End of the year stuff: 2015

In the past when this blog ran like a well-oiled machine end of the year posts were a thing. Mostly random musings (are there any other kind, btw?) and lists of books, TV shows and movies: typical end of the year fare.

So coming at you from 35000 feet (yeah I am in a plane above an undisclosed location - not because I am secretive but because I really have no clue where I am) 2015 in summary.

What happened this year? Well I dicked around in lab. A lot. I think there might have been times where my undergrad worked more than I did. If you want to know whether a man can browse reddit for six hours straight I am your guy (the answer is yes, in case you were wondering). A decent number of people I started med school with are residents now, meaning there is a good chance some of them will supervise me when I am a lowly clueless  third year med student (is there any other kind?). Other than that the year just flew by, not unlike an F-22 at a college bowl game (sorry). Oh and I became a coffee and a scotch snob. Good times.


The four best books I read in 2015:

4. Dresden Files by Jim Butcher:

Kinda cheating here since this is a series of not one, not two, not three, but FIFTEEN books with more in the works. Even for a fantasy series this is quite an achievement. I not a fantasy fanatic by any means but Jim Butcher has created a great world here. If you were to split hairs (how thin would your ax need to be for that?), DF falls under what those in the know call 'urban contemporary fantasy', seeing as it is set in modern day Chicago. Basic premise of the series is that magic and supernatural coexist in our world and our protagonist Harry Dresden is a private investigator making his living solving petty magical mysteries. As the series progresses he finds himself caught up in epic magical wars that have been raging for millenia. Brisk pacing, witty banter and a well-developed magical system make this a fantastic series.
3. The Martian by Andy Weir:
By now we have all seen Matt Damon play The Martian, growing potatoes using his own shit as fertilizer. As is often the case, the book is far superior to the movie. Andy Weir infuses the right amount of suspense, believable science, and dark humor to make this an enormously entertaining novel. There are some pacing issues with the plot, but that is understandable seeing how the book was originally serialized on the web by Weir.
2. America's Game by Michael MacCambridge:
I may not be a fantasy fanatic but I sure am a football fanatic, specifically the NFL (college football is a waste of time). Every Sunday I have games on multiple screens as well as couple devices monitoring twitter feeds. Hell, I think I could call the game better than Phil Simms does. My love for the game is why I absolutely cherished this sweeping history of the NFL. MacCambridge does a masterful job of tracing the origins of professional football, its trials and tribulations through the 1950s and its thorough dominance of the sports scene from 1960 on. He traces lineages of the most storied NFL franchises and gives brief bios of some of its most colorful characters (Lamar Hunt, Al Davis, Pete Rozelle etc.) The cover image alone makes this a book worth buying.
*Drum roll*

1. The Alchemists by Neil Irwin:
Not to be confused with Paulo Coelho's shitpiece, this is a book that does the impossible:make central banking look sexy. As a result of the financial meltdown of 2007 central bankers have become celebrities of sort. People like Bernanke and Yellen have found themselves thrust into the limelight, sometimes glaringly so. Here Irwin traces the origins of the concept of central banking, the creation of the Federal Reserve system in the US and the creation of the Euro before launching into a chronological account of the steps three major central banks (the Fed, Bank of England and European Central Bank) took to douse the raging fires of 07-08. He quotes speeches, memos and meeting notes to diligently explain the reasoning behind this complicated series of maneuvers. I came away wiser and more enlightened than before (which I understand isn't a tall order, but still).
I am not going to do a thing for TV shows because I didn't follow that many this year to justify a list, but I will put a plug in (though it hardly needs one at this time) for Fargo. Stop what you're doing, stop reading this damn blog and go binge watch both seasons 1 and 2. I know it's become a cliche to say we live in a golden age of television, but shows like this are making it harder and harder not to believe that moniker.

Have a happy 2016 everybody.

Kanye West is a visionary and other critical musings

Take a good deep look at that chiseled face. I'll wait.

That, my friends, is what visionary looks like. Now I'll admit, I am not a huge rap/hip hop person. Sure I do love me some old school Snoop 'doggy doggy' Dogg Lion but I am not what one would call a fanatic. Occasionally I listen to some Jay-Z as well.  

But Kanye? Man he blows me away. His songs are symphonic. Perfect blend of melodies, rhythm, lyrics creates a pretty powerful experience. I understand he probably has a whole army of sound engineers, sound technicians, sound advisers, sound managers, sound quarterbacks whatever tweaking every little note but the finished product still carries his stamp of authority and approval.

