In my opinion, love stories appeal to everyone, more so the good ones. Among the many books I’ve read, the following love stories are my favorite:

The Bridges of Madison County

I seldom cry on a book and I surprised myself by shedding tears caught up by the passion of Mary and Noah. It’s the most beautiful love story I’ve ever read and which touched me the most. I feel that the way it is narrated by the author, allows you to peep inside their hearts and experience their love for each other. It’s a bit unconventional , being about  a happily married woman in her 40s who finds herself deeply in love with a stranger.

Love Story by Erich Segal

Love means never having to say sorry

This eternal novel needs no introduction.  This is perhaps the first love story that touched my heart.  An unforgettable tale of love, though tragic in the end, Love Story is sure to increase one’s belief in love. Oliver and Jenny’s love is so beautiful that it lingers in one’s heart forever.

The Great Gatsby by Scott. Fitzgerald

It’s beautiful, not so because of the story itself but by the author’s prowess in bringing out the characters and their emotions to life. I greatly admired Gatsby and was awed by the intensity of his love for Daisy. I found it extremely touching that he continued to love her until his untimely death.

I wonder whether it’s a coincidence or not that all my favorites are tragic (at least to some extent).   Well, I can only say that wherever there is love, there is pain too.

Chalk up another one for the CHL. The Plymouth Whalers dealt for the rights to Michigan forward Robbie Czarnik and low and behold, Czarnik has left school to join the likes of Tyler Seguin. Czarnik had three goals and three assists in six games this season and will boost a relatively annonymous Whalers offense from here on out. (Western College Hockey Blog)

Russian goaltender and Flordia Panthers draft pick Sergei Gaiduchenko wants to follow in the footsteps of fellow Russian goaltender Semyon Varlamov. Hopefully he decides to develop a better glove hand. (Russian Prospects)

And on the Russian front, the Los Angeles Kings have called up prospect Andrei Loktionov in the wake of an injury to Ryan Smyth. Loktionov had six goals and 17 points in 20 games to lead the Manchester Monarchs. Also called up, former Calgary Hitmen forward and general journeyman Brandon Segal, a veteran of two NHL games thus far in his storied career. (Los Angeles Times)

One of hockey’s great names, Tyler Toffoli has been awarded a pizza party, courtesy of Boston Pizza’s OHL Player of the Week. Toffoli is ranked just outside of the first round in Future Considerations’ 2010 NHL Entry Draft November Rankings. (OHL)

Want the latest on the top prospects from around the globe? Be sure to follow Future Considerations’ on Twitter!

Are you a World Juniors fan? They’re just around the corner! Pick up your copy of FC’s 2010 WJC Guide today!

Beans said he wasn’t gonna stop   Jigga where are you? how much more you gotta take? Rides on Jigga on the old cypress hill beat

AllHipHop.com Daily News – : Beanie Drops New Diss ‘How I Could Kill Jigga Man’

Posted using ShareThis

(from finance.senate.gov . Really)

In which The Meager Med Student discusses his exam results, this week’s lecturers, a visit from a family with a special needs child, learning to do breast and chest exams and the Highlight of the Week: learning more about the magnificent heart.

The rest of the exam parts are back. I did well on the Doctoring Skills. The lab practical, not so much. As in, Josh has to step up his game.

Betsy (i.e. Dr. Ezerman) said it best at the beginning of Monday’s lecture: “Just move on.” And so I will. Albeit with the help of a tutor for the Gross Anatomy part.

This won’t be the end for The Meager Med Student. Mark my words.

***

We’re now starting a new section of HSF focusing on the thorax, abdomen, neck and head. It will be only tangentially related to what we’ve done before.

This week, Dr. Segal gave some introductory lectures on homeostasis. Non-science people, most of what goes on in your bodyis related to the idea of equilibrium. If your body has a process to raise your blood glucose level, for instance, it will be balanced by a signal that triggers another process that lowers your blood glucose. In fact, there are very few examples of your body ever sending a signal that accentuates a process instead of counteracting it. But for the curious, those include coughing, vomiting and menstual cycle estrogen release.

