Grazing Rites

I am one lucky SOB.

After 7 years of not seeing a dentist I finally got around to it today and the verdict was everything’s absolutely fine.

What a relief – it was a small worry in the back of my mind of the better part of a decade and now it’s gone. Last year it was my eyes, this year my mouth but so far I’m still in the clear.

No cavities.
Gums are fine (I knew my previous dentist was a quack for saying I needed a graft!).
Bones are fine.
No cancer.
No decay.

In fact, as mouths go, mine is in pretty good condition. In fact they kept remarking on how unremarkable my mouth was – as well as how boring a read my dental and medical histories are. I guess I’m pretty vanilla.

Now when I was a kid my family would spot me $5 for each dentist’s visit and for every problem that I could have prevented I would lose $1. So a cavity would cost me a dollar but overcrowding or wisdom teeth removal would not. Well by all accounts despite skipping about 14 dental visits and cleanings I do believe I scored 5 out of 5 – so where’s my fiver?

Actually it was a pretty good experience on the whole. I went to Dr. Bong Kwoo on Broadway and these guys were fantastic. Some of the best customer service I’ve received in ages. They put the folks at the Hyatt to shame. The receptionist took my coat, sat next to me to help me fill out the medical forms – I felt like I was back in Kindergarten with all the unnecessary handholding. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t mind in the slightest – they really go out of their way to make you feel at home. My last dentist’s office was cold and uninviting and full of curt people who didn’t seem to have time for anything including any serious questions about insurance. These guys at Dr. Kwoo’s make you feel like a king. Seriously, like there’s nothing more important than making sure things are as easy and comfortable for you as possible. The hygienist was kind and had a sense of humour and Dr. Kwoo himself was fantastic. It takes a lot to make bleeding gums funny.

You know, I stayed away from a dentist’s office for 7 years logically because I didn’t have insurance but emotionally I stayed away because of the guilt trips and the lectures and the general sense of disappointment that came from all my previous dentists whenever I walked in a day late or with less than perfect teeth. There was seriously no pleasing these people. But Dr. Kwoo’s staff – boy are the understanding. I spent much of the time just waiting for the lecture and it never came. When Dr. Kwoo casually mentioned how long it had been since I’d seen a dentist I tried to get out in front of it and own up to my bad choices. He just said “hey, everyone gets busy or has their reasons”. He just wanted to confirm that my information as correct, not criticize my choices. That moment alone was as much as a relief as finding out my mouth was completely healthy.

It was also quite the education. He explained everything before doing it and in such a way as to make sense to anyone. He used appropriate and comprehensible metaphors and had a sense of humour.

I learned about bone loss and how a # was ideal and a #5 was bad and then got to hear how each of my teeth came in between #1 and #4.

He told me about this very Spock device, designed and built right here in BC, that lets them see at the cellular level and it does nothing but shine a blue light at you and cause some very slight warmth. It was a somewhat surreal moment, having someone look through something the size of a cell phone to see your mouth at the cellular level in real time to screen for cancer. Now I have some idea what it must be like to visit sickbay on the Enterprise. I also learned that 25% of all cancers of the mouth happen to people in absolutely no risk group and can have no visible indications or symptoms until it’s already in advanced stages.

He was able to tell without any diagnostic assistance that I have more minerals in my system than the average person and explained how that results in faster plaque buildup than average and how only a dentist can effectively remove it and that was my one problem area, a lot of build up, and he was able to take care of all that with one vigorous cleaning.

He mentioned a couple cosmetic things I could do such as adjusting my bite and whitening my teeth but it wasn’t so much a sales pitch as making sure I knew what my options were so I could make informed decisions and I was the one who mentioned whitening first.

I initially booked an appointment with them based on a flyer for a $69.95 promotional price for the first cleaning, x-rays, and cancer screening and frankly I had pretty much planned to take advantage of the discount and then move over to the same place I sent my family for subsequent cleanings. I didn’t feel guilty about my insidious plan because I had my doubts about a dentist who also offers Botox but I have to say that depending on the final details of my insurance coverage I may just stick with Dr. Kwoo even if it means a bit more out-of-pocket. Having finally found a dentist I actually like, who behaves like a professional on the cutting edge of technological innovation, would be well worth it if insurance makes it affordable.

