My Crazy Mishpocha

A better version of Bert's street art in Mary Poppins

2009-02-25T09:43:00.000-08:00

I did not stumble onto this myself, but definitely think it should be shared. Check out this clip to see how some really cool street art is made. Also, if you click here, there are more examples of this artist, Edgar Mueller's, work.

Orange February

2009-02-24T17:57:00.000-08:00

I decided to cram all of my SU basketball encounters into a two week span this year. I suppose that was a good idea because I'm starting to think that my being in attendance at a game has a negative effect on SU's ability to A) play offense and B) play defense.

But really, the game was in both cases a side show to the wonder that is my friends. We decided to take in both SU-Villanova games this year, one in Philly, land of cheesesteaks, and one in Syracuse, land of cheap beer and pizza. Both weekends showed me that your best friends don't change that much. Even when they grow up and buy houses, move across the country, make sizeable salaries, and move in with significant others, they still will spend hours watching the latest mind sucking reality tv show with you. Or complain that the $3 pitchers went up to $3.50 and that's really too much to pay at Chuck's. Or arrange your apples and banana into male genatalia whenever your back is turned.

So here's hoping that the 'cuse bball team can manage to be a little less frustrating during the last few weeks of the season and make a push for the tournament. I know that I want to watch them play (on tv, that is) and so do the rest of my friends.

EDAR to the rescue

2009-02-17T05:45:00.000-08:00

I'll post something more substantial soon, but I saw this clip on the news last night and thought it was interesting--a way to give homeless people a "home," and one that actually satisfies many of those who have been homeless for years. It's called EDAR--Everyone Deserves a Roof. Check it out.

Watch CBS Videos Online

If Google ruled the world--oh wait, it does

2009-02-03T18:12:00.000-08:00

It dawned on me recently that Google does, in fact, rule the world. For some reason, that point has been made increasingly clear to me in the past week or so. It started with an article in Time magazine about how people can now view works in the Prado (pretty famous art museum in Madrid) using Google Earth. Apparently the fancy shmancy Google technology was able to capture down to the 14 Gillionth mexapixel or something so if you want to view the brush strokes for Las Meninas, it is now possible. Thank you Google.

Sidenote, I found this mildly funny considering I visited the Prado about a year ago with my cousin Arielle and friend Beth and while we were goofing around a photo of one of us may have been taken, which may have almost resulted in us being escorted out of the museum...

So then I found out something way cooler- Google has taken over the oceans. They are giving ordinary people the chance to explore the depths of the sea and check out tourist information for that next windsurfing trip (or sailing or kayaking) we might want to take. Oh, and the ability to view old shipwrecks at the bottom of the ocean! This could occupy me for hours. Now, due to my fear of my 7-year-old computer exploding, I have decided not to download Google Earth. I will one day, but you can today! Do it. And let me know what the vampire squid really looks like.

Now, that would not really be enough to convince me that Google has taken over the world. I then found out that Google has its own police force. OK, that's not quite true- but they are helping the police catch people who decide to grow fields of pot! Once again, Google Earth to the rescue, helping to make sure the law of the land (in this case Switzerland) doesn't go up in a cloud of smoke.

I found out today that the publishing company I work for has decided to put our entire library of books on Google Books. Apparently us giving away our content (basically, although I guess you cannot print off of Google Books) helps with search engine optimization purposes. So now, to be a successful company, you have to give your product away via Google! Some of my favorite magazines, that I currently buy, are also on Google Books (note to self...)

I recently discovered that Google Reader blows my mind by aggregating all of the stuff I read on a daily basis in a nice little window for me. It basically thinks for me. So now we don't need brains either.

Last but not least, this blog posting wouldn't be possible without the magic of Google. What's crazy is that I'm leaving probably hundreds of other purposes that Google serves on a daily basis.

So, in summary, Google rules the world- or at least my life. That kind of creeps me out, and kind of makes me feel safe at the same time. Oy gevalt.

Monday morning dillema

2009-01-26T06:43:00.000-08:00

Every Monday morning I come in to work and someone has put their Netflix movies from the weekend in the "outgoing mail" bin. The rule at my company is you are allowed to place any private mail in the outgoing mail bin so long as it has the proper stamp.