Our other lecturer is Dr. Evans, who gave several lectures on respiration. Whenever he talks about breathing, he demoes what he does with sound effects. “I push all the air out of my lungs”, he’ll say as he bends over and flexes, exhaling slowly. I smile because he seems like a serious lecturer most of the time.  

***

For the Science Nerds: We studied homeostasis, mechanics of respiration, structure and function of the respiratory system, lung volumes, ventilation, pulmonary blood flow, diffusion of gasses in the lungs and the embryological development of the lungs.

We also studied the thorax, lungs, heart, superior mediastinum, anterior and posterior triangles of the neck in our cadaver, and we studied the histology of respiratory tissue.

***

In Doctoring Skills, we learned how to give a breast exam and how to listen for sounds in the chest. This means we finally got to use our stethoscopes (the only instrument I think you should buy for medical school).

So how was using our new toy? I couldn’t hear a thing. I THINK I could “hear” a sound difference when listening the lungs from the top of the back instead of the bottom of the back, but I’m not sure. Maybe that’s normal. I definitely didn’t hear “crackles” during the breath in, or “wheezes” (high-pitched sounds) during the breath out.

It’ll come with practice.

But about that breast exam. Wasn’t as intimidating as I thought it was going to be. I guess because I’ve just spent enough time volunteering in the ER that I’ve gotten used to seeing people naked.

In fact, the hardest part was just knowing how much pressure to apply. (You’re supposed to apply light, medium and hard pressure with your fingers as you circle around a spot on the breast.) My SP would turn to me and say, “You  need to press harder.” I think I’ve got it down now.

***

In MSLG, a family with a child that has special needs came and visited us. I can’t say anything specific about this, obviously.

But it is wonderful whenever you get a family that is willing to be very open about their life and answer many questions. In the midst of lots of classwork and simulated practice, it’s good to remember that we’re preparing to help real people.  

***

Highlight of the Week: Clinical Correlations of the Heart

This was our last week for our TAs for gross anatomy. (Histology too.) But before they left, one of them went around giving a little talk on the heart. He taught us why we listen for heart sounds in the places we do and  how we would image a beating heart (using an esophageal ultrasound). He also talked about the marvelous structure of the heart. Here’s one tidbit: Your heart has valves that need to close, which are pulled down by papillary muscles. But as extra security, each flap is pulled down by two papillary muscles so that it can still close if one fails. Wow.

It’s moments like this that make your heart race with excitement.

Josh Pothen (UVM’s Meager Med Student)

Donate $1 to The Meager Med Student!

Well once you seen him come onstage and made that comment about  he runs the empire state you knew sooner or later something was gonna pop off. Now world star hiphop has reported that Beanie Sigel former member of The Roc and very close friend Beanie Sigel are at extremly large odds.. Beanie Sigel first did a interview on friday airing out Jay-z and also did a apparent diss record.. Beanie Sigel conducted this interview on 105 the beat in philadelphia and he had a awful lot to say

here is the diss record entitled “Not your average cat’(what you talkin bout)

Beanie Sigel also states in the song ” i know things about your life that will make Bey look at you differently”

wow i wonder what that can be?(the rihanna rumors that umm HEAVENHOLLYWOOD.COM brought to you months ago may finally come out

Beanie Sigel then continues on with the interview and my God said some things.

Beanie Sigel called into Philadelphia radio station 100.3 The Beat this morning (October 30), where he discussed a controversial new track in which he disses Jay-Z.

Sigel expresses his frustration with Jay-Z on the track, because of lines on Jay’s Blueprint 3, as well as the handling of Sigel’s career after a prison stint in 2004, as Roc-A-Fella Records was breaking up.

This morning, Philadelphia rapper called into Charlamagne Tha God’s

Morning Show and explained his motivation for releasing the record in detail.

