Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Drugmonkey on My Back

You know when you finally get around to visiting your grandmother and you have to sit for what feels like a millenia on a plastic covered couch sucking on the 10 year old piece of candy she squeezed into your hand when you came in the door, in a room that's about as hot as the inside of a volcano and all she does is drone on and on and on and on about her arthritic knee and her high blood pressure and her faulty pacemaker? Very valid complaints, those. And you know that you're supposed to deeply care about all of it, that it matters, and that she has every right to bitch and moan because getting old and decrepit is just total suck. But fuck it all, you can't wait for it to be over because it's just so incessant and upsetting and why the fuck is it so god damn hot in here? Well today's blogger is your grandma, except instead of complaining about goiters and osteoporosis he rails against those that are supposed to help treat those things, namely "Big Pharma" and those who are fundamentally (and, in his opinion, stupidly) opposed to a government run health care system. There's a lot of negativity to take in, but just like that visit to your grandma, in the end it's kind of worth it.

Drugmonkey is a pharmacist and he has acquired a lot of knowledge about the important topics he bitches about in his 20 year career. He comes off as somewhat condescending and is highly dismissive of those who hold opposing opinions. I'm not saying that he's wrong. In fact, I agree with his stance on a lot of these issues. I'm one of the few relatively young people I know that has needed to use my health insurance quite a bit. And it saddens me to think that there are millions of people who don't have the same option to get their healthcare needs met easily and affordably. But that doesn't mean I want to spend my time reading post after post espousing government run healthcare and exposing the deceptive tactics of pharmaceutical companies.

Luckily, Drugmonkey can write well and his angry tirades are infused with a healthy dose of humor (Oh sweet Jesus, that was an unintentional pun. I fucking hate puns but I hate rewriting sentences even more sometimes. I'm so lazy). His "Pill Counting" posts are particularly funny. For some reason those "day in the life" of your sometimes friendly, neighborhood pharmacist stories were more compelling and interesting to me than the more heavy "sick teenage girl denied a liver transplant" fare. Honestly, I thought this was hilarious. There really are so many morons roving about. Drugmonkey and I have this in common: we are both simultaneously disgusted and fascinated by stupid people.

I'm not usually one to care so much about the way a blog looks as long as the content is interesting and the writing is kick ass. But this blog template is so unbelievably boring that it bears mentioning. The white text on black background makes me feel like I'm being schooled. The only thing that's missing is a green alphabet header image. In fact, it currently has no header image, so anything would be an improvement.

This blog's subject matter is very important. It makes me ashamed of my own blog's content, which is so petty in comparison. Drugmonkey's anger about the health care crisis is fueled by his compassion and his desire to help people. He cares enough about health care reform to devote a lot of effort to educating people about it and also to incite others to action. So for his quality writing and admirable cause I dispense

30 comments:

  1. Great review. I'm actually subscribed to this blog now because of it.

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  2. This guy is crazy smart. He is well spoken. He writes with a nice mix of passion and humor. And he is hitting on crucial topics that demand the public's attention.

    I got through two posts before I quit.

    I think your review is spot on. I want to care, I know I should care, but I don't care. At least not enough to read about the same topic over and over again.

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  3. Ooo, a pharmacist!

    "I fucking love You!" already!

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  4. Last week I was sick and my doctor wrote three prescriptions. When I got home and opened the sack, there were four bottles. Naturally I was hoping for something nice and narcotic. But what did I get? Vitamin D. Hell...a pharmacist screws up and instead of giving me someone else's happy pills, I get Vitamin D.

    I like Drugmonkey, but the reversed type makes me tired.

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  5. Oh my GOd! I love him! More stars needed! He should be like - writing - or something. He's very funny without any of the annoying shit, except for that black background, but "zap" takes care of that.

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  6. Mutha - In hindsight, I think I should have probably given him 3 stars. I was feeling less than generous earlier today. He is a great writer and I enjoyed his blog. I just got a little overwhelmed by the constant healthcare reform onslaught. Otherwise, it was great.

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  7. Why is the "good" reviews, get fewer comments? Just curious...now I understnad why there are so many "bad" ones. :)

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  8. Wow.

    I am blown away that you guys don't love this blog more than I do. I have been a regular reader of his blog for more than 5 years. I think he was the first person to ever link to my blog.

