On Traffic and Parking in МоскваSeptember 18 2011

Many years ago when we were in Rome I used to think the traffic there was the worst I’d ever experienced. The streets were very narrow and cars drove very fast – pedestrians didn’t seem to have a chance.

In the 90’s when we when lived outside of Taipei for a little while my opinion changed. It wasn’t that cars drove fast - they couldn’t because the traffic was always a mess. No one seemed to pay much attention to rules like keeping to the right or not getting stuck in an intersection after the light changed. In fact, the only “rule” seemed to be: Whoever got there first would fill up any available space. It didn’t seemed to matter whether you were on the right or left side of the street. Sidewalks were mostly impassable for pedestrians since they are used as parking lots for motor scooters of which there are thousands - millions. At the time I think I remember hearing there were about 6 million motor scooters on the road on an island with a population of about 21 million. If you were walking you had to walk in the street because the sidewalks were always clogged with scooters.

Now that I we’re living in Москва I’ve changed my mind again. During rush hour, which seems to be most of the day, except for Sundays, streets are literally gridlocked. You can stand on the sidewalks and watch lights turn green and then red and then green again without a single car moving, making a turn or anything else. While left turns are not outlawed no one makes one because of the gridlock.

Parking along the street in Москва is interesting also. You can walk along the sidewalks but it often means weaving between parked cars. Parallel parking along the street does occur however among the cars parallel-parked you’ll see the nose or tail of a car wedged in at angles. Many times one or two wheels are bumped up over the curb either diagonally or perpendicularly to the curb. In some spots the entire car is parked up on the sidewalk even in parks and on what in the US would be called safety zones where two streets intersect. On my site (http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com/russia.htm) is a brief 5 frame slideshow showing some the parking options you have here in Москва. The file is called: parking.exe. The parking rule here seems to be “If there’s a space between cars, fill it anyway that you can – no problem.” If you live in a city like New York within an hour your windshield would be filled with so many tickets you couldn’t see through it or worse, your car would be towed to a pier along the Hudson River tickets flapping in the breeze. Not so in Москва.

I’ve been told by several people that the police can write parking tickets but they probably won’t. If they write a ticket and the recipient knows someone in the police department or government they’re afraid of being reamed out by their superiors or worse, fired.

Crossing a street in Москва can be a challenge too. At intersections and every so often along the streets are striped areas that in the US are called “safety zones” If you’re on foot and crossing in one, in theory, cars, buses or trucks are supposed to stop for you while you’re crossing. The trouble is only about 2 in 5 drivers observe this rule and speed by, if there’s no gridloack. If you cross the street elsewhere, as I’m used to doing in New York – you’re fair game – let the walker beware! Sometimes this is not a problem. If the street is in total gridlock (see above) it really doesn’t matter – just wind your way between the car bumpers and you’ll get to the other side.

Street lights take a bit getting used to here. They look the same as those in the US – red on top, orange in the middle, green below. There are also walk, don’t walk signs usually at intersections. It’s their blinking pattern you have to get used to. In New York after a few seconds of constant green there will be 10 blinks of the walk sign before the orange and then red light changes. In other cities you get 12 or 15 blinks. In Москва it’s different. After the green light is on for a few seconds the walk sign blinks twice – just 2 times – after that you’re fair game.

I’ve been paying special attention to these rules and behaviors because this coming Tuesday I’ll be driving the car we bought about 5 weeks ago (more on buying a car and getting a Russian driver’s license in a future post) from the US Embassy. I’m trying to figure out a route from the Embassy to our apartment compound that doesn’t require left turns. I’ll be picking the car up at 18:30 – rush hour – wish me luck…

Andy

МоскваOn Boris and NatashaSeptember 16, 2011

In my introductory message yesterday from Москва I made reference to Boris and Natasha. I’m the supporting member of our team (Nancy and me) here known as a trailing spouse in the officialdom of AAS (http://www.aas.ru). By the way, I take no offense at this designation – it is precisely what I am. In that posting I said I’ve taken on the rolls of Natasha the housekeeper and Boris the chauffer (at least once we get the car) and all-round maintenance man. In using these 2 names I wanted to make it clear that I didn't us them in a mocking or disrespectful way. If fact, I have known a number of people named Natasha and Boris over the years. In the late 80’s and early 90’s we had quite a few Russian students at NYU named Natasha and Boris who were perfectly lovely people. Here in Москва I know people by these names right now.

