Happy New Year

I'm working on a post that i was hoping to put up today, but i don't think that's going to happen. Anyway, I just want to say it's been a decent year for me. There were some good moments and some not so good moments, but I can only hope things turn out better for my family and I next year. Anyway I want to wish everyone a happy new year and maybe next year, we'll move on to bigger and better things.



Until next year this has been Ian K Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

The Beatles Sang Christmas Songs?

As all my friends and family knows I am a huge Beatles fan and 2009 was an awesome year for the Beatles. They got their own video game, had all album digitally remastered and re-released and Paul McCartney popped the cherry for CitiField concerts. Although I have listened to almost all of their songs, (I have 94 Beatles songs on my iPod, not including solo work.)I never knew much about their annual Christmas albums.

Basically from 1963 until 1969, the Beatles would release an annual Christmas record to members of their fan club. The record would come in a flexidisc packet and members in the UK and US received it. Unfortunately, there were a lot more delays for members in the U.S. The discs would contain a few songs, answers to fan mail and occasionally some skits. Each disc would end with a Christmas message from the Beatles. For the last few years when there was a lot of tension between the Beatles, many of the segments were recorded separately. The most popular song from the discs was Christmas Time (Is Here Again), which would be re-recorded by Ringo during his solo years. I originally intended to post this song but I was able to find all flexidisc records on youtube so as a holiday treat for all Beatles fans, here are the Beatles Christmas Albums.

1963


1964


1965


1966


1967


1968


1969


Hope you enjoy and regardless if your holiday has already passed, I wish you a happy holidays.

This has been Ian K. Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Four Decades of a Comical Genius and still going

The first time I saw Robin Williams, he was the cross-dressing nanny Mrs. Doubtfire. Over the past decade, I've watched and enjoyed a number of his movies and he never falls flat when it comes to bringing his talent to a work. Whether, you enjoy his alien Mork on the Happy Days spin-off or his hysterical voiceovers ranging from the Genie to robot or his dramatic roles in one-hour photo or good will hunting, rarely does Robin Williams leave a performance that's undesirable. Despite his success on television and in films, when it comes to stand-up comedy he always strikes gold. HBO had recently aired Robin Williams' latest special "Weapons of Self Destruction", which was filmed in Washington, D.C. this fall. At the age of 58, Robin Williams still hasn't lost a bit of his comedy gold. With the end of the Bush Administration and the start of the Obama Administration, Williams has a lot of great material to work with. Williams, who has been known for his character voices and impersonations, still pulls off hilarious impersonations including Bob Dylan, Jack Nicholson, and Walter Cronkite. This time Williams touches upon a lot of personal things, including his recent heart surgery and his recovery to alcohol addiction, which were enjoyable moments. Anyway, if you have HBO then you should go check it out. If you don't, you can watch it below.

Warning: As always with Robin Williams stand up, the language and content is very strong. So remember there are no boundaries. Enjoy.



















This has been Ian K. Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Out with the Old... In with the New: A Quick Recap of the Fall Semester

I often try not to make my posts about my personal life, but considering the gradual decrease in the number of posts I've been making in the past few months, I think it's justifiable to evaluate my fall semester at CSI.

First order of business, as of yesterday afternoon I completed my Fall semester and quite frankly I wish it had ended sooner. I wouldn't say that this semester was terrible and I ended up doing pretty well, although I did have higher expectations for one class in particular. For me, I felt this semester lacked the excitement of some of the classes I had taken and it felt like I was going through the motions just to pass. I can't speak on the behalf of anyone else, but I did get the vibe that many of my classmates were just dragging along so that they could get the semester done with. I can't even point the blame on the professors. Even in a class that has the potential to be interesting like my creative writing class, I don't know if everyone took in the concepts of poetry, fiction, or creative non-fiction.

On the other side, the good part about this semester was that it has set me up for this upcoming Spring semester, which I'm really looking forward to. I get to go back to the schools and continue my observations, which I couldn't do this semester. Second, I placed my foot in the door earlier this semester with the Disabilities Office at the College of Staten Island. For the past two and a half months, I've been taking notes for a student named Danny and he's such a wonderful person. As someone who's been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADHD)and is registered with the Disabilities Office, it makes me feel so glad that Danny looks up to me as a role model. Hopefully, I get a chance to work with him next year. My role will be expanded to English tutoring within the Disabilities Office and I might extend it how to ESL learners. I've also made the decision to receive a minor in Spanish and Linguistics. So it's definitely going to be exciting.

Now that the semester has ended, I will be able to update more frequently. With the end of the Millennium decade approaching, as well as, holiday season keep on the lookout for several posts within the next few weeks.

Until then this has been a recuperating Ian K. Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Crunch Time

It's Procastination Time

I'm sorry that I haven't been posting but I have a lot of things going on. I've been overloaded with work and absolutely no time to provide you with update. With 13 days left, finals included don't expect any blog within the next two weeks until after I can finally take a breather. I promised you the third part of A Deconstruction of Champions and since we're already in Decemeber, I'll just give you a heads up of when it's posted.

Anyway, I'm in the middle of working on a group project, a photostory project for Spain, a re-editing of my final portfolio and a ten page paper on teacher talk.Part of it is procastination but I'll think you'll be amazed with all that I will accomplished in the next two weeks. Anyway thanks for any support that you have given me so far and I can't wait to go back to normal in a few weeks.

This has been Ian K. Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

That's Not What I Meant!

Don't you just hate it when you go on a date and everything's going great until you inadvertently blurt out something stupid. Yeah, it's not fun. Don't you wish you could hit a replay button and do it over again? Well, that's what David Ives in his short one-act, Sure Thing. The one act comes from All In The Timing, a collection of six one act plays by Ives. If this sounds familiar to CSI students that's because our drama department did a production of "All In The Timing" back in March. Although, i didn't get a chance to see it, I came across this play during my creative writing course and it's definitely worth sharing. Anyway, I'm going to post a performance that was done at Stetson University back in 2007. I also have the dialogue below. I tried to get the CSI version but i couldn't find it. Anyway, here's Sure Thing by David Ives.





Characters
BILL and BETTY, both in their late 20s.

Setting
A café table, with two chairs and a bell.

In most cases, the bell is hidden but in this version, the actors keep in pressing it.
(Betty is reading at the table.)

Bill: Excuse me. Is this chair taken?

Betty: Excuse me?

Bill: Is this taken?

Betty: Yes it is.

Bill: Oh. Sorry.

Betty: Sure thing. (A bell rings softly.)

Bill: Excuse me. Is this chair taken?

Betty: Excuse me?

Bill: Is this taken?

Betty: No, but I'm expecting somebody in a minute.

Bill: Oh. Thanks anyway.

Betty: Sure thing. (A bell rings softly.)

Bill: Excuse me. Is this chair taken?

Betty: No, but I'm expecting somebody very shortly.

Bill: Would you mind if I sit here till he or she comes?

Betty (glances at her watch): They seem to be pretty late.....

Bill: You never know who you might be turning down.

Betty: Sorry. Nice try, though.

Bill: Sure thing. (Bell)

Bill: Is this seat taken?

Betty: No it's not.

Bill: Would you mind if I sit here?

Betty: Yes I would.

Bill: Oh. (Bell)

Bill: Is this chair taken?

Betty: No it's not.

Bill: Would you mind if I sit here?

Betty: No. Go ahead.

