tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82379362024-03-18T23:05:39.207-05:00St. MurseTales from a ICU nurse: medical, musical, whatever else strikes my fancySt. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.comBlogger475125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-59797288528731027662011-03-05T18:23:00.000-06:002011-03-05T18:23:30.398-06:00Heinrich Kühn, a new favorite artist<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2jPUP95LD23bMrdyqo4MQDiRVqxalDZ1fn2Sdj0P5tV33_W_hFesWAblaRGFBhEmzXvFISGKxxx2fXhMDDfFYdr-QKk6jf89el2mxby3tMEi8fIyW8iUoNiqZz-9D5NxFqhY/s400/HeinrichKuhn%252BIsarauen%252B1897%252BAlbertina-Vienna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM2jPUP95LD23bMrdyqo4MQDiRVqxalDZ1fn2Sdj0P5tV33_W_hFesWAblaRGFBhEmzXvFISGKxxx2fXhMDDfFYdr-QKk6jf89el2mxby3tMEi8fIyW8iUoNiqZz-9D5NxFqhY/s320/HeinrichKuhn%252BIsarauen%252B1897%252BAlbertina-Vienna.jpg" width="320" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Gorgeous, painterly photographs from the upcoming exhibit <a href="http://www.mfah.org/exhibition/heinrich-kuhn/"><b>Heinrich Kühn: The Perfect Photograph</b></a> running 3/6/11 through 5/30/11 at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Kühn highly developed the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gum_bichromate">gum bichromate</a> technique of printing photographs to achieve this dreamy quality. I was captivated and will definitely go see it again.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjyixg6S9T9p2AEXAYQEGfasPWneYrYjo_97Pcj7ItAtt_FQshIWUMISFJpiqZYIabNS6yrIR0Xq4ZARXcJA9XILnlK7I5N99VDWxCyI0aw9sKhATom6ViRDjwD93DZB5M6UG/s1600/HeinrichKuhn+PicnicOnAHill+c1912-1915+MuseeD%27Orsay-Paris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjyixg6S9T9p2AEXAYQEGfasPWneYrYjo_97Pcj7ItAtt_FQshIWUMISFJpiqZYIabNS6yrIR0Xq4ZARXcJA9XILnlK7I5N99VDWxCyI0aw9sKhATom6ViRDjwD93DZB5M6UG/s320/HeinrichKuhn+PicnicOnAHill+c1912-1915+MuseeD%27Orsay-Paris.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.leegallery.com/images/kuhn/Heinrich%20Kuhn_The%20Kuhn%20Children%20Tyrol.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="http://www.leegallery.com/images/kuhn/Heinrich%20Kuhn_The%20Kuhn%20Children%20Tyrol.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.skynetblogs.be/media/151083/dyn008_original_480_380_pjpeg_2679661_b556f321b418b4cf721233ab3d0094e8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="http://static.skynetblogs.be/media/151083/dyn008_original_480_380_pjpeg_2679661_b556f321b418b4cf721233ab3d0094e8.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.radford.edu/rbarris/art451%20Hist%20of%20Photog/kuhnharvester72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.radford.edu/rbarris/art451%20Hist%20of%20Photog/kuhnharvester72.jpg" width="233" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://art.findartinfo.com/images/artwork/2010/9/a002253510-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://art.findartinfo.com/images/artwork/2010/9/a002253510-001.jpg" width="251" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://culturemap.com/site_media/uploads/photos/2011-03-02/Kuhn_Mary_Warner_and_Edeltrude_portrait_crop_jpg_564x412_q95.263w_350h.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://culturemap.com/site_media/uploads/photos/2011-03-02/Kuhn_Mary_Warner_and_Edeltrude_portrait_crop_jpg_564x412_q95.263w_350h.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-74909035179034184522011-03-04T06:26:00.000-06:002011-03-04T06:26:44.529-06:00Perspective on medical costsA couple nights ago at work, I held several doses of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factor_VII">Factor VII</a> while another nurse went over the process of administering it with a pharmacist. It's an uncommon enough, and expensive, treatment that they wanted to be sure to get it right. As I looked at it I thought, "This costs as much as my remaining student loans." That would be $30,000.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-22994688105298039832011-02-19T06:44:00.000-06:002011-02-19T06:44:14.074-06:00On decorum when faced with kinkI can't be sure, but I suspect the eye mask a recent patient of mine brought from home was actually intended for BDSM activities. It was black leather, with fleecy lining on the interior eye patches and <i>little straps</i> on the exterior eye patches. All night I kept looking at it in wonderment. I considered making a veiled reference to confirm and so he knew that I knew, but decided to stay scrupulously professional.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-90789836531784242022010-09-29T03:09:00.003-05:002010-09-29T20:06:20.415-05:00Pavement at Stubb's 9/28/10Great show from a reformed Pavement tonight in front of a sold-out crowd. So nice to see lots of people smiling and mouthing along with the words. Or shouting, cause you kinda have to yell "40 million daggers!" along with Bob. I haven't read interviews with the band stating the reasons for reuniting, but financial compensation and the urging of Matador upon their anniversary are likely high on the list. Whatever, I was just glad to bask again in the fun that is a Pavement show. I didn't end up sweating and exhausted at the front of the stage like I used to for Pavement shows at Liberty Lunch, but I did attend with the same guys as back then. So glad you could go with me E & M! Wonderful to see so many other friends as well.<br />
<br />
UPDATE: The setlist to remind myself.<br />
<br />
1. Silence Kit Play Video<br />
2. Frontwards Play Video<br />
3. Box Elder Play Video<br />
4. Date w/ Ikea Play Video<br />
5. Unfair Play Video<br />
6. Starlings of the Slipstream Play Video<br />
7. Stereo Play Video<br />
8. Rattled by the Rush Play Video<br />
9. Grounded Play Video<br />
10. Perfume-V Play Video<br />
11. Shady Lane Play Video<br />
12. Fin Play Video<br />
13. Cut Your Hair Play Video<br />
14. Spit On A Stranger Play Video<br />
15. Nastonovich slide whistle solo Play Video<br />
16. Zurich Is Stained Play Video<br />
17. Gold Soundz Play Video<br />
18. Fight This Generation Play Video<br />
19. Trigger Cut Play Video<br />
20. Conduit for Sale! Play Video<br />
21. Range Life Play Video<br />
22. Encore:<br />
22. In the Mouth a Desert Play Video<br />
23. Two States Play Video<br />
24. Here Play Video<br />
25. Encore 2:<br />
25. Kennel District Play Video<br />
26. Summer Babe (Winter Version) Play Video<br />
27. Stop Breathin' Play Video<br />
28. AT & T Play VideoSt. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-7789276934807791162010-09-24T03:25:00.006-05:002010-09-29T07:58:10.206-05:00So You Think You Can Dance? Tour, Houston 9/21<div class="ecxMsoNormal">This is not the time to mount a detailed defense of my watching this show. Suffice to say the dancers and choreographers are talented and frequently breathtaking. I regret my early reluctance to watch during the first four seasons. Thankfully I came around. I've become a big enough fan of the show that this is the 2nd tour show I've seen.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Most of the clips I've included here come from the New Orleans or St. Louis live shows, where my comments pertain to the Houston one that I attended. Not sure why their clipped on the right side and frankly I'm too sleepy to figure it out. Just full-screen it for the best effect. Anyway, on with the show.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Introductory video, then the dancers one by one showing their stuff. Into the first routine, an adapted group piece that borrowed lots of bits from one of the first group routines on the TV show.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fHgZU24NvZw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fHgZU24NvZw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Dominic is a ham, but a good one. Cheesy banter flows. This is only the 2nd show of the tour so it isn't quite smooth yet. Choppy cheese. None of it was worth quoting.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Lauren & Russell (sub in for Twitch) – My Chick Bad</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Russell did an admirable job, but I wish I could have seen Twitch. Excellent start to the evening.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rKkuKDp6ofw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rKkuKDp6ofw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Kent & Ade (sub in for Neil) – Shoeless Joe</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">This one was a little too "Broadway" for me on TV so I wasn't crazy about seeing it on tour. Decent though. Kent looked a little deer-in-the-headlights and Ade, while having plenty of power, is missing Neil's crispness.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dJbreLAduwU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dJbreLAduwU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Robert & Courtney – XXXOOO</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Good. I barely remember this one from TV so it clearly wasn't a favorite of mine.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JPzlftGqQdw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JPzlftGqQdw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Dominic & Jose – the battle for a sword</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Dominic is fantastic. Jose is a distant, over-the-horizon second. Tour clip below isn't great but shows how sloppy Jose is comparitively. Just watch the smaller guy with the bleached hair streak and ignore the other one. The superior TV version, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQlTtmr_4vU&feature=related">click here</a>.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/V6qQkyoqyzM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/V6qQkyoqyzM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Lauren & Billy – Boogie Shoes</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Lauren is far more committed and professional than I would expect from most 18 year-olds. However, I do not like this routine. It is what I would show someone if I wanted to confirm their worst expectations of what the show was like. Boo.