Archive for January, 2007

Is ‘24′ Harmful?

dd January 29th, 2007

As I blogged about recently, I’m a “24″ addict. But, a piece in today’s Examiner, of all places, made me think about the story line’s effects on the American Muslim community. This year’s story focuses on Islamic terrorists who have already launched a nuclear suitcase bomb in L.A. with plans to blow up four more. Looking2live has already pointed out her discomfort with this in a comment on my post.

The image of Muslims in this country is already pretty poor and innocent, patriotic Muslim citizens suffer from it. Doesn’t “24″ reinforce these negative stereotypes for the non-discriminating non- Muslim Americans amongst us?

As the Examiner reported today,

Sohail Mohammed (pictured here), a New Jersey immigration lawyer … watched the episode depicting the nuclear attack. ‘I was shocked,’ he said. ‘Somewhere, some lunatic out there watching this will do something to an innocent American Muslim because he believes what he saw on TV.’

Now, it is true that one of the show’s good guys this year is a Muslim former terrorist who has seen the error of his ways. But, is this enough to counter the rest of the storyline? I doubt it.

And, this issue goes beyond our borders. America is already viewed with great suspicion in the Muslim world. “24″ isn’t helping.

Jews are painfully aware of how slippery a slope this type of negative stereotyping can be. As a Jew, I try to be vigilant about protecting the rights of other minorities. But, as a “24″ watcher, am I part of the problem?

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Too Many Words

dd January 27th, 2007

Fellow bloggers — my eyes are glazing over. So many of us have really great things to say - I just hope people take the time to read them. But, some of our paragraphs are soooo dense. When I encounter posts with really dense paragraphs, I find them hard to read. So, maybe I only read the first couple of paragraphs, or first few lines.  Is it just me?
One thing I’ve learned from doing web design work the last few years is that writing for the web is different than writing for other media.

Less Is More

Blogs are web pages after all. As Jakob Nielsen, web design guru points out, “A wall of text is deadly for an interactive experience. Intimidating. Boring. Painful to read.” Steve Krug has this to say in his highly recommended book on web usability - Dont’ Make Me Think:

“Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what’s left.” Krug’s Third Law of Usability.

Ok, a bit extreme, but I think his point is well taken. In addition, here are some of the tricks Nielsen recommends. Take them for what they’re worth to you:

  • short paragraphs
  • bulleted lists
  • highlighted keywords
  • simple writing style

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My Rite of Passage as a Blogger - My Weird Meme

dd January 24th, 2007

I just got “tagged” for an internet meme, aka “bleme” or blog meme. Until today, I didn’t even know what the hell a “meme” was. Here are some relevant definitions if you’re curious:

  • Meme - the short definition is “a unit of cultural information, such as a cultural practice or idea, that is transmitted verbally or by repeated action from one mind to another.”
  • The Blog Meme - a blog meme is a type of Internet meme that requires active participation by the blogger and rarely traces back to an originating source. It’s often a series of questions that a blogger answers to share some personal perspective or experience on random topics.

Anyway, I was tagged with this apparently popular meme - six weird things. So, I need to tell the world six weird things about myself. What we won’t do to gain our blogging “bona fides”, eh? So, here I go:

  1. I’m an inveterate pack rat. I really don’t like to throw things out but I really hate spending time cleaning up. My office is a mess - my wife generally avoids it. My file drawers are packed pretty full because I don’t want to take time from my other “very critical” time demands to weed stuff out. But, the good news is that I can generally find whatever I’m looking for.
  2. I’m a night owl. If I don’t have a particular reason to arise early the next morning, I’m often up to 1:30 or 2:00 am. Basically, I hate to go to sleep - so many fun things to do instead.
  3. I didn’t learn to ride a bike until I was 27 years old. My father had tried to “teach” me when I was 5 or 6, but as often happened, he was more interested in saving a buck than empathizing with his young son. So, he bought me a bike that was way too big (so I “could grow into it”) and of course, would not consider “training wheels”. I actually was riding it at one point, but was scared. It was just too damn high. I never recovered my courage after that. So, I missed out on that cool part of childhood. But, at 27, my girl friend (later to be wife) insisted we rent a bike and I “learned” in about a minute or two. Now, bike riding is a favorite hobby of mine.
  4. I am lactose intolerant, so I take lactaid pills when I eat anything containing dairy products. However, I tend to overdo it and take 4 or 5 when 1 or 2 would probably be adequate.
  5. Generally, I fall asleep after about 5 minutes when I (infrequently) attend a classical music concert. More about this topic can be found in an earlier post.
  6. I spent most of my college sophomore year playing pool - 8 ball, straight pool, and snooker, my personal favorite. By the end of the year, I could “shoot a pretty good stick”. Needless to say my GPA took a serious hit that year. Someday, I would love to have my own pool table. My favorite movie of all-time is still “The Hustler”.

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A 19 Year Old Athlete Lifts Her Nation’s Spirits

dd January 23rd, 2007

When Shahar Peer, a young 19 year old Israeli, played none other than two time champion Serena Williams in her first Grand Slam quarterfinals last night, how many American do you think were watching? Given hardly any Americans watch tennis on TV anyway, I’d say not many. But, oh what a different story in the tiny country of Israel!

As AP reported, “The win over Kuznetsova (her previous opponent) catapulted her onto the front pages of Monday’s newspapers, overshadowing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the incoming army chief of staff. Olmert opened his weekly Cabinet meeting Sunday by applauding Peer’s performance.”

This is equivalent to Bush opening a cabinet meeting by applauding Andy Roddick. Not likely. Not only was the PM interested, but Israeli TV carried the match live at 4AM, with a large audience tuned in.

Although the young Peer lost in the 3rd set, 8-6, it was an extremely close match and she had a chance to win it by holding serve at 6-5. She fought valiantly against her heavily favored and experienced opponent. It was definitely a David vs Goliath contest, not unlike those her own country has had to fight many times over the last 60 years. The whole often beleagured country of Israel was uplifted by her gutsy performance.

While other 19 year old tennis prodigies are training year round in elite Florida academies — Americans, Russians and Czechs — Shahar must still serve in the Israeli Army like all her 19 year old compatriots. Perhaps, that experience helped her to play with such poise in the most pressure filled tennis match of her young career. Tov M’od, Mitzuyan and Mazel Tov, Shahar!

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Side by Side Star in Our Very First House Concert!

dd January 21st, 2007

“It’s a pleasure to know you” - a great song and my sentiment for a wonderful evening last night.  We held our very first Diskin house concert last night featuring the superb duo, Side by Side - Doris Justis and Sean McGee.  41 people crammed into “chez Diskin” (apologies to Dick Cerri) and were treated to a magnificent evening of food, fellowship but most of all MUSIC.  By all accounts, the evening was a smashing success!

Here’s how it happened

Almost exactly one year ago at the World Folk Music Association Annual Concert, we bid on a house concert by “Side by Side” and, lo and behold, we won!!  But, we seemed to always be too busy or couldn’t come up with the right weekend for almost a year.  Finally, I decided enough is enough - let’s do it. So, I called Doris and said, “You probably forgot who I am but…” to which Doris quickly responded “Oh, wait, you’re the guy who bid on us for a concert.  We’d love to do it”.  I knew instantly that this was going to be terrific.  Then, serendipity took over.  I suggested we do this on Jan. 20, which was originally the date for this year’s WFMA concert, but since it had just been rescheduled until March 24, Doris and Sean were free that evening.

The Evening

So, we decided to make our “prize winning” brisket and ask everyone to bring a salad, dessert, or drinks.  We had a fabulous dinner followed by the first set of music.  Dessert and set 2 followed.  It all worked out great, although I had a tough time pulling Sean away from the brisket to get him up “on stage”.