Bill: Thanks. (He sits. She continues reading.) Everyplace else seems to be taken.

Betty: Mm-hm.

Bill: Great place.

Betty: Mm-hm.

Bill: What's the book?

Betty: I just wanted to read in quiet, if you don't mind.

Bill: No, sure thing. (Bell)

Bill: Everyplace else seems to be taken.

Betty: Mm-hm.

Bill: Great place for reading.

Betty: Yes, I like it.

Bill: What's the book?

Betty: The Sound and the Fury.

Bill: Oh, Hemingway. (Bell)

Bill: What's the book?

Betty: The Sound and the Fury.

Bill: Oh. Faulkner.

Betty: Have you read it?

Bill: Not ... actually. I've sure read about ... it though. It's supposed to be great.

Betty: It is great.

Bill: I hear it's great. (Small pause.) Waiter? (Bell)

Bill: What's the book?

Betty: The Sound and the Fury.

Bill: Oh. Faulkner.

Betty: Have you read it?

Bill: I'm a Mets fan, myself. (Bell)

Betty: Have you read it?

Bill: Yeah, I read it in college.

Betty: Where was college?

Bill: I went to Oral Roberts University. (Bell)

Betty: Where was college?

Bill: I was lying. I never really went to college. I just like to party. (Bell)

Betty: Where was college?

Bill: Harvard.

Betty: Do you like Faulkner?

Bill: I love Faulkner. I spent a while winter reading him once.

Betty: I've just started.

Bill: I was so excited after ten pages that I went out and bought everything else he wrote. One of the greatest reading experiences of my life. I mean, all that incredible psychological understanding. Page after page of gorgeous prose. His profound grasp of the mystery of time and human existence. The smells of the earth ... What do you think?

Betty: I think it's pretty boring. (Bell)

Bill: What's the book?

Betty: The Sound and the Fury.

Bill: Oh! Faulkner!

Betty: Do you like Faulkner?

Bill: I love Faulkner.

Betty: He's incredible.

Bill: I spent a whole winter reading him once.

Betty: I was so excited after ten pages that I went out and bought everything else he wrote.

Bill: All that incredible psychological understanding.-

Betty: And the prose is so gorgeous.

Bill: And the way he's grasped the mystery of time

Betty: and human existence. I can't believe I've waited this long to read him.

Bill: You never know. You might not have liked him before.

Betty: That's true.

Bill: You might not have been ready for him. You have to hit these things at the right moment or it's no good.

Betty: That's happening to me.

Bill: It's all in the timing. (Small pause.) My name's Bill, by the way.

Betty: I'm Betty.

Bill: Hi.

Betty: Hi. (Small pause.)

Bill: Yes I thought reading Faulkner was ... a great experience.

Betty: Yes. (Small pause.)

Bill: The Sound and the Fury ... (Another small pause.)

Betty: Well. Onwards and upwards. (She goes back to her book.)

Bill: Waiter ? (Bell)

Bill: You have to hit these things at the right moment or it's no good.

Betty: That's happened to me.

Bill: It's all in the timing. My name's Bill, by the way.

Betty: I'm Betty.

Bill: Hi.

Betty: Hi.

Bill: Do you come in here a lot?

Betty: Actually I'm just in town for two days from Pakistan.

Bill: Oh, Pakistan. (Bell)

Bill: My name's Bill, by the way.

Betty: I'm Betty.

Bill: Hi.

Betty: Hi.

Bill: Do you come here a lot?

Betty: Every once in a while. Do you?

Bill: Not much anymore. Not as much as I used to. Before my nervous breakdown. (Bell)

Bill: Do you come in here a lot?

Betty: Why are you asking?

Bill: Just interested.

Betty: Are you really interested, or do you just want to pick me up?

Bill: No, I'm really interested.

Betty: Why would you be interested in whether I come in here a lot?

Bill: Just ... getting acquainted.

Betty (Her anger grows): Maybe you're only interested for the sake of making small talk long enough to ask me back to your place to listen to some music, or because you've just rented some great tape for your VCR, or because you've got some terrific unknown Django Reinhardt record, only all you'll really want to do is fuck which you won't do very well after which you'll go into the bathroom and pee very loudly, then pad into the kitchen and get yourself a beer from the refrigerator without asking me whether I'd like anything, and then you'll proceed to lie back down beside me and confess that you've got a girlfriend named Stephanie who's away at medical school in Belgium for a year, and that you've been involved with her off and on in what you'll call a very "intricate" relationship, for about seven YEARS. None of which interests me, mister!

Bill: Okay. (Bell)

Bill: Do you come in here a lot?

Betty: Every other day I think.

Bill: I come in here quite a lot and I don't remember seeing you.

Betty: I guess we must be on different schedules.

Bill: Missed connections.

Betty: Yes. Different time zones.

Bill: Amazing how you can live right next door to somebody in this town and never even know it.

Betty: I know.

Bill: City life.

Betty: It's crazy.

Bill: We probably pass each other in the street every day. Right in front of this place, probably.

Betty: Yep.

Bill (looks around): Well, the waiters here sure seem to be in some different time zone. I can't seem to locate one anywhere ... Waiter! (He looks back.) So what do you (He sees that she's gone back to her book.)

Betty: I beg pardon?

Bill: Nothing. Sorry. (Bell)

Betty: I guess we must be on different schedules.

Bill: Missed connections.

Betty: Yes. Different time zones.

Bill: Amazing how you can live right next door to somebody in this town and never even know it.

Betty: I know.

Bill: City life.

Betty: It's crazy.

Bill: You weren't waiting for somebody when I came in, were you?

Betty: Actually, I was.

Bill: Oh. Boyfriend?

Betty: Sort of.

Bill: What's a sort-of boyfriend?

Betty: My husband.

Bill: Ah-ha. (Bell)

Bill: You weren't waiting for somebody when I came in, were you?

Betty: Actually, I was.

Bill: Oh. Boyfriend?

Betty: Sort of.

Bill: What's a sort-of boyfriend?

Betty: We were meeting here to break up.

Bill: Mm-hm ... (Bell)

Bill: What's a sort-of boyfriend?

Betty: My lover. Here she comes right now! (Bell)

Bill: You weren't waiting for somebody when I came in, were you?

Betty: No, just reading.

Bill: Sort of a sad occupation for a Friday night, isn't it? Reading here, all by yourself?

Betty: Do you think so?

Bill: Well sure. I mean, what's a good-looking woman like you doing out alone on a Friday night?

Betty: Trying to keep away from lines like that.

Bill: No, listen (Bell)

Bill: You weren't waiting for somebody when I came in, were you?

Betty: No, just reading.

Bill: Sort of a sad occupation for a Friday night, isn't it? Reading here all by yourself?

Betty: I guess it is, in a way.

Bill: What's a good-looking woman like you doing out alone on a Friday night anyway? No offense, but ...

Betty: I'm out alone on a Friday night for the first time in a very long time.

Bill: Oh.

Betty: You see, I just recently ended a relationship.

Bill: Oh.

Betty: Of rather long standing.

Bill: I'm sorry (Small pause.) Well listen, since reading by yourself is such a sad occupation for a Friday night, would you like to go elsewhere?

Betty: No ...

Bill: Do something else?

Betty: No thanks.

Bill: I was headed out to the movies in a while anyway.

Betty: I don't think so.

Bill: Big chance to let Faulkner catch his breath. All those long sentences get him pretty tired.

