In the fall 2009 of The MAGAZINE of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, writer Jackie Powder in the article “20 snapshots of America’s well-being” writes about indicators of public health.

Two are:

• 10: percentage of U.S. adults with a healthy diet in 2000
• 34: percentage of adults who are obese (2005 data)

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” — United States Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

According to a recent study, uninsured children seem to have an increased risk of dying.

The study, published in the October 29, 2009  Journal of Public Health, was conducted by researchers at John Hopkins Children’s Center and included more than 23 million hospital records from 37 states between 1988 and 2005. Researchers claim it is one of the largest studies to examine the impact of health insurance on preventable deaths of children in the United States.

The study compared death rates by underlying disease and found that, other factors being equal, a child in the hospital without health insurance was 60% more likely to die than a child with insurance. According to the Centers for Disease Control, 6.6 million children are without health insurance.

Any child on a playground will tell you that life isn’t fair, but whether a child lives or dies should not be determined by the size of his parents’ bank account or ability to purchase health insurance. Forgive me for being trite, but our children are our future. Sick and dying children cannot play, learn, and grow into the great leaders and workers we as a country need them to be.

Congress is still at it. They are still arguing over health-care reform and finances. I empathize. Health-care reform is a complicated issue involving more than just insurance. I understand that the well-meaning members of Congress are working on correcting a system that has been ailing for a long time. But it’s time to stop arguing and grand-standing and writing legislation that is so long-winded it would require the entire session of Congress just to read it. It is time to cure the health care system.

It’s time to get back to the simple truth. We built this country on the belief that “…all men are created equal.” We have fought  in schools, in courtrooms, and on battlefields at home and abroad for that belief. Until all Americans have equal access to health care, there is no equality.

One in a billion…this is what the ER doctor from Fairfax told Scott last night after another ambulance ride, trip to the ER last night.

Yesterday morning Scott had an appointment with a GI Doctor (Gastroenterology) at John Hopkins, a referral from the Neurology (Motion Disorder) Dr. I wasn’t able to go, being exhausted from not being able to sleep the night before, and Scott was planning on going back to work after the appointment and it made no sense to go there, come back drop me off then go to work. The GI Dr told Scott that what he had was probably not Celiacs disease or the movement disorder was not caused by any other GI Problem but gave him one more blood test to reconfirm.

Scott then went back to work, I saw my allergists to get on meds for my allergies to dogs and to get an inhaler. Went to the gym, then home to hang out with my roommate Shannan. I called Scott to check in and he sounded funny, like it a lot of pain and he asked me if he can call me back. Me having a gut feeling something is not right kept asking him what is the pain he was feeling, he said it was the back of his head and I asked what does it feel like and he said weird, he was getting upset saying that it was “weird”, since Scott is very calm I was getting kinda nervous at his voice and asked if we should get him to the ER, he said no and I asked him to take a blood sugar and to get some juice if he is super low and I will call him back in like two mins. Called him back, his BS (Blood sugar) was 50 (which is low) he had some juice and was drinking some more, he still sounded like he was in allot of pain, I asked him to get his roommate Zac or his sister Kristyn or Brother in law Paul, he didn’t want to and I said I would call Kristyn if he didn’t get her, he called Kristyn and Paul up, asked her to touch the back of his head (base of his neck/head) all of a sudden I heard him scream in pain and it sounded like he dropped to the ground and was convulsing. I told him I am coming over. Hung up threw on cloths (was in PJs) apologized to Shannan and Laura and rushed over to Scotts. They already called the ambulance, you could hear it coming, Scott was in the hallway seizing/convulsing, but it looked like he was trying to write on a paper, this time Scott couldn’t talk he was kinda foaming at the mouth, I think it effort to talk, this was scary and a first because normally he could talk. I got ice to put in the back of his head, kristyn was talking to him calmly and to the 911 woman on the phone and had a pillow while trying to read what he was writing. Paul was on the phone with Scotts brother and was trying to clear the way for the EMT’s. They came about 15 mins into them being their Scott was able to talk. They gave him this huge shot of sugar (I think it was sugar) to bring his BS up. It wasn’t working as fast as they were hoping it would. Gave him an IV and put him in this chair to get him out of the house, the entire time he was convulsing. We were scared. Got into the ambulance, they wouldn’t let me sit in the back had to sit up front. I was twittering to get people to pray. I guess while I was looking at my phone some kid flipped his car in front of us on braddock rd, the ambulance stopped, I was wondering why he was stopping and he said he wanted to make sure the kid was okay and wait till the other EMT’s arrived, it was about 10 – 15 mins, the kid was fine, some drunk college kid who just bought his car and flipped it. But fine. Got to Fairfax hospital. Scotts dad arrived, we had to wait in the waiting room till Scott was checked in.

