A Reintroduction & Download Festival

The upcoming weekend is guaranteed to bring happiness.

On Friday, I’m meeting up with an old friend for dinner at a restaurant that’s on the Michelin Guide (the deserts are suppose to be ridiculously good). I haven’t seen this individual in three years and it’s going to be really nice to share an evening with her. Afterwards we’ll probably stroll around town. Hopefully, I can convince her to join me to a club. It’s been too long (1 week) since I’ve been out and I’m feeling the need for some par-taying.

Saturday, I’m headed off to the Download festival. I’m actually extremely excited about it. I'm hurt I'm not in Denmark for the Roskilde Festival; I’ve had to keep myself from looking at the program so I wouldn’t become further upset. A couple of bands who I’m looking forward to are below.

Cut // Copy- Hearts on Fire


RJD2- Ghostwriter


Datarock- Fa Fa Fa


Mates of State- My Only Offer

Meeting with MD/PhD Student

The PI is out for a conference this week and I've been helping out a fellow with putting together graphs. I will admit, I have a lot of free time on my hands, a little too much, and I've been trying to keep myself entertained. Today I was able to meet with a MD/PhD student and many questions were answered.

MSTP websites are rather vague and I wasn't sure what the duel degrees would exactly allow. I was told that after the completion of the program, many medical scientist go into their residency. During the duration of this, research is conducted at Happy Hospital. I was glad to hear that research would parallel the residency years. Furthermore, the MD/PhD student told me that fellowship programs are starting to provide "fast track" programs where fellows take less time on internal surgery and focus more time on their specialty. Ideally after training, medical scientist are set to have a clinical practice and a basic research lab as well.

Hardcore, intense, and everything else, but this is exactly what I want to do. I'm excited.

Dr. Helen Fisher: The Brain in Love

I very much enjoy this talk from Dr. Helen Fisher. In her work, she utilizes MRI to look into the brains of individuals who are in romantic love. At the moment, I'm going through a period of nonsense (read: love) and it's great to hear this discussion on why. I especially enjoy the mention of love it first sight and its origin with animals. If you can't get enough, she has another talk on TED.

The Brain in Love

This talk starts slow but soon the information becomes very interesting. More about the Science of Love on the BBC, thanks Dr Confabula
Key Points from the science of love:

• There are three phases to falling in love and different hormones are involved at each stage
• Events occurring in the brain when we are in love have similarities with mental illness
• When we are attracted to somebody, it could be because subconsciously we like their genes
• Smell could be as important as looks when it comes to the fanciability factor. We like the look and smell of people who are most like our parents
• Science can help determine whether a relationship will last

The last key point I am not so sure!

Via ShockMD

On Repeat: Ladyhawke

I've been listening to Ladyhawke nonstop for the past 2 days. There have been so many remixes to her "Paris is Burning" track and for good reason. I must say though, I prefer her most popular track in French ("Paris s'enflamme").

Ladyhawke- Paris is Burning


Ladyhawke- Back of the Van


Ladyhawke Myspace

Feist: "1, 2, 3, 4 Penguins..."

Check out the penguins at 0:49.

Feist Counts Her Chickens on Sesame Street
The 39th season of Sesame Street will premiere on August 11, and Grammy award nominee Feist will be guest-starring. Here's a preview clip of her appearance, in which she performs a reworking of her hit "1234," to apply to counting monsters, penguins, and "chickens just back from the shore." (They're in sunglasses and straw hats.) It's super cute and sweet, but the Count was oddly absent.

Via Jezebel

Hardcore Nonsense: Lava Surfing

Looking for the next extreme, pro surfer CJ Kanuha thought it would be wise to surf along the Kilauea volcano while lava was flowing out into the water. The New York Post has some great photos.

The Hawaiian surfer proclaimed, "The water is well over 200 degrees in some spots and melted the wax on the surfboard. It was an amazing feeling to get so close to the power of the lava.”

Yeah, that is rather ridiculous. The water around who could have easily given the surfer 2nd or 3rd degree burns. Bra, you should totally back down because it would have been a bummer if you wiped-out on this wave; stick to impressing the beach bunnies.

Via Huffington Post

'The Falling Water' Cocktail Making Machine

Spectacular.

For those who don't have access to such a machine as this, here is the recipe for the drink:

- 30mls (1Oz) 42BELOW Feijoa Vodka
- Ch'i or Lemonade
- Long slice of seedless cucumber
- Ice

Cut a long thin piece of cucumber on a diagonal.
Rest it against the inside of a Highball glass.
Fill the glass with ice, add 42BELOW Feijoa.
Top with Ch'i or Lemonade.

