The AP we talked to was excited to talk about the programs he was involved in, and had been here for (gasp) an entire year with no current plans of leaving.

Today, in typical Med-Peds fashion, Paras, Alicia, and I switched over to the medicine side and rounded in the ICUs with Tim.  In the middle of rounds, the door flew open, the Casualty  doctor ran in wheeling a young woman who had suffered a snake bite.  As we watched her saliva frothing from around her mouth lying there almost unresponsive, Tim wisely wondered if her airway was intact.  A bit of coughing with insertion of an OP airway told us that it was.  They sent the intern down to the Pharmacy to see if we could get Antivenin.  They usually give 10 vials at a few hundred rupees a pop.

Other things:

-Six American adults in one auto-rickshaw is a little cramped
-We ran out of gas on the way home last night.  Fortunately there was an open gas station on the way.  They had all their sodas lined up along the wall--a glass wall...which I'm sure gets mighty hot in direct sunlight.
-I might actually start enjoying a good cognac here and there.
-Alas, we have our first true GI casualty of the trip.  Brooke is currently back at the dorm taking Cipro and Pepto-Bismol.
-no stache for me

2.) I have not seen one tie in the 3 days of rounding here.  In fact, as others have noted, about half the doctors and most the ancillary staff don't even wear closed toes shoes.  Dr. Walsh would not be happy with that, but he should take heart because no wears scrubs on rounds either.

3.) Intracerebral tuberculoma = BAD.

4.) We saw the big golden ball in Auroville yesterday. Its pretty impressive. You cannot appreciate how big the golden ball is until you are inside it. The silence in the meditation room is deafening.

5.) As my mustache grows, so grows my respect amungst my Indian collegues. (Picture to follow once we figure out how to upload one.)

Prom Night

Smart People

Street Kings

The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior

Although my earliest male role model sported a 'stache with pride, I just plain don't like them. I've never understood the need to shave off all of one's facial hair except for a patch above the lip. It's equivalent to my shaving my legs but leaving my kneecaps nice and hairy; yes, it proves that I have a nimble razor technique, but the result looks pretty silly. Anyway, mustaches creep me out; they remind me of sleazy porn and pedophilia.

Imagine my horror when Mike and the rest of the boys at Protozoic decided to grow mustaches for Protocon 3.0. Well, all of them except one. (He claims he didn't know about it, but I think he's just smart.)

Fortunately, thanks to a regularly grown beard, I only had to endure the mustache for two and a half days. But those two and a half days were the longest and the most disturbing I can remember. I felt sleazy walking next to Mike in Target, guilty when we had lunch with my mother on the way down, and a little gross looking at the photos in which they looked like gay porn stars from the 70s.

It's not that mustaches look bad on all men.  Some men wear them quite nicely, and look rather silly with bare upper lips: Alex Trebek, Vincent Price and Tom Selleck, to name a few.  My point, though, is that my boyfriend and his buddies, cute and handsome as they are, are not Alex Trebek, Vincent Price or Tom Selleck.

One good thing did come of this: I think they did realize how ridiculous they looked, and I heard each one of them vow never to don a mustache again. Let's hope that the threat of withheld kisses on the lips from their girlfriends is incentive enough for them to stay true to their promise.

As some may remember, I grew a beard and it took a while to blossom and for people to notice. Most just thought I was too lazy to shave. Little did they know it was a premeditated experiment concocted one night over a beer and some nachos. Or maybe I was too lazy? None-the-less, it was a good time.

And now, a bit of history. A portrait depicting a Scythian horseman from 300 BC is the oldest known recorded mustache. However, according to Wikipedia, shaving with a razor-sharp stone was possible in Neolithic times.

Like many, I associate money, power, machismo, figures of authority and of course cheesy 70's and 80's risque films with the stache or nose neighbor, trash stash, crumb catcher, pushbroom, nose bug, etc.

A few of my favorite mobile tea strainers include Tom Selleck in Magnum P.I. and Will Ferrell in Anchorman:

I'm at day seven right now and while my stash doesn't even come close to the likes of these two... I can only hope that in the next 30 days my upper lip will have superstar status.

Until a small burrowing creature attached itself to his top lip.

This has to be for a role.  Has to.

