“Oh I cried…oh yeah, when the bear eats the salmon, fuckin…that got me. It was a goodie. I cried, I’m an idiot. I liked it though, because it was only about women. There was no uh…’damsel in distress’, no ‘knight in shining armor’ bullshit. Like, it was really just about, like, female characters. A guy didn’t come in and save the day for once. I kinda liked that.” — Jeff B. Davis, on the movie Brave (via because-i-win-and-you-lose)
(via harmontown)
“That’s why I said earlier, humanity needs to give itself more credit. Where are we headed that’s so fucking beautiful? Who do you hate? Your neighbor? Do you think he’s racist? Do you think he’s a pedophile? Do you think he’s greedy? Do you think he’s mad at you and do you think he’s greedy? Whatever he is, at least he’s human. He’s not an ant yet.” — Dan Harmon (via communityblogs)
(via harmontown)
[video]
Completed this commissioned piece of Death and Dream having a (one sided) snowball fight just last night. It also somewhat fits the end of the year holiday theme and festivities, so again, Merry X-mas and happy holidays to all!
———————————————————————————————————oh god this would be much better if i reblogged this at christmas
Well, this has been in my queue a long time. I love it, though.
You know what’s total bullshit? Saying people are the problem, not guns. Look at EVERY study and EVERY statistic about gun laws in every country that isn’t the USA and just see the correlation between lack of gun violence and PREVALENCE OF GUN CONTROL LAWS.
Know what else is complete shit? Saying that you can do just as much damage with an assault weapon as you can do with a pistol IF YOU’RE TRAINED PROPERLY. YOU THINK THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO DECIDE TO GO ON SHOOTING SPREES OR KILL HUMAN BEINGS WITH GUNS ARE TRAINED? IF YOU THINK THAT, YOU ARE AN IDIOT AND YOU ARE WRONG.
Oh, and that bullshit about being able to kill someone with a knife so let’s regulate those, too. Seriously? You think the average person could in quick succession KILL 28 people? With a knife? Really? I’m not gonna say it’s impossible, but it would be a difficult thing for the average person to achieve.
The 2nd amendment exists because when The Constitution was written, we didn’t have an army and the government wanted citizens to be able to arm themselves. I don’t think they had it in mind that mentally ill citizens would would be able to acquire COMBAT weapons and tote them around wherever they please and use them on innocent (or guilty for that matter) persons.
I’m all for people being allowed to own guns. It IS a constitutional right and if you’re a hunter or just plain sleep better at night knowing you have a handgun next to your bed, that’s cool with me. I just think that gun supporters need to look at the facts and get their priorities in order. No one NEEDS assault weapons. Private citizens shouldn’t HAVE the ability to use them. And COLLECTING guns, is just not a good enough reason. It’s just NOT.
That’s it. I’m done.
Imagine fucking Joss Whedon. It starts out really great, but in the middle of it he cuts off your feet and runs away with them. Later he returns and whispers that you are now stronger. You feel really disapointed and angry, but six months later you fuck again. It’s exactly the same thing.
Oh my goodness this is so true. I will run back to you EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I promise, Joss.
(For context, read A Letter to the Country from an Emergency Physician)
I won’t lie, I’m not going to try to deliver an apolitical message here. Taking a passionate stance on an issue is almost certainly going to raise someone’s political ire and to attempt to lead a controversy free existence is both impossible and apathetic. To participate in a profession whose roots lie in a desire to preserve human life and not feel passionately about that cause is surely criminal.
Not only that, but I respect your intelligence as a reader enough not to try and convince you that any stance on health care is not inherently political whether you intend it to be or not.
This morning I saw patients in my outpatient office. It is a large university-based practice with many physicians and many affiliated specialists. My job includes seeing patients in both the inpatient and outpatient setting as well as teaching residents and medical students. It is often difficult, I rarely work less than 50 hours a week and it can be emotionally-draining on a regular basis.
I love it. I am one of the luckiest people on earth to do what I do.
The stories that my patients share with me, the daily struggles of work and kids and school, the life-changing signposts of birth, illness, death, the terror and hopelessness of depression, the elation and trepidation of a first pregnancy and, always, the constant companions of chronic illness or addiction or the prevention of disease that provide the foundation upon which our relationship was first built; being allowed into my patients lives in this way is truly a privilege and an honor that humbles me every day.
To reduce these patients to anecdotes or use their personal stories to support my own perspectives is not fair to them. They open their lives to me, trusting that I will only ask what I need to know to take care of them.
The problem with that is that a story that talks about people in generalities is never as powerful as one that boils all humanity down to a “good guy” and “bad guy” example. Just ask any politician from any party. It’s why we all know about that plumber of whom Sarah Palin was so fond.