Christian the Lion

I love kitty cats.

Thank you Ron.

Clinical vs. Basic

The summer research I’m conducting is different in that instead of doing basic research I’m in the clinical realm. As of last week, my main tasks were to educate myself, run literature searches, and use my little thinking cap to determine the best way to take this project. Given that I’m an undergraduate and that I didn’t know X syndrome from Y syndrome 4 weeks ago, I felt that I was given a ridiculously large responsibility. After several meetings with the PI, we both decided on a course of action and I’m happy to say that he responded well to my recommendations.

The PI that I’m working under doesn’t have the physical existence of a lab, but he does indeed have fellows running around, working on projects. In a way, I do enjoy the space a lab provides because it’s a great way to interact with lab mates. And with this, I have to get use to the fact that clinical and basic researches are both managed differently. Since projects are mobilized by MDs instead of PhDs in this clinical setting, one can’t simply set up an experiment for next week. Really though, this is exactly what I need to see. One of the main reasons why I sought out this PI for a summer research position was to get such clinical research exposure and understand the process.

Oh and next week, I’ll start helping another PI on a project. More the merrier.

Right now though, I have more free time available than what I prefer. I need to remind myself that it’s summer and I should go play outside with the rest of the kids. I think I’m going to start filling up my empty time by exploring the campus and the near by city. I should start reading one of my summer books (Avoid Boring People by James D. Watson). Maybe I’ll write a little review.

Wishful thinking

When I become a successful medical scientist, I'm going to buy this and fill it with some of this and that. Maybe I can drive this around and have this for the weekends and these two things will have there own room. Hopefully, my wife won't mind. Oh, and I'll have a couple of these running around as well and at least two of these. When my midlife crisis strikes at 39 (I'm mature for my age) I'll just buy this instead of doing the normal thing. After I come to my senses, I will find inspiration by moving to here. During this time of productivity, I'll win this and I predict that once it happens I'll become an untouchable like him. At this moment in time, I'll change my profession to do some good. A couple of years later, I'll probably suffer a mild heart attack from yelling at these individuals on the Senate floor. A year after this event, I'll retire and live here. In my old life and annoyed from my normal mode of transportation, I'll rebel and drive this around. It will sadly be the death of me or maybe this. I haven't made up my mind.

J.K. Rowling to Harvard Graduating Class of 2008

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:


Via: Fwds End: Graveyard of Forwards

On Repeat: Mystery Jets

I've had the Mystery Jets on repeat this whole day. Here's why:

Mystery Jets- Young Love


Mystery Jets- Two Doors Down


The hoop earing on the lead vocal in this video, Blaine Harrison, is fierce.

Mystery Jets Myspace
Mystery Jets

Response: Anamatronic Flesh Shoe

I was going through Design Boom and stumbled across the Anamatronic Flesh Shoe by Adam Brandejs.

In 2004 the Canadian artist Adam Brandejs created this 'Anamatronic Flesh shoe' in response to issues of sweatshop labour and content ownership. What looks like real skin is actually latex other materials used include steel, gear motors, printed circuit, rio MP3 player, batteries, staples and his friends hair. The shoe's toe and heel raise and lower as it occasionally vibrates/pulsates, and twitches as if it were still alive.

Artist's statement:
'It's a Nike shoe stapled together with human flesh, twitching...

Other than simply being twisted, this piece comments on issues of sweatshop labour and content ownership. Each piece of skin is therefore different in colour, size, and texture and the Nike logo is done in white, slapped overtop of all the other colours. really, either you’re going to get it or you’re not.

While your 10 year old son or daughter whines about not having the coolest shoes for school, another 10 year old on the other side of the world will never need worry about such issues as they won’t get to go to school, they make shoes for 3 cents a day instead. thus, the shoe represents the lives put into it.

People like to ignore the reality of the issue, or come up with simple solutions such as 'we’re giving –them- work' thanks, I’m sure the world would fall apart without such generosity. And I’m sure before sweatshops the world crumbled.

If the flesh disturbs you, then the reality behind the issue would disturb you far more if we opened our eyes long enough to see it. we live in a culture disconnected from what it is doing to itself and others, we choose to ignore rather than deal with the reality we have created for ourselves. this piece ultimately comments on this simple idea'.

