Showing posts with label Relevant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Relevant. Show all posts

November 7, 2015

Don't Know When I'll See You Again

So in synagogue today, the Rabbi introduced this very old man to the pulpit to say a few words. 

Apparently, he was one of the founders of the shule. 

This grey headed, stooped man walks slowly forward carrying a small oxygen tank with wires dangling in his jacket and to his nose. 

The man stands on the dais and says:

"I am 91-years old, and the doctor says  I have this, that, and the other thing, and I am terminal. 

It was very hard for me to get here today in my condition, but I wanted to speak with you all. 

I have lived a good life, but not an easy life. 

My life was a rollercoaster--at one time I had six cars and another time just one car, for the most part I had enough money, but never a lot of money. 

Now, I ask myself what is really important. 

When I have shortness of breath then nothing seems so important anymore--and it is the simple things that really count. 

My son called the other day to tell me that he is being given more responsibility at work--not just his teaching responsibilities anymore--and he won't have time to call so often anymore. 

So while I've studied and explored all facets of thinking from Shintoism and Buddhism to communism and socialism, in the end, I realized that I have the Torah and am a just simple Jew from Fez. 

I wanted to be here with you today to ask you all for your forgiveness so that I can go on as I am very sick and am terminal.  

I don't know when I will get to see you all again." ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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November 27, 2014

Turkey Head

The new insane fashion statement on Thanksgiving...wearing a turkey on your freakin' head.

This guy is at the beach and stopped for the photo--towel in hand, turkey on head.

But lest you think this is just for the beach crowd...

A obviously wealthy older couple are having their breakfast at no less than the Ritz Carlton.

And yes, they are sitting sipping their lattes and eating their danish WITH turkeys straddling their heads--both of them, facing off at each other!

What won't people do for some attention--to simply get others to look at them.

Perhaps to feel alive, relevant, or important in some way. 

Sure, there is fun in it too, but also some very mashugana stuff going on out there. 

Anyway, Happy Thanksgiving from chilly, but sunny Fort Lauderdale. ;-)

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October 27, 2014

Be Relevant, Live!

"Hello Irrelevant. My name is Andy."

The photo above was taken today near a prominent university in Washington, D.C. 

When our youngsters in the Capital of the United States--the holders of future creativity and energy are feeling irrelevant--we as a country are in serious trouble. 

Yet, don't we all feel irrelevant at times?

We see and hear so much that is somehow wrong in the world and feel powerless to stop it, change it, or do anything about it that really makes a difference. 

Everyday we are witness to people's personal misdeeds that should never be done, let alone contempalted; large, medium, and even smaller organizations doing the wrong thing for profit or power; and governments making decisions for political reasons and not common sense reasons or for the good of the people. 

And how do we feel in all this -- relevant or irrelevant? 

Can we as people endowed with G-d's lifeforce and heavenly spirit, formulate a position that touches people's hearts and minds to do the right thing for the right reasons--and can we speak it articulately enough, loud enough, convincingly enough to make a genuine difference?

Just as a single example in today's Wall Street Journal, an editorial about Yucca Mountain, the place designated for nuclear waste disposal--that is supposed to meet safety requirements for the next "million years" (I think most of us would be happy if we achieve even half that estimate)--and has already cost us 30 years of study and $15 billion, but yet continues to remain stuck in a politcial quagmire--why?

I beleive we can all think of numerous health, safey, and wellbeing issues affecting us, our families, communities, and this country that are are in a similar state of paralysis and dysfunction. 

Why can't we move forward--is there no one relevant out there anymore?

We can't afford to let ourselves sink into feelings of despair, inadequancy, or irrelevancy to the great tasks at hand--whether from things like Ebola, ISIS, or financial meltdown. 

We must find our inner voices, our moral rectitude, and our courage to speak truth to power, to stand firm for right against wrong.

It's understable to feel irrelevant, but it's not sustainable to show it. ;-) 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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September 28, 2014

Asleep During The Speech

Short story...so this nice gentleman came from the house of worship to visit my dad in assisted living over the holidays.

The man talked about the speeches the clergy gave and how he only understood the basics, and the rest was sort of over his head (hey, I can definitely relate to that too...we all can). 

Perhaps, this points to how important it is to talk to the people (and not over the people)--making it relevant and stirring--although it's probably not easy to give a speech that resonates well with everyone. 

Anyway, there are good speeches, and then let's face it, there are speeches that could be better. 

Afterward, my dad and this man joked about how they've seen some people actually fall asleep during the clergy's speech...yes, this is obviously not very respectful, but sometimes people just doze off perhaps because it's hot inside with all the people, and they work so hard during the week that they just are relaxed and off they go.

My dad goes on to tell this joke:

The clergyman is giving a speech from the pulpit.

