Nathan Hellman's Blog

We miss you Nate

2010-02-16T15:23:00.000-08:00

It is with great sadness and sorrow that we are writing to inform you of the passing of Nathan Hellman, MD, PhD. Nathan passed away on february 13, 2010 at the Massachusetts General Hospital after a short illness. Born in Houston, Texas, on December 8, 1973, Nathan grew up in Duluth, Minnesota. He attended Yale University, graduating magna cum laude. After Yale, he went to Washington University, where he obtained his MD/PhD. He did his residency training in Internal Medicine at University of Pennsylvania and became a member of the Division of Nephrology in 2007 as a clinical fellow in Nephrology. He was completing his fellowship as a research fellow and member of Iain Drummond’s research group. He was to be appointed a faculty member in July 2010.

Nathan was most importantly a wonderful husband, father, son and brother. At work, he touched all of our lives with his warm heart and spirit, great sense of humor and remarkable intellect. He was an exceptional scientist, a talented and insightful clinician and a remarkably kind and humble human being. He was also known nationwide for his famous Renal Fellows Blog, a wonderful website he updated daily with nephrology teaching points, news and research findings.

He is survived by his wife, Claire, his two children, Sophie and Max, his parents, Dr. and Mrs. Hellman, his two sisters, and their families.

A Memorial Service will be held to celebrate his achievements and commemorate his contributions to the MGH community at the O’Keefe Auditorium on Wednesday, February 17th at 2pm, followed by a reception in the Thier Conference Room at 3.30pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorials can be sent to:

Nathan Hellman Memorial Fund
PO Box 471044
Brookline Village, MA 02447

HD Victory In Sight

2010-01-31T18:51:00.000-08:00

We decided that our combined Christmas/Hannukah president this year would be a new flat-screen TV...in order to replace the hideously outdated 19" TV/VHS combo I bought early on in grad school. Should be easy, right? Just waltz into Costco and pick out a cool-looking TV, right? NOT so easy--the entire process has been a grueling exercise. First, we had to pick out a piece of furniture to go with the TV--something high enough that the kids won't put their grimy hands all over the screen--which we DID eventually find and managed to deliver to our home by renting a U-Haul cargo van for a couple of hours. The next obstacle was figuring out how to actually lift the waterlogged box containing said furniture up our stairs in the pouring rain (see photo)...an obstacle which could not be overcome until I enlisted the aid of the Strongest Man I Know, the big Russian who works in my lab--thanks, Alex! In any case, the next step involved installing the TV onto the furniture (it has this stand which elevates the flat screen a few more inches above the furniture), a procedure which involved some frustrating maneuvers with a level, but eventually did get accomplished. The final step in our quest has yet to take place--I recently discovered that I will have to get a new cable box equipped for HDTV--but the end is in sight! I watched a few minutes of the Celtics-Lakers game this afternoon.

Oh, and here's some pictures of the kids painting at home:

Bonus Kid Pics

2010-01-22T05:01:00.001-08:00

One recent pic each for my favorite son & my favorite daughter:

Weekend with Aunt Susie!

2010-01-19T18:27:00.001-08:00

My sister Susie came to visit this weekend and we packed a lot of activities in! Fortunately the New York City-to-Boston corridor was relatively snow-free and we were able to walk around outside quite a bit. Some highlights:

Ice-skating in Boston Commons! Sophie's first experience with ice skating was overall a good one, though she still needs quite a bit of support.

We took advantage of our family membership at the Boston Science Museum on Sunday.
Fun with the Science Museum distorting mirrors makes Sophie look like she has the same hairstyle as Marge Simpson.

Max enjoys being toted around on Aunt Susie's back.
Thanks for visiting, Aunt Susie!

Celts-Bulls Game Tonight

2010-01-14T20:54:00.001-08:00

Just got back from witnessing first-hand the Boston Celtics lose to the Chicago Bulls at the Boston Garden tonight! The two teams waged an epic playoff battle last season, and I was hoping they would recreate the same magic, but unfortunately, both teams looked a little sloppy, especially the Celtics. Ray Allen missed a ton of open looks he usually makes, both KG (my fave) and Rasheed Wallace were injured, and thus Boston was forced to start the red-haired Brian Scalabrine, the team's only white guy, as its power forward. When Brian Scalabrine is your starting power forward, you are in serious trouble. Still fun to see the whole NBA spectacle, though.

It's so Easy

2010-01-10T05:32:00.000-08:00

So easy to make Max laugh these days...just pretend to start chasing him by stating "I'm gonna get you!" and 9 times out of 10 he'll go nuts. Usually there's more actual pursuit than in this video, but you get the idea.

Congrats to Andre Dawson

2010-01-07T18:44:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Andre Dawson, one of my favorite baseball players growing up, for being elected to the Baseball Hall-of-Fame.

"The Hawk" was at his peak while playing with the Chicago Cubs during the late 80s (also my peak as a baseball fan), though he played more years with the now-defunct Montreal Expos (and in my opinion should probably be inducted into the Hall of Fame wearing an Expos, not a Cubs, uniform, despite my allegiance to the Cubbies). I even picked my high school Spanish name ("Andres") after Andre Dawson.

When I was collecting baseball cards, me and my friends each selected three or four players each, and tried to collect as many cards as possible of these players. My cohort consisted of Andre Dawson, Ryne Sandberg, Ozzie Smith, and Fernando Valenzuela, the first three of which all made it to the Hall of Fame.

Last Remaining Frenchie Pics

2010-01-06T05:03:00.001-08:00

A few last random pics from our Frenchie vacation, with brief explanations:

We stayed at a friend's apartment in the 18th Arrondissement, a few blocks away from this building unofficially labeled "Ministere Pour La Regularisation de Tous les Sans Papiers"--loosely translated as "Minister for the Regularization of All Those Without Official Papers", or illegal immigrants. It's a big issue in France, where relatively lax policies regarding letting immigrants into the country (compared to other European countries, at least) have led to a significant subpopulation of individuals who have been living and working in France for several years, but without the official right to do so.

Claire & Max at the Pantheon doors.
Sophie discovers "la feve" in her galette de rois, a traditional French pastry eaten around the holidays.
Sophie & her friend Anais on the Metro (both smiling, but unfortunately towards a different camera).
Meow!