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/agO2ez9U-ms?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/agO2ez9U-ms?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Robert & Kathryn – Heaven Is A Place On Earth aka Off to the Army Dance</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Why why why did they do this one instead of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qf9O6jHo6ts&feature=related">great West Side Story routine</a> from the TV show? It actually softened my visceral loathing of WSS. Why this? Because it's gooey as hell and the mom/teen girl matrix melt in their chairs for it. Awful cover, competent choreo. Meh.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5wx80LU9bX8?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5wx80LU9bX8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">By general consensus of the fans and judges, Alex & Twitch's Get Outta Your Mind routine is one of the best routines in any season of the show. Alex was injured quite badly on the show, torn Achilles tendon, and so couldn't even participate on the tour. However, knowing it makes for a nice break for the touring dancers, the producers just showed the video. Still killed. No embed again, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLtSfYX8tJk">watch here.</a> And keep in mind Alex's (the Asian guy) training is mostly in ballet. Damn boy.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Group of 7 competitors - Royal T<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">This wasn't a favorite of mine from the show, mostly because half of the competitors just can't pull off Sonya's choreography. Though to be fair it is off the beaten track. Robert is yet again the standout for the guys and Courtney shows why she's such a great match for Sonya.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dws7qfoXspw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Dws7qfoXspw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Kathryn & Russell – I Can Transform Ya shaky on the power moves</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">This was the only performance from Season 6 (which sadly did not have it's own tour) and was included here because these were the only dancers representing that season. The choreographers NapTab were at a nadir that particular season, though it's an adequate routine. Thank goodness they recovered and turned in a largely fantastic body of work for Season 7. No decent live clip again, here's the show performance (which as I watch it now was much better than the tour one anyway).<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/w0jy4-jrZhQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/w0jy4-jrZhQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Kent & Robert (sub in for Neil) – How It Ends</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Loved this one on the show and was wary of Robert taking over for Neil, but he killed it. Kent was great as well. Kent's been pretty lackluster this show, appearing nervous and lacking in energy. He must have been saving it for this one or possibly just felt it more. I admit I teared up a little, partly because it was just well-danced but mostly because that DeVotchKa song is just heart-breakingly beautiful.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dygy6G0LUMg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dygy6G0LUMg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Stupid compilation video of "funny" bits of the judges. More dancing please. </div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Group routine – All That Jazz</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Robert shone again here. By this time of the night, I started to understand how good he really is. Definitely the guy to cast in a touring show. </div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/sC3V9Vb9AgI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sC3V9Vb9AgI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Ashley & Dominic – How Low aka ninjas<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Ashley is sadly worse than on the show. Least improved which rather bummed me out. Couldn't find any live clips so <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksFkmVnGtCI">here's the show version</a>.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Lauren & Ade – Fever</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Pretty dang good. Smoky. Can't find any clips of it though.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Kent & Allison – Sundrenched World<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Muscular but frantic, powerful but missing the flow needed to really land this one.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/4m59Ia3nA90?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/4m59Ia3nA90?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Robert & Billy – Bollywood</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">A definite improvement from the show version. Robert just lit up the stage.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_7xcrOusMes?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_7xcrOusMes?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">New Group Bollywood routine</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">This was fun, but geez some of those guys suck at Bollywood.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TqgaHV7Zwqo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TqgaHV7Zwqo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Group routine – Everything She Does is Magic</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Lauren taking her place as was originally intended. On the TV show she was injured and Allison subbed in for her. Definitely more sweetly charming as it was obviously intended (at the time she was the only girl left going up against I think five guys). Still, on the show version Allison brought a strength and joy that Lauren didn't quite match. Also I'm biased because Allison is my ladycrush. This one really worked great in a live setting. Very happy they staged it.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rj69s6z2xXw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Rj69s6z2xXw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Russell, Dominic, & Jose - New hip-hop routine</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Unclear from my notes where this came in the order. It was fun and significantly better for Jose because it featured his skills worked into a routine. Dom & Russell were great as well.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/R9G9fyuzjyQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/R9G9fyuzjyQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Season recap video</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Robert & Dominic – Scars aka scary clowns<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Really looking forward to this one as I loved it on the show. Both guys had some flubs and an uncharacteristic streak of mushy movement that took it down a few pegs, but still pretty good.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7MNJ12QrTY8?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7MNJ12QrTY8?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Kent & Courtney – Amy</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Headscratcher why this was included. Probably to give each dancer another routine. Kent still hasn’t lost that awshucks quality, but Courtney smoulders. She is seriously the sexiest lady I've seen in quite a while. I almost stayed after the show and got in the teenager-heavy autograph line just to talk to her up close. Woof, er...meow? Allison's my ladycrush but Courtney sets a fire.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8u-PjNk_Sfo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8u-PjNk_Sfo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Ashley & Ade – Drumming Song<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Disappointingly off. The pair didn’t connect as one the show. The whole idea here is that Ashley is almost bonelessly being tossed about. She was great on the TV show but here she seemed to scale back, not trusting Ade to be there. C'mon Ashley this is your showcase. However, Ade is supa-hot. Dang, dude is ripped and when he does layout backflips my tummy flutters. Also, this is one of my favorite songs of last year. Florence got some serious pipes.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2AcOuohO3l4?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2AcOuohO3l4?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Adechike & Lauren (sub in for Comfort) – Fallin’</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">This was a good showcase for Adechike so of course they were going to perform it. Lauren's the best girl hip-hop dancer they have on the tour (and that's quite a compliment for this 18 yo) but she just didn’t live up to the passion of Comfort on the show. Still it works.<br />
</div><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NDt0TJr-5TI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NDt0TJr-5TI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> <br />
