It's a small world after all

I collect globes. I love how something so simple can represent something so complex- earth, the world, a planet, countries, geographic landmarks, international relations, political divisions, history. Despite my fascination with globes I find myself amazed at how small the world can feel in day to day interactions. Returning home from work Tuesday I received an email from an engineering friend still in school at DU who is working on a group project. They special ordered hardware for a robot (nuts and bolts) and received a package shipped from Aliso Viejo, my current local. That evening, not being terribly motivated to cook I went to Chipotle for dinner. Chipotles across the nation have a similar modernist architectural and artistic style. Another commonality is the black and white photography of burrito-esq images: including a photograph of the original Chipotle on E. Evans Ave. Having spent the better part of 4 years down the road from this establishment I became more intimately familiar with Chipotle then I did of the communal kitchens in the residence halls! Although Denver and Aliso Viejo are over a thousand miles apart, each influence the other. It's a small world.


These small world coincidences are not uncommon though they tend to be unexpected. Moving into Jmac my freshman year I ran into (literally) Michelle, a first grade classmate who recognized me from Westeridge Elementary school in Lake Oswego, Oregon. As a study abroad alumni from the University of Salamanca, I have noticed several other people with Salamanca paraphernalia in shops and restaurants. The list continues.... it's a small world.



Reflecting on the size of the earth from any perspective - a globe, events and coincidences, or actual size/distances, one is reminded how vast and limited our world is; enduring and fragile; complex. In a new effort announced this week, a consortium of institutions are joining together to document the biodiversity found on this planet into an online Encyclopedia of Life. With the goal of creating individual web pages for each of the planet's 1.8M known species within 10 years this is a massive and exciting undertaking. This creation of a dynamic virtual globe of life available free to anyone with Internet access is one more step that shrinks the size of the world and expands upon its mysteries. I am looking forward to its completion and future applications...it's a small world.

Is the iconic Disney song running ad nauseum through your head?


Visit the Encyclopedia of Life- http://www.eol.org/.


Anatomy: While head and neck anatomy won't be until the second semester of med school, I thought it would be a nice addition to go with my MR photo. This is not my brain, but I have the same anatomy. One of the things i'm looking forward to about anatomy is seeing individual differences in anatomy.
This imaged borrowed from http://www.uicomp.uic.edu/mri/axial8.html

Get a Grip

Last night I went to see Spider Man 3 with my grandfather and brother. SM3 is one of those films that is a guaranteed blockbuster and will have no problem recouping the almost 500 million dollars in production and marketing costs (the most expensive movie ever to date). The movie is entertaining with enough action scenes to keep one on the edge of your seat and enough of a plot line that there is a point in watching. However it is the technical effects that make the movie stand out. The integration of live action and computer graphics was spectacular as exemplified by the new villains Sandman and Venom as well as the black suited Spiderman.

Story and effects aside, the element that most intrigues me about summer blockbusters is the scope and magnitude of the collaboration required to complete a film. While the directors, producers, and actors/actresses are in the spotlight, they represent only the tip of the iceberg. Over 1000 people were involved in the production of Spider Man 3 and incalculable man hours. For example, one Spiderman suit took 200 man-hour to create and over forty suits were required during filming, not including other costumes or the black spider suits. That is 8000 man-hours or the one person working equivalent of 3.85 years. (8000 man hours/40 hours per week/52 weeks per year). While I've never been on a movie set, each task is minutely delegated: grips are in charge of lighting but don't actually touch the lights...that is the responsibility of the electricians. Watch the credits at the end of the movie and it breaks down job roles in depth to the second assistant to the (). The movie paradigm may be overly specific for films as an entire studio industry has been built around this model. Nonetheless, movies like Spiderman 3 show the amazing results possible when a team of experts work together sharing their talents in a creative environment. Given the proper team and resources anything is possible. Spiderman 3 as an entertaining story reminds us that we all have the potential to be either a villain or a hero; Spiderman 3 as a case study reminds us that collaboration has more potential for success than either independence or competition. The choice is ours.

Images and information from Spider man 3 website. See Spiderman 3 production notes for more info on the film. http://flash.sonypictures.com/movies/spiderman3/site/main.php

No anatomy trivia...but I typed this while watching House MD; that's gotta count for something!

Poetry in Motion

Creativity
Where do you find creativity?
Under a stone or in the
air where the birds fly?
In a tree or running in a meadow?
In a book or hidden in the unpublished mind?
Creativity is found where you look.
~Peter Reding, from Poetry notebook 2000.