Buy a shoe that goes towards a good cause.

I love Robots, too.

Pixar has a new movie out, Wall-E, and it has indeed made me excited. Why? Robots. My love of robots started with R2D2. Time has been kind enough to put together roboporn a gallery of robots. Funny enough, I saw robots all over Scandinavia. The last robot I bought was in Copenhagen as a congratulations gift to myself. I just make myself so proud sometimes. Anyways, a family portrait is below. Someone looks familiar.

Visions of the Past Little toy robots are sold as collectors' items in Stockholm.

Update: A new sexuality to come by 2050: robosexuals.

(haha)

Tracey Ullman- Indian Viagra

Thank you Ron.

Update: This reminds me how much I dislike Bollywood.

Laptop Searches in Airports... (NYT)

Since the start of the elections, it's been a long time since I hit the "Washington" link on the NYT page. Anyways, with my new Times Reader installed I managed to stumble across an article discussing Wednesday's Senate hearing pertaining to laptop searches in airports for citizens re-entering the country.

Laptop Searches in Airports Draw Fire at Senate Hearing
by Austin Bogues

The federal government says the searches are necessary for national security and for legal action against people who bring illegal material into the country.

“If you asked most Americans whether the government has the right to look through their luggage for contraband when they are returning from an overseas trip, they would tell you ‘yes, the government has that right,’ ” Senator Russ Feingold, Democrat of Wisconsin, said Wednesday at the hearing of a Senate Judiciary subcommittee.

“But,” Mr. Feingold continued, “if you asked them whether the government has a right to open their laptops, read their documents and e-mails, look at their photographs and examine the Web sites they have visited, all without any suspicion of wrongdoing, I think those same Americans would say that the government absolutely has no right to do that.”

I find this to be rather ridiculous. I've traveled across international borders countless times since last August and I'm surprised my luggage was never searched. I can see it now: randomized email and website checks. Ugh.

Summertime Cowboy

About a month ago for a five-day period, I was on the verge of hyperventilating. I could not stop thinking about what was to come of this summer. I landed my dream, research internship at a prominent medical research university. In those five days, my “to do list” kept circling in my mind: I need to impress my summer PI (principle investigator), network with other physicians, mingle with medical students, stretch myself intellectually, and work my little, undergraduate ass off. My focus needs to concentrate solely on my research so that I could uphold an image that I’m purely business. In essence, it felt as if I was going on a two month long medical school interview.

I’ve been researching in a hardcore lab for about two years now and numerous other experiences have prepared me for my time here. Regardless, I still felt intimidated. I’m usually a relaxed individual, but my vulnerable sentiments made me feel nervous. As complex as I am, I love this feeling. For some sick reason I adore the stress (at last, a challenge!).

The day I arrived, I already started putting the impressions into motion. The time I was traveling from point A to point B was utilized by checking my project notes. Five hours after my plane landed, I met with my PI to talk about expectations, duties, and we threw around some research ideas.

Now I don’t know if my PI likes to tease, but they have already started to dangle a carrot in front of my face and I can’t help, but salivate.

What’s happening now with my part of the project? Well I’ve been all over Pubmed, educating myself and looking up case studies. I’m going to put together a mini review of recent studies for my PI so we can discuss the best course of action for the project. I’m feeling really good about the time I have spent here and the weeks to come. I’m ridiculously excited because I get to begin going on rounds with the PI and scrub in on some surgeries.

It’s going to be a great summer.

Husky Rescue- Summer Time Cowboy

...

Seriously, I'm offended.

Stuff White People Like

I’ve been amused by this blog for quite sometime. My personal top 5:

Study Abroad

If you need to make up your own study abroad experience, they all pretty much work the same way. You arrived in Australia not knowing anybody, you went out to the bar the first night and made a lot of friends, you had a short relationship with someone from a foreign country, you didn’t learn anything, and you acquired a taste for something.

Having Gay Friends

Gay friends are an essential part of a white person’s all-star diversity roster. But they are always on the lookout for the ultimate friend; a gay minority. It is generally accepted that a gay black friend with a child is considered a once in a lifetime opportunity - like a quarterback who can pass, run, kick, and play linebacker. White people will crawl over each other for the opportunity to claim this person as a friend and add them to their roster of diversity.

