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Singer-songwriter Dan Mangan, speaking to Q radio host Jian Ghomeshi about the song Basket:

It’s a bit of an ode to my grandfather. After he passed away, I kind of came up with this idea that your life is a basket, and throughout your life you’re putting greeting cards and letters and notes into this basket. And every story, every  experience that you’ve ever shared gets fueled into this basket that becomes you. And you are shaped by everything that’s ever happened to you or around you. He started to lose his memories, he started to mix things up, he started to call me his own brother’s name, and he’d confuse my brother and I. And I thought, y’know, that’s really tragic, and what do you do when the basket starts falling apart, and all those letters and stories fall to the ground? So the song is about getting old and pissed off, but then at the same time it’s about the redemption, it’s about holding on to those memories.

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Listen to Dan Mangan’s overwhelmingly-moving live performance of his song Basket off the new album “Nice, Nice, Very Nice” (Then go buy Dan’s music on iTunes!):

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Learn more at DanManganMusic.com

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Dr. David E. Thomas is a 60-year-old male physician specializing in psychiatry. He was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) in October 2007, and currently runs this very active, very wonderful blog. Here’s a lighthearted poem about an utterly unfunny subject that recently appeared on Dr. Thomas’ website:

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Forgetter Be Forgotten

My forgetter’s getting better,
But my rememberer is broke
To you that may seem funny
But, to me, that is no joke

For when I’m ‘here’ I’m wondering
If I really should be ‘there’
And, when I try to think it through,
I haven’t got a prayer!

Oft times I walk into a room,
Say ‘what am I here for?’
I wrack my brain, but all in vain!
A zero, is my score.

At times I put something away
Where it is safe, but, Gee!
The person it is safest from
Is, generally, me!

When shopping I may see someone,
Say ‘Hi’ and have a chat,
Then, when the person walks away
I ask myself, ‘who the hell was that?’

Yes, my forgetter’s getting better
While my rememberer is broke,
And it’s driving me plumb crazy
And that isn’t any joke.

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Read all Irked posts tagged “poetry”

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The New York Times:

MAMARONECK, N.Y. — For 10 days in June, Kristen Murphy chose to live somewhere she and many others fear: a nursing home.

Ms. Murphy, who is in perfect health, had to learn the best way to navigate a wheelchair around her small room, endure the humiliation that comes with being helped in the bathroom, try to sleep through night checks and become attuned to the emotions of her fellow residents.

And Ms. Murphy, 38, had to explain to friends, family and fellow patients why she was there.

Ms. Murphy, a medical student at the University of New England in Biddeford, Me., who is interested in geriatric medicine, came to New York for a novel program that allowed her to experience life as a nursing home patient.

Students are given a “diagnosis” of an ailment and expected to live as someone with the condition does. They keep a daily journal chronicling their experiences and, in most cases, debunking their preconceived notions.

The program started in 2005 after a student approached Dr. Marilyn Gugliucci, the director of geriatrics education at the medical school. “ ‘Dr. G,’ ” she recalled the student saying, “ ‘I would like to learn how to speak with institutionalized elders.’ What came out of my mouth was, ‘Will you live in a nursing home for two weeks?’ ”

Read the rest of this article and watch the accompanying video >>

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