Each week I ponder taking the movies out of the bin, watching them for myself, and mailing them in the next day. The Netflix user wouldn't even know. Of course, I'd be stealing, technically, which is why I haven't actually done it yet, but they are just calling to me...

What would you do?

Election Reflection

2009-01-25T18:46:00.000-08:00

Now that there's been a little separation time from the inauguration, I thought looking back at this historic week would be a nice way to end the weekend, and what better way to do it than via blog entry.

I imagine that when we look back at the inauguration of Barack Obama, people will ask that age old question "where were you?" much as people do for important events, be they tragic, disastrous, or awe-inspiring. And sadly, my answer will be "in a meeting that ran 40 minutes over." That answer kind of makes me want to pound my fist into the wall, but I don't think that will actually change what happened (maybe if I punch really hard...) While much of the country gathered around a tv or computer screen to watch and listen to the 44th president's speech, I was inwardly fuming at my superiors' ignorance.

I think what missing Obama's inauguration live (I've since watched him give the speech online) made me realize most is the difference between experiencing a presidential election in college and in the working world. Although many of my friends' experiences last Tuesday differ from my own, I know that had I been attending class, I would have not only listened to the speech, but also dissected, analyzed, been handed assignments based on this analysis, and most importantly, reveled in the awesomeness of inauguration day. Although I was not quite as excited about the inauguration of the last president, I know that the opportunity was not lost for learning. And I also know that those around me took time to experience the days on which President Bush was elected and inaugurated.

I also became painfully aware of how exasperating it was to experience an occassion as momentous as the inauguration of Barack Obama without my closest friends. During the last election we laughed, cried, debated each other, and watched every moment, together. This time around I felt like something was missing.

If I was in charge of creating federal holidays, I'd deem inauguration day as one. That way those who want to experience the day as they want to can do so, and those who could care less can do that too--at home.

The Kugel Mystery--Revealed!

2009-01-21T14:32:00.000-08:00

First, I'd like to apologize to my readers for not being the best at updating my blog on a regular basis. I promise I'm working on fitting more time into my schedule to post, I guess I didn't realize that everyone would check back here so often! I'm glad you do though!

For the past four months, boston.com has had in it's "most e-mailed" story list a story about prize winning noodle kugel on almost a daily basis. In fact, the story has occupied the number one or two slot for many of those days. Now, as the name of this blog suggests, I'm always up for some delicious kugel and it did not shock me when the story first appeared in this "most e-mailed" section. Kugel, for those who do not know, is a Jewish food that is sometimes referred to as "noodle pudding," but basically it's egg noodles mixed with things that are both delicious and awful for the human body and then topped off with something sugary and crunchy (my mom uses cinnamon toast crunch). In short, it is something I look forward to at most Jewish holidays and often hoard.

My friend/office-mate Tami and I first remarked about the kugel story back in September when it appeared, laughing about how a story about kugel could make it into the top 5 e-mailed story list at all, but our laughter soon turned to amazement at its staying power. The story was beating out some pretty major news stories: The 2008 campaign trail complete with Sarah Palin's antics, Barack Obama's election to the 44th presidency, the announcement that the U.S. has been in a recession since December 2007 (unbelievable!). Still the little-kugel-that-could train rolled on, and every time that Tami and I thought it had been voted off the most e-mailed list, it would make a surprising comeback. People started to comment on the story, asking The Boston Globe to investigate the kugel craze sweeping Boston.

Well, after nearly four months of this, Tami finally got fed up earlier this week and e-mailed Boston.com to say "Hey, is there some sort of glitch in your system, or is kugel REALLY that popular?" and low and behold, someone from customer service told her it WAS, in fact, a glitch in their system and they did not know why the story continued to why the kugel couldn't be kept off the list. MYSTERY REVEALED! What a scam! I feel like I've been lied to for so long!

OK, really it doesn't change anything, I know how delicious kugel is, but I did for a few months, think that everyone had gone kugel crazy. I'll have to go back to living in the real world.

