Mini Metal Maker!

 

 

New creation by my nephew, David Hartkop.   Check it out online via  minimetalmaker via the IndieGogo site.  Dave & Mike (bro) are also creators, owners & roastmasters of Solar Roast Coffee (www.solarroast.com); they are located in sunny Pueblo, CO.    

 

I can't wait to create courtesy of the MMM.   What about you?

 

~~~

 

 

Back in New York, I am a member of NYAS.org (look it up); it is easy to jump on the train from the UWS down to the World Trade Center for its lectures.  The latest series has focused on... DEATH.  What is death?   What is a 'good' death?  When is death?  When should we interrupt death, or let it occur 'naturally'?    Check out these two items:  Palliative Care Info Act & the Dead Donor Rule.   No, they don't provide the answers; they are related & worthwhile to know.

 

When is the physician's decree of 'Do No Harm' insulted by continuing aggressive intervention in the face of zero recovery potential?   I am not answering that one, but interesting, yes?   The various lectures with the experts from this series (hosted by NPR's Steve Paulson) are available at NYAS.org.   Do yourself a favor - become enlightened. 

 

Those are your two assignments:  MiniMetalMaker & NYAS.org. 

 

Enjoy!

Back in Manhattan.  Busy trip.  Nine interviews 'in the can'.  Yea!  

I began planning the trip with the thought of capturing four - six interviews.  But as sometimes happens, a discussion with a guest clearly indicates the need for more time to talk.  By the time we called it a wrap after a few days in the WMTV studios, nine was the final show count. 

I interviewed Dr. Stan Lee, a Consultant Orthopedic Spine Surgeon, twice.  The first covered the basics of his studies & his evolution into orthopedic & spine surgery.  The second piece included facets of Lucent Spine, his company based on his passion for education & informed decision-making.  Delve into his website:  www.lucentspine.com.  You cannot imagine the wealth of information, the links available, the value of this website.  Check it out.  Thank you, Dr. Lee!   This is also the value of LinkedIn, our connection.

Dr. Ali Shakir, whom I interviewed in my very first season of In a Heartbeat, was kind enough to return for an update.  & what an update it was!  Dr. Shakir is an EP - Electro-Physiologist.  He is the cardiologist whose specialty is dealing with the electrical conduction of the heart; pacemakers, cardioversion, ablation are all 'tools of the trade' for him.  Here was another pre-interview phone discussion clearly making a 'Part Two' mandatory.  Our second interview focused on the skill & the value of listening.  After he completed a Master's in Academic Medicine, he said he has looked at medicine in a new light.   His passion has always been teaching: patients, students, residents, fellows, etc.  Watch the interviews & learn about another passion: Listening.   Listen well.   Dr. Ali Shakir's website: www.cvi-m.com.  Thank you, Dr. Shakir! 

Dr. Quresh Khairullah made a return visit (most oft-interviewed physician?  I think yes & for good reason!) to talk about research: what's new whether it is bench, clinical or pharmaceutical research & how they interweave to our benefit.   We then added Tamika Thompson-Sloan, DDS, a peritoneal dialysis patient of his to our discussion per the updates in home PD.  Dr. Thompson-Sloan is a periodontist whose successful home treatment allows her to stay ahead of her hectic full-time professional schedule.  She is inspiring.  Thank you Dr. Thompson-Sloan!   Dr. Khairullah's website:  www.scsp.net.  Thanks Dr. K! 

From our own studio I interviewed Lauren Parrott to see what is new in her life.  Besides having her own show, Things To Do at The War Memorial, on WMTV, she continues with her treatment for MS as well as her travels & educational talks about MS.  She is now writing a book; stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.  She is a wonder & always a delight!

Jeremy DuLac is our valued WMTV studio editor.  Did you know he is also a musician? 
Besides his impact on every show taped & aired from the WMTV studios, his creative powers flow into music.  Watch the show for a highlight from 'The Hand in the Ocean', his group.   Wow!   We also spent time discussing trends in music technology.  It cracked me up to hear old-fashioned words like 'LP' & 'record player' coming from this young editor's mouth.   Now see, if you (meaning Baby Boomers) hold onto anything long enough, it is bound to make a comeback!   Along the way we chatted about my website, www.LizAiken.TV, making its appearance right after Labor Day.   It's coming! 