Sigel claimed that several lines on Jay-Z’s song “Already” were the catalyst for the shocking diss record in addition to this treatment at Power 99’s Powerhouse concert last weekend, which Jay-Z headlined.

Additionally, the “Broad Street Bully” revealed that he felt slighted for not being included on Jay-Z’s Blueprint 3 album.

Sigel also reiterated his claims that Jigga abandoned Roc-A-Fella rap group State Property, which featured group members Freeway, Peedi Peedi, Oschino, Omillio Sparks, and the Young Gunz (Young Chris and Neef ).

“Jay in another place and I understand that. He did what he did as far as signing people to Roc-A-Fella Records, you did that,” Sigel told Charlamagne Tha God. “But as far as the push that people coulda got that really could have did things, you didn’t do that. If you look at 50 Cent – no disrespect to the G-Unit, cause I love the way 50 Cent did with his dogs – but if you look at it, them dudes got more money and more bread than anybody in State Property. Because 50 made sure of that. 50 took his people on tour and paid them, not tell them it was a good look for them to be on tour.”

Sigel claimed that life on Roc-A-Fella Records was not glamour and glitz, despite State Property’s output for Roc-A-Fella.

Collectively, or individually the Philadelphia group released hit records like “Feel It In the Air” (Beanie Sigel), “Roc the Mic” (Freeway) and “Can‘t Stop, Won‘t Stop” (Young Gunz) in addition to starring in two State Property movies and a State Property clothing line, which was sold in major department stores.

“The clothing line and all that came about cause Dame did that. Dame gave me the clothing line. I got the Pro-Keds thing that came from a situation that I did, but then Dame back doored the sneak and gets with the licensee guy who licenses Rocawear and buys the license out the Pro-Keds, without me knowing it,” Sigel said. “So now I am not getting 50 % profit that I would be getting off every Pro-Ked sneaker sold with the SP logo on it like the original deal was… As a team player, why just wear the Pro-Keds when I can cross-market it and have my own sneaker? Then Dame stopped making Pro-Keds with the SP symbol on it.”

Beanie Sigel revealed that he has not had a conversation with Jay-Z in over two years and that Dame Dash’s reckless spending was the reason for Roc-A-Fella’s demise.

Alright, I know it’s been over two weeks, but I just wanted to share a couple of pics from our visit to Chicago Gourmet. Not a bad event overall, but not worth the price for us since we’re not wine enthusiasts. If only there was a non-alcoholic guest option….

I did enjoy the brief live cooking demos and even spotted a couple of celebrity chefs. Looking forward to checking out Stephanie Izard’s The Drunken Goat (opening Spring 2010) and Rick Bayless’ latest, XOCO (pronounced sho-ko). Also on the horizon, Marcus Samuelsson’s new cookbook “New American Table.”

Marcus Samuelsson and Rick Bayless

Bill Kim, Stephanie Izard and Mindy Segal

Nice one!

What is that Dubstep song that Maxxie is dancing to in the opening scene of the first episode of the second season of skins? OMG I HAVE GOT TO HAVE IT and here we are, with Fat Segal’s Clutch EP and the song that was playing was called Clutch coincidentally enough. The Clutch EP is what i would call a mixed bag labeled “Dance” and obviously a showcase of the skins’ composer Fat Segal’s multiple talents. It contains the following:

• Dubstep
• House
• Microhouse
• Drum and bass
• Glitch
• Techno
• Microtechno

And other genres and sub-genres that i have missed. The album as a whole is classed as dance because the tracks made me want to dance. The first track Zombie in my House opens with one of the strangest samples I’ve heard in a dance track, as if someone was blowing a raspberry at two different pitches then repeating them over and over again. Zombie in my House certainly offers its fair share of varying samples, from its main strummed electronic bass melodies and various squeaks and claps, all built on a foundation of simple kick snare microhouse-flavoured drum line. These drums lines vary greatly, with the next track Silly Billy Borg with a dropped bass line layered with dubstep-isque wobbles  and a fundamental melodic wub throughout and a amusing vocal sample involving whores.

