Age is Killing Me Softly ...

Dropped by Cafe Wha? in the Village this past week.
A place I go to where I re-acquaint myself with pop rock.
Who knew I liked "Drops of Jupiter" that much?
After a night there I always find myself rummaging through my records at home.
(Note to self: Download Journey and The Jackson 5 into my iPod.)
The house band is a cover band. Cheesy, I know. But the place is just plain fun.
Byron and Bryan (the guitarists, aka eye candies) are more playful with each other, which makes it fun to watch.
Some new vocalists this time that mostly deliver the goods.

While there, I wondered how many of the young 'uns know that "Killing Me Softly" was originally sung by Roberta Flack? A thought that made me feel old. On the other hand, how many of the middle aged folks there know that the version the band was performing is a cover by the Fugees being covered by the house band? A thought that made me feel young.

Below is a vid of Bryan and Byron singing and playing a love song to each other. Not really, but that's what I'm thinking in my head:

MAMMA MIA! (2008)

There must be a reason why the show's still running on Broadway other than it being a much needed diversion a month after 9/11. And this defense from TIME is as good as any - It's the music. So the reason to go see this bad / mostly mediocre movie is the music. It's a ridiculous plot to begin with, lifted from the Broadway show's book. I had enormous fun when I saw the stage musical, despite groaning about its story or its fugly costumes. But those performers sold it and the music elevated it. Full disclosure: I am an ABBA fan. I think those songs are fABBAlous. My parents love them and I grew up listening to their records. Knowing those lyrics, it proved difficult not to sing along while watching the movie.

The movie is not "Xanadu" bad. It's not going to end Meryl Streep's film career like "Xanadu" did to Olivia Newton-John's career. But it may be the first and only movie by its director. It is a movie that makes me think I could direct a better movie than its own director did. So, if I were directing it, I would:

1. Make better use of its Greek isle location and not overusing the Aegean blue background.
2. Allude to some Greek mythology (stealing from Broadway's "Xanadu"). It's in the lyrics already : "The gods may throw a dice/Their minds as cold as ice." Plenty of songs employ themes of fate and games already. Employ a Greek chorus, not just a background of Greek people who sing.
3. Pay homage to Lasse Hallstrom's ABBA music videos. (He could've directed the movie for that matter!) There are some iconic images in those videos - see "Muriel's Wedding."
4. Re-orchestrate certain songs. I know, you can't mess with ABBA's studio sound too much. And a lot of it is in the movie - the arrangements sound like they do in the ABBA albums except for the vocals. It's intricately layered recordings, which makes it terrific pop. But, you could punch up some Greek-ness to it, the way sections of "I Have A Dream" hint at bouzoki sounds, for example. Or fully utilize the song to tell the story and convey character - see Streep's "The Winner Takes It All." After all, the art of a good pop song is how it rings emotional truth to its listeners.
5. Not hire Pierce Brosnan to sing.

There are a few high points in the movie: "Dancing Queen," Meryl Streep's "Slipping Through My Fingers," and especially her rendition of "The Winner Takes It All."



What I'm really waiting for is an ABBA musical that tells their own story (much like "Jersey Boys"). Just think of the irony and heartbreak those songs have in the context of dual divorces between its members. It's so VH1, I know.

The "Wow"

From the NY Times:

Slowing Down to Let the Moment Sink In
By JESSICA L. ISRAEL, M.D
Published: July 22, 2008
For a doctor, the first glimpse of death and a simple thank you are reminders to never forget.

The article's author defines the "wow" as a moment when she "smells the lilies and looks at butterflies" - when she slows down to acknowledge that death/dying means more than a clinical fact.

I've found it quite interesting that I'm in that position - with interns. One time, an intern was doing her clinical rotation in our unit and I informed her about a patient's poor status. She said with sadness, "I don't want another death today." My response was "Welcome to oncology." I meant it with humor (a defense mechanism). But now that I think about it, that statement could've been interpreted as unfeeling.

July ushers in new interns fresh from med school and I should be more mindful. A few weeks ago, I told the intern to come see a patient and pronounce him dead. After assessing the patient, he came back to me and asked me if I was okay. I was surprised by the question. I told him I was fine and didn't think any of it. This past weekend, another patient died and I asked that same intern regarding something about post-mortem care. He said he didn't know the answer because this was only the second death he's dealt with in the hospital. Then it clicked - I had my "wow." I thought back to when he asked me if I was okay - It was really a question to himself than to me - I should have reflected that question back to him because I now realized that earlier death was his first.

THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)

Like the rest of the fanboys, I eagerly awaited this movie.

