Kitty needs some risperidone. October 31, 2008

If you’re curious, read more about the anti-psychotic risperidone HERE.

It’s an *atypical* anti-psychotic, one of a newer generation of drugs that has fewer Parkinson’s Syndrome-like side effects. These side effects were a huge problem of traditional neuroleptics, and were irreverently referred to as the “Thorazine Shuffle.” One of my favorite novelty songs out there is named after this phenomenon, originally recorded by a group called Bongos, Bass & Bob.  Click HERE to get some trivia and the “Thorazine Shuffle” audio track.

What Percentage of Americans are Sick of Being Polled? October 30, 2008

I was following the election obsessively until about a week and a half ago, just about the time they started running out of real news.  Do I care if the Republicans want to spend their budget on wardrobe? (no) Do I care which comedians endorse which candidate? (no) Do I need a news report to tell me that tensions are rising and campaign ads are getting nastier? (nope) The only news of interest in the past 10 days was when Mike Drudge started hedging by posting semi-neutral Obama updates. Hil-arious.

To sum up, I’m ready for Nov. 5 already.

See related rant at one of my favorite blogs, Fomenting a Rebellion.

Hugh McGuire: Why Academics Should Blog October 30, 2008

He makes a good case. So go read it, and then create some space and start writing already!

Hugh McGuire: Why Academics Should Blog

Picking Sides, Playing Nice October 19, 2008

Colin Powell endorses Obama, but says (I’m paraphrasing here) that the world won’t end if McCain is elected.  Condemns extremist campaigning (oh, you mean like R-MN Michelle Bachman who called for commie-search in Congress during her MSNBC-Hardball interview?).  Mainly, he criticizes polarization of the Republican party to the Right, urges us to consider the consequences of two additional conservative supreme court appointments, and says especially in the last 6-7 weeks of the campaign, Obama has shown the steadiness that we need in leadership through confusing times.

For a full transcript of the MSNBC-Hardball Bachman Interview, click HERE. To see video and commentary, click HERE.

Med School Quotes of the Week: October 18, 2008

1) “My husband taught me how to use a gun…Oh, he’s not afraid of me.  He says, ‘honey, you’re a real good aim, but you take too long to line up your shots.’”–BA

2) “So the movie Outbreak was based on this guy, right? Which character was he? Was he Dustin Hoffman?”–DC

–after explaining that although our conference keynote speaker had researched Ebola outbreaks, and the movie Outbreak is about an imaginary virus similar to Ebola, it in no way tells a story about real people or events:

“So.. is he Dustin Hoffman?”–DC

3) “I have utterly failed in my vain attempt to be the most informed man in America.”–AB

4) On the use of foreign letters: “I’m a big fan of the ‘ñ.’”–KD

“Who isn’t?”–AY

5) “What are you doing?”

“We’re going to see how many mini M&M’s LM can inhale in one breath.  He’s going for thirty–a new record!”–CS

“Wait, he’s going to snort M&M’s?”

“Of course not. That’d be dumb!”–MM  –To clarify, he was inhaling them from a line off a desk in the lecture hall into his mouth, and missed the record by 2 pieces. Yes, I wish I had video to post for you, too.

I do not make this stuff up.

I will not repudiate my amusement of this photo: October 16, 2008

Got a better caption? Add it in the comments section!

My new favorite website. October 16, 2008

The Daily Beast:  It’s like a tabloid, only smarter.  A mixed bag of flippant and insightful comments on current events, for the most part ones that don’t involve young celebrity starlets’ drunken escapades.

