Sunday, August 28, 2016

Watergate, Safire, Nixon, information, and wisdom


I re-watched a great movie last night, "All the President's Men." Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman played reporters Woodward and Bernstein on the trail of the criminal activities inside and outside the Nixon White House.

At one point, Woodward is stuck. He has a name of a campaign operative, Kenneth Dahlberg, and no other information about the man. In this well-pre-Internet time (1972), Woodward starts searching through the many Washington Post's phone books from anywhere. He gets an assistant's research findings from the paper's news clippings. All she returns is a picture of Mr. Dahlberg getting  an award in Minnesota. 

Back to the phone book goes Woodward, this time to the Minneapolis phone book. He gets a phone number and in this time before caller id and call screening. Dahlberg answers. And a temporary roadblock is removed.

Today, Woodward would have used the smartphone in his pocket to do his research, perhaps quicker, but likely he would never have had his suspect answer the phone.

We have a lot of information at our fingertips in the digital world. Are we any better informed, any wiser?

I've been faced with a similar dilemma: I want to promote my book in a world awash in information. My publisher (the anonymous Amazon) recommends I write a blog, do a video, post on Facebook, create a Web site. All of which I have done. But still, why would someone pick my book out of the tide of information available to them, to get informed, to kill time, to be a better parent?

The best solution seems to be a pretty-old fashioned one. Show a copy of my book to someone and have them flip through it. More often than not, they buy it.

William Safire, my former boss and Richard Nixon's speechwriter, said that despite the digital revolution, people will still want a copy of a printed book in their hands and a personal connection with the author. And Safire was right.

Which somewhat leads me back to Robert Redford in the movie chasing Safire's boss, Nixon, with only people and paper.

Thanks for reading and if you are so inclined to get more information on my book, click the photo below. I'm available for coffee anytime.

Healing the Brain -- available on amazon.com



Saturday, August 27, 2016

Diabetes and Stress


So the government has strongly implicated stress in diabetes, both type 1 and type 2. Here's what WebMD had to say:


Stress and Diabetes
Stress, both physical and mental, can send your blood sugar out of whack. If you have diabetes, try these tips to keep stress under control.
WebMD Feature
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MDWebMD Feature Archive


It's hard to dispute that most of us live life at breakneck speed. It's the nature of a fast-paced society, where numerous family, social, and work obligations can easily overpower your precious time and resources. But for people with diabetes, both physical and emotional stress can take a greater toll on health.
When you're stressed, your blood sugar levels rise. Stress hormones like epinephrine and cortisol kick in since one of their major functions is to raise blood sugar to help boost energy when it's needed most. Think of the fight-or-flight response. You can't fight danger when your blood sugar is low, so it rises to help meet the challenge. Both physical and emotional stress can prompt an increase in these hormones, resulting in an increase in blood sugars...

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STRESS RESPONSE IN MY NEW BOOK!
 https://www.createspace.com/6408680

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Suicide is a brain disease. RIP Danny Fitzpatrick, 13.

Here's a horrible story of a 13-year-old committing suicide due to bullying.

No one did enough to help this boy. A boy with a lifetime ahead of him. Parents' now crushed into grief.

READ THE CBS NEWS STORY HERE.

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Viva Jimmy Carter: New treatment for brain cancer aids former president

One of the most dismal diagnoses a person could ever receive is a malignant brain tumor. Mortality rates have been exceedingly high.

As of August 2016, one year after first treatment, former president Jimmy Carter remains in remission and says he feels very good.

NBC News explains his treatment.

Get an informative, easy-to-read general guide to the brain: CLICK HERE.


It's football time again, a.k.a. concussion season





The National Football League, which prints money and owns a day of the week according to the movie Concussion.


Articles around the web indicate nothing much has changed, despite the league's efforts to promote safety in youth leagues and in the NFL itself.

A League of Denial, the name of the PBS' investigatory series, continues.

CLICK HERE FOR NY TIMES ARTICLE.