I praise the Lord that Scott had this last night, that we were delayed and it happened at the time it happened. Because, Scott had an incredible Dr. She wanted his Johns Hopkins neurology Dr’s information, she paged him called him emailed him. Essentially said this is ridiculous that no one is testing Scott. Scotts primary and the JH Dr keep on going back and forth for about a month now on “who should order the next MRI”. She said that someone should just order it. She ordered a catscan, blood work, and did an electrolyte test. Everything came back normal. She encouraged both of us to be super aggressive in asking neurologists for help. That Scotts case is a legit case…that unfortunatly he is probably that “one in a billion” person that has to suffer with this. But she believes this is something that is curable and if we get the right Neurologist who is willing to work with us as a team and fight for Scott that we can find the cure.

Below is what Scott emailed out to some of our prayer team…..

All,

Just wanted to give you the most recent update.

Jess, my Dad and I were at the ER again last night.  The good news is there is still no Tumors or hemorrhaging (blood in the brain from vessels bursting).

I have been to Johns Hopkins three times now, and they have said it is “baffling”.  However… We know who the Great physician is… and its NOT Baffling to Him…  hahaha 8^)

Jess has been SUPER amazing through this all and proved by her actions that she will stick beside me in any circumstance.  I praise the Lord greatly for providing her.  She is getting really good at helping me laugh and supporting me during tough times.

I will attach below a quick snippet of what happened.  Please be encouraged as Jess can tell you, we have seen the hand of God clearly helping us in the last 24 hours.  8^)  Ephesians 3:20, Psalm 54:17, Proverbs 8:32  8^)

Dr. (Neurologist at John’s Hopkins),

Could you please help me?I collapsed again last night

Pain in back of the head, collapsed and entire body started having spasms

Completely conscious (see, talk, think, move my hands). 
My sister called 911 and as I was explaining to her what I felt in the back of my head, I suddenly lost the ability to talk
I felt a decent sized bubble or something in the back of my head and grabbed her hand to put it on my head.  She felt what she said was like a pellet sized bead made up of a bunch of little beads and then it was gone.

My ability to talk was gone for about 30 minutes
The spasms lasted about an hour long and then subsided on their own (and we didn’t even use ice this time).

The ER did a CT scan and blood work with electrolytes which where mostly normal
ER discharged me and told me to get MRI that you requested this week

The ER also told me to start getting serious about this. Go to Mayo Clinic or NIH???

I saw the Johns Hopkins GI doctor as you recommended yesterday and they said it was probably not Celiacs disease or caused by any other GI problem but gave me one more blood test to re-confirm.

I trust God completely in this and Praise Him for all that He continues to do.  Please do the same.  8^)  

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
         And do not lean on your own understanding. 
    In all your ways acknowledge Him,
         And He will make your paths straight.

The Lord knows and the Lord will lead us to the path for answers for Scotts motion disorder. I praise the Lord for walking with us every step of the way. I dont know what we would have done with out the love of the Lord and support/prayers of our family and friends.