I was hyper-pleased to welcome Steve Geresy, head of the department of TV Production for Grosse Pointe South High School, onto my set.  We worked together a decade ago on his set when we created, taped & aired, via cable TV20 (known at the time), Lizard's Lounge, a totally demented cooking show.   Man, that show was fun; I did actually make stuff, edible stuff (& ask me about my 8ft tall velcro Christmas tree, now taller & in my apartment here in Manhattan, no joke).  I had a pieced-together kitchen set which fit the elements of a demented show perfectly, plus a fantastic crew, made up of his students.  I loved that show.  I loved working with high school students, the most fascinating age group, still, to me.   Back in my studio, we covered what is new in TV technology.   But wait - there's more!

Obtaining & maintaining keepsake photos & memories remind us of who we were & where we are going.  Steve & I delved into this important personal-history creation.  Check out his website, www.skgdigitaldesigns.com.   Then we launched ourselves into the future...  the future of television.  Computer vs TV, which has a stronger future?  We spoke about the technologies advancing to create television viewing to our advantage, not the networks'.   An interesting aside to this is TED.com's Peter Hirshberg piece.  

Last but definitely not least, our In a Heartbeat crew sat down to talk about our own television history in the making.   What started out as a dream show in my head (years ago, before there were any medical shows on TV, I might add), & launched, finally, in 2008, our show is heading into its FIFTH SEASON on WMTV!   I am beholden to my co-producers, co-hosts, cohorts (& good friends) Joan Patrick Morris & Dr. David Balle for joining me in bringing you the experts in medicine, science & technology.  Of course, my huge thanks always to Kermit Potter, the chief of our station for understanding my vision & giving me the 'go-ahead'.   Our TV team blew through 28 minutes giving you a preview of our upcoming season.   All I can say is 'Stay Tuned!'   AND, thank you all for being part of In a Heartbeat!

Short blog today, no picture.   Getting ready for my jaunt to MI, lots to do while I am there.  Eight TV interviews to accomplish, a website to launch, 3 birthdays to enjoy & some serious laughing with my family & friends.  Oh, did I mention there would be a lot of knitting tucked in here & there, mostly while riding in a golf cart?   Uh huh.   Then back to the city (Manhattan) & reality.  Like Dorothy, "There's no place like home."  

 

Here is my list of interview topics: to start, celebrating our 5th season on In a Heartbeat.

Then cardiac arrhythmias & treatment, kidney disease & treatment, spinal diagnoses & treatment, MS - what's new, website creation & TV studio techology. 

 

Interesting aside to this is the fascinating recent interview on local Manhatan television from the 92Y.  Rick Stengel interviewed Walter Isaacson regarding his recent book about Steve Jobs.   First of all, anything Isaacson writes is worth reading, any interview he gives is worth watching.  He has some succinct & humorous comments about the medieval state of television technology today.   You know I will be bringing that up in an interview very soon.  

 

Looking forward to it all.

 

Come to think of it...

 

 

I found this card years ago.  Look similar to the canvas?   This one was designed by Rebecca Pavlenko & accompanied by a wonderful quote from Rainer Maria Rilke,



 

"And now let us welcome the New Year, full of things that have never been."

 

Maybe it's the bridge, maybe it's the snow coming down.  Who knows, I know I love this card.  Just like I love the needlepoint canvas (by the way, designer unknown, sorry). 

 

The other cool thing about this card was that it was meant to arrive after Christmas, avoiding that whole holi-daze thing.   Nice.   Worked for me that year!

 

On my way to the City...

 

 

On DL 1698, returning to Manhattan, I had the immense good fortune to sit next to a charming & beautiful 84 yo woman who was flying in to visit her kids, et al.   We spoke about many things.  Then she pulled out a needlepoint canvas (handy work to do in a limited space).  As we continued chatting I noticed the excellent tension in her stitches.  Now I have a trip into MI & my TV studio coming up relatively soon which will include, per usual, a side-bar visit to the coolest yarn store in Grosse Pointe (& beyond):  The Wool & The Floss,  on Fisher Rd. 

