• Italian Grill Thanks you for your valued business & wishes you a Happy Healthy New Year $1 1 1 1 1 GIFT CERTIFICATE I. This certificate entitles bearer to: $1000 off with minimum purchase of $5000 (excluding tax, tip & alcoholic beverages). Redeemable at both locations. Maximum discount $10 00. Offer not valid on Holidays and subject to Rules of Use. Tipping should be 15% to 20% of the total bill before discount. Offer expires10/25/08 1 1 1 1 Banquet Facility and Outside Catering Available • Open 4 pm-10 pm • • Lounge open till 2 am Thursday thru Saturday • 1997500 Visit us online at: www.larcositalian.com 6480 Orchard Lake Rd. I West Bloomfield I 248-626-6969 and the answer might be simply that my mind was on something else. "Ask me about the calcium channels in my brain that drive remembering or forgetting and you're asking a much harder question:" Through many intriguing anec- dotes, Kluger demonstrates predict- able patterns of human behavior, addressing questions like why it takes so long for a crowd to leave a burning building, how institutions can be seen as a series of nesting dolls, why people aren't very good at distinguishing between risks likely to kill them and those that are statistical long shots and why a baby is likely to be the best linguist in the room. In his chapter on global health con- cerns — titled "Why are only 10 per- cent of the world's medical resources used to treat 90 percent of its ills?" — he discusses the effectiveness of many low-cost micro-solutions in bat- tling global poverty and disease that are not at all complicated, as govern- mental agencies might believe. Kluger emphasizes the importance of teaching behavioral skills on the local level, creating distribution net- works for delivery of existing cures or vaccines, and establishing mico-credit banking institutions to get money directly to the people who need it most. With wisdom borne of flexibil- ity, precision and planning, positive change is truly possible. He mentions an international foundation that bought new and used ambulances, refrigerated trucks and motorcycles for local health agencies in Africa, cre- ating a motorized medical fleet where none had existed before, servicing great stretches of several countries; it has slashed mortality rates for certain diseases. "Our deep sense that this is an effort we not only could be making but should be making comes from a place that might, ultimately, be one of the most uncomplicated parts of us: our simple sense of compassion:' he writes. Kluger doesn't cover religion, but notes that a consideration of the topic might have been an additional chapter in the book. "Religion is exceedingly compli- cated as long as it is not used blindly, not as a simple, rigid adherence to doctrine," he says. "Fanaticism is very simple. No matter how long the text, the fact is if you take it literally, you don't bring anything to the party." He adds, "The Bible is moral soft- ware, whether you're a believer or you don't believe. The fact is, you have a responsibility to bring something to it — judgments, wisdom, compassion:' As for government, he notes, "The U.S. Constitution is a marvel of economy. But in 200 years of Supreme Court decisions, simplicity allows for complexity;' he says, pointing out that the Talmud is similarly simple and complex. Kluger, 54, who covers science and social issues, is the author of several books, including Apollo 13, writ- ten with astronaut Jim Lovell, upon which the 1995 movie was based. He also penned a novel for young adults, Nacky Patcher and the Curse of the Dry-Land Boats. Writing is a Kluger family tradition. He has Pulitzer Prize winners on both sides of the family: the historian and journalist Richard Kluger is an uncle, and poet Karl Shapiro is a cousin. His three brothers also are writers. While he has been covering sci- ence for Time for many years, Kluger humbly claims that he is unqualified. His own training is in law, although he hasn't practiced as an attorney. "I don't have a science background that goes beyond curiosity and abid- ing fascination. I've always said that vice can be spun into a virtue. I never make the mistake of presuming knowledge on the part of the reader:" Kluger, who lives on the Upper East Side of Manhattan with his wife and two young daughters, says he feels a deep cultural connection to American Judaism. The family belongs to the Temple of Universal Judaism, a Reform congregation that's suited to its multicultural home, he explains. "You miss the whole world if you're not willing to crack things open and look at the complexity in simplicity;' he says. ❑ t--- 7 7 .014/1, :z/vo 1 eY#(.471, ‘ Weddings Banquets Birthdays -"n ette/iti.i.eat— cettez Bar/Bat Mitzvahs Showers eunions Anniversaries Etc. WE CATER AT MOST SYNAGOGUES, TEMPLES, HOTELS AND THE HALLS OF YOUR CHOICE '11 kat- 79 ge44- 1: , WEL CLASSIC CUISINE Approved by Council of Orthodox Rabbis KOSHER CATERERS PHILIP TRia, rood & Bever Director A8-6614050 farmindon Hills . Hamad and Janine Kouka Staff of Pasta Facsioli e7) • • • • • • • ltli sites thei/v ettstaineits,, iziends, entize. communitif • • • • • 6-4 Te,up 9(appip & Weal/up 97 cut c lie a il • . 248-332-1111 . . • 2398 Franklin Rd. • Bloomfield Twp • • • c . . (Square Lake & ''Ilegraph Rds.) . •• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ,.,._., Open 7 Days for Lunch WE'VE MOVED 2 DOORS DOWN! & Dinner (Yzechuall dnespire ,„.2Vorth eRestaurant 10%Off Total Bill DINE IN OR CARRYOUT Not good with any other offer 1 coupon per table • with coupon- Expires 10/15/08 • Featuring Authentic Chinese/Asian Cooking • Complete Lunch Starts at $6.55 • Children's Menu • Healthy, Low Fat, 'Sodium Free' Choices • Vegetarian Dishes . • 39470 14 Mile Rd. (corner of Haggert% in the Nmberry Square Plaza), 248-960-7666 www.szechuanempire.com September 25 • 2008 B51