Here's 'Homecoming', a great example of what I mean by symphonic:



The dude from 'Coldplay' is on the piano and the song begins with a beautiful piano riff that forms the backbone of the whole piece. It was everything, the clever puns, a catchy refrain, good meaningful lyrics. Pretty powerful song, really, that stays with you long enough and succeeds at evoking strong nostalgia and a tinge of wistfulness.

John Coltrane, the legendary Jazz innovator and renowned saxophonist, pioneered a technique called http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheets_of_sound"> 'sheets of sound'

with his improvisation and creative arrangements. I think Kanye does something similar with his songs. He puts in a lot of thought, a lot of effort into creating the right blend of sound. Pick up his new album 'Yeezus' and listen to any of the songs on there ('Black skinhead' is my favorite) and you'll see what I mean.
Kanye may be a jackass, as President Obama so memorably called him in an off-the-record remark during a routine interview, but damn he is a visionary.

And since I promised other critical musings in my title to the post, you will be rewarded aptly:

End of the year stuff

Oh hey it's the end of yet another calender year. Time to do some retrospective type stuff. This was a big, nay, a giant year for me. Graduated from college, moved to a new state, started first year of medical school - pretty happening year. Events prior to my graduation in June appear way more distant than they actually are. Even though it has been only (!) six months since I graduated, it seems like an eternity ago. Everything before that is now shrouded in a sepia-tinted haze.

Enough reminiscing, however. Every newspaper, magazine and TV show does a Top 10 list right around this time. I am nowhere as significant as these luminaries of our mainstream media, so I will do a Top 4 list instead. I have given slightly more weight to books because reading is my preferred form of entertainment. Right then, here we go:

Top books that I read in 2011
(These are books I read, not ones that were published this year)

4. More Money Than God by Sebastian Mallaby: about the secretive hedge-fund industry, whose titans rake in eye-popping billions most years on intricate trades. For instance, one guy bought all the Palladium in Russia as part of a trade.

3. Chaos by James Gleick: "butterfly effect", fractals, Mandelbrot sets, colorful personalities and whimsical brainiacs make up this engrossing read about a fascinating field that can only be described as a hybrid of math and physics.

2. Patel: A Life by Rajmohan Gandhi: a superb biography about Sardar Patel, one of India's foremost political leaders who was instrumental in the country's fight for independence. He was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi and played a crucial role in the early days of the nascent Democracy.

1. Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam: rockets, adversity, feel-good story. Hickam has a knack for making readers feel closer to characters. Boy growing up in the heart of coal country in the 50's dreams of working for NASA. Moving descriptions of a decaying town and a decaying industry and the perennial tussle between unions and bosses.

Top 4 movies I saw in 2011:

4. Crazy, Stupid, Love: good, goofy, light.

3. Muppets: surprisingly fresh, self-aware and incredibly clever.

2.  Captain America: makes a worn out genre look compelling. self-deprecation, wit, sap all in the right amounts.

1. Moneyball: I don't even care about baseball, but this movie made baseball seem infinitely exciting. Quite an achievement. Brad Pitt gets a special mention for his acting.

Top 4 TV shows I followed in 2011:

4. Parks and Recreation: not as funny as the third season, but still miles ahead of its competitors

3. Justified: a trigger-happy US Marshal reluctantly returns to his native Kentucky to a whole host of professional and personal problems. Tremendous acting by the whole cast. Shout out to Timothy Olyphant for playing lead Raylan Givens.

2. The League: a bunch of douchebags obsessed with fantasy football and their antics each week. Extremely funny and original.

1. The Wire: Finally got around to finishing this epic that depicts life in a troubled Baltimore, and aspires to capture a snapshot of America in the process.  A lot of internet space has been devoted by people far more accomplished about the virtues of this masterpiece. One of the best (if not the best) things ever made on TV. Everything about this show is perfect.


By the way, this was the 100th post for the year 2011. 

TV review: Dexter

This is one of those spur of the moment posts, where I feel an irrational surge of bravado and hope to dazzle y'all with my piercing wit and wise criticism. So here we go.