Clutch, my favourite track of the short 6 track EP and the track used in the opening episode of the second season of skins opens with a single snare hit followed by heavy (HEAVY) wobbles like a big fat man. These sections are punctuated by sections of fast-paced running drum and bass/techno beats as the big fat man picks up its rolls and becomes an lanky runner. Its short (at only 1.36) but offers heavy fat man dubstep wobbles contrasted with skinny running bastards.

This is one of the more unique EPs I’ve heard in a while and Fat Segal shows a talent for crafting beats that span a wide spectrum of dance genres. Unique samples and a smooth transition of beats has won me over. Hope to see more of his composition in the future with the release of a full length album.

Woot! I’m writing this from my old/new compy! Nice to have the old fellow back; though, I’m still getting all my old stuff back onto him. I’m actually not sure what all my brother changed out, so it may be a whole new computer completely… but I’d like to think it’s good ol’ Compy.

But, on another note similar to the title, I’ve found I hate gory movies. Like, not even mild gore. Too much blood or stupid blood, I’m done. That was my only problem with Watchmen (that is, the super-human exaggerated fist fights in the alleys and the hand chopping). But in movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (haven’t actually seen it, but have seen clips), I just hate it. Now I’m really not that squeamish when it comes to blood. We butcher our own chickens and cows out here, but usually don’t eat for a while afterwards. I can handle blood when I know where it came from, or how it happened… well, sometimes.

I guess generally what I’m saying is: I hate stupid movies. I recently saw a movie (don’t even remember what it was called) and I think it had Segal in it. The whole movie consists of a bunch of overweight actors running around preforming wanna-be SWAT and mercenary tactics while trying to put through a plot that is about as clear as my mom’s lentle soup.  Segal makes a terrible portagonist, and the story’s attempt at a plot twist is like a no-name brand Bourne plan. To comment on the script, Segal and his not-so-friendly employer engage in a 5 minute conversation consisting of only one-liners… It was like watching two testosterone-high jocks trying to outsmart the other with Chuck Norris jokes.

Correction: It was.

To sum the movie up: A bunch of foul-mouthed guys and a foxy agent girl busting bad guys, robbing national banks, and trading forgetable one liners while strutting through gunfire in outlandish costumes. And I don’t even remember the title…

Some people age well. Like Eastwood, Conry, Nimoy, Nissan, Andrews, Bennet, and Sinatra.There are many more such people who I haven’t listed here who have done the same, if not more. But all these men and women of show-biz and music have kept the status quo or gone beyond it, not because they saught to, but because they were who they were. They had their game that people liked, and they kept it. This doesn’t mean that they weren’t creative, but that they didn’t try to be something that they weren’t. We love Spock, because he’s Spock. Nimoy didn’t go off stage and try to be a pop singer; he was Spock, and forever and amen, he will be remembered as Spock. While other actors wore many faces, they wore them well, and preformed in most cases for a thunderous applause. Bennet’s still singing, though not going for the tops (though, he will always be in my book). Julia is just amazing as always, from Sound of Music to Princess Diaries and all that in between.

Then, there are the others…

Is it any wonder why Shatner wasn’t featured in the new Star Trek movie? Some have said he’s a jerk off stage, but I haven’t met him in person, so I wouldn’t know. But I think it’s because the new Kirk played the captian better than he did. But, at least he has his books and his commercials. Madonna still hasn’t changed her act as far as I know, though I’m not sure what her act was to begin with… and then, Segal. Didn’t know him till that film, but he should have stopped when he was still in shape…

But you know, I don’t think I’m being fair. All of these actors probably worked hard for their places in fame. I do not know any of them personally, but from what I’ve read and heard of actors like Julia and singers like Bennet, they are great people. But when people refuse to work with actors, and when their name is said or movies mentioned people go “what…?” It’s probably over…

Anyway, there’s my penny’s worth of useless, biased, and probably ignorant movie review…-age…  I’m sure there are a few people who agree with me, and a few who want to rip me to pieces, so to each his own. Don’t forget there’s a comment button below and I don’t get offended easily.

