November 30th, 2007, 6 Comments »
Carrie Brownstein is the guitarist and vocalist for Sleater-Kinney, “a critically acclaimed, politically charged indie rock band”. The band’s on hiatus, and one of her current gigs is writing a blog on NPR’s site. It’s pretty entertaining.
I learned about her blog via Waxy, who links to Ms. Brownstein’s verbose review of Rock Band on Slate:
Brad wanted to make sure everything was working, so he got on drums, I picked up a guitar, and we started the game. I quickly discovered, as other real guitarists have, that knowing how to play guitar in no way qualifies you to play Rock Band (or Guitar Hero). It’s the same way that being a doctor doesn’t make you good at the game Operation.
I’ve always had a bit of a crush on Ms. Brownstein, because she’s my wife Julie’s celebrity doppleganger. I’m not alone in thinking this–a couple of people have mistaken her for the musician. Check it out:
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July 20th, 2007, 6 Comments »
Julie’s been sick all week with the flu and stomach problems (hence the recent purchase of knockoff Jello). She hasn’t been able to keep much food or fluids in her, so we upgraded her treatment from Nurse Barefoot to Gozo General Hospital (after a diagnosis at a local clinic).
Having recently seen Sicko and listened to that CBC podcast, I was curious to see how the Maltese medical system measured up.
The level of care she received was pretty fantastic. Within four hours this morning, she’d been seen by the doctor at the medical clinic, an emergency room physician and two specialists. We waited about forty minutes at the clinic and less than ten in the Emergency waiting room.
She’s now ensconced in a private room (which she got without asking or consulting an insuring bodies), surrounded by religious iconography (it is Malta, after all). There’s a crucifix on the wall, a window sticker of the Virgin Mary, a cheesy framed picture of that Footprints verse and, for good measure, a medal at the head of her bed featuring yes, the Virgin Mary.
Julie’s on an IV drip and some antibiotics, and should be right as rain in a couple of days. In the meantime, blogging will be light around here as I catch up from nursing duties and hold down the Capulet fort.
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