 

I bought this canvas there a few years while attending my weekly evening knitting class.  There was a  needlepoint canvas trunk show with handpainted canvasses pinned up on the board directly across from where I was sitting.   The canvas looked perfect to me: serene blues AND snow!   Haha!   I left that night with it, obviously.  Yes, I did paid for it!

    

I have been hanging on to the untouched canvas having never picked up the appropriate yarns; besides I really wanted the yarns to come from this same shop.  After watching the woman working on her canvas with such skill, I realized that my own skill level was probably less than remedial after a twenty+ year absence of needlepointing.   The canvas & yarns deserve better than this!  So...

 

This morning I spoke with the shop owner, Jean, & now have a private lesson booked (with said canvas) to begin needlepointing again, PROPERLY.  Can't wait!

Baconery!

 

This completely cracks me up!   I was walking through MP (Morningside Park), as usual, though this time on my way down to Whole Foods on Columbus & 97th.   As I cruised down Columbus, I came upon this Cafe.   Now, I am not, as a rule, much of a meat afficionado & especially not bacon, but paying attention to detail is my specialty.   Check out the address on the awning.   That says it all.  

Work continues on my website.   I love this photo, love the clean lines, the classic r,w&b colors.  When the show opens this bottle & the pills are spinning around.  Love it.

 

The theme music, String Funk, was created by a very cool guy, known only by his initials,  'bwa'.  As soon as I heard the full piece, I knew this was it!  I enjoyed working with the editor in my studio then, years ago, to piece the graphics to the music.  We literally pieced it bar-by-bar (music) to frame-by-frame (graphics).  Fascinating process, but then you know, anything creative is.  Fascinating, that is. 

 

That's it!  Short & sweet.   As soon as the site is launched, believe me, you'll know!   Remember Gladys Glover? 

Work continues on my upcoming studio dates & guests for my August tapings.  I used to specify 'my cable TV' but now that has become redundant.   It is like Nora Ephron's comment, "It's all copy!" 

Work also continues on my website.  A few of my favorite quotes will be on it, including these: 
Anais Nin: Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage.   
Leads, don't you think, right into... this quote from my all-time #1 hero, MLK, Jr: Courage breeds creativity.

Einstein had a couple of his own (haha) which appeal to me: Imagination is more important than knowledge.   The important thing is not to stop questioning; curiosity has its own reason for existing. 

& lastly, the one which must propel us all to achieve anything in our lives:  Never never never give up.  Winston Churchill. 

I always close my current TV show with the tagline, "What do you think?"   This came about from a conversation I had with my son when he was in his mid-teens.

I am sure it is well-documented evidence (somewhere) that a girl will tell you waaay more than you ever really wanted to know yet a boy may tell you close to nothing, all from the same question.  So, in asking my son the question of how I was doing as a parent (to avoid the "fine, mom" response), I asked him if he could name 2 or 3 things he liked about my style or about which he felt I was at least doing okay.   His answer was the greatest & immediate.  "Oh mom," he said, "that's easy!  First of all you always ask us 'What do you think' and then, you listen."   I love that!   (Thanks, dad!)

In its own way, the question relates to the two words that best describe the most effective tool used by physicians in diagnosing a patient: To Listen.   Here is the quote-of-quotes (by whom?) which states:  If all else fails, listen to the patient.  

It always cracks me up but it is also an eye-opener.  There was an interesting yet frustrating article by Jerome Groopman in The New Yorker which covered this very aspect of the doctor-patient interview.   Look it up, read it.   Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink, also touched on how correctly using this very tool can make a difference in doctors being sued - or not!  

Hmmm...   To Listen.  It sounds so simple.

Greetings! 

Working on plans for my next trip to MI for taping & a bit of fun.   I have several interviews lined up & am working to confirm a few more.  I will post the list of guests just before I split from NYC to head to the midwest.  Manhattan to Michigan. 

I am also working on my In a Heartbeat website.  Stay tuned for that...

In my Riverside (literally) Drive apartment, I have this enormous dry-erase board which essentially works as my TV show 'think tank'.  I have listings of upcoming shows, ideas or plans for shows in various cities, my list of dream interviews (working on those), bios or articles per guests & then a collection of my favorite The New Yorker cartoons, most of which are 25+ years old.  My favorite concerns two snails & a tape dispenser.  That's all I'm sayin'.