Strike me down.

Broker Specific Observations

As you can see the only firms whose sites fail our test completely are the banks – as their sites are nice if you have a bank account or mortgage with them but useless for insurance. Yes they have special insurance sites but they still are tough to use. There are a lot of great firms owned by Wells especially whose identity has been subsumed into this this large corporation (with the best logo ever). BB&T’s strategy of being a player in lots of small local markets probably benefits from their name whereas Wells Fargo may not competing in the larger US cities.

Of the traditonal brokers Brown and Brown and USI both fail to deliver a site that supports the quality of their organizations. The cheetah growl for Brown and Brown’s site serves no purpose and USI’s site is as bland as is their description of their business – “diversified insurance and financial services firm focused on providing fully integrated distribution of general and specialty property and casualty insurance and financial services such as employee benefits outsourcing and related consulting.”

NFP also once again baffles me. Their site is very attractive but fails completely to explain to a potential customer why they add value. Their description of who they are is odd as well – “…distribution of financial services products”. This is the same firm as you recall from a prior post whose CEO refers to “same store sales” and dealing with “product manufacturers” in her annual report investor communication.

Gallagher’s site falls victim to the trying to be all things to all people, though they do have sites for the benefits and P&C businesses those are not where one goes when looking for them. Gallagher too has acquired a lot of great firms and subsumed their sites into generic pages like this one for The Stanton Group in Minneapolis. Stanton was a top 10 firm in Minneapolis Google ratings, the only one Gallagher had other than their headquarters address.

Hub and CBIZ do a very nice job overall in looking fresh, getting their message across and getting the viewer to the local office to service them.Good solid sites here that you can build on to make even more useful and visible on the web.

I have become a fan of “no nonsense” sites that simply tell you what they do and then do it. Segal does that well at the same time being attractive, easy to navigate and clear on why they provide customer value.They also have RSS feeds easily accessible for communication.

The new Lockton site does the same thing. It is very businesslike but upfront on who they are and what they do – “Global insurance, employee benefits, surety and risk management services for clients interested in the highest level of service.” It is well organized and even employs “Share This” to allow viewers to post pages to multiple social media tools, the only site to show any visible interest in the use of social media. With a few tweaks here and there they could have the best and most visible brokerage site on the web.

Next – “The Big 3″ …

The Los Angeles Kings, parent club of the AHL’s Manchester Monarchs, have signed right wing Brandon Segal to a two-year contract, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced today.

Segal, 26, has spent the last six seasons in the American Hockey League playing with the Milwaukee Admirals, Portland Pirates and Norfolk Admirals. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound native of North Delta, British Columbia collected a career high in goals (26), assists (26) and points (52) with Norfolk during the 2008-09 season and made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 3, 2009. Segal was held off the scoreboard during his two games with the Lightning, had two shots on goal, clocked over 27 minutes in ice time and averaged 17 shifts per game.

In 404 games in the AHL, Segal has registered 94 goals and 83 assists for 177 points since he made his professional debut during the 2003-04 season. With Milwaukee, he won the 2004 Calder Cup championship and reached the Finals again in 2006.

As a member of the Norfolk Admirals, he was named to the Canadian AHL All-Star Team for the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic in Worcester, Mass.

Segal was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round (102nd overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Milan must up offer – AgentFlames hook Jaffray, re-sign Lundmark

Brandon Segal made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008-09.

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Kings have signed right wing Brandon Segal to a two-year contract, Kings President/General Manager Dean Lombardi announced Monday.