Doris and Sean are great musicians - Sean plays a mean 12 string - and have a wonderful natural sound with great harmonies.   Their 2 sets featured tons of songs from their many albums (oops CDs), ranging from John Denver to Bill Danoff.  My personal favorites:

  • From a Distance (Julie Gold) - one of the best folk songs ever written
  • Pancho and Lefty (Townes Van Zandt) - if you don’t know about Townes, you need to
  • Runaway (Del Shanon) - not exactly a folk song, but what great fun to sing along with this oldie
  • Death in Venice (David Buskin) - tons of fun
  • One for the Road (Doris Justis) - Doris’s wonderful own composition
  • Potter’s Wheel (Bill Danoff) - another one of the best folks songs ever written
  • St. Judy’s Comet (Paul Simon)
  • Tradewinds (John Denver)

In addition to being great performers, Doris and Sean are also just really nice people.  Barbara and I are already planning House Concert Two.  Stay tuned.  In the meantime, I urge everyone to catch Side by Side in performance and/or buy their CD’s.  You won’t be disappointed.  (Read another review).  Slides below:

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Why Aren’t You Hooked on “24″?

dd January 19th, 2007

True confessions - I’m a “24″ junkie. Completely and devotedly addicted. I can’t wait for my adrenaline rush of non-stop heart pounding excitement and suspense with each new episode. Now, that the season has started and my withdrawal is over, I can’t wait for the new rush each Monday when I get to watch my “tivo’d” new episode.

Honestly, is there anything on TV that keeps your undivided interest like “24″? It’s James Bond on steroids! And, what else mirrors the real world as well even if imperfectly? For example, is the show’s second black president a precursor of the real thing?

So, I’m wondering why I’m having so much trouble hooking my wife. Now, admittedly, she gets sucked in to very few TV programs. “Dallas” and “American Dreams” come to mind. But, come on, “24″ beats the pants off these, doesn’t it? So, I’m asking myself:

  • Is it a male-female thing?
  • Is it an anti-violence thing?
  • Is it a “I don’t want to see problems that are too close to the real world - e.g. terrorists” thing?
  • Am I missing something?

It would be a lot more fun if I could have a partner to watch with me. Guess, Jack, Chloe and I will just have to try harder.

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What Words Would You Choose?

dd January 16th, 2007

BookLast Spring at our Temple auction, we bid on and won a very cool item. We get to choose four words and our rabbi will incorporate them into a sermon. The actual auction item said six words but we ended up splitting this with another couple and bargaining our way to 4 words apiece. This week, we had to pony up the final list of words. Here is mine:

  • lamiae
  • after-life
  • esprit de l’escalier (a phrase is ok)
  • scheissenbedauern

My personal favorite is scheissenbedauern although there is some controversy about its legitimacy. Some claim the correct word is scheissenbedauerlich. Try looking these up for fun. The other couple opted for their favorite crossworld puzzle enries:

  • ogee
  • orlop
  • obtund
  • anent

Never heard of any of them. I like my list better. What words would you choose?

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The Walker Stampede at the Selfhelp Home

dd January 14th, 2007

We spent our final afternoon with Aunt Zelda today attending a concert at the Selfhelp home - a really wonderful assisted living/convalescent home in Chicago. Previous posts have described our mission here - time will tell how successful we’ve been.

The concert featured a superb baritone opera singer accompanied by a very able pianist performing Broadway show tunes, old time favorites and a couple of opera pieces. The full house of old-timers ate it up. I learned that when attending such an event, the audience and performers have to be prepared for the occasional loud declarations like, “Doesn’t he have a marvelous voice?’ or “Look - the place is packed”. These usually occur when the baritone is about to hit a high note or the pianist is in the middle of a particularly difficult passage. The boisterous declarers are of course completely oblivious to any effect this may have on the performers, who I must say handled everything quite gracefully.