Betty: Thanks anyway.

Bill: Okay.

Betty: I appreciate the invitation.

Bill: Sure thing. (Bell)

Bill: You weren't waiting for somebody when I came in, were you?

Betty: No, just reading.

Bill: Sort of a sad occupation for a Friday night, isn't it? Reading here all by yourself?

Betty: I guess I was trying to think of it as existentially romantic. You know cappuccino, great literature, rainy night ...

Bill: That only works in Paris. We could hop the late plane to Paris. Get on a Concorde. Find a café ...

Betty: I'm a little short of plane fare tonight.

Bill: Damn it, so am I.

Betty: To tell you the truth, I was headed to the movies after I finished this section. Would you like to come along? Since you can't locate a waiter?

Bill: That's a very nice offer but ...

Betty: Uh-huh. Girlfriend?

Bill: Two, actually. One of them's pregnant, and Stephanie-(Bell.)

Betty: Girlfriend?

Bill: No, I don't have a girlfriend. Not if you mean the castrating bitch I dumped last night. (Bell)

Betty: Girlfriend?

Bill: Sort of. Sort of.

Betty: What's a sort-of girlfriend?

Bill: My mother. (Bell)

Bill: I just ended a relationship, actually.

Betty: Oh.

Bill: Of rather long standing.

Betty: I'm sorry to hear it.

Bill: This is my first night out alone in a long time. I feel a little bit at sea, to tell you the truth.

Betty: So you didn't stop to talk because you're a Moonie, or you have some weird political affiliation ?

Bill: Nope. Straight-down-the-ticket Republican. (Bell) Straight-down-the-ticket Democrat. (Bell) Can I tell you something about politics? (Bell) I like to think of myself as a citizen of the universe. (Bell) I'm unaffiliated.

Betty: That's a relief. So am I.

Bill: I vote my beliefs.

Betty: Labels are not important.

Bill: Labels are not important, exactly. Like me, for example. I mean, what does it matter if I had a two-point at (bell) three-point at --(bell)-- four-point at college, or if I did come from Pittsburgh --(bell)-- Cleveland --(bell)-- Westchester County?

Betty: Sure.

Bill: I believe a man is what he is. (Bell) A person is what he is. (Bell) A person is ... what they are.

Betty: I think so too.

Bill: So what if I admire Trotsky? (Bell) So what if I once had a total-body liposuction? (Bell) So what if I don't have a penis? (Bell) SO what if I once spent a year in the Peace Corps? I was acting on my convictions.

Betty: Sure.

Bill: You can't just hang a sign on a person.

Betty: Absolutely. I'll bet you're a Scorpio. (Many bells ring) Listen, I was headed to the movies after I finished this section. Would you like to come along?

Bill: That sounds like fun. What's playing?

Betty: A couple of the really early Woody Allen movies.

Bill: Oh.

Betty: Don't you like Woody Allen?

Bill: Sure. I like Woody Allen.

Betty: But you're not crazy about Woody Allen.

Bill: Those early ones kind of get on my nerves.

Betty: Uh-huh. (Bell)

simultaneously
Bill: Y'know I was headed to the Betty: I was thinking about

Bill: I'm sorry.

Betty: No, go ahead.

Bill: I was going to say that I was headed to the movies in a little while, and ...

Betty: So was I.

Bill: The Woody Allen festival?

Betty: Just up the street.

Bill: Do you like the early ones?

Betty: I think anybody who doesn't ought to be run off the planet.

Bill: How many times have you seen Bananas?

Betty: Eight times.

Bill: Twelve. So are you still interested? (Long pause.)

Betty: Do you like Entenmann's crumb cake ...?

Bill: Last night I went out at two in the morning to get one. (Small pause.) Did you have an Etch-a-Sketch as a child?

Betty: Yes! And do you like Brussels sprouts? (Small pause.)

Bill: I think they're gross.

Betty: They are gross!

Bill: Do you still believe in marriage in spite of current sentiments against it?

Betty: Yes.

Bill: And children?

Betty: Three of them.

Bill: Two girls and a boy.

Betty: Harvard, Vassar, and Brown.

Bill: And will you love me?

Betty: Yes.

Bill: And cherish me forever?

Betty: Yes.

Bill: Do you still want to go to the movies?

Betty: Sure thing.

Bill and Betty (together): Waiter!

(Blackout.)

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

A Deconstruction of Champions: The Three-Man Rotation

Welcome to the second edition of Deconstructing Champions. Today we look at the catchers and pitchers of the 2009 Yankees. For the past few years, pitching has posed quite a setback for the Yankees and the beginning of this year looked like it would be a another bad year for pitching. Luckily, the Yankees found a nice rotation towards the middle of year, which included Sabathia, Burnett, Pettite and Chamberlain. When the postseason came around, many people were worried with Joe Girardi's decision to use a three man rotation but as we know the Yankees pulled through. So with that we look at the contributions of the ptichers and catchers that led the Yankees to their 27th victory.


Jorge Posada - Posada made his debut as a Yankee in 95, the same year that his fellow teammate, Captain, and good friend Derek Jeter made his debut. Jorge Posada has always been consistent as a catcher and a batter. Ending the season with 109 hits, Posada did quite well this year. He hit the homer in the ALDS against the Twins to give the Yankees a 2-1 victory and his double in Game 4 of the World Series helped secure a 7-4 win against the Phillies. Posada had always worked hard and it was finally good to see him pick up his 5th World Series ring.


Jose Molina - Being a backup catcher for Posada, we didn't see Molina as much during this season, but he deserves an honorable mention. With the help of A.J. Burnett he did a good job when he played in Game 2. Although he did perform as well as he did last year offensive wise he got 30 hits this season and 1 home run.

Francisco Cervelli and Kevin Cash deserve honorable mentions for their contributions during the regular season.

Pitching


C.C. Sabathia - Acquired during the offseason last year, Sabathia proved to be a helpful add to the Yankees starting rotation. With a fantastic 19-8 record and excellent pitching in Games 1 and 4 of the World Series, he has quickly become a favorite among many Yankee fans. As long as Sabathia never has to pitch to Utley again, he'll help shut down the opposing team.


A.J. Burnett - While Game 5 might have been a bad night for Burnett, we can't forget the excellent game he pitched in game 2. Like Sabathia, he signed on to the Yanks during the offseason and had a tough season with a 13-9 record. Usually pitching great starts in his games, he could go five or six innings without giving up a hit. He pitched a hitter against the Mets and pitching an immaculate inning when the Yanks played the Marlins.


Andy Pettitte - In Game 6, when Pettite left the mound and was given a standing ovation, it kind of reminded me of the scene from "Angels in the Outfield" where everyone flaps their arms for Tony Danza. Like Jeter and Posada, Pettitte made his debut with the Yankees in 95. He had a decent season with a 14-8 record. However,Pettitte's performance in Game 3 and 6 helped secure the win for the Yanks. He definitely would've been a good candidate for the MVP.


Alfredo Aceves - Quite effective as both a starter and a reliever, Aceves pitched an excellent season and had Girardi decided to use at least a 4 pitcher rotation, maybe the Yankees would've have won it in four. He ended the season with a 10-1 record.


Joba Chamberlain - The poor guy keeps on getting thrown back and forth as a starter and reliever. A tough year for Chamberlain he went 9-6 for the year and was almost sent back to the minors. Although he did give up that home run against Pedro Feliz he got a couple of strike outs. We're not sure what will happen to Joba next year but for now he could celebrate his first World Series championship.


