04. 17. 2013

To Boston With Love

Our hearts and minds are with the people of Boston and the families of friends of the victims in Monday’s terrible tragedy. I am at a loss for words but I love Patton Oswald’s sentiments.

The Human Touch

Who would you rather see roll into your examination room?

Duh. Ok, that’s not really a fair question as chances are you’re not going to get a doctor that looks anything like Harrison Ford, and to that point, you’re probably not going to get a robot that looks like C-3P0 either. But still- robot or human- who would you rather have as your physician? There has been a lot of fascinating robot tech talk lately and while it is probably true that we are headed toward a robotically inclined future, some argue that they will and can never replace the importance of human touch. I tend to agree.

Some mind blowing robot technology is being accomplished at a rapid rate allowing patients to physically and mentally accomplish feats and tasks they never thought possible. Hey, we all saw Wilson defeat human contestants on Jeopardy, systematically eliminating them one by one, even Super Ken. This isn’t HAL we’re talking about here. Still, while this is wildly impressive and vital to our intellectual development, to me, there is no substitute for the power of the human hand.

I came across this Ted talk by Dr. Abraham Verghese who argues that the human touch should and will always outweigh any technology that we may develop. It’s actually very anti-Ted considering that most of the talk going on there circles around technology. Shortcuts and treating humans as data points not only may miss some important diagnostic clues but also strip us from of the all important human rituals that are emotional vital to us as well.

Take a look at the link above in pink and tell me what you think.

Ryan + Rothko = Equality Love

That guy always does the right thing. He charms the ladies with his soulful ways, breaks up street fights by using good old fashioned common sense tactics, and stands up for equality. Just love him.

Rothko re-imaginied for Marriage Equality. I like it. This is a big moment for our country. Let’s hope our Justices step up to the plate and help to cement an equal rights world for all of our citizens.

Picasso’s Turning Point

For all of you Picasso fans- and let’s face it, have you ever met anyone who was like, “Picasso… Meh.”- Barnaby Wright curates Becoming Picasso: Paris 1901 at the Courtauld Gallery in London, and is out to demonstrate why this particular year was the turning point in Picasso’s life as an artist, his breakthrough year. In case the UK’s not on the books before May 26th, The Economist has published a short video of the show’s highlights with Dr. Wright narrating (I love Picasso’s glowing self portrait, Yo Picasso- he had such fire in his eyes). A worthwhile 6 minutes and 16 seconds of your day, view it here.

Holy E-Meter!

Is it just me or is L. Ron Hubbard totally channeling Dr. Evil in the above photo? All he’s missing is a pinky in the crook of his mouth. And that E-Meter- can it really tell if I’ve lived a past life and or is it just a souped up lie detector posing as a mind reader?

If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m currently reading Lawrence Wright’s Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief. Wright takes a deep dive into the history and practice of Scientology through a series of over 200 interviews. Widely refuted by Scientologists as biased falsity, it is an eye-opening look into the religion.

I love the old story that Scientology came about as a result of a bet between L. Ron Hubbard and Gene Roddenberry as to who could start a successful religion. Oh how I wish it were true, but alas it is just a myth. It seems Hubbard was much less cavalier about setting his sights on building a religious empire. You gotta give it to the guy, as un-kosher as he may seem, the guy did invent a religion followed by thousands of people. A visionary he may have been but (apologies to my Scientologist readers) he kind of comes off as a complete nut job here. In Wright’s recounting at least, Hubbard is busy throwing church members overboard as part of the church’s RPF (Rehabilitation Project Force) while sailing the high seas for years at a time with his clergymen (the Sea Org). He perfects the art of pathological lying telling tall tales to all those he meets and woos into the church and takes to locking up his followers for months at a time as slave laborers in the RFP. The Church claims these stories as untruths and backs up its RPF by stating that no one is ever held against their own will. Maybe not. It is all very strange. And what’s with the all the alien stuff? It is truly fascinating and terrifying at the same time. Whether Wright’s accounts are biased or dead on, it makes for a very interesting read. I highly recommend. Read one of the most jolting chapters of the book, Spanky Taylor’s (great name, right!) escape from the church, excerpted here.

Word of the Week

I’ve been hearing this word all over the place lately and I’ve always loved it. I’m glad it’s making its way into our vernacular. Thank you Brits!

“How’m I doin’?”

Love him or hate him- Ed Koch did some good for the Big Apple at a time when our great city desperately needed him. So long Ed Koch. The memory of him standing at subway entrances and on street corners asking, “How’m I doin?” will forever live on in New Yorkers’ memories. I’m not sure if he ever really had the time or the patience to stop and listen to the answers but at least he asked, gimmick or not. Highly criticized for his slow response to the AIDS crisis in the 80s, among other things, his 3rd and final term as mayor did not end well. Still, he did pull NYC from the very real threat of bankruptcy and in my opinion, left it a safer and better place to live. Here is Robert McFadden’s NY Times article and take on Koch’s life and service.

Koch passed away on Friday of heart failure, the very same day that Koch, the new documentary about his life and reign as mayor was released. We’ll miss you Ed, for a while you were truly the face of New York and one will go down in history as one of its great mayors.

{Image Credit: Dennis Caruso/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images}

This Year’s Goals

Words of the Week

Pandora For Books

My friend Amy- we’ll hear more from her later- just turned me on to whatshouldireadnext.com, the Pandora for books. Just plug in a book you liked and up pops a list of kindred spirits. I know it gets me because also on the list were Olive Kitteridge, Tina Fey’s Bossypants and Gone Girl, all 3 of which I recently read and loved, although I did think Gone Girl- while a page-turner- was a bit icky and mean spirited. Where’d You Go, Bernadette was one of the most original and inspired novels I’ve read in a while- I highly recommend. A Visit from the Goon Squad has been staring at me from my bookshelf for the last year, so I’ll take What Should I Read Next’s advice and pick it up.