My Two Cents

O'Mally Rally October 7, 2010

2010-10-09T13:00:00.002-05:00

I couldn't have said it better.

2010-08-27T15:31:00.000-05:00

Going Mad in Herds

Gulf of Mexico: Send Us Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Hair, Fur and Panty hose

2010-05-28T09:05:00.001-05:00

This isn't intended to be a flip post. But I am so frustrated with BP's oil spill in the Gulf. And, I did hear a story on the BBC about people collecting hair and fur to stuff into pantyhose to make booms to sop up the oil. Here's a link to the podcast.

Here's the frustration:

Why isn't there a huge effort being made to protect the shoreline?
Why didn't they start that protection an hour after the oil spill happened? Like there was ever any question that the oil would sooner or later make it to our wetlands, beaches and ports.
Why is there no call to inspect every drilling site in our waters?
Why is there no government demand that before you have a license to drill, you have a vetted plan to clean up your mess and prevent it from reaching shore??
BP is responsible for the spill and fixing it and paying for everything. But isn't the government responsible for protecting our coast line? If the Mexicans had invaded would we be satisfied with the government saying "well they're responsible and will pay for the damage caused"?

Since none of that has been done, we need the federal government to organize all entities -- state and local governments, noncommercial and commercial companies and we the citizenry at large to do something to clean up the current mess and try to keep the rest of the oil from coming ashore even if all we can do is cut our hair and send it to Alabama.

This summer hair will be worn very short and dogs will be sheared. Where's Beau?

A Day in Manhattan

2010-04-27T20:05:00.001-05:00

My friend Goldie had her foot re-organized a few weeks ago and is not allowed to stand on it at all for weeks and weeks. But she wanted to go to a college -- Columbia University J School -- reunion in New York City this past weekend. Since my Mother, who lives on East 77th Street, would always like to see me, I decided to drive Goldie up to NYC from DC.

Here's Goldie on her knee scooter. She managed to get around very well. Her class has some really accomplished journalists in it, including some Pulitzer Prize winners.

While Goldie hung out with her classmates, my Mom and I met cousin Jon at Madison Square Park with the intention of walking along on the High Line, which we did. But the park turned out to be quite an adventure itself. Here's Mom and Jon.

There was a Sikh food festival.

Now, the really funny thing is that British artist Antony Gormley has a sculpture exhibit in and around the square made up of a naked man in bronze.

This the naked guy, penis and all.

So I'm assuming the Sikh's didn't approve of the appendage. So they covered him up:

That's Mom with the Naked Man in his Gramper (diaper for 'gramps'). What's really cool is that this bronze man was everywhere around the park, on the roofs of several buildings all around us. There ....

and there

...

look there too!!!

My mechanic loves me...according to Google Voice.

2010-03-17T14:31:00.000-05:00

My mechanic loves me, or at least he called me “my love” on the Google Voice Mail text message on my cell phone. I haven't told my husband yet. My mechanic also said he was "resolved to get a call back" and that my car was “the same kind of dead” it was last time. What a garbled mess. Especially considering the fact that there is almost nothing wrong with my car.

For those who don't know. Google Voice is "voice mail" for your phone that turns voice messages into text so that you scan them quickly and decide whether you need to return the calls, without listening to someone's unnecessarily long-winded message. It's in invitation-only Beta. You can get an invitation by Googling 'google voice'. So it's really not that exclusive. There's more to it than this, like getting a google phone number, etc. Google probably calls it Google phone service. Look it up yourself.

And to think I’ve been dying for a Star Trek-like universal translator. With one tap of a button, your Chinese becomes my English. Despite the garble, I’m optimistic that we’ll have a universal translator in my life time and will keep the Google Voice message service.

From Orchids to Octopi - A Darwinian Play from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences

2010-03-04T15:57:00.000-05:00

From Orchids to Octopi - National Institute of General Medical Sciences

My Obama Boots or No Frost Bite at the Inauguration

2010-02-16T11:55:00.005-05:00

I bought these boots after the 2008 election with the intension of going to the inauguration no matter what the weather would be. So I looked for boots that were comfortable and light enough to walk the eight miles back to my house from the Capitol, warm enough for c
old weather, and dry enough for rain and mud. These boots have served me very well this crazy winter ! And they were a smart move last year. Here's a funny story about toes.

My podiatrist told me that last February he saw a woman patient complaining of pain in several of her toes.

"Have you been out in the cold a lot lately?" he asked her.

"No. Well I was at the Inauguration," she answered.

"You have frost bite," the doctor told her. She wore nylon stockings and pumps to mall. No

wonder.

The next week, a man came in with frost bitten toes.

"Did you go to the Inauguration?" the podiatrist asked.

"Yes," said the main who reported that he had worn sneakers stuffed with two pairs of socks,

cutting off circulation to his toes. "How did you know?"

Snow: A Shovel-Ready Project

2010-02-15T16:01:00.007-05:00

Here we go again. Delicate new flakes are falling on Chelten Street as the county uses front-loaders to dig up and remove the old. Schools are already announcing late openings tomorrow.

The plowmen have done a wonderful job with my neighborhood. I've been thanking every driver I see. And, if I ever doubted myself, I realize once again what a good decision it was to buy this house in downtown Bethesda. We have been completely free throughout the blizzard.

Social Media and the Tattooed Generation: the Ephemeral and Permanence

2010-02-10T11:01:00.007-05:00

Tattoos are permanent souvenirs of a digital life. As the snow falls and I zoom among email accounts, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn posts (mine and those of my clients), I am struck by how ephemeral it all is. The IMs like snow flakes melt as they form; the emails and posts slide down page by page, day by day, out of site/sight. Software and social media fads change. Hard drives crash or are thrown out for newer models. We will loose the clever posts, essays, e-dialogs, pieces of our lives. While it is wonderful to be in touch with so many people from our entire lives, the evidence is fleeting.

It is wonderful to find an old letter from a friend tucked in a book or box of stuff from a past life. Recently, my husband found a letter covered with cartoons of his college buddies and their antics, very well drawn by a friend he hasn't been in touch with in decades. But suddenly their whole world comes back with a few pieces of paper and ink.

So, it is interesting that the generation of "digital natives" is also the tattooed generation. When I see a tattoo, I think the person will regret it when s/he is "grown up" or her life changes and moves forward. When the ink fades and she no longer thinks penguins are cute or that the Steelers rule. But maybe that's the point. The tatts are permanent souvenirs of a digital life.

Below is my step daughter's tattoo on her left outer thigh. The image, which she designed herself, is a a smashup of two Pittsburgh pro team logos: the Penguins and the Steelers. It represents her loyalty to and nostalgia for a childhood lived outside the Burgh.

You've Got to Read Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto

2010-01-24T16:07:00.006-05:00

I just finished reading The Check list Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Dr. Atul Gawande, and it is excellent. Everyone should read it. Gawande is an incredible guy: a surgeon at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, a MacArthur Fellow, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, a writer of books and New Yorker articles, a great story teller, and the leader of the World Health Organization's Safe Surgery Saves Lives programs, among other things. Essentially his argument is that because medicine, like almost everything these days, is extremely complex and involves a huge body of knowledge, it is essential to develop and implement checklists to cut down on human error. [Frankly, I'm pretty shocked that doctors don't already have the checklists he recommends. ]

His checklist concept goes far beyond a simple list of tasks. Through well-told stories, many from the aviation and construction industries, Gawande demonstrates how a well-crafted and executed checklist is a vital backbone for a group working to accomplish a complex task. A checklist engenders increased communication, discipline and trust within the team. Power is dispersed, not centralized (this, he says, is very important in modern-day construction where there are so many specialized trades). A well-implemented checklist empowers all members of the team because everyone has responsibility for making sure that each item has been taken care of and for stopping the process if they see a problem. Pausing to review the list gives the team a few seconds to stop and make sure they are focused and that each one has paid attention to mundane details ... details that save lives (lowers infection rates, etc.). He offers many examples of success. He identifies one really simple task that I can't believe isn't standard operating procedure -- everyone in the operating room has to introduce themselves to each other before they start cutting up the patient. Apparently, the OR teams don’t always know each other.

I'm planning to send this book to all of my doctors!!! And clearly if we are to be empowered patients, we have to think about having our own checklists. Thoughts??

The Saga of My Right Foot

2009-11-06T17:07:00.004-05:00

So, I need a new right big toe, or at least a new joint between first metatarsal and the medial cuneiform, which has totally deteriorated, giving me only 5 % functionality. This of course is throwing off the rest of my foot not to mention the rest of my body. It's not stopping me from my long walks and yoga every day, not yet anyway. So I'm thinking of getting it "arthrosurfaced" with a HemiCap since apparently the mess is too great to fix. Anyone every hear of this? It looks like they put a screw in your toe joint. Ouch.

I'm bringing up my toe because it relates to medical records. My long-time podiatrist can't find my old records and has moved practices a couple of times so he doesn't really have some of them. So, I don't know whether this has been getting worse over time, or what. Now, if I'd been empowered to keep my own records, including the x-rays, I'd still have them. Plus, I'd like to think that I'd have been more mindful and not let it get this bad.