Eagles of Death Metal
Death by Sexy
Downtown Records
By Mike Glauser

The rump shaking dance rock duo, Eagles of Death Metal, returns for its second album with more hooks, rifs and old fashioned rock. Formerly a side project of the Queens of the Stone Age, the group has created a niche that is noticeably different from the body of work that QotSA has put together over their 5 album catalog. Take note, progressive rock fans, as you won't find a group looking for concept art or intricately layered epic anthems. Instead, EoDM has chosen to strip away the brooding, earthy textures of the Stone age, leaving behind the upbeat, catchy rock n' roll sound, one that is much more Rolling Stones than Led Zeppelin. The opening number "I Want you So Hard (Boy's Bad News)" could easily be sung by a pre-Mesozoic Mick Jagger. If you listen to the lyrics on the second track, "I gotta feelin (she's just 19)", you might wonder whether frontman Jessie "the Devil" Hughes is writing a song, or documenting his experiences as he trawls through a college freshman mixer. The real gem on the album though, is the fittingly titled "Solid Gold", which maintains the album's catchiness, albeit with an acoustic guitar. This song provides a nice change to the plugged-in guitars, because if there are any complaints on this side, it is due to this album's similarity to EoDM's first album.

Expanding your sound is a major obstacle to any band that bursts in with a fresh, yet simple pattern, and that issue is on display here. The first track sounds eerily similar to "I Only Want You" from EoDM's debut album "Peace Love Death Metal, and “Poor Doggie” sounds so much like “Flames Go Higher” that you might wind up doing a double take. These issues manage to slightly dull what is otherwise a very sharp album. Hughes and Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme make a hilarious duo, and back up their image with a sound that’s sexier than Hughes’ 70s porn star mustache. This album kicks a ton of ass and its hangups won’t lose many fans of the first album along the way.

Since puberty, the Muskrat has wanted desperately to have a beard.  He wanted to conceal a not-so-great complexion in his youth, and he wanted to stop getting asked how recently he'd graduated lawschool as a youthful-looking adult (a la Lt. Danny Kaffee in "A Few Good Men" ).  However, since age 18, Muskrat has been a member of either ROTC or the National Guard, where beards are disallowed, and Muskrats must weep and gnash their teeth in disappointment.

Upon his return from Iraq tour #2, he made up his mind to constructively use his several weeks of leave and reconstitution time to accomplish his childhood dreams of growing a beard--and engaging in some heavy petting with Winnie Cooper.  The latter goal took less patience than the former, since the family dog is named Winnie Cooper.

After a couple weeks of allowing nature to color the Muskrat's face, he looked like this:

After a month of neglecting the blade, he looked like this:

He was a happy Muskrat.  He knew it.  He clapped his hands.

He was ready to part the Red Sea.

But like all Utopias that suffer eventual governmental intervention, Muskrat was finally forced to disband the harmony he'd achieved with his new whiskers, as it was time to report at the National Guard base in uniform.  Since neatly trimmed mustaches are allowed in the military, Muskrat decided to go back to his youthful looks gradually and leave a mustache.

He looked like this:

Mustaches!

Muskrat was ready for "Muskrat Does Memphis" or "Muskrat, MILFs, and Maidservants" or "Major Muskrat's Magical Malfeasance."  He was ready to be filthy.

Muskrat was let down.

After finishing a day at the Guard base, Muskrat decided to go to the mall to watch a movie and, perhaps, shop.  He brought his fancy pen.  He knew the talent scouts would come a runnin'.  They didn't.  Instead, he found that he was treated a bit like whitetrash everywhere he went.

He went to the Banana Republic to look around, where he is usually greeted in just under 5 seconds.  Not this time.  Instead, he was watched with a scowl.  Would he spit tobacco juice on the boxer shorts display? Would he grope a female mannequin?  Would he shoplift?

Hurt, Muskrat went across the way to Saks 5th Avenue.  Even worse.  Ignored or judged by all with plastic nametags, no one wanted to coax the Muskrat away from his coinpurse.

Dejected, Muskrat took his out-of-work Porn Star self back to the hotel and removed the blade.  It was time to kill the mustaches and stop feeling ridiculous.  Pausing only long enough to take some disgusting pictures that are included above and on Muskrat's "About" page, he did the deed and returned to a life of underestimation by gray-haired lawyers and Aunt Ginny.

------------------------
Had better luck pulling off the 'stache?  Then check out this funny blog.

