I’ve also found that when placed in a hierarchy, where I must report to superiors, Silent Chris predominates. One of the factors that allows me to joke around is the presence of equals. I enjoy playing with commonality. It’s much easier to be funny with peers than to try to be funny uphill to those looking down on you. Which is itself unfortunate, since it would be behoove me to ingratiate myself with superiors by amusing them. But since so much of what I find funny involves joking mockery, this jives poorly with authority.
But I suppose the two sides aren’t mutually exclusive. Even among friends, doing something fun, Silent Chris sometimes happens. I will become dull all of a sudden. I think in these situations I should be better about making an effort to be engaging. And the people who have always relied upon me to be dull will occasionally be surprised by an unintentional spark of personality. Even in situations I normally found stifling, with people I usually find to be unengaging, I’ll sometimes find a spark. And if it goes well I think that can lead to a gradual transition. And I’m pretty happy with that. I’m pretty happy being someone that you don’t get at first; an acquired taste.
I’m very much about having an internal locus of control. I try not to let people’s perceptions of me dictate my behavior or feelings of self worth. But I think people’s perceptions are very interesting. We all have people that like us, and people that dislike us, and a great many people who are neutral. It’s interesting to analyze what differences there are between them. The bigger factor is obviously the other person and where they’re coming from, but you may find that you’re simply acting like a different person. And how can people help but react differently to you if you’re acting differently. I wonder if Funny Chris and Silent Chris would even get along.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
I love me some Breakfast Club
Honestly, it's the only one I really like. But there's enough Breakfast Club in there to make it a worthwhile watch.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Clearly, I don't understand the 70s
I made it through the first 2 musical numbers, but even avoiding studying couldn't keep me through the 3rd.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
About that last one
I don't like it when I can't throw in my 2 cents when I import a video.
Anyway, about that last video.
The lyrics are mediocre. JibJab has done much better. I also think the singer is kind of annoying, but they tried something new so I won't complain. The message is nothing incredibly insightful or subversive, but apropos. What I really liked was the animation techniques used on it. The Incredibles vs stock footage vs comic book visuals were great.
Keep it up JibJab.
And facebook people, if you want the full multimedia experience of The Ranteumptom, you need to go over to the actual blog. ranteumptom.blogspot.com
Anyway, about that last video.
The lyrics are mediocre. JibJab has done much better. I also think the singer is kind of annoying, but they tried something new so I won't complain. The message is nothing incredibly insightful or subversive, but apropos. What I really liked was the animation techniques used on it. The Incredibles vs stock footage vs comic book visuals were great.
Keep it up JibJab.
And facebook people, if you want the full multimedia experience of The Ranteumptom, you need to go over to the actual blog. ranteumptom.blogspot.com
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Palmyra Pilgrimage: Pageant Party
It's test week, so no thought will be put into this blog. Enjoy the autopilot until Friday.
Pageant's coming up. Go. Or think about it. Or don't.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Garbage Plates: Life's Greatest Pleasure
That's a lie, they're kind of gross. Delicious and gross at the same time. Like Claudia.
I'm going to write an actual post, tomorrow probably. Or this weekend. Or next week.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Palmyra Pilgrimage: FIsh and Shrooms
Some day I'm going to run out of footage from old movies and I'll have to make a new one.
But not yet.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back
Futurama, how we've missed thee.
In case you missed it, because, you know, you don't care, Futurama was renewed for another 26 episodes. It's been a long hard road for the show. Canceled a couple times, 3 different television networks, some great and some mediocre DVD movies. But it lives to amuse me another day.
I can't say that Futurama is my favorite show, but it holds a special place in my television canon. Other shows have made me laugh harder, but Futurama is special. Each show has it's own flavor of comedy. Wacky, witty, sarcastic, crude, sophisticated, absurd, dry, dark, visual, verbal. Futurama, perhaps better than any other show I can think of, mixed all genres. It continually hit you with something different.
That's all the fan-boy praise I'm going to spout. I happened to catch the episode The Deep South last week over dinner, and it may be my favorite. Here's a clip of Donovan telling the future history of Atlanta: Hail Atlanta. Below is the entire episode, though it runs too slowly on my computer to be worth watching. Maybe it will work on yours, and maybe you'll think it's fantastic.
The Deep South, on some Russian pirate website.
In case you missed it, because, you know, you don't care, Futurama was renewed for another 26 episodes. It's been a long hard road for the show. Canceled a couple times, 3 different television networks, some great and some mediocre DVD movies. But it lives to amuse me another day.
I can't say that Futurama is my favorite show, but it holds a special place in my television canon. Other shows have made me laugh harder, but Futurama is special. Each show has it's own flavor of comedy. Wacky, witty, sarcastic, crude, sophisticated, absurd, dry, dark, visual, verbal. Futurama, perhaps better than any other show I can think of, mixed all genres. It continually hit you with something different.
That's all the fan-boy praise I'm going to spout. I happened to catch the episode The Deep South last week over dinner, and it may be my favorite. Here's a clip of Donovan telling the future history of Atlanta: Hail Atlanta. Below is the entire episode, though it runs too slowly on my computer to be worth watching. Maybe it will work on yours, and maybe you'll think it's fantastic.
The Deep South, on some Russian pirate website.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Saturday, June 06, 2009
TED, better off
I discovered this site, called TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. Why they don't call it IWS, I don't know, and suppose I never will.
(I actually do know now. It turns out it stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. That doesn't really make it seem any better.)
Normally when I don't want to study I have a very limited list of things I can do on my computer before starting. These include:
Checking up to 4 email accounts
Checking Facebook
Reading my Google Reader
Checking my Google Analytics
Writing a quick blog entry
Playing Spider Solitaire
Playing Ninja Ropes
Reading FoxNews
Reading CNN
Reading FoxNews again, to get the taste of CNN out of my mouth
Checking for awesome free stuff on Craigslist
Not necessarily in that order.