The most thrilling part of the afternoon came at the end of the concert when the M.C. announced that cookies, coffee and tea would now be served in the dining room. You have to imagine a room of seniors, some who had seemed semi-comatose during the concert, suddenly rising, grabbing their walkers and making a charge that would make Ben Hur proud. Stand back and get out of the way.

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My Aunt Zelda - Sharp as a Tack at 98

dd January 13th, 2007

What a complicated person my Aunt Zelda is. At 98, she is the sole survivor of the 13 Diskin children, of which my father was the 13th. She has just been relocated (”temporarily” she says) to the convalescent wing of the Selfhelp home in Chicago. stuff on self help home. She has serious macular degeneration which has left her nearly blind. She has balance problems, complicated by vanity and not wanting to use her walker. She has fallen numerous times, but she is unbelievably mentally acute. She remembers multiple phone numbers and has neither short nor long term memory loss. She looks great for her age.

Her biggest problem now and for her entire life is indecisiveness. “Should I get married?” She never did to the chagrin of her many suitors, despite being quite attractive and charming. “Should I move to assisted living?” She had been living by herself in a nice apartment in Chicago until 3 weeks ago. She still wants to go back she says “to think about her next move”. My cousin here in Chicago who is a doctor says she shouldn’t spend antoher night alone there. “Should I move to Detroit to be closer to my mother, sister, nieces and other parts of the Diskin clan?” She never did, but still thinks about it.

Yet, she has lived a remarkable full life. She became a singer, philosopher, psychologist - all self taught. She made many friends - young and old. She saved and invested money wisely - all from the salary of an executive secretary.

We had a nice visit with her yesterday at the Selfhelp home. It’s a wonderful place, although as you can imagine, not all of the residents are in the greatest shape. The dinner we had with my aunt, a woman who can’t hear well and has some dementia, and another woman who hears and sees but has periodic episodes of angry outbursts was both comical and heart wrenching. The good news is that my aunt is well enough to move to an apartment on the assisted living floors, where the residents are generally in good mental condition.

The staff is very caring, there are tons of activities which my aunt enjoys - Shabbat Service, music, lectures. My aunt has made tons of friends, despite her feeling that there are too many German Jews there. The German Jews came to America 40 years before the Eastern European Jews like the Diskins and the perception among the new-comers was that they looked down upon the “greenhorns” from the shtetls. The German Jews were urban and sophisticated by comparison. But, we met several wonderful residents including Henry a handsome blue eyed German who was a stain glass maker and teacher. In his family, he and his brother were the only survivors of the holocaust.

Our mission for the rest of the weekend is to keep reinforcing how nice the Selfhelp home is and how much better off Zelda would be if she could stay here permanently - she is on the waiting list for an apartment. Wish us luck!

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Microsoft Execs Yearn to Own Macs

dd January 12th, 2007

As if things could not get any worse for the company we all love to hate, Microsoft (MS), here’s a real juicy tidbit. Just published by seattlepi.com is a confidential 2004 memo written by a top exec to Msrs Gates and Ballmer. Message: “We’ve lost our way” but Apple knows the way. In fact, Mr. Jim Allchin, formerly project manager for the Windows Operating System (OS), says that if he didn’t work for MS, he “would buy a Mac today”.

Apple is hitting on all cylinders these days – both in computer hardware with its stylish Macs, computer electronics with its iPods and the new amazing iPhone and with its secure, easy to use, and beautiful software and operating system. Its current OS, Tiger, already outshines the 5 years too late, but soon to be shipping Windows Vista. And Apple’s new OS X version, Leopard, is just around the corner with a whole slew of useful new features like “Time Machine” to enable ordinary users to automatically backup their files with versioning to boot!

Now, it looks like even top-level MS execs are abandoning ship. By the way, Mr. Allchin recently left MS. Steve Jobs offered him a job. Maybe now he’ll get his Mac.

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