Wow, let me tell you this game is awesome. It really is the game I’ve been waiting for since 1985 – honest to goodness cooperative multiplayer in a side-scrolling Mario game.

Why did it take until the Wii for this to become a reality? I think there are at least 2 solid reasons for this.

First, the Wii is the first Nintendo console to have a native widescreen resolution and for 4 players or indeed even 2 to play on the same level simultaneously without constantly squeezing the other person off or constantly bumping into each other you really need widescreen.

Second, the Wii was the first Nintendo console to truly go online and sales of old games via Virtual Console must have shown Nintendo, at last, that there is still a market for these kinds of games. Mega Man 9, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, and Dr. Mario on WiiWare, I think, really helped open the doors New Super Mario Bros Wii walked through. And of course New Super Mario Bros on DS selling so well was a direct predecessor to this game. Wikipedia had this to say regarding the success of New Super Mario Bros on the DS…

“New Super Mario Bros. received several honors, including Game of the Month awards from Game Informer and Electronic Gaming Monthly, and Editors’ Choice Awards from IGN and GameSpot. In Japan, the game broke the record for the best-selling debut for a Nintendo DS game. Overall, the game has sold 18.45 million copies worldwide and is the second best-selling game for the DS, and the fourth best-selling non-bundled video game of all time.”

But I think the appeal of classic gaming had to be discovered before even that game was made. Frankly I’m elated at the whole thing. Just because graphics and hardware advances made other more complicated game types possible it did nothing to negate the appeal and fun of the games we had already loved. And these two most recent Mario games make use of expanded capabilities to bring new things to the franchise without completely reinventing the wheel.

If you think about it, you can almost see the natural progression. For example zooming out when characters are far apart from each other was something that began with the Super Smash Bros line of games.

Okay, enough about broad trends in the industry, back to the actual game at hand.

Of the game, Tycho at Penny Arcade had this to say…

“New Super Mario Brothers Wii is marriage poison.

I wouldn’t play this game with any person you want to see again. In its multiplayer interpretation, which I suggest be referred to as “Divorce Mode,” choreographing your platform jumps in a way that does not interfere with another person’s basic game interactions can be quite difficult - particularly in portions where player movement itself can kill teammates while you progress the level, or when the natural scroll of the camera can kill those who lag behind. One of these two things is almost always happening, though.  So hm. 

That is to say nothing of the proper distribution of power-ups, which is a process fraught with concentrated danger.”

I suppose he has a point if the person you’re playing with both sucks and has a fragile ego. But there’s one aspect of this new game Tycho may overlooking, perhaps for comic value. If you press ‘A’ you are encased in a bubble that protects you and carries you through the level (and solid objects) so long as someone else is still alive in your team. Effective use of this can be quite the useful tool. One person can take a very dangerous risk while someone else waits in relative safety and the second it goes south press ‘A’ and you’re saved without losing a life. In my house we call this “bubbling-up” – the imperative version conjugation being “bubble up!” or “bubble up God damn it!” if you’re willing to pay a $0.25 surcharge on your foul language. This also allows you to recognize various players’ strengths. For example my fiancée is very good at ghost houses and boss battles while my strengths lay in standard levels and castles. So in a ghost house I’m much more inclined to bubble up and let her carry my sorry ass through to the well-hidden exit. In a castle I get us to the boss, she takes care of him. So the peculiarities of this game don’t have to be a source of conflict but rather a challenge to work together and acknowledge everyone’s relative skills. And if lagging very far behind or getting hit with a shell a teammate threw didn’t hurt you then the game would just be insanely easy.

