Telling it on the Mountain

Hello - as promised, I will (briefly?) discuss my last trip to the cinema to view the critically acclaimed Brokeback Mountain. Although overhyped a bit, it's definitely an excellent film - touching without being overly manipulative. By the end, if you didn't feel the longing and frustration and sorrow experienced by several characters, you probably don't have a heart.

One nice aspect of the film was it's sparse style - the dialogue and pacing often resembled the spare but beautiful scenery. A lot was said by what WASN'T said or even there.

My biggest impression is that you could basically write a book based on audience comments whilst exiting the theater.

From some girls about 10 years younger than me, in regards to a "skinny-diving" scene where the guys jump naked off a cliff into a lake: "Um, hello...I would have been ok but what was the deal with all the flapping genitalia? ohmigod!"

It took a great deal of self-restraint to resist saying, oh, i don't know... "Well, ladies, I don't want you to be TOO surprised on your wedding nights, but let me explain a few things..." or even "Hey, let's try a little experiment. Go take a running jump into a lake (topless) and then we'll talk about who's flapping...." la la la....

and then there was the inevitable: "Ya know, I was pretty much ok w/ the love story but...c'mon, it was two GUYS!"

Um. let's see. That earns a big critical blank stare and head shake from this movie goer. I mean...duh. that's like when I saw some young ladies leaving Saving Pvt. Ryan some years back going, "Oh! I just wanted to see Matt Damon...I didn't realize it would be so VIOLENT!"

All ya had to do was read ANY snippet of any article or see any bit o' TV or hear anyone at all talk about it and the words "most gorily realistic cinematic portral of war EVER" would show up.

Anyway, what I found most interesting was how the two leads were both quite functionally bi-sexual. Most gay men I know are, realistically, as repulsed by the notion of sex with a woman as straight guys are by the possibility of a homosexual encounter. Or at least that what people say - obviously Kinsey & co. feel that everyone is on this continuum....

Anyway, I don't have any more pithy thoughts on the subject, but will welcome comments and discussion!

I'll try to get back to more dentistry next post!

A little bit of chatting...

So at six pm a mom comes in w/ 9 yo daughter; she has a cavity, and we're going out of town.... can you fix it? sure; that was an easy fifteen min. procedure, since we didn't have to anesthetize, and the girl was very cooperative.

Mom had a few questions. Actually, she then had an HOUR worth of questions. Since she was the last patient, and I had no where to be, I was happy to answer - why are silver vs. white fillings sometimes better or worse? What about this crown I had done? why do some dentists try to fill everything and others are "wait and see" and now all my kids have cavities??

So I answered her questions for the better part of the hour ans she was ASTOUNDED that I would take the time. Well, if I had someone else waiting for a filling or something, sure, i couldn't do that. But she was SO happy. She's coming back and bringing her husband and other three kids... I figure I could open up a practice two hours away and she'd happily visit twice a week, now that she's sold on the fact that I will always answer her questions when she (gasp) wants to actually TALK to the dentist.

Kinda always ticks me off when people pay 30-70 bucks for an exam and then just get a 50 second "look-see" and no conversation/explanation from the dentist... Yes, sure, it's busy, and you have to whip through folks to make ends meet and pay the staff, but honestly, most folks only need a couple minutes.... so that was gratifying.


In a completely unrelated story, I saw Brokeback Mountain this weekend. Wow; I could just about write a book on the comments heard whilst exitting the theater. wow. more later perhaps....

Am I back? perhaps...

Due to popular demand (thank you for nagging Sean, Hank, et al.) I have returned to attempt to be a good blogger again. Geez, it's like working out; you really have to be committed!

So, to update, I have 80% sold out; that's right, I'm now working at a private office in Exeter. Everyone says, Oh, NOW you're making the big money! Well, um. no. not yet. Nevertheless, I remain confident that the "big money" will soon come rolling down the pike, yessir.

I'm still one day a week (and more occaisionally) at the non-profit, so I'm keepin' it real for all da homies, yo.

(to wit: "keepin' it real" means "making dentures" and "da homies" equals toothless or mostly toothless folks w/o insurance.

"Yo" is just added for street cred.)

so i'm going to send this off, eat some breakfast and tell y'all i'm back. more to come, perhaps (ooh!) during the Super Bowl.