I'm not normally a size queen - but this movie rocks in IMAX. The first 2-D movie I've truly enjoyed in that giant screen. They've somehow figured out how to seamlessly switch aspect ratios and make use of that full wrap-around screen, mainly for the aerial shots - so if you're acrophobic, think twice.

The movie lives up to its title in tone and cinematic color palette.
Top-notch acting (thank God, Tom Cruise abducted Katie Holmes and gave us Maggie Gyllenhaal instead), tight story, and dynamite action sequences.

The reason to see it - as some posters tout - is Heath Ledger. One of those performances they call "possessed" - as if there's no acting going on. His character's sociopathic energy ripples throughout the movie that near the end of it, you feel like the chaos in Gotham would spill over into the movie theater. And that nurse outfit, I only wish I could pull that off.



I'm not a betting man, but I see dudes donning the Joker more than McCain and Obama masks this coming Halloween. It'll be cheaper too. They'll just borrow their girlfriends' make-up. We are in a recession, after all.

"Picture this ..."

Thank you for being a friend ...
Estelle Getty played Sophia Petrillo from one of the best TV shows ever, "The Golden Girls." I dare you to watch an episode and not laugh. (But if you happen to catch one of the serious episodes - you'll appreciate what makes it a good show.) Well, she's now looking down on us from her lanai in the sky.

Duffy

Catching up to new music and have been listening to Duffy's album, "Rockferry." At first I thought Hilary Duff changed her name (like Puff Daddy/P. Diddy).

She's cut from the British factory that puts out pop singers who sing retro-'60s-sounding songs - a la Amy Winehouse without the emphysema. I'd say she's a less feisty-sounding Joss Stone.
What she most reminds me of though is Lulu. When I listen to the album I expect "To Sir With Love" to play on the next track.

Harmless pop to listen to. Not as good as "Back to Black." Something to bide the time until Winehouse cuts a new album after she gets more oxygen in her lungs.

"Warwick Avenue" - one of the better tunes from Duffy's album:

A Cali Wedding?

The BF and I will be attending his sister's wedding in California this October and many have remarked that since it's California, there might be more than one marriage taking place ...
Let me put an end to all that speculation: I will NOT be getting married in California!
It's too soon. And there's no ring on this finger. Yet?

High-Browin'

Two consecutive days of high-brow theatrical events this past weekend, courtesy of Lincoln Center Festival 2008 with "Die Soldaten" and "The Bacchae."

"Die Soldaten": 12-tone music is not my cup of tea, so I won't discuss the music. The production is technically astounding. Audience seating is on risers that travel on railroad tracks that follow the length of a T shaped stage. A larger orchestra is house left, a smaller one is house right. So as the risers move past the orchestra, the music/sound surrounds you in interesting ways. The music gets under your skin that it's aurally overwhelming by the end. And it was only at the end when I realized how much I fully appreciated what I saw. As the lights faded, I collected myself and asked, "What the hell have I just seen?" The experience trumps text/musical content for me. Don't care much for the story nor the political overtones. It is a German modernist opera about a young woman corrupted by soldiers. I was always riveted by the action/movement/staging onstage. I described the stage a lot because the subject of theatrical space popped up in my head (oh, memories of Senior Seminar in Theatre). A play about soldiers presented in an armory is too fitting. The platform reminded of a hanamichi and as the risers travel the length of the runway, distance affects how one feels about a character and situation. A lot of depravity happens in the story and those scenes are served to the audience as close as possible. The last scene is quite moving - the audience travels along with the daughter, now a beggar, as she walks away from her father. As we inch farther from her father, the gulf between father and daughter and the distance between her and decent society feel even wider.

"The Bacchae": The German opera above featured an orgy, a Bacchanal, the character of Dionysus in "The Bacchae" would totally stamp his seal of approval on. I've underestimated Alan Cumming's chops as an actor. If only he could stop mooning the audience in every production he's in. He exemplifies the impishness of that Greek god and his wrathful quality - a scorned rock idol, I suppose. Cumming charms the pants off the audience that allows the audience to immediately follow him on his path for revenge. True to the text but extremely pop in its presentation - more rock n' roll, complete with pyrotechnics. The Maenads are groupies or more like backup singers. The sharp tonal shift from almost comedy to high tragedy jarred me, but it presents the masks of comedy and tragedy side by side.

... When Nurses Attack!

As if we don't have other things to worry about - like patients attacking us - we also have to be careful of other nurses. "Nurses eat their young" have a fancy scientific name: lateral violence.

Read on from the Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing (Vol.12, No. 3):

Understanding Lateral Violence in Nursing by Sheridan-Leos, N.