This board also contains bicycles in all forms - pictures, magnets, even a few paper clips transformed into magnets.   Then there is the mass of coffee magnets, many of these gifts.  I love coffee.  But only good coffee. 

Among the chaos (& the bliss) I have three pictures which blow my mind. 

One is of Einstein, part of my original 'Einstein Shrine' which I created on a kitchen cupboard door when the kids were growing up.   I wanted my kids to have a visual memory of him in many pictures, some looking serious & some very relaxed.  I wanted Einstein to be someone whom they had 'contact' with on a daily basis.

I have this picture of a metal utility cart, painted royal blue, loaded with electrical cables of many colors, all coiled as if ready to spring into action.   I mentally labeled this photo 'Potential'.  The photo was taken in early Spring of 2000 on my brother's property where we were shooting a film, but that's another story.

The third picture is on the TV set of Positively Positive.  Jeanie & I had just finished our interviews with The Miracles, The Contours & Undisputed Truth.  We gathered for a group shot & the artists sang us out with "Amen."   We had taped this show during the prep for the Detroit 300 Celebration.  What a show!  I love this picture for many reasons, a few being that we all were younger (hahaha), the studio had been filled with glorious acapella music & Jeanie was so healthy & vibrant, gorgeous with her well-loved smile.   Her husband, Robert, was right along with us, loving the music & the day.  It is a joyful picture.

Then there are a few more pics, most absurd, plus a couple of TP lists to discuss with two specific friends.  That is totally another story for another day.   For now I need to hightail it into gear to get ready to attend my WWKiP Day event in Washington Square.   Andrea (the storm) decided not to crash the scene so we are 'all systems go' . . . & I am gone!  Whoooosh!

 

Achtung!!  Lost this posting - found it!

 

 

                                                                                      (Photo taken right off the TV, seriously!)

In a Heartbeat

is the name of my cable TV show heading towards its 5th season.  Launched in the fall of 2008, this show is my passion!

'Life changes, sometimes literally, in a heartbeat.'   My goal, through the medium of television, has always been to offer information from experts to assist us in making educated choices for better health, better living.   I love interviewing physicians, researchers, inventors, scientists, educators, film producers - all kinds of fascinating people - who do just this: direct us towards better living. 


When I was heading to Manhattan, a few years ago,I decided to splinter my show among four of us so I could be 'out of town' (from Grosse Pointe, MI) & still continue production.  My sidekicks became: Dr. David Balle, Joan Patrick Morris & 'Car Guy' (you'll see). 

I was most fortunate to have Dr. David Balle agree to co-host/produce the show with me; he had graciously 'subbed' for me several times before - I knew HB would be in exceptional hands, in my absence!   Check out his website: www.drballe.com.

Joan Patrick Morris is my health care management specialist on the show.   She is a natural as a host - exuberant, knowledgable - bringing to the screen excellent interviews as well as frequent updates per healthcare coverage changes. 

I then added John Clor, 'Car Guy', whom I have interviewed more than anyone since my very 1st show in the 90s.  He cracks me up, totally.   We have cooked together (well, actually, we assembled psycho-burgers, John Clor, Sack o' Ten, in my 'kitchen' - using that term loosely - on my demented-style cooking show, Lizard's Lounge), ridden together in very cool cars (who remembers the original Shelby?) & laughed on the set of every show (three) I have produced/hosted since then, including Positively Positive, the show I shared with my very dear,late friend, Jeanie McNeil Taylor.  

But back to John, for a newsflash: Being perfect for TV, either as guest or host, John launched his own show last year on WMTV (same network) called, Cars in Context.  Three cheers for 'Car Guy'!    www.carsincontext.com.   Check it out. 


 As the show title implies, life does change In a Heartbeat.   Joan, David & I evolve to strive to bring you the best programming to answer your question of, "What happened?" with valuable information from our experts.   We thank the many guests who have shared their time and expertise with our viewers.  

I will update with info of upcoming shows, all kinds of stuff.  As we say in the business, "Stay tuned..."