Phil Coke - Although his performance in the post season was not too great, he had an ok regular season with a 5-3 record including 2 saves. Nevertheless he did help the Yankees in helping them pick up their 27th World Championship.


Phil Hughes - Fully recovered and healthy from the end of last season, Hughes replaced Wang at the end of April and had a great year with a 8-3 record. He spent the second half of the season as relief pitcher, but there is much speculation that he might be back on the starting rotation for next year.


Damaso Marte - A good reliever, who did very well in the post season. He struck out the two big hitters Utley and Howard in Game 6, which set up for Rivera to come in and finish the series. He retired 12 of the 14 batters he faced during the postseason, five of which were strikeouts.


David Robertson - Although he contributed to the 6-1 loss in game 1 of the World Series, he also helped the Yankees get out of a tight spot in both ALCS and ALDS.


Mariano Rivera - The fourth current Yankee, who started in 95,Rivera has always been called in to seal the deal and he's usually delivered. With his fifth World Series ring and turning 40 in a couple of weeks, we wonder what will become of Mariano Rivera in the future. For now, he can celebrate along with the rest of his team for a 27th World Championship.

With Rivera, we round up the pitchers and catchers who did an amazing job, but we must give honorable mentions to several other pitchers including Michael Dunn, Chad Gaudin,Brian Bruney, who does a better job causing controversy, and Chien-Ming Wang, who still got a World Series ring despite being disabled for most of the season.

Next time, we hit the outfield and look at the power and talent out there.

This has been Ian K. Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

A Deconstruction of Champions. How the Yankees Reclaimed The Title of World Champions!

How did the Yankees win the World Series?

A. They Cheated
B. They're Perfect
C. They Were Lucky
D. IT IS WRITTEN

The question above is a variation of a similar question asked in the film, "Slumdog Millionaire," but I think it perfectly sums up how the Yankees came from a dreadful season starter to retaking the World Series Title for the 27th time after a lengthy nine year wait.

The second half of the season, the 2009 Yankees paralleled the success of the 2007 Giants, who would go on to defeat the 18-0 Patriots in the Super Bowl. This is pretty amazing considering that they had a horrible start that included a notorious 22-4 loss to the Indians back in April. Look back at the season, especially the post season we could see the excellent teamwork that got the Yankees back in first, eight games ahead of the second place Boston, and a trip to the World Series after six years. Mind you this is coming from someone who's a Met fan and thought the 2004 ALCS was the best series I ever watched. Sorry Yankee fans but that's hands down the greatest comeback I've seen in baseball.

Of course, the key to the Yankees winning the title comes down to the individual contributions of the players, who worked together to pull themselves out of a slump and regain what I felt would be the inevitable. Therefore, I'm presenting a segment called the Destructing Champions, where we will look at the contributions of each Yankee that played a prominent role in leading them to their 27th World Championship. Since discussing the contributions of each Yankee will be quite a lengthy blog, I will be breaking this down into several segments, which will appear throughout the month of November. All of the players featured are Yankees, who played after the All-Star Break and made an appearance in at least one postseason game. We'll start off with the infield players for this edition.



Derek Jeter - Who better to start off with then the captain, who had a fantastic season with the Yankees. With an impressive 212 hits (including 18 homers)and surpassing Lou Gehrig's all time hit record with the Yankees, Jeter deserves the nickname "Hit Man." Jeter made successful hits in 14 of the 15 postseason games and ended the year with a career 2747 hits. One of four Yankees, who played the last time they won the World Championship, this is Jeter's first win as Captain and he has plenty to be happy about. We have sportscasters, managers, and fans who acknowledge his hard work both on and off the field. It's not unreasonable to suggest that Jeter defines what baseball is supposed to represent. I cannot wait to see the day they retire his number 2 and he gets his induction into the Hall of Fame.



Mark Teixeira - With Jason Giambi gone, the Yankees needed a good replacement for first place and they did just that with the acquisition of two time Gold Glove winner Mark Teixeira. Needless to say, Teixeira delivered both on the field and on the plate. Although Teixeira struggled a little in the World Series, he had a fantastic season tying with Carlos Pena for the most home runs hit in the AL (39.) He also had an impressive 122 RBI for the season. This is Teixeira's first appearance in a World Series and what a wonderful first season to have with the Yankees.



Robinson Cano - The second baseman proved to have a much better season this year then he did in previous years. He was one of 2 Yankees to get over 200 hits this season. It was also the first time Cano hit over 20 home runs in a season. Although he struggled on the plate this post season, he delivered some well executed doubles plays in Game 6. Hopefully for Yankee fans, they'll see Cano continue to improve for next season.



Alex Rodriguez - At the start of this season A-Rod was plagued by bad news from his admittance of taking steroids while playing with the Rangers to torn labrum in his hip, which kept him off the field until May. Early in the season, A-Rod seemed to be the help that the Yankees offense needed and despite all the controversy he pulled through. This was A-Rod's first home run appearance and he has pulled through in the World Series with a home run in Game 3 and helped secure the win in Game 4. With a slightly improved postseason and well played season, it seems that most Yankee fans are willing to forgive him. However, it's important to remember that we cannot pass judgment on a person based upon how they perform because it doesn't properly represent their character.

That's it for now. Next time, we'll look at the contributions of the catchers and the pitching staff.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Jason Maybe Scary, But Paradoxes Will Haunt You Forever

Like every Halloween for the past six years, another grisly installment of the Saw series was released, only this time it didn't reach the number one spot. Maybe it had a lot to do with the fact that the creativity of series died out after the second film and now it's just a gorefest. Or it could be that people were tired of the same old premise and wanted something different. That's exactly what Paranormal Activity did and word of mouth got it a nationwide release and a jump to the number one spot of the box office.

I only learned of the movie a week prior to its limited release and although I still haven't seen the movie, I'm fascinated by the claims of this being the scariest movies despite the lack of violence. I've read up on the film and I don't know if it was done intentionally, but the director sort of makes a possible metaphor to our own lives and I think that's where the horror is coming from. The film follows a young couple, Micah and Katie, who move into a suburban home and we learn that Katie is followed her whole life by a demon. I've refused to know the ending and therefore you don't have to worry about me revealing it to you, but a great deal of the movie takes place in the bedroom where Micah has set up a video camera so he could record what happens as they sleep. A lot of people claim they freak out during these scenes. In a way this reminds me of some of Andy Warhol's films. The psychological aspects of the film seems to be some homage to Alfred Hitchcock, which is ironic since Psycho was a film that was long remembered after audience stepped out of the theater.

The demon although it could be seen as something supernatural, can also be viewed in metaphorical terms. Demons can also be interpreted to mean our own internal struggles through lives and sometime when those demons take over they can have horrific consequences on certain parts of our lives including our familes, our friends, and our jobs. Although this message of dealing with our own demons is probably not the message at the forefront, but I get the feeling that it does appear subconsciously and I think it's the reason why we so many are calling this the scariest movie of all time. Movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th, Nightmare having that sense of fake present in them and we know they could not happen. Even in the Saw movies, you must suspend all aspects of reality. However, a film like Paranormal Activity, which exposes its audience to potentially realistic, psychological experiences reminds us of the scariest, most fearful horror villain of all time; the mind.