If I wanted to, I could tell you heart-wrenching stories about some of my patients and their fight to get the care they deserve. I spend hours arguing with insurance companies to get medications approved, filling out prior-authorizations and scanning preferred drug lists and Walmart 4$ alternatives. My nurse spends many more hours. My patients though, nothing compares with the time and effort I have seen them put into fighting for health care: stacks of paperwork to get into free clinics and sliding scale fee programs, tax returns and endless applications for patient-assistance programs from drug companies and, when all else fails, letters to their senators and congressional representatives begging for a helping hand.
I’ve seen them fighting in more subtle ways: doggedly checking their sugars, counting their calories, walking 30 minutes every day just like I told them to, chewing their nicotine gum and rolling up their sleeves for the latest vaccine I have convinced them to get.
Other struggles are anything but subtle. I’ve witnessed the helpless fear of an actively suicidal patient desperate for a way to save themself. Drug addicts have sat across from me with their hands shaking begging for referral to rehab so that they can just be allowed to see their kids again. Mothers of children who just can’t seem to connect at school or who still aren’t speaking in full sentences come demanding that appropriate testing be done so these kids can get the help they need when it can still make such a difference.
A thought I have never had during any of these encounters:
“Does this person deserve this?”
People love to talk about our “entitlement culture.” I won’t deny that there are certainly aspects of that concept with which I agree. No one can guarantee you wealth or the exact job that you want or fame or a fancy car. Success is built on hard work, tenacity, sacrifice and, let’s be honest, a fair bit of luck sometimes. It’s also not always fair, and no one can fix that in every case.
But some things, we can fix.
The idea that it promotes mediocrity to provide equal treatment and care for all people is something that boggles my mind. If you don’t want to give every kid on your soccer team a participation trophy, fine. I think we are all comfortable with the concept of games and winning and losing. But none of that comes into play when any rational person is discussing health care.
All people deserve health care.
Let me state that another way..
No, wait, there isn’t another way. Let me just state it again.
All people deserve health care.
All basic human rights should be freely offered to all humans. How that makes those rights mediocre is beyond me. You don’t need to be special to have the right to health care. You just need to be.
The government mandates that I take care of all patients that step into the ER at the hospital where I work. Would I take care of them either way? Of course. I’m a doctor. That’s my job. Any physician who would argue otherwise wasn’t paying very close attention in medical ethics. They certainly aren’t the kind of physician I would want my family member seeing at 3am in an ER and they shouldn’t be speaking for the profession I worked so hard to join.
I shudder to think what patients must think of us when doctors take the time to write about their distaste for their jobs. How can patients trust us when members of our field speak out against caring for them? And how can they continue to open up their lives to us when they have to worry that some physicians will then use their personal stories to sketch crude caricatures of “screamer ladies” undeserving of care?
Did I work hard to get where I am? Sure, I won’t deny it. I pulled my 30+ hour shifts and studied for weeks on end and missed holidays, birthdays, vacations and family celebrations in pursuit of this job. I am in six-figure debt and will likely remain so for sometime.
Did I do it alone? No, I wouldn’t dare claim it. My parents supported my every dream, sat up with me before every test, helped construct every science fair project. My grandparents read every poem, cheered every school performance, read me every book. My husband has encouraged me for every board exam, remained patient through every long night away, picked me up when I was too tired to drive home post-call and lived on student loans with me through our early married years. And my loans? Thank you, Uncle Sam. I may have been blessed with a wealth of love and support, but certainly not a wealth of dollars. If my government didn’t allow me the opportunity to go to medical school, I would never have been able to afford the career of my dreams.
There is a concept of personal responsibility that is a vital part of our economic and policy-making conversation today. I am not denying this. However, if, as a healer, you want to accuse us of developing “a national mindset that expects others to take care of us,” you picked an awfully awkward pulpit from which to preach. I expect to take care of others. Others who cannot care for themselves for whatever reason that may be. Whether it be physical, mental, psychological, social or that they have simply lost the will- which is likely indicative of a larger problem anyway. That expectation is why I became a doctor. If you are a physician and you cannot connect with that concept, I have a question for you.
Why did you become a doctor?
I think we both know that the money is not what it used to be. The hours are certainly less than desirable. If you want to be rich and have weekends off and get to spend every Christmas with your family, this is certainly not your best bet.
So there has to be another reason.
I would hope it was because your fascination with medicine was only matched by your passion for serving others, leaving no other career option desirable. I can assure you that is what brought me here. And it is what continues to get me out of bed at 2am to answer a call from OB triage, knowing that what waits on the other end may well be another night spent away from my warm bed and my husband.
