Week's Reflections - 1/7/12

          The first week of the new year is in the books!  I am excited to celebrate by heading on vacation next week.  Don't worry, I'll still post a few updates.


1.) New Track Your Plaque Article

          I like this article, because it's a very succinct and to the point summation of the reasoning behind the Track Your Plaque low carb diet.  Dr. Davis briefly describes the phenomena he sees with a low carb vs a low fat diet, through the lens of a cardiologist mainly concerned with heart disease.  His article is backed by many years of clinical experience managing the diet and heart health of his patients.  At the end, he also suggests that avoiding wheat in particular can also cause people to benefit in several non-heart related ways.  He doesn't break any new ground here, but I appreciate it for being short and concise and easy to understand with or without medical training.


2.) Being Included in Top 11 Medical Blogs

          I was really excited to see in the comments section of one of my posts that Medical Artist decided to give me an honorable metion (#11) on their list of top 10 medical blogs for 2011.  Having just started, it means a lot to get early recognition and support.  They have a pretty cool website that combines their knowledge of both anatomy and art.  They sell their services as artists for legal or presentation purposes, but as a future medical student, I am drawn to the vast array of free and accessible, medically accurate drawings they have on their website.  I imagine it could all be very helpful when taking an Anatomy course.  Check it out!


3.) NFL Playoffs

          Sadly, the Raiders won't be a part of the playoffs, because they choked and played like garbage when their big moment came.  Whatever.  It's still NFL playoffs time, kicking off at 4:30 later today.  I for one am excited, even though I'll be missing the action today as I travel down South with the girlfriend.  Are you rooting for anyone in particular this playoff season?  I have to lend my vote to either the Saints or Green Bay or anyone who beats the Patriots, but I don't have any real commitment.


4.) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

          I saw this with my family, and it was pretty good.  I watched the Swedish ones over the last year or two with friends, and I couldn't really decide which I liked more.  I guess they came in somewhere around even.  I thought the female lead was more compelling in the Swedish movies, but Daniel Craig was better in the US version.  It's worth seeing, and I have high hopes for the next two movies in the series.  As an aside, I have heard the books are excellent, but I have not read them.


5.) The House of God

          I haven't finished it, so I won't write the full review yet.  Honestly, it may take me some time to get all the way through it, because the middle 150 pages are kind of... dense and plodding and overall less engaging.  As a whole, though, the book has been fantastic.  The first 100 pages left me chilled and disturbed.  Some parts have been kind of funny, but I'm not sure how people can review it and sum their review into "hilarious" like it says on the cover.  "Witty" is the word I would use.  I read one review that said people who aren't in medicine think the book is funny, while people who are in medicine think there's too much truth in it to laugh.  Oy.  I definitely recommend giving it a read, and I'll post my full review when I finish.


6.) Vacation

          I am going on vacation for the next week.  Living in Ithaca, I haven't actually seen the sun in about 2 months.  I'm excited to head down South and check in with the good ol sun and see how she's doing.
It won't be quite warm enough for the beach, so I expect to catch up on the movie watching I have been missing out on lately (Mission Impossible, Tinker Tailor...).  I'll be sure to post about what's good in the next Week's Reflections.

          I hope you all are having a great week!