All Work And No Play, This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Blowin' In The Brass Windpipe: Two Centuries of The Blues Harp

I have always considered the harmonica to be one of my favorite instruments and although I've tried learning it, I never managed to pick up on it. There are plenty of bands or artists that I listen to who often feature the harmonica in many of their songs. In fact, there are many harmonica players, who perform such moving harmonica solos. While the harmonica still remains widely popular in the blues, folk and country genres, it has branched out to other styles of music over the past several decades. We'll take a look at some of the most influential harmonica players, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and John Popper.

The harmonica has always and will always remain one of the major components of the Blues. When records featuring the harmonica first appeared in the 1920s, it was considered a staple instrument among the African American communities in the South until the Memphis Jug Band sparked interest among the Black and White communities. Ironically, the harmonica has often surrounded the history of American oppression. The harmonica eventually made it's way up North to Chicago, where it helped define the Chicago Blues sound of artists like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Paul Butterfield, and Willie Dixon. In the 60s and 70s, the harmonica would find its way into classic rock and still can be found in contemporary music. Without further ado, here are some of the most influential harmonica players of our time.

#1 - Sonny Boy Williamson II - From Robert Johnson and Elmore James to The Yardbirds and the Band, Sonny Boy Williamson played with them all. This is Eyesight To The Blind, which was later covered by The Who for their rock opera "Tommy."



#2 John Lennon - A brilliant songwriter and eccentric artist, John Lennon also happened to be a pretty good harmonica player. The opening bars of the Beatles first #1 hit, "Love Me Do," features a bluesy harmonica progression. John played the harmonica in several other early Beatles songs including, Please Please Me, From Me To You, I Should Have Known Better, I'm A Loser,and later on in Rocky Raccoon.



#3 Robert Plant - Four words - Bring It On Home.



#4 Bob Dylan - A friend of my felt that his style is rather sloppy. Still he's been a major influence to numerous musician's and folky blues style is good to listen to.



#5 Neil Young - He doesn't just play the harmonica. He speaks through it and he has a fair, share of beautiful harmonica solos. My personally favorite would have to be from "My My Hey Hey."



#6 - John Popper - One of the more contemporary harmonica players, he first caught my attention at the end of Kingpin. You've probably heard of his band, The Blues Travelers, best known for, "Run Around", and "Hook." Anyway, John Popper is one of the best modern harmonica players out there so check him out.



So check out these cool harmonica bits and let me know what you think.

This has been Ian K Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

In Media Res/ Uhmm Excuse Me

Right now I'm in between studying and preparing for three midterms, so I am limited with the free time I have to post much material. I'm hoping to do an article this weekend on that Balloon Boy but I don't want to promise anything. In the meantime, here's something that I've been wanting to post for the past two weeks.

I'm taking sociolinguistics this semester and one of my responses got a really positive feedback and I would like to get your opinion of the situation. Most of the chapter dealt with how women and men are defined by the kind of language they choose to utilize. One section in particular deals with interactions between members of the same sex, as well as members of the opposite sex. Interruption, gossip (yes, men do gossip.) and feedback are all examples of interaction. My response comes from a statement made in the book that claims in cross-gendered interactions, almost all the interruptions came from males." The author, who happens to be a woman, is implies that men have no trouble breaking into a conversation. However, based on my personal experiences, I find this to be a fallacy. I decided to give my take on the issue and my professor commended me for offering a contradicting explanation to what the book claims. Here it is and please feel to post your thoughts.

“In cross-gender interactions, almost all the interruptions were from males.” (pg. 306.) This line really stood out to me because there have been number of times that this has happened to me. There have been a number of times where I have wanted to put my two cents into a conversation that I found interesting, but most of the time I find it difficult to find the perfect spot to jump in. I sometimes feel hesitant about breaking into a conversation, especially if it’s with a group of girls, because I don’t want to blurt out something that comes off stupid. I guess that’s where my typical male ego kicks in, but I’m sure a lot of guys will agree that unless a girl brings you into a conversation, it’s not so easy finding the right time to break in. I personally feel that it’s easier for a guy to start a conversation with a girl and then have other people join in whenever they feel it’s necessary. One thing that a guy should not do is wait until the discussion is over to make a comment because girls will give you a look that reads, “Dude, that was five minutes ago.”

I do notice that people rarely have a problem with interruptions when it comes to talking to members of the same sex, especially for women. I’ve seen women go from being strangers to finishing each others sentences after one class and that’s amazing. I also get the feeling that most women know the right time to “break the ice” and I think a lot of that has to do with body language and the detection of certain cues. I’m sure that guys have similar cues but I’ve never taken the time to make note of it. In the end, we can assume that both males and females interact better with members of their gender.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Temporary Reformat

With school work and other stuff piling on to my Fall Semester, I have become very limited in the free time I have to post up entries. Since, I don't really don't want to go on an indefinite hiatus, I've decided to temporarily change the format of the site. For now, I will only be publishing articles and papers that I have written, which I feel might be of interest to you. This includes stuff from The Banner, my own assignment and prior side projects.

Once again, I apologize for not posting as much for the past month, but it certainly doesn't mean I'm putting my pen or, in this case, my keyboard down anytime soon.

This has been Ian K. Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Into The Vault: Dr. No Pain

As promised here is the article in it's entirety. You should check out the Banner website. Thebannercsi.wordpress.com Vin Forte posted some funny stuff today.

So with that I give you, Dr. No Pain, M.D.

Dr. No Pain, M.D.

Prescription Drug Abuse is just a doctor’s visit away

By Ian K Feldman

As of 2008, 6.2 million Americans were reported for prescription drug abuse. Combine that with the high volume of controlled prescriptions written by Staten Island doctors and it raises the question: Who needs a drug dealer when you have your friendly neighborhood physician?

The 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which was released September 2009, reported that 2.5% or 6.2 million Americans over the age of 12 had used prescription drugs for non-medical reasons. Of those prescriptions, 1.9% were classified as opiate painkillers, such as OxyContin and Vicodin. With all of the prescription drug abuse cases that have occurred in Staten Island, the accessibility of these drugs concerns doctors and pharmacists alike.

Marissa Maurino, a Physician Assistant in the Pain Management Center at the Health Care Associates of New York Medicine, writes about 8-10 prescriptions for painkillers daily.

“I treat a lot of young people who come here after seeing their primary doctor,” said Maurino. “It should not be left in the hands of the primary doctor to decide to give the patient these drugs but should be left for pain management to make that decision.”

Pain management centers like Health Care Associates take certain measures to attempt to prevent prescription drug abuse. They include urine toxicology report before medicine can be dispensed. Other methods of prescription drug abuse prevention include the push for physical therapy, exercise, psychological evaluations and non-controlled anti-inflammatory prescriptions.

Many of the patients that are sent to a pain management center have already become addicted to painkillers because of their primary doctors. This makes things tougher for pain management clinics as they struggle to find ways to wean patients off the medications. “Unfortunately, some doctors want to get rid of the patient and their complaining, so they’ll just write the prescription,” said Dr. Maurino.

Dr. Ramachandran Nair, a doctor who specializes in infectious diseases at the Staten Island Medical Center told a slightly different story.

“Teens and gangsters are stealing it from the parents,” said Dr. Nair. When the doctor sees patient, it’s a one to one thing and the doctor is not responsible whether or not the patient chooses to take the medicine.”