All things considered though, this is really minor!

Youth Voices Roundtable

2009-11-06T16:17:00.005-05:00

"How did you hear about the youth group you're in?" That's one of the questions we asked some 20 Montgomery County young people at Wednesday's Youth Voices Roundtable, the third such event held by the county's Commission on Children and Youth of which I am a member. The answer, of course, was "from other kids" for the most part, and from adults personally inviting them into the programs, which ranged from support groups for the children of African, Latin and Asian immigrants to a school-based program for girls to a Jewish youth group. I Twittered a little bit during the event, which you can see in the left hand column here.

The young people sat in the middle of the room (a great space donated by Strathmore Hall) in a circle, with the adults (including the president of the county council, the head of the county's HHS, reps from the school board, etc.) sitting quiety in the back. The kids' conversation was moderated by three of their peers, high school students who are on the commission.

Our original goal several years ago was to learn from the youngsters. Then we discovered that they needed to talk to each other. And, it was clear from Wednesday's event that more of that is needed.

My main takes aways:
Several of the kids said that if their programs didn't exist they would be getting into trouble. One girl even pointed out that crime in her neighborhood has gone up since they closed the YMCA there. We really hope this got through the county big wigs.

We adults think kids are a lot more sophisticated and know more than they really do. One girl even admitted that she learned alot about the "bad things" that could happen to a girl in the world from her support group. With the Internet and TV and teenage attitude, many of us adults have been snowed into thinking kids don't need to be taught basic life skills. Wrong. Or as they say, fail. Yikes. More needs to be done on the basics.

So while the kids kept saying that they only learn from other kids, the conversation did come around to the fact that they need adults, as one boy smiling ly admitted, for organization, direction, knowledge and safety ... but we should be cool or invisible.

All of the kids were really impressive. As I noted in my Twitter comments, the Asian boys were late. When they arrived, one of the African American girls blurted out: "You're in high school? You look so young!" accompanied by some giggling. I was thinking, wow, here we go with steriotypes. But after the meeting, the young lady approached the young man, shook his hand and engaged in a conversation about their high school. Cool young lady!

It would have been interesting to hear more about their families and their perceptions of each other. I'm very curious about inter-ethnic dynamics in this age group. But time was limited. All in all, a great event.

On a personal note, I was also really impressed with the BBYO Jewish group and proud of how much my community does to help its teenagers, even though we are constantly feeling like its never enough.

New Sounds

2009-11-04T16:31:00.007-05:00

How lovely it is walking around my neighborhood every day, saying hello to people bringing their kids home from the bus, walking their dogs (like me), raking leaves. When I run out of NPR podcasts--Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, Fresh Air, This American Life, etc. -- I've started listening to New Sounds from WNYC in New York. It's a great mashup of traditional instruments and modern experimentation. The world is one on New Sounds. Sometimes it is really phenomenal, and the host, John Schaefer, is great. When I lived in The City, I went to his live tapings. By listening while I walk, I am experiencing my Bethesda present with my eyes and nose and my past and the rest of the world with my ears. Anyway, check it out.

Patient Participation

2009-10-22T15:46:00.003-05:00

"Medical Records" is huge area. Which records are we talking about? A single doctor's records about individual patients? Prescription records? A hospital's records? Records that are interoperable among doctors, specialities and institutions? Records about individual patients by name? Records about a specific condition? Anonymous records across large populations that can we aggregated and used for valuable research? What functionality should all of these have and how can they be integrated? These are huge issues.

On a simple patient level, I can tell you that no doctor or institution is keeping track of my records in a way that will be useful to me. And, I don't see that happening any time soon.

I've come across a very interesting organization that I recommend you check out: the Society for Participatory Medicine. www.ParticipatoryMedicine.org, which is taking this thought to the next level. The patient is at the center of her/his care. I learned about this organization through the Twittering of a very interesting guy who goes by the handle epatientdave. Check out his recent webcast. http://bit.ly/1cYdKo

Experimenting with Google Health and Microsoft Vault

2009-10-21T12:48:00.004-05:00

My body parts are all over Washington, DC, and probably New York City. Or, rather, x-rays of and test results about my body are scattered who knows where. I'm very lucky; I'm very healthy. I've had the occasional minor health problem: a sprained ankle and a wort. I've messed up both of my wrists at one time or another. All small stuff. But I haven't been keeping track of it. Shame on me. So I'm trying out Google Health and Microsoft Vault, both of which appear to be in Beta form. And, they have serious short comings. Their user interfaces are clunky with very few directions. The excel spread sheet I gave me new primary care doctor is almost better and was definitely easier to make.

Wouldn't it be great if I could have all of my x-rays, lab results, medications, medical procedures, family history all in one place? Strictly from a patient perspective, I think this would be fabulous. It would give me a great sense of control over my health. So, I'll be playing with those products and, I hope, others. To see whether they develop into more useful tools. More in the future...

Why do I care about EHRs?

2009-10-19T11:51:00.003-05:00

Many people have asked why I'm focusing my efforts on electronic heath records. Computerizing medical records has been on my mind for a long time based on personal experiences. I don't know anyone who has died or been badly mistreated as the result of handwritten records, as Denis Quaids children were.

But when I visited an Aunt who was dieing of brain cancer, I discovered that her primary doctor had no idea what the others doctors were doing and couldn't figure it without calling doctors and the pharmacy.
Several years ago, I asked one of my doctors for my records, which he gave me and which were totally unreadable. Useless.
A friend of mine recently had moderately serious surgery at a major university hospital. Over the weekend, she was in terrible pain. Instead of going to a highly praised emergency room close to her home, she drove to the prestigious hospital where she had been treated, thinking that its emergency room could pull up her records and understand better what might be causing the pain. Wrong. The emergency room said it would take two days to get her records ... from their own hospital. This is just plain wrong.
Plus it drives me nuts having to write my family history, etc. every time I see a new doctor and they still don't really have enough information to make fully informed decisions.

Of course, there are a lot of other aspects of health care that drive me crazy: doctors not coordinating their efforts; insurance company and medical institution bureaucracies; the need for patient advocates; the fact that a hospital cannot tell you how much your treatment may cost, etc.

But given my technology background, the medical record area seems appropriate. And despite the huge complications -- security/privacy, interoperability, standards, the cost, etc., this area seems like a relatively simple piece of health care reform where I could have a huge impact. I also think that patients/people need to have more awareness and control over their own health care, which having a formal record could encourage that. But more on that another day.

Physicians' Records Same today as Hippocrates

2009-10-15T15:07:00.005-05:00

So says DAVID BLUMENTHAL in an interview with The New York Times' David Pogue.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/15/technology/personaltech/15pogue-email.html

Great quotes:
"To be a 21st-century physician, to be a 21st-century hospital, we can't record data the same way the Greeks did in 500 B.C. We've gotta move to use the computer to support our work. And that's what we're trying to do."

"Computers can help doctors be better doctors. They can help hospitals be better hospitals. They can help patients take control of their illnesses, not only by making the information available in a reliable way, but by adding tips and reminders and personalized messages about what to do to improve your health, or what tests to order if you're a physician, and what drugs to use or to avoid."

That's just the beginning.

The Importance of Electronic Medical Records

2009-10-15T12:49:00.007-05:00

No matter what you call them -- EMRs, EHRs, etc. -- there is an over-whelming need for electronic documentation that tracks health care. It's important to the individual, the doctor, medical care institutions, research and development organizations, and payment entities. Today, the medical profession, for the most part, is still not even in the 20th century but in the 19th century with handwritten records. This is nuts. At least now a days no one is laughing at the old joke about doctors' legendary bad handwriting. We get it: bad handwriting kills people.

What is more, high-quality medical records could save time, money and lives. They could increase our knowledge many times over. We have the technology. Now we need to will to make them happen.

Fortunately, there are many companies, government agencies and professional associations working toward this.

My goal is to find a role for myself advocating for, and educating consumers about, the immediate, no-excuses implementation of electronic health records. This is an open process at the moment. And, I will keep you posted on what I learn. Stay tuned. All suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Yoga in Wind on the 19th Floor Roof

2009-05-25T10:52:00.002-05:00

It was wonderful to see the blue sky and wisps of white cloud when I looked up past my hand as I reached up into triangle pose. Bend at the hips, not the waist. Extend. It is surprisingly loud: the air conditioning vents, sirens from the street, helicopters from the distance. The noise was all around me as I stood in tree pose against the wind on the roof of my mother’s building on Manhattan’s York Avenue.

I did my first downward dog in three months this morning. It felt great!

Speedy Trains Should Be a Priority

2009-01-17T14:03:00.003-05:00

I hope this whistle stop train tour bodes well for America rails! Read this Op-Ed piece in today's Washington Post. I totally agree with it. I've always said that it is a shandif that trains in the US are from the 19th century. They've got bullet trains in Shanghai and Japan. It's nice that Biden takes the Amtrak, but has he done anything to fix it? The government pays for highways, it should pay for trains. End of conversation. Hire the train experts!