Two Little Princesses

2010-01-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

For me, the best part of our trip to Paris was getting together with old friends. In fact, a good chunk of our time while in Paris was shuttling back and forth from dinner party to dinner party (and eating an impressive overall quality of food, I might add). On Sunday, our last full day in Paris, we ate raclette with a bunch of my former colleagues from my days at Hopital Necker; the entertainment consisted of watching little Sophie and her friend Leilie dance and sing like the little princesses that they are. Enjoy, Mom & Dad.

Paris Monuments

2010-01-04T16:34:00.000-08:00

We're back in Boston! That's right, we successfully navigated the ridiculously heightened security lines and made it back to the U.S. after a great 10-day vacation. Highlights of today's voyage include Sophie's puking massive amounts of orange juice-flavored vomit as soon as we landed. Kudos to her for waiting the entire flight before letting loose. Anyways, she's feeling better already, so here's a bunch of random Parisian monuments we saw while ambling around town.

Galeries Lafayette (one of the famous department stores).
Parisian Opera.
Arc de Triomphe.
Sophie inside the Arc de Triomphe.
Neat old carousel near Sacre Coeur.
Flocks of tourists at Sacre Coeur (a short walk from the apartment we stayed at near Montmartre).
The Pantheon--resting place of France's famous historical figures.
The Sorbonne.

The Savage Coast

2010-01-03T01:19:00.001-08:00

We took a nice walk last week along "La Cote Sauvage"--"the savage coast" lining the Atlantic Ocean, a little south of Brittany. It was cold and blustery, but still nicer than your typical Boston winter day. Here are some pics.

Lots of rocks & waves.
Cool rock formations.
Definitely jacket weather!
Playing a game of chicken with the waves.
Quality father-son bonding time.
Afterwards we went to the nearby town of Le Croisic for crepes and cidre.
Max eyes the cider with Mami Christine.
Night scene.

Crepes Galore

2010-01-02T11:13:00.000-08:00

Check out this totally awesome industrial crepe-making machine I saw in downtown La Baule. It's kind of like a giant, rotating spider...that makes crepes! Would that mine own dreams be haunted by such a creature...

Guerande

2010-01-01T03:50:00.000-08:00

One of the "field trips" we took last week was a trip to Guerande, a medieval city not far from Claire's parents' in LaBaule. The old part of the city (shown in this aerial view obviously not taken by my camera) is surrounded by a large wall and there's several cool little shops inside, as well as the obligatory large church.

Here's some other pictures of our shopping trip to Guerande:

Finally, Guerande is also known for its production of sea salt. Nearby swampland collects seawater, and during the summer months evaporation and farming allows for the harvest of sea salt.

Joyeuses Fetes 2009-2010

2009-12-31T07:53:00.000-08:00

In other words, happy holidays from France. We're in the middle of our annual French-Fried Winter Vacation. The first part of our trip was spent in La Baule (on the west coast of France) with Claire's family--lots of fun. We've just recently embarked on the second part, a few days in Paris. So far the weather has been perfectly balmy compared to Boston, so I can't complain too much, even though it's rained a bit. Here are just a few pics, since I need to get ready for our New Year's Eve party coming up:

Max on the slide.
Nice view of La Baule beach at sunset.
Sophie trying on uncle Olivier's Christmas present, a Boston Red Sox hat.

First Real Snow of the Year!

2009-12-20T15:15:00.001-08:00

Snow emergency! Boston experienced its first big snow of the year last night, and a good chunk of today was spent performing snow-related activities, such as shoveling, finding parking spots not on the official "snow emergency route", and....cross-country skiing! It was only for a short period of time but I dusted off the old skis (same ones I've used since high school), put on a fresh coat of wax, and took a few laps around the Charlestown High School track while Claire, Sophie and Max froze their asses off.

8 Crazy Nights

2009-12-18T18:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Hannukah to all! We've done a pretty good job lighting the candles this year, and towards the end Sophie even began to understand that these weren't birthday candles that needed to be blown out! Thanks to the parents for so many wonderful presents...we have a lot of cookies to go through between now and next Thursday (when we fly to France for Christmas).

Family Photo, Thanksgiving 2009

2009-12-09T14:12:00.001-08:00

Here's a nice family photo from our Indy trip for Thanksgiving. I am wearing my Duluth East high school letter jacket in honor of the fact that (a) it still fits me, and (b) my high school will soon be defunct.

Christmas comes to Charlestown early!

2009-12-07T05:14:00.000-08:00

Here we are checking out the Christmas display that came to Charlestown, just a few blocks down from our home. "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"...we just had our first snowfall of the year this weekend!

Indy Children's Museum

2009-12-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

Still sharing the photos from last weekend's Thanksgiving extravaganza: last Saturday we went to the Indianapolis Children's Museum, which features some kick-ass dinosaurs busting into the museum front:

Inside the "DINOSPHERE"!
Max hatching some dino eggs.
Watch out, Sophie, there's a dinosaur behind you!
Cousin Henry puts the pedal to the medal in his Indy 500 car.
Neato Dale Chihuly stained glass sculpture.

Annual Pacers Game

2009-12-02T04:30:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving it's a tradition to attend an NBA game at Thanksgiving (which we unfortunately missed last year thanks to Max's birth). The Indiana Pacers always play a game the day after the Thanksgiving, and this is the game we target. This year's contest featured your Indiana Pacers against the Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks...and resulted in the worst home loss for Indiana in the season thus far: the final score was 113-92, and even this does not reflect how much of a blowout the game was, as Nowitzki scored 31 without even having to play a minute of the 4th quarter. We actually dared to bring all four cousins (Sophie, Max, Henry, James) to the game with us and they did a great job cheering the Pacers, mercifully forgiving the fact that they played liked dogs. Max even got a chance to shake hands with the Pacers' mascot!

Diet Coke & Mentos

2009-11-30T22:27:00.000-08:00

Diet Coke & Mentos: the classic, foam-inducing combination. For my nephew Henry's 4th birthday, I bought him a special contraption ("Steve Spangler's Geyser Tube") which allows the rapid plunging of a whole stack of Mentos into a 2 Liter bottle of carbonated beverage, resulting in a 25-foot geyser of foam that spews forth. We conducted the experiment just before Thanksgiving dinner, and overall the audience was impressed. My brother-in-law Tim assisted in the effort.

Of course, this is nothing compared to these guys:

Thanksgiving '09!