All of a sudden he notices this guy sleeping in one of the pews.

The clergy says to the man's neighbor sitting next to him, "Can you please wake him up?"

The worshipper responds, "You put him to sleep, you wake him up."

Then my dad let out a really nice, healthy laugh...it was good to hear (the other guy was laughing with him). 

On a side note, my dad said something else funny and insightful today:

"It's not easy getting old...it takes many years!" 

Amen to that.  ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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January 2, 2014

Looking Forward, Backwards

Farhad Manjoo argues in today's Wall Street Journal that "there's plenty" of innovation going on, despite the grumblings that their isn't.

His main argument is that "the smartphone and the tablet 'are' the next big things."

Manjoo tells us to "grow up" and calls us "spoiled children," because we are not satisfied with these and simple future enhancements of this. 

He would have us accept that there won't be "anything as groundbreaking in a generation." 

Well, looking back at past innovation and calling that as our current and future innovation is like looking back at our past successes and simply resting on our laurels as good enough.

Unfortunately, no business can rest on their past successes--they must constantly innovate to stay relevant in the marketplace and meet their growth targets for revenue, profit, market share, and customer satisfaction.

As they say in financial prospectuses, "past success is no guarantee of future success."

Similarly, as individuals we do not just settle for past success, but we strive everyday to make a contribution, to learn, and to grow as long as we have the strength to try.

When we stop striving, we may as well be heading downhill in the cycle of life, because as we all know, "if you are not moving forward, then you are moving backwards."

Life is not stagnant, and yesterdays innovations are not todays creative breakthroughs or tomorrows leaps forward.

The rate of innovation is no longer measured in generations in the 21st century--and for those who think it is, they would have us accept defeat in this highly global, competitive marketplace. 

While we should not be greedy, why are we so ready to say good enough, instead of really critiquing ourselves (e.g. calling a dry spell, a dry spell) and continuing the tough journey into the future. 

At least Manjoo cites incremental work in privacy, enterprise technologies such as cloud computing, and robotics as tech trends - so maybe there is still hope. ;-)

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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November 1, 2013

Why Memorize?

G-d, I remember as a kid in school having to memorize everything for every class--that was the humdrum life for a schoolchild.

Vocabulary words, grammar rules, multiplication tables, algebraic and geometric equations, scientific formulas, historical events, famous quotes, states and capitals, presidents, QWERTY keys, and more. 

It was stuff it in, spit it out, and basically forget it.

This seemed the only way to make room for ever more things to memorize and test out. 

In a way, you really had to memorize everything, because going to a reference library and having  to look up on the stacks of endless shelves or microfiche machines was a pain in the you know what. 

Alternatively, the home dictionary, theasarus, and encyclopeda were indispensible, but limited, slow, dated, and annoying. 

But as the universe of knowledge exploded, became ever more specialized, and the Internet was born, looking something up was a cinch and often necessary. 

All of a sudden, memorization was out and critical thinking was in. 

That's a good thing, especially if you don't want people who are simple repositories of stale information, but rather those who can question, analyze, and solve problems. 

Albert Einstein said, "Never memorize something that you can look up."

But an interesting editorial in the Wall Street Journal by an old school teacher questions that logic. 

David Bonagura Jr. proposes that critical thinking and analysis "is impossible without first acquiring rock-solid knowledge of the foundational elements upon which the pyramid of cognition rests."

He says, "Memorization is the most effective means to build that foundation."

As a kid, I hated memorization and thought it was a waste of time, but looking back I find that more things stayed in that little head of mine than I had thought. 

I find myself relying on those foundations everyday...in writing, speaking, calculating, and even remembering a important story, principle, saying or even song lyrics.

These come out in my work--things that I thought were long lost and forgotten, but are part of my thinking, skills, and truly create a foundation for me to analyze situations and solve problems. 

In fact, I wish I knew more and retained it all, but short-term memory be damned. 

We can't depend on the Internet for all the answers--in fact, someday, it may not be there working for us all, when we need it. 

We must have core knowledge that is vital for life and survival and these are slowly being lost and eroded as we depend on the Internet to be our alternate brains. 

No, memorizing for memorization's sake is a waste of time, but building a foundation of critical skills has merits. 

Who decides what is critical and worthwhile is a whole other matter to address.

And are we building human automatons full of worthless information that is no longer relevant to today's lifestyles and problems or are we teaching what's really important and useful to the human psche, soul, and evolution. 

Creativity, critical thinking, and self-expression are vital skills to our ability to solve problems, but these can't exist in a vacuum of valuable brain matter and content.

It's great  to have a readily available reference of world information at the tips of our fingertips online, but unless you want to sound (and act) like an idiot, you better actually know something too. ;-)

(Source Photo: here with attribution to Chapendra)
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