Fast Train to the 21st Century
By Joseph R. Paolino Jr.Saturday, January 17, 2009; A17
Putting millions of Americans to work and rebuilding our frayed infrastructure are Barack Obama's most pressing priorities when he takes office. He should start by creating a high-speed rail link between Boston and Washington.
More than 20 years ago, in 1988, I traveled as mayor of Providence, R.I., with then-Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis on a new high-speed Amtrak train from Providence to Boston. Our trip took less than half an hour. Unfortunately, the early hopes we all had for high-speed rail in the Northeast have yet to be realized.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/16/AR2009011603718.html

Reason #1 for Not Wearing High Heels on Airplanes

2009-01-17T13:37:00.004-05:00

This is the correlary to why you should not wear high heels while driving, which I comments on recently.

The captain and crew of this US Airways plane deserve great accolades!! Thank you. I for one feel better about flying knowing that at least some of these people know what they're doing.

Plane Crashes Into Hudson River
Gary Hershorn/Reuters
Published: 20090115
A US Airways plane that took off from La Guardia Airport Thursday afternoon landed in the Hudson River, but all the passengers and crew appeared to be safe.

CES Note

2009-01-10T19:03:00.004-05:00

My company did very well at CES this year. Our digital radio technology was mentioned by Ford in its keynote presentation and received front page coverage and some TV interest as well attention from a lot of reporters and analysts and the general people who come to our new booth in the Central Hall to learn more about real time traffic and other features.

The show is still going on; but I don't work on Saturdays and came home last night. Hurray! The crowds were smaller than last year, but not dramatically lower...at least, not empirically. I was very pumped at the show. So many nifty gadgets and enthusiasm for the capabilities of future products. It's challenging coming home to friends telling me about lay offs and work-place issues. But I really believe we have to be positive or we'll make the financial situation worse.

Vegas itself is facing a lot of challenges. Billion-dollar projects have been scaled back or cancelled. I stayed at Treasure Island, which was just sold by MGM/Mirage to help pay for it colossal City Center project. There is one particially built structure that has been haulted, where the Frontiere used to be, i think.

For that matter, we have a hole for sale in Bethesda, where someone started building a house and just stopped, leaving a gapping dig site.

I've put up a slide show that CES posted about photos from the show. It's in my left column

Message from the Wise Philanthropy website

2008-12-29T12:13:00.006-05:00

The following is an essay from a good friend of mine who specializes in family philanthropy consulting, Richard Marker.

The community was traumatized – they had managed to absorb political reversals, terrorism, and general economic deterioration. As difficult, upsetting, disconcerting, and challenging each of this succession of crises had been, they had always been by outsiders. This crisis was of a different sort altogether. A powerful insider in the financial community had been indicted; his financial institution bankrupt; huge sums had been lost by individuals and by institutions. This was too close; it cut too deep, it belied trust and loyalty; it was nothing less than a trauma.No, this was not about a Mr. Madoff, and the country was not the United States. This is the story of Argentina.... http://wisephilanthropy.blogspot.com/

Green Gift Wrapping

2008-12-26T10:44:00.004-05:00

I'm very proud of the way we are wrapping gifts this holiday season. Instead of paper, we are folding tea towels and bandannas around them. Instead of little bags, we're putting presents into Chico shopping bags. So not only are we not wasting paper, we are giving extra gifts. Only buy these tote bags from Chico's website: http://www.chicobag.com/. They are much more expensive else where.

Benjamin Button--Read The Washington Post

2008-12-26T10:38:00.002-05:00

I was going to write a review about 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', but I think Ann Hornaday at The Washington Post hit the nail on the head! Read her review.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/24/AR2008122401879.html

Chanukah Candles Observed by Santa Claus

2008-12-25T18:03:00.002-05:00

One Reason for Not Wearing High Heels When Driving

2008-12-25T17:51:00.004-05:00

It would be best to wear sensible shoes when air-lifted out of your car due to a flash flood.

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=8129587&version=23&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

http://www.baltimoreexaminer.com/local/122408emswatermain.html

Meaning of Chanukah

2008-12-23T06:48:00.002-05:00

Read this excellent article about Chanukah written by Rabbi Sid Schwarz. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/19/AR2008121902515.html

One of our 48Hour Videos is going Viral

2008-12-23T06:03:00.000-05:00

http://www.countgore.com/gore/newblood.htm

Brunch in Bethesda

2008-11-16T14:18:00.003-05:00

The Louisiana Kitchen & Bayou Bar serves up a fabulous brunch. It's a traditional poached eggs with hollandais sauce brunch with a modern Louisiana twist. Plus pretty good beignets. I had poached eggs Sardou with a wonderfully herbal cream of spinach, very lightly creamed, served on artichoke bottoms with a light biscuit and seasoned potatoes. My husband tried the eggs Benedict, which he loved too. You can also choose from crab and craw fish enhanced eggs and omelets. We saw the house special french toast being served to a table next to ours and were jealous. It looked absolutely luscious, topped with large strawberries. The beignets were good, almost as good as Cafe De Monde in the French quarter. If you don't like your coffee very dark and a little bitter, don't order coffee. I loved it; but it wasn't the right taste for my husband. Even the coffee without chicory didn't work for him.

Here's a marketing success story. Somewhere my husband picked up a coupon for the beignets and ever since has been talking about trying the restaurant, which is walking distance from our house, like zillions of other restaurants we can walk to. It's always hard to know where to go next. And, a creature of habit. I like to go to the same Japanese restaurants every night.

The decor and louisiana jazz music totally remind me of New Orleans. All that was missing was the rain. We arrived just after the restaurant opened and had our pick of tables. But quickly the place filled up with families and large groups. This always makes me happy because I like to see my neighborhood's restaurants prosper. So try it:

The Louisiana Kitchen on Cordell Street in Downtown Bethesda. They have take out too!

Yes We Did. The Experience of Winning Hurray!

2008-11-09T22:00:00.004-05:00

David Letterman: "Barak Obama is our new President. And, I think I speak for most Americans when I say, 'Mind if he starts a little early?'"

November 5, 2008, 11:00 PM, the Marriott Hotel in Rockville, Maryland. A room full of Democrats who had just spent the last few months campaigning in Virginia.

It's Great to Have a Smart President. Halaluyah!

2008-11-09T20:49:00.005-05:00

You have got to read Nicholas Kristof's OPED piece today. It says it all (plus some gross stuff about Nero that I wish an editor had cut out).

Op-Ed Columnist
Obama and the War on Brains

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
Published: November 9, 2008
Barack Obama’s election is a milestone in more than his pigmentation. The second most remarkable thing about his election is that American voters have just picked a president who is an open, out-of-the-closet, practicing intellectual.
Maybe, just maybe, the result will be a step away from the anti-intellectualism that has long been a strain in American life. Smart and educated leadership is no panacea, but we’ve seen recently that the converse — a White House that scorns expertise and shrugs at nuance — doesn’t get very far either.

Yes, We Can! History was made last night!

2008-11-05T08:17:00.003-05:00

I'm so happy and tired. I spent all day yesterday in Richmond, going door to door in the rain, getting out the vote. Here are photos of some of the team I went with.

We Marylanders had a lot to do with the victory in Viriginia -- how sweet it was last night at the Montgomery County rally to hear that Virginia joined the future and went Democratic!!! We were all elated and then the announcement that Obama had really, really been elected president of these United States. It was beyond belief. And, me, being me, am worried, of course. Obama has to live up to our expectations and we have to help him and our country. The most important thing is that the infrastructure that Obama built for his election needs to hold and work for the nation just as hard as it did for the presidency. He, and we, have inherited crises created by the republicans (the republicans, not just George Bush). There is a lot of work ahead of us.

Danika's fabulous Halloween Pumpkin of Rapper "Lil Wayne"

2008-10-31T19:33:00.004-05:00

Peregrine Falcon in Columbia, Maryland

2008-10-31T19:16:00.002-05:00

I hear a loud chirp as I climbed out of my Honda Accord this morning. It sounded like a nice small bird, but it captured my attention. I looked up. And sure enough there was a huge bird sitting atop my five-story office building in Columbia, Maryland. Here s/he is.

Restaurant Review: Doraku

2008-10-20T21:55:00.003-05:00

After canvasing in Manassa, Virginia, for Obama, we tried one of the new Japanese restaurants in Bethesda -- Doraku. I had the sashimi main course and Dave has beef terriaki. Both were good; but nothing special. We're gonna stick with Tako Grill and Mitubah, the two Japanese restaurants that have been in town for years. Doraku was more expensive for the same food and the techno music drove Dave nuts.

Betty White Communicates with McCain Via Carrier Pigeon

2008-10-20T18:36:00.004-05:00

You have got to check out this "Late Show" clip with Betty White. How old is she any way? I love her!!! pigeon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxL7MKsGoPo

Sukkot Is the Best Jewish Holiday

2008-10-16T23:44:00.002-05:00

Look at the fabulous Sukkah Dave built. More pictures soon.

Restaurant Review: Visions

2008-10-10T19:32:00.004-05:00

We returned to Visions tonight for a lovely dinner. We are served wonderful rosemary and garlic bread that was warm and crusty. Luckily our main courses came quickly because I could have completely stuffed myself with bread.

