Boats Against the Current

Down the Road - C2C This is my favorite song at the moment. I...

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:53:38 -0400

Down the Road - C2C

This is my favorite song at the moment. I can’t tell you why I enjoy it, but it’s one of those rare tracks that *almost* makes me want to dance. It sounds utterly bizarre (Daft Punk?) and it reminds me a bit of the oddball music that accompanys Cowboy Bepop. I’ve been listening to it repeatedly over the last few days.

Their debut album titled Tetra went platinum when it was released a few months ago and the Guardian wrote a short article that you can find here.

You can find more by C2C by visiting their webpage here and their soundcloud here. You can watch the music video for Down The Road here.

Fathers

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 14:43:49 -0400

Brother: Dad wants to know why you're up at 4am. Dad says: "If you fall asleep with your head in a trash can, have someone take a picture."
Me: Tell father that, now that I have a paycheck, he can shove it up his ass.
Brother: hah! Dad says: "He's been waiting 23 years to be able to say that. He should get a spanking, but he'd probably enjoy that."
Note: My father is the greatest. Happy Father's Day.

Working for the Man: The Lunch Break

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:16:00 -0400

Few things sound more gay than two straight men discussing their exercise routines over Cobb salads.

…I know what you’re thinking, a few months ago my California bred gaydar would have pinged over that scene too, but here—in the land of tortured metrosexuals—this is merely commonplace.

Welcome to Washington. Where everyone is more than a little bit queer.

But I digress…

I was sitting happily beneath my favorite tree, eating a pitiful day old croissant and reading “Confessions of a Mask” when two sophomores sat down within earshot. I recognized one of them from my German class last semester. Both boys were handsome, but approaching the overly muscled look that I find more irritating than attractive. At a certain point, fitness comes from an obsession with numbers whether it be calories, waist size, or weight. While passion is important and admirable, obsession is not. And, well, we all know how much I love numbers!

This pair was wearing clothes that showcased their new gains and they punctuated their sentences with words like “bro” and “man”. I forgave their errors (I’m only human), but things got worse. After a short period of masculine silence, they started to discuss protein compounds, weight gain, and who had bigger arms. I had long since lost the focus required for reading and found that I had mentally fused my book with the eavesdropped conversation.

I felt guilty for mocking them in this inadvertent fashion, but I couldn’t help it. I felt certain that when I looked up, I would see them clumsily fornicating on the lawn. Alas, my hopes (fears?) were dashed. They had packed up and left, leaving me to contemplate my irritation and my sad excuse for a croissant. Perhaps we’re all a little superficial…

Fruhstuck: Diamonds, Disease, and the Disturbed

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:43:00 -0400

Here’s your weekly roundup.

Secrets of Nijinsky - This is incredibly long, but I enjoyed it and I’m fairly certain that you will too. It covers madness, genius, art, and love and it does so with tenderness and poise.

The Untold Story of the World’s Biggest Diamond Heist - Over the last few weeks, my obsession with Milosevic’s regime, the Balkan criminal underworld, and diamond theft has continued unabated. It all seems disturbingly interconnected and I think it would make for a great multidisciplinary thesis. Stay tuned. While they are decidedly less sexy than the Wired article, you might also enjoy these (here and here).

Syphilis, Sex, and Fear: How the French Disease Conquered the World - Becuase the theme of this batch of articles seems to be disease and crime… Enjoy this mixture of both!

The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved - Speaking of madness… Here’s a cute little story about one of America’s favorite functioning drug addicts. You can find Mr. Thompson’s whole article here.

—-

On an entirely different note…

Kylie Minogue - Unknown? Have you ever been to a gay bar?

http://www.redbubble.com/people/crispians/works/10427655-remember-thermidor

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:44:25 -0400

http://www.redbubble.com/people/crispians/works/10427655-remember-thermidor:

Because you like Thermidorian Reactions.

…Who are you?

Gluten-Free

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 18:51:41 -0400

My boss chairs a committee that meets every month. Each time they meet, my boss hires a restaurant to cater and, each time, she makes sure to include a separate gluten-free entree for one of the doctors who serve on the committee. She does this without fail.