When I was a kid growing up in the early 60’s there was a “cartoon” show on TV called “The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show” (http://www.hulu.com/rocky-and-bullwinkle-and-friends; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocky_and_Bullwinkle_Show ). Rocky was a hero-type flying squirrel and Bullwinkle was a side-kick moose. Their arch enemies were Natasha and Boris Badenov who had Russian accents, and while never stated, they were clearly supposed to be Soviet spies attempting to over-throw and outdo R & B.

On its face Rocky and Bullwinkle was a kids’ cartoon show that was somewhat like a slap-stick program something on the order of the Roadrunner and Wiley Coyote. Am I bringing back any memories for you 60-somethings? There were also side characters such as Dudley Do-right and others. In fact, the show was not a kids’ program at all but a satirical look at the relationship between the US and the then USSR. Parents, if they could bring themselves to admit it, watched the show too. If you are of this era you’ll remember the US were the good guys and the Soviets were the bad guys who always wore black as did Natasha and Boris. Recall Ronald Reagan’s “evil empire” quote when he was president.

As I got older I came to realize satire for what it is (some of my former students at NYU will attest to my use of satire on days I just didn’t think anyone was listening about anterior compartment forearm muscles) and for as long as the show aired I watched every episode as did, I suspect, a lot of grown-ups. In fact, I would watch it again and I have a little bit – you can still find references and clips on the Internet (see above). Some of the comments were and still are hilarious and biting at the same time. I’ve posted a picture of Natasha and Boris on my site if you (you know who you are) forget what they looked like.

As it turned out, Natasha and Boris were my favorite characters which is how I’ve come to use their names in my first Москва post. So as you can see I’m rather fond of the names Natasha and Boris.


Andy

Moscow (Москва), Russia September 15 2011

Well, it has obviously been a very long time since my last entry in this Blog. And, a lot has happened since the last entry. I’ve left Seton Hall University after a brief 3 year stay. Counting the 32 years I spent at NYU I decided 35 years in the university business was enough. So, as of June, 2011 I guess I have retired from university life. Nancy retired from public school teaching (Tenafly, NJ) a year before I left Seton Hall having put 36 years in and spent her first year in “retirement” planning what we’d be doing in Chapter III of our lives.

The big change for us is that we are now living in downtown Moscow, Russia for at least the next 2 years. Nancy was still interested in teaching; not so for me, so she landed a teaching job at the Anglo-American School of Moscow (www.aas.ru). AAS is affiliated with the US Embassy and many students are children of diplomats and business people working in Moscow. Children from the Canadian and British Embassies also attend AAS. The school goes from pre-K 3 years olds (this is Nancy’s program) all the way through high school which offers an international baccalaureate program. The school is an amazingly well endowed complex. I’ve posted some photos of the school if you’re interested on my Web site: http://www.andrewmcdonoughphotography.com, then click on the “Russia” link.

Nancy was hired to resurrect a pre-K 3 year olds program which has been dormant for several years. She’s been developing the entire program with 2 teaching assistants. Tomorrow (Friday) will be the second full week where her kids are in school for the entire day (8:30-15:30 – note the time format). She’s already done a remarkable job although 3 years tend to wear her out more so than her 2nd graders ever did. She comes home beat every night. If you know Nancy she rarely goes to sleep before 12:30 until now – by 23:00 she’s in bed and out like a light.

