Things that should end...

1. The Verizon, "Can you hear me now?" campaign...really, do we need to see commercials in which the Verizon guy is pretending to be pregnant in a cab? It's time to retire the Verizon guy and his network cronies...

2. Do we really need Peter from "Family Guy" to tell us to eat at Subway? Peter is a fictional morbidly obese fat guy...is that really the kind of spokesman Subway needs? I thought you guys were the healthy fast food place? I can't believe I'm saying this - bring back Jared!


3. Wendy's commercials. All of them. I'm tired of the fake red wigs with the pigtails. And what is up with using Abe Lincoln in commercials - he was also prominently featured in the Remeron sleep aid commercials. The guy saved the Union, ended slavery and now he's just a pill and burger pusher? Boo!

Life is like wrestling a gorilla

So we had a crazy busy day on Tuesday, got a lot of consults, including one patient who's been in the hospital since December. It was 8:30pm and I was exhausted, my brain hurt, my stomach was rumbling and I was not looking forward to the next day because I knew I'd have to come in pretty early. As I was driving back to my place, I was reminded of a quote that one of the attending physicians told me is posted in the transplant clinic office:

Life is like wrestling a gorilla - you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla stops.

His lips are moving

We were seeing a patient today on the consult service, a good-natured fellow whose brother was in the room. The patient, unfortunately, has metastatic cancer but was in good spirits despite his prognosis. After making some small talk, his brother said, "well doc, it's always been easy to tell when my brother's lying - just look for when his lips are moving."

We all broke out in laughter...it was nice to see such a well-knit family in the face of such a difficult circumstance. I hope we are able to provide our patient with the best quality of life in his remaining days...

Physicians and Execution

The New England Journal of Medicine published an important editorial today, voicing its opposition to the involvement of physicians in state executions. I totally agree with the editorial, I don't think it is the role of physicians to facilitate death, whether it is in the setting of capital punishment or assisted suicide (admittedly, a separate issue). The Journal states:

Physicians and other health care providers should not be involved in capital punishment, even in an advisory capacity. A profession dedicated to healing the sick has no place in the process of execution.

The editorial was issued in response to the Supreme Court's decision to hear the case Baze v. Rees about the constitutionality of lethal injection. I am not, in theory, opposed to capital punishment for certain crimes, but I do have a problem with the way it is practiced, because I think there are racial and economic factors that allow injustice to creep too easily into the system.

It will be interesting to see how the Court rules on this important issue.

Girl Scouts - American Muslim style

Scouting helps Muslims feel closer to American society

By Neil MacFarquhar | New York Times News Service
January 2, 2008

Scouting is a way of celebrating being American without being any less Muslim, Hakeem said.

Celebrating Rumi, Islam's Poet of Peace

Celebrating Rumi, Islam's poet of peace
The Sufi mystic's message of love still reverberates on the 800th anniversary of his birth.
By Nicole Itano | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

from the January 2, 2008 edition

In his own lifetime, Rumi attracted a wide following outside his own sect of Sufi Islam, with his message of universal love and tolerance. At his funeral, according to his biographer Mohamed el-Fers, a Greek monk said: "Mevlana was like bread. Nobody can keep himself away from needing bread. Have you ever seen a hungry man who refused to eat bread?"

Brother Ali

Brother Ali: Even for a Muslim albino rapper, he stood out

2007 was the year of his audaciously autobiographical album "The Undisputed Truth"

By CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER, Star Tribune
Last update: December 28, 2007 - 3:55 PM

Mosque Designs

An interesting article in the LA Times, discussing the architectural designs of mosques in America and England. He references a lot of architects and I've posted links to some of their works. In doing so, I came across a site called ArchNet, which features Islamic architecture around the world.

Zlatko Ugljen - White Mosque in Bosnia
Paolo Portoghesi (co-designed with Sami Mousawi) - Mosque of Rome
Ali Mangera - Abbey Mills Mosque (new architects have since been commissioned)
Islamic Society Boston Cultural Center Picture 2