This week, the doctor took his special entree back to his office after the meeting. He claimed, with no small amount of melodrama, that he detected gluten after eating a few bites. Like any self-respecting ~~PSYCHO~~ MD, this man took the remains of the meal back to his lab to test it for the presence of gluten. After spending farrr too much time on this otherwise worthless activity, he sent my boss an email wherein he threatened to take legal action against the caterer for “attempting to poison” him. As it turns out, the meal tested positive for gluten.

Now, gluten allergies can be serious and they can be harmful to the GI tract, but threatening legal action for what really amounted to a simple mistake is more than a tad severe.

And, in case you missed it, I’ll highlight my favorite bit again. THIS MAN TESTED HIS MEAL.

As someone far removed from the field of medicine, I wonder if all MDs are somehow…touched. Is this what residency does to you?

Pictured: Peeling facial mask, robe, vanity Not pictured:...

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:28:13 -0400

Pictured: Peeling facial mask, robe, vanity

Not pictured: “family size” bag of peanut M&Ms, House of Cards, regrets

Doing Alright With The Boys by Joan Jett and the...

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 18:17:00 -0400

Doing Alright With The Boys by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts

Another year of Pride has passed (like a kidney stone?) and, ~~as we reflect on the continued political struggle~~ as we take our parting jello shots, I think we need a proper soundtrack.

I’ve assembled a “nostalgic” mix of gay anthems on 8tracks for your listening pleasure. You can find the whole mix here.

Bonus points will be awarded to those of you who can correctly identify the man in the cover photo. *Hint: He has little, if anything, to do with the title.

"Ever since [my childhood] this has been the attitude with which I have always confronted life: from..."

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 11:23:30 -0400

“Ever since [my childhood] this has been the attitude with which I have always confronted life: from things too much waited for, too much embellished with anticipatory daydreams, there is in the end nothing I can do but run away.”

- Yukio Mishima (Confessions of a Mask)

Fruhstuck: Town cars, Gaybros, Russians, and Omelette Making Dogs

Sat, 08 Jun 2013 15:06:56 -0400

Uber May Shut Down — Oh no! Whatever will we do without easily accessible town cars?! I love that our campus paper brands this as some kind of crisis.

The Rise of the Gaybros — Ugh.

Isolated Russian Community and Photos from the Second World War — I’ve been trolling the archives of the Atlantic at work lately when I don’t have anything else to do. It’s pretty great.

Elysium — Drooling.

Omelette and Kiwi! Animated Shorts — Watch these. The second one nearly made me cry. …Maybe I should stop drinking wine in the evening hours.

Stick Arms

Fri, 07 Jun 2013 09:06:07 -0400

Landlord: Hi Brian (sic), I know it's late but I haven't heard Maggie bark like that before. Is everything ok??? Have you heard anything strange?? My husband isn't here and I am a bit worried.
Me: Sorry! I've had a few fortifying glasses of wine and I thought I could move the desk from the curb to my room by myself. As it turns out, I can't. I'm sorry that I woke you!
Landlord: No worries! I'm glad it's nothing more serious. We can help you tomorrow. Enjoy the wine! ;)

GPOY Introspective in Eastern Market

Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:06:58 -0400

GPOY Introspective in Eastern Market

Working for the Man: Plastic Surgeons and Medicine

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:37:01 -0400

My new job at the medical center is teaching me a number of not-so-useful things. Since I don’t specialize in anything remotely associated with the field of medicine, everything is new, strange, and awesome.

Today I learned a few things that I wrote down for reproduction here. For those of you who specialize in the various medical fields, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this…

Medical journal articles have the most amazing titles that I have ever seen in academia. I compiled a citation today for “Temporal Patterns of Induction of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 Gene Transcription and Protein Synthesis During Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Progression” …the author must be a joy at cocktail parties.
I’ve been learning a lot about plastic surgery and neurological rehabilitation after strokes and TIAs. See item 1.
Evidently, the University of Washington in St. Louis is a big deal in the medical community. I have already entered three CVs for attending surgeons who claim it as an alma mater.
Speaking of surgeons… Why do plastic surgeons have their conferences in Cancun in the summer months while historians hold their conferences in places like Toronto and Syracuse in December?
Professors of medicine don’t edit their CVs after they achieve tenure. Ever. Ever. End of story.