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) keeps records of every prescription written by every doctor and the DEA deserves every right to investigate a doctor if suspicious activity is suspected. A statement, which proves that the doctor is partially responsible for the patient’s decisions and can result in serious consequences for a physician.

Dr. Mathew Mani, an internist at Heartland Medical Center, refuses to write controlled prescriptions for his patients. “You want my honest opinion,” said Dr. Mani, “They should ban it all together like marijuana and cocaine.” The value of prescription drugs on the streets don’t compare to other illicit drugs. “On the street, Oxycontin goes for about $50 a pill and Vicodin is about $10 to $20,” said Dr. Mani. “One bottle of Oxycontin is equal to five joints of marijuana.”

Pharmacists are concerned about the accessibility of these prescription drugs. Chain pharmacies, such as Walgreens, CVS, and Rite-Aid and private pharmacies try their best to prevent prescription drug abuse.

Peter Sabados, a pharmacist who owns Woodrow Pharmacy in Rossville, comes across 15-20 controlled prescriptions a day in his pharmacy. “This is definitely an issue and we constantly have to investigate it,” said Sabados. Woodrow Pharmacy runs into problems with fake prescriptions four-five times a week, with most of the people being males between the ages of 18 to 30.

One step, which seeks to limit prescription drug abuse, requires all scripts, including non-controls, to require a bar code that must be scanned. This would help prevent the over-prescribing of controlled medications. Some doctors deem that insufficient.

“We try our best to prevent these problems,” said Sabados. “You have to make your own judgments when filling these prescriptions.”

The 2008 NSDUH shows a slight decrease from the 2007 report, which concluded that 6.9 million Americans abused prescription drugs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, (SAMHSA) predicts that the number will not stay down for long and the DEA must take further actions to put a stop on this crime.

“[We] as a whole [have] to be careful when writing, filling and taking prescriptions,” said Dr. Maurino. “We all share the responsibilities of this issue and must remain aware of it.”

Doctor Learned His Lesson
Doctors have to be aware when they write controlled prescriptions because if they are not careful then they could run into trouble with the law. Just ask infectious disease specialist, Dr. Ramachandran Nair.

Dr. Nair happened to practice internal medicine until August 2003, when he was arrested and charged for selling a controlled prescription to an undercover DEA agent. As a result, Dr. Nair’s license was suspended for a total of three years and could not practice internal medicine.

Dr. Nair is not the only doctor that has been guilty of this crime and the DEA has been trying to keep a tighter grip on these physicians.

Six years later, you can find Dr. Nair, who practices in his office at the Staten Island Medical Center, doing what he loves best. However, he has remained wise when it comes to prescribing medications. “It’s all about keeping proper record keeping,” said Dr. Nair.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Finallly, Dr. No Pain Is Here

This is the one that article a lot of people have been wanting to read since April and due to the constant pushbacks at the Banner it's finally here. I'm posting the link to the first issue, which is only online as of now. I also make a second appearance in the editorial. You should also check out the rest of the issue to. Brilliant front page articles from James Plunkett and John Adrian.

Anyway click on the link below.

The Banner - issue 1

I'll be posting the article in full on a special edition of Into The Vault.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

How Sweet It Is: Jewish Culture Thrives On Staten Island.

As we get ready to welcome in the year 5770 tonight, I feel it appropriate to mention that on an island, where a majority of the population is Italian-Americans, Jewish culture still manages to flourish and draws interest from people within and outside the Jewish faith.

Although, Staten Island's Jewish population is quite small compared to the other boroughs, we're still seeing Jewish culture thrive mainly due to the various clubs and organizations that are geared to the Jewish Youth of Staten Island. The Jewish Community Center and the College of Staten Island's Hillel Chapter have done a great job in attracting youths to their programs and not only teens of the Jewish faith. There are many students, who are members of Hillel that are not Jewish, but have taken an interest in learning about our culture and that's a beautiful thing. I have friends who have gone to visit Israel and they tell me that it's an experience like no other. I'm hoping to make a visit to Israel soon because I would like to get a chance to experience it myself.

The Jewish religion and culture is a wonderful thing to learn about. Although I don't encourage anyone to drop their faith for another, I feel that everyone should be entitled to experience the cultural aspects of other religions. I don't want to go to deep into religious aspects, but I will say that the Jewish religion in a lot of ways echoes the ideas of existentialism. The Jewish faith often comes together to make life decisions and we often choose to live in the moment. For a religion, who has often been found to be victim of persecution and slavery, you would find it hard to believe that most people in Tel Aviv spending their nights partying and having a grand old time. Even outside of Israel, we see a tight bond between the Jewish faith. There appears to be a great balance between the relationship within our faith and our relationship with other worldly religions. We really enjoy the fact that our culture is still in existence today and although we like to share with everyone else, we won't go out of our way to do it. As I mentioned earlier, Jewish culture provides a wonderful experience for those who encounter it and if you've had little or no exposure to it then I suggest you take a look.

This has been Yechiel Akiva speaking words of wisdom.

A Show About Nothing: Unscripted

This news has been floating around for a while, but as the season 7 premiere of "Curb Your Enthusiasm" comes closer, it's exciting for me to announce that the entire cast of Seinfeld will be uniting on TV together for the first time in twelve years. Oh and the best part is there's no script this time so god knows what we're going to hear. I got a chance to check out a special feature on HBO about the upcoming season of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and let me just say that it exceeded my expectation. First of all, they've pulled the original sets of Jerry's apartment and the diner from the original show. They even gave the apartment a updated 2000 look. Second, Larry David pretty much brought back the entire cast and crew, including Newman and George Parent's. Honestly, when I first heard the idea I though Larry was going to give us the idea of what it was like making the show back then. However, it seems like he'll be taking the Clerks route and re-examine these characters a decade after we last saw them. As always Curb Your Enthusiasm will give us another hilarious season and if you're a Seinfeld, then I really think you're going to be in for a special treat. If you're not a fan, you should still check out "Curb Your Enthusiasm" because it's a riot and has a great cast of talented actors and comedians.



And for those of you, who don't know much about Curb, here's the one and only Susie Essman, showing us how a proper, Jewish woman speaks.



This has been Art Vanderlay speaking words of wisdom.

Seems Like All We Really Were Doing...

Sometimes people find a way to put a deep impact on society and when their time has come and gone, they usually are remembered as a legend of their time. When John, Paul, George, and their new drummer Ringo first began playing small gigs throughout Europe, I don't think any of them ever imagined the success and impact that they would have on the rest of the world. The lifespan of the Beatles lasted from 1962-1970, which compared to many other breakthrough rock groups was a pretty short time frame. However,during that time The Beatles released 18 U.S. studio albums and 13 U.K Albums and garnered 70 hits on the Hot 100 billboard charts.

Yet, almost 40 years after The Beatles disbanded they still remain one of the most popular and widely appreciated music groups of the 20th century. Many musicians cite the Beatles as a major inspiration to their music and the hype over yesterday's releases of Beatles' Rock Band and the digitally remastered Beatles song catalog shows that Beatlemania, while not strong, is still breathing steadily. As a die hard Beatles fan, I sometimes have to ask why is that? The Beatles never put on a concert like Led Zeppelin or Queen. Although he definitely had the capability, George never tried to wing a sick guitar solo like Clapton and Jimmy Page. Ringo's only recorded drum solo during his career the Beatles is the end of the Golden Slumbers Suite on Abbey Road. If that's the case, then why are the Beatles still making an impact on the world long after their inevitable breakup? It's because of us, the fans.