There were three of us; we didn't order appetizers. But our main courses were three distinct dishes. I ordered the Seared Giant Scallops with Thyme Risotto, which was wonderful (I can live without the apples and fennel, but that's me), cooked perfectly and flavorful. Dani ordered the mac and cheese with crab meat, which she loved. It was too salty for me. But i loved the spinach (?) side dish! Dave had the fillet mignon satay with plantains. The plantains were fine; i don't eat red meat; but Dave loved the satay. He looked at the dessert menu. Last time we eat at Visions he got the chocolote creme brule, which turned out to be a little weird. Our guess was that it's hard to make the crust when the chocolat is so dark. Anyhow he got the terrimisso, tonight, which we all liked, even Dani, who doesn't like terimisoo. Thanks ChefTony for a lovely evening.

Restaurant Review: Savuer India

2008-10-05T20:57:00.003-05:00

At Taste of Bethesda we found a new Indian Restaurant. Usually, we order from Haandi or Dheli Dhaba. And I've been insisting that the food is slop, especially Haandi. The bread is usually half burned. On the other hand, we go to Passage to India on Cordel, which is lovely but a little expensive. So just as they were closing down, we ran across Savuer India, which isn't in my direct area. It's down Wisconsin below the Trader Joe's. It serves Hallal meat and is next door to the Honey Ham store. Ironic.

Savuer India

The food was fantastic. We had a variety of Naan and, which were warm, soft and very well flavored. We only eat vegitarian so our selecton was somewhat limited:

-- Palak Makai, Curried spinach cooked with corn kernel, was spices and had an excellent texture.
-- Malai Kafta, Cubes of cottage cheese cooked in a tomato butter gravy, which my husband loved and he makes a good Malia Kafta himself at home.
-- Subz Shahi Khorma , Diced veggies, with nuts, yogurt and butter gravy, nice but plain.
-- Baghare Baingan, Baby eggplant in sesame and peanut gravy. We ate this last and it was oddly prepared. I was full. But it had nice flavor.
-- Yellow Daal, Yellow lentils cooked with tomato and cumin, was fine.

Everything was less greasy and more flavorful than offerings at Haandi. And everything at Haandi is over cooked.

Thank you Taste of Bethesda and good job Saveur India for coming up to Downtown to compete with all of the other restaurants here.

Beyond a Block Party: Taste of Bethesda

2008-10-05T20:51:00.002-05:00

Part of what makes East Bethesda wonderful is that we can walk out of our neighborhood into a city. Yesterday , literally 100s of restaurants displayed their wares at Taste of Bethesda up on Woodmont Avenue. Great music too. You know you're a city when the Hari Krishna hang out. (They don't wear saphron robes any more.)

It's a Wonderful Block

2008-10-05T13:04:00.005-05:00

I was already planning to show some pictures from my street's block party today. And then I saw today's The New York Times Magazine, which features a long essay on neighbors and blocks: "It's a Wonderful Block."
I was scooped! East Bethesda, Maryland, is one of the most wonderful neighborhoods in all of America. Really. We have lovely tree-lined streets, mostly small brick houses built before the second world war to house the anticipated influx of government workers. And, still government workers live here. On my right is a lawyer at justice and on my left two bureaucrats (guys I mean that in a good way) for the censes department.
Some of my neighbors have lived here their entire lives; and raised their now college-aged children on this street in these small houses. Many have moved here in the last eight years and have young children: at least 25 kids under 10 on our street alone. In five years, we'll have a regular teen gang. One single mother moved here just to send her son to Bethesda Chevy Chase High School two streets over.
One family is from Poland and an other from Germany. There are couple of rental houses. But even the noisy kids who are renting Mohammid's house attended the block party in September. A couple of guys put out their grills; everyone brought something. With the street blocked off, the kids road their bikes and hoolahooped in the middle of the pavement.
It is a wonderful block. Mark Oppenheimer's writes wonderfully about his block and his research is fantastic. He asked experts to discuss why his block works: not much traffic, wide side walks, front porches, all of the stuff urban planners have been talking about since I took urban affairs courses in college in the '70s.
But my street works even though we don't have porches or a sidewalk; and we do have traffic. I don't think we're quite as knitted together. But we're walking distance from the Betheda Metro, NIH and the growing Naval Hospital. We're on the edge of huge vibrant downtown, with hundreds of restaurants. CNNMoney.com named Bethesda the 5th best place to live.
Stay tuned, I'm going to up a slide show of our recent block party.

Obama Biden Will Win, Part 2

2008-09-14T07:24:00.008-05:00

Obama is the strong candidate for a strong America. He and Biden will build a strong country for a new American century. McCain stands for 19th century fuels and 20th century ideas; a recipe for weakness, shame and disaster. Americans are smart enough to see beyond the lies, smears and beauty pageant charisma.

This is one a serveral articles you need to read in today's New York Times.

Op-Ed Columnist
Making America Stupid
By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN
Published: September 14, 2008
Unless we make America the country most able to innovate, compete and win in the age of globalization, our leverage in the world will continue to slowly erode.

Obama Biden Will Win, Part 1

2008-09-13T09:30:00.004-05:00

This is the starting point in any conversation. We're not worried, Obama and Biden will be our next president and vice president. But, part of the reason they will win is that WE will work hard to get them elected.

Op-Ed Columnist
Misery Loves Democrats
By GAIL COLLINS
Published: September 11, 2008
Barack Obama is going to lose! Sarah Palin is getting all the attention! The Republicans are so mean! Why isn’t he tougher?

A Messsage from Rabbi Emanual Goldsmith

2008-09-08T20:29:00.001-05:00

God is goodness.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jkO1Ys0rtU

Klez Kanada

2008-09-01T09:49:00.003-05:00

Listen to my friends 'rock out' at Klez Kamp Kanada ... where Klezmer music reigns.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDY_4kEhWcY

The Baltimore Acquarium

2008-08-04T22:31:00.009-05:00

Dani gave me a great tour of the National Aquirium in Baltimore today. We started with the dolphin show. It was a "quiet" show because a baby was born last week and they didn't want to upset it. We enjoyed ourselves sitting in the "splash" zone.

We remained dry until we went to the 4-D movie exterience. Yeah really, 4D: 3D vision plus water spirts at the appropriate moments, vibrations, pocks in the ribs, realy snow flakes and bubbles. Pretty cool.

Everything seemed too short.

Here's a nautelis; i don't remember seeing this one before. It was huge and more impressive as it opened up.

Dani knows all about all of the different animals. We had great fun together.

Okay. we didn't see this little guy. He totally hides in his exhibit. We did see a sloth in additon to a zillion fish and reptiles.

Visions Restaurant in West Bethesda

2008-08-04T21:59:00.003-05:00

Saturday night out. First, the girls went to see "Brideshead Revisited" revisited. I prefered the 1980s TV series. If for no other reason than to see Anthony Andrews as Lord Sebastian Flyte. He was absolutely marvelous, delicious. You understood why Charles Rider fell in love with him. Evelyn Waugh's story is about wrestlying with religion as the old British empire comes to an end. The TV series also had an element of the cult of personality; and how far charm can carry someone; and how it can entice. The movie realy wasn't as complicated.

Dinner: Bethesda is full of very good restaurants. We took advantage of the Restaurant Week to try Visions. My crowd doesn't make for good reviewers. We all ordered the same thing, so there was no sampling opportnity: Cuban Style Salmon with rice and black beans and plantains. The fish was wonderfully cooked. But I'm not sure what made it "Cuban". The rice and beans were dull; the plantains basic. The chef is really nice and friendly. But I don't see a need to go back. There are so many other choices here.

New GOP Talking Point: Compare Candidate Obama to Candidate Bush

2008-07-25T12:06:00.008-05:00

Really. I think I might be the first person to notice this. But last night on the radio, some talk show host compared W's successful presidential campaign with Obama's, implying that you can talk all you want and run a great campaign and then be a bad president. Wierd, but... This was in today's Washington Post, Op-Ed piece Topic A:

Michael Rubin, resident scholar, American Enterprise Institute and adviser to the Coalition Provisional Authority in 2003-04, said

"Obama's words are inspirational, but if anything is to be learned from the Bush administration, it is that leadership must run deeper than rhetoric. Berlin's freedom was won with blood and treasure. It was not secured with withdrawals or unilateral disarmament."

Jungle Jim's Water Park

2008-07-16T22:52:00.004-05:00

If the ocean isn't scary enough or wet enough, there is always Jungle Jim's Water Park where you can float on inner tubes in a wave pool. I even went down the Anaconda water slide. Actually, I went down all of the water rides in hopes that I would gain the courage to go into the ocean.

A Few Birds

2008-07-16T22:35:00.002-05:00

An egret above us.

A Bicycle Built for Two

2008-07-16T10:39:00.002-05:00

Given my issues with bicycles (so pathetic and embarrassing), we got a bicycle built for two. This way Dave navigated through the traffic and I looked at his back, kinda like a horse with blinders: what I can't see, won't upset me. We did very well yesterday toodling around Bethany. Goldie took our picture. (See Flickr slide show on the left.) We also saw dolphins out in the ocean, one of our favorite animals. That was really wonderful. They frolicked along with the humans: we at the shore line, they about two wave sets out, not far from where Dave and I were swimming. The slide show also has a very bad photo of the dolpins. We need a better camera, which, of course, I wouldn't have taken to the beach. So there you are. Bad photos of dolphins off in the near distance.