And all that having been said, this kind of situation is still damn funny:
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2009/11/20/

I think this game has the strong potential to be the “it gift” this year – revitalizing the Wii against stiff competition from the PS3. So buy it for yourself, buy it for someone you love, buy it for your boss and watch it ruin his marriage – whatever it takes to get Nintendo to continue making games for people like me who thought between the years of 2001 and 2006 that video games had left them behind. The Wii, and more specifically this game, really is for everyone.

This is one of those films that are hard to describe.

It’s generally fantastic, although there are some moments such as trying to make light of the deaths as a result of MKULTRA that were a little awkward to watch if you know the history.

Also what happens at the military base at the end is far too slapstick for my tastes and part of me can’t help but wonder if something like that actually happened rather than being the result of artistic creative license. Further research however reveals that Kevin Spacey and Robert Patrick’s characters are completely fictional so I am inclined to believe that was just low-brow humour or lazy writing. Either way that particular plot point was a disappointment but in my mind there few sins a handful of Jedi jokes won’t correct.

The acting is very good considering the ludicrous nature of the subject matter.

Overall I think they tried to tell a very funny and unusual historical tale but wrapped it in an incomplete framing story that seemed to lack a fulfilling conclusion to the narrative.

That said it’s still a lot of good fun that’s well worth the time and money although perhaps not worth owning.

In honor of the subject matter of the film I shall strive for ruthless honesty in this review.

Let me say, straight off, that this is NOT just a film for fans of Ricky Gervais. Yes he wrote it. Yes he directed it. Yes he starred in it. Okay, I’m not helping make my point here. The point is if you’re expecting something as dry as Extras don’t worry – this film actually has a very broad appeal – probably much broader than its given credit for. It’s actually incredibly smart but in a very accessible manner. It gives you something to think about and a lot to laugh about.

For me the journey to see this film was a long one. For months an ad for the film prominently displaying Rob Lowe (whom I enjoy) has been staring me in the face on my daily commute. A big poster right across from me on the skytrain platform right where I wait for the perfect doors to make my trip as easy and efficient as possible. Every day I found myself thinking “I want to see that. I bet I’d really enjoy that. Probably won’t happen”. Well it wasn’t until I found myself bored in Tukwila on a fall minibreak that I came across a mobile movie times website on my PDA that brought the nearby showing to my attention.

In fact our experience was probably rather unique. We were the only ones in the theatre until about 5 or 10 minutes before the film was to start when two other people entered. They actually got up and left before the film had even reached the midpoint. They whispered something to the usher on their way out and never returned. They’re obviously fools but it meant my friend and I could be as obnoxious as we wanted since we had the place to ourselves but other than pointing out gazillions of awesome cameos we were really quiet because the film was just that engrossing.

I actually figured out a way this story could be plausible. Sodium Pentothal makes you tell the truth, right? Well what if this parallel earth’s entire freshwater supply had naturally occurring Sodium Pentothal in it? Then let’s say that Ricky Gervais’ character has a genetic anomaly (or evolutionary mutation if you will) that prevents him from absorbing the Sodium Pentothal into his system. Boom, there you go. Entire movie plausible – that’s your suspension of disbelief on a silver platter, now go enjoy the film.

(Spoiler Alert! And sorry for the lack of warning in my District 9 review. My bad.)

One thing I found slightly disappointing or at least counter intuitive is that he ends up with Jennifer Garner’s character. The fact is she’s a cow. He should have found someone with a soul rather than essentially train her to fake it. Very disappointing but I suppose if she’s the female lead it wouldn’t do very well to dump her two-thirds of the way through the film to find someone better like say, I don’t know I think Renee Zellweger or someone could have played a better partner for him. But I digress.

So in conclusion, see this film. If for no other reason than I guarantee you will see a cameo from at least one actor you enjoy. That is, of course, assuming you have any taste.

This movie is kind of weird. It starts off great, stays great for about the first half or three-quarters and then just goes nuts and you walk away from it hardly knowing what to think of it.

The acting is first-rate, there are no questions there. Damon and Bakula are fantastic. Joel McHale makes a wonderful transition from his frequent comedic appearances on Countdown to the big screen – I look forward to seeing more of him in the future. And if you, like me, remember him from Almost Live! well, then you score some major points in my books.