2009-11-30T06:27:00.001-08:00

Ever feel like you need a vacation after a vacation? I definitely feel that way after this long weekend's Thanksgiving at my parents in Indy. We had a GREAT TIME, but traveling with 2 kids on an airline that changes your original flight from a direct one to one with connections that gets into Boston around midnight is no picnic... But why dwell on the negative? Here are some pics of the Hellman Thanksgiving extravaganza.

Cathy & Jamesy
Claire supervising piano playing by Max & Sophie
Aunt Susie & Max (who is trying to get over his separation anxiety from mom)
The full Thanksgiving pie selection: grasshopper, pumpkin, cherry, chocolate mousse, apple (and plenty of whipped cream).
Sophie shows off the winning half of the wishbone.
The hosts of the show (Mom & Dad) with Max in his new winter coat.
Uncle Tim, Silly Sophie, and me (happy my high school letter jacket still fits).
Uncle Joe teaching Henry how to play the accordian.

The Taste of Tony's Frosted Flakes...

2009-11-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

Nate's Blog has often referenced the bizarre world of sweetened cereal mascots. Here's a shout-out to the classic Frosted Flakes jingle, in which the All-American jock tiger Tony reports on the grrrrrreatness of his cereal and its ability to "bring out the tiger" in those who eat it. Assisted by Sophie Hellman.

Max's First Birthday!

2009-11-22T15:55:00.000-08:00

Hard to believe it's been a whole year since Maxime Hugo Hellman was born...but today we celebrated one full year of Max's existence! Bon anniversaire, Max!

Max blows out his single birthday candle (with a little help from maman, papa, and Sophie)
Opening presents--not surprisingly, he's still more interested than the ribbons and wrapping paper than the actual present...
Chaos ensues...
Sophie celebrating.

Battered & Bruised

2009-11-21T08:35:00.000-08:00

Figure illustrating evidence of current abuse: cut on the forehead from where Sophie clocked me with a book, and a fat lip suffered in yesterday's pick-up baskeball game.

More Max

2009-11-17T19:02:00.001-08:00

Found the camera! As promised, more Max photos...

Excuses, Excuses

2009-11-16T15:12:00.000-08:00

Arg! 11 days since my last post. I can't find my camera with a bunch of good pics on it (chances are, Max or Sophie hid it somewhere), I'm studying for my Nephrology Boards exam scheduled to take place on Wednesday, and I spent the weekend driving all over southeastern Massachusetts visiting patients with sick kidneys at multiple different hospitals as part of a new moonlighting gig. That's a slightly more confusing version of "the dog ate my homework", but at least will provide some excuse for my lack of blog productivity.

Here are a few recent pics I dredged up from my iphone; Sorry, Max, I know you are underrepresented here but I swear I'll make it up to you...

Sophie in pigtails.
Blocks!

Reading with maman.

Nate self-portrait from his San Diego hotel, Halloween night, 2009.

Growing Up Fast

2009-11-05T18:44:00.001-08:00

Here' s a couple more Sophie and Max photos from the past few weeks.

Max swinging at the playground--he starting to get ornery when you try and take him out of the swing before he's good and finished.
Mamie taking a walk with her grandkids down Main Street in Charlestown.
View from the bottom of the slide.

Nice fall scene in our neighborhood in Charlestown.Falling asleep on the couch...

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

Howdy, folks! Got back safe and sound from the red eye from San Diego (after a rollickin' good time at the American Society of Nephrology convention) and was eager to see the pics of Sophie & Max's 2009 Halloween: Sophie was a Tinkerbell fairy (along with homemade wings, since she lost the originals somewhere unknown) and Max was a little piggie, though the costume was a little tight and therefore he didn't wear it for very long. Sophie cleaned up in the candy department, and now the challenge will be sticking to our candy rationing agreement.

Gone Fishing

2009-10-28T07:33:00.001-07:00

Gone fishing in the metaphorical sense.

I'll be at the American Society of Nephrology meeting in San Diego, CA for the next few days.

Not much else going on--last weekend/week was spent recovering from the flu (H1N1, perhaps?) so no new updates or pics. See you in a few.

Thoreau's Former Home

2009-10-17T16:08:00.000-07:00

A nice fall day in New England calls for a walk around Walden Pond. Nice colors, great walking weather. When I was in high school, I wrote a term paper on Thoreau's Walden Pond; now nearly 20 years later my daughter is running around on the site of his former cabin. Pretty cool.

More Fair

2009-10-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

Cute video of Sophie brushing a calf, and pausing every so often to check out the calf's reaction.

Topsfield Fair '09

2009-10-11T18:59:00.000-07:00

What a difference a year makes! Check out these photos from almost exactly one year ago, when the Hellman family (then consisting of only three) visited the annual Topsfield Fair, about 30 minutes north of Boston. Sophie's done a lot of growing since then.

Claire & Max.
In the driver's seat as usual.
Taking a ride on the carousel with papa.
Rare family photo with everybody looking at the camera!
The Perfect Fair Food Trifecta: ear of corn, corn dog, and (not pictured here) fried dough.
Crazy pumpkin sculpture.
Michael Jackson Memorial Pumpkin

$$$ Pumpkin display.

Chaos as usual...

2009-10-07T18:47:00.000-07:00

Chaos as usual in the Hellman household...

BTW, congrats to the Minnesota Twins for winning the AL Central last night...I had the game on and really enjoyed following it...unfortunately, it looks as if in doing so they earned the right to get demolished by the high-priced NY Yankees...good luck Twins!

Congrats x 3

2009-10-06T07:23:00.000-07:00

Nate's Blog has a trifecta of congratulations this morning.

Congrats #1 goes to the winners of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine: all three Americans, who earned their recognition by studies of telomeres (the "caps" on the end of chromosomal DNA that prevent its degradation, also turns out to be extremely important in cancer biology). The winners were Carol Greider, Elizabeth Blackburn, and Jack Szostak, the last one of whom works at my very own hospital (Massachusetts General Hospital)!

Congrats #2 goes to the Duluth Dukes, my 2009 Fantasy Baseball team that pulled out a season victory on the last day of the season. I'm giving co-MVPs to my two starting pitching aces of the year, Felix Hernandez (Seattle Mariners) and C.C. Sabathia (NY Yankees), both of whom will probably be considered for the real-life Cy Young award this year.