**also side note…while I was writing this Scott texted/called me and said that one of the lead motion disorder/nuerologists from NIH (one of the top dr’s in the country) wants to see him in two weeks!!!! this is AMAZING. The Lord is already answering prayers**

When I wrote about the House in Morocco post on books about Morocco, I had that nagging feeling that I had read another novel about Morocco but just couldn’t recall it.  You know that feeling? It happens to me a lot.  I forgot about it for a while, then some random thing jogged my memory two days ago and I said to myself, “How could I forget about Hideous Kinky?” 

The first week we were in Morocco, spending it with my husband’s family in El Jadida, it never occured to me to bring along something to entertain myself during the week.  I had just a few books at the time and some word puzzles as well.  In a remote closet, my husband and I went through some of his old books from school and he pulled out a book called Hideous Kinky by Esther Freud which was in English and about Morocco.  I grabbed it and devoured it over the rest of the week.  It was a photocopied version he used to study at the university. There’s something special about reading the books he studied long before we met.

The book is about two little girls and their mother on a trip to Morocco that starts out as a holiday, but they end up staying much longer.  They live a somewhat nomadic lifestyle going from place to place and meeting many characters along the way.  The story is written from one of the daughter’s point of view, and at times I felt like I was reading a book meant for a tween, not an adult.  But, I didn’t care.  The stories of their adventures where vivid and helped me imagine the parts of Morocco I hadn’t seen yet in a whimsical way.  I loved that book and don’t know how at all I could ever forget I’d read it.

Especially considering the oddest coincidence that followed it.  Just as I had read the book in my very first week in Morocco, when I went home to the United States just two and a half months later, I came across the movie version of the  book.  It was indeed the oddest thing.  Here I was, my first week back from Morocco surfing the television channels mid-morning.  My parents have that Vios cable thing through Verizon so they have a lot of random movie channels.  I hit one of the high numbers to find Kate Winslet on the screen in a courtyard being laughed at by two women, one in pink pants.  The moment I saw this scene, I knew the movie (which I had no idea was existed) was about the book.  It was toward the middle of the movie, so I continued to watch until the end and looked the channel schedule up on the internet to confirm that the movie was in fact Hideous Kinky.  Although, the longer I watched it, the less I needed this internet confirmation. 

The movie didn’t get rave reviews, nor do I think many people have even ever heard of it.  But, I loved how it brought the book to life.  I admit, part of my enchantment with the book and movie might have been how the timing of the reading and watching worked out making it more special to me, but still I love them both nonetheless.

Esther Freud did live in Morocco with her mother and sister for two years,  which is why the story, the characters, and the place feel quite authentic.  There’s a good description of the book on Amazon, much better and more accurate than what I wrote of course.

And this also reminded me, I have the same type of photocopied version of Tangier Buzzless Flies by John Hopkins from my husband’s university reading materials to read soon too.  Has anyone read it?

Many people have contacted me to ask what specifically is going on with Scott and how to pray for him.

This is what I have so far.

The Johns Hopkins calls it Paroxysmal NonKinessigenic Diskenisia (PNKD), they think it stems from either his low thyroid; his diabetes; a traumatic brain injury (he was in a coma a few years ago from passing out from a low blood sugar and while he passed out he hit his head on the ground); basal ganglia calcification or hypoxemic injury.  He has three herniated discs in his head where he feels the pain before and during he has his spasms. He has a total of 9 herniated discs in his entire spine. The one in his lower back is called degenerative disc disease. That might be the herniated disc that is associated with his legs giving out on him. The neuro surgeons are not able to surgery on those discs because of their location.

So far they have totally ruled out MS, Brain Tumors, the white blood count doesn’t indicate cancer and they have almost ruled out Parkinson’s. He may have Crohns Disease but this should not make him have the spasms.

Scott has also in the past been diagnosed a fat malabsorption which means he can eat less than 5 grams of fat per meal and he has 6 meals a day. They diagnoses liponatas fold in his stomach. He also has MS, Brain Tumors,in his stomach. Scott and I laugh about this because it’s rarely found in humans and more commonly found in dogs. This is serious, but we have to find laughter in it somehow. We know that the Lord hears the prayers of those who love Him. He found that he is allergic to yeast, which means he can’t take one type of insulin because it is yeast based. This this is a recent allergy (past 2-3 years).