Segal, 25, has spent the last six seasons in the American Hockey League playing with the Milwaukee Admirals, Portland Pirates and Norfolk Admirals. The 6-2, 210-pound native of North Delta, British Columbia collected an AHL career high in goals (26), assists (26) and points (52) with Norfolk last season and made his NHL debut with the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 3, 2009. Segal was held off the scoreboard during his two games with the Lightning, had two shots on goal, clocked more than 27 minutes in ice time and averaged 17 shifts per game.

In 404 games in the AHL, Segal has registered 177 points (94-83=177) since he made his professional debut during the 2003-04 season. As a member of the Norfolk Admirals, he was named to the Canadian AHL All-Star Team for the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic in Worcester, Massachusetts. Segal was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round (102nd overall) in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

The following is a look at Segal’s year-by-year record, regular and postseason:

Career Regular Season Stats Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% 1999-2000 Calgary Hitmen  WHL 44 2 6 8 76 1999-2000 Delta  PIJHL 1999-2000 Team Pacific  U-17 5 0 1 1 0 2000-2001 Calgary Hitmen  WHL 72 16 11 27 103 2001-2002 Calgary Hitmen  WHL 71 43 40 83 17 122 18 1 7 2002-2003 Calgary Hitmen  WHL 71 31 27 58 10 104 16 0 2003-2004 Calgary Hitmen  WHL 28 18 12 30 29 2003-2004 Milwaukee Admirals  AHL 44 11 10 21 13 54 0 0 3 2004-2005 Milwaukee Admirals  AHL 59 7 8 15 -3 45 2 0 1 2004-2005 Rockford IceHogs  UHL 10 5 4 9 27 2005-2006 Milwaukee Admirals  AHL 79 18 15 33 -10 126 5 2 1 2006-2007 Milwaukee Admirals  AHL 77 20 9 29 -9 84 5 2 3 2007-2008 Portland Pirates  AHL 54 5 9 14 1 46 0 0 2007-2008 Norfolk Admirals  AHL 22 7 6 13 -3 25 1 0 2008-2009 Lightning 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.0 2008-2009 Norfolk Admirals  AHL 69 26 26 52 -4 95 5 2 NHL Totals: 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.0

Career Playoff Stats Season Team GP G A P +/- PIM PP SH GW S S% 1999-2000 Calgary Hitmen  WHL 13 1 1 2 13 1999-2000 Delta  PIJHL 3 0 1 1 2 2000-2001 Calgary Hitmen  WHL 12 1 1 2 17 2001-2002 Calgary Hitmen  WHL 7 1 4 5 16 0 0 0 2002-2003 Calgary Hitmen  WHL 5 2 2 4 4 1 0 2003-2004 Milwaukee Admirals  AHL 13 2 1 3 1 21 1 0 0 2004-2005 Milwaukee Admirals  AHL 3 1 0 1 0 11 0 0 0 2004-2005 Rockford IceHogs  UHL 11 11 5 16 0 10 0.0 2005-2006 Milwaukee Admirals  AHL 21 1 2 3 -6 16 0 0 2006-2007 Milwaukee Admirals  AHL 4 1 0 1 -1 2 0 0 0 2007-2008 Portland Pirates  AHL 2007-2008 Norfolk Admirals  AHL

Career Notes Traded to Anaheim by Nashville for future considerations, June 25, 2007. Traded to Tampa Bay by Anaheim with Anaheim’s 7th round choice (David Carle) in 2008 Entry Draft for Jay Leach, February 26, 2008.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

APRIL 21, 2009

Jason Patnosh
301/347-0400
jpatnosh@nachc.com

President Barack Obama signs the Kennedy Serve America Act

Washington D.C.  – Today President Barack Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law, ushering in a new era of national service. The new law, which comes as the economic downturn has ramped up demand for social services, reauthorizes the Corporation for Community and National Service and expands Corporation programs through 2014 to help needy communities. Once the landmark law takes effect on October 1, 2009, it will initiate programs that foster new opportunities in volunteerism and strengthen existing service programs. A few highlights include:

• Expanding positions in AmeriCorps from 75,000 to 250,000 Americans by 2017;
• Granting a larger education award for students saddled with college debt by increasing the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award and aligning it with the Pell Grant student loan program; and
• Focusing national service to more communities in need through the creation of a new Healthy Futures Corps and four other Service Corps – Education Corps, Clean Energy Corps, Veterans Corps and Opportunity Corps.

