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Random Thoughts on Travel, Education, Health, and the World in General
Once a year, in the Anaheim Convention Center, the National Association of Music Manufacturers (NAMM) provides space for the creators of musical instruments, amplifiers, recording equipment and every imaginable music accessory to display and demonstrate their newest wares. As a long-time bass player and a bit of a gear head, I was excited to finally be attending this legendary trade show.Read the rest of this entry »
Rockers play hard. Think of Pete Townsend and his windmill power chords, of Jerry Lee Lewis frenetically pounding the keys. We all love the sound and feel of that hard driving energy. But the physical effects on players can be significant. Repetitive stress injuries to shoulders, arms, and hands can stop a player in his or her tracks with debilitating pain and/or numbness.Read the rest of this entry »
As most of us know, we Americans are a mess—overworked, overweight, and stressed out. In addition to the increased demands of our technologically fueled lives and their damaging effects on our wellbeing, we have a health care system in free fall. In one generation we have seen a shift from low cost, comprehensive coverage to $3000 deductibles, low quality HMOs and escalating numbers of people without any insurance at all. Altogether, these developments have damaged health care outcomes and changed the trust relationships between patients, doctors, employers, and health insurance carriers.Read the rest of this entry »
It’s one AM. You’ve been in “Logic”, laying down beats, working the midi since 10, creating your latest masterpiece. Lost in the music, the creeping pain in your neck reminds you that it’s time to stand up and move around.Read the rest of this entry »
I first traveled to Burma in 1996, co-leading an educational tour with a group of eighteen students from New College of California. Burma had just opened to the west after thirty years and Aung San Suu Kyi, the democratically elected president, who had been under house arrest by the military regime since her election in 1988, had just been released.Read the rest of this entry »
You go for your yearly medical check up. The doctor listens to your heart and feels your pulse. Your blood is drawn and your blood pressure is taken. Looking at the sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff), she reports a number: 120/80. “Perfect”, she says and when your lab results come in showing all of your serum levels falling within the normal range, you are declared healthy and told to return in a year for another evaluation.Read the rest of this entry »
I relaxed at Philz, my local cafe, sinking into a soft leather couch, taking in a fine selection of indie rock, and enjoying some very strong coffee. As I sipped on a tall Tesora, I daydreamed about the trip I’d soon be taking to Peru. I was excited, but at the same time troubled by a pain I was feeling. I knew its source. A deep wound inflicted by someone whom I thought was a friend. He had stolen something from me, something real and material, but also something more…vital. It felt as if this “friend” had made off with a piece of my heart. But knowing this did nothing to relieve the ache. I wrote furiously in my journal about the injury of betrayal and about my need for some kind of healing and that maybe I’d find it in Peru. I didn’t really understand why I thought this might be so.Read the rest of this entry »