This film also has some great cameos, so, enjoy that.

It’s just…it’s hard to describe. It’s based on a true story so it’s rather limited it what it could do from a plot perspective so if the  ending  leaves you a little unfulfilled, disappointed, or confused well, that’s life.

It’s one of those movies you see once and you’re good. So call it a rental I guess.

On December 30th 2008 I made 5 New Year’s resolutions…
1) Never buy parkay margarine again
2) See a dentist
3) Save money
4) Help my girlfriend get a newer car
5) Have a kickass vacation

Let’s have a status report.

1) Never buy parkay margarine again
Done.

2) See a dentist
Just booked an appointment today for next week, this was the last thing on the list really. It’s been hanging over my head for both months and years – months as a resolution, years as a general responsibility.

Now I have plenty of excuses, most of which hover around having no dental insurance for years, then having an unknown status of coverage due to the crappy communication of a former union at a former workplace. Then recently I got on Mindi’s plan but I waited a bit because we were unclear on when exactly the dental kicked in. But since I made the resolution to see a dentist last December the only remaining excuses were finding a dentist, figuring out the cost (as this insurance reimburses after the fact), and scheduling. The first two remaining roadblocks were removed at the insistence and assistance of my staff, which just left scheduling. November was the perfect time as my scheduling is reasonably flexible but here it is halfway through the month and I was still putting it off.

To be clear I don’t fear the dentist – I fear the dentist’s bill (that’s bill, not drill). And my last dentist became some sort of marketing madman near the end, constantly trying to sell me things I didn’t need so I also fear the sales pitch. But after all this time I suppose I am also afraid they’ll find something or give me a lecture. But as much as I feel ashamed for leaving it for so long I do feel proud at finally biting the bullet (pardon the pun) and getting this thing scheduled. It’s overcoming all that inertia that’s often the hardest part. Plus I found a great deal, essentially half off plus cancer and gum disease screening so at least one way or another I’ll know my dental status. And they guarantee the visit will not last more than 90 minutes so if they start in to a sales pitch and I’ll just watch the clock and go to a happy place in my head until the clock runs out.

3) Save money
This is relative but always a good idea and goal. So it really depends on how you look at it. If you want to go with pure numbers I’m about $2,100 down from this time last year however when you consider that since then I have bought a new HDTV, blu-ray player, car (and repairs and maintenance), and engagement ring not to mention gone on 2 minibreaks and an awesome vacation which I essentially paid for 2 people I’d say that’s pretty good. Frankly looking back I have absolutely no idea how I did it. So if you consider the value of the things purchased…heck, forget everything else but the car and I still come out ahead so let’s call this one complete.

4) Help my girlfriend get a newer car
Well I ended up not so much “helping” as “buying” the car but either way call that a win

5) Have a kickass vacation
Have you seen the videos? Mission freaking accomplished.

As for resolutions for the coming year? Well it’s way too early to speculate with any degree of confidence although I think it’s a safe bet #1 and #3 will make appearances. #5 will probably be modified slightly to “have a kickass 30th birthday vacation (possibly in London)”. I’ve had and completely 2 medical resolutions in the last two years (optometrist last year, dentist this year) so I think perhaps I’ll give that a break maybe have something about general physical fitness, doing something special for the kid, or maybe just have one that reads “survive 2010” as work has already gotten a little crazy and is likely only to get worse between now and my birthday.

How did you do on your resolutions?

The story of how this film came to be is an interesting one. Originally Peter Jackson and Neill Blomkamp were supposed to be working on a Halo movie which would have been Blomkamp’s first movie but when funding fell through Jackson made a deal to support Blomkamp making a different movie so that he would still have a shot at his first film. Eventually they decided to make District 9. It was shot as an independent film using cameras that Jackson owned and lent to the project. As an independent film they weren’t controlled by a large film studio and could thus cast unknown actors and make other choices far removed from corporate Hollywood influence. I think its genesis leads directly to some of the films greatest strengths – it’s unlike anything else in theatres and takes an unexpected approach and doesn’t conform to Hollywood formats.