(note to any current or future roommates, there is a difference between disordered and dirty. I am a clean person and can't stand for my environment to go from unorganized to gross)

For some reason, chores to me are not daily, necessary, and generally quick tasks to get out of the way in order to enjoy the rest of the day. No, chores for me are colossal endeavors that take planning, multiple days, and a great deal of procrastination. Because of this, I tend to look at simple tasks- laundry, vacuuming, dishes- as a dreaded gateway to hours of sorting, resorting, and general tedium and or chaos. This dislike of chores becomes self-perpetuating as I wait until I've worn the last clean pair of socks or used the last dinner plate before starting these chores. I inherently understand the law of entropy*- increasing disorder of a system- and it takes a considerable degree of motivation for me to combat this trend. Add to this equation my good upbringing and the fact that I have learned how to do all of these chores, and second, my pseudo-perfectionist tendencies, when I do find this long-lost motivation, I go all out.

Such has been the case this week. I have set out to clean my room and this task quickly snowballed into a massive undertaking. I fully understand that this philosophy of housekeeping is irrational but nonetheless it is true for me. Starting with my desk, I've organized all my CDs (software, blank, and audio), sorted my pen box from the 1st grade forward, trashing everything that didn't write, collected all standard photographs into a box (with the intention to digitize them) and then moved on into the closet. A goodwill box, a trash bag, and storage containers accompanied me as I removed sweaters I've owned since middle school and haven't worn in five or six years (and won't need in SoCal), boxed up by country, ticket stubs, fliers, maps, and brochures gathered as keepsakes for the yet to be (ever to be?) completed scrapbooks from my trips to India (2003), Spain (2004), and Thailand (2006). And then things got ugly....I found my notebooks from high school! AP Calculus, English, Statistics, Psychology, Euro, and Biology plus Geometry, Spanish, Physics, extracurriculars (Boy Scouts, YMCA, band, community service, creative problem solving...) and miscellaneous folders: mountains of paperwork I was unable to part with 5 years ago. Fortunately, amongst this chaos I had a stroke of rational decisiveness and proceeded to throw away (yes recycle) nearly all of these old notebooks. I won't say it was pleasant, nor was it easy; the only thing that got me through it was the knowledge that I completed chemistry and leadership minors, Psych and Bio majors, studied abroad in Spain, and finished the prereqs for medical school so I am in trouble if I need to reference my high school notes on these subjects. Having made up my mind to get rid of these items, I still sifted through each binder, looking for things worth saving. I didn't leave empty handed....a group photo from my middle schools trip to Space camp, a copy of my high school salutatorian speech, prom photos, and the Poetry Notebook 2000.

The Poetry Notebook was a required assignment that I recall dreading at the time, and that's about all I remember. However, somewhere along the process things clicked and I began to understand the freedom possible in spite of rigid structure, meter, or rhythm and to appreciate the creative power of poetic license. Today, my bottomless reading list may not contain many poets near the top of the list, but I no longer avoid the genre as a whole. My family reminds me that I will not have the time or energy to continue this style of cleaning in my future. My mom even suggests that I need to start dating/have a girlfriend as an instant motivation for me to amend my inefficient cleaning strategies. While I do not wholly disagree with this assessment, at least this week I am enjoying my old habits. My cleaning methods may be time consuming, chaotic, and initially counter-productive (making a bigger mess while cleaning), but I am complete, thorough, and I cherish the memories uncovered during the process. Reflecting on my past, reminiscing about prior challenges and accomplishments, and appreciating where I've come from as I clear away the clutter and prepare for new notes, new memories, new habits, and new experiences.

"Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout / Would Not Take the Garbage Out" Where The Sidewalk Ends (1974)
~ Shel Silverstein
Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout
Would not take the garbage out!
She'd scour the pots and scrape the pans,
Candy the yams and spice the hams,
And though her daddy would scream and shout,
She simply would not take the garbage out.
And so it piled up to the ceilings:
Coffee grounds, potato peelings,
Brown bananas, rotten peas,
Chunks of sour cottage cheese.
It filled the can, it covered the floor,
It cracked the window and blocked the door
With bacon rinds and chicken bones,
Drippy ends of ice cream cones,
Prune pits, peach pits, orange peel,
Gloopy glumps of cold oatmeal,
Pizza crusts and withered greens,
Soggy beans and tangerines,
Crusts of black burned buttered toast,
Gristly bits of beefy roasts...
The garbage rolled on down the hall,
It raised the roof, it broke the wall...
Greasy napkins, cookie crumbs,
Globs of gooey bubble gum,
Cellophane from green baloney,
Rubbery blubbery macaroni,
Peanut butter, caked and dry,
Curdled milk and crusts of pie,
Moldy melons, dried-up mustard,
Eggshells mixed with lemon custard,
Cold french fries and rancid meat,
yellow lumps of Cream of Wheat.
At last the garbage reached so high
That finally it touched the sky.
And all the neighbors moved away,
And none of her friends would come to play.
And finally Sarah Cynthia Stout said,
"OK, I'll take the garbage out!"
But then, of course, it was too late...
The garbage reached across the state,
From New York to the Golden Gate.
And there, in the garbage she did hate,
Poor Sarah met an awful fate,
That I cannot right now relate
Because the hour is much too late.
But children, remember Sarah Stout
And always take the garbage out!

http://wanderingstan.com/poetrynight2002/poetrynight2002.html
*an interesting post on entropy versus enthalpy
http://passionforgod.blogspot.com/2006/03/enthalpy-vs-entropy-means-of-end.html

Oh yeah I was a bone head and almost forgot...anatomy: "Babies are born with 270 soft bones - about 64 more than an adult; and many of these will fuse together by the age of twenty or twenty-five into the 206 hard, permanent bones." http://www.innerbody.com/text/skelov_new.php

Earth Day Reflections

Welcome to Joshua Tree National Park- a vast landscape, sand and dust expanding from one horizon to the next, cactus of all shapes and sizes sticking out against the desert tapestry, a pointed reminder of the harsh struggle to survive in a desert and a sharp contrast to my routine, comfortable, urban existence. For Earth day this past weekend I spent the time camping, hiking, and bouldering in Joshua Tree. By definition, a national park preserves an ecosystem worthy for posterity and Joshua Tree is no exception. Granted, it takes a minute to become accustom to and appreciate the beauty of a desert.

Camping was a great time being with friends and enjoying the wilderness. One of the elements I like most about camping is the feeling of self reliance. For a weekend one is reminded that it is possible to live simply, to survive with only what you have carried and brought with you. Creativity and absence are the only reliable tools to deal with unexpected obstacles. Sunday, surrounded only by the vastness of the desert, I was hiking back from the lost oasis (palm trees and all) and my thoughts wandered to my recent trip to NYC. New York City is a fascinating city: a sea of humanity built on a concept foreign to Joshua Tree – density. I fell in love with NYC- skyscrapers seemingly as high as the desert is wide, roads paved in yellow taxis, the people watching, the subways, Broadway, art, and history. Destinations- Ellis Island, Empire State Building, Times Square, WTC memorial, the United Nations. NYC emphasizes our co-dependence and connection to one another-in the moment and in the past.

Earth Day weekend left me with stiff legs, scenic photos, and an appreciation of the complex interactions we have with each other and our environment. A relationship grounded on self-reliance and co-dependence a balance of Joshua Tree and Manhattan. We truly live on a diverse and amazing planet.

I have come to the realization that I have been spending more time blogging than I have studying anatomy. In an effort to provide more balance, I am including Anatomy trivia in my upcoming posts. My flashcards start with the skeletal system so so will I.
Humerus- 1. me using a blog as a study aid. 2. A long bone in the upper extremity commonly called the upper arm bone. Lots more about the Humerus- http://www.pediatric-orthopedics.com/Topics/Bones/Humerus/humerus.html

Make Believe

I remember the first time I read Gabriel Garcia Marquez's short story, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings (translated) in Beverly Drapalik's high school English class. This story was my introduction to Magical Realism and it both irritated and fascinated my logical-oriented mind to allow for the "willful suspension of disbelief." While the actual details of the story have fluttered from my memory like feathers in the wind, I have found myself time and time again, drawn to this realm of magical thinking. This exposure doesn't imply comfort; I often feel like a person next to a large, cold pool, willing to put a toe in the water but shivering with goose bumps at the thought of going deeper. This weekend however, I dove.

