I'm on staff in a 20-bed specialty intensive care unit for neurosurgery patients, but our census is low today and I was temporarily assigned ("floated") to the 20-bed medical intensive care unit (MICU) at our large urban teaching hospital.

Things are always busy in the MICU. There's always somethng interesting going on. Here's my day so far...

My wife brought a DVD home from the library this week. It was an extraordinary gem, an indie production from Cicala Filmworks titled Arranged.

It's the story of two young women just beginning their careers in the New York City public school system. They find themselves working together in the classroom - one as the fourth grade teacher, the other assigned to a special needs student in that class - and this collaboration sets the stage for their friendship.

Franz Schubert's "Ave Maria" is one of the most familiar tunes in the classical and sacred music genres. It's also one of those pieces of music that is very easy to do badly - heavy on schmaltz and saccharine sentimentality.

The version that accompanies this YouTube compilation of photos in Iraq and elsewhere is performed by Arthur Grumiaux (violin) and Istvan Hajdu (piano), and appears on the Christmas compilation, The Ultimate Relaxation Christmas Album.

While I never would have chosen that album (my wife bought it upon the recommendation of her sister, who's a big Mantovani fan), I think this rendition of Ave Maria is just about the best I've ever heard. I offer it now as a holiday prayer and gift to you, in the Christian tradition. Dedicated to all who suffer because of war.

Earlier this while perusing Crooks and Liars, I came across the C&L Late Night Music Club post for December 8th, citing a Yahoo! News item:

   Billy Joel has released a new pop single, the anti-war "Christmas in Fallujah." Just don’t expect to hear his voice on it.

   At 58, Joel felt he was too old to sing the song, which was inspired by letters the Piano Man received from soldiers in Iraq. So he gave it to Cass Dillon, a 21-year-old singer-songwriter from Long Island.

   "I thought it should be somebody young, about a soldier’s age," Joel said in a statement on his Web site. "I wanted to help somebody else’s career. I’ve had plenty of hits. I’ve had plenty of airplay. I’ve had my time in the sun. I think it’s time for somebody else, maybe, to benefit from my own experience."

Rockin' YouTube below the fold...

Kos had a diary yesterday that featured Latta's scary brown people ad.

Muledriver commented that the soundtrack could fit some Ellis Island visuals, for example.

I know where he was going with this, and I responded that I'd give it a try.

I just uploaded it to YouTube

[update] sound edited based on leftwingnut's comment. Thanks!

This isn't a long diary.

I've got much more thinking to do on a subject that's occupied a big portion of my mind over the years, namely the atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

But the bombs had to be delivered, and someone had to deliver them.

And the man who headed up those missions was Paul Tibbets. He died today, at the age of 92, and unapologetic to the end.

I have my good friend, Ilona, to thank, because she urged me to attend a late night movie screening at YearlyKos 2007.

I had attended plenty of conference-wide meetings, workshops, and social events by the time I found the small room where the screening was taking place, and the twenty or so people there had already seen several short films and trailers before I arrived. The soda bottles were mostly empty, and the few remaining pizza slices were cold, but I combined several sugared and diet brands into one large cupful, scooped up wedges of plain, roasted pepper, and barbecued chicken pizza – I'm not shy in matters of food – and took my seat.

this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people - without exception, or precondition, or judgment

we have no sympathy for the devil

we acknowledge the power to act that is in us

cross-posted at MyLeftWing, BooMan Tribune, and my blog.

image, poem, and fair use notice below the fold

As reported in Yahoo! News:

MITCHELL, S.D. - Eleanor McGovern, the wife of former Sen. George McGovern, died Thursday, according to a funeral home. She was 85

SNIP

(She)  was born Nov. 25, 1921, in Woonsocket, S.D. She was introduced to her future husband when her debate team defeated McGovern's while he was a student at Mitchell High School.

Her memoir, "Uphill: A Personal Story," was published in 1973.

She was a classy woman, the real deal.

(more below)

I’ve finally started reading Glenn Greedwald on a regular basis, and am looking forward to a book he’s writing about the run-up to the invasion and occupation in Iraq. Most notably, Greenwald has been documenting the remarkable lack of informed debate and the uncritical acceptance of each claim by the Cheney administration that led us straight into this debacle.

My mother always said, "History is just a big wheel that keeps repeating itself." (To which I’d reliable counter, "Yeah, Ma, and history’s not the only thing that does that.").

But my mom’s observation matches Greenwald’s concern, mainly that we’re in danger not just of repeating, but of compounding, our dangerous mistakes in an armed conflict with Iran.

In light of Kos' comments regarding copyrights, particularly as they apply to images, I will no longer post this diary series at DailyKos.

More below the fold.

this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people - without exception, or precondition, or judgment

we have no sympathy for the devil

we acknowledge the power to act that is in us

images and poem below the fold

this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people - without exception, or precondition, or judgment

we have no sympathy for the devil

we acknowledge the power to act that is in us – with special thanks to roses and anniethena for posting diaries 601-610 while I was away

image and poem below the fold

this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people - without exception, or precondition, or judgment

we have no sympathy for the devil.

we acknowledge the power to act that is in us

image and poem below the fold

this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people - without exception, or precondition, or judgment

we have no sympathy for the devil.

we acknowledge the power to act that is in us

image and poem below the fold

this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people - without exception, or precondition, or judgment

we have no sympathy for the devil.

we acknowledge the power to act that is in us

three images and poem below the fold

this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people - without exception, or precondition, or judgment

we have no sympathy for the devil.

we acknowledge the power to act that is in us

image and poem below the fold

this diary is dedicated to all who suffer because of war

we love and support our troops, just as we love and support the Iraqi people - without exception, or precondition, or judgment

we have no sympathy for the devil.

we acknowledge the power to act that is in us

image and poem below the fold