We went to Hopkins yesterday, our 2nd visit with them. Scott spoke to the Dr. a resident and an intern. They had him go through some basic movement tests to see if they can create the spasms. They did create some when they moved a pen under his foot, Scott crunched up and his body started convulsing a little. He did have some stomach spasms while we were waiting in the waiting room, but these are pretty mild and he has them daily. The Dr told Scott that the entire thing “baffles him”, he is going to order an MRI (since scott hasn’t had a new one in 2-3 yrs) and have him see a stomach Dr at Johns Hopkins and do possible genetic testing. So please continue to pray for Scott. We felt kinda discouraged leaving Hopkins because we didn’t have any real solid answers. But then I remembered that TV Show Dr House. I said Scott, Dr House doesn’t “brian storm” with the patient to see what the problem could be, they instead brain storm together as a team to try to solve the puzzle. I bet that is what the Dr and his team is trying to do. That is why they are running more tests.

Last night the Lord took me over to Psalm 147.

Psalm 147 (NASB)

 ¹Praise the LORD!
         For it is good to sing praises to our God;
         For it is pleasant and praise is becoming.
    ²The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
         He gathers the outcasts of Israel.
    ³He heals the brokenhearted
         And binds up their wounds.
    ⁴He counts the number of the stars;
         He gives names to all of them.
    ⁵Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
         His understanding is infinite.
    ⁶The LORD supports the afflicted;
         He brings down the wicked to the ground.
    ⁷Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
         Sing praises to our God on the lyre,
    ⁸Who covers the heavens with clouds,
         Who provides rain for the earth,
         Who makes grass to grow on the mountains.
    ⁹He gives to the beast its food,
         And to the young ravens which cry.
    ¹⁰He does not delight in the strength of the horse;
         He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man.
    ¹¹The LORD favors those who fear Him,
         Those who wait for His lovingkindness.
    ¹²Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!
         Praise your God, O Zion!
    ¹³For He has strengthened the bars of your gates;
         He has blessed your sons within you.
    ¹⁴He makes peace in your borders;
         He satisfies you with the finest of the wheat.
    ¹⁵He sends forth His command to the earth;
         His word runs very swiftly.
    ¹⁶He gives snow like wool;
         He scatters the frost like ashes.
    ¹⁷He casts forth His ice as fragments;
         Who can stand before His cold?
    ¹⁸He sends forth His word and melts them;
         He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.
    ¹⁹He declares His words to Jacob,
         His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
    ²⁰He has not dealt thus with any nation;
         And as for His ordinances, they have not known them.
         Praise the LORD

 His word says it all…its perfect encouragement and perfect place to rest my soul and heart in. The Lords word will stand strong and true and we lean on the Lord and His word at all times, and it helps us make the confusing times less confusing.

A farmer’s son, Henry Harbaugh worked as a carpenter, a teacher, and a writer. Then, after theological training, he became the pastor of a series of German Reformed Churches in the northeastern United States. Around 1863, he became professor of didactic and practical theology at Mercersburg Theological Seminary, the school from which he had graduated.

Dr. Harbaugh wrote or translated several hymns, among them is a lovely little song of his own, Jesus, I Live to Thee, which became popularly known as the Mercersburg Hymn.

A personal note on this one. My father, Edward Cottrill (pictured here), was organist and choir director for Garside Bible Church (then Garside Gospel Church) in Hamilton, Ontario, for nearly 20 years. Around 1955, he wrote his own tune for Harbaugh’s hymn, and it was sung by the choir. Why not take a few moments to read the full hymn, and hear my father’s tune, Garside.

Jesus, I live to Thee,
The loveliest and best;
My life in Thee, Thy life in me,
In Thy blest love I rest.