Tombstone, Arizona - 'the town too tough to die'

Saturday and Sunday I was in Tombstone, AZ with relatives. My uncle in Phoenix had coordinated a trip for my grandfather, brother and I to visit so we took a road trip from California through time to the late 1800s Arizona frontier. Tombstone, founded on a silver vein in 1879, quickly grew to a population of more than 15,000 people including the notorious Cowboys and celebrated personalities such as Wyatt Earp, Doc Holiday, Johnny Ringo, Big Nose Kate and other characters of the West memorialized in legend, lore, and Hollywood. Touring the dirt streets of Tombstone required a healthy suspension of disbelief. Citizens wandered the streets in full 1890s garb: boots and cow boy hats, dresses and bonnets, guns, rifles, pistols, knives. The Bird Cage Theater still stands in its 1800s splendor, as does Big Nose Kates Saloon, once the Grand Hotel (at three stories, a skyscraper), the County Courthouse, the Boothill graveyard, and the OK Coral. Locals and tourists alike spend the day wondering from shop to shop, telling ghost stories, talking guns, spreading gossip and legends. Life here is both 2007 and 1887. While entertaining, it isn't just a show any more than Disney is just an amusement park- it is a custom, a lifestyle, a culture-- Americana. The Wild West in all it's violence and ugliness, is part of our collective (un)consciousness, our manifest destiny--all the hope and despair connected to that phrase.

Driving the six hours back on Monday, I was greeted at home with the news of the tragedy at Virgina Tech. My heart and prayers go out to everyone affected from the senseless violence. This too is now part of our shared consciousness...as much as I wish it wasn't; as much as I wish it was all make believe. There's nothing magical about it.

Aspirations

Aspirations, to aspire, to breathe....OM. Relaxed? Meditative? Not really. When novices first learn to meditate it is common guidance to focus on ones breathing. Maybe it is no coincidence then that our dreams and goals-our aspirations- are a derivative of this simple life enabling action- to breathe. And while this advice seems simple, trying to meditate for only five minutes, focusing on breathing, for an inexperienced person can seem an eternity. A common theme this past week has been the essential but often overlooked activities and items we take for granted and almost ignore. In a different context however, these same elements become very salient if not the focus.

On a normal day, it is easy to only pay attention to what is new and innovative or what is difficult or out of whack. This is what the news media feeds on and I am an addict. TV ads and news anchors generally annoy me so my medium of choice is the newspaper: print or electronic. On a given lazy day I can spend hours perusing the newspaper: the OCregister, NYtimes online, google news, the comics. As a self-proclaimed news junkie (I have a headline and email checking compulsion) even trivial headlines catch my attention. For example, when you log onto blogger, the Blogger Buzz lists headlines... New today you can now blog in Hindi! (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/now-you-can-blog-in-hindi.html)

For those of you unfamiliar with my attempts to learn Hindi, you have no fear in the immediate future of me writing anything in Hindi. Hindi is an ancient language based on an even older and more sacred language Sanskript. Like all languages, Hindi has evolved with the times and geography so dialects and accents add interest and complexity to the language, all of which are above my level of comprehension; I get hung up on the alphabet!

Hindi is a phonetic language so conquering the alphabet is half the battle. For me besides the actual complexity of the characters (not left hand friendly and my legibility in English handwriting is questionable) the pronunciation was brutal. You see in Hindi there are two types of consonants: aspirated and unaspirated (vowels are a whole different story). Let me provide English examples* to elaborate on the difference: the p in pit (aspirated) and spit (unaspirated) and the t in tack (aspirated) and stack (unaspirated). To the untrained ear, hearing the difference between aspirated and unaspirated consonants is tricky, but essential, in speaking, writing, and understanding Hindi because each different sound in this phonetic language has its own character. At DU my senior year I would practice my Hindi during the late night/early morning hours (10pm-2am) at the front desk of Nelson as I worked my required hours. The best way to practice aspirated and unaspirated syllables, surprise surprise, is with little bits of torn up toilet paper. Cup your hand and place the palm on your chin. Place a few pieces of torn up tissue paper in your palm and say pit. If pronounced correctly, the paper bits will have snowed out of your hand all over the floor. Conversely, for the unaspirated consonants, the paper pieces should not move.