...won seven Olympic gold medals with a full head/face full of hair and no goggles. Wow. Emily White went sans goggles when we were little (and I thought she was the bomb) so I would never dare say it's uncool -- but damn, that must have been tough. A little different than THIS?

I was recently informed of your potential decision not to attend Taco-ween this year in favor of some lame ass party in Holliston.

To which I say: What the shit?

I’m now going to go through a list of reasons why you should attend Taco-ween instead.

Reason the first: The theme is Guitar Hero: World Tour. Costumes will be based on band members from across time immemorial. You and Andrew may have started the trend last year with your 80’s rocker themed costume. You could easily reprise your Whitesnake-chick-homage without problem.

2. There will be tacos.

Thirdly, our friends are so much cooler than any of the batshitcrazy people that will be attending a party in Holliston.

4. Holliston? Honestly? Who the hell lives there anyway? More importantly, who throws a party way the hell out there, forcing friends to drive a long distance in order to attend a party? Lame-ass-ed-ness.

Reason five: JP is T-accessible.

Six: The cab ride home will be a lot cheaper and quicker. Think of poor Jack. Who will, no doubt, be stuck in a crate wishing for nothing more than some attention and love – and possibly to squeeze out a big dookie the second you two walk in the door. Travelling from JP to Newtonville will surely be more expedient than travelling from Holliston to Newtonville.

Seven: I’ll be there. Not Holliston.

Reason the last: Taco-ween Guitar Hero World Tour Edition could bring world peace. Is a World War something you want pinned on your Hollistion bound shoulders? I should think not.

This recent turn of events seriously endangers our blossoming friendship. Sure, you left a raincoat on your mailbox for me the other day – which was awesome. But what will happen if I need a winter coat in November? After ditching out on, what will undoubtedly be, the Halloween party of the year, I may not consider asking Andrew for a winter coat. In that case, we all loose. Especially the children. That’s right, Al. Think of the children! Those poor, unwashed mashes of weeping children with no food who will greatly benefit from our rock n roll stylins that evening. What will they do if you don’t show up in white pumps with a blond wig? I dare say they will cry. And they will cry enormous pools of blood stained tears yearning for food, education and, eventually, good jobs.

All of that can easily be accomplished with a simple decision: Attend a Halloween party in JP – with tacos. I’ve made my case. The rest is on you, Alex.

The rest is on you.

Yours in Taco-ween unity,

Brian

Right now.

This thing is terrifying.  I can't even take a halfway flattering picture with it. Smiling... Half-smiling... Deadpan... Thoughtful... There's simply no positive light one can cast upon oneself that outweighs the total doucheness prerequisite in wearing one of THESE on one's stupid, unbearable face.

It's like having an alien parasite stuck to your lip.  It's breathing in your life force and draining your soul but if you rip it off you'll die.  YOU'LL FREAKING DIE!

Right now I can live with it, but I have work on Wednesday and if this thing isn't gone by then I'm in trouble.  Work is less than a block away from a popular gay club, and I already get hit on more than I'd like (which is to say, at all).  This creature on my face would raise a flag -- there's an L in that word, flag -- to every gay guy in the area.  Worse than a rainbow scarf, worse than an earring in the wrong ear, worse than a tattoo on my forehead that reads "I suck dick", worse than a white pair of pants, it would say, "hey everyone, come hit on bald Freddie Mercury!"  I could deepen my voice and harangue my would-be lovers about my current (imaginary) girlfriend and no one would be fooled.  It would be open season.

And it's not that I'm homophobic.  I was once hit on by a girl, and that sucked too.  But women tend to flirt, and that I can take.  Men are more aggressive, and the only kind of men that would hit on me, a man, would be the gay kind.

And, well, getting hit on at work sucks.  You can't escape.  You just have to smile politely and wait for them to leave.  It's flattering but awkward.  Is this how women feel when I hit on them?  (If I ever hit on them, I mean.)  No.  It can't be.  I'd have to hit on them while I was wearing this retarded mustache.  Then they would know how it feels.

Dear God, the interblog says Wednesday is "Gay Punk Rock Tiki Night".  I don't know what that means, but it doesn't sound promising.

Right now my only defense is a profound sense of irony.  Something that says, "Yeah, I look ridiculous, but that's funny.  This mustache is funny."  I could maybe wear a member's only jacket and blast Journey out of my headphones.
...No, that makes me sound even more gay.