    His writing is so much better than mine, his subject matter is so important, and he can do the "day in the life" better than just about anyone.

    I read my blog and I write the same crap sometimes over and over again, but then again anyone writing 10 or more posts a month is going to be covering the same stuff over and over again.

    I have to say that there are very few blogs that have kept my attention over the years.

    The drug monkey is definitely one of them!

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  9. Oh, I like this guy. Really, truly, I was expecting to be all "meh" about it like I usually am, but fuck it, I LIKE this guy.

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  10. Rom-
    As you say when you write more than 10 posts a month one tends to repeat themselves. How does one aviod this? Or at least keep it interesting as you seem to?? I'm new to blogging started in August. I write 4-5 posts a week and yes, I cover the same stuff. Any advice?

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  11. Is there any reason you can't go back in and adjust him to (at least) 3 stars?

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  12. Just stop typing so much, Susan.

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  13. Susan,

    I am not too sure I keep it all that interesting. I try to only write when "I feel it," so I hope I have something I want to share.

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  14. I like drugmonkey. At least, I like his writing. It's possible he'd be an intolerable bore in person. Then again, it's possible that I'd be an intolerable bore in person.

    I don't know that I'll read him every day, but I did put him in my periodic check back lists.

    As for how to blog without repeating yourself... lately I'm not feeling so good at that, but I've been doing it for 4 1/2 years (Jesus Christ!). My suggestion is to think and observe more, write less. Five times a week is only sustainable if you are observing and thinking all the time. I could never do 5 times in a week without burning out.

    I once went a month posting once a day, just to see if I could. I did it, but the quality at the end was total crap.

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  15. Drugmonkey? Never heard of him/it - I will have a looky

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  16. Oh yeh, the reading that white on black hurts - I couldn't read that for long - sucky poo

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  17. What!??!! No special Halloween post over here? What a dissapoinment. :(

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  18. After reading Drugmonkey's well-written, often amusing, posts for the past year or so, I have developed great sympathy for and admiration of pharmacists. Their jobs would probably be much easier if there were a pill that would cure stupid people and another one that would blow up insurance companies.

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  19. Just subscribed to this blog-- really poignant and funny, totally sucked me in.

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  20. Just curious...now I understnad why there are so many "bad" ones. :)

    Please help yourself to a nice warm cup of shut the fuck up. If you like, you can add chocolate.

    We don't write reviews to bump up comments, you ignorant pretentious sack of self-indulgent shit. There are just way too many blogs that suck.

    Frankly, I wish I reviewed an "I Fucking Love You" blog every goddamn week. You have no idea how tiring and frankly, soul destroying it is to constantly confront the suck of the blogosphere from week to week.

    My god, I am so crispy right now that I can barely stand to look at another shitty blog, and it's actually painful to write a scathing review. I mean, truthfully, some weeks, I WANT to kick someone's ass from here to timbuktu, but most weeks, I just want to read a good blog.

    And yet, week after week, we're confronted with the same mindless drivel and white noise.

    Jesus Christ. I would punch you right now, Choc, if you were within finger reach. Mainly, because, you're just so painfully stupid, and I am so goddamn tired of stupid.

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  21. There's really no hope for this blog without having good blogs applying.

    Question is, how can we attract better blogs?

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  22. Give me a bad one to review.

    I'm game.

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  23. Yup! That pent up anger always keeps it interesting Love bites! Love ya :)

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  24. How about, you guys start reviewing blogs that the owners didn't submit (just blogs that you read and like) or maybe reviewing each others blogs...that would be cool.

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  25. Blog circle jerk?

    Cool.

    Or have two reviewers review one blog, like a review cage match or a gang-review.

    Me first.

    Oh sweet attention I have missed you.

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  26. Reviewing people who didn't ask for a review just opens up a can of worms--the least of which: it removes the fun of giving people the butt kicking they requested.

    And then there's the potential ethical and legal issues. And the complaints to Blogger (imagine "Mike" and "Chris" being reviewed without their permission [scabies would be easier to deal with])

    Yes, what they need to do is hand over one of the "bad" blogs to me...preferably someone who's attempting to blog for money.

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  27. Will you give Gap a bad blog already???.....heck give her mine!

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  29. Your posts are hilarious! Thanks for brightening my day.

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Grow a pair.