<div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Kent & Kathyrn – Tightrope</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Somewhere in here was also a group disco routine that incorporated all the best lifts from Doriana Sanchez’s routines over the past three or four seasons. It was high energy and fun. Robert, Ade, Allison, and Kathryn knocked it out here.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dl9OUnMwDQo?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dl9OUnMwDQo?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Billy & Ade – Mad World<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">I love this routine. Yes it's has a "socially relevant" theme and that usually bothers me on SYTYCD, but the beauty of it overcomes my knee-jerk objection. Still not sick of that song so it does some heavy lifting but geez the quality of movement from both of these guys is just breathtaking. Absolutely shows off their strengths.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/k85ciYsPViE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/k85ciYsPViE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Robert & Allison – Fix You</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">I like Travis Wall's choreography, he's particularly great at hitting the climax of a song with an energetic unison section. Still, he leans over the schmaltz line a bit here. I have a massive crush on Allison for the way she completely assumes the character in every piece she dances. In group routines my eyes were often drawn to her because of the passion and precision she exhibits. Really wish I'd seen her season start to finish. Robert continues his streak of fantastic work for the night here.<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7eXCbA0eLLQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7eXCbA0eLLQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Lauren & Kent – Prom routine, then immediately into latin ballroom First Kiss<br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">The screams, oh the screams. This looks like a good idea on paper, the winner and runner-up getting all lovey-dovey in back-to-back routines, but Kent looked tired at this point and frankly sucked the energy out of what was to be the climax of the show. Never cared for these routines myself anyway.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/AvR6FpujOEg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/AvR6FpujOEg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RCCttjvvnRg?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RCCttjvvnRg?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Group – You Can’t Stop the Beat</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal"><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/fd0iMvuxd9w?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/fd0iMvuxd9w?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Best of the night accolades go to Robert, Lauren, Allison, and Dominic. Lackluster nods to Jose (of course!), Kent, and Ashley.</div><div class="ecxMsoNormal">Overall it was a pretty good show, but suffered for not having ballroom experts Anja and Pasha on the tour. Lauren's tango with Pasha played a large part in her getting to the finale and likely winning. It clinched it for me anyway. Sad we didn't get to see much ballroom at all tonight. Also, I wish the Houston stop had come a little later on the tour. We got the second show and nerves were clearly present for some of the less-experienced dancers. It would nice to see a later show for comparison.</div>St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-83015359674267199912010-03-13T23:59:00.001-06:002010-03-15T13:23:51.129-05:00SXSW Film 2010 Day 2Late start today so I sadly missed <span style="font-style: italic;">Thunder Soul</span>. It should screen again post-festival in Austin and Houston as it has strong local roots.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">BARRY MUNDAY</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Munday</span> (refuse to continue the all-caps silliness) is similar to <span style="font-style: italic;">Knocked Up</span> in telling the story of a loser guy who is forced to grow-up when a one-night stand results in a pregnancy, though the source novel predates <span style="font-style: italic;">Knocked Up</span> by several years. Despite "preceding" it, <span style="font-style: italic;">Munday</span> suffers from the same problem; we are expected to cheer on the "rehab" of a douchey dude who is practically required to fall in love with the barely two-dimensional, harshly critical female lead as they form a happy, conservative-dream-of-family in time for the credits. Despite this glaring flaw, the film is enjoyable if taken as probably intended, a minor relationship comedy.<br /><br />When it works, it's largely due to the talented cast who wring the comedy from the script. Judy Greer, hamstrung by stereotypical stringy-hair-and-glasses = ugly and the aforementioned stridency, manages to humanize Ginger and deliver sharp line readings. Patrick Wilson, underutilized as a comic actor in his career, shines here creating far more laughs than the dialogue provides. Wilson is slightly miscast in that he's far too attractive and muscular to really be this character, and yet he convinces.<br /><br />And here's where we get to something I noticed in my years of SXSW attendance. There's a score-creep phenomenon that occurs. The audience is eager and the filmmakers are often in attendance which can lead to better appraisals than the film might otherwise warrant. That isn't to say <span style="font-style: italic;">Munday</span> definitely falls into the category, but I did pick up on an early tendency for the audience to perhaps overreact to jokes and mugging. The writer-director Chris D'Arienzo also engaged in my favorite, always-charming SXSW Film cliche, walking out onto the Paramount stage and being gobsmacked by the theater itself and the idea of it full of people wanting to see his film. Yes, we likey the film and the people who make them in Austin.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Documentary Shorts</span></span><br /><br />A very strong program this year.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Seltzer Works</span><br />A profile of the last seltzer bottler in New York City. Gorgeously filmed and tightly edited, this is a modest but beautifully done short.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">6</span><br /><a href="http://www.sixmanfootball.com/">Six-man football</a> is a largely unknown phenomenon of small town Texas. Unable to field full teams but loving the game as much for entertainment as the way it holds communities together, rural high schools play a small team, high scoring version of football. 6 is the best short doc I've seen in a long time. From pre-title set-up to action footage to deeply-felt interviews, this is practically perfect top to bottom and the audience knew it. No attempt to stretch this into a feature but giving its subject a full presentation, this is what short doc-makers should aspire to make.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Big Birding Day</span><br />Lovely images, but a lack of focus in recording the attempt to set the record for most birds seen in 24 hours leaves this doc at the bottom of the pack.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Quadrangle</span><br />She-said, he-said story of a couple who embraced the "free spirit" of the late 60s/early 70s and formed a quasi-group marriage with another couple. Made by their daughter, the doc presents their stories simultaneously in split-screen. It's an effective device and elevates the film above run-of-the-mill family bio docs.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Mr. Hypnotism</span><br />Profile of con-man hypnotist Dr. Dante by SXSW alumni Brandon Beesley. Competently made, the oily charm of Dante holds your attention.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">White Lines and The Fever: The Death of DJ Junebug</span><br />An early hip-hop prodigy, DJ Junebug increasingly chose cocaine over turntables which led to his early death. It felt like the filmmakers wanted this to be a feature, but correctly ascertained that the story didn't warrant the length. Great production value, great talking heads, great use of music.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >Micmacs à tire-larigot</span><br />[English translation: The Slidewhistle Micmacs]<br /><br />A return to director Jean-Pierre Jeunet's (<span style="font-style: italic;">Amelie</span>) earlier madcap films like <span style="font-style: italic;">Delicatessen</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">City of Lost Children</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Micmacs</span> follows the pattern of most Jeunet films: lovable, down-on-his-luck "orphan" Bazil (Dany Boon) finds a new family and fights a powerful enemy—here the arms industry—using his wit and talents. After smartly establishing Bazil's history and motivation, <span style="font-style: italic;">Micmacs</span> essentially becomes a heist film heavily colored with Jeunet's standard-yet-gorgeous visual flair and comic sensibility. Bursting with Tex Avery-esque action setpieces, outsize characters, and just a hint of sentimentality, <span style="font-style: italic;">Micmacs</span> is a perfect introduction to Jeunet's body of work for newcomers and another winning entry for devotees who will especially appreciate the sly references to previous films.<br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oCrbqrVDFqU&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></object>The rest of my evening was a bust: too late to get into <span style="font-style: italic;">American Grindhouse</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Centurion</span> secret show cancelled.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-19281335561527071412010-03-12T23:59:00.001-06:002010-03-15T10:00:53.169-05:00SXSW Film 2010 Day 1Worked 13 hours directing lines and dealing with minor problems at Registration while trying not to talk too much because of the canker sore <span style="font-style: italic;">on my tongue</span>. So, super-awesome. Periodic "shots" of liquid benzocaine made it bearable and the day went well, no down-time on the computer network, no loud customer meltdowns (at least that I saw).<br /><br />The one hiccup was a fire alarm where we had to clear the building. It was stressful but in retrospect it was kinda fun to use my best stentorian booming voice to overcome the general noise level. If it had been an actual fire, we might have lost the videogamers because the fire alarms went unnoticed in their room full of flashing lights and cacophonous bleepbooping. I had to take the mic away from the Rock Band participants and announce the evacuation.