When the Cards Aren't Fair, Change the Game.
You know that sound and feeling you get when cracking a knuckle on purpose? The little pop and a split second sensation of something inside your finger adjusting? It felt like that, but two muffled pops, a half spin as I tried to brace myself with my arms on an large instrument case, and I … Continue reading Early Days
Recently I was asked what keeps me awake at night. This question was posed to me in a group setting. Although the atmosphere was jovial, the question was anything but. As I listened to various people answer I noticed that some people fluffed off the question, while others spoke about themselves, but not one of … Continue reading It Keeps Me Awake
Christmas Day 1982, Santa Claus brought me a boombox. For those of you that are too young to know what I am talking about, check out this outstanding video. It was a Sony, and it had a tape deck. This meant that I could, for the first time, record my favorite songs directly from the … Continue reading THE WORLD WAS BRAND NEW
I think everyone remembers their first time. It can be nerve racking, and impossible to know how it will turn out when you've never had the experience before. Eyes studying you on a level that you are not used to, and being hyper aware of every movement and sound that you make, as well as … Continue reading MY FIRST TIME
Sounds like a heavy title huh? I've been playing with a thought that has been plaguing me for weeks after I read (and re-read and re-read) the following quote from smart guy and co-developer of the atom bomb, Richard Feynman: "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be … Continue reading GENETIC MEDICINE AND SPACE TRAVEL
I always laugh when people write prophetic things around this time of year (mid to late December). Telling me all of the things that will happen when the calendar resets on the first of January. Right. Go ahead and try to predict the future, and even more hilarious: try to control it. Even your own. … Continue reading 2025, HAIL AND FAREWELL
"And we call ourselves the human race..." John F. Kennedy Statement to Secretary of State Dean Rusk just after they had been given a military briefing on every city that would be wiped out with a nuclear bomb if war should break out, 1961. Well. I'm not really comparing the weight of JFK's words to … Continue reading YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS STUFF UP
I could get very used to speaking in front of medical professionals, residents, fellows, and any other labels that society has placed on these humans who have been called. to FIRST, DO NO HARM. Recently, I spoke with a few hundred of them and explained how and why HARM had been DONE to me, not … Continue reading GRAND ROUNDS PART II
I have consumed 30 cheeseburgers this year but yesterday one of my old students met Mark Hamill who plays Luke Skywalker in Star Wars, and two days ago another old kid sent me a photo from Dodger Stadium where he attended game 4 of the World Series between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto … Continue reading WHAT ARE WE DOING?
What's the deal with yard sales? You're not selling your yard! Hahahaha....boooooo. Read this next line with your inside voice as the counselor in South Park: Yard sales are bad mmmm'kay? Haters gonna hate and tell me how much wonderful stuff they have "found" at yard sales over the years. I don't buy it. That … Continue reading YARD SALE!
Moeschen! 