'Dexter' is a television drama that airs on the premium cable channel Showtime. Boutique cable channels like Showtime and HBO have a slight edge over traditional networks (like NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX) and even basic cable networks (like USA, TNT, FX, etc.) because they don't always have to cater to the lowest common denominator. Unlike the aforementioned lay channels, these highbrow entertainment meccas largely survive on (quite hefty) subscription fees that viewers shell out. This means that only those who want to watch programming on Showtime or HBO will pay. Being guarded from inadvertent viewers in this way also allows these networks more leeway in terms of graphic images, language and more explicit content matter like drugs or violence. Nothing is bleeped out; black bars are not needed here.

While it is true that such freedom has brought us genuine masterpieces like "The Sopranos" and "The Wire", the lack of any restrictions on content also gives show creators an excuse to show excessive violence and sex wrapped in the guise of historical lushness or avant-garde television. One look at the travesties that are "The Tudors" (a drama about Henry VIII rife with horrendous inaccuracies and laughable plot changes) and "Californication" (a drug-infested tale about a snarky author suffering writer's block) confirms this assertion.

Fortunately, "Dexter" is not one of these "we'll show you all the goods just  cuz we can" type shows. The conflict portrayed in the show is real, the tension palpable.

The main premise of the show is this: the protagonist Dexter Morgan is a forensic analyst working for the Miami police. During day he is a genial, if slightly quirky and moody, coworker who brings donuts for his colleagues and makes questionable jokes with his analyst buddies. He has a kid sister Debra who is also a detective with the homicide department. Their father was also a cop, making the Morgans a true blue blood family.

Where is the drama in that, mate? Well at night time, Dexter doubles as Batman a serial killer. Don't worry, though. He is the good kind of serial killer (if such a kind can, in fact, exist). Turns out Dexter was trained by his dad at an early age to channel his violent tendencies to do good for society by eliminating those who deserve to die. His dad Harry also taught him a code that basically says,  "Don't kill innocent people". Leaving aside the obvious moral and ethical quandaries regarding who gets to choose who deserves to die when, Dexter's increasing difficulties with maintaining two lives makes for very compelling TV.

And Michael C. Hall (nominated multiple times for a best actor Emmy) plays the hell out of Dexter. Each episode is peppered with inner monologues of Dexter and his growing bewilderment with social conventions like small talk, and Hall obviously relishes playing an emotionally empty but basically good to the core serial killer. I say this without the faintest trace of irony, because if you want to truly enjoy the show you have to buy into the "good serial killer" mantra otherwise it won't make much sense. The secondary characters need some work on the show. Sometimes they are mere props meant to support Dexter is his quest to escape the long arms of the very same law he helps uphold in the day. And people who do begin to suspect Dexter tend to die at the end of the season. To date there have been five seasons of the show (I am currently watching the fifth season), and though all have followed roughly similar plotlines (while the police is busy with other crimes in the city, someone from the department gets suspicious about Dexter. Dexter tries to evade this person and tragic shit happens, but Dexter escapes at the end), the superior writing and acting makes it worthwhile to watch this show.

So get on your butts and catch this show. You'll like it.

Watch this, ahem, killer intro to see whether you like it or not. Such exquisite detail!

Coming to a street corner near you, a drug called Charlie Sheen!

Oh boy. Charlie Sheen is at it again. He gave a couple interviews, to TMZ and ABC, talking about the current mess he is in.

Take a look at what he said:

“I am on a drug — it’s called Charlie Sheen,” he told ABC. “It’s not available because if you try it once, you will die. Your face will melt off, and your children will weep over your exploded body,” he said, adding, “Too much?”

And:

“You borrow my brain for five seconds, you’d be like, ‘Dude, can’t handle it, unplug this bastard,’ ” he said, adding that his brain “fires in a way that is — I don’t know, maybe not from this particular terrestrial realm.”

That's right folks. Charlie's brain is so powerful because it is an alien brain.

Between him and Gaddafi, the news cycle has been terribly busy. 

Some thoughts on the Oscars

I don't really watch award shows (that's what all the avant-garde types say, right?) but this I kept a casual eye to the Oscars because, incredibly enough, I had seen five of the ten best picture nominees. All five are very good films and I highly highly recommend them (as if my recommendation meant anything in the first place, but we all like to humor ourselves sometimes with delusions of importance).