Cousins galore

2009-01-10T19:02:00.001-08:00

I don't know about you, but around the holidays I see a lot of my cousins. We have get togethers with both sides of the family for Hanukkah celebration (really just an excuse to eat) and in past years, depending on the status of the Patriots, we also have festivities around the games, taking up multiple weekends. Of course this year the Patriots lost their starting quarterback, went 11-5 and STILL somehow did not make the playoffs, but I suppose that rant is for another post.

So this year, I had a normal dosage of cousin-ness. My family is pretty close, but on both sides of the family the age differences among cousins spans about 1o or 15 years. That might be normal, but I guess I'm realizing that it takes until you get to a certain age (maybe, say 24) to appreciate that I actually have a lot in common with someone 10 years older or younger than me. And what, you might ask, brought this realization upon me? Guitar Hero. Actually, Guitar Hero World Tour. Remember the commercial (yes I think this is hilarious, I don't care who of you hates one of these men)? That was me, plus three of my cousins playing, plus another two and one of my sister's singing along as fans.

Seriously, it was awesome. Aaron was SICK on the drums. If only they were real he might actually have something there. I was not-so-sick on vocals and occasionally guitar. My sister Amanda and I kept getting like overheated from playing in sweaters because we were really giving it our all, and i mean there's a reason Mick Jagger runs around on stage in tiny little T-shirts. The best moment was probably when I took a moment during "Livin' on a prayer" to listen to the horrible noise coming from the basement that was our group jam.

What I'm trying to say is I had one of the greatest Hanukkah celebrations thanks to a video game, and I don't care what that says about me. If only that thing had been around 10 years ago, maybe we could have started this gig then and really had fun spinning that dreidel, if you know what I mean.

Apparently we were playing Guitar Hero World Tour at the same time that some members of the Bruins were playing Rock Band at the annual "Wives Charity Carnival." You can check it out here but just know that the Comak version was definitely better.

Running in the new year

2009-01-03T15:53:00.000-08:00

The title is supposed to look like a play on words, like 'ringing' in the new year, but now that I read it, it just looks like a post about running in the new year... which, I guess it is! So, first, happy new year. 2009 has arrived, which means only one more year of the fun New Years glasses (me, above, modeling the 2008 version). Or maybe the glasses makers will just get creative for post-2010. Yes, that was one of the first thoughts to cross my mind when pondering the new year.

So, I've decided to make a resolution of sorts. I am not usually the resolution type. Never fail the gym is packed with new years resolutioners who keep it up for like five weeks (although maybe not so in this year's economy), and I'm generally just bad at making an absolute resolution to do something. But I was inspired by my friend Steve. I learned that he had set a goal for 2008 to do 100 runs. That's roughly one run per every four days. Now, I run a lot more often than that, but I thought it was kind of cool that he had set a goal to do an activity that he already enjoyed doing to keep fit.

My resolution is even more simple than that: keep track of my mileage. I figure I must run at least 500 miles a year, probably more like 600 or 700, but the thing is I'm just not sure. However, next year at this time, hopefully I'll be able to look back and say "Woooow I ran xxx miles this year!" in that same way that Flavor Flav says "Woooow" when he sees a fine woman.

Anyone brave enough to make some resolutions of their own?

Lack of healthcare knowledge

2008-12-13T10:42:00.000-08:00

Coming back from a big healthcare conference, especially the Institute for Healthcare Improvement's annual conference, always seems to make me realize how little my friends and family know about healthcare and how it works. I can't say that I knew much about the topic myself until I started writing about it two and a half years ago, but it's easy to forget that most people under the age of 30 don't know how the complex web that is U.S. healthcare actually functions (mainly because people this age are generally healthy). I guess healthcare is one of those things that you don't know much about until you are forced to know about it, and at that point it's kind of too late because understanding it takes more than a day or two.

Anyway, having been to this specific conference for two years now, I have left both years convinced that those people in charge of hospitals and other healthcare entities truly want to do the right thing for the general public. Most attendees leave energized, convinced they will bring new quality improvement projects back to their facilities. This year there was a lot of "well with the new administration, hopefully things are going to change" going around, and I agree with this sentiment because in its current state, healthcare for this country does not work; it costs an outrageous amount of money ($2 trillion this year, although that is set to increase exponentially in the coming years), is poorly organized (why does my ER doc not know what medical advice my primary care physician has dispensed?) , and does not serve the entire population (I think it's something like 47 million people in this country who are uninsured).