Congrats #3 goes to the MN Vikings, Brett Favre, and Monday Night Football--their excellent showing against the Green Bay Packers last night gave me something to watch while my 10-month old son Max refused to go to sleep, literally screaming at the top of his lungs every time I tried to put him in bed--the game kept me somewhat grounded, at least during the first part of the night...

Uncle Frank and Aunt Susan Visit

2009-10-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

Actually "Uncle Frank" is my Dad's cousin, but Uncle Frank just sounds better. He & his wife Susan were in Boston as part of a cruise of the Eastern seaboard, and we met them down by the wharf to participate in a great New England-style lunch. Sophie & Max easily sensed the "grandparent gene" present in Frank and Susan and had a great time. Pictures:

Sophie Tries on Boots and Other Stuff

2009-10-04T06:16:00.001-07:00

Had a great dinner last night with our friends Keith & Kerri--and we had a lot of fun watching Sophie try on Kerri's stylish boots, which come up to Sophie's thigh. Some pictures.

Sophie & Keith
Sophie & Max playing on their bedroom floor.
Unfortunately Max is definitely in his "let's pull off all the books on the shelves" stage...putting the books back is rapidly becoming part of the daily routine for Claire & myself.
Sophie in PJs.
Sur les epaules de papa.

Posted via iphone

2009-09-28T15:22:00.000-07:00

Posting pics onto blogger from iphone...pretty cool!

The camera is good for a cell phone, I suppose, but hard to keep steady (and therefore difficult to avoid blurry pictures, especially when there's not much light)...but I will generally always have my iphone on me, so it's handy.

i love my iphone

2009-09-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

I'm about a month and a half into my iphone and I love it. Really helpful with almost anything, but not everything...

Weekend Kid Pics

2009-09-21T05:22:00.000-07:00

Great weather in Boston recently...the brief period of time when it's neither too hot nor too cold, and biking to work is a great way to start the day. We spent a lot of time outdoors this weekend, including a nice picnic with Frenchies: Boston (the latest group of French people we've met in our still relatively new city) as well as several trips to various playgrounds. Here's some pictures:

Sophie, Max, and Louise play with chalk.
View from our living room window.
Max is hoping to be the DH for the Red Sox next season.
Sophie on the slide.
Ready for brunch at a Back Bay restaurant.

Hollywood in Charlestown

2009-09-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

They're filming a major movie a few blocks away from my home in Charlestown--the other day I biked past the film crews as they were setting up. No star sightings for me....yet. The movie is called "The Town" and is being directed by Ben Afleck who is in the movie. Blake Lively and everybody's favorite Mad Man, Jon Hamm aka Don Draper are also in the movie, which is apparently about a bunch of Charlestown townies who successfully carry out a bank robbery. Wonder if they'll hit our local bank?

Laser Cheese Break

2009-09-17T13:22:00.001-07:00

Since I have nothing else to write about....weirdo Japanese laser cheese commercial.

More Photomosaic Fun With Max & Sophie

2009-09-12T12:59:00.001-07:00

More fun with photomosaics...I was worried that the program wouldn't really work too well with faces, but I think it's actually pretty good. There's a "Fade" option which allows you to increase the contribution of the original image to the final product. Here are a range of examples--the first image is the original (0% Fade) and the last image is using only photomosaic (100% Fade).

And here's zooming in on a random part of the photo. Pretty cool.

Screwing Around with Photomosaics

2009-09-11T14:57:00.000-07:00

I had some rare downtime in the lab today and I started screwing around with this free software to make photomosaics on Mac, called MacOSaiX. Pretty user-friendly. This is my first attempt, using as a template a zebrafish embryos at 24 hours post-fertilization demonstrating expression of a gene within the kidneys and spinal cord (the purple stripes in the picture). I used a bunch of "junk images" of old experiments as the individual cells. The photomosaic is majorly reduced in image quality so that it is downloadable onto blogger.com, but you get the idea. Imagine the possibilities...

Sophie's Version of This Little Piggy

2009-09-10T04:49:00.000-07:00

She gets the basic idea of This Little Piggy, even if all the words aren't right...Papa turns the tables at the end however...

Sophie's Rookie Card

2009-09-07T18:30:00.000-07:00

Screwing around on Photoshop this weekend + buying Sophie her very first baseball bat (albeit soft and pink) = Sophie's first baseball card. They are guaranteed to appreciate in value after her strong rookie season!

The Birds

2009-09-03T19:14:00.000-07:00

Check out the massive number of birds Claire, Laure, Sophie & Max encountered on a recent trip to Plum Island in nearby Newburyport, Massachusetts. There is a wildlife sanctuary at the Parker River National Wildlife Preserve which houses over 300 species of birds. That's a lot 'o birds!

A Few More Good Ones

2009-09-01T04:33:00.000-07:00

Continuing to sort through some of the great photos Laure took during her Boston visit.

Newport Pics

2009-08-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I think iPhoto is working now...however there were times this weekend where I honestly felt like strangling the makers of this often-confusing program...it is very "un-Mac" as a program in that it somehow manages to convert a simple concept (organizing photos into different folders) into a complex one...in general, I think one of the strengths of Mac products is that they make tasks simple and user-friendly, but for whatever reason their photo program misses the mark.

ANYWAYS, enough iPhoto bashing...here are some pics of Claire, Laure and the kids during their trip to Newport last weekend.

Crawling Races

2009-08-29T07:32:00.000-07:00

Max is crawling like a champ and big sister Sophie occasionally will engage the little fella in some crawling races. This video clip (taken by sister-in-law Laure on a trip to nearby Newport, Rhode Island) also demonstrates Sophie's recent habit of gleefully saying "cheese!" at any point there is a camera nearby.

Your 2009-2010 Duluth Dominators

2009-08-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit that my posts on this blog are becoming less and less frequent...my best excuse now is that my computer's iPhoto is totally wigging out...as soon as I have time to iron out the bugs, I will definitely be back.

Until then, however, I will unveil the 2009-2010 Duluth Dominators Fantasy Football roster. I think you will agree that they are the immediate favorites for the MD Aware FF League.

QB Tom Brady, New England Pats: This will give me added incentive to follow the intense Patriots' coverage 'round these parts.

RB Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville Jaguars: I'm pleased that I picked up the hyphenated back with the #3 pick overall, as he supplements his running game with some decent receiving numbers as well.

RB Derrick Ward, Tampa Bay Bucs: Probably the weakest link of this year's starting lineup, I'll have to hope that Ward is chosen as the preferred back in a platoon situation with Earnest Graham.

