Source: TruthSeeker Click photo for larger view. This was the first class of the fall semester. For Warm Up, Renee Olstead (like Rod Stewart) is great for updated versions of old standards. This was the first time I used Il Divo. I figured it would be too dramatic for On the Floor, but it works… Read more
Category Archives: Arts & Media
The health care debate: Seeing ourselves through the eyes of others
Source: The Guardian I wonder if the behavior of Europeans is restrained by a desire to maintain their self-image in the eyes of neighboring countries. Is there social pressure in France to avoid outrageous behavior because your nation would immediately be ridiculed by England and Germany? Does national pride operate as a constraint? That certainly… Read more
Doctors in the trenches speak out – Part three
Here’s the third and last installment from the documentary Money-Driven Medicine. The topics this time focus on the financial issues of health care: Insurance premiums, competitive hospitals, the control of medicine by profit-driven corporations, the disconnect between money and health. The first and second installments are in previous posts. Is it possible for opponents and… Read more
Doctors in the trenches speak out – Part two
Here’s a second installment from the documentary Money-Driven Medicine. The producer, Alex Gibney, is an Oscar-winning filmmaker (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room). See the previous post for the first installment. Bill Moyers: “Money-Driven Medicine is one of the strongest documentaries I have seen in years and could not be more timely. The more… Read more
Doctors in the trenches speak out – Part One
I grow weary of the politics of health care reform. Powerful interest groups buy the politicians. The need to get re-elected takes precedence over the national interest. Paul Krugman writes: “Actually turning this country around is going to take years of siege warfare against deeply entrenched interests, defending a deeply dysfunctional political system.” My sympathies… Read more
Should Obama have pitched health care differently? Will Kennedy's death make a difference?
Source: The AV Club “Obama surely has made mistakes, among them focusing so heavily on how reform would reduce the cost of medicine. Had he spent more time reminding voters that reform would provide them with the security they now lack–security from financial ruin and medical catastrophe, the type private insurance too rarely provides–he probably… Read more
Why is it so hard to reform health care? The issues are complex
One reason it’s so hard to make progress on health care reform is that it’s an extremely complex problem. Although President Obama does an excellent job of articulating the issues simply and clearly, it appears his message is not getting through clearly enough. Dan Roam, a business consultant and the author of The Back of… Read more
A doctor assesses Michael Jackson’s cause of death
Source: Artie Wayne on the Web Since shortly after Michael Jackson’s death, the powerful anesthetic propofol has been suspected as the cause of death. Details of Jackson’s final hours were released today by the Los Angeles coroner’s office. Although the final injection of propofol may have been the immediate cause of death, it’s only one… Read more
Health Culture Daily Dose #17
Additional stories related to health. Categories include: More articles on Health Care Reform, History of Medicine, Medical Journalism, Medical Technology, Medical News, Pharmaceuticals, Pop Culture, Social Media and the Internet, and The So-Called Obesity “Epidemic.” HEALTH CARE REFORM A ‘Common Sense’ American Health Reform Plan (The New York Times – Uwe Reinhardt) After studying this… Read more
‘Mad Men,’ the sixties and the culture war over health carepolitics
Source: The Insider The current emotional polarization around health care reform is not so much about specific issues – rising medical costs, reprehensible insurance industry practices, the number of uninsured. It reflects a deep division in American culture that began in the sixties. Forty years after Woodstock, it’s clear that a major shift happened in… Read more
Music: Aaron Neville and the Neville Brothers
Source: Rolling Stone Here are three songs – the first two from the group the Neville Brothers and the third from an Aaron Neville solo album. You may know Aaron Neville from the song Tell it like it is, which was a hit in 1967 (here’s a YouTube version). The Neville Brothers are a New… Read more
The tactics of health care opponents may discredit their message
Source: Telegraph After all the recent media coverage of angry crowds at town hall meetings who oppose health care reform, it’s a relief to come across a reassuring piece of journalism from a neutral source. Reuters reports that the entire ruckus will probably not make any difference in the broader debate on health issues. The… Read more
Music: Shakira, Michelle Shocked, Sacha Nairobi
Source: Rolling Stone Three more songs I used in class this week: Shakira for the first Circle song, Michelle Shocked for larger leg movements in Circle, and Sacha Nairobi for Across the floor. The whole Michelle Shocked album (Short Sharp Shocked) is great. I use four songs from this album in classes, but When I… Read more
Music: Peggy Lee, Steve Tyrell, Rosemary Clooney
Rosemary Clooney There’s so much good music that it’s hard to know where to begin. I’ll start with something I used today. It was the last class in the summer session for Mountain View students, and I used some old standards for warm-up. If you click the “Play” button below, you can hear 30 to… Read more
Rosen Method Movement Music
Source: Smarthistory A Rosen Method Movement class takes students through a sequence of movements. The sequence prepares the body to move with ease across the dance floor. All movements are done to music, but not just any music. The songs used in a class need to have a tempo that’s not too fast and not… Read more