Vacationing in Bethany Beach

2008-07-12T21:03:00.010-05:00

We went kayaking in Assawoman Bay this evening, moving smoothly between reeds, pushing off from the mud shoals, looking for the African Queen, mosquitoes and Lake Tanganyika or was it Lake Victoria that Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn were looking for?
We saw a large Asprey nest where a mother fed her young and several white herons.

We also saw several "duck"
blinds where hunters hide to shoot unsuspecting ducks. Or where these the tips of bomb silos? Nuclear weaponry? You decide.

The End of Cashiers? Cha Ching! 2

2008-06-15T21:41:00.004-05:00

I forgot the most annoying thing about Giant's Easy Shop scanner. It has advertising on the devise itself. To get our attention to the small screen, it rings "Cha Ching!" loudly. I tried to turn in it off or down. It didn't have volume control. Imagine everyone in the store carrying one of these devises ringing every few minutes to get you to see the ad for, say, a $1.00 off Minute Maid orange juice. Cha Ching! Cha Ching! Cha Ching! I'm wearing my ear plugs from now on.

The End of Cashiers? Cha Ching!

2008-06-15T21:18:00.002-05:00

We shop weekly at Giant supermarket. Today, we discovered a new 'feature': Easy Shop. Essentially, you sign in and get a bar code reader. As you shop, you scan your own items. It worked pretty well on packaged goods and I liked seeing how much each item costs and what my total was. But when it came to produce, it was more complicated and annoying. When the bar code reader didn't recognize a product, we had to look it up in pretty much like a cashier does. "Am i getting a discount for doing all of this work on my own?" my husband griped. The answer is No. Then, when we went to check out, the computer totally didn't understand what we were doing. The directions, quite detailed every where else, were inadequate and a store manager had to check us out.

My neighbor hates the self-check out aisles. They decrease the number of jobs for unskilled labor. I agree. And, this scan-it yourself really decreases the number of unskilled employees they need. And the customer has become an unpaid, semi-skilled grocery worker. Next, I'll be standing over the steamer to dry-clean my clothes.

Oddly, I don't see anything about this service on Giant's website.

Goldie Talks About On-Line College Courses

2008-06-15T21:13:00.001-05:00

Audio: What Is Online Learning Really Like?
After covering distance education for more than a decade, The Chronicle's Goldie Blumenstyk finally took the plunge and enrolled in an online course through the University of Phoenix. She shares tales from the cyber-classroom with Paul Fain, a Chronicle reporter.

Mirele Works to Keep New York's Water Clean!

2008-06-08T17:23:00.002-05:00

My dear friend Mirele recently moderating a panel on the Croton watershed. Click to see her panel discussion.

Celebrating Israel's 60th & Emergency on the Blue Line

2008-06-01T20:52:00.010-05:00

It was a gorgeous day today. Sunny and warm, but not too warm, with a brief breeze on the National Mall, which hosted today's celebration of Israel's 60th Anniversary. There were a variety of bands, including rock'n'roll from Israel Mashina (photo below)

It was a very successful event; and we ran into many of our friends and neighbors.

There are a lot of Obama stickers in Hebrew, we got a couple. McCain was well represented too. His stickers were strickly in English. No Hillary stickers. 'I'm mad at her,' was the generally feeling. People who voted for her just shaking their heads in disbelief.

On our way home, our Blue Line train was stopped just short of Smithsonian station. The AC went off, then all of the lights, except the emergency lights. "We'll be here for a while. There's a medical emergency ahead." I didn't have my usual flashlight in my backpack. But we didn't need it. Let's see, I thought, could it be terrorists blowing up Israeli day? No. Hum. A medical emergency where they are asking us all to get off the train ... someone fell/was pushed/or jumped in front of the train. I was right. When we came out onto L'Enfant Plaze platform, the firemen were coming down the escalator the wrong way.

Dave heard them say, "She's talking." And our engineer, whose train she was under, said he was shaken. Here's the Washington Post article. I'm little annoyed because it did not mention that there were so many people on the Mall for the celebration. (And, why don't the Wash Post have Permalinks?) This is photo of the passangers lining up to walk to the front of the train. Our cars had not yet made it the platform. When we got off the train, it was pretty much chaos, calmness, but no one new where to go. The Metro people were too busy trying to deal with the women under the train to give directions. We helped one out of towner get to a different train. Mike from Minnesota was in Germantown playing a new organ that was just installed up there. He had a flight delay of five hours so he thougtht he'd see the city and was on his way back to the airport when we intercepted him and got him to the red line. Our good dead of the day.

New Palestinian City

2008-05-30T21:53:00.003-05:00

Three cheers for this guy. It's about time the Arabs bought a clue and began building a country. This sounds like first step to me. I hope the Israelis don't stand in its ways. Lets see the Palestinians really build their own future.

Planned Palestinian City in West Bank Faces Hurdles
by Eric Westervelt
Listen Now add to playlist
Morning Edition, May 30, 2008 · Backed by hundreds of millions of dollars from the government of Qatar, a Palestinian developer is moving aggressively to build the first new Palestinian city in the West Bank in a generation. But the state-of-the-art planned city faces big hurdles, including Israeli military objections and critics who say the West Bank is not ready for such projects.

Freak Out, Read Rolling Stone Article

2008-05-23T13:27:00.003-05:00

I've always contended that people are more or less the same all over the world -- except suicide bombers. But I didn't mean that we were all under the same threat of Big Brother. But as it turns out, the Chinese people and Americas are being watched by technology from one company. You have to read this article all the way to the last sentence! Rolling Stone, May 29, 2008, page 28: "China's All-Seeing Eye".

Helping the Chinese in Sichuan

2008-05-21T10:01:00.003-05:00

The following is an email that was sent to me by a colleague in Shenzhen, China.

Dear Colleagues,

The devastating "5.12" earthquake in Wenchuan, Sichuan has claimed over 40,000 lives ... leaving 5 million homeless ... We're in a three-day national mourning for those victims from May 19 to 21.

I wanted to contact you to let you know that, if you, or any of your friends who are willing to donate or help, you could do this through the redcross (http://www.redcross.org.cn/) or your local Chinese consulate/embassy (http://www.china-embassy.org/chn/). If you need my personal assistance, please feel free to contact me.

I thank you for your kindness!

Scott

China

2008-05-18T08:11:00.008-05:00

I am very moved by the disaster in China. I've just been reading Peter Hessler's book River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze, a memoir of his life as a Peace Corps volunteer in Fuling, Sichuan province, China, which is not far from Chendu and the epicenter of the earthquake. In fact, he has written about reports from his students in The New Yorker online. His insights and the stories his former students are sending are more interesting than most of the other reports, although the NPR coverage has also been magnificent since its correspondents were in that province working a week-long special about China.

My office has a consultant in Shenzhen, who I met a recent trade show. His response to my email asking after his family and letting him know that we Americans are very concerned for the Chinese, was "That's very kind of you... I can sense more clearly the friendship between Chinese and Americans in this difficult time - there is a US medical team working in the epicenter in Sichuan to help save lives. I will pass this friendship to my countrymen..."

On one level, it makes me sad this he might not have thought well of us before; I thought of him as a partner in our efforts in his country; our manufacturing partners must be hiring hundreds of Chinese. On the other hand, it feels very warm to make that connection on the other side of the planet.

My feelings about China are very mixed. I've been big fan of the Chinese people for decades. In the 1980s, I read a lot of Chinese history, studied Chinese and was thinking of going to China to teach English. My hair was long and straight in those days, and I was mistaken for being part Chinese once in a while. I was planning to go to China with a Christian group, the Dutch Reform Church. In fact, I went to one of their training sessions.

On the other hand, it really bothers me that everything is made in China and that we appear to be unable to make consumer goods in the US ... or any where else in the West. What if China has a meltdown, political or geologic? As they fear that we might overpower them, I fear that they may over power us economically. Plus I was totally pissed off by Wal-Mart siding with the Chinese in trade negotiations. WTF!

Cultural friends, economic competitors? All of those single men are worrisome too. Having so many more males than females seems a recipe for war to give the single young men something to do.

Footnote:
Getting back to teaching in China. I never did it. I was very impressed with the young people from the Midwest who were on their way to a strange land for a year. They didn't speak Chinese. They hadn't read any Chinese history. China was still very poor and Maoist. And, they couldn't even use chopsticks. But they were happy and confident in their mission, because they knew when they came back they would have a place to be, an identity beyond themselves, with a palpable and supportive community. A week after the training session, one of the leaders of the group called me to ask what I thought of joining them. I said, "Well, you know I'm not a Christian." She said that was fine as long as I had a strong sense of self and community. Well, I didn't. And, didn't go to China. I went to the Synagogue instead.

We didn't win

2008-05-15T14:08:00.002-05:00

Unfortunately, Forty Eight Rs Media didn't win the audience award this year. Below is the email that was sent out this morning.

