so this is the new year, and i don't feel any different

These have been trying times for Mr. Mad City. Which times, you ask? Well, a good chunk of 2009, I would say. I transitioned from being an oncology fellow to a hematology fellow on July 1; and since then, as they say, "life ain't been the same." Busy busy busy! Busy!!! Which is the primary reason why my blogging tailed off so drastically over the past few months, and why you all had to wait on edge for me to complete my Plus 50 addendum.

But no more! I'm not a big believer in New Year's resolutions, since I tend to live my life at close to an optimal level year in and year out, but I vow that I'm gonna kick Mad City up a notch in 2010. And here's how: rage. I'm gonna put the mad in Mad City! I'm pretty opinionated on a lot of things, and I've come to realize that you all haven't been hearing enough of that. The things that concern me the most are when, like, everybody thinks something is good or cool, and it's really not. Like the Arcade Fire. Are they really "all that?" You know, I don't think so. I don't think they're "all that." Something about their music kind of annoys me, actually. I mean, I do really enjoy the first song on Funeral - you'd have to be a blithering idiot not to - but that's pretty close to it, really. At this point, I would almost have to put them in the One Hit Wonder category, except all these critics and other people keep on saying things like, "Ohhh, the Arcade Fire! What a great indie band!"

Not! Believe me when I say that Wolf Parade is a much better Montreal band.

All right, well, that's just a small taste of what lies ahead. And for those of you who like my laudatory comments about various things, like Wolf Parade, let me just say that I will still regularly praise the things I find praiseworthy. I'm actually thinking of doing a recurring feature where I praise one group of things and then diss another group of things. You've probably seen similar features on other blogs or in magazines, with titles like "Cheers and Jeers" or "Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down" etc. I may be working on something like that.

Finally, I'd just like to point out that I'm still keepin' this thing afloat, in spite of the crazy work demands on me. Which is more than I can say for some other so-called bloggers out there. And I know what you're going to say, and my reply is, "Small children are no excuse! You must blog! Despite the work involved in raising them, small children bring pleasure and delight to your life, and that should facilitate your blogging." And with that, I will close with another refrain from my theme song, "Where Have All the Bloggers Gone" (sung to the tune of "Where Have All the Flowers Gone"):

Where have all the bloggers gone?
Biscuit's a-jammin'
Where have all the bloggers gone?
Concords got stomped
Where have all the bloggers gone?
Can't find Manuka

When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?