<br /><br />With the 8 hours I worked yesterday adding to the general exhaustion, I didn't even have the energy to stay awake in a theater and watch <span style="font-style: italic;">American: The Bill Hicks Story</span>. Oh well, it'll screen again this week.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-11153933451469673572009-12-09T07:37:00.006-06:002009-12-09T09:18:35.618-06:00Work then no work, food, a cop, Bruce, internet, thisI have no sensible reason for writing today when I so rarely do anymore. Eh.<br /><br />Yesterday morning I called my boss to see if they needed more staff for Tuesday night. She enthusiastically agreed so I went in at 10:45 PM. Normally a shift starts at 6:45 PM but I wanted extra sleep and to watch So You Think You Can Dance (yes, I watch that great show and will defend it vociferously). I get to work and my boss failed to add me to the schedule. As we were overstaffed anyway—why did she said she needed me?—they won't let me work "overtime". It isn't overtime as I was out sick last week, but the lunkheads in scheduling cannot understand the concept of working extra this week to make up for being out last week (shakes lowered head in defeat).<br /><br />On the walk home from the light rail station (we have that here and it's great), I stopped at Katz's to eat. My lunch was in my bag, but coffee and noodle kugel exerted a siren song I was unable to resist, there being no ship's mast available to which I could lash myself. Satiated, I continued home only to be lectured by a cop. It went something like this, my thoughts in brackets:<br /><br />Me: [OK, cop car slowly coasting to a stop sign, I'm good to cross. Uh, is he gonna just roll through the sign and consequently me?! Way to set an example police officer. OK, let it go and just walk on.]<br /><br />Cop: "Hey...hey! Come here.<br /><br />Me: [What is *this* bullshit?]<br /><br />Cop: That was dangerous man. I know you have the right of way, but I almost didn't see you and this car is 3000 pounds and you'd lose that fight. If I was you I'd at least make eye contact when you cross the street to make sure I see you.<br /><br />Me: [It's dark and your headlights are creating glare so I can't see inside the car, while I am clearly lit. And how does searching for your eyes prevent you from running me over?] You were slowing down for the stop sign.<br /><br />Cop: I'm looking over here (points) because there was an accident here earlier and I didn't see you.<br /><br />Me: [Ah, so in your refuse-to-be-accountable mind, my not anticipating that you'd be distracted and therefore ignore street signs and what's right in front of you is somehow my fault. I need to get out of here right now.] OK.<br /><br />Cop: (more lecturing consisting of what he's already said in various combinations) If I was you, I'd be more careful.<br /><br />Me: OK. (turning to walk on, burning with anger, and fighting the impulse to shout "If I was you, Officer, I wouldn't blame pedestrians for my inattention and law-breaking. You know, if I was you.")<br /><br />The part that make it tolerable in retrospect was that a drunk guy at the adjacent bar was catcalling the officer during the entire exchange. I really should have gone back to at least acknowledge his enthusiastic defense of me.<br /><br />When I got home, I amused myself mightily by looking up the words and guitar chords to Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" and playing it in fast waltz time. If I transpose it into a minor key, ditch the signature keyboard line, add viola, and sing it in a Tom Waits-ian growl, it will likely wipe out the optimism of the narrator, transforming him into a defeated, sarcastic bastard. I'm thrilled to give it a try. In the video, instead of being pulled onto the stage to awkwardly dance, Courtney Cox is stared like it's all *her* fault until she bursts into tears and runs out.<br /><br />Unfortunately (for me, Bruce, the world) a cursory reading of one website's Best of the Year/Decade lists turned into a multi-hour timesuck and nothing else was accomplished this night. Except for this post.<br /><br />UPDATE: On <a href="http://www.brucespringsteen.net/news/index.html">his website</a>, Bruce Springsteen has posted his support for marriage equality in New Jersey. Yay Bruce.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-17113970404204346192009-11-19T14:33:00.004-06:002009-11-19T15:47:54.316-06:00Birthday Karaoke, The Hidden Cameras at Emo's 11/14What a glorious intersection of events this weekend contained. I traveled up to Austin on Friday for <a href="http://secretly-evil.blogspot.com/">Margaret</a>'s initial birthday festivities which consisted of dinner, bowling, and karaoke at The Highball. Dinner was good and reasonably priced, bowling was great (beautiful, vintage lanes rescued from New Orlean's Rock and Bowl), and karaoke in the Xanadu room was...enthusiastically drunken? Tipsily cacophonous? The highlight for me was witnessing three inebriated lovelies blast through the birthday girl's titular song, "This Corrosion" by Sisters of Mercy. The word committed (both definitions) comes to mind.<br /><br />Saturday afternoon, friends came together again for Margaret Birthday Party, Chapter II at the Carousel Lounge. <a href="http://www.karaokeapocalypse.com/">Karaoke Apocalypse</a>, whom I highly recommend, backed us up as our already raw throats were again put to the test. I feel I acquitted myself well on Heart's "Alone", but missed the mark a bit on The Cure's "In Between Days". Next time I'll tackle Devo's "Uncontrollable Urge". The band was fantastic, well-rehearsed and very supportive of the singers. I headed home early and exhausted to catch a nap before heading out that night to see one of my favorite bands, <a href="http://www.thehiddencameras.com/">The Hidden Cameras</a>.<br /><br />It was their third time in town and I was ready to enjoy the show, but not be blown away mostly because they'd set the bar so high when they <a href="http://saintmurse.blogspot.com/2006/03/sxsw-no-time-for-details.html">played SXSW</a> several years ago. Still, I quickly was into it, dancing and singing along with the small, but loyal audience. After a great main set, they tore it up in the encore. For the last song, they once again pulled people up on stage to play tambourine, me included. So much fun to bang out the beat on a crowded stage hyped up on great audience energy.<br /><br />Setlist:<br />Ratify the New<br />Follow These Eyes<br />Pencil Case<br />Heji/Bboy<br />Mind, Matter and Waste<br />Death of a Tune<br />Hump From Bending<br />Kingdom Come<br />Fear Is On<br />Walk On<br />A Miracle<br />Zine<br />Doot Doot Plot/Do I Belong/In the NA<br />The Little Bit/Underage/Silence Can Be a Headline<br /><br />Encore:<br />Breathe On It<br />Smells Like Happiness<br />Music Is My Boyfriend<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw5sFD8o5YjVylawCMJkXTD0yA_K8bRzwTUYYshiJ5oU_Wsd1VBaqGfrJDqSSI10srCS_PIv8S0paLUKkUnudajg1iWWLoErctUCO0DlP3K23KQr-rPB2NflFr6vA2QxBdhhCPig/s1600/IMG_6632.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgw5sFD8o5YjVylawCMJkXTD0yA_K8bRzwTUYYshiJ5oU_Wsd1VBaqGfrJDqSSI10srCS_PIv8S0paLUKkUnudajg1iWWLoErctUCO0DlP3K23KQr-rPB2NflFr6vA2QxBdhhCPig/s320/IMG_6632.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405917780569977026" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This night will live in my memory not for just the band's performance, but for a very enjoyable post-show outing that was facilitated by several very cool people. Laura, Lief, and especially John, thank you so much.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-58119616173503382582009-08-14T22:14:00.001-05:002009-08-14T22:16:47.993-05:00Colbert praises Alpha Dog nurseJust watch and enjoy.<br /><br /><table style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); background-color: rgb(245, 245, 245);" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="353" width="360"><tbody><tr style="background-color: rgb(229, 229, 229);" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.colbertnation.com/">The Colbert Report</a></td><td style="padding: 2px 5px 0px; text-align: right; font-weight: bold;">Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c</td></tr><tr style="height: 14px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 2px 1px 0px 5px;" colspan="2"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/240856/august-11-2009/alpha-dog-of-the-week---betty-lichtenstein">Alpha Dog of the Week - Betty Lichtenstein</a></td></tr><tr style="height: 14px; background-color: rgb(53, 53, 53);" valign="middle"><td colspan="2" style="padding: 2px 5px 0px; overflow: hidden; width: 360px; text-align: right;"><a target="_blank" style="color: rgb(150, 222, 255); text-decoration: none; font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.colbertnation.com/">www.colbertnation.com</a></td></tr><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><embed style="display: block;" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/mgid:cms:item:comedycentral.com:240856" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="window" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="autoPlay=false" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all" bgcolor="#000000" height="301" width="360"></embed></td></tr><tr style="height: 18px;" valign="middle"><td style="padding: 0px;" colspan="2"><table style="margin: 0px; text-align: center;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="100%" width="100%"><tbody><tr valign="middle"><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/full-episodes">Colbert Report Full Episodes</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.indecisionforever.com/">Political Humor</a></td><td style="padding: 3px; width: 33%;"><a target="_blank" style="font-family: arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 10px; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); text-decoration: none;" href="http://www.comedycentral.com/videos/index.jhtml?videoId=240805">Meryl Streep</a></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Now I have to call my Aunt and Uncle who live in Norwalk, CT.