I sometimes wonder what it must feel for Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to wake up knowing that they probably have the greatest fan base we have ever seen. When the Beatles played at Shea Stadium in 1965, most bands would consider that to be their big break. However, for the Beatles that concert established them as legends and it would serve as a major pivotal point for them. The Beatles had already achieved the hard part,which was to make an impact on the United States. After that it was really the fans, who took over on the impact that the Beatles would have on the rest of the world. As the Beatles moved away from the touring scene and went into the studio, the fans began having an even greater impact on the Beatles popularity. Even when people started burning Beatles albums after misinterpreting a quote from John Lennon, which implied the Beatles were bigger than Jesus, was short lived after Lennon's explanation. The truth is we still care about the Beatles long after they ever did. Of course, when you look at the success of the Beatles, you have to acknowledge that they had perfect timing from the day Ringo replaced Pete until the day it was announced that the Beatles have officially disbanded. It's easy to think of the Beatles success as the process of metamorphosis. The Beatles managed to evolve and transform as time went on and in the end, they went out just like they came in. However, as long as we have the fans, who remind us of the impact the Beatles have left on us, then the Beatles will continue to prosper and grow, not just as legends, but as a cultural pinpoint of modern society.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom... Let It be

Into The Vault: There's No "C" in Killer: Part 1

I had already touched upon what this entry will cover in a previous blog, but let me recap basically what is going to be discussed. Before any medication can be released to the public it must go through numerous tests before the Food and Drug Administration can give the drug it's official approval. One of the things that is studied during these tests is the addictive factor on patients. If the FDA feels that the drug has a rather high addictive factor, the drug will be labeled as a controlled substance. Drugs that are classified as controlled substances are closely monitored by the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and in the wake of rising number of prescription drug abuse cases, we have seen the DEA, doctors, and pharmacists trying to put a tighter grip on these controlled substances. This is a good thing that most of us like to hear, but monitoring controlled substances is not enough. An overdose of an antibiotic or cough medicine can be just as harmful as overdosing on Vicodin.

Unless you count the laws pertaining to the purchase of pseudophedrine, the average person is generally uninformed about the potential dangers of non-controlled medications. A few months back there was some widespread panic among people, when it was revealed that taking a high dosage of Tylenol may cause liver problems. For years, the effects of acetaminophen, the key ingredient in Tylenol has been known to potentially cause liver damage. Therefore I've decided to take it upon myself to make the public aware of the over-prescribing and overdosing of non-controlled medications that often go under the radar. I did a little research of my own and found some pretty interesting things, which I will gladly link for you at the end.

For the first part of segment, we will be taking a closer look at the overuse of Over-The-Counter (OTC) drugs. We will look at the major plot hole in the "Combat Meth Act", which put pseudophedrine behind the counter.

The most commonly abused OTC drug is Tylenol, which kills roughly 500 people a year. However, some people don't always realize that they might be overdosing especially if they're taking a medication that they don't realize has Tylenol in it. In fact, Tylenol is found in Percocet,Vicodin (and all of it's variants), Darvocet, Excedrin, and Sudafed. Tylenol PM is the result of mixing Benadryl and Tylenol, which is a potentially deadly mix in itself. So if a person gets his tooth pulled and takes a Tylenol and a Vicodin to ease the pain then they're most likely taking double the maximum daily strength. So does this mean we need to make it a controlled substance, absolutely not. However, I think there should be a much greater effort to make people aware of it's effects on the liver. When a person goes to the local pharmacy to pick up Tylenol, they should be told about the effects of the drug on your body.

In 2006, the Combat Meth Act was passed, which put all medications that contained pseudophedrine behind the counter and puts a limit on how much of it a person can purchase. Unfortunately, there's a loophole in the system. There's only a limit on how much pseudophedrine ONE person can purchase, which means that a person can send someone else in to buy pseudophedrine for them. There has been a lot of talk about making pseudophedrine drugs prescription only and I'm in full support of it. Making customers show Id and sign for the medication is not enough and there are still plenty instances of pseudophedrine abuse cases. Let's say that pseudophedrine laws were perfect and people weren't able to scheme of ways to get an overabundance of it. There's no heavy limitation on products containing Dextromethorphan (DM), which teenagers have also found uses to get high from. This leaves me with a puzzling question. Why is it so much of a hassle for a patient to buy pseudophedrine products when Robitussin DM, features a tiny warning label? If Tylenol Severe Cold and Sinus and Robitussin DM can be used in potentially harmful way, both of them should be placed behind the counter. Dextromethorphan doesn't have any limits on how much a person can purchase and even if a person gets the max amount of pseudophedrine, a person can have a field day with the no limits on how much Robitussin DM they can purchase. I'm not suggesting to make Robitussin a prescription only medication, but the laws have to be tighter because prescription and OTC drug abuse is pretty high compared to other illegal substances.

Tylenol, Pseudophedrine products and Dextromethorphan products are just a number of OTC products that can be deadly if used improperly. It's important to always ask questions about the medications that you put in your mouth. If you would like to find out more information on OTC drugs and other statistics check out the links below.

For information on all medication check out medline plus.
http://medlineplus.gov/

SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association.

NSDUH - National Survey on Drug Use & Health

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Into The Vault has a Rain Delay

I've put the Into The Vault on a short rain delay due to a lot of stuff that has been going on in the past few days. Maybe I'll be able to get it up either tommorrow or monday night by the latest.

Anyways school is back in session, which will give me a lot more material to cover. Also The Banner, the official newspaper of The College of Staten Island just had it's first meeting for the Fall semester and the paper is going to be fantastic this year.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Just A Teaser

Before the FDA releases any medication to the general public it must pass through the DEA in order to determine, whether it's effects are strong enough to warrant a controlled substances. If the DEA classifies a drug as a controlled substance, than it must go through a certain process of being labeled and monitored. This puts a limit on how much medication a patient can receive, how much of a certain drug can the physician prescribe and how much pharmacies can dispense of a given medication. The DEA does this to keep everyone in check and most of the time it works. Since controls and narcotics are what they are, doctors, pharmacists, and the DEA, in general, try to keep a closer eye on these medications and luckily the problems have slowly subsided over the past year.

However, I wish I could say the same thing for non-controlled medications. Since non-controlled medications are what they are as well, the DEA specifically does not put enough regulation on these medications and that's a problem. A simple, improper dosage of an antibiotic or a cough medication can do just as much damage as an over-prescribing of Vicodin. The over-prescribing of antibiotics and OTC's has been bugging me a lot lately. I think this calls for another trip into the vault and see what happens when your body takes too much of that bubblegum flavored Amoxil. While we're in there, we'll take a look at medications, like Tramadol, that for some reason the DEA won't classify them as a controlled substances. Remember, there's no "C" in killer, so sometimes what society prefers us to take may not always be the safest choice.

