Joaquin_de_la_Mesa
Joaquin_de_la_Mesa is a Reader contributor. See staff page for published articles.
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Protesters Won't Leave Warner Springs Ranch
Why am I never around when free drinks are offered?— January 4, 2012 4:07 p.m.
Eminem Goes to Coronado
"It ain't '54 no more/Punk-ass famewhore." I love it.— January 4, 2012 1:08 p.m.
The Cinephile Jew and His Christian Sidekick Come Under Fire
Great line: My luck, I find the one Jew, assuming of course that “Name Withheld” is one of the Chosen, without a sense of humor.— January 2, 2012 3:57 p.m.
Protesters Won't Leave Warner Springs Ranch
More proof that we don't have big problems in the First World. If you have time for a Soak In, consider yourself lucky.— January 2, 2012 3:01 p.m.
Filmmaker's Lexicon: ATF
Thank you, thank you, thank you for shining light on one of my biggest cinematic peeves.— January 2, 2012 12:38 p.m.
U.S. Dentist Fears Patient Safety, Income Loss From Cross-Border Competition
And there we have it... just pass a law that makes it all free. After all, the gov't can print money to pay the dentists. And the tooth fairy will pay back the government. Then we'll pass a law that makes every day Christmas. And another law decreeing that donuts make you skinny.— December 22, 2011 10:44 a.m.
A Closer Look at the Trailer for Jack the Giant Killer
Geez, what crap. Note to hack directors. The "huge item flying through the air then landing on the camera (except it's actually just a computer)" scene is getting unbearably old.— December 21, 2011 11:29 a.m.
A Sidelong Look at the Trailer for The Hobbit
A two-minute trailer is all it takes for Peter Jackson to piss me off. In the book, the first thing Bilbo notices about the Dwarves is that their beards hang down to their belts. Yet Thorin's beard in this trailer looks as if it had been trimmed in a Hillcrest hair salon. And Thorin is supposed to be the oldest of the 13 dwarves. In the trailer he looks to be the youngest. Thief. Thief. Jackson! We hates it. We hates it forever.— December 21, 2011 11 a.m.
Great Moments in Celebrity Hair
Sarah Jessica Parker looks ghastly. There's such a thing as too skinny, Karen. Not to mention too big when it comes to hair.— December 16, 2011 4:30 p.m.
Mary Birch does not deny that its C-section rate is high
PB1, you're missing the point. Nobody's saying a baby born via c-section is any less wonderful than a baby born naturally. The point is: Mary Birch calls itself the hospital for women, yet their c-section rate is very high -- three or four times what the World Health Organization says it should be. A hospital that claims to be in tune with women's particular needs should have a lower than average c-section rate than average. The question then becomes why is MB's higher? I think this story supplies some answers -- i.e. delivery "on the clock," pitocin, epidurals, immobilized labor, forced fasting, and more. If nothing else, it's good that Mary Birch should be challenged to do better on this point. I've seen three children born there. The staff of nurses are mostly hard working and caring. But one quickly gets the feeling that they have a system and a timeline in mind for all births, and they don't like variations from either. The on-call doctors we saw the last time did very little to disguise how bored and annoyed the was to be called in. Frankly, the environment is not nurturing. It's cold, clinical... almost industrial.— December 15, 2011 3:20 p.m.