As for me I’m “working” at AAS in the after-school programs. I am (will be – I start next week) teaching photography to middle and high school students (2 separate groups) and a high school woodworking class.. If you know me I’m an ardent photographer (URL above) and I’ve been a woodworker since I was in grammar school. I was, at one time a long time ago, a carpenter foreman building houses. So, I’ve pretty much got it made “teaching”. Nancy has the real job and I’ll be “teaching” what I like to do most having NOTHING to do with human anatomy or college/university kids. Because Nancy is the bread-winner of the family I have taken on the roll of Natasha the house (apartment) keeper and Boris the chauffer and all around handyman – more about this is future posts.

So here we are living in Moscow for the next 2 years. AAS has some rather liberal holidays so we plan to use Moscow as a travel hub. And, we’ll be back in the US occasionally as well.

My plan for this blog is to write about US people (us) living in Russia where very few people other than our colleagues at AAS speak English And as I think you’ll come to see the Russian culture is very different from our own making for some major (and minor) challenges. For the first few weeks we’ve been here I averaged being lost about twice a day – sometimes on the street and sometimes on the Metro (subway). Not knowing the language sure makes things exciting when you’re trying to get oriented to a new city and country

Russian is based on the Cyrillic alphabet with some letters that have English equivalents and a bunch that do not – 39 letters in all. More on the Russian language in future posts but let me give you one common example. In Cyrillic “Cnachбo” (pronounced ‘spa-see-ba”) means “thank you or thanks”. While many of the letters look like they are in English they aren’t so reading and speaking words and phrases is very tough. At the moment I have about half a dozen words/phrases that I can say/read and this includes “yes’ and “no”. The whole alphabet looks like this: А, Б, В, Г, Д, Е, Ё, Ж, З, И, Й, К, Л, М, Н, О, П, Р, С, Т, У, Ф, Х, Ц, Ч, Ш, Щ, Ъ, Ы, Ь, Э, Ю, Я so you can see I’ll be needing more than a few lessons in Russian – we start classes next Tuesday – wish us luck.

Some of the things I plan on writing about include: the Russian language, our apartment, getting a driver’s license, buying a car, parking, traveling on the Metro, getting lost, security guards, high-heels and more. Hopefully, I’ll have a lot more material to post this time around. I hope you find it interesting – we sure do and notwithstanding a lot of challenges we’re having a great time here – stay tuned…

Cnachбo,

Andy

The Present

I don’t know about you, but recently (it’s late May, 2010) I’m feeling like the wheels are falling off this wagon (oil spills, inept government, scandals, politics, climate change, economic collapse, Wall Street, more scandals, etc.). I’m going to take a break from reading the papers and listening to the news…

Text of message to: Robert Wright: The Evolution of God. Little, Brown and Company, 2009

April 30, 2010

Robert-

I decided to read your book after seeing you interviewed on "Bill Moyers Journal" on PBS. While I'm a scientist and think of myself as being guided by rational thoughts I have been "studying" religion since first going to college in 1968. Since then I have been wondering, sometimes out loud, if God exists? Many years ago I decided the answer was "no" and yet I have wondered why the vast majority of people in this world do believe in God. I think I understand that God is within the individual and the evolution of God seems terribly logical to me in the Darwinian sense; as humans' brains, and accordingly their thoughts, evolve with the selective pressures that we experience over the course of our lives. I believe that "being spiritual" is not the same thing as believing in God. I know, probably many people, who either don't believe in God or they are skeptical of God's existence, and yet they would call themselves "spiritual". The problem that I have had is while I don't believe there is a God, I don't seem to have a sense of spirituality either. This is puzzling to me but having read your book I am starting to "figure this out". My thinking about religion has also been shaped in a major way by Joseph Campbell, also interviewed by Moyers, just before his death. I make it a point to listen to some of Campbell's interviews with Moyers, at least once a year. Campbell's books and interviews, as has your book, have given me a profound (note: I rarely use the word "profound") insight into questions I've had about religion and God. Thank you for one of the best books I've ever read. More importantly, thank you for allowing me to learn a good deal about myself. Having just turned 60 the other day I'm starting to feel more comfortable with my conclusions although I will continue to "study" religion and God. You would probably understand that if I am asked: "Is there god or gods" I would answer "yes". If I am asked: "Is there God" I would answer "no". My next search is to understand why I don’t seem be spiritual. Your book has helped me to start sorting this out. Many thanks!