Rosen Method Movement teachers
Rosen Method Movement: Gentle, yet powerful movement and dance designed to lubricate all the joints in the body. Classes help you stay active and healthy, improve balance and coordination, and cope more effectively with stress. Developed by an innovative physical therapist as a way to prevent difficulties before they arise, each class follows a sequence… Read more
Is it a stroke? Diagnosing by email
Source: Down Maine Veterinary Clinic Click photo for larger view. There’s an email that makes the rounds on the Internet about three signs for identifying a stroke: Can the person smile, raise both arms, and speak a simple sentence. “The Smile Test” was originally presented at a conference hosted by the American Stroke Association (ASA)… Read more
My limbs are made glorious
As a follow-up to yesterday’s post on joyful dancing, here’s the video Where the Hell is Matt? Thanks to a Rosen Method friend, Joanna, for sending it. The video includes dancing in 42 countries. I especially like the crabs on the beach on Christmas Island, Australia and the dog in Kuwait City. And that short… Read more
Dance for joy: Rosen Method Movement and a Minnesota wedding
When I try to explain Rosen Method Movement (RMM) to people, I like to quote Marion Rosen on the way you feel after a movement class: “Our goal is to make people feel happy and motivated to dance, rather than drag themselves around. We would like them to feel physically well when their bodies move,… Read more
Obama's press conference: Health care as a herd of rhinos
Source: Nick Brandt Click photo for larger view. My favorite conservative columnist, David Brooks, responded to Barack Obama’s press conference on health care this week with a piece that characterizes rising costs as a “stampede of big ugly rhinos. They are trampling your crops, stomping on your children’s play areas and spoiling your hunting grounds.”… Read more
The Sicko files
Source: Bill Moyers Journal Wendell Potter, who was once the head of Public Relations at health insurance giant CIGNA, recently testified before Congress on the nefarious practices of the insurance industry. Last Friday he did an extended interview with Bill Moyers. In the video excerpt below, Moyers and Potter discuss the insurance industry’s comprehensive strategy… Read more
Is the Internet bad for your health?
Source: Mayo Clinic Do you research medical information on the Internet? Do you use Google as your starting point? Do you read entries on medical conditions at Wikipedia and assume what you read is accurate and complete? Kevin Pho, primary care physician and author of the popular medical blog KevinMD.com, has a column in USA… Read more
Skateboard art: From Adam and Eve to modern medicine
Source: Process Recess Anatomical skateboard art by James Jean. Jean’s statement, which explains skating as the inspiration for his image, is pure poetry. Skating has always seemed to me a courageous activity, and what is courage but an absence of shame. Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden, pitiful in their nakedness, shameful in their… Read more
Health Culture Daily Dose #15
In today’s Dose: Health care reform (A public option plan emerges from HELP committee; Arguments for the public option from the Urban Institute; Obama stands Harry & Louise on their heads) Health news (Should Steve Jobs use his celebrity status for pancreatic cancer awareness and funding?) Industrialized agriculture (Labeling organic food: What can you believe?;… Read more
Health Culture Daily Dose #14
In today’s Dose: Health care reform (Kennedy-Dodd committee proposal released) Health news (Is Tylenol (acetaminophen) safe to take every day?) Aging (Doctors lack training in care of the elderly) Pop culture (Michael Jackson and Diprivan (propofol), Jackson’s weight, Jackson’s doctor) Health care reform The Senate health committee proposal on health care has been released. Turns… Read more
The video of Neda Soltan’s death
Even though I’ve been writing about Arash Hejazi (here and here), the doctor seen in the video of Neda Agha-Soltan’s death in Iran, I have to admit I still haven’t seen the video. I realized early on that I didn’t want to watch someone die a tragic and violent death. I didn’t want to see… Read more
The video of Neda Soltan’s death
“I think there can be a pornographic side to it when you are vicariously experiencing another person’s suffering and cruelty,” Davis says. Certainly, there is something prurient in the TV stations airing the video repeatedly, daring us to look away. …
[H]istory is made up of more than decontextualized images. … If we want to make sense of our past, and understand our present, we have to do more than just watch. Read more
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson. August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009 Read more
Health Culture Daily Dose #9
In today’s Dose: Health care reform (Robert Reich on the public option) Health news (Migraines, Nipple piercing and breast feeding) Obesity politics (TB and the thrifty gene) Medical journalism (Drug company ties to journalists) Health care reform Be sure to see today’s two posts on Wendell Potter, the former health insurance executive who testified today… Read more
Health Culture Daily Dose #8
Health care reform Wyden-Bennett plan, Fundamental Democrat/Republican differences, Gawande on building from what we have) The Medical profession (Stress vs. balance for doctors, Doctors’ Diaries on NOVA) Health care reform Last week’s figures on cost and coverage from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) shifted attention to those health care reform initiatives that are less costly.… Read more