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-77380357389459804612009-08-10T08:22:00.002-05:002009-08-10T08:26:20.129-05:00Patients, like customers, are not always rightAre you familiar with the website <a href="http://notalwaysright.com">Not Always Right</a>? I just became aware of it a week ago and have been making my way through their massive archive of retail hell stories that seek to "level the playing field for those of us who toil and sweat every day trying to juggle demanding customers and often unreasonable corporate expectations." Pretty funny stuff and I recommend it, though if you read too much in one sitting your contempt for humanity might poison your soul a bit.<br /><br />I wish it had been around when I was working at a certain large electronics chain in the music/DVD/video game department. It would have soothed. Once after closing, encouraged by my co-workers, I performed a rant about customers being confused or even angered by the concept of alphabetizing which ended with me making the case for tearing out all the CD racks, digging a giant hole, and dumping in the CDs just so we could say things like, "Oh I think there's a rich vein of Celine Dion thereabouts."<br /><br />That reminds me of the time that a middle-aged guy came up to me with a vague request for mood music. After a couple failed attempts to find what I thought he was looking for, Windham Hill-type music or cool jazz was what everyone else wanted, he leaned in close to me and murmured, "Mood music, you know, like for sex?" More than a little put off, and being the snarky little music snob I was, I marched over to the compilations section and put an Excursions in Ambience volume in his hands nodding portentously. Sure I was messing with him, but in all honesty, I think Seefeel, Air, and Spacetime Continuum provide a great soundtrack for doing it.<br /><br />Anyway, I was especially excited/trepidacious to come across several medical stories on Not Always Right.<br /><br /><a href="http://notalwaysright.com/honey-he-aint-a-scrapbooking-project/955">Story 1</a><br /><a href="http://notalwaysright.com/there-is-no-spoon/586">Story 2</a><br /><a href="http://notalwaysright.com/the-patient-finally-runs-out-of-patience/2273">Story 3</a><br /><a href="http://notalwaysright.com/proof-that-god-is-a-chinese-lady/258">Story 4</a><br /><a href="http://notalwaysright.com/the-flesh-is-bright-but-the-mind-is-dimming/2057">Story 5</a><br /><a href="http://notalwaysright.com/give-me-coffee-or-give-me-death/1100">Story 6</a><br /><br />That last one reminded me of my patient who had had their aorta repaired just the day before. Since it was the part of the aorta that passes by and supplies blood to the stomach and intestines, she was NPO (no eating or drinking). She asked for ice chips and I explained that she couldn't have any.<br /><br />"Your digestive system is not up to speed yet and taking in fluid could cause nausea and vomiting might cause your repair to bleed."<br /><br />"The last nurse let me have ice chips!"<br /><br />"Well she shouldn't have. The doctor has ordered nothing by mouth, I'm bound to follow his orders, and I've explained why it's detrimental to your health."<br /><br />"But I've already had ice today," she whined loudly.<br /><br />I told her politely but firmly that she could wet her mouth with oral swabs, but no more ice. What I really wanted to say was, <br /><br />"Do you really want to risk massive internal bleeding for the ephemeral treat of ice chips?! Would you let your child eat candy until they writhed on the floor with a searing stomach ache just because Grandma let them go hog wild on a bag of Jolly Ranchers? Lady, get your priorities straight."<br /><br />I like my patients, but sometimes...St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-14928000933145207782009-07-07T07:44:00.000-05:002009-07-07T07:44:00.778-05:00HawthoRNe, not improvingI finally got around to watching the 2nd episode of <a href="http://saintmurse.blogspot.com/2009/06/hawthorne-review.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">HawthoRNe</span></a>. The fact that it sat on my Tivo for two weeks, and that I forgot to record the 3rd ep, tells us both that I wasn't looking forward to it all that much. Still, I said I'd stick with it for at least two more episodes.<br /><br />"Healing Time" has a couple of name guest stars in Cloris Leachman and Malcom-Jamal Warner. Ms. Leachman's subplot, about a cantakerous, demanding patient who abuses the nursing staff led to a nice little speech by title character Christina Hawthorne, "Nurses are not servants. They are professionals. They should be treated with respect." Right on, superladynurse on a mission! No seriously, I loved that.<br /><br />Warner's subplot was much worse in it's sentimentality, unrealistic medicine, and giant ethical no-no. He played a man with a cerebral aneurysm that initially caused decreased level of consciousness and impaired mentation (believable) that caused him to think Hawthorne was his wife (dubious), which she did not refute and in fact "used" to comfort him (not cool at all). Later when the doctors offer him with two treatment options—why they were asking him, a man they know cannot provide informed consent rather than his wife who's already been called by phone, is left unexplored—and the patient defers to his "wife's" judgement, she still acts the part and gives her opinion. Massive ethical violation, off-the-charts lose-your-license kind of violation. Boo superladynurse. Booooo.<br /><br />So then...uh, no I've completely lost interest in continuing. Suffice to say the writing is still treacly, the humor tepid, the direction and acting pedestrian. If the next ep is equally as poor, I won't bother to write it up. Fingers crossed!St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-12955763023828798252009-07-06T06:38:00.004-05:002009-07-06T07:12:11.739-05:00Simpsons + monkey ≠ Mr. Teeny, at least in this caseBefore I tell a couple stories from work, I have to explain that in medicine, D/C means discontinue. So when a doctor writes "d/c heparin", it means "stop administering the medication heparin from now on." OK, now that's defined.<br /><br />The other night at work I went over to talk to a colleague and was startled by her patient's severe jaundice. I blurted, "She looks like a Simpsons character."<br /><br />Thankfully the patient was sedated and didn't catch my rude comment. Later, the nurse came up to me, "After you left, I kept trying to think of which person on The Simpsons she looks like. Then I realized you meant all of them."<br /><br />The same night another patient's chest tubes were draining a copious amount of clotting blood. The nurse had to manipulate the tubes frequently to ensure the blood passed into the collection chamber instead of clogging the tubes. It's rather mindless work and takes away from other aspects of patient care, but it's still necessary to perform. I suggested that a trained monkey with dextrous hands would really free her up, "Dressed up in little scrubs just squeezing and twisting away."<br /><br />"And possibly making a mess I'd have to clean up, not to mention the chattering and infection risk," she countered, "In the morning Dr. Never Smiles would come by, annoyed, and write d/c monkey!"<br /><br />You may disagree, but at 4 AM, "d/c monkey" is very, very funny. I ended up in tears stifling my laughter so I wouldn't wake the patients.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-6511787170544038392009-06-28T03:10:00.000-05:002009-06-30T00:35:53.253-05:00Houston Pride Parade & intermittent dance partyI really had no excuse not to attend the parade since A) it happens at night when I'm awake anyway and B) the parade route is one block away from my apartment. Plus at least once a year I like to see my peoples all glittery and stuff. Unfortunately there was what I consider to be a serious dearth of glitter/feather/hi NRG silliness. Too many staid oil company employees and church groups, not enough gyrating. Also, I didn't check my camera batteries before I walked out the door and so no pictures.<br /><br />The highlights for me were:<br /><br />- PFLAG, cause parents in their 50s, 60s, and 70s marching in support their gay kids is a beautiful sight to see<br /><br />- Lesbians Over Age Fifty, or LOAFers mostly because of the awesome elderly lady waving out the window of the car. I know it's wrong to infantalize old folks, but she was adorable and inspiring.<br /><br />- The Asians & Friends group who all held giant Hello Kitty head placards. Kawaii indeed.<br /><br />Afterwards, I met up with some Austin friends for an intermittent dance party. No one had the energy to stay out on the floor the whole time, so intermittent it was. Yay for poorly conceived "sexy" photos, putting a certain inebriated lady to bed, and fantasizing about band reunions (Smiths, Jawbreaker, Archers of Loaf, Afghan Whigs).St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-39645102236185631362009-06-25T01:53:00.004-05:002009-06-30T07:29:37.463-05:006 Months, 60 Minutes, 16 SongsSo I made a compilation of songs I've been particularly fond of the last six months and wanted to share it. Enjoy, hate, or be suffused with dispassion.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UPDATE</span>: If you register with <a href="http://www.imeem.com/">imeem</a>, you can full versions of almost all the songs. It's a nifty site.<br /><br />[ed. note: The actual El Goodo track I wanted, "Aren't You Grand" wasn't available on imeem so I swapped in another good (but not as good) track. I wasn't able to find any tracks from Handsome Family's new, great album <span style="font-style: italic;">Honey Moon</span> on imeem, which is why the playlist only has fifteen tracks. So after the Matt & Kim song, pause and <a href="http://www.we7.com/#/track/The-Loneliness-Of-Magnets%21trackId=1738045">go here</a> to listen to a short clip of "The Loneliness of Magnets" and just imagine that old-timey sound continuing, then go back and resume this playlist. Or you could just skip this whole suggestion and <span style="font-weight: bold;">destroy the integrity</span> of this carefully curated flow.