Right now I have a mustache.  On Wednesday I will not.

I'm proud to say our first sponsor is Fuzzy Ink. Fuzzy Ink is an apparrel company that makes clothing with a mustache-theme, so it was a great sponsor for a Yankee blog in light of Jason Giambi's recent mustache-driven season. Although Giambi has recently shaved off the stache, it's still immortalized on a great t-shirt by the guys at Fuzzy Ink. I actually got one just a week or so before he shaved off his stache and it's pretty cool, indeed. Thanks to FI for helping me kick off the sponsors section.

If you'd like to help support this blog and become an iYankee Sponsor, feel free to email me at i-Yankees@hotmail.com. Okay, back to baseball matters.

Hey no one loves a good laugh like me, but I must admit I really fail to see the humor in all the mustache nonsense going around. A local radio show I listen to, The Dan LeBatard Show, would have you believe that wearing a mustache is the height of hilarity, as they are mentioned just about every single show.

Also in this I present the mullet. Granted the mullet is an awful hairstyle worthy of mockery. This is true. But for all the pub mullets get, it's not really that funny. In fact it's just stupid. And if you're one of those people out there who throws out the "business in the front, party in the back" lines whenever the subject comes up, just stop. Please just stop.

Thank you.

Just a few things going on in the baseball world that you should know about:

• Brad Penny is finally expected to make his first start in nearly 7 weeks this Friday. He is hyped about Manny, but don't start him yet obviously.
• Orioles' rookie Chris Waters held the Angels to one hit in 8 innings in his major league debut. Not too shabby considering only 5 other pitchers in the last 50 years have put up comparable numbers in their debut.
• NYM closer Billy Wagner was placed on the DL, and Aaron Heilman gave up a three run bomb in the 9th yesterday.
• Joba Chamberlain was drafted so low because nobody thought his shoulder could withstand a high inning total. Well, they were right,something is wrong, and he is going to visit Dr. James Andrews. Stay posted...
• Red Sawx fans were happy to see Beckett pitch a gem, but it was painful to watch Big Papi a day after tweaking his left wrist. It is something he will have to deal with the rest of the season, so pray it doesn't affect his production
• Jason Giambi has gotten rid of the stache' in the hopes of breaking out of a slump. We'll miss you...
• Erik Bedard and Adam Wainwright are finally starting to throw again, so monitor their status.
• The same can't be said for Chien Ming Wang. Joe Girardi ended speculation of Wang's September return, but said October is a possibility.
• Tim Hudson is finally convinced that season ending surgery to replace an elbow ligament is necessary, so drop him if you havn't already.
• Placido Polanco had a monster game (3-6 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI). This is his third straight multi-hit game, so get ready for a nice little ride.
• Richie Sexson and Josh Hamilton homered. Who has the better bat this season? Let the debate begin. Sike.
• Fernando Tatis extended his hitting streak to 11 games by hitting two more home runs. Pick him up and ride the wave until he dies out (I think he has to slow down, but who knows). If someone in your league is proposing trades for Tatis, push him while the iron is hot.

"Who was the last player to score for England sporting a proper moustache?" asked Derek Corney last week. "I think it was Viv Anderson, but a friend of mine is convinced it was Kenny Sansom."

Well, if there's money riding on it Derek, you're the one in profit. Sansom's only goal for England came against Finland in October 1984 in a qualifying match for the 1986 World Cup, while Anderson scored his second and last England goal against Yugoslavia on November 12 1986. The two are in fact split by another moustachioed scorer, Danny Wallace, who netted in January 1986. More recently David Beckham, Darius Vassell and Ledley King have hit the target for England while sporting facial furniture, but theirs are more beard-'tache combos, and certainly not what you'd call "a proper moustache".

One day he entered the Royal Court, settled in his Royal chair, and asked his courtiers: "What punishment should be given to a person who pulls my mustache?"

One said, "He should be beheaded."
Another said, "He should be flogged."
Yet another said, "He should be hanged."

"What do you think, Birbal?" the Emperor asked Birbal.

Birbal kept quiet for a moment, then said, "Jahaanpanaah, he should be given sweets."

"What, Birbal? Have you gone crazy? Do you know what are you saying?"

Birbal replied politely, "I am not crazy, Jahaanpanaah. And I know what I am saying."

"Then how can you talk like this?" the King asked in anger.