Hiatus: Getting Caught Up

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 08:16:48 -0400

Have you missed me?

Of course you have.

Monica and Jordan visited me in DC for ten days and, in that time, I think I saw more of the city than I have in the last year. We ate and drank to excess and made sure to stop at nearly every museum, monument, memorial, and site of cultural importance. I consumed West African food, helped destroy some ill-advised pitchers of sangria, took pictures next to Bonsai trees, viewed the Jefferson Memorial at 3AM, came close to touching the Enola Gay, damaged my lower back, laughed, cried, and enjoyed every minute of our numerous adventures.

It was with a heavy heart that I bid them both farewell. Now that they’re both safely back in California, and I have started my new job at the medical school, we can resume our regularly scheduled programming.

Stay tuned.

"Europe has another meaning for me. Every time I mention that word, I see the Bosnian family in front..."

Sun, 26 May 2013 21:49:49 -0400

““Europe has another meaning for me. Every time I mention that word, I see the Bosnian family in front of me, living far away from whatever they call home and eating their own wonderful food because that’s all that is left for them. The fact remains that after fifty years, it was possible to have another war in Europe; that it was possible to change borders; that genocide is still possible even today.””

- Slavenka Drakulić (Cafe Europa) - I should make it clear that if you haven’t read anything by Ms. Drakulić, you’re missing out.

Two Russian soldiers, now prisoners of war, inspect a giant...

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:51:39 -0400

Two Russian soldiers, now prisoners of war, inspect a giant statue of Lenin, somewhere in Russia, torn from its pedestal and smashed by the Germans in their advance, on August 9, 1941.

You should really take a look at the whole collection available here.

Academia.edu

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:19:20 -0400

Academia.edu:

I made an account on Academia.edu because I’m unbalanced and masochistic.

You’re welcome to follow me and/or read through my half-hearted attempts to do “serious research”. Be warned though, I haven’t edited these offerings much…

Hi. Could you list a few of your favorite Thermidorian Reactions in history?

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:08:58 -0400

This seems like a trick question. I LOVE that you know what “thermidorean” means, but I think applying the word to similar periods outside of France is dangerous. I have similar issues with people who throw around the term “Jacobin”.

Ignoring those grievances, my preferences should be relatively obvious. The top of my list must include the genre defining French Thermidor. …Mostly because I had a passionate love affair with French history while I was an undergrad. The Russian “Thermidor” is a close second.

I could try and apply thermidorean characteristics to other revolutionary periods, but I’d want to do some more research and brush up on my Lefebvre.

Frühstück: Student Paupers and the Gays

Tue, 21 May 2013 09:31:57 -0400

Social Media Rock Star Makes 28,000 a Year — The Onion just summarized my life. …Without the massive following. Don’t get me wrong, I love all 600 of you, but I’d have to take my pants off to get more and I just don’t think I can bring myself to that level of degradation. Fear not, my life of prostitution will begin in the next year.

Wolves Don’t Lose Sleep Over The Opinions of Sheep — In the same vein, here’s Sam Wolfe Connelly talking about art for five minutes. He’s awesome.

Bret Easton Ellis Is Getting Into Trouble With The Gays Again — He pissed off GLAAD a few weeks ago and, while it may have been poorly executed, I think there’s more than a little truth in what he said.

Speaking of gays…

Stonewall was Not The First Gay Rights Battle — My professor wrote an article on gay lib a few months ago that I used as the basis for a research project. You should read his piece. It’s pretty great.

Ballets Russes Exhibition at the National Gallery — This is one of those wonderful moments when the research that I’ve been doing for a semester just happens to coincide with a new exhibition. After reading too many articles on the homoeroticism of the Chinese and Russian ballet companies, I get to see relics from one of them up close. Have I told you how much I love this city?

Finals Update: The Post Mortem

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:25:37 -0400

I survived another semester with my grades intact.

Don’t ask me how. It was touch-and-go for the last three weeks and I felt like I came dangerous close to some kind of nervous breakdown.

But I made it. It’s all over. Now we have three months before the next wave of insanity. Huzzah?