If you don’t want to take my word for it, listen to the editor schlup for it on The Colbert Report:

more about “Tina Brown | Wednesday October 15 | C…“, posted with vodpod

On a related note, I may also have a new favorite columnist: Christopher Buckley. I try my best to sift through the crossfire between extreme viewpoints, and give even play to opinionated mainstream media. It’s a hard battle. Katie Couric gets blasted by both sides, so that’s a good sign in my opinion, although I do think she’s left of center.  And of course, my good leftist friend Bhat keeps telling me that “Bush is a commie,” [sic] and the American people are further to the left than I think, so maybe Katie IS the center. Here’s a skeleton outline of some media I read regularly:

LEFT–Huffington Post–New York Times–Wall Street Journal–Drudge Report–RIGHT

Unlike our friend VP candidate Palin, I can’t claim to read The Economist (liberal slant) on a regular basis, or understand most any particular article in it when I try. Most of my news comes from scanning the above sites, and following the most interesting stories’ links across the web, hopefully to original sources.  I am also addicted to several polling sites, but that’s a post in itself. Anybody out there think I’ve got it right? wrong? What do you read?

Back to op-ed, I’m still searching for that columnist who can consistently give a smart, non-agenda driven look at the issues, or at least inconsistently stump for a particular political party. I know, it’s like searching for a unicorn.  But I’m ever hopeful, and this disenfranchised Conservative has my ear for awhile, at least.  If you’re curious, his recent column “Sorry Dad, I’m voting for Obama,” may be a good place to start.

Sick of Democrats AND Republicans? Vote NASCAR October 14, 2008

You heard me right, you can vote for the NASCAR candidate this election. Well, only if you’re voting for Tennessee District 4.  Incumbent “NASCAR party” Sen. Micheal Williams (and no, I didn’t misspell his name, that’s MichEal) will be on the ballot as an Independent, facing Republican challenger Mike Faulk.

If he wins, he could become THE swing vote in the Tennesee Senate, as the state is expected to otherwise split evenly between Republicans and Democrats.  Unsurprisingly, Williams votes with Republicans most of the time, but apparently, that’s not good enough–the state Republican party has invested 7x as much in campaign funds as Williams into a Republican challenger. That’s ~$170,000, to upset a seat that for all practical purposes, is already Republican.  I’m guessing Tennessee is in the “Let’s elect McCain and then hope he dies so the real Republican on the ticket can take over” camp. Palin ‘08. (Go you Huskies!)

Details from TennViews:

Williams bailed from the Republican party in March of last year, citing concerns about “overwhelming partisanship” and divisiveness. Sen. Paul Stanley said “He has given us a hunting license to go into his district.”

Republicans drafted Hawkins County attorney Mike Faulk, who has a strong resume, the full backing of the Tennessee Republican party, and an endorsement from Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.

First quarter financial disclosures show Williams with $21,000 on hand, $3100 in expenditures, and no contributions listed on that filing. Faulk had $104,846 on hand, $18,740 in contributions, $50,000 in self loans, and spent $8300.

Bonus!!– Roll over the “NASCAR party” link above to see Williams in “uniform.”

Medical School = Depression October 10, 2008

If you experience 5 or more of the following symptoms for more than a 2 week period, you may be clinically depressed in graduate school:

1.) Depressed mood most days

2.) Diminished pleasure experienced from activities you once enjoyed. (Sorry, I have to study.)

3.) Unplanned weight loss/weight gain; appetite increase/decrease.

4.) Insomnia/hypersomnia

5.) Psychomotor agitation/retardation

6.) Fatigue or loss of energy

7.) Feelings of worthlessness or excessive/inappropriate guilt (I should really be in the library right now…)

8.) Diminished ability to concentrate/indecisiveness

9.) Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. (Prof. Boring again? Shoot me now.)

Barack Obama speaks about his faith. October 4, 2008

For supporters and critics alike, who challenge Senator Obama’s sincerity in his Christian beliefs:

Barack Obama’s Speech: Call to Renewal

(Full transcript with video excerpts.)

In this speech, Barrack Obama outlines EXACTLY what his religious beliefs mean to him, how he came to them, and how they will affect his presidency.

Coincidentally, he expresses many ideas about religion-governance interaction that I have come to through my own research and introspection over the last six months. The more I research Senator Obama’s views in his own words, the more I realize how much I agree with him. And I *love* it when anyone talks about SOCIAL JUSTICE.

I’m going to look for some kind of similar transparency in the religious beliefs of the McCain/Palin campaign website. Stay tuned to see what I come up with.