Birbal again replied politely, "Because, Jahaanpanaah, the only person can dare to do this is your grandson."

So pleased was the King with this answer, that he gave his ring to Birbal as a reward.

please remove that horrible molester mustache.  not only does it skeeze me out, it probably adds a good 2.3 seconds to your breaststroke.

fondly,
sara elizabeth

Or maybe not that much:

Yours truly also attempted to obtain the title, with what was later named the Santos Dumont look (oh well, judge for yourself):

In the end, Fred Mercury won:

Or was it Super Mario? This is still under debate.

Also Frederico, could not attend but sent this awesome picture anyway. And you can see all contestants here.

I'd like to send a big Thank You! to the people who organized this wondrous event: Alex Zanetti, André Macêdo and Paulo Vital. I had a really really good time that night!

Sorry for replying so late, I wasn't sure I would actually make this short. My insurance quote (for equipment) blew my budget out of the water but I've decided to keep on the production and just use an HD camcorder and set up my own type of lighting. It will be a pretty low key production so if you like the script and you don't mind being filmed with a consumer camcorder, let me know asap. We're shooting Saturday, it'll only take a few hours, and it should be pretty fun. Are you in NJ? There is a chance that a few friends of mine will make up the majority of the cast so if that's the case I will only be paying everyone for transportation if they are coming from the city since my friends will do it for free. I want to mix actors with non actors, it should be fun. Here is the script, send me an email and let me know what you think, include your phone number, and we'll go from there. - Yetta

I did like the script quite a bit, but I got all kinds of shy and nervous and backed out. I definitely regret it, because how funny would that be? But I'm not much of an actor, and I'm certainly not in Jersey.

When I write posts this early in the morning I get sidetracked easily, but hopefully that was amusing. What I initially wanted to write about is this great little blurb I read in the liner notes of the album Mending by The New Frontiers. I doubt it was written by the band, probably by the label, but it really cracked me up. It's so polite! Normally there's a big FBI logo and stern warnings, but this is conversational and friendly.

Thank you for buying this music and for supporting the artists, songwriters, musicians and others who've created it and made it possible. Please remember that this recording and artwork are protected by copyright law. Since you don't own the copyright, it's not yours to distribute. Please don't use internet services that promote the illegal distribution of copyrighted music, give away illegal copies of discs or lend discs to others for copying. It's hurting the artists who created the disc. It has the same effect as stealing a disc from a store without paying for it. Applicable laws provide severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorised reproduction, distribution and digital transmission of copyrighted sound recordings.

I don't even know where to begin, I love this so much! How about with the dubious claim that sharing music is the same as stealing a disc from a store. Maybe under the law, but I don't believe that makes sense by the numbers. People that download a lot of music download SO MUCH music that they couldn't possibly buy all of it, and certainly wouldn't have bought most of it otherwise. Less "like" stealing a copy from the store, it's like stealing a copy from the store, copying the songs to your computer, repackaging it flawlessly, and returning it to the store for someone else to buy, minus the potential for wear and tear (or scuff and scratch, as it were). That disc is still in stores for someone to buy.

Also, I hope it's cool, but I fully plan on posting the artwork tomorrow or the next day when I post my review of the album. I know I don't own the copyright to it, but I don't see the big deal. Especially because I'll be saying nice things about the music, which can only help drive their sales.

Other than gripes with what reads to me like propaganda rhetoric, I just gotta adore the tone some more. They covered the polite base quite thoroughly with the please and thank you, and appeal to your emotions by saying it's hurting the artists... Interesting new move.

Here's a video of the band in question, The New Frontiers, playing one of my favorite songs from the album. It's a pretty great video. I still have to finish the review. Bye!

To explain why the guitarist laughs in the middle, it's because they're playing on DeepRockDrive, this rock and roll webcast thing where fans can watch live and type comments that appear on TV screens all over the studio. Someone must have written something funny. It's a really cool, hypermodern service, and I guess it's growing because its next "concert" is Motley Crue. They're kinda famous right? I'm only giving them this lovely little plug because it was on their site that I was introduced to Steel Train, whose album Trampoline is one of my new absolute favorites. Like, seriously listened to it 50 times this summer. You can replay their show here.

Mister Irrelevant

This is the fashion machine.

[Taken from MissAtLaPlaya]

This reminded me of our banner.

[Taken from Urple]

[Taken from Prostituted Thoughts]