Cato Laurencin Takes Part in Healthcare Discussion

Princeton's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences recently spoke with four alumni, including our own Cato Laurencin, about the future of health. Cato is the Albert and Wilda Van Dusen Distinguished Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at the University of Connecticut and member of the National Academy of Engineering. Cato commented,

The elimination of health disparities in the United States, especially those based upon race and ethnicity, is a major challenge. I applaud the fact that the National Institutes of Health has launched a new initiative dedicated to minority health and health disparities. By the year 2050 (maybe sooner) ethnic minorities in American will be in the majority. The issues contributing to disparities in health care -- environment, racism, genetics -- need to be studied; solutions need to be proposed and tested.

The comments can be found in the winter 2012 edition of EQuad News, which had as its theme "exploring the intersection between engineering and health."

Big Hollywood Interviews Doug McGrath About His Documentary "His Way"

Doug McGrath discusses his documentary about Hollywood film producer-concert promoter-manager-philantropist-entrepreneur Jerry Weintraub in a two-part interview at the website Big Hollywood. Interviewer Kevin Williams writes,

Weintraub first managed musical acts ranging from The Four Seasons to The Moody Blues, then promoted artists such as Led Zeppelin, John Denver, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Kiss, Aerosmith and Queen. He also promoted the “comeback” tours for Elvis Presley, then Frank Sinatra. Weintraub’s movie producing credits include “Nashville,” “Oh God!,” “Diner,” “Cruising,” “The Karate Kid,” “National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation,” “The Karate Kid” (2010), and the 2001 remake of “Ocean’s Eleven,” as well as “Ocean’s 12″ and “Ocean’s 13.” He appeared in all the “Ocean” films as well as “The Firm.”

“His Way” is the first documentary feature film directed by Douglas McGrath. McGrath is an actor/writer/director whose past directing credits include “Emma,” “Nicholas Nickleby,” “Infamous,” and “I Don’t Know How She Does It.” In my opinion, “His Way” is pound for pound and frame for frame the most entertaining and inspirational documentary of this past year. “His Way” was shot and edited for nearly ten months and culled from approximately seventy hours of interview footage.

"His Way is available on Netflix, along with Doug's other works.

Adam Bellow Nurtures Broadside Books for Conservative Thinkers

The Washington Post kicked off 2012 with a long feature on Adam Bellow in its January 1 Style section. The article focused on Adam's imprint at HarperCollins, Broadside Books, which follows on his work with independent thinkers such as Dinesh D'Souza, Jonah Goldberg and Charles Murray. The article says of e-books published by Broadside,

One author is Milton R. Wolf, a Kansas physician and distant cousin to President Obama who opposes his health-care plan. He wrote “First, Do No Harm.” Another is Dallas tea party leader Lorie Medina, who wrote “Community Organizing for Conservatives.”Sales have been “modest,” Bellow says. The health-care pamphlet had been the best-selling, at 500 copies, until a satiric offering by Frank J. Fleming titled “Obama: The Greatest President in the History of Everything” sold 2,300 copies in its first week. Starting this month, Broadside will add longer works, called e-originals and running 20,000 to 30,000 words, to the series. First out of the blocks: “The New Quislings: How the International Left Used the Oslo Massacre to Silence Debate About Islam,” by Bruce Bawer.

In explaining the impetus behind the project, Adam noted,

“There is zero fresh air coming from the left. There is more genuine intellectual ferment on the right. Conservatives are better educated, if only to know what the left is saying and how to defend themselves.”