WR Greg Jennings, Green Bay Packers: The #1 target for QB Aaron Rodgers in a very competent offense.

WR Roy Williams, Dallas Cowboys: Somebody's gotta be the long-ball threat for America's Team now that bad boy Terrell Owens has been run out of town.

TE Owen Daniels, Houston Texans: Texans' tight end is projected for improved stats this year.
DEF Your hometown Minnesota Vikings should have a stellar defense this year.

K Nate Kaeding, San Diego Chargers: the Chargers are supposed to score a lot this year, and Nate is the man to kick the extra points.

Seattle-Bound

2009-08-20T06:43:00.001-07:00

A few thoughts before I hop on the plane to Seattle, in order to attend my college roommate Jason's wedding:

1. Don't get me wrong: I'm going to miss my kids & wife over the next few days. But I have to say that the thought of flying on an airplane without the kids actually seems like a very pleasant, relaxing experience. I'm actually looking forward to the forced-downtime of a cross-country flight to catch up on some reading.

2. My college friends and I are going to have to think of some new excuses to get together now that almost all of us are married...

3. I'm very excited about Brett Favre's signing by the Vikings. It's not guaranteed to be a success, but at least it spices up the plotlines for MN's season and will likely guarantee a greater media coverage of Minnesota's games on the East Coast for me this year. Also, it would be awesome if Favre kills the Packers in their matchups this year.

4. Happy Birthay to my wife Claire today!!!

Bienvenue Tata Laure

2009-08-17T04:50:00.000-07:00

Claire's sister Laure is visiting for the next 2 weeks! We celebrated her arrival by an afternoon of fountain-swimming and hard-core playground action in the Charlestown Navy Yard. Here are a few pics:

Blue Hills Lab Picnic

2009-08-10T19:20:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we had a great lab picnic--at Houghton's Pond in the Blue Hills, about 30 minute south of Boston. It was a farewell party of sorts for two lab members (moving on to bigger & better things), and also served as a good excuse to engage in barbecuing activities and bocce ball (pics below).

Plus a bonus movie of Sophie & her friend practicing how to enthusiastically say "cheese" to the camera...

Look Out World....

2009-08-08T11:59:00.000-07:00

...Max is crawling! Two mobile kids = lots more opportunities for mischief (or, at the very least, Max crawling over to steal Sophie's toys).

Goofing Around in Lab, Zebrafish-Style

2009-08-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I've provided evidence of my goofing around in lab, so here goes: I've arranged a number of zebrafish embryos in a petri dish to spell out my first name. This is what dorky scientists do when they aren't busy enough in the lab.

On a more technical note, these embryos come from an experiment in which I injected something called "antisense RNA" targeting a gene we are interested in into the embryos when they are at a very early stage of development. 48 hours later, about half of them looked like they were wild-type (a.k.a., normal--those are the fish which are straight) while the other half looked abnormal--they have a curved body axis (which I was pleased to see, since it was what I was predicting the result of the experiment to be). The variety of straight & curved embryos in the same dish was just too much for me to pass up an opportunity to arrange them in creative word designs & take pictures.

A Day At Wingaersheek Beach!

2009-08-02T08:24:00.000-07:00

There's low tide, there's lower tide, and there's Wingaersheek Beach in northern Massachusetts near the town of Gloucester. We went to this beach yesterday because it has an enormous "shallow end" that's great for kids. The water is quite warm (by Atlantic Ocean standards at least) and allowed Sophie to venture further into the water than ever before. Here are some pictures from the day's events:

Bonus Picture: good view of Max's two front teeth while smiling!

Weekend Recap

2009-07-29T19:26:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was a busy one...a day at the Franklin Park Zoo (Saturday) followed by another excursion to the Boston Harbor Islands with some friends (Sunday). The past few weeks it's been feeling a lot like summer--hot & humid. Some pics.

Sophie encounters her friend the gorilla.
Bird brain.
Sizing up the animals.
We're on a boat! (Sophie with friends Tom & Lisa)
They played some 1860s rules old-timey baseball at Georges Island on Sunday.
2 minutes before falling asleep on Dad's back, wearing Yale hat, after a very full day!

Fort Independence

2009-07-24T05:14:00.000-07:00

Flash back to last Sunday...we spent the day getting nice & sunburned at the beach in South Boston (a.k.a. "Southie). The L Street and M Street beaches join up with Fort Independence, an old fort (pictured below).

Fort Independence
View from above
Sophie running with ball.
Almost ready to crawl...

Vote Lando!

2009-07-19T13:09:00.001-07:00

Vote for Lando Calrissian! w/ BILLY DEE WILLIAMS - watch more funny videos

Mount Auburn Cemetery

2009-07-19T04:04:00.000-07:00

On Saturday afternoon we went to take a walk in Mount Auburn Cemetery. I've always enjoyed walking in interesting cemeteries (see my jaunts in Cimetiere Montparnasse , Cimetiere Pere Lachaise, and the Boston Granary Burial Ground), so we decided to check this one out. It sells itself as "the first landscaped cemetery in the United States"--I guess before this one most cemeteries were very austere and barren--and Mount Auburn is quite pretty, doubling as an arboretum and a favorite place for bird watchers. It's also enormous--we only saw about 25% (hard to make much progress with Sophie getting distracted every 2.5 seconds while walking) of a 174-acre grounds. Here are some pictures:

Only in Duluth

2009-07-17T19:50:00.001-07:00

Don't ask me why, but for the past 6 months or so I've been reading the headlines of the online version of the Duluth News Tribune, my hometown newspaper, on a near-daily basis.

A truly bizarre headline appeared today: "Duluth police search for rubber ball fetish burglar"--you will need a (free) username & password to read the article, but it is well worth it. Apparently some dude with a known fetish for slashing large rubber exercise balls with a knife is being sought after the St. Mary's Hospital exercise room discovered, yep, you guessed it, a room full of slashed large rubber exercise balls.

I've also been closely following articles on The Red Plan (Duluth's plan to reorganize the school system--I'm against it primarily for nostalgiac reasons) and (during the school year) the online version of my old high school newspaper, The Greyhound.