<br /><br /><br /><div style="width: 300px;"><object height="340" width="300"><param name="movie" value="http://media.imeem.com/pl/qvsxkXeMXS/aus=false/"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://media.imeem.com/pl/qvsxkXeMXS/aus=false/" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="340" width="300"></embed></object><div style="padding: 1px; background-color: rgb(230, 230, 230);"><div style="padding: 4px 4px 0pt 0pt; float: left;"><a href="http://www.imeem.com/"><img src="http://www.imeem.com/embedsearch/E6E6E6/" border="0" /></a></div><form method="post" action="http://www.imeem.com/embedsearch/" style="margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt;"><input name="EmbedSearchBox" type="text"><input value="Search" style="font-size: 12px;" type="submit"><div style="padding-top: 3px;"><a href="http://www.imeem.com/ads/banneradclick.ashx?ep=0&ek=qvsxkXeMXS" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.imeem.com/ads/bannerad/152/10/" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.imeem.com/ads/banneradclick.ashx?ep=1&ek=qvsxkXeMXS" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.imeem.com/ads/bannerad/153/10/" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.imeem.com/ads/banneradclick.ashx?ep=2&ek=qvsxkXeMXS" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.imeem.com/ads/bannerad/154/10/" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.imeem.com/ads/banneradclick.ashx?ep=3&ek=qvsxkXeMXS" rel="nofollow"><img src="http://www.imeem.com/ads/bannerad/155/10/qvsxkXeMXS/" border="0" /></a></div></form></div></div><br /><a href="http://www.imeem.com/people/jX59hEw/playlist/LyoxKAwQ/6-months-60-minutes-16-songs-music-playlist/">6 Months, 60 Minutes, 16 Songs</a>St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-56457963578675168742009-06-19T09:07:00.002-05:002009-06-19T09:13:45.424-05:00Who's up for Six Flags?Friends,<br /><br />I will be going to Six Flags in Arlington on Sunday 8/23 if you'd like to join me. It's the last day before the local school systems start up and the park is practically empty. As others who've joined me in the past can attest, it's glorious. No lines and on many of the rides, the employees will let you ride multiple times in a row. The park's open from 11 - 7, but I usually leave around 5 because I've ridden everything multiple times by then.<br /><br />Spread the word and let me know so I can start planning carpools, etc.<br /><br />Oh, and Joolie gets a free ticket from me because years ago it was my fault that she was denied rollercoasters and had to settle for the Stockyards.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-85998657702434890622009-06-18T09:03:00.002-05:002009-06-18T09:29:36.463-05:00HawthoRNe reviewThis is a bit self-serving, but it's worth noting that three of the new medical shows (<span style="font-style: italic;">Nurse Jackie</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">HawthoRNe</span>, and starting in the Fall, <span style="font-style: italic;">Mercy</span>) have nurses as main characters rather than doctors. As a nurse myself, it's about damn time. One main character and a handful of secondary ones on <span style="font-style: italic;">ER</span> never cut it. Don't even get me started on the often nameless, ignorant, frequently dumped on nurses that populate the background of <span style="font-style: italic;">House</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Grey's Anatomy</span>, etc.<br /><br />I was reading an online review (which inspired me to write my own) and it was telling that several commenters on the review didn't get that the main character isn't a doctor. We're so used to doc-focused shows that it's going to take some effort to get the necessary shift in the viewing public's mind. My biggest beef with the doctor-focused medical shows (aside from the frequently awful misrepresentation of actual medicine) is that they take away the work of nurses and give it to doctors. Why? Because non-trauma doctors mostly examine, diagnose, and write orders. Not exactly heartwarming or exciting. Doctors don't hold patients' hands, get social work consults, or stay at the bedside at the bedside continually monitoring and responding to changes in condition. All that shocking the patient and giving medications in a code? Never actually seen a doctor do it, always nurses. Sure the doctors there giving orders, but it's all mental work though which while absolutely important isn't terribly heartwarming or exciting to watch.<br /><br />I'm going to write more about this phenomenon in the future, but I'll move on to the show at hand. <span style="font-style: italic;">HawthoRNe</span> (and yes, that's a stupid name) features Jada Pinkett Smith as the Chief Nursing Officer of a mid-sized hospital. I don't watch <span style="font-style: italic;">The Closer</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">Saving Grace</span>, but I get the impression that <span style="font-style: italic;">HawthoRNe</span> is a continuation of the "strong woman taking on a male-dominated world in which she is underestimated" theme. Unfortunately, Hawthorne is portrayed as a superwoman capable of practically anything. Here she is starting an IV in a newborn's head vein! There she goes defending her staff against arrogant, deeply wrong doctors! Ad nauseum. She's too good. It's the pilot still, so hopefully she'll settle down and fail in future episodes.<br /><br />I rather doubt the show will stick with a realistic portrayal of a Chief Nursing Officer, which is mostly meetings and paperwork. Why a CNO? It's an important job and gives an excuse to have her roam all over the hospital, but the position is not all that interesting. There was a much better opportunity for stories at the patients' bedsides and over hospital policy if the character was nurse manager of a unit. Oh well.<br /><br />OK now I get into overcritical mode over specific plot points.<br /><br />- If a knowledgeable nurse tells a doc that a patient has a Do Not Resuscitate order, the doc doesn't say, "Show it to me in the next five seconds or I don't believe you." The correct way to over-dramatize the scene is for the doc to note that attempted suicide is not covered by DNRs. Of course that route doesn't serve double-duty to show that the doctor is a jerk while Hawthorne is a fierce patient advocate and all-around superlady type.<br /><br />- No surgeon would ever want to get this call in the middle of the night, "Uh, your patient is up on the roof threatening suicide. Do you want to hustle down here and talk him down?" Clearly Michael Vartan's character (portrayed as a surgeon, but the attending doctor for a cancer patient???) is supposed to be the shining white knight among the doctors, but this was a rather goofy way to try to get that across.<br /><br />- A CNO would never not contact Child Protective Services as it professionally negligent and in this case would probably mean suspension of license and therefore loss of job. And making a social worker be the bureaucratic bad guy? Let's not exalt nurses and crap on social workers OK? We're all good guys.<br /><br />- The "giving the patient a handjob" scene. Yes it seems gimmicky, except I can cite an actual occurrence of this shameless, really unprofessional activity. The nurse who did it giggled about it to two colleagues who didn't report it. Manager found out and fired all of them. So, believeable on this show.<br /><br />Semi-accurate portrayals:<br /><br />- Mention of verbal abuse from docs (a real, unacceptable issue) which was immediately undercut by stupid "paramedic is cute" comment.<br /><br />- The "you're a guy, you must be a doctor" misunderstanding. Happens all the time to me and other guy nurses even when we're wearing the same scrubs as the women. Is it so hard to believe these days?<br /><br />- Questioning doctor's orders when they don't seem reasonable, though 6 units of insulin (what kind of insulin? Though that may be a bit too picky) isn't crazy. And is definitely, definitely the nurses job. "Just following orders" isn't a defense against getting your license yanked for violating the Nurse Practice Act. The questioning the order scene was decent, but we really didn't need that nurses-are-just-failed-docs bit. I love being a nurse and would never want to be a doctor. Two quite distinct jobs not on a continuum (damn you ER's Abby Lockhart). Also, no recapping your needles! You're a suck-o nurse for that. Lastly, insulin overdose doesn't cause shockable heart arrhythmias. And if you were that worried, check his blood glucose as a follow-up, if you see it drop below normal levels, give the patient some orange juice. That's good nursing care. I'm not impressed with your work.<br /><br />OK, that's enough. If this wasn't my profession, I wouldn't be watching the show. The feel-goodiness of the show is too saccharine, but I'm going to keep watching for a few eps to see if this mellows and to see how they handle the portrayal of nurses as main characters.<br /><br />I don't have Showtime, so I haven't seen N<span style="font-style: italic;">urse Jackie</span>, which is a much more jaundiced view (in keeping with an ED nurse's job I'd say) apparently.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-16220454939414817062009-06-17T21:29:00.001-05:002009-06-18T10:42:12.550-05:00A trip to see Grizzly BearAfter their <a href="http://saintmurse.blogspot.com/search?q=grizzly+bear">fantastic performance during SXSW</a>, I couldn't miss seeing Grizzly Bear again when they came to Austin on Tuesday night. Thirty minutes outside Austin, I realized that I'd left my wallet in Houston. Slightly troubling as I had no cash, ATM card, credit card, or ID to get into the show. Counting on the good graces of my credit union, the venue staff, and my own earned music karma, I wasn't overly concerned. First, I went to my beloved credit union, who helpfully explained that they could give me $100 after asking some security questions. So pleasant.