This is just a fantastic film. It’s action, it’s science fiction (and I mean the kind of thought-provoking science fiction that would make Asimov and Roddenberry proud), it’s drama – it has a lot to offer much of which doesn’t always fall into our predetermined categories.

For example the main character is not at all what you’d expect. He seems a most unlikely hero, or villain for that matter, and frankly when we first met him I didn’t think he WAS the main character. He just seemed so inconsequential. I thought he was just someone who would accidentally set a chain of events into motion prior to the real protagonist showing up. But he doesn’t even fit into the stereotypes of an antihero or a reluctant hero. He starts off so seemingly innocent and naïve and before anything noteworthy happens you slowly start to see a slightly darker side of things like acceptable racism but it’s still in this soft innocent coating that the juxtaposition is a little surprising and intriguing and that’s when it hits you that this is a person. A 3 dimensional character that, to paraphrase Whitman, at times contradicts himself as he contains multitudes – as many people do. We’re used to seeing characters that have very few actual characteristics and if any of these change at all they tend to come in broad sweeping strokes that pivot on a central plot point – usually coming to realize they must do the right thing or some such. Wikus is much more complicated than that but that complication isn’t a burden to the viewer at all – if anything it makes the experience more human.

I could pontificate on the themes or the message, go on a rant about KBR/Halliburton (although why try when Keith Olbermann does it so well?) but that’s all for the individual to determine for themselves. It’s a great movie that makes you think but there are enough shades of gray that it doesn’t really force any ideology or conclusions on you. You can easily just enjoy it as a piece of entertainment.

It’s not a perfect movie, I could have done with him getting his hands on some alien weaponry a whole lot sooner and kicking ass for a bit longer but all things considered it’s a pretty minor criticism.

The aliens were easy to identify with because many of their faces, particularly that of the primary alien character, were actually rather reminiscent of Bumblebee from the recent Transformers movies.

I think they did an excellent job of setting up for a potential sequel. I mean, they moved them from District 9 to District 10 by the end after all so the title of the sequel is pre-made, logical, and easy for audiences to follow. And the time frame for the ship to return closely matches a film production schedule.

It became pretty apparent relatively early on that each of the numbered characters represented a different aspect of humanity or a specific human. In fact I believe it was about 15 minutes in that I said “engramatic transfer!” to my friend.

Oh, did I just ruin it for you? Don’t worry, it’s painfully obvious and you’ll still get to discover and debate which character is what part of humanity.

But on the off chance that I have accidentally ruined the film for you let me tell you the ending is unsatisfying. Not No Country For Old Men unsatisfying but it takes an unfortunate religious turn at the end. Frankly I find this to be poor writing – anyone can answer a question with “god did it” (which this film doesn’t, fear not) but it takes talent to come up with real-world solutions and explanations and meaning.

It’s an enjoyable film and visually intriguing and well worth watching so long as you keep your expectations in check – they sadly didn’t cover what I found to be the most interesting aspect of the story (how we got here and where we’re going afterwards) very well for my tastes but don’t let that stop you from seeing it.

I don’t get people who are against swine flu vaccines.

I’m not saying people should panic over swine flu and I agree it’s been over-reported and often not put in proper perspective but I also think if you don’t want the vaccine that’s fine, don’t get it (I haven’t) but by the same token as the media has put too much fear into people over the swine flu the fringe has put too much fear into people over the vaccine. Don’t panic and do what your doctor tells you, that’s my advice but I’m not going to force that opinion on people. And I’m not going to imply that people doing otherwise are uneducated - my doctor’s plenty educated and that’s good enough for me. If I didn’t trust him with my family’s health, well, I’d get a new doctor.