Now I have TED. TED gives me little bite-size portions of culture. It's like an ADHD lecture series.
Here's one by John Hodgman, who can do no wrong. Love and aliens, two great tastes that go great together. Admittedly, this one veers more into the entertainment side of things than the cultural, but it's my good pal John so I had to give him a shout-out.
Anyway, TED. It'll provide you with topics to discuss with your loved ones over dinner. Or provide you something to stare at during dinner.
(I actually do know now. It turns out it stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. That doesn't really make it seem any better.)
Normally when I don't want to study I have a very limited list of things I can do on my computer before starting. These include:
Checking up to 4 email accounts
Checking Facebook
Reading my Google Reader
Checking my Google Analytics
Writing a quick blog entry
Playing Spider Solitaire
Playing Ninja Ropes
Reading FoxNews
Reading CNN
Reading FoxNews again, to get the taste of CNN out of my mouth
Checking for awesome free stuff on Craigslist
Not necessarily in that order.
Now I have TED. TED gives me little bite-size portions of culture. It's like an ADHD lecture series.
Here's one by John Hodgman, who can do no wrong. Love and aliens, two great tastes that go great together. Admittedly, this one veers more into the entertainment side of things than the cultural, but it's my good pal John so I had to give him a shout-out.
Anyway, TED. It'll provide you with topics to discuss with your loved ones over dinner. Or provide you something to stare at during dinner.
Hans, Franz and Chris
A good deal of the time I’m participating in a health program, at least ostensibly. Whether or not I’m following through with the program is another matter. Back last summer I was on the Bike n’ Hike Program. It was a pretty successful one. It turns out that I don’t like hiking and it’s a highly inconvenient path towards fitness, but I needed something that rhymed with Biking. In the fall I was in the Granola Bars Aren’t That Bad Program, which didn’t work out so well. During pediatrics I was in the What’s The Point of Prolonging My Life Through Exercise When I Have To Do Pediatrics Program, which was successful, in one manner of speaking.
Last week I decided to start a new program. My fitness guru: Conan O’Brien. I actually haven’t caught any of his new show, due to Surgery sucking my will to live, but if there’s anyone I trust with my wellbeing it’s Conan. I recently read his stirring endorsement of the Perfect Pushup, and decided to jump on board the infomercial bandwagon. Surgery has sucked away my free time so I couldn’t get to the gym if I wanted to. Likewise, biking isn’t feasible at this time. But I can handle 10 minutes a day. Plus I’m reasonably sure my pushups aren’t perfect. So 15 dollars later, I started the Perfect Pushup Program.
Most of our health initiatives fail because there’s no accountability. Some fail because they're inherently flawed, like my granola bar program, but most fail because our motivation dries up. That’s why people get personal trainers. It’s someone’s job to bug them when they don’t do what they agreed to do. And why don’t the Biggest Loser people fail miserably at their health goals when so many of us do? Because they’ve got thousands of people holding them accountable.
So feel free to bother me about my Perfect Pushup Program. Seeing as I’m not giving myself goals relating to number of reps or muscle mass, or emanating sexiness, it should be reasonably easy to determine whether I have been using my 15 dollars of equipment or if I haven’t.
I'll hope to look like the first model, but will settle for the second.
Last week I decided to start a new program. My fitness guru: Conan O’Brien. I actually haven’t caught any of his new show, due to Surgery sucking my will to live, but if there’s anyone I trust with my wellbeing it’s Conan. I recently read his stirring endorsement of the Perfect Pushup, and decided to jump on board the infomercial bandwagon. Surgery has sucked away my free time so I couldn’t get to the gym if I wanted to. Likewise, biking isn’t feasible at this time. But I can handle 10 minutes a day. Plus I’m reasonably sure my pushups aren’t perfect. So 15 dollars later, I started the Perfect Pushup Program.
Most of our health initiatives fail because there’s no accountability. Some fail because they're inherently flawed, like my granola bar program, but most fail because our motivation dries up. That’s why people get personal trainers. It’s someone’s job to bug them when they don’t do what they agreed to do. And why don’t the Biggest Loser people fail miserably at their health goals when so many of us do? Because they’ve got thousands of people holding them accountable.
So feel free to bother me about my Perfect Pushup Program. Seeing as I’m not giving myself goals relating to number of reps or muscle mass, or emanating sexiness, it should be reasonably easy to determine whether I have been using my 15 dollars of equipment or if I haven’t.
I'll hope to look like the first model, but will settle for the second.
Wednesday, June 03, 2009
not quite posts
I heard the surgeoniest thing today.
We were having a discussion with a patient. My surgeon says “I don’t need to hear anything else.” And he turns around and leaves the room.
The patient wasn’t mid-sentence, but he was most definitely mid-paragraph. Admittedly, a very annoying paragraph. A nonproductive paragraph. But still.
*******
On an unrelated note, I haven’t used conditioner for a month. The experiment continues.
*******
On a further unrelated note, I knocked 3 restaurants off the Columbi List last week. I need to slow down; I’ll have to move and start over.
We were having a discussion with a patient. My surgeon says “I don’t need to hear anything else.” And he turns around and leaves the room.
The patient wasn’t mid-sentence, but he was most definitely mid-paragraph. Admittedly, a very annoying paragraph. A nonproductive paragraph. But still.
*******
On an unrelated note, I haven’t used conditioner for a month. The experiment continues.
*******
On a further unrelated note, I knocked 3 restaurants off the Columbi List last week. I need to slow down; I’ll have to move and start over.
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