Anyway, I'm rambling about this here because it's something I've come to realize that I'm passionate about. When I started writing about healthcare, I never thought I'd be excited to write about patient safety every day... but I guess I've turned into somewhat of a nerd in that aspect. It's at topic that I hope that my friends and family take a bigger interest in, because we are all a part of the healthcare system!

Anyway, here's a clip that was shown during a keynote speech- it got the audience kind of revved up (it was shown in relation to global health). Enjoy!

The Girl Effect

Sobering visit to the nursing home

2008-12-07T11:37:00.000-08:00

Last week I visited my grandmother in the nursing home with my mom. I've come to terms with Grandma Helen (the woman on the left in this picture, I'm the baby and my other grandmother is on the right) spending the rest of her days in this place--she has been there for five years already which is longer than any of my family members expected. She has dementia, a condition that has taken a once shtarker (strong person) to a frail old woman whose only request is to be wheeled around the halls of her new residence. She recognizes me, but like I'm someone she once knew and she cannot place from where. She knows her own children better. I owe much of my Yiddish knowledge to Grandma Helen, who grew up in Poland and survived the Holocaust to settle in the Boston area.

But anyway, this post actually is not about Grandma Helen, it's about the cute little Indian man who wheeled his own wheelchair right up to the set of chairs my mom, grandmother, and I were sitting in. Now most of the people in the nursing home are just like my grandma--either they have no idea what is going on and are combative and loud, or they kind of just sit there silently watching the day pass by. There was one woman--we called her Marilyn because every single day she, or I can only assume the nurses or a member of her family, piled on the makeup (Marilyn, was for Marilyn Monroe)--she would yell vulgarities at you as you walked by and would often try to get me to attend to her for some unnecessary reason (she and many other residents confuse any younger looking person for a nurse). There was 99, a tiny little asian woman nicknamed with that number becuase she entered the nursing home at age 99 and I believe lived until 104, and used to point and gesture when she needed something (pointing at someone walking by and then pointing in her mouth meant she was hungry)

But this man was different. He actually knew what was going on, he could grasp what more his life held for him while he was living inside the nursing home. Just by taking the action of trying to become involved in conversation showed me that he wanted some more normal human interaction, more than the daily monotonous nursing home schedule. I asked where he was from "India, of course", he replied. "What do you do?"

"I write about hospitals and healthcare," I said. This interested him very much. He told me he worked as a heart surgeon for Boston University for his career. Almost all of his children were doctors now.

"Do they come to visit you?" I asked.

"Yes, sometimes. But after my wife died it was just me and a few months ago I came to live here." His face got so sad when he thought about his wife, but what he said next nearly broke my heart.

"I am going to die here," he said, his dark coffee-colored, wrinkled face looking into mine. He knew, with certainty, that even with all that he had achieved, all of the hope life had brought him, his last months--mabye years-- would be spent in this place, with peers his same age who could not eat a meal without the aid of a nurse. Perhaps that would be his reality at some point too.

I think it's mostly because residents at the nursing home are mostly "not with it"--they have dementia, or alzheimers, or some other debilitating condition, and it's easy to think (at least for me) that only their family members have to suffer with seeing what they have become. But this man, a former doctor, could fully understand what was happening to him, that he had little to look forward to. It made me immensely sad for him.

Sorry for the rather depressing post, but sometimes I think about what life will be like for today's 20-somethings when we're 80-somethings. Will there be an improved method for caring for the elderly? I can only hope so since the baby boom generation will surely break the current nursing home method.

Next post will be more upbeat!

Welcome to my blog

2008-11-30T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hello blog readers!

Just wanted to welcome you to my blog, Crazy Mishpocha. I decided to create a blog about my friends and family because really, spending time with these people usually causes me to do some introspective thinking about life and has helped me form my ideals. Although I don't know how to speak Yiddish, I thought that incorporating a Yiddish phrase into my blog title would be appropriate, considering I'm known to throw in random Yiddish phrases into everyday conversation (this is mostly because my mom grew up speaking Yiddish and both of my grandparent pairs could speak the language). I'm going to try to make these posts ones that many people can relate to, or at least posts to pique your interest. Enjoy!