If these ideas: that all people are equal, that health care is a basic human right and that entering the medical profession is akin to entering a covenant by which you pledge to work tirelessly to serve others; if these ideas are uncomfortable for you, please do not go to medical school. The medical profession always needs strong minds, but those minds have become a poison to our very health care system when they lack the strong hearts to support them. There are other ways for you to make money and feel superior to other people. This is not where you belong.
To our patients, you deserve better from us. You deserve equal treatment and equal care and equal consideration by us. You can’t always have everything you want, that’s just life. But there is a basic standard of care that should be freely given to all people. You do not have to be special to get it and it doesn’t make anyone mediocre for others to have it as well.
Is our system broken? Yes. Who can fix it? That’s more complicated. All I know is that no one can do it alone. We need the government’s support, we need to call out corporate greed for what it is, we need patients to tell us what matters most to them and we need doctors to sit down at the table and make our lawmakers see how critical it is that something be done. This has to be a group effort. This has to involve us as well. If you think you can criticize a system and then sit back with your arms folded and demand that someone “fix it,” I find it especially amusing that you accuse others of selfishness and entitlement. Health care is my life’s work. If it is broken, it is, in part, my job to fix it.
Oh, and as for those who would claim that the crux of the problem lies with poor parenting and how it has created a culture of self-absorption: this is just lame. Would you prefer our uninsured patients just die humbly in the streets rather than bother you with their illnesses? When someone is drowning, we don’t stand on the bank and ask them how they ended up in the water, we throw them a rope. If it turns out that they threw themselves in, we don’t regret pulling them out, we ask how we can help them so that it doesn’t happen again. This is the model you should use for health care. It’s not an iPhone. It’s not something that you only get if you save up and don’t fight with your brother and get good grades on your next report card.
In the end, all these arguments really boil down to whether or not you believe we should look out for each other. Sometimes, taking care of other people isn’t fair. Sometimes, you will feel like someone isn’t pulling their weight. Sometimes, people lie and cheat and steal. None of these are reasons to stop caring for others. I’d always rather err on the side of kindness. It’s why one becomes a doctor.
Or, if you won’t take my word for it, here’s part of that pesky oath you took:
“Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice.”
And just one last bit to remember for the future:
“What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself holding such things shameful to be spoken about.”
This profession, no, this calling, is bigger than you or me. As a community of physicians, let’s try to do better. We all have some fixing to do.
When someone’s struggling with a Mac or Windows problem & you smugly “solve” it by telling them to install Linux, you’re not helping anyone.
Me-“I’m having this problem with my mac.”
The world-“LOL, course you are. Just create a drive partition and install windows.”
Me-“FUUUUCK YOU!”
So, I originally got the idea when I saw this tutorial and I HAD TO TRY, but I’m not really into hearts and I had this fantastic elephant cookie cutter so obviously that’s where I ended up.
The sweater I used was NOT wool, but it worked just fine. Since the sweater isn’t wool, the wool roving isn’t integrated in quite the same way, but it works. I won’t be drying this sweater, though and would suggest anyone trying this do the same.
I already had the needle for felting, but you can buy your own online. Amazon has them. A yarn store or specialized craft stor might also.
Wool roving is something a yarn/knitting store may also have, but if you’re looking for a better variety, Etsy or another online store would be a better bet.
If you are a beginner and like needle felting, I highly suggest purchasing one of these kits from fancy tiger on Etsy. I’ve bought them and they are EASY and ADORABLE. The shop also sells a nice and inexpensive sampler of dyed wool roving that you could use to make whatever you like.
Anyway, I know what I making for everyone this Christmas!
“
Hank: Are you okay? Dr O said that you’re probably insane now and that you’ll never be the same.
Dr. Venture: Heh heh. Are you kidding? *sighs* Okay, I’m just turning sixteen and having a birthday pool party. My father invites every girl he knows, and I’m not talking about girls my age. No, not Jonas! He invites Playboy bunnies and models and I think actual whores. Y’know, real prostitutes. So there I am in my giant bathing suit with nervous puberty oozing out of my gigantic pores. Just awful! So the band suddenly stops playing and I hear ‘And now, the man of the hour: Rusty Venture!’ All eyes on me, right? Then suddenly – almost predictably – the Action Man shoots my groin with a shrink ray right as that fucking jackass Colonel Gentleman pulls my shorts down.
Hank: Wow. That’s like a nightmare.
Dr. Venture: Oh no! No! What I went through today was ‘like a nightmare’. What happened when I was 16? That is my life.
” — The Venture Bros-Assisted Suicide S04E14