Here they are:

Inception (a dream within a dream within a dream?)
Social Network (the perfect story that captures the current internet generation)
True Grit (a damn good western. Plus Jeff "El Duderino" Bridges is in it. Oh and Hailee Steinfeld is outstanding).
King's Speech (who knew a movie about speech therapy for monarchs would be so riveting?)
Toy Story 3 (Buzz speaks in Spanish. I am sold!)

If you don't know, King's Speech won best picture AND best director AND best actor. The triple crown. The Social Network, an early favorite, got left out in the pouring rain (or the snow, judging by the bizarre weekend weather). That's a bit of a shame because I was convinced SN would win it. The Academy likes topical stuff (e.g. Hurt Locker), and this film basically speaks well for today's culture. Not to say KS wasn't a worthy film, of course. Very well-deserved Oscar nonetheless.

• Kirk Douglas should host next year's show. At 94, the man seemed to exude more youth than the presenters themselves.
• Christian Bale was surprisingly humble and modest during his speech.
• I kinda want to see best documentary winner Inside Job now. 
• Steinfeld didn't win best supporting actress? Shame. Such a huge shame.

I am feeling a bit lazy today...

...so I will let Dick Cavett take over for me:



Please watch the whole thing to the end (in fact, everything after 2:41 provides the best entertainment) and pay attention to the last two comments Cavett makes to Mailer.

Some notes to guide you through these epic three minutes:

• Cavett is a legendary TV talk show host from the 60's who always managed to snag some of the biggest personalities. People like John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Janis Joplin and Marlon Brando appeared on his show.

• Norman Mailer (the guy with the horrible hair-do in the video above) was a twice pulitzer-winning American author of works like The naked and the dead (about a bunch of seamen in the pacific theater in WWII). And yes he actually did stab his wife. Somewhat of a brute.

• Gore Vidal was a leading public intellectual of his time (and a bit of a snob). The reason he is fighting with Mailer is he wrote an uncomplimentary review of Mailer's work in a magazine. 

• Janet Flanner (the one with white gloves, in case you didn't notice it) was a journalist for the New Yorker. Mind you, she just won't have it! 

Finally, "Why don't you fold it five ways and stick it where the moon don't shine" has got to be one of the best insults in the entire universe of insults. Of course, "Perhaps you would like two more chairs to contain your giant intellect" is a close second.

For the intrepid, here are a few additional links that act as further research to this very intriguing sparring:


Noted stabber, verbal abuser and brawler Norman Mailer .

Suave, nasally and bossy Gore Vidal .

Dedicated Francophile Janet Flanner .

The wizard of witty one-liners Dick Cavett .

And here is Cavett joyfully reminiscing about this memorable event: Cavett's blog .

Charlie Sheen overdose

I am currently suffering from an accidental overdose of Charlie Sheen.

I am sure that, by now, anyone with internet knows that the man originally born as Carlos Irwin Estevez has been phoning in some seriously crazy interviews to loonies on the radio circuit attacking his own TV show "Two and Half laughs men" and its creator Chuck Lorre.


By now, Lorre has been called "Haim Levine", "a Nazi", "punk" and a creator of 177 dumb shows by Sheen, who proudly declared he was clean because he is mentally tough. The actor also challenged anyone to give him a drug test on-screen because he is sure he will ace that thing.

Lorre and CBS accepted the gauntlet and canceled TV's #1 comedy a mere hours after the highly entertaining Sheenfest. Undaunted, Sheen called in a few more interviews today, hollering at the crew to join him in a war against CBS and Lorre. You heard him guys, Uncle Charlie wants you!

Now as if this much exposure to Sheen wasn't enough, I got to see him in Wall Street 2 as well. Almost on a whim, I rented the movie from redbox at my local Ralph's. Friday night, rain, the whole apartment to myself - what better way to spend it than watch a poorly reviewed sequel, right? The movie is predictably droll and although the acting is good (for the most part), the writing is just downright shoddy.

Anyway, Sheen has a brief cameo in the sequel. If you saw the first one, you would know that he played the cutthroat protege in that one, who was ultimately responsible for turning in Michael Douglas' Gordon Gekko.
So here I was, watching this film and they are showing some glitzy charity ball. Gekko is doing the rounds, trying to rehabilitate his image among the snobs and voila! he runs into Sheen's character. True to form, Mr. Sheen is flanked by two ladies, his face bearing his trademark obnoxious smirk. What joy! I burst out laughing and savored that moment for the rest of the film.

And now I am paying the consequences for that overdose.