To be completely honest I haven’t decided if I’m going to get the shot or not (I think I was exposed in spring and am already immune anyways, about 75% chance of that being the case) - I’ll probably just get the shot at work. But as someone not in an at-risk group I’ll happily wait my turn. I took my son to get his shot and fully support anyone I know in an at-risk group getting theirs ASAP. But so long as hockey teams and wall street CEOs are pushing pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems out of their way to get it as someone not in an at-risk group I’m proud of waiting. Plus it gives me a bit more time to see if there are any complications which as far as I can tell (and I watch the news pretty carefully) there haven’t been any. Since April, 23 people have died of swine flu (or related complications) in BC, thus far I think the vaccine is still at zero.

My friend recently mentioned the top 5 reasons for not getting the swine flu shot that people have told him…here they are with my responses…

5. “I’ve never had the flu and never had the vaccine so I don’t need it”
That’s faulty logic but their choice.

4. “Last time I had the flu shot I got sick(er)”
Vaccine is dead, can’t replicate itself, last time they probably had the flu before the shot but the shot didn’t make it worse. I used to think this before I read up from multiple medical sources on what the shot actually is. Now I know better.

3. “It’s the media making this a big deal”
Fair enough. If they’re not in an at-risk group and just don’t want to expend the time I respect that and if the shot wasn’t coming to my workplace I might even be with them on this one.

2. “I am not convinced of the vaccine, they produced it too fast”
Fair enough, their choice. I prefer to accept the assessment of my doctor as he would know better how to evaluate it.

1. “It’s a government conspiracy”
They’re insane, what does government possibly stand to gain? Thus far it’s actually been a PR nightmare. U.S. and Canadian governments widely criticized for poor delivery and other planning. For those that truly believe this, Darwin may be calling. The sad part is if they do get swine flu it will feed right into their delusions and claim the government somehow gave it to them because they knew too much! Call Mulder and Scully! Sigh.

Speaking of news, apparently Swine Flu has plateaued recently…
http://www.news1130.com/more.jsp?content=20091112_173355_8980

I don’t get people who are against Remembrance Day.

Apparently some people (mistakenly in my opinion) think it glorifies war. As far as I’m concerned it reminds us of the horrors of war and why it is to be strenuously avoided (and of course to honour the fallen) - “Lest We Forget” after all. If the goal was to glorify war we’d say something like “we kicked ass” and instead of a moment of silence and day of remembrance they’re be raging parties or some such.

Other people are against Remembrance Day because many soldiers, particularly in World War I, were unwilling participants. I think the unwilling sacrifices deserve to be honoured as well as the willing and that should be, and often is, part of the story - part of what we’re not to forget so it doesn’t happen again.

The New Westminster-Coquitlam riding is facing a by-election Monday due to Dawn Black’s resignation to transfer to provincial politics so let’s take a look at the candidates…

NDP – Fin Donnelly
With a strong environmentalist like Fin running under the NDP banner in a recently NDP dominated riding I can’t image the left splitting its vote much at all with the Greens. Why vote Green when you have an environmental activist running with the NDP? It’s the best of both worlds.

Conservative – Diana Dilworth
A former city councilor she brings some political experience to the game but her focus seems to be taxation and hating the Liberals. Her slogan “stand up for Canada” doesn’t exactly make sense. Stand up against whom? She seems upset about alleged Liberal arrogance but I don’t see how any of this presents useful policies.

Liberal – Ken Lee
His mailer is all about Ignatieff rather than himself – it’s important and informative but it seems more like he’s being used to improve Ignatieff’s image than actually win the riding.

Green – Rebecca Helps
I could make a joke about her last name but it’s just too easy. Her background isn’t very impressive: a girl guide leader, instituted a recycling program at a junior high, and worked at Yellow Pages and BC Housing. She’s also still on about STV which I disagree with and has been rejected by voters two general provincial elections in a row.

Conclusions
Fin Donnelly is probably going to win by uniting in the left. Diana Dilworth is simply too negative. If you want to vote for Michael Ignatieff then vote for Ken Lee. I frankly don’t think Rebecca Helps has the comprehension for federal politics. So my recommendation is to vote NDP or if for some reason you have an aversion to doing so then go Liberal.

