A Month of Music

In the last few weeks I've had the privilege of hearing some quality music live: not only did my boys Rick and Peter come through Houston, Snow Patrol also made a stop in on their 2009 tour as well. Solid.

Lyricks & Manifest: 09.25.09

New Life Fellowship

I've been following Rick (Lyricks) and Peter (Manifest) for a while now, ever since my brother showed me their youtube clips, so it was a treat to see them at my church friday night. Most people were like "who are they?" and I was running around like a total weirdo all amped about it. For the most part, I think 'christian' is a better noun than an adjective, and tend to be wary of christian rappers, not to mention korean-american christian rappers (sorry, my korean chingus).

But what I appreciated about Rick and Peter is that their faith doesn't seem to overpower their style or get distilled out of it either. They didn't start out as "christian rappers" per say or even really build their craft on top of it; you can tell that their faith was blended into their rhymes as it grew. I'm almost sure that they didn't plan it that way, it gives an organic, textured feel to their rapping, one that avoids two pitfalls at the same time: they don't revolve around money and fame, unlike those of so many modern rappers, and they also avoid a cliched christian feel that tends to crowd individual styles. They definitely carry their own sounds, which you can check out in the link below:

The Gift Remix (generated a lot of buzz for them a few years back):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzNL0A6sWLc

On a very brief side note, since we're talking about it, my favorite rappers are essentially Nas and Mos Def. I have to think hard about their lyrics sometimes, and that makes me happy.

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Snow Patrol: 10.05.09

Warehouse Live

Snow Patrol @ Warehouse Live.

For those of you who missed this concert . . . you definitely missed out. As some of you may know, snow patrol is pretty much my favorite band ever, and I really wanted to catch them this time they came through Houston. I missed them the last time (3 years ago!) and promised myself I wouldn't again. And even though I heard all kinds of things about how they are horrible live and give the crowd an arrogant feeling, I was not disappointed. Don't be a hater; Gary has a soothing, affable stage presence.

Gary Lightbody.

A little history: D actually turned me on to this concert through her internet search; without her I probably would have missed this one, found out about it post facto, and then summarily cried myself to sleep. Instead, we got to enjoy a great show - although Plain White T's opened, and that part was pretty suspect - packed into a small venue. We were probably only 20-some feet from the stage, so that was pretty dope.

the blokes behind us, taking in the tunes.

some highlights from the night (besides the company):

* hearing "lightning strike" live, which was glorious. I mean, really. expansive, strong, and glorious

* singing "shut your eyes" with Gary and the rest of the crowd until I lost my voice (see facebook video for more)

* having Gary mistake us for "Austin, TX" and then hearing him apologize profusely by singing "Houston" into some of his lyrics (did not expect that when I bought the ticket)

* getting snow patrol's set list (!!!) and pick, courtesy of D =)

* nabbing plain white T's picks, even though no one really cared about them

If it's possible, I left liking snow patrol even more than I did before. Which is saying a lot, since I once looped "chasing cars" for 3 weeks straight. no joke.

I ❄ snow patrol.

PS - I am framing the set list and pick, in case you were wondering. Come visit and check it out! but don't touch =)

September Update: School

September has come and gone, and it feels like my second year is going by even faster than the first. Things have been busy and it's been hard to find time to write, but here is a snapshot update of some high points over the last month:

School

just finished another round of exams and closed out a block on cardiology, hematology-oncology, pulmonology, and nephrology. Now that things are more clinical, and more related to pathophysiology, I'm getting a better feel for the different fields, what they do, and how much I like/dislike what I see. This is tentative, of course, since I haven't done my rotations. But I decided to weigh in and grade the courses anyway (note: these are the subjective scores I am giving the specialties, not the all-too-objective grades I got in the courses).

cardiology: A

very clean, very intuitive. if you like connecting dots between pressures and flow and volumes, this is a good one. also if you like plumbing. but i think they teach this first for a reason, namely because it's the easiest to get because the pathology is pretty much what you would expect it to be. common sense reigns supreme, and there's not a lot of abstract thinking. to be fair, it can get borderline boring, but there's probably enough patient interaction to get you through the dry seasons, i suspect.

word to describe cardio: clean/pristine.

hematology-oncology: A-

i thought the course wasn't taught brilliantly, but that the material itself was pretty interesting. Once you get a handle on it, it's pretty cool. Obviously things like anemia are common and useful for physicians to know, but even the blood disorders and malignancies have their own charm once you become facile with the terms and classifications. And regardless of taste, there tends to be more variation in patient presentations than other fields, and you don't have to touch pee! (see below) word to describe hem-onc: flavorful/variety-ful.

pulmonology: B

big fan of the way the course was taught, but not a big fan of lung pathology. maybe it's because the pathophys isn't very nuanced, and maybe because treatment seems so broad and general (you seem to hit everything with steroids and/or bronchodilators). i think i'm also bothered by the fact that there is no good screening for lung cancer, so the vast majority of cases end up presenting clinically when it's too late and when their 5-year survival rate is super low. tends to depress and make you feel like you are just trying to keep them alive and functioning, necessarily ignoring degrees of morbidity.

word to describe pulmonology: functional.

nephrology: C-

the kidney can be complicated, and nephrology is mathematical and abstract. there is a certain beauty to it, imagining thousands and thousands of nephrons. but it can also be a headache to imagine mechanisms for parts of one single nephron and then expand that to cover the whole kidney. and then remember there are two kidneys. I have great respect for skilled nephrologists because i think it takes a lot of thought and "art" to practice . . . the diagnoses are heavy on science, the management on art. but definitely not for me - at least at this point - because the feedback loop is so weak. you can treat and manage pts for months/years and see minimal changes (compared to other fields). plus, the main modality is the "poor man's biopsy," aka pee in a cup. I have never met a nephrologist who doesn't have a story about spilling pee somewhere. think about it.

word to describe nephrology: cerebral/abstract.