I spent hours practicing the pronunciation differences between ghor and gor (aspirated and unaspirated)...just two characters! not to mention having to be able to write and recognize/read these same characters. By the end of my "Hindi desk shifts" I had paper bites all over everywhere and some very puzzled looking residents scurrying through the otherwise witching hour quiet lobby. The combination of sleep deprivation and aspirated/unaspirated frustration truly do bring your breathing into an entirely new focus....you literally do spit when in frustration or pride you over emphasize the aspiration in "pit". It's also hard to ignore toilet paper when it's plastering the desk confetti style. While my colleagues progressed to actual words, i was still struggling with alphabet and since Hindi was an audited course competing with the writing of my thesis, it unfortunately became victim of senioritis.

I know as I continue to explore my cultural heritage my first attempt to learn Hindi will not be my last. I know that I will continue to follow my aspirations- continue to be a dreamer. When the going gets tough, I will remember simply to breath, and I will find comfort in the fact that it is now possible to blog in Hindi. I have big aspirations.


* Examples adapted from http://www.ling.udel.edu/colin/courses/ling101_f99/lecture8.html
Hindi alphabet chart from http://website.lineone.net/~krysstal/writing_hindi1.gif

Food + Family + Friends

Hands down, I think a true hallmark of a holiday is food, family, and friends-the rest is cosmetic. Sure some holidays commemorate a religious icon, anniversary, or culturally significant event but in reality these are just excuses. In my world travels, I'd argue with only my perception as support, in terms of celebrations, festivals, and overall fiestas, Americans are too structured and wait for a specific national date or traditional event, rather than create local holidays. A lunar eclipse, Feast day for a patron saint*, only a fifth of a handle remaining, a Wednesday, a wedding or birthday party of a neighbor (regardless if you are acquaintances or not), a friends homecoming or departure, are daily holidays that require fine food, conversations, and friends. Don't get me wrong, I'm not hinting that our culture lacks the fine art of traditions and celebrations....my time as a resident assistant (RA) and fraternity brother (Theta Chi) while an undergraduate provided plenty of evidence to the contrary! And I pray that in med school the party continues. I am saying though, that reserving the "holiday" status for Christmas, New Years, Valentines, St. Patrick's, Easter, Mothers/Fathers, MLK Jr., Presidents, Veterans, Columbus, Independence, Labor, Memorial, Halloween, and, Thanksgiving, a mere 4 percent of a year, does not set aside sufficient time to celebrate all that is worthy during the course of the year.

To be doing my part to keep the festive spirit alive, I am learning my way around the kitchen (since food is key to social gatherings!). Fortunately for me this endeavor has the added benefits of not only enhancing my holiday menus, but also diversifying my subsistence diet. There's hope that I will only rely on cup of noodles or Ramen monthly rather than daily in grad school. For a boy who's initial ambition was to be a piano playing chef in his own restaurant, my culinary skills need honing. Four years of Nelson cafeteria food did little in terms of preparing me to fend for myself; I have not however, been thrown to the wolfs because my culinary gifted mother has come to the rescue (and Chipotle)! This past week I made edible AND presentable chicken and dumplings from scratch, learned how to make a lump-free white sauce (with supervision), and dined on blackened salmon with a side of asparagus. Yes, I even had a side dish with the main course. Granted, my cell phone and an emergency call home (or work) is still a requisite but I am willing to be Machiavellian in this endeavor-the end justifies the means. And while cooking isn't quite a passion for me yet (the dishes at the end spoil it), chocolate is. I am progressing through chocolatier courses from Downey's Chocolates and learning to make homemade ganache (the filling inside a truffle) and temper chocolate. It truly is heavenly and I've had successes in and out of class. (The intermediate chocolatier course isn't until June so I have time to practice). I am looking forward to the days and weeks ahead as I continue to expand on my culinary repertoire be it to entertain, celebrate, or survive.

Even as standard holidays become more commercialized and politically correct, holidays and celebrations will remain special as the traditions remind us of our connections to the past, present, and future and the gathering unites together friends, family, and fun. I will do my part to keep the traditions alive, to make sure there is always excuse to celebrate, and to ensure everyone leaves full.

*Today (April 9th) for example is St. Acacius, St. Waldetrudis, Bl. Thomas of Tolentino, St. Casilda, St. Demetrius, St. Dotto, St. Eupsychius, St. Gaucherius, St. Hedda, St. Hugh of Rouen, St. Madrun, Martyrs of Croyland, Martyrs of Pannonia, Martyrs of Sirmium, and St. Mary Cleophas feast day (http://www.catholic.org/saints/sofd.php). For excuses for a celebration visit the Earth Calendar: http://www.earthcalendar.net/index.php.