Hello Filmmakers and Film Enthusiasts—

The people have spoken! Below you will find our list of Audience Award winners for the DC 48 Hour Film Project 2008. Eight screenings were held last week, and at each screening the audience voted for its favorite.

We will be having our “Best of DC” screening at the AFI Silver Theater at the end of the month.
Don’t miss it. Lineup to be announced soon.

Thursday, May 29
7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
AFI Silver Theatre
Purchase your tickets at www.afisilver.org/

The Audience Awards

Group A
"The End"
by: Flat Feet Films
genre: Fantasy

Group B
"The Bad News Bearer"
by: Sprezzatura
genre: Comedy

Group C -- this was our group
“Fairy Bust”
3 mm Films
Genre: Fantasy

Group D
“Skip to the End”
JSC Productions
Genre: Road Movie

Group E
"I'll See You in Hell"
by: Everyday Astronaut
genre: comedy

Group F
“Get Closer”
Dead City Films
Genre: Spy

Group G
"I Love You 2"
by: WIT Films
genre:SciFi

Group H
"Mementos"
by: Integral Arts
genre: Drama

Twittering

2008-05-08T12:16:00.003-05:00

While we were making the movie over the weekend, I sent out a lot of Twitter updates so that the members of the team who couldn't be on site could get a tiny Twitter taste of what I was doing. So, I Twittered for two days. And now i have three "followers" who I don't know. They are each following thousands of people...i don't get that thousands? are they actually following them? I think it's a scam to get you to see their posts, which talk about websites and products they are developing. Twitter spam. Ugh.

Regional Banks

2008-05-08T12:12:00.002-05:00

I'm hearing, from semi-reliable sources, that regional banks are going to have problems over the next six months, some may fail due to the sub-prime loan mess; and the feds won't step in and prop up these medium sized banks. I have two questions: how can you figure out whether your bank has been making foolish loans and is at risk? And, how does a bank failing affect that bank's non-mortgage depositors and borrowers? Thoughts?

Cholesterol

2008-05-05T15:16:00.006-05:00

So, my doctor says my cholesterol is high and that I should start taking Lipitor. I say WAIT. I'll try to loose the fat first. I don't eat any red meat at all, very little goat cheese, even less cow cheese, very little butter, virtually no processed foods. My HDL is good as are my triglycerides. And, when I punched in my numbers on the American Heart Association's collesteral page, my risk factor was 1%; the average for a woman my age is 3%. Get a grip doctor.

I know this is somewhat irrational, but I really think this whole cholesterol thing is a scam, a reason to give out drugs. I know, I know. better safe than sorry. But first, I'm gonna try getting my fat ass out of bed early enough to go to the gym every day. Plus what bad things will the drugs do? Yikes. I'd rather die of a heart attack than liver disease or something.

Follow up to "Support Our Troops"

2008-05-05T11:52:00.003-05:00

I have to follow up on my post from last week. I Googled those "Support Our Troops" ribbons and asked the company that came up at the top of the list (ie: the one with the best website optimization) where they made the magnets. Here's their answer:

All our magnets are made in the USA.

Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns!

Best Wishes,
Christian Vélez
Customer Service
JacobDavis Productions
(407)427-1402
http://www.jacobdavisproductions.com/
http://www.supportstore.com/
http://www.coolscooters2.com/
http://supportstore.logomall.com/
http://www.cardstunts.com/

Dr. Reef

2008-05-04T21:17:00.002-05:00

So, I waited for an hour and half at this "no-longer a bar" on 7th Street near China Town --They lost their food license or something, Dave commented earlier -- while they took down the left over art from the day's show. Dave arrived in his Yahad t-shirt covered with paint and cement. We left all of our paper work and Mini tape and the DVD. Dave needs to sleep, so we head home.

Out on the street, we are accosted by a doctor, Dr. Reef, who wants to interview us on camera about depression. REALLY. He had a video crew with him and says he is working on a pilot video to convince investors to fund a TV show he's working on. He has no idea that the 48 Hour Film Festival is going on. So, fine, we were interviewed on camera. What is depression?

We are holding hands and smiling. We just finished a movie and Dave is in the midst of repairing a house.

A Movie and A House

2008-05-03T15:25:00.003-05:00

Well, Dave has totally over committed himself this weekend. He's making a 48-hour movie AND building a house, with Yahad, sukkot in April, like Christmas in April. Well May this year. Okay, renovating a house. So far, the script for the movie has been written and it is really funny and topical. And, the tools and materials for the house have been gathered.

We're shooting the movie as I type. You can read about our progress on my Twitter list.

Check out our past two movies: the award winning Shattered Imperfections and last year's Universal Appeal.

All Air

2008-05-02T15:13:00.002-05:00

Hillary should be ashamed of herself pushing this vacation from gas tax feel-good scam. All of the experts say this will not help bring down the price of gas, because people will just drive more, making gas more scarce, raising the price even more. The oil companies get rich not matter how you look at it.

Members of the Tribe

2008-05-01T20:41:00.003-05:00

I just listened to a wonderful podcast from Nextbook.com, called Chosen People, about an African American shule in Chicago, Beth Shalom B'nai Zaken Ethiopian Hebrew Congregation. It sounded great and very Jewish. The Rabbi talked about his journey to Judaism. Among other things, he really loved the Jewish G-d wrestling and support of intellectual pursuit as well as religious. Sounds great. I'm happy to have people coming sincerely to Judaism. I've always thought that it is well suited to the African American experience. But then one of the congregants talked about how much she loves Shabbat, etc. And how her grandmother never did any work on Saturday but never knew why, which proves her people really are Jewish (like the Spainish and Latin American Catholic women who light candles in a cabinet on Friday nights). They see themselves as returning not converting to Judaism. In fact, this woman said she was more Jewish than most white Jews. WAIT!

Okay, that's where I say, WAIT! It is wonderful for all people who feel a kinship with the Jewish people to throw their lot in with ours. It is, however, entirely a different story to imply in any way, as this woman did, that the rest of us are not really Jewish. She now throws herself in with Hitler, the Inquisition, the Romans and the Babylonians to mention a few. In the long run, people who decide we traditional Jews of Europe and Northern Africa are not real Jews, are the people who end up killing us. Now I'm afraid. But still, i would like to invite the woman who was interviewed to come to Adat Shalom and see OUR drum playing, singing and dancing. I want them to be one with us; not against us.

And how is this different from the Christian Tribe of Judah in Boonsboro, Maryland? The family of friend of my step daughter is prominent in this small church, where they recite motzi over the flesh of Christ and bless the blood with kiddish. An overhead projector beams the Hebrew letters and transliterations up on a wall next to the toy Torah scroll and toy arc. Flags fly around the room, each with one of the 12 tribes written in Hebrew with a Celtic-like coat of arms. People spin. The visiting preacher lays hands on the foreheads of forlorn parishioner's and preaches all of those who do not walk the righteous way they do will be killed. They know nothing of today's Jews; how long will it be before they decide that we are not Jews and kill us?

Okay. It's very different. But my fear is the same.

Support the Troops

2008-05-01T20:28:00.003-05:00

I had my annual physical today, and the male assistant, a former Army medic, told me about the problems veterans are having getting enough money to go to college, despite the GI Bill that gave so many WWII veterans an education and, essentailly, created today's middle class.

"There isn't enough money," he told me; and he was always caught between the VA and the college, each blaming the other for the short fall or for paperwork left undone.

It's nice that people want to support the troops, he said with growing anger as he read my EKG. But by putting those ribbons on their cars, you know those magnet ribbons, all they are doing is giving money to people in Korea (China, I imagine). Sending their money to Korea. (Now, of course, i'm tempted to go up on bumper and pull off the metal magnet ribbon and find out where it was made.)

They should be offering rides to vets who can't make it to their doctor's appointments.

Hilary! Hilary! Hilary! Yes she can!

2008-04-22T21:27:00.003-05:00

Well, looks like i don't have to drink the Obama Coolaid. Yeah Pennsylvania!! End the war on science. Go girl! It's about time that a woman ran the world!!!!

Weird Website of the Day

2008-04-22T19:05:00.001-05:00

You can send messages to your friends after you die. I got this from the Onion. But the additionally funny thing is that that you can have a one-month free trial. How does that work? https://www.postexpression.com/

Fore Fathers

2008-03-18T11:14:00.003-05:00

I'm all ready to support Obama ... he makes a brilliant speech. And, Hillary isn't the right woman to be the first woman president, which is very disappointing because I believe that the gender gap is way bigger than the race gap. Sooner or later, all of the boys -- no matter what color -- stick together, and make fun of the girls. Their negativity is more visceral toward Hillary than other politicians; and, not just because she's a Clinton. It's substantially because she is a woman. Notice that Obama does not quote the Declaration of Independence: "All men are created equal...." Where's the movement to change that?

Yeah Hillary!!!!

2008-03-05T10:55:00.002-05:00

Now, on to Pennsylvania.

In 04 I went door-to-door in PA, getting out the vote, and the state went Democratic!!! Must have been me. No, but really, you need some serious grassroots efforts in that state to win.