In Memorium

2009-07-15T06:42:00.000-07:00

In honor of the now-defunct Duluth-Superior Dukes Northern League baseball team (1993-2002), I named my Fantasy Baseball team the Duluth Dukes (the full name was too long to be an option in the yahoo league in which I am playing). To my surprise they are tearing up the league and recently overtook the Sandlot Bullies to claim the #1 spot at the All-Star Break. I attribute my success to (a) dumb luck, and (b) focusing on pitchers (rather than hitters) in the draft. Here's to a good 2nd half.

PS--the Duluth-Superior Dukes franchise is still in existence, only as the Kansas City T-Bones.

More Indy Weekend Photos

2009-07-14T18:42:00.000-07:00

Most of Friday was spent lounging around the yard & pool.
Billy the Kidney's arrival was not met with glee by all (see Maxime weeping below--and James was so scared out of his mind that he had to be physically separated from Billy at all times).
Henry wears the Billy the Kidney cowboy hot.
Sophie & James at breakfast.
Mamie Pat & Sophie at breakfast.
Smilin' Max.

A Very Kidney Birthday

2009-07-12T18:58:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a great weekend in Indianapolis, where the Hellmanites all gathered to celebrate my Dad's 65th birthday!

Amongst the highlights:

1. An outstanding cake developed by my sister Susie, in which a giant marzapan Rick Hellman, complete with banjo and his faithful samoyed Zeus, was featured as the centerpiece.

2. This cool hollowed-out watermelon fruit dish, once again by Susie.

3. Grandchildren up the yin-yang.

4. In order to really do things right, I arranged to deliver a happy birthday wish in the impressive form of Billy the Kidney--the human-sized kidney mascot from the National Kidney Foundation of Indiana. Thanks, NKF! You'll hear more from Billy the Kidney in next year's Holiday Greetings card...I started early for once.

French-Fried Vacation Photos

2009-07-09T10:38:00.000-07:00

A few pics from Claire, Sophie, & Max's vacation in LaBaule, France last month!

Purgatory Chasm

2009-07-05T04:50:00.000-07:00

Great walk yesterday at Purgatory Chasm, about an hour or so drive from Boston. They have several hikes there including a short but rocky one in which walkers navigate a series of interesting rock formations in a gorge probably resulting from ancient glacial migrations. We were pretty tired after such a full day that we opted against staying up past everybody's bedtime to watch the Boston fireworks. Some pictures from the day.

Here's a shot of a rock formation called "Fat Man's Misery".

Nate navigating "Fat Man's Misery"--obviously not one we could take the kids to see.

Chestnut defends hot dog title with record 68

2009-07-04T18:59:00.001-07:00

Chestnut defends hot dog title with record 68

Posted using ShareThis

I've covered this on Nate's Blog in the past...Joey Chestnut helps keep the "America" in "July 4th" by winning his 3rd straight Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition with a record 68 dogs eaten in a span of 10 minutes.

Max & Sophie Making Each Other Laugh

2009-07-03T18:07:00.000-07:00

Return of the Family! They arrived safe & sound on Thursday afternoon. Everybody's doing great.

Max woke up at 4:30 am (and therefore so did I) due to the time difference. Hopefully he'll get back on schedule. He's also grown in several more blonde hairs since the last time I saw him.

Here's a video of Sophie & Max making each other laugh.

Joyeuse 2eme Anniversaire, Sophie!

2009-06-28T14:56:00.000-07:00

It's Sophie's 2nd Birthday today! Joyeuse Anniversaire, Sophie. Being the Deadbeat Dad (your choice of links: here or here) that I am, I wasn't there of course. But at least we Skyped at the end of the day so I could wish her a happy birthday sort-of in-person. Everybody will be back in the U.S. by this Thursday; I can't wait.

And if I didn't have a daughter to spend June 28th with, at least I had my sister, who came to visit me in Boston along with her friend Bruce. Here we are at the end of another Boston rainy day-bike ride, in front of our house.
We also checked out the Mother Church of Christian Scientists, a classic looking building shown here.
Cool old lanterns.
In case you're wondering, none of us were looking were looking to convert to Christian Scientistism (or whatever the appropriate term is). Rather, we were there to check out the tourist attraction that is THE MAPPARIUM. It's pretty cool--for $6 you can enter into a room that is essentially a sphere of stained glass that depicts a complete globe of the world, along with all the country names & borders as of 1935 (when it was built). Not only is it way cool, but there are some interesting acoustic effects as a result of being in an enclosed sphere of glass that enables you to hear on one end somebody whispering from the other end. A little like a schizophrenic hearing voices I guess.

What is the Best Web Site Ever?

2009-06-24T20:10:00.000-07:00

I recently stumbled upon this outsanding website: Every Jeopardy question ever asked. And the answers. Since 1983. And you can play each game on your own. As somebody who once attempted to memorize every single Trivial Pursuit question in the entire Genus edition, this type of encyclopedic collection really appeals to me.

Plus I'll throw in a picture from a few weeks ago of the kiddos from before their French-Fried vacation...can't wait to see them again next week!

Grocery Store Wars

2009-06-23T05:52:00.001-07:00

Didn't your mom tell you not to play with your food?

Father's Day Bike Ride

2009-06-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day! Since I was unable to celebrate the day with either my own kids (in France) or my own Dad (in Indianapolis), I decided to spend the day on an epic bike ride. In the rain. Yeah, not so smart, I got absolutely soaked and muddy, but it was well worth it.

I began my journey in Boston's Chinatown, a twenty-minute or so ride from my place. Ironically, this was the only time I got lost on the entire trip.
I met some friends for dim sum, where I chowed down on enough calories for the bike ride. If you can judge a Chinese restaurant by the size of its waiting line (shown below), the one we ate at must be of high quality.
It was a foggy day in Boston, with at least a light drizzle for the entirety of my 4-hour trip.
Harvard buildings.
Henry Longfellow's house (a national historic site) is on the way.
Shortly after the Alewife station, I joined up with the MinuteMan Bikeway, a paved, 11-mile path which goes through Arlington, Lexington, and ends in Bedford, MA.

Nice old church in Lexington.
What do you think this sign means? Crab crossing? Alien life forms down this way?
Logo from old Boston & Maine railway car.
At last! The end of the line at Bedford Depot Park.
Nate is very wet.
Harvard Square on the way home.

Approximate route.

More Skype Reunions

2009-06-19T07:22:00.001-07:00

I'm a big fan of the "command-shift-4 screen-capture" feature on Macs--here are some pics of the fam in France during today's Webcam appointment.