<br /><br />Then I called <a href="http://starsandgarters.blogs.com/">Joolie</a> to set up dinner plans and then was off to trade in some CDs. Waterloo Records was staunch in their no-Texas-ID-no-trading-in-IDs policy, so I headed to End of an Ear which was second on my list only due to geography. Having no ID policy and by virtue of the owners knowing me, I traded in some unwanted music for the new Vaselines compilation (Remastered! Live versions! Naïve, superfun pop!), Baby Loves a Funny Bunny by Fuck (in a wonderfully designed matchbook package), and classic album that will end up as a gift for a friend and therefore will not be mentioned by name here. And I still have an $ 0.80 credit! While at the store, I happened into an in-store for Here We Are Magic, who were opening for Grizzly Bear that night. I liked them well enough.<br /><br />A call to a Walgreen's in Houston confirmed that I hadn't left my wallet on their counter which meant it was probably sitting in my apartment. "No worries! Everything will work out fine!" he fervently said out loud to no one.<br /><br />Arrived at <a href="http://www.housepizzeria.com/">House Pizzeria</a> to find a pleasantly designed restaurant with a nicely stocked jukebox. The music's a mix of classic country and whatever we're calling Elvis Costello-Wire-Lou Reed-The Pixies-etc. and I passed the time waiting for Joolie and Mr. Joolie thinking of a setlist that would drive out the abrasively loud and demanding children over there in the corner, not the sweet little thing that eventually sat next to us. Between us we ordered Potato & Goat Cheese, Pepperoni, and Olives & Capers pizzas. Another friend and boyfriend showed up to my delight, and we gorged on yummy pizza while chatting amiably.<br /><br />I realize now that when Joolie asked me about work and I shrugged it off with a "same old thing, nothing interesting" that I was being a bit too dismissive. Of course interesting stuff happens at work, I guess I just wanted to talk about something else. Sorry Joolie! I'll work on some stories for you.<br /><br />From there I was off to a quick hello to my poker buddies who had just started the regular Tuesday game (it's been so long since I played, sigh) before heading down to The Parish for the show. I barely started my woeful shpiel about the forgotten ID, when the list guy said, "Yeah he's here," and the ID guy looked at me for about 10 seconds before slapping the drink band on my wrist. It's good not to look anywhere close to 21 sometimes. Oftentimes.<br /><br />I have excellent music karma which has aided me in the past and will likely continue to do so (does citing music karma cause one to lose some?). I recall one extreme example at my only time seeing New Order. My friends and I had lawn seats at whatever their calling Starplex in Dallas these days, but having laid in a surfeit of good relations with the security staff, we were able to slip up to the front section for the openers (808 State, Stereo MCs) and then neglected to leave. When New Order hit the stage, we had managed to worm our way up to 3rd row from which seats we were never kicked (silly non-showing up ticket holders). After a pretty good show, which ended slightly early in that Bernard Sumner stalked off stage before the (according to the setlist we snatched from the stage) final song of the encore "Blue Monday" (my heart breaks), we were too hopped up to just leave. So I and one friend ran around the back of the venue, crawled under a gate, and insinuated ourselves with a group of lucky people escorted backstage to meet the band.<br /><br />This was back in the days when I'd pursue autographs, so we got Gillian and had joined the throng around Bernard when my friend was discovered not sporting the required sticker and was rudely propelled out the gate. I had thought to drape a shirt over the spot where the sticker should have been and so went undiscovered. Sure Bernard sometimes is a jerk to his bandmates, but kudus to him for standing there for 30 minutes politely asking each fan their name so he could personalize the autographs. Nice guy.<br /><br />Blah, blah, blah. The Grizzly Bear show was very good. I'd write a review, but <a href="http://austin.decider.com/articles/grizzly-bear-at-the-parish,29337/">just read this</a> as I completely agree.<br /><br />From there I dropped by some night owl friends' place to chat for a bit that turned into a couple hours, before heading over to the Joolie and Mr. Joolie house for some leftover pizza and a much needed nap. I crept out again at 6 AM to hit the road back to Houston where I found my wallet right next to my computer.<br /><br />So happy ending all around.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-78511998392657125492009-05-07T06:17:00.004-05:002009-05-08T08:19:16.102-05:00RIP Leigh BooneA couple weeks ago I was walking home deep into the early morning hours when I was brought up short by this memorial.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/saintmurse/3509397517/"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3403/3509397517_36d74080b9.jpg" width="300" /></a><br /><br />The bicyclist who was injured in the <a href="http://saintmurse.blogspot.com/2009/03/emergency-close-to-home.html">multi-firetruck crash I wrote about here</a> died twelve days later.<br /><br />I find specific, handmade public memorials like this beautiful and moving. Though they are often not as cleanly designed as the <a href="http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/88/92988-004-52A1F428.jpg">Oklahoma City National Memorial</a> or the <a href="http://www.writingfordesigners.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/p131909-washington-the_vietnam_memorial.jpg">Vietnam Veterans Memorial</a> for example, they are as conceptually loaded and resonant. Austinites, think of the <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=s6CNN8Tw44EC&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=austin+lamar+bridge+memorial&source=bl&ots=4e2Qu1BrQD&sig=zkbUp8vWUan_TqkH8BOJULJyNdA&hl=en&ei=NscCSpqcOJC6tAP9lpzgAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#PPA8,M1">tribute to Ivan</a> on the Lamar at 5th St underpass. Have you ever wondered who Ivan was? Or who renewed his memorial from time to time?<br /><br />No surprise that there's <a href="http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=325193">a book that speaks to this phenomenon</a>.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UPDATE</span>:<br /><br />My friend Patricia clued me in to the <a href="http://www.ghostbikes.org/">Ghost Bikes</a> phenomenon. Boone's memorial is included on the website.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-67472000813642965562009-05-06T21:15:00.000-05:002009-05-07T07:39:56.746-05:00National Nurses DayToday is National Nurses Day, though the party doesn't stop here. National Nurses Week continues through May 12th, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Nightingale">Florence Nightingale</a>'s birthday. To all my fellow nurses, we are teh awesome, the bee's knees, the cat's pajamas, <span class="illustration">the snake's hips, the caregivers par excellence, the sine qua non and other such terms of wonderfulness. Woooo!<br /><br />A couple years ago at the last National Student Nursing Association convention I attended, the keynote speaker whipped up our professional egos by insisting that we think of ourselves as "a treasure". Being the kind of smartypants we were, my group started exploiting this immediately. For the rest of the day it was, "Fetch me a drink, I'm a treasure!" and "I don't see why I have to finish this 30 page care plan, after all, I'm a treasure." So, this is me, thinking I'm all treasury at least for the next few days.<br /></span>St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-88887925564786866482009-04-15T08:33:00.002-05:002009-04-15T08:36:49.010-05:00Black Crystal GoatwolfdeerbearThis <a href="http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/04/13/just-the-goat-section-from-the-book-all-known-metal-bands">list of goat-monikered metal bands</a> recalled an impromptu contest we had in the SXSW badge print room this year. The question was, "How many bands playing this year have 'black' as the first word in their name? As long as 'black' is first everything counts, i.e. Blackie." I guessed 12, the winner guessed 15, it was actually 18. Dang.<br /><br />Then I remembered one of the games at a Saucony-sponsored day party. It was Pin the Crystal on the Overused-in-Band-Names Animal. Blindfolded (w/ Saucony shirts) contestants attempted to place a crystal magnet in the target area of a wolf, deer, or bear. Who knew the Saucony people were capable of such wit?St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-73918422658140434952009-04-14T17:12:00.002-05:002009-04-14T17:28:06.921-05:00Birthdays and MorrisseyAfter finishing up my Advanced Cardiac Life Support class on Saturday, I hopped a bus to Austin for <a href="http://mybloodyself.livejournal.com/">Mybloodyself</a>'s birthday party. It had all the classic elements: good people, food, alcohol, dancing. This year brought the added element of shirtlessness whilst dancing. There is photographic evidence somewhere out there.<br /><br />Sunday was laid back for the most part. Dinner at Titaya, so that we wouldn't become hungry on our subsequent emotional journey, then off to see Morrissey at Bass Concert Hall. Of the times I've seen him, this was the most aggressive and rocking. Didn't tear up for "How Soon is Now?" like <a href="http://saintmurse.blogspot.com/2006/03/sxsw-no-time-for-details.html">the first time</a>, but it was certainly affecting. Would have liked more early solo work, but I'm not going to argue. Thanks to Mybloody for getting tickets and this setlist.<br /><br />1. This Charming Man (Smiths)<br />2. Billy Budd (Vauxhall)<br />3. Black Cloud (Years of Refusal)<br />4. How Soon is Now? (Smiths)<br />5. Irish Blood, English Heart (Quarry)<br />6. When I Last Spoke to Carol (Years of Refusal)<br />7. How Can Anybody Possibly Know How I Feel? (Quarry)<br />8. I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris (Years of Refusal)<br />9. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others (Smiths)<br />10. Something is Squeezing My Skull (Years of Refusal)<br />11. Seasick, Yet Still Docked (Your Arsenal)<br />12. The Loop (World of Morrissey)<br />13. The World is Full of Crashing Bores (Quarry)<br />14. Death of a Disco Dancer (Smiths)<br />15. One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell (Years of Refusal)<br />16. I Keep Mine Hidden (Smiths, a B-side to a single)<br />17. Sorry Doesn't Help (Years of Refusal)<br />18. Ask (Smiths)<br />19. Let Me Kiss You (Quarry)<br />20. I'm OK By Myself (Years of Refusal)<br /><br />21. First of the Gang to Die (Quarry) -> Swingin' on a Star (cover)<br /><br />Monday I was back on the bus to Houston. The flip over from being awake during the day to at night occupied Monday night (there is a process) and now I'm off to work. Oh and Happy 15th anniversary Turner Classic Movies, you are a great TV channel.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-21927071480067295952009-04-08T08:37:00.001-05:002009-04-08T08:37:00.399-05:00No car, no problem + tuberculosis!I chose not to replace my broken-down car when I moved to Houston for my job. I'd already picked my neighborhood for it's walkability and proximity to public transportation. Aside from trips back to Austin, a car was superfluous. That decision is now numerically quantifiable via <a href="http://www.walkscore.com/">this website</a>. I score an 83/100. Ignoring the rampant advertising on the site that might skew the results, how 'bout you?<br /><br />Also, via that site's Google map of my area, I saw something that I'm shocked I hadn't noticed before. I live fairly close to Houston's old City Tubercular Hospital. Online searches reveal no details. This bears closer examination.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-51337538088447185562009-04-07T09:07:00.001-05:002009-04-07T13:36:32.504-05:00This night, that nightAnother dichotomous pair of nights a little while back. The first was the easiest night at work I've ever experienced. Came in at 6:30 PM to find out we were overstaffed and it was my turn to float to another ICU along with a few others. The ICU supervisor changed her mind at the last minute and kept me on my home unit, but by that time everyone was assigned and so I had no patients. I'm decidedly <span style="font-style: italic;">not</span> a "whoo-hoo, extra break time!" kind of person, so I helped out all over the unit with transfers out, completing paperwork, and helping bathe patients.<br /><br />When it was close to 11 PM, we were still overstaffed, in part due to the transfers with which I helped, so I floated to a medical ICU upstairs. Though we're all ICUs, the ones upstairs from my cardiovascular surgical recovery unit are arranged differently both physically and in terms of workflow. They use some computer charting that we don't, supplies are stored in different places, medications available on the unit are slightly different, etc. Thankfully, the med ICU staff observed both common sense and policy in giving me a fairly simple pair of patients. When floating to such a different environment, this is the way it's supposed to happen. Just as we would never assign a fresh surgical patient to a float to our unit, they're not supposed to assign us just-admitted patients or unstable ones because we aren't familiar with the lay of the land.<br /><br />Both my assigned patients were doing fine. One was due for transfer out of the ICU to a regular acute care floor, there just weren't any beds available. His big issue was very high blood pressure, we're talking 200/120 (normal is less than 120/80), which kept surprising me for the first few hours. Though his status only warranted charting blood pressure every four hours, out of ICU habit I still recorded it hourly. When I'd peak in to read his BP off the monitor, seeing 190/100 or somesuch kept making my brain go, "Too high, ack! Must take action! Assess patient, medication, notify doctor!" In reality, he'd been living with blood pressure this high for awhile and rapidly bringing it down would put him at risk for a stroke. The plan of care was slow reductions through careful increases in his medications. As the night progressed and he slept soundly, the pressure came down nicely.<br /><br />The other patient was a lovely lady who's heart arrythmia caused fainting spells (syncopal episodes) at home. With medications administered at the hospital, that arrythmia was now under control and she would probably be transferred to the floor the next day or even discharged home. We had a few nice conversations and I reinforced some of her health teaching. It was such a slow night that I finished all of my online education modules that aren't due till October and tried, mostly in vain, to help out the other nurses on the unit. A couple of them joked (semi-seriously) that I was so willingly helpful that I should transfer to their unit permanently. A nice compliment, but also a necessary trait on my home unit. Easy, easy night.<br /><br />Just a couple nights later I was back "home" working with another nurse in caring for an unstable patient. Blood pressure propped up with several continuous IV medications, multiple blood products needed, an air leak in one lung causing massive accumulation of air under the skin, no neurological response to painful stimuli hours after surgery - very sick patient. The air leak was the most immediate striking. Because his lung wasn't completely sealed like in a normal person, every "breath" delivered by the ventilator caused some air to leak into the body cavity resulting in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subcutaneous_emphysema">subcutaneous emphysema</a>. Chest tubes inserted in his chest were helping drain fluid and air, but couldn't keep up. So air accumulated in the chest, then made it's way down the arms and up the neck to his face.<br /><br />When there's a little accumulation, you can feel and hear air bubbles popping under the skin. It's called crepitus and it feels (and sometimes sounds like) Rice Krispies. In this patient, the accumulation was so great that his skin bulged out and sounded resonant like a drum when percussed. Warning to the especially squeamish, there's no blood but maybe you <a href="http://www.trauma.org/index.php/main/image/73/C11">don't want to see this</a> (not our patients BTW). His chest x-ray was incredible. Because of all that air, you could see the striation pattern in the pectoral muscles, something that won't turn out on a normal x-ray.<br /><br />He didn't look good, but subcutaneous air isn't especially dangerous in and of itself. More important was the blood pressure and the fact that he wasn't waking up. We had orders to paralyze him with medications, but we never started them because he wasn't moving around at all, even to painful stimulation.<br /><br />As I <a href="http://saintmurse.blogspot.com/2009/02/21-nursing.html">explained here</a>, when we're working as a two-nurse-to-one-patient team, one person does the charting and directs the team, the other person performs the physical work. I took the physical role this time. It worked out well, because she needed to sit down for most of the night and my brain wasn't running 100% due to poor sleep the day before. I'm pretty well-known for being let's say energetic at work. This night, around 4 AM, I walked past our charge nurse and she pulled a double-take. "I've never seen you look so worn out. What's that patient doing to you?" she half-joked. It was true, except for a 30 minute lunch, I didn't sit down the entire night.<br /><br />At one point, the patient's heart converted to an arhythmic condition which impacted his blood pressure. We gave an arythmia medication to try to break him out, but it didn't work. We moved on to synchronized cardioversion where we attempt to shock the heart back into a regular rhythm, but that too failed. Still, we kept the blood pressure up, the pulses intact, and the oxygenation status good. In the morning, the attending physician - a notoriously critical doc - actually told me and my partner nurse, "Good job." Could have knocked us over with a feather.<br /><br />That's how it goes at work. Sometimes you have an easy night and sometimes you get beaten up.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8237936.post-20307941440675322832009-04-02T08:14:00.001-05:002009-04-07T14:46:33.227-05:00Grad school for free?A <a href="http://www.rwjf.org/pr/digest.jsp?id=9930&topicid=1318">bill has been introduced</a> in the U.S. House that would essentially pay back student loans for grad students who commit to becoming faculty at nursing schools. Since that's the whole reason I want to go grad school, I fully endorse this effort.<br /><br />Time to contact my Representative and Senators.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UPDATE</span>: Just read a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/04/AR2009040402871.html">Washington Post story</a> much like others I've been seeing lately about how the nationwide nursing shortage is being relieved in some areas due to nurses returning to the profession or upping their hours to full-time. This surge is being explained by nursing being a steady, good-paying job in a terrible economic climate. I know a few nurses who went back to full-time because their spouses lost their jobs or took pay cuts.<br /><br />The WaPo article goes on to note however that this trend will not be able to keep up with demand in the near future. When the economy recovers a bit, lots of nurses will go back to part-time or less, and those who put off retirement will leave for good. Relevant to my original post, the article notes that too many potential nurses are being turned away from nursing schools due to lack of faculty and mentions the bill reimbursing nursing faculty for grad school costs.St. Mursehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09931506130470336286noreply@blogger.com0