I’ve heard a lot of crazy and contradictory things since even the idea of a vaccine first came up. I’m about the farthest thing from a medical professional so when the media reported that they wanted young children to get the vaccine the week of November 2nd the decision was easy. Call the doctor and do whatever he says. He said get the shot.

So today was the first opportunity to get the kid his shot and according to the doc as well as the media it might be his last chance for a little while as the supply looks poised to dry up temporarily, partly due to queue-jumping hockey teams. The doctor’s office only administers the shot for one hour each day. It seemed a little odd but you play the hand that you’re dealt.

The day before I instituted No Thomas Day; the kid’s obsessed with Thomas and a break could do him good. Plus it was all part of the plan.

I began preparing to leave 90 minutes before we had to – getting dressed, packing a bag, that sort of thing. This included converting an hour long episode of Thomas for playback on my PDA.

I timed it so that we arrived 10 minutes early – we ended up 6th in line, the people immediately in front of us had been waiting 25 minutes already when we arrived and moments after we got there the line doubled. It seemed we arrived at just the right time – early enough for maximum efficiency but not so earl y as to be crazy.

So I busted out the headphones and the PDA and kept the kid at my side with some Thomas. Other parents looked at me with either admiration for my planning or contempt for the reliance on television rather than, say, a book.

The second group to go in was a couple of twins; we could hear their screams out in the hallway. This changed the remaining condescending looks from fellow parents to looks of regret and admiration as the screams caused great and often vocal anxiety in all the other children – which my son couldn’t hear. He was happy as a clam.

Knowing we were headed for a shot I dressed him appropriately in a t-shirt and button up shirt and jacket. Once in the room I got his jacket and shirt off and rolled up the sleeve on the t-shirt. He continued watching Thomas looking in the opposite direction of the exposed arm.

When the nurse came in she was shocked. She asked if we had already gotten the shot because we looked so prepared. I said no and mentioned that I hadn’t wiped the soon-to-be injection site with rubbing alcohol yet so she could do that if she wanted to feel useful. We had a chuckle. She needed to get a smaller needle and when she came back she brought a fellow nurse to show her what a prepared family looked like.

The shot took half a second. The kid made a face but beyond that you wouldn’t know that anything had happened. The nurse said she wanted to give us an award for best patient ever. As we left I overheard her telling another nurse about what great patients we were…well that was what I could make out over the screaming of the twins who were still tying up another room.

Drums

Easy
Interpol – PDA
Modest Mouse – Float On
The Go-Go’s – We Got The Beat

Medium
Billy Idol – White Wedding
Blondie - One Way Or Another
Cheap Trick - Hello There
Devo – Uncontrollable Urge
Dinosaur Jr. – Feel The Pain
Foo Fighters - Everlong
Guns N’ Roses – Shackler’s Revenge
Jane’s Addiction – Mountain Song
Jimmy Eat World – The Middle
Journey – Any Way You Want It [x4]
Journey – Don’t Stop Believing
L7 – Pretend We’re Dead
Lit – My Own Worst Enemy [x1]
Lush - De-Luxe
Nirvana – Drain You
Nirvana – Polly [x3]
Panic At The Disco – Nine In The Afternoon
Rage Against The Machine – Testify
Ratt - Round & Round
Smashing Pumpkins – Today
Speck – Conventional Lover [x2]
Survivor - Eye Of The Tiger
Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
The Donnas - New Kid In School
The Main Drag - A Jagged Gorgeous Winter
The Offspring – Come Out And Play (Keep ‘Em Separated) [x3]
The Replacements – Alex Chilton [x1]
The Who - Pinball Wizard [x2]
Tenacious D – Master Exploder
Alanis Morissette – Head Over Feet

Vocals

Easy
Duran Duran – Hungry Like The Wolf
L7 – Pretend We’re Dead
Oasis – Wonderwall [x4]
R.E.M. – Losing My Religion [x3]
Social Distortion - I Was Wrong
Smashing Pumpkins - Today

Guitar

Easy
Duran Duran – Girls On Film
Modest Mouse – Float On