Until tomorrow, this has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Ian Rewrites The New York Post

There comes a time when I start to question if the media is really serving the interests of the American public. Then I remember why I started this blog in the first place. It irritates me when I come across a newspaper tries to be serious hard news source, while in reality it's just a half step above a tabloid magazine. The New York Post is definitely a newspaper that comes to mind. A number of people criticize the Post because of it's extreme conservative viewpoints but their political stance doesn't really matter to me. My problem with the Post is that it has the mentality of a 10 year old and is a serious version of the Sun. The New York Post, like the Daily News is a tabloid newspaper and both like to jump all over novelty stories. However, The Daily News does a much better job with taking prominence and impact into consideration when structuring their paper. This was evident when I scanned the Friday edition of both the Post and Daily News. having taken a journalism class, I was disgusted with how the New York Post was structured. In fact, it has led me to start a brand new segment called "Ian Rewrites the Post." Although the title explains the purpose of this segment, this is the opportunity for people to see how the New York Post could be smartened up. Maybe Rupert Murdoch can gain some good tips from this.

Ian Rewrites The Post.

First, look for the Friday, August 21 edition of the New York Post. Click here to look at it online.

Ok so yesterday's front page feature two articles. The top was one titled Skank War, which is about a feud between a model and a blogger. The second is about a subway theif, who wears a Boston Red Sox cap. First off, does a feud between a blogger and a model really need to be front page material. I know it's a case of committing libel but I'll make it plain and simple. There was no actual malice committed because it was an opinion. Anyway, this is not a groundbreaking story and we're going to cut it from the page and leave it on the side.We also have the Red Sox robber story. Now this might be more important considering he's committed 13 robberies since January and this Red Sox cap is the only thing we know about hm. However, there might be bigger stories so let's cuts this out for now but we can always put it back.

We open the paper and on the left hand side, is an article about 5 ways Obama can save on Health care. Opinion articles should never be on page 2. Whether it's a political or social issue, it goes in the op-ed section and that's where we're going to put this article in the op-ed. So what do we put in it's place? The best bet is to do a local story that will effect enough people, but not everyone. Most people tend to ignore Page 2 for some reason and that's why you rarely see your major stories there. I think the ending of cash for clunkers might do very well.

There was a small article about the Clintons on vacation in Bermuda and this is the Post when they're in their tabloid mode. This is nothing for us to be concerned about. Hillary's taking a break and the Clintons are rekindling whatever they have left. All this really need is the picture with a nice detailed caption. Speaking of tabloid stories there was also another photo of Gerard Butler throwing Jennifer Aniston into a trunk for a new movie. This little tidbit story only has the novelty value to rely on and even that's not strong enough. So this is going to be cut altogether. In fact, I think Page Six should be a pullout. It'll save the Post space and a lot of money.

Here's my favorite part. We turn the page and there's an article about Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, a Libyan terrorist, who was released from prison on Thursday and greeted with cheers from his homeland. Al-Megrahi was responsible for blowing up a Pan American Flight in 1988, which killed 270 people and he was released since he was diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer. I want to know why a story about a train thief or a libeled blogger is more prominent than Scotland's decision to let a terrorist walk free. You don't have to answer that question because it's not. So we're going to take this article and make it our front page story. I like the headline "Cheers For a Monster" and the photo of him stepping out of the plane is great. Maybe we'll put the lede on the front page too. So that's done.

On pages 6-7 we find our former front page story, which takes up a full two pages. I think this is a good time to point out that the Daily News did not have this story. So if the Daily News didn't cover than chances are it's not that important. So this story will be pushes back a few pages as a nonsense local news story. So what do we put here? Well we can wait and see if there's another interesting story or we can put the front page story right here. Let's hold off and go to the next page. There's an article about Plaxico Buress, who will face two years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted gun possession. I'm quite disappointed that this wasn't on the front page as the Post usually loves this stuff. Buress has one of the quickest rise and fall to power in the sports world and this isn't major news. I know that carrying around an illegally owned gun is not as hard hitting as Michael Vick's cruel treatment of dogs but it's still big news. A story like this earns the bottom bar of the New York Post. Hey I would have been happy if it made the bottom bar of the sports page but it wasn't and shame on the post. Anyways, we're going to put this story on page 5, where the Libyan terrorist article had been. The Plaxico issue can be delved in further in the sports section. We're going to put our cover story on pages 6-7. On Page 9, we can put the story about the train robber and that's how you fix up the Post. Pretty much everything else is fine the way it is. I know it's not a lot of changes, but what I did alter really changes the perception of the Post.
Feel free to comment on my version of the Post and tell me which do you prefer? Try having some fun on your own and see if you can rewrite today's Post.

This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom.

Three Days Of Peace, Music, and Townhall Meetings?

The bitter war on health care reform remains a dark overcast on a weekend that commemorates Woodstock and it's messages of peace and love.



Since the beginning of the summer, people have sported peace signs and flowers in anticipation of the anniversary of the Woodstock Festival, which started 40 years ago this weekend. However, the aggressive debate on Obama's Health Care Reform makes the message of spreading peace and love seem dismal right now. The Obama plan, which pushes for a nationwide health care system and would require patients to receive a mandate, has been getting a lot of sharp jabs, as many Americans fear that their loved ones might have to be placed on a waiting list for them to be treated. This has lead to a number of town meetings, where people feel they have to yell and scream that Obama wants to take away certain medical priorities.Ironically, not all of these protesters were against Obama during the election. If this is the case, why are so many democrats waking up now and realizing that this is a bad idea.

I think many people still don't understand every aspect of the Obama Plan and this is one of the reasons why there is so much anger and protest. The public should have more access to the parameters of the Health Care Plan and it should be explained in simplest forms how each parameter will be executed. I don't think that the Republicans and Democrats at these town hall meeting are clearly explaining the parameters of the Obama Health Care Plan. In fact, both sides seem to be egging on these protesters even more and it's becoming too ugly.

When it comes down to the truth, the Obama Health Care Plan is not much better than our current health system. In fact, Universal Health Care is one of my criticisms of the Democratic Party. The number of Americans who are able to enroll in Medicaid and Medicare are at a high. The following is statistics taken from the 2008 New York State Medicaid Data Book. As of July 2007, a little more than 4 million New Yorkers were enrolled in New York State Medicaid. 28% of New York State health care expenditures were going to people with Medicaid. About 18% of Health Care Expenditures in New York are going to people with Medicare. That means almost half the money used for Health Care in New York is going to people with either Medicaid or Medicare. However, our current health care system is not that much better and we can't expect the perfect resolution to come quickly.

It's upsetting to see a cancer patient shell out $140 for medication and the worst part is that they have no choice but to take that medication. Who's to say that a cancer patient will get a break under the new Obama Health Care plan? Maybe the Health Care Plan will be better for Americans as a whole or maybe it will destroy Medicaid recipients. I wish I had a simple answer to solve our health care situation but I don't. What I do know is that people have to stop screaming and protesting on both sides of the fence and listen to what people have to say. There should have been protests and questioning on this scale when we noticed problems within our economic system. I just don't see the point of all the arguing and yelling, which will get people nowhere.

Woodstock will always be remembered for the music, the messages, and the legacy that it has left on American culture. However, what we sometimes forget is that Woodstock was all about the listening. The music, the messages and the legacy were made specifically for us to listen to during a time where America was unsure of who to listen to. Now we find ourselves once again in a time where we're unsure of who to listen to and it's important for us to find something to listen to. I therefore would appreciate it if all readers could post in a civil manner how you feel about Obama's Health Care Plan? How you feel about our current Health care system? and What suggestions you might have to improve Health Care in America? SO please don't hesitate to comment and make your friends and family aware as well.

While were in the Woodstock mode here's a couple of things for you to hear.

The Who - Tommy Set



Crosby, Stills, and Nash - Woodstock



This has been Ian Feldman speaking words of wisdom and love.