Random Hammer Dancing

2009-06-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

What do I do in the absence of posting Sophie & Max Hellman videos? Isn't the answer obvious? Videos of random people showing up doing a mass MC Hammer Dance at an L.A. store.

Gene Simmons Passes Kidney Stone and Sells It On EBay for 15 Grand

2009-06-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

The title says it all, man. I wonder what he could get for his severed frenulum?

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Bunker Hill Day Parade

2009-06-14T16:44:00.000-07:00

My weekend? Not so exciting...I attended a Nephrology Review Course Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, which basically consisted of consecutive, non-stop 45-minute lectures beginning at 8am and ending around 5:30pm. Needless to say, my head is spinning.

Fortunately, though the course was held about a 15 minute walk from my house...and I played hookey for about 2 hours in order to watch the annual Bunker Hill Parade, which commemorates the anniversary of the Revolutionary War's Battle of Bunker Hill. It goes right by my house and I watched the parade from an open window while eating lunch. Here are some pics.

Who better to kick off the parade than Boston's Mayor Thomas Menino?
Colorful!
Like living in a warzone.
Scale model of the U.S.S. Constitution.
The NBA Championship Trophy (from the 2008 NBA Champs Celtics), right outside my front door...don't know who the guy carrying it is, though.
No parade is complete without a Chewbacca costume.

Long Live Skype

2009-06-10T09:09:00.000-07:00

Claire, Sophie & Max successfully made it to France, with both kids earning excellent conduct marks on their on-flight report card.

We'll be keeping in touch using Skype--how cool is it that we are living in the Internet Age--I also feel that people in my age range are in a good place--old enough to not take the technology for granted since we can recall a computerless world--young enough to look forward to future advances.

Dragon Boat Festival in Cambridge

2009-06-09T20:50:00.000-07:00

Well, Claire Sophie & Max have escaped from the U.S.A...that's right, 75% of the Hellman Family is spending the next three weeks in France. I'm stuck holding down the fort in Boston, and I already feel strange walking around a suddenly empty house.

On Sunday we went to the Dragon Boat Festival in Cambridge, after I had slept off the effects of another 7pm - 7am moonlighting shift at the hospital. The Dragon Boat Festival is basically a set of crew (rowing) races on the Charles River, only the boats are brightly decorated with Chinese dragons' heads on the helms. With a nice backdrop of classic Harvard buildings to boot. Here are some pictures of the day's events.

Touch A Truck Day

2009-06-07T11:31:00.000-07:00

At a nearby parking lot in Charlestown yesterday we went to the "Touch A Truck" Day--basically, a child's idea of heaven. There were 30-some vehicles that kids could climb in and touch (and sometimes even blow the horn) ranging from semi trucks, police cars, fire trucks, tugboats, and city buses. Some pics from our day:

Sophie et Maman at the wheel.
Hopefully the only time I will ever see my daughter in the back of a police car.
Just to confirm, I do not actually consider myself a member of Red Sox Nation.
Coast Guard ship.
My personal favorite: The Nascar-themed UPS truck with flames.

Sophie Goes Glass

2009-06-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

Sophie's hoop skills are on mad display in this video--she shoots, she dribbles (okay, twice) and if you listen really closely, I think she calls backboard on the last shot...

Shepard Fairey Exhibit at Institute of Contemporary Arts

2009-06-05T16:08:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we met some friends at the Boston Institute of Contemporary Arts, a modern art museum on the wharf which I had never before visited. Thursday nights are free, so why not check it out? There was an exhibit of the work of Shepard Fairey--a name with which I wasn't familiar, but I certainly recognized some of the many iconic media images he has created over the past several years. He is perhaps most famous for the influential Obama "HOPE" images which you will undoubtedly recognize:

Interestingly, there is an ongoing legal battle between the Associated Press and Shepard Fairey regarding copyright infringement--I would tend to side with the artist on this one.

Another familiar image Fairey is responsible for is the "Andre the Giant Has A Posse" campaign which he evidently created as an art student. People would post these stickers all over street signs, newspaper distribution machines, etc; perhaps you've seen them around.

Sometimes the stickers just have a caricature of the gargantuan pro wrestler's face, with the slogan "OBEY" on it. I believe this is a commentary on the use of certain images for propaganda purposes.

In fact, the museum is presently decorated with an Andre the Giant face on its upper floors:

Finally, Shepard Fairey is also responsible for the cool "Walk the Line" movie posters for the Johnny Cash movie from a few years back. All in all, a surprisingly worthwhile visit to the ICA, though it was certainly a challenge preventing a 2-year-old Sophie from doing any permanent damage to some of the more delicate modern sculpture pieces in the other exhibits.

2009 NBA Finals Begin Tonight

2009-06-04T19:35:00.000-07:00

What a bizarre 2009 NBA Finals...the Orlando Magic (nobody expected them to come this far, myself included) versus the L.A. Lakers. I'll have trouble rooting for either team, as I'm still a little used to rooting against the Magic (who were playing my Celtics in the 2nd Round), and I've always had a dislike of the Lakers since I've been, like, nine years old. I'm going to pick the Lakers in 6, but think it will probably be close and I'll probably root for Orlando.

Plus a few pics from home: fist, Sophie helping out with one of Max's frequent feedings......and then a shot of Papa reading to Sophie from her current favorite book, Old Turtle.

I'm talking 'bout that man in the mirror.

2009-06-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

Max in the Mirror.

Balloon Pics

2009-06-02T18:53:00.000-07:00

Fun with a big red balloon.

Minute Man National Historic Park

2009-05-31T19:26:00.000-07:00

We checked out Minute Man National Park, a several mile bike/walking bath that hits a lot of important historical landmarks along the famous Revolutionary War towns of Lexington, Concord, and Lincoln, Massachusetts, this past Saturday. Many portions of the path mark the initial skirmishes of the Revolutionary War in 1775. Pictures:

Along this now-peaceful stone wall, shots were fired which started the Revolutionary War.
Drum & Fife Musicians playing outside an old tavern.
Max sitting up like a champ.
Sophie's definitely going through a climbing phase.
Claire & Max on the boardwalk.

Date Night

2009-05-28T19:42:00.000-07:00

My idea for one of those "Priceless" Mastercard commercials based on my own personal experiences from tonight...