Free Healthcare

The first and most obvious reason is “they have it Europe.” White people love all things European, this especially true of things that are unavailable in the United States (Rare Beers, Absinthe, legal marijuana, prostitution, soccer). The fact that it’s available in Canada isn’t really that impressive, but it does contribute to their willingness to threaten to move there... If you need to impress a white person, merely mention how you got hurt on a recent trip Canada/England/Sweden and though you were a foreigner you received excellent and free health care.

Apple Products

It is also important that white people are reminded of their creativity, and remember you need a Mac to creatively check email, creatively check websites, and creatively watch DVDs on planes.

Vintage

First, it allows them to say “oh, this? I got this shirt at Goodwill for $3.” This statement focuses the attention on the shirt, taking attention away from the $350 jeans and $200 shoes. The white person can then retain that precious ‘indie’ cred.

Using Your iPhone to Study Anatomy

I realize I'm a nerd and I'm okay with such an acknowledgment. Moving on. I was reading through Street Anatomy and this is just great:

[Modality]
Netter's Anatomy

Coming to the App Store July 2008.

Using outstanding anatomical illustrations from Netter's hugely popular Atlas of Human Anatomy (4th Edition), Netter's Anatomy allows you to carry the bestselling reference for human anatomy on your iPhone or iPod touch. Navigate through images with the flick of a finger, pinch to zoom, and tap to test your knowledge of muscles, bones, vessels, viscera and the joints. Use study mode to explore images at your own pace and quiz mode to test yourself on what you know.

The concise text reviews areas of origin, insertion, action, innervation, and anatomical relevance. The notes also include clinical correlations, where appropriate. A regional organization parallels Netter's atlas as well as most of today's anatomy courses.

Additional features include:

• Customize your study set by adding and removing images.
• Toggle pins on and off to explore detailed illustrations with or without annotation.
• All content is locally stored on your device for anytime, anywhere access.
• Instantly look up structures in Wikipedia (requires network connection).

Cnet shows a great demonstration of the Netter program by S. Mark Williams.

Missing Scandinavia

Since leaving Denmark, there are some songs I listen to in order to escape into my past life in Copenhagen. I miss Scandinavia so ridiculously much. Alphabeat and Yelle are definitely two artists who I listen to frequently. Alphabeat was a regular artist I requested at the clubs. The regular routine was first a stop at Foxy for dancing and two-hour bottomless beer till 1am, a detour to Pizza 23 for a diablo pizza, and a drunken request for Fascination or 10,000 nights at Vela. The evenings I spent with my friends were simply fun. I miss my guy friends from New England, so many memories.

And Yelle… well she’s French, but seeing her at Rust made for one of my best nights in Copenhagen.

Yelle at Rust (www.rust.dk)

I’ve been listening to another Danish artist recently, Private, who also sets me back into the time I’ve been abroad. The best part of their videos, I get to watch the Danish two-step all over again.

Private - My Secret Lover

Guests who over stay their welcome.

Raven obviously has a good sense of style since she’s sleeping on my vintage, brown leather bag I bought in Stockholm. Raven is the neighborhood black cat that causes the Hispanic, Catholic grandmothers to Sign the Cross upon themselves once she passes their way. She’s a talker and a kneader. Unfortunately, she isn’t exactly territorial. Raven and I had a visitor tonight. I found a opossum in the kitchen stuffing its face with Raven’s food. After startling the little critter, it ran off into my housemate’s office. The stand off wasn’t long. After some harassment with a broom, the opossum ran some where into the house. Raven returned from making the neighborhood rounds an hour after the fiasco. Oblivious to the visitor she continued with business of talking, kneading, and sleeping on my vintage, brown leather bag.

Raven the house cat.

Update: An hour after a nap, the house cat decided to take a turn about the neighborhood and wasn’t present for round two. The opossum has some balls and decided to visit Raven and I again. Two things I can’t handle: opossums and roaches. Either one will automatically turn me into a screaming little girl. I hate to admit this. The little bastard decided to hide underneath the entertainment system where I don’t have access. I’m now involved in a stakeout and waiting for Raven to scare the unpleasant guest out of the house.

Update 2: So I've been battling an opossum all night. Sad. Raven once again left the house and I thought the visitor showed itself out, however I was proven wrong. The little shit finally came out from it's hiding spot and continued to devour Raven's food. I probably wouldn't have noticed if the opossum wasn't so freaken loud (music + door closed). In our third fight I finally won. I cornered the opossum into my housemate's closet. I decided to be brutal and document my defeat, visually. I managed to run the little critter out the backyard door. Hope the opossum isn't into vengeance.

That's right, defeat is a bitch.

Eww.