The Flu

I know a thing or two about epidemics. I guess one good thing about focusing on medical history in my M.A. is that I have gotten a good working knowledge about how epidemics work particularly those that are reoccurring epidemics such as influenza. People don’t understand a lot about what is going on with H1N1 virus. To understand the issue and why it is so frightening to a lot of people you have to go back to the Spanish Influenza epidemic from the early part of the 20th century. That epidemic was truly frightening. It had a high fatality rate and the most terrifying thing about it is that it was an indiscriminate killer. Most diseases rarely kill people in the prime of life. They focus on the elderly and the young or those that already have compromised immune systems. The Spanish Flu was not one of these. It killed people just as readily that was in perfect condition as those that were not. People could wake up feeling fine and be dead by night fall. It is theorized, though not definitively confirmed, that the Spanish Influenza was a mutated strain of avian flu. That is where the fear of these avian and swine flu’s are derived from. The fear is that eventually an avian flu will mutate to where it can be spread person to person. Then the fear is that after it does that it can mutate into the incredibly virulent and dangerous form that it has taken in the past. People think that the CDC and WHO are over reacting to these flu strains and that they are no big deal. The people who say this are right to some extent. The H1N1 as it is right now is really no big deal. It’s basically a really bad case of the flu, and unless you have a pre-existing condition then all you have to fear is really feeling like crap for a while. However, the Health Organizations are not over reacting. They have to start implementing protocols now. If they wait until the virus mutates then it will be too late and will be in mass pandemic stage before they can begin to do anything. Only by pre-emptively planning can they hope to do anything if it becomes a major worldwide pandemic. The best thing that can be done for such a situation is for them to begin planning for the worst, and to try and increase the herd immunity to the highest level that it possibly can be. If you don’t plan for the worst then if the worst happens you will be unprepared.

Where were you on 9/11?

I always here people saying "I will never forget where I was on 9/11." That is generally the way it goes with things like this. My mother said she never forgot the moment she heard the JFK has been killed, and my grandfather said he would never forget Pearl Harbor. For my generation this is our defining event, and hopefully, will always remain so. What I was ruminating about today though was why do I, the person who remembers his first year in school about as well as his tenth, remember very little detail about that day? I remember where I was of course, but other than impressions and emotions I really remember very little detail. I remember that I found out in chapel when I was at Harding University. I say my friend Trey Laminack who sat next to me in chapel that year and a ran to catch up with him as we were leaving the dorms. But other than that its quite a haze. We walked into together and immediately I felt something was wrong, the aura of the place, for lack of a better word, was oppressive. I doubt I will ever again in my life feel what its like to be in a room with 4000 other people all of home have just received the most stunning news of their life. I know many of you on my facebook friends list can relate to this, most of you were in chapel that day as well. I do remember that Kimberly was not in chapel, she was running late for chapel and had caught the news coverage before she left and then couldn't make herself leave, so the seat to my right was vacant. But after that I remember nothing about that day until noon. I don't remember what Dr. Burk said that day after Trey and I, who were also late, figured out what was going on. I was in a daze I guess, and from looking at Trey so was he. The next thing I remember was going to Cone at noon, where I was supposed to meet some friends. I remember then that we had to explain it all to Drew Dasher who had just woken up because he had slept in. He hadn't heard any of it. I remember we tried to come up with words that were adequate but we just said, "go in there and turn on the news." I remember that was probably my most vivid memory of the day, watching someone else learn the news when I myself was no longer reeling from it. At no time before then or since then have I felt myself so small, so incapacitated, and so useless before an event. I didn't think there was a situation that could so completely make my brain shut down and panic. That was the situation, and although the feeling didn't last long, that was my honest reaction, and the feeling of that helplessness and shock comes back every time the anniversary rolls around. I can't help but wonder if that was the way I felt in Arkansas how much more terrible was it for those around ground zero.

AFI Top 100 Movies.

So this is the current 2007 list of the AFI's top 100 movies. I, as many of you know, am a huge fan of film. I love to read, but there is just something about a cinematic experience that makes me a bit giddy. I have decided that I would post the list and mark the ones I have read, and then invite you guys to compare your lists to mine. Feel free to do it on facebook, just tag me in the note. Just ignore the extra information to the right of the title, that was just stuff from the rankings I didn't want to go through and delete. The ones I have seen will be underlined.