President Obama’s signing of the historic law follows on the heels of his call for passage of national service legislation before a joint session of Congress. The legislation received strong bipartisan support in both Houses of Congress.

Community HealthCorps National Director Jason Patnosh praised the legislation in letter to the editor published last week in USA Today. He wrote, “The Kennedy’s Serve America Act… will go a long way to inspire and increase the number of people and organizations who come together for the common purpose of making our communities stronger. We know it works.”

For more information about the new law and volunteer opportunities, please visit the new web site launched by the Community HealthCorps at www.communityhealthcorps.org.

Founded in 1995 by the National Association of Community Health Centers, Community HealthCorps is the largest health-focused, national AmeriCorps program that promotes health care for America’s underserved, while developing tomorrow’s health care workforce. Approximately 650 Community HealthCorps members serve in 35 partner organizations and 4 affiliate organizations at more than 150 delivery sites across 16 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. For more information about Community HealthCorps, please visit www.communityhealthcorps.org.

Founded in 1971, the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to enhance and expand access to quality, community-responsive health care for America’s medically underserved and uninsured. NACHC represents the nation’s network of over 1,200 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) which serve more than 18 million people through 7,000 sites located in all of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. NACHC’s website is www.nachc.com.

Jason Segal and Paul Rudd hit it off in I Love You, Man

Romantic comedies are probably the most predictable genre in film.  The plots are straight forward:  boy gets (or has) girl, boy loses girl, boy learns lesson about life and/or love and gets girl back.  Everyone is happy, we all had a few laughs, and hey, that popcorn was pretty yummy as well.

Rom-coms are as polarized a genre as we have in the cinema.  Its films range from the great (When Harry Met Sally, Annie Hall, Bull Durham) to the pitiful (anything Ashton Kutcher, Ryan Reynolds, or Dane Cook has ever done.)  Between February and June, we are constantly hit over the head with a wide selection of rom-coms.  So what’s the big idea you ask?

Hollywood’s logic is sound.  The weather typically stinks (which means you aren’t going to the beach that weekend) and it’s in-between time for other studios to release their big blockbuster money-making films.  The assumption then that the average couple wants to see a schmaltzy predictable film that provides a few laughs is a wise one.  Romantic comedies that are released during this time do remarkably well at the box office and they typically have low to moderate budgets.  Cha-ching is right.

I Love You, Man is a by the book romantic comedy however, it offers up some pleasant surprises.  It suffers from the same problems most romantic comedies have: plot predictability, unnecessary gross out humor, and character development issues.  But be that as it may, I Love You, Man still has many redeemable qualities, particularly in its acting and premise.

Meet Peter.  Peter is a reasonably successful real estate agent and has just gotten engaged to the beautiful Zooey (Rasida Jones).  They are madly in love and have an extremely healthy relationship.  Following their engagement, they go to his parent’s house for a celebratory dinner.  When the topic of who his best man will be comes, it is revealed that Peter has no male friends.  He has always been a girlfriend guy and his inability to befriend males is well documented by his father (played by the underused JK Simmons) and his gay brother (a surprisingly solid Andy Samberg, who I have never really liked in the past.)

Peter, Zooey, and his family then decide to set him up on a few “man dates.”  These range from the hilarious to the banal.  One of these scenarios typifies the film.  When Zooey sets him up to play poker with her best friend’s (Jaime Presley) husband (played superbly by one of my favorites, Jon Favreau) there are so many funny little touches (Favreau and Presley’s portrait hanging on the wall, the way Peter has no clue about how to play poker, Favreau’s insistence on having sex with the lights on that night) that made me laugh, but then the scene takes an expected turn and cops out to gross out humor.  Peter continues to go on to meet a plethora of other male suitors.  Some are funny, some are not.  None are all that memorable.