Whether to live or die,
I know not which is best;
To live in Thee is bliss to me,
To die is endless rest.

(2) Today in 1820 – John Hopkins Born
John Henry Hopkins Jr. worked in New York City as a reporter, intending to pursue a career in law. But instead he decided to attend the General Theological Seminary there, from which he graduated in 1850. He became the seminary’s first music teacher, and edited the Church Journal, as well as serving later as a clergyman at Trinity Church, Plattsburg, New York.

Hopkins wrote a number of hymns, but he is best known for the carol, We Three Kings, written for a Christmas Pageant at the General Theological Seminary. It is difficult to imagine, however, that a scholar of his stature could make so many mistakes in the opening line of the song–unless he simply didn’t care!

First, the biblical text nowhere tells us how many men there were. They are referred to in the plural, which could mean there were two or twenty-two. We don’t know. That there were three gifts presented  tells us nothing. (If you receive three gifts for Christmas, will that without doubt prove there were three separate gift-givers?)

Second, they were not from the “Orient,” which refers to the Far East, or Eastern Asia. Rather, they were likely from Persia (present day Iraq), in the Middle East.

Third, they were not kings at all, but “wise men” or magi. The magi were men expert in the study of the stars. The Persians placed much faith in astrology, which is the reason they needed men trained to know the location and movement of the stars.

To Hopkins’s credit, however, he correctly identifies the symbolic meaning of the three gifts presented to Jesus.

• As he indicates, gold speaks of Christ’s kingly majesty–“Gold I bring, to crown Him again.”
• And “incense [frankincense] owns a Deity nigh,” because its rising smoke symbolizes prayer and worship.
• Myrrh’s “bitter perfume breathes a life of gathering gloom,” and points to the Lord’s death, because it was used as an embalming spice. (cf. Jn. 19:39-40).

As John Hopkins’s song says of the Lord Jesus Christ, “Glorious now behold Him arise: / King and God and Sacrifice.” At least in that, he got it right!

We three kings of Orient are;
Bearing gifts we traverse afar,
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

O star of wonder, star of light,
Star with royal beauty bright,
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light.

With the fear of the possibility that the  Swine Flu has a possibility of  becoming an epidemic in our country, it is important to know we have the power to help keep our immune system strong, naturally.

It is my intention to list the ways you can stay healthy this season.

Let’s begin with “Being Here Now”

Staying present in your life, which means do not multi task, or worry about what is going to happen in the future. Allowing your mind to stay moving at all times keeps your body in “fight and flight” mode. Fight and flight  mode can prevent us from having a good nights sleep, over thinking  our life can cause us to make unhealthy choices, if we had been more relaxed we could have seen things in a different way.      

Taking time to be quiet, to relax with out thinking allows our body to enter the “rest and digest” mode.  Retraining your mind to stop  multi tasking all the time, allows your body to enter this important phase .

Our food is digested better, which means our body receives the nutrients it needs to function at optimal level. Sitting down while you eat, breathing and keeping your mind free helps  your body enter the rest and digest mode. Tasting your food is the beginning of the process of digesting. Try eating without distracting yourself with a book, the tv or magazine. This can be a great time to clear your mind of over thinking and just eat. Eating alone in public is accepted in our culture.  When dining alone, try enjoying your food. Taste  what you’re eating. 

You Are What You Eat. What are you eating? What are you drinking?

The more organic vegetables you eat, (especially the kales, chards and spinach) combined with fish and free range meats, the stronger your immune system will be.

A daily diet of fried food, processed food and white sugar  lower your immune system. These foods have been found to compromise  your lymph system and invite cancer cells to flourish. Eating  vegetables that are not over cooked are easily digested ,   and will help keep your intestines ,veins and arteries free  of blockage.  

*Clean up your diet: reduce your body’s toxic burden by avoiding processed food, eating organic when possible eliminate simple sugars and carbohydrates.  

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses, but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos or sea salt.        * John Hopkins News Letter 

Although Not Widely Known, A Healthy Lymph System