1 CITIZEN KANE (1941) 1 0

2 GODFATHER, THE (1972) 3 1

3 CASABLANCA (1942) 2 -1

4 RAGING BULL (1980) 24 20

5 SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) 10 5

6 GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) 4 -2

7 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) 5 -2

8 SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) 9 1

9 VERTIGO (1958) 61 52

10 WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939) 6 -4

11 CITY LIGHTS (1931) 76 65

12 SEARCHERS, THE (1956) 96 84

13 STAR WARS (1977) 15 2

14 PSYCHO (1960) 18 4

15 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968) 22 7

16 SUNSET BLVD. (1950) 12 -4

17 GRADUATE, THE (1967) 7 -10

18 GENERAL, THE (1927) N/A

19 ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) 8 -11

20 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) 11 -9

21 CHINATOWN (1974) 19 -2

22 SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) 14 -8

23 GRAPES OF WRATH, THE (1940) 21 -2

24 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) 25 1

25 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962) 34 9

26 MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) 29 3

27 HIGH NOON (1952) 33 6

28 ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) 16 -12

29 DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) 38 9

30 APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) 28 -2

31 MALTESE FALCON, THE (1941) 23 -8

32 GODFATHER PART II, THE (1974) 32 0

33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975) 20 -13

34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937) 49 15

35 ANNIE HALL (1977) 31 -4

36 BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957) 13 -23

37 BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE (1946) 37 0

38 TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, THE (1948) 30 -8

39 DR. STRANGELOVE (1964) 26 -13

40 SOUND OF MUSIC, THE (1965) 55 15

41 KING KONG (1933) 43 2

42 BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967) 27 -15

43 MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) 36 -7

44 PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE (1940) 51 7

45 SHANE (1953) 69 24

46 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) 35 -11

47 STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A (1951) 45 -2

48 REAR WINDOW (1954) 42 -6

49 INTOLERANCE (1916) N/A

50 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE (2001) N/A

51 WEST SIDE STORY (1961) 41 -10

52 TAXI DRIVER (1976) 47 -5

53 DEER HUNTER, THE (1978) 79 26

54 M*A*S*H (1970) 56 2

55 NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) 40 -15

56 JAWS (1975) 48 -8

57 ROCKY (1976) 78 21

58 GOLD RUSH, THE (1925) 74 16

59 NASHVILLE (1975) N/A

60 DUCK SOUP (1933) 85 25

61 SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS (1941) N/A

62 AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973) 77 15

63 CABARET (1972) N/A

64 NETWORK (1976) 66 2

65 AFRICAN QUEEN, THE (1951) 17 -48

66 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) 60 -6

67 WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966) N/A

68 UNFORGIVEN (1992) 98 30

69 TOOTSIE (1982) 62 -7

70 CLOCKWORK ORANGE, A (1971) 46 -24

71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998) N/A

72 SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE (1994) N/A

73 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969) 50 -23

RANK FILM 1997 CHANGE SEEN IT OR NOT

74 SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE (1991) 65 -9

75 IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967) N/A

76 FORREST GUMP (1994) 71 -5

77 ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976) N/A

78 MODERN TIMES (1936) 81 3

79 WILD BUNCH, THE (1969) 80 1

80 APARTMENT, THE (1960) 93 13

81 SPARTACUS (1960) N/A

82 SUNRISE (1927) N/A

83 TITANIC (1997) N/A

84 EASY RIDER (1969) 88 4

85 NIGHT AT THE OPERA, A (1935) N/A

86 PLATOON (1986) 83 -3

87 12 ANGRY MEN (1957) N/A

88 BRINGING UP BABY (1938) 97 9

89 SIXTH SENSE, THE (1999) N/A

90 SWING TIME (1936) N/A

91 SOPHIE'S CHOICE (1982) N/A

92 GOODFELLAS (1990) 94 2

93 FRENCH CONNECTION, THE (1971) 70 -23

94 PULP FICTION (1994) 95 1

95 LAST PICTURE SHOW, THE (1971) N/A

96 DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) N/A

97 BLADE RUNNER (1982) N/A

98 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942) 100 2

99 TOY STORY (1995) N/A

100 BEN-HUR (1959) 72 -28

Why I switched to a Fountain Pen.