Babysitter for four hours: $60.
Pair of movie tickets for you & your wife to see the latest "Star Trek" movie: $22.
Outstanding curly fries & hot dog combo at the movie theater: $8.
Spending an evening without having to listen to either of your 2 children crying: priceless.

Speaking of the little buggers, here's a closeup of Max (wearing one of Sophie's hand-me-downs...hence the pink hearts on the hood of his jacket)...

...and a video of Sophie playing "cache-cache" (French hide-and-seek) at Fort Warren from last weekend's exploration of the Boston Harbor Islands.

Day Trip to Boston Harbor Islands

2009-05-23T17:04:00.000-07:00

We spent the day visiting the Boston Harbor Islands--several dozen islands which are a quick ferry's ride from the Wharf area in downtown Boston. We explored two small islands: Georges Island (site of an old fort also used as a prison for Confederate soldiers during the Civil War) and Spectacle Island (relatively close to Boston with great views of the city and a small beach). Here are some pictures of the days' fun (but exhausting) events.

Fort Warren at Georges Island.
Claire & Max check out the old bakery at Fort Warren.
Sophie being swallowed up by a hole in the grass.
View of Boston from Spectacle Island Beach.
Max is smiling 'cause he can kind of sit up by himself now!

Kid Pics

2009-05-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

Max & Sophie in the kitchen. Today is Max's 6 month birthday!

Sophie making a fashion statement by wearing sunglasses upside-down.

Happy Sophie.

Kidney Humor

2009-05-19T18:40:00.000-07:00

The Kidney Blocker 2000 evidently isn't perfect. So much for the altruistic kidney transplant.

Celtics Lose Game 7 & Max Tries In Vain To Eat His Fist

2009-05-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

Well, I was a bit bummed that the Celtics lost Game 7 yesterday to the Orlando Magic, and are knocked out of the playoffs. Then I realized that they probably would have been utterly decimated by the Cleveland Cavs, and began thinking about how great of a playoff run they had this year. Ray "Jesus Shuttlesworth" Allen clutch 3-pointers! Multiple OT (and Game 7) classics! Game-winning jump shots by Glen "Big Baby" Davis! Triple-doubles by the amazing Rajon Rondo! Robert Parish-like performances from big man Kendrick Perkins! I'll remember this team for awhile.

Most of the weekend was spent in the hospital so there's not too many adventures to report. I'll leave you all with a video of Maxime trying to swallow his own fist while making Chewbacca the Wookiee noises.

HUP Men's Club Boston Reunion

2009-05-16T18:49:00.000-07:00

Last night featured an epic gathering of the founding members of the Hospital of University of Pennsylvania's Men's Club--the same group which brought you the Annual Mustache Competition, the Annual HUP Bowl--as fate (and Cardiology meetings) brought the five of us together in Boston. From left to right: myself, John Evans, Matt Ortman, Dave Portnoy, and Jeff Zaidman.

Sunday Walk

2009-05-10T21:49:00.000-07:00

Took a great walk on a windy yet sunny Sunday. Went over the locks in Charlestown into the North End & to Quincy Market, where I caught up on my comic book purchases and Claire ate a lobster roll, one of her favorites. We took an alternative way home--the ferry, which was surprisingly convenient. And Happy Mother's Day to all moms out there, including my own.

Where Will Amazing Happen This Year?

2009-05-09T22:16:00.001-07:00

I am totally into the latest batch of commercials for the NBA Playoffs with the theme of "Where will amazing happen this year?" It's just a simple slow-motion black & white clip of a famous playoff moment with cool piano music playoff in the background. I never get tired of watching these. Here's an example of a Tim Duncan video.

In looking for other examples online, I came across some great parodies. Here's an homage to Teen Wolf that's great.

Time Machine

2009-05-09T03:15:00.000-07:00

Some new pictures of our trip to Florida over a month ago recently arrived courtesy of Grandpa Rick's camera. I like looking at these pictures because they are so bright and sunny! Here's some of the good ones.

Best of the Rest

2009-05-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the better pics from our recent Chicago trip to visit the fam.

I'm Gonna Get You

2009-05-06T19:13:00.000-07:00

The cousins Henry & Sophie enjoy a thrilling game of chase...I had to stop recording when Sophie made a bolt for the door...

Lincoln Park Zoo Pics

2009-05-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

On Monday we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo with the gang. The most popular spectacles included the gorillas, the monkeys, watching the cows get milked, and riding the kiddie train. Here are some pics.

Two moms & their kids (minus Max).

Baby James & Baby Gorilla.

Welcome to the Monkey House.
Okay, I know it's not the zoo, but Chicago is one of the few places where one can spy cows walking up the side of a building.

Long Weekend in Chicago

2009-05-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

The bad news: my beloved Grandpa Milton recently passed away at age 96.

The silver lining: it gave my family a good excuse for a family reunion in Chicago over a long weekend. We stayed at my sister Cathy & brother-in-law Tim's new house in nearby Evanston.

Here are some pictures from the weekend.

Some great old pictures of gramps.
My nephew Henry is very proud of his brand-new bike.
Claire & Maxime at the memorial service.
Uncle Tim, my nephew James, and Sophie mid-watermelon.
More pics to follow in the coming days...

Best 1st Round Series Ever?

2009-04-30T21:33:00.000-07:00

Just finished watching the 3OT finish of the latest Celtics-Bulls 1st round series. Four out of six games in the series going into OT? Clutch shot after clutch shot? Game 7 in Boston coming up? This series has everything! Unbelievable. I have sincerely enjoyed watching these games and will undoubtedly look back on watching it with fondness in the future. I'm gunning for Boston to win but at the same time I wouldn't be upset if Chicago pulled it off--whoever wins will be at a severe disadvantage against the Cavs if they even make it that far.

This series has also really solidified my admiration of Celts' guard Rajon Rondo. The guy is averaging a triple-double for the series! In fact, why don't we use this opportunity to add Rajon to the newly-formed All-Nate Second Team All-Stars (click here for the All-Nate First Team All-Stars)--not necessarily the best players ever (though some of them, like Larry Bird, are certainly in the discussion) but ones I personally enjoyed watching and following. Note that Michael Jordan isn't on the list--I appreciate his basketball genius in retrospect, but back in the day I tended to root for the underdog team after Chicago had won its 1st championship.

G Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
G Ray Allen, Milwaukee Bucks
F Larry Bird, Boston Celtics
F Charles Barkley, Philadelphia 76ers
C Rik Smits, Indiana Pacers