Tomorrow I’m going to a graduation party for a friend completing med school and who will be leaving next month to begin her residency at Mass. General. I’ve known this friend for a few years and I’m sad to see her go, but I have no doubt she will be a superb and compassionate physician. The other night, I was thinking about how people move in and out of our lives. In some ways, I think who we are is largely determined by the connections we make with others; the subtle influence of the countless conversations and experiences we share with the people in our lives is more profound than we realize, I think. And so I don’t think we ever truly can say goodbye to someone, because a small part of that person continues to dwell in the recesses of the mind, whispering in our ears.

Saw X2 yesterday and was actually quite impressed. The story kept my interest and the FX were way cool. I’ve always felt a certain affinity for the X-Men (being something of a mutant myself). But Professor X ain’t got nothing on my set of wheels!
Oh, got my first rejection slip a few days ago. No great surprise. My goal is to have the world’s biggest collection of rejection slips and wallpaper my bedroom with them, thus allowing me to wallow in my own inadequacy.
I’m thinking of trying this Friendster thing. Not for dates, but to find fellow geeks. You see, one of my nurses/geek friends is leaving and I shan’t have anyone with whom to play Doom III! So if you’re a fellow gamer in the Twin Cities area, drop me a line. I’ll supply the Red Bull and hardware/software. You supply a working pair of hands and a willingness to frag until 3 a.m.

Yesterday, I went to see my new my primary physician. He was a nice enough guy, but as he was looking over my chart he said, “Well, you’re definitely one of the more severe cases of SMA I’ve ever seen.” Now, there’s nothing really wrong with that statement. Most people who pass me on the street would probably think to themselves, “Wow, he’s pretty fucked up.” But I never really think of myself as ill or decrepit. Most of the time, I feel pretty vigorous. But I can’t tell you the number of times people have said to me different variations of “My God, how can you live like this?”
Has anyone seen that reality series on Showtime about the guy who produces adult films? I think it’s hilarious and just a bit creepy. The guy has aspects of the nice Jewish kid mixed in with LA slickster. And some of the women are portrayed as little more than beautiful bodies with deer-sized brains. Like most guys, I’ve seen one or two porn films and my attitudes regarding porn are moderately liberal (I draw the line on snuff and child pornography). But it just seems like working in this industry would make sex seem rather banal and mechanical. But then again, if I got to work with women with names (and bodies) like Briana Banks and Jenna Jameson, it might take me a while to come to that realization.

I’m sorry, but the chick got in the way.
A U.S. Marine after shooting an Iraqi woman at a checkpoint.
Yes, many of our troops are brave and honorable men and women. And some are brain-dead semiliterates who joined the military because the mill wasn’t hiring.
I saw Far from Heaven last night. A great film, both visually and thematically. And a wonderful use of 1950s film conventions to tell a modern story.

I’ve been busy getting my next story started, so I’ve been neglecting my blogging duties. The weather here in Minneapolis has finally turned nice, and as I type this late-afternoon sunshine is streaming through my windows. I have a corner unit, so my windows face south and west. It can get pretty warm in here if I leave the blinds open. In the summer, it can sometimes be like walking into a sauna.
I saw this article stating that Apple may purchase Universal Music. Um…wow. It’s certainly an interesting possibility. After all, Apple’s tagline for their computers was once “Rip, Mix, Burn.” Free MP3s for iPod owners? PowerBooks conspicuously placed in music videos?
And this has a got to be the dumbest idea for a television show that I’ve ever heard.
Oh, and just a reminder: Republicans are still stupid. From the Washington Post:
Yesterday’s debate suddenly veered from guns to race when Cubin criticized a failed Democratic amendment that would have banned gun sales to drug addicts or people in drug treatment. After noting that her sons, ages 25 and 30, “are blond-haired and blue-eyed,” she said: “One amendment today said we could not sell guns to anybody under drug treatment. So does that mean that if you go into a black community you can’t sell any guns to any black person?”