Regards,

Andy McDonough
mcdonoan@shu.edu

On Making a Mistake

Let me preface this essay by noting that I am a nostalgic person. I enjoy remembering things in my past, especially my friends and neighbors I went to school with, in some cases as far back as kindergarten. I don’t dwell in the past but from time-to-time thinking about “the old days” is a pleasant past-time. The other thing that’s pertinent here is that I’ve moved into my “Third Chapter” of life (see Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot: The Third Chapter passion, risk, and adventure in the 25 years after 50. link: http://web2.bccls.org/web2/tramp2.exe/do_keyword_search/guest ) The third chapter is a time for among other things, reflection as well as thrusting yourself into the future.


A little over a year ago, just after Thanksgiving in 2008, I went to my 40th high school reunion. One of our classmates sponsored the event at his nightclub: thank you Brian! As an aside, the things you realize about reunions after about the 20th is that they are largely solo events. For the first few reunions spouses, mates and significant others attend – probably more out of a sense of obligation rather than actually wanting to be there. As time goes by the spouses et al., understanding that they don’t know, or don’t want to know, your old friends politely decline. So, by the 40th a good many of us show up unaccompanied.


It was great to see old friends, some I hadn’t seen for years and in a few cases, not since graduating from high school. That was 1968! There were people I had gone to kindergarten with in Watchung. As the night wore on we talked and drank and listened to Brian’s band – it was a great time! And of course, there were many remembrances of the good times: school dances, old flames, winning seasons and the like; and the bad times like the day we almost beat North Plainfield in a football game, our arch rival. Most of us agreed it was a bad call by the refs and Wes did actually break the plane of the goal line – I guess a few things will never be forgotten…


On my way home that night it occurred to me that I wanted to keep in touch with some of my old friends and not wait five or ten years for the next reunion. And periodically over the next year I made attempts to contact people – Brian’s original email invitation handily provided me with addresses. I was successful in a number of cases. Sometimes via email, sometimes by phone and a few times I had lunch or dinner with old classmates. At the end of each encounter we agreed that we’d keep in touch. Then, months later, it occurred to me that I hadn’t heard from people even after a little, and sometimes a lot, of prodding. I wasn’t hurt by the lack of response, but I was surprised. Thinking about it I guess it was hard for me to believe that others didn’t share my interest in re-connecting – surely you’d want to stay in touch fresh from a class reunion – the 40th no less.


I mulled this over for months and I’ve come to realize I had made a mistake. I realized that most of us really don’t want to stay in regular contact – we’ve grown up and moved on with our lives. Our current and future evolved from the past – the past is gone – we can’t go back. And for a nostalgic person like me it was a bit of a shock. Our memories are pleasant things we reflect back on once in a long while – that’s what reunions are for – they are one-night stands that bring us back to the old days – just for a little while. We enjoy the connection and then, just as fast as it came, it leaves us and we’re back to reality - moving on with our lives. The mistake I made was thinking reunions are a starting point. They are really anniversaries of an ending point that for us, happened in 1968. It took me a time to figure this out but I’m finally catching on.


And so, if you owe me a drink or lunch when we last met and you’d like to settle your account, by all means that would be great. After that, maybe when the next reunion comes around, we can say hello.


I wish everyone the best during our Third Chapter…take care…

On Why Drawing Helps You Learn Human Anatomy

While memorization sometimes gets chided as mundane and less than scholarly, committing information to memory is an essential element of all learning whether in the cognitive, motor or other domains. We know that there are at least two types of memory: short- and long-term and there is a critical link between them. In order to commit an idea, concept, image, sound or experience to long-term memory, successful short-term memory processing is required. Over the last 30 years I have been teaching human anatomy to a variety of students, mostly in the health professions. I am absolutely certain that drawing and re-drawing anatomical structures leads to a “visual image” (in your “mind’s eye”) that will be successfully instilled in long-term memory. I should add a disclaimer that this was not originally my idea. While in physical therapy school my own anatomy instructor, a physical anthropologist, drew everything we learned about in anatomy lectures. From the start, when I first began teaching at the university level I adapted this perspective; from day one of my teaching I drew virtually everything I taught.