More Politicans in Costums

2008-03-03T14:12:00.005-05:00

Senator Leiberman (right) once told me that his senior senator from Connecticut, Christopher Dodd (left), to whom he deferred, advises not to wear hats in photo opportunities. They always make you look silly. I was trying to get both of them to wear a Connecticut college's team t-shirt and baseball hat for an ESPN photo opportunity geared to the media in the company's home state. I figured the hats would be a shoe in; but no, they preferred to pull the t-shirts over their ties and button-down shirts. A photographer with Hill credentials and I talked around the bowels of the capitol and the press room until we found Dodd's "hide away" office near the Senate chambers. Check out the photo, which ran in the Hartford Currant four or more years ago. You can find anything on the web!!

But the New York Times made the best point about the foolishness of going after Obama's Africa garb: "When in Rome..."

Barak Obama in Native Garb v. Bush Holding Hands with Saudi Prince

2008-02-26T20:43:00.007-05:00

People are making a ridiculous fuss about Obama in African attire. While I'm still a Hillary supporter, I think it's cool that he was trying on the local clothes. Doesn't everyone do that when they travel to exotic places?

What about images of George Bush holding hands with the Saudi Prince? (AP Photo)

Can't Live Without Chartoonist Tom Toles

2008-02-26T20:26:00.001-05:00

He's always funny.

Ralph Nader

2008-02-26T20:21:00.003-05:00

Before he announced that his dementia kicked in Sunday, we had a running Ralph Nader joke:

"Where's Ralph Nader?" we asked, missing the perennial pain in the ass.

"Al Gore's got him."

"Really?"

"Yeah. After what happened in 2000, Gore has Nader locked up in his basement. He's keeping him out of the race and, he needs him."

"Why would Gore have anything to do with Nader?"

" He needs the consumer crusader as an energy source. Gore has Nader locked in his basement chained to a stationery bike powering his low-carbon-foot-print mansion."

"Not any more."

"He must have escaped."

"Where are the butterfly nets?"

Jewish Study

2008-02-23T18:03:00.004-05:00

In reminding the family about her son's bar mitzvah in March 2009, my sister mentions a really nice Jewish Study website: myjewishlearning.com. You start by selecting the topi you want to study and taking a brief quiz, which tells you what level you should start at. I'm on God, level II.

Bending Over Backward and Touching the Floor

2008-02-18T13:14:00.002-05:00

I just can't take it. One of the members of my congregation sent a request to our listserv asking that people sign a petition about superdelegates. Some other people took offense, saying that we jepordize our tax status by talking about Democratic, partisan issues. One went so far as to say that if we weren't violating the law; we were violating the spirit of the law. How totally and utterly ridiculous. I deleted that email because i really don't want to waiste time on it; but it's driving me nuts that such well-educated people don't know the difference between the actions of a congregation as an entity and those of individual members interacting amongst themselves. The spirit of our tax status is that we're a non-profit religious organization; we are not an organization whose purpose is the elect certain public figures, nor do we, as an institution, advocate for spefic parties or candidates. Okay, it's out of my system. thanks.

Baby Boomers: Bored, Tubby & Mild

2008-02-17T16:54:00.001-05:00

From Long Island Newsday

Giving in a Time of Less

2008-02-17T16:40:00.004-05:00

Don't miss my good friend Rick Marker's advice on keeping the world perspective and continuing to donate to worthy causes.

My Hero: Morris Davis

2008-02-17T16:04:00.003-05:00

In today's New York Times, Morris Davis, an Air Force colonel, who was the chief prosecutor for the military commissions at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, from 2005 to 2007 wrote a powerful diatribe against torture.

"Unforgivable Behavior, Inadmissible Evidence

"TWENTY-SEVEN years ago, in the final days of the Iran hostage crisis, the C.I.A.’s Tehran station chief, Tom Ahern, faced his principal interrogator for the last time. The interrogator said the abuse Mr. Ahern had suffered was inconsistent with his own personal values and with the values of Islam and, as if to wipe the slate clean, he offered Mr. Ahern a chance to abuse him just as he had abused the hostages. Mr. Ahern looked the interrogator in the eyes and said, “We don’t do stuff like that.

"Today, Tom Ahern might have to say: “We don’t do stuff like that very often.” Or, “We generally don’t do stuff like that.” That is a shame. Virtues requiring caveats are not virtues. Saying a man is honest is a compliment. Saying a man is “generally” honest or honest “quite often” means he lies. The mistreatment of detainees, like honesty, is all or nothing: We either do stuff like that or we do not. It is in our national interest to restore our reputation for the latter. (All opinions here are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Air Force or Defense Department.)"

Click here for the whole article.

Vote for Hillary

2008-02-14T22:06:00.003-05:00

This was the hardest political decision I've every made. I like both of the Democratic candidates. I think that they both want the best for the American people, unlike Republicans who couldn't care less about anyone except themselves. The Republican party is the biggest hoax on the middle class. Rich people have convinced middle class folks that they could be rich if only they'd side with the rich. All the while, the rich pick the pockets of the smiling middle class.

Anyway, I like Obama's enthusiasm, leadership and charisma. I like Hilary's leadership, programs, experience and nastyness. I think you have to be a tough ass to be a world leader and defend the United States.

On Monday, the eve of the Chesepeake Primary, my husband and I went to Michelle Obama speak at a high school near us. And she was wonderful, but we decided that 1) Barak won't have the slightest clue how to run the country; and 2) we disagree with his assertion that we (dems and republicans) should all just get along. Won't happen. He thinks that Repubicans have the same goals he has. Michelle went on and on about helping the people .... Republicans couldn't care less as long as there are enough living people to gather their food and clean their hotel toilets. Repulicans don't want universal health care. How can you play nicely with that????? I mean is Barak Obama going to know a shark when he sees it? Sharks are different in Washington and around the world, from those he's used to on the streets and in Illinois. I don't even know if his Harvard experience has prepared him for that. Put it another way, Obama’s position is a continuation of the current do-nothing congress in which the Republicans are playing tackle football and the democrats are playing touch football and getting creamed. Obama’s idea that everyone will work together if he talks to them properly is ridiculous. There are good reasons why we all can’t just get along. Clinton pointed this tonight in her Channel 7 interview. Sometimes we need a leader to put his/her foot down and say no, the other side is just plain wrong. This is not partisan politics, it's trying to the best for everyone the country.

I really don't understand why people hate Hillary. She's smart and wants to change the country and help people. She understands that she is swimming in an ocean fully of sharks and has to be equally agressive. So in the process she pisses off a few people, so what. Plus one can only hope that a smart person like Hillary has learnd from her past mistakes (eg health care). But it looks like I'l have to drink the Obama cool aid if we're gonna keep McCaine out of the oval office. And despite everything I said above, i'll enthusiastically work for Obama.

Also, read this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-wilson/battletested_b_86355.html

Three Cheers for Whole Foods!

2008-01-22T20:46:00.000-05:00

It's the beginning of the end of plastic bags, those hideous petrochemical leaves that entangled themselves in tree branches too high to clean off and befoul the water ways like mutant poison jelly fish. BYOB ... bring your own bag!

In Memory of Bert Keppler

2008-01-20T20:30:00.000-05:00

I am sad to report Bert Keppler died last week. He was a good friend of my parents from our North Highland Place, Croton, days. He was an influential man in the world of photography. His daughter was my sister's best friend for many of our younger years, when we lived in the woods. I think my sister has the best summery of the official obituaries.

I remember him in many ways.

From my child's perspective, he was an odd little, bald man who always had a smirk on his vertical face. He travelled the world with his gardener/cellist wife, Louise Keppler. They owned several foreign cars that were always in the shop and had a labyrinth house full of objects they'd collected. I want to say they had a stuffed Zebra standing in one of their rooms, but it might have been some other hoofed animal. They kept building rooms on to their house to better accommodate their possessions.

Bert helped me buy my first, beloved camera, a Minolta's SRL 100 in 1970; and he introduced us to the first Polaroid. I think I still have a photo he took of me in Silver Lake with that Polaroid. As I remember, the paper didn't always pull away cleaning from the developing image. But it was very exciting to be among the first to have this camera or to even know that it exists.

Bert almost killed us once. There were a lot of us crammed into his van, which had the engine in the back. (The shape of a VW bus, but I don't think it was a VW.) I was around 17 and was sitting on my mother's lap in the shot-gun seat. Bert was driving; my Dad and Louise were in the back seat, and I think several other people were in the vehicle. It was winter. Someone in the back was giving directions. Several people were giving directions. Bert couldn't make up his mind which way to go, left or right? So instead we went straight ahead, off the road and into a snow-covered grassy ditch at the intersection. Mom held on to me, scraping her hands on the dash board. Bert managed to keep the bus from turning over; but it was awfully close.

Restaurant Review: Javan, Persian Cuisine

2008-01-19T17:08:00.000-05:00

As I write, I'm listening to some nice, mellow music that is playing on Javan's website, which is very tastefully done. Located on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda, the new owner turned what used to be a total dump Mongolian Grill into an intimate dining experience. The deep, low-light interior, white table clothes and excellent service are more upscale than the style of food offered. But the flavors of the stews and kabobs are marvelous. Javan is also reasonably priced.

