New Links Added

I've put up a bunch of links for your internet amusement. I especially want to say something about my Health Links. The internet is a huge resource for patient empowerment - you can also completely misdiagnose yourself and drive yourself crazy. Like any powerful tool, you have to learn how to use it. It is important to get good information that expands your understanding of your condition. I like to know everything that can be helpful, so I've put up my best herbal information sites, some good general info - the Medical Library has loads of links itself to explore. One of the most helpful things I think the internet has for the patient is support from others who have been there. Just knowing that others have survived what you are going through is very comforting. Then there is the added bonus of potentially learning some helpful tips or treatment information. Check out the great bunch of health -related blogs that I have included here, but don't stop there, if you have a particular health issue, search for a blog that addresses it. I really admire these bloggers that put themselves out there, and I hope that I too can talk about my experiences in a way that will help others. Last, I included a link to a great article in Scientific American about the latest research on migraines. I have migraines, but with the help of a lot of drugs, don't suffer nearly as much as I used to. It is a trade off, though, there are side effects, and no way to know what kind of long term use of these drugs that have only existed for 10-15 years will bring.

Marley 4 Marley

We were psyched to discover that one of our favorite musicians, Stephen Marley, son of the legendary Bob Marley is going to be in Raleigh at the Lincoln Theatre on May 27 - our Marley's birthday! So come out and party with us. We saw Stephen in Norfolk a couple of years ago and he puts on a great show.

Happy Mother's Day

Mother's Day brings up all kinds of wonderful memories, early ones at my grandparents house, when my buddy Dana and I would run across the street to the golf course and cut roses from the wild bushes that grew there. Luckily all the mothers got to wear red roses to church, to show that their mothers were still alive. Fast forward twenty years to mothers day as a mother - nothing compares to the sheer joy of becoming a mother.
But there is also a more public side of Mother's Day, it is a day of national notice of mothers. One day is not enough. Jefferson based the structure of our government on the Iroquois Confederacy, but he didn't see the women's council. Whether this is because of his own cultural bias, or because as a male outsider he would not have been privy to see the women I don't know. However, the power of the Women's Council made a huge difference in the Iroquois society. Women owned the land, the homes and the agriculture. This gave them a powerful vote.
IMHO, it is this lack of female balance in our own government that causes problems. Male and female energy balance each other. Women are less likely to send their sons off to war for frivolous reasons, want the children of the world to be fed, and favor universal health care.
Also, it was women who initially called the problems with the banking industry way out in front of anybody else - and of course no one listened to them. It seems to me that now there are some people really articulating what a more balanced governance might be like, the backlash is astounding. But we make progress slowly.
When it comes to the Mother of us all, Mother Earth, we are definitely making progress too slowly. How's your carbon footprint? Have you changed over your light bulbs? Are you recycling everything your city will take? We are working on turning out lights when not in use and strategic planting (deciduous on the south side.) Everyone needs to make these efforts because we are already at the point where we are seeing greater acceleration than the scientists predicted.
On that happy note, I would just like to say, love to my mom, and my Granny - Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Day

Today is my Popsi's birthday. He's been gone from us for five years now, but I feel him with me all the time. He is in my dreams more than ever. He was a rock for our family, but he was much more than that. He was a huge source of fun. When I was little he had a circus train - complete with (stuffed) lion and a calliope car that played carnival music. He would pull it out for the local children to ride (for free) on any occasion. Then there was his beloved motor home that we took so many trips in and have so many joyful family memories in. Well, there's no way to sum up so much on a short post like this! I just wanted to take a moment to honor my Popsi who means so much to me.

Good News

I got word last night that our good friend that has been in the hospital all last week is going home tomorrow. Good news indeed. We have been really pulling for her. I’m posting a Mayan mandala today, one that I colored with photoshop. Coloring with photoshop is a different experience, not as relaxing as coloring with markers. You get the nice crisp borders though. I used to color a lot, and I think it can be a good therapeutic thing, if you have pain and need to distract yourself, it doesn’t take a lot of a certain type of energy. Chronic pain is one thing I feel like I can speak to, having been through a lot of it, so I will write more about things that have helped me, and would love to hear from others about what has helped them too.

In a medical vein, (ooh, sorry, that's just bad) I was happy to turn someone on to pharmASSIST recently. that's www.seniorpharmassist.org they help Durham medicare recipients with their prescription coverage choices.

Happy Beltane

As Samhain is for drawing in, Beltane is for branching out. All around us the world is blooming forth, inviting us to be joyful. If we can set aside the worries and distractions of that other world the "media made" world. Then there is the world you experience with other people, friends, family. But what about when it is just you? Spend some time in the beauty of the natural world, and let springtime speak to you.
Sadly, Durham's own Ernie Barnes has passed away. Ernie was best known as the artist who painted the artwork for the TV show Good Times. He also did the cover for Marvin Gaye's Sugar Shack. I grew up watching Good Times, and I remember being so proud that the artist came from here. His distinctive, elongated style earns him being called a pioneer of the neo-mannerists. For more: http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/05/culture-beat-remembering-famed-sugar-shack-painter-ernie-barnes.html

Pass the Popcorn

Today I’m going to offer some movie reviews. The first movie is called One Eyed Monster and could easily be the silliest movie I have ever seen. It is a horror movie spoof about a group of people who go to some isolated mountaintop cabins to make a porn film. Then they are attacked by Ron Jeremy’s disembodied penis and picked off one by one. It isn’t too heavy on the porn or the horror, but it isn’t all that hilarious either. Imagining the creator pitching the idea to the producers is kind of humorous though. I can’t recommend this one unless you are really desperate for something truly meaningless to watch.

Our second movie is more substantial. The Notorious B.I.G. is the story of rapper Chris “Biggie Smalls” Wallace, whose life was cut short as he had only just begun his rise to fame. His story is a fairly gripping one, as he goes from small time hood to rap star. We see the other famous lives he came in contact with, from his close relationship with Lil’ Kim to his producer Sean (then called Puffy) Combs. (Who also produced this movie.) And we see some of the problems that fame brought to Biggie as well as the problems he brought on himself. In the end, the feud with Tupac is presented as a misunderstanding or maybe paranoia by Tupac, but not Biggie’s doing. But with the feud inflamed by the media, he was murdered just as he was realizing commercial success with his music. This is a pretty evenhanded presentation, it feels respectfully done. His life was dramatic enough without being over dramatized. If you’re interested, I’d recommend it.