One day Peter is having an open house for the estate of Lou Ferrigno (he played the Incredible Hulk on TV in the late 70’s).  He notices a man devouring the sandwich spread he has put out while also hitting on potential female buyers.  Peter approaches him and they immediately hit it off.  He learns that his new friend’s name is Sydney Fife.  He claims to be some sort of investor but Peter is intrigued and impressed, particularly when Sydney compliments his selection of sandwiches.  “The sundried tomato aioli was a revelation,” might be the film’s best-delivered line.  The two exchange numbers and Peter senses that Sydney might be “the one.”

Jon Favreau and Jaime Pressley provide the film with laughs that are both outrageous and subtle.

They end up going out for fish tacos in Venice Beach one night and start developing the male rapport Peter has always craved.  Peter’s social awkwardness always comes into play, he never does seem to come up with a nickname for Sydney, but the connection between the two is genuine and believable.  Sydney is rambunctious but still unique enough to appeal to Peter, and while Sydney seems to be doing Peter a favor, you can see his mutual respect for him grow once they start jamming out to Rush in his “man cave.”

What happens next is unsurprising.  You know who gets upset about Peter spending too much time with Sydney and he “just doesn’t seem like the same guy anymore.”  Peter then has to decide between his new best friend and the woman he loves.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  Plot developments like these affect the film’s pace but it leads to a mostly satisfying conclusion, which I am sure you can figure out if you have seen enough of   these kinds of films.

Even though I gripe about the film’s triteness, I Love You, Man is still a very enjoyable film.  Paul Rudd is a very gifted comedian.  His ability to subtly display discomfort and insecurity isn’t a gift bestowed upon many actors.  Jason Segal is at his best.  Forgetting Sarah Marshall didn’t enthrall me, but in I Love You, Man he portrays a character that made me say to myself, “I would love for this guy to be my friend!”  Even though he still has his moments of random insanity, (yelling at people who tell him to clean up after his dog and fighting Ferrigno on the boardwalk) he portrays a man made up of honesty, integrity, and kindness. He provides the film with the extra dimension that makes it so good at times.

Yet, I Love You, Man still succumbs to the same pratfalls that all “Frat-pack” films seem to make.  The women are not particularly written well.  They are either made out to be clingy obsessed nags or drunken promiscuous skanks.  There is no in-between for them and the majority of the good jokes are about them, not by them.  I also don’t understand why so many films from this same production group continually find the need to make so many pop culture references.  Ferrigno is in the film way too much and the constant reminder that he was the Hulk is overplayed.  It’s almost as if the people who make these movies want to proclaim their one-time nerdiness while also attempting to shed that same label for their newfound “coolness.”

Be that as it may, I Love You, Man is a solid addition to the “Frat-Pack” collection of romantic comedies.  It may not have all the laughs of the Forty Year Old Virgin or the heart of Knocked Up but it stands out for its ingenious premise, its joyful silliness, and the way it made me smile, even if I knew everything that was bound to happen.

There and Here by Ed Ruscha @ Leslie Sacks Fine Art in LA

New Acquisitions: Contemporary
Leslie Sacks Fine Art – Brentwood, Los Angeles
11/29/08-01/05/09

Leslie Sacks Fine Art acknowledges the 1st Amendment right to freedom of expression and, the universal necessity of creativity, thus allowing us to freely express our creativity. Leslie Sacks Fine Art is showing the featuring works at its current exhibition, New Acquisitions: Contemporary.

Featuring works of:

David Baechler
Chuck Close
David Hockney
Jasper Johns
Roy Lichtenstein
Alex Segal
Richard Serra
Andy Warhol
… and More

Leslie Sacks Fine Art
11640 San Vicente Blvd. (Brentwood), Los Angeles, CA 90049
Validated on-site parking.
310.820-9448, Fax 310.2071757

SUCKAS!