A WIDOW FOR ONE YEAR (1998)

Brought back memories of Bay Street Theatre in the Hamptons because a lot of the action takes place there. The book has the typical John Irving touches: symbolic amputations, sex, and dead children. The book is about writers. Ted (a children's writer) and Marion (a crime writer later on) are married with 2 dead kids and a daughter, Ruth (who becomes a famous novelist). Ted hires 16-year-old Eddie (future novelist) to assist him and have him sleep with Marion.

For a novel that spans over 30 years, not a lot of plot happens, which is strange for an Irving novel. Instead it delves deeper into its characters by exploring how writers write and what they write about, namely how real life and their written stories interrelate.

The book doesn't trump "The World According to Garp" as my personal fave out of his oeuvre, but it has one unforgettable car crash that still gives me the creeps. The end felt unsatisfying to me and there's a plot detour in Amsterdam that feels so out of place with the book's tone.

When Patients Attack!

From NY Times:

Nurses Step Up Efforts to Protect Against Attacks

By DAVID TULLER

Published: July 8, 2008

Advocates for nurses are lobbying for increased penalties for violent patients and urging that all incidents be reported.
(Click HERE to read more.)

We were just discussing about this at work because one of our patients became verbally and physically abusive to one of the nurses. My co-worker asked, "How come we can't do anyting when they try to hit us?" She meant file charges or at least file a complaint. My answer basically was that it comes with the job. I expected patients to be like that, since I've grown up hearing my mom's tales of when patients attack. Now, I have my stories, too. One is of a 90-year old lady trying to take a swing at me. My other question to my co-worker: Can a patient be responsible for his/her actions when they are confused (whether from psych or physical reasons)? I don't really have an answer. Different hospitals deal with that in some way, I'm sure. Hasn't come up for me yet, so I haven't investigated.

Spurred by the article, I tried to see if NY was doing anything along those lines. In NY state, NYSNA is lobbying for Bill A06186. The bill would make assault on nurses a class C or D felony, equal to assaulting a police officer. However, the bill seems very specific in only being applied to emergency situations, as in first aid, or in ER cases. What happens to nurses in inpatient med/surg units? Maybe I should just work with babies. They don't hit you at all. The OR maybe? They're too knocked out to even lift a finger. Bill AO6186 is currently referred to the Codes Committee.

See, that Nursing and Society class actually paid off.

FANNY (1961)

FANNY (1961): A recent essential pick from Turner Classic Movies. Never heard of the film before that and was intrigued by its cinematographer and the stars in it. Leslie Caron plays Fanny, a fish seller's daughter in Marseilles. She falls in love with the cafe owner's son, who longs to sail the seas rather than stay with her.

This entry might as well be a love letter to Leslie Caron - She is even more beautiful than the scenery. She matures from gamine to a more serious actress here. Charles Boyer and Maurice Chevalier flank her ably with delicious comic banter. The young eye candy is German actor Horst Buchholz. Kinda creepy that Maurice Chevalier's character gets together with Fanny - in a really odd twist to the opening of "Gigi" when Chevalier sings "Thank Heavens for Little Girls."

Jack Cardiff photographs Marseilles on location with breathtaking aerial shots that readily added itself to my personal list of places to go.

Not an essential to me in the way its hosts treasure it, but worth a look anyway. Maybe I was too drawn to Fanny/Leslie Caron that I don't believe her lover would leave her behind for a sea-adventure. Also, not sure about the tone the movie takes about her decisions in order to retain her honor. I know that it has to do with the time and place it's set - and I do see that internal struggle in Caron's eyes.

NY Federal Reserve Gold Tour

Five stories below Manhattan sits piles of gold that you can see for free. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of NY, "The Fed houses the most foreign gold held anywhere in the world." There's a guided tour that you must book way in advance (a week to a month before). The gold looks so shiny and seemingly fake. Compared to seeing it in the movies being stolen by the baddies in "Die Hard with a Vengeance," the real deal almost looks dull. Too bad you can't touch it. What fascinated me though are the security details. There's a demonstration that almost made me claustrophobic and appreciate oxygen even more.

For more info: http://www.newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/ny_tours.html

WALL-E (2008)

The movie I was most looking forward to seeing this summer. And it didn't disappoint! It's imaginative and quite touching. Its creators endowed the characters with engaging personalities that one cares for them so much. Beguiling that the bulk of the movie is essentially a silent movie. The nods to Kubrick were brilliant! And the nod to "City Lights" is even more so.
Pass the Kleenex.

Happy Fourth!

Fall Fashion

Women from Texas polygamous sect launch clothing line

Wed Jul 2, 7:50 AM ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The raid by Texas authorities on a reclusive polygamous sect in April and their seizure of 400 children amid allegations of abuse has had an unexpected consequence -- the launch of a new clothing line.

From: Yahoo! News.

Guess what my costume will be come Halloween?
I'm gonna have to lose some weight to fit in the Teen Princess Dress (See Below).