Tom Sietsema's Washington Post review is ridiculously negative. Clearly, he likes the 19-year-old owner. He doesn't see that the light seasoning is very good because you can actually taste the different flavors, none over power the others. Last night, my husband and I shared the three-stew appitizer. He had the beef shish kabba and have soup as my main course.

This is their disription of the soup: "Ash Reshteh, a tastily cooked combination of vermicelli noodles, red kidney beans, garbanzo beans parsley, green onions, cilantro, spinach, herbs & kashk."

These are three stews: Gormeh Sabzi, sautééed herbs cooked with dried limes, beef & red kidney beans, special seasoning,served with Basmati rice; Fessenjon, sautééed fround walnuts in pomegranate sauce, mixed with boiled chicken & a side of Basmati rice; and, Ghaimeh Bademjon, sautééed egg planet cooked in a special tomato sauce, yellow peas & onion sauce, served with beef & a side of Basmati rice. All of which tasted lovely. The rice was a crunchy rice that I like more than my huband did. He felt it was too dry where there was no sauce.

My only criticism is that I'd like more vegetarian dishes; but then I'm a lapsed vegetarian and would like some more vegetarian restaurants in DC and Montgomery County. It would be great if someone opened an Angelica Kitchen here!!!!!

HD Radio Rising

2007-12-30T17:27:00.000-05:00

HD Radio broadcasting

Time Wasters

2007-12-30T13:11:00.000-05:00

Okay, what is the biggest waste of time on a Sunday morning? The New York Times crossword puzzle? The Washington Post crossword? Hanging out in Second Life? Reading those papers in general? Who can read them cover to cover? I haven't made it out of the Washington Post Magazine section, page 6. The biggest waste of time and a satifying additication: the Second Glance page. I only missed one change and kept my glasses on for much of the search.

Hurray for...New Jersey

2007-12-30T12:07:00.000-05:00

Although it has not killed anyone in decades, New Jersey has repealed its death penalty laws this month. This is great news. Slowly we are dragging ourselves into an advanced moral future. I can only hope we can bypass the dark ages that so many rightests would have us headed toward. Despite the terror around us, we must not be killers. Listen to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine's statement; it's fantastic!

From Amnesty International

Abolish the Death Penalty

The death penalty is the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights. By working towards the abolition of the death penalty worldwide, Amnesty International USA's Program to Abolish the Death Penalty looks to end the cycle of violence created by a system riddled with economic and racial bias and tainted by human error. Please join us in taking action against the death penalty.

Good News!On Human Rights Day – Monday, December 10th – the New Jersey Senate passed a bill to abolish the death penalty. The New Jersey Assembly passed it on December 13th, and Governor Jon Corzine signed it on Monday, December 17th making New Jersey the first state in over 40 years to legislatively abolish the death penalty! Listen to the Governor's statement (mp3 format).

Muddy the Poluted Waters

2007-12-10T12:47:00.000-05:00

Okay. People, get it. There really is human-caused global warming; and it's bad for all humans. The only people who don't agree are not scientist...they are politicians with an agenda.

Steelers

2007-12-09T13:08:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, I've become a football fan, specifically, a Steelers fan. Dave and Dani converted me. Plus, all of the New York teams moved to New Jersey; therefore, they loose my cheers. Now, we even go out to a Steelers' Bar in Maryland when we can't get the game on our local TV. This afternoon we're crashing a New England strong hold to root for Pittsburgh. Get out your terrrible tawls (sic)!!!!!!!!!!!!

Granta

2007-12-09T12:59:00.000-05:00

If there are any Granta readers out there, let me know. I'm looking for people with whom I can discuss each new issue. This quarter's, number 99 What Happened Next, has an interesting interview with Richard Ford, who I've never read because his short stories seem so pedestrian, maybe that's the idea. At this point, i'm more interested in the essays than the short stories...more.

News Smashup

2007-12-09T12:38:00.000-05:00

This week we had reports of an American 19 year old who is so distrought by loosing his girlfriend, job and bed in his parents house that he went to a mall and murdered nine people. On the other side of the world, an Iraqi father sells trinikets in the streets to keep his family alive dispite the fact that both of his hands had to be amputated above the elbow after a bomb went off next to him.

Thanksgiving

2007-11-25T19:56:00.000-05:00

This was one of our best Thanksgivings. Mom got to relax, the food was good and we hung out with great friends. We left the house in the warm morning air and returned home needing down coats, hats and gloves. Warm Thanksgivings were a problem for us, when made Thanksgiving dinner in my mother's 12th floor Manhattan apartment. When it was cold, we used the balcony as a second refridgerator. But when it was warm, we had a problem; we served warm drinks and worried whether the food had been left out at room temporature for too long. No one ever got sick ... so I guess it was okay.

For second Thanksgiving (like the second night of Passover), we met some cousins at a suburban Dim Sum Chinese Restaurant. The waitstaff is so aggressive with those steaming hot carts! I haven't seen these cousins in years and it was good to touch base. We usually have second Thanksgiving with our "Russian" cousins from Kiev; but all of us were too busy with other things. So we missed them. And, my sister got to see another set of our cousins out in Texas. All pretty impressive, considering we're a family that rarely talks to one an other and virtually never gets together. Although one cousin and his family toured the monuments instead of joining us for Dim Sum.

Appropriately, Mom and I went to the Museum of the American Indians today, which was interesting. We only made it to the forth floor, which was filled with the stories of many different native people told by their descendants. It really gives you a sense of the magnitude of the tragedy that be-fell the natives of the Americas. I kept wanting more details. The cafeteria offers tasty Native American foods from north, south, east and west of the hemisphere.

In school I loved class trips to the American Museum of Nature History in New York. And, the Indian village displays were my favorite. I imaged myself an Indian girl. It all seemed very romantic, despite the hard work. Now, it seems totally bizarre that the Native Peoples were mixed in with the dinosours and stuffed wildlife. Needless to day, there is an Indian museum in NYC as well.

Question: why is the museum called the Musium of American Indians? Why not Native Americans? Or indiginous people? I'm not familiar with the linguistic politics. Will have to look it up.

The Maryland Youth Ballet

2007-11-17T17:41:00.001-05:00

When I was a kid I was in the Westchester Ballet Company. From what my parents said, we must have been pretty horrible. So that's what I was expecting from the Maryland Youth Ballet. Boy, was I wrong. They are fantastic. And my honorary Niece Beila is one of the young stars. She is really, really good. On her way to the American Ballet Theater if she keeps it up. She's not performing in this video. She's the skinny girl in a red chinese outfit holding the banner at the end of the video. She's playing a chinese doll in this year's Nutcracker.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=eTneuHJLkLI

Holiday Gift...Join Radio's Digital Future

2007-11-14T16:15:00.000-05:00

The good news:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6b-B3Xq1KM

The Rant:
Ok, I have to rant. I represent a company that has an underground, blogging enemy, which is mainly made up of altacocker, ludite engineers, with too much time on their hands. They're driving me crazy because 1)my CEO sees their blogs every day thru his Google Alerts -- I hate them too. Google Alerts should be a PR trade secret. These Anit-digital nuts keep posting irrational, hate messages on their own and other blogs; even their user names are anti-names. These are people who have not smiled in years and never created anything successful. One (or more) of them keep messing around with the company's Wikepedia (sic) page. Now one of the reputable trade journals has written about an Anti-Digital Radio Alliance, which is made up of one guy who is the only person quoted for the story. He claims a membership of 90...none of whom could be named. And, he claims one of his members in an engineer who can't sleep because has he had to implement digital technology. I just see this 60-something guy crying into his oatmeal and black coffee.

I'm not saying the company or technology are perfect ... far from it. But the technology is fantastic and the people who comprise the company are very smart, nice and well-intentioned!!!! Our engineers figured out how to put digital broadcasts in the same frequencies as analog AM and FM. So no radios go out of date, like they are in England. Or like US TV. By Febrary 09, if you don't have a digital TV or a digital converter box, you won't be able to get TV over the air. My company's technology is a much more elegant approach to upgrading, and it is the only acceptable approach to the FCC.

I'm not writing the name of the company or technology because I don't want to be get picked up on the search engines...this is my site not my employer's!!! But here's a good news piece about the technology. And I did NOT place this story. The TV station evolved it on its own.

The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason

2007-11-03T08:48:00.000-05:00

This book, by Charles Freeman, is a warning to us all that we should not take scientific and intellectual pursuit and discovery for granted.

Page 316:

"It is perhaps particularly unfortunate that the silencing of debate extended beyond the spiritual and across the whole Greek intellectual tradition. The effects Paul's condemnation of 'the philosophers' could not have been put more clearly than by John Chrysostom, an enthusiastic follower of Paul. 'Restrain our own reasoning, and empty our mind of secular learning, in order to provide a mind swept clear for the reception of divine words.' Basil echoes him: 'Let us Christian prefer the simplicity of our faith to the demonstration of human reason ...' "

Read the rest of this page and be worried about modern government disdain for science and, more importantly, the scientific method. And, the Bush cabal's political needs to discount and, to some extent, vilify them.