Making dental school friends proud

Yes, I have dental school friends. At least three of them... maybe more, but I can definitely think of three... they're awesome... you should be so lucky. One of them is technically not a dental school friend because he's actually finished with school and is now, in fact, a practicing dentist. Yeah... crazy, huh? In fact, he's actually my dentist. He's appeared on the blog as "Angry Steve", which is a nickname that he isn't particularly fond of, but well... he is sometimes angry... not frequently, but often enough. And when he does get angry, it's usually a spectacular display, like a grown-up temper-tantrum (I think he stamps his feet), and so he warrants the "Angry" part of the nickname, I think. Also his name is Steve. Also, he controls his anger when he's drillin' on my chompers.

Holy side-track... Okay, yeah.... Making 'em proud: My OC teeth cleaning ritual... in this particular order:

4:00 Floss (yeah, I'm slow... but I am me.tic.u.lous)

0:15 Tap water mouth rinse (theory: swishes away "gunk" loosened during flossing).

0:45 Listerine® mouth rinse, 15sec. more than recommended... bad ass, (theory: like the power-wash cycle on the washing machine... gets the "gunk" the water missed, and loosens plaque, etc. Also, it burns, so that must be good).

3:00 Brush w/generic whitening-tartar control-plaque removing-blah, blah, blah... (3min?!? Yeah... I get all surfaces... small circles, 45deg angle at the gum-line... all that shit).

2:00 Brush w/prescription ControlRx® Fluoride toothpaste (Angry Steve told me I had to)

0:00 Don't rinse w/water, only expectorate - that means spit (only noted here because it feels horribly unnatural to not rinse)

...

So yeah, I'm weird... I spend 10 minutes each night cleaning my teeth before bed. But I like to think of it as my 10 minuts of peace... a time of "introspection". Staring at my ugly mug in the mirror, I can reflect on those things on my mind that are most pressing. Tonight, for instance, I reflected on why it is that I spend 10 minutes each night cleaning my teeth. It wasn't always this way. Oh yeah... now I remember. I just paid my credit card bill... $444.70 out-of-pocket for two fillings. Not having insurance SUCKS!

Al Gore didn't invent the internet?

Actually... he didn't. And actually, he never said he did.

But that's beside the point of this post. That stupid title was a "hook"... Ha Ha! Did I get you?

The reason for this post, one which I've been meaning to write, and one which has been reinspired by Popo and Law-School-Roommate's posts, is this:

Please, please, please go see the film 'An Inconvenient Truth'. Yup, it's that global-warming documentary "starring" our favorite former Vice President Al Gore.

Seriously though... it's an incredible piece of public education. The film follows, depicts, chronicles Al Gore's world-wide tour of a multi-media presentation he's been giving for years and years. It sounds dry, I know, but trust me... it's incredibly moving, enlightening, and disturbing. I actually saw folks wiping away tears on their way out of the theater.

Gore was dubbed a personality-less robot during the 2000 Election, but you know what... he's just kind of a dork... like you and me. I love dorks. He does, in fact, have a sense of humor, the type that laughs at goofy puns. And what's more, he's just so passionate and thoughtful. He reminds you of your dad, or your good friend's dad... what he projects is an incredibly genuine concern for his rejuvenated purpose: Fighting Global Warming.

The funny thing is, the thought that most excited me as my friend and I discussed the film in a pub after the showing was the potential of the film, because it is just that… a film. As I said, Gore’s message is alarming, thought provoking, and inspiring, but honestly, had I not seen this film, I would have never known he was out there campaigning for this cause.

In this day and age of media saturated developed nations, cinematic and televised information seems to be the most easily digested form of information. The average American, at least, seems to have lost their attention span for topics such as these... scientific, statistics-laden. To be sure, this is obviously a global issue, but I think the challenge for Western nations is to get people to actually care, to actually have a vested interest in the problem we face.

Well, I think the film is an amazing vehicle to do just that… inspire people. And what could seem an overwhelming statistics-driven message, is presented graphically and metaphorically in a way that I think appeals to a huge demographic. The problem, I fear, is that no one is seeing the the film… or not enough people are seeing the film.

I think the film-makers have something amazing here, and if the true mission of the film is to affect change, then it behooves them to make the film more accessible. The message is simple and powerful, and it can be understood by middle school and high school kids. The teachers out there could show the film in classrooms… what kid wouldn’t want to watch a movie over taking notes from a stupid overhead? Get the young people of this world to start thinking, questioning, and talking. Give away copies of the film to educators.

...

But I digress... I can't imagine the film makers giving away DVD's, and more so... I can't imagine partisan school-board members allowing, what some might falsely label a politically driven film, into their sterile curriculum. So yeah... you guys should go see the film. And if you have kids, or younger siblings... take them too. After all, it is we (and they) who will be feeling the lasting, and for now worsening, effects of Global Warming.

tell them you love 'em

Whoever they are. Do it today... pick up that phone.

Ryan Brindamour
June 12, 1979 - July 14, 2005
- loved more than ever -

song: P.S. You Rock My World
album: Electro-Shock Blues
artist: Eels

i was at a funeral the day i realized
i wanted to spend my life with you
sitting down on the steps at the old post office
the flag was flying at half mast
and i was thinking 'bout how
everyone is dying
and maybe it's time to live

i don't know where we're going
i don't know what we'll do

walked into the thrif-tee
saw the man with the hollow eyes
who didn't give me all my change
but it didn't bother me this time
'cause i know i've only got
this moment
and it's good
i went to the gas station
old woman honked her horn
waiting for me to fix her car

i don't know where we're going
i don't know what we'll do

laying in bed tonight i was thinking
and listening to all the dogs
and the sirens and shots
and how a careful man tries
to dodge the bullets
while a happy man takes a walk

and maybe it's time to live