Students often remark that when they first attend my classes they “can’t draw.” I respond that they’re missing the point. I tell them that the act of putting your pencil to paper, and NOT using a laptop computer to take notes, plays a significant role in converting information into long-term memory. In fact, whatever they are drawing only has to make sense to them even if someone looking over your shoulder doesn’t have a clue what you’ve drawn.

Students note that I rarely use notes when I teach anatomy. They ask me: “How can you do that?” I reply that whatever I am drawing on the board comes from a “mental image” of what I’m thinking about. I am drawing what I see in “my mind’s eye.” Admittedly, repetition has played an important role in what and how I teach it. Over the past 30 years I’ve probably taught anatomy courses of one sort or another hundreds of times.

While memory has been studied for years, the physiological connection between short-term and long-term memory has been illusive. In recent years, however, neuro-physiological mechanisms are starting to be understood. It’s clear that in order to store an idea or image in long-term memory there must be a significant “event” that “inspires” short-term memory (usually lasting only several seconds) enough so that those signals can be successfully stored and later recalled. “Events” are varied. Almost everyone in my generation can recall the time of day, where we were and the circumstances requiring us to be there the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated. For me, I was sitting in Miss William’s music class in 7th grade. My whole class stayed after school that day as punishment for misbehaving in class. I was sitting on the top riser slightly to the left of center in the room. Around 3:30PM that afternoon an announcement came over the PA system from our principal that John Kennedy had been shot. The room went silent and a girl in our class named Sally, sitting in the front row, a little to my right began sobbing after hearing the news. I’m 59 now and I can remember that day like it was yesterday. I’m sure others vividly recall the day the space shuttle Challenger exploded during the Reagan administration. Clearly “events” like these play a critical role in linking short- to long-term memory. What is not understood is the physiological nature of the “event”.

Recently, experimentation in neuroscience has started to identify a possible biochemical link between a triggering “event” and long-term memory. A molecule called PKN beta (phenyketnuria beta) may represent such a trigger. At least since Bernstein’s work on redundant neural pathways was introduced to the west (Bernstein was a Russian physiologist) in the 1960’s it has been understood that certain neuro-synaptic pathways appear to be selected for amongst the millions of potential pathways that exist in the nervous system. In the fields of motor control and motor learning there is substantial evidence that repetitive physical practice (“time-on-task”) is an important factor in selecting out a specific pathway that becomes used over and over again. Conceptually, this may be a neuro-physiological explanation for remembering a motor act and being successful at it after long periods of practice. It now appears that PKN beta or a similar molecule may play a role in selecting out a specific, efficient neural pathway. When an impactful “event” such as drawing a picture, deemed to be important (presumably by an anatomy instructor) occurs, PKN beta connects to a synapse. At this point it’s not clear if it’s the pre- or post-synaptic membrane. In any event the connection of PKN beta seems to serve as a signal to the nervous system that the pathway currently being utilized is special and perhaps represents a neuro-physiological explanation for committing an image (or concept) to long-term memory. Therefore, the physical act of drawing (again, putting pencil-to-paper) may represent the “trigger” and “event” leading to successful storage in memory and recall.

For years I have told students that the best way to learn and retain anatomy is to draw it. I’ve often said that staring at a bunch of words in a textbook is not likely to lead to successful mastery of anatomic structure – “you need to draw it – over and over again!” While my experience over the years has brought me to this conclusion, I’ve never been able to articulate what I know, in a neuro-anatomical or neuro-physological context. Maybe PKN beta is pointing in that direction. Nonetheless, if you’re going to learn anatomy – START DRAWING – it works!

Link: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/3410/01.html