You know, I never much thought about what type of writing utensil I used, but I have decided that I will use fountain pens from now on. Why you might ask? The answer is pretty simple, it makes me feel much, much cooler. Well, ok, that's only part of why I made the switch. Firstly, I think writing is dying. I mean the actual putting of pen to paper, not the act of writing as a profession. Put don't write things any more, and I am as guilty of that, actually probably more guilty of that than anybody. The other day I actually wrote a check, the first one I have written in a long time, and I found it strangely satisfying when I wrote my signature. I thought about it, and I realized that things that used to be staples of life, such as letter writing are now dying out. This is the point where this blog completely shifts gears and talks about something else. The lack of letter writing will eventually have an affect on how we study history. A good portion of what we learn about historical figures is through personal correspondence. It is often the best way to learn on insight of a personal nature about somebody who is a public figure, and who has a public persona. Basically it helps historians figure out who the person is behind the history. Now of course there is a trade off here, we are in the information age of course. We are 24/7 on the internet, with out tweets, facebook updates, and ridiculously invasive news coverage. However, is that a good trade off? At least for historians, not really. This barrage of information is the obvious stuff because people control the image they send out as much as they possibly can, keeping the true person hidden. So in one hundred years what will we truly know about the important men and women of this generation? We will perceive them in two ways, the image that they wanted to portray to the public, and the negative image that the press tries to portray to the public, the real person, of course, will be something somewhere in the middle, leaving us without the personal knowledge that collections of personal letters tends to give us. Oh yea, and I switched to fountain pens because they make my poor, oft dislocated fingers from hurting when I write, they really are marvelous for that.

Ruminating on kindergarten

So I have an app on my iphone that lists sexual offenders in my area. And I noticed a name on the list that I knew, and lo and behold it was a guy that I went to Kindergarten with who moved after that year. I won't give any names, but apparently he made the list for a sexual assault. He was a part of one of the early events in my life that had a real affect on my personality and growth. When I was in kindergarten we had to eat lunch next to whoever we were in the line next to and everyday a different student go to lead the line. That student got to choose the person who was in line behind him. When it was this persons turn to lead the line he chose me. Now this person came from a very poor and backwards family, which I later found out didn't even have running water. So to put it bluntly he smelled horrible. Also he had a terrible speech impediment and I couldn't understand a word he said. When he called my name, my eye brows rose and the teacher saw my reaction. My reaction was because I was nervous about sitting next to him because I didn't like having to constantly ask him what he was saying, and really just guessing even when I asked him several times, but the teacher thought the reaction was because of his smell. The teacher told the student, right in from of the class, that perhaps he should choose someone else because I had a weak stomach for smells and because he smelled so bad that I wouldn't be able to eat lunch. When she did this even at that age I was floored that a teacher, someone who was supposed to be in charge would so something like that. I felt so horrible for him, and if it had happened a couple years later, being the verbose child that I was, and also largely uncaring of the consequences of what I said, I would have called her out on it. At the time I just felt horrible, sick to my stomach for the poor kid, who really didn't have much of a chance as it was. This event I am somewhat sad to say made me contemptuous of authority and of teachers in particular and I never forgot that event. I never once in my life looked down on someone in school purely because they were less fortunate financially than I was, and for that fact I am grateful, I feel it made me a better person. But when I saw that name on that sexual offender list it made me think about what might have been if I had stood up for him. Maybe an act of kindness by a six year old could have been enough to steer him from the path that he ended up taking. Perhaps not, but it might have made a difference. I am not beating myself up over it, but it was a situation that when I look back on now, might have made a difference in someones life. Hindsight is 20/20 isn't it?

I hate to admit it but I agree with Terrell Owens.

This hurts me, deep and to my heart, but I have to admit it to myself and to the world that I agree with Terrell Owens. He recently came out and said that players and the Players Union need to get involved in the NFL issues a 4 game suspension to Michael Vick. He feels that its ridiculous for a man to get suspended for 4 games after he has just been punished by the legal system for his crimes with a two year prison sentence. I agree with him, it just seems like piling on to add a 4 game suspension to Michael Vick. Michael Vick has paid his debt for his crimes, and served two years in prison. Its ridiculous and frankly a bit pretentious for the NFL to follow that up with a punishment of their own. NFL PA rep for the Bills George Wilson agreed wholeheartedly with what his teammate Owens was saying, so perhaps I will just say that I agree with the former Razorback George Wilson, rather than Owens. Of course the people that know me, know that I am practically a PETA member when it comes to being cruel to animals, but I also believe that when a man has served his sentence he has paid his debt and deserves a chance. Of course I have often disagreed with Mr. Roger Goodell. In regards to Pacman Jones, everybody knows that this man is a thug and an idiot, and nobody was really surprised when he got a one year suspension for his legal woes. But not many people realized that when he was suspended for a year for being involved in three crimes, in none of those instances was he ever convicted of a crime. In the first two they never even made it to court as they were thrown out. We all know he is a punk, but Goodell suspended him for a year for being in trouble with the law, when technically Mr. Jones was never guilty of committing those crimes. Seems a bit silly when you look at it that way. Its a bit steep when we get punished for being accused of a crime, isn't that a bit like guilty until proven innocent?

A little touchy about Arkansas

I have realized that even though I have left Arkansas, and probably plan on leaving Arkansas to live somewhere else after Law, I am incredibly defensive about it as my home. This is not a new tendency for me, I think I have always been like that, I just think I am not starting to come to terms with it. I remember back in August of 1999 when I was at music camp for Harding. Back then there was daily kitchen duty and certain people each day would go around getting people refills and the like. There was a girl named Rachel Cooper from New Jersey who came to our table, a very cute girl, so being the flirt that I am I paid attention. She was talking to the person across the table from me (Jeff this might have been you, I can't remember, I know we met at this music camp, and hung out at it a lot. It was either you or Adam Sullivan) and she said "I can't believe I ended up in Arkansas, I hate it here, it such a backwards pitiful state." I was infuriated, although I didn't really show anger. I politely told her that this was my home and that she was welcome to leave at any time. But I was really seething on the inside. I think at that point was the first time in my life that I had seen someone outside of Arkansas, an outsider so to speak, come into my home turf and blatantly bad mouth my home. Before it had only been grumbling by people who actually lived there, and people always have the right to grumble about their home. It definitely set up an immediate defensiveness towards those that back fun of Arkansas. My family has been farming here for near two hundred years, and I am the first of my fathers line since coming from Holland in the 17th century not to be a farmer. I feel a sense of pride in that, I come from people that understand what hard work is, and what battling the natural landscape of the South is like. I guess that is why it is ingrained in me to protect the integrity of this area, and people that wish to speak ill of it front of me are going to be in for some fighting words. And those that know me, know that when that happens you will know you have been in a fight, that is for sure.

3rd to 1st, a softball to the side of the head.

So last weekend I had an exciting experience. I was at a softball tournament in Lake City, Arkansas, where there are no lakes, playing with my normal softball team. It was my third at bat of the day, and I did not make good contact with the ball and I grounded it somewhat weakly to third base. As is usual for me, having joints that are about twice my age, I wasn't running very hard out of the box. The third-basemen didn't field the ball cleanly though, so when he bobbled it I started running much harder to first. Bad Idea, the throw and the side of my head reached the same spot at the same time, and since two objects can't occupy the same space, it hurt. The guy had thrown the ball wildly, and for some reason the 1st basemen who could have come of the base and caught the ball decided not to. The result was an impact right against my left temple. I did not black out, I did not even get dizzy, but I knew right away that given the spot it had hit that I was going to go to the hospital. For some odd reason the coach of the other team seemed to want to try and talk me out of going to the hospital. At first I was worried about damage to my head, but as I started for the vehicle I realized I was a afraid that I had broken my jaw because frankly it hurt like hell. My cousin drove me to the hospital at good ole St. Bernards ( no I didn't get staph for all you people out there that think the disease originates there) and as usual the waiting room had about 15 people in it. When we got sat down a nurse came out and said ok you guys can come back and see him, and everybody single person in the waiting except for us went back to see some guy. I will tell you this, if I am ever sick or injured in the nursing room, I do not want to wake up to seeing 15 different people standing around my bed in a small room. So with the ER apparently vacant I went right back. Fun times, I got poked and prodded a bit and was given a CAT Scan. Apparently I checked out all right and was told I had a mild concussion and a small inconsequential facial fracture and home I went. I had never been hit on the noggin like that before so I didn't really know quite what to expect. The headaches over the next couple of days were not pleasant, nor was the blurry vision in my left eye, but those symptoms went away and now I am fine to go out and get hit in the head by some new guy that can't throw to first. It was sadly, about the most excitement I have had this year. I took the picture with my iphone while I was waiting for my CAT scan results. It doesn't do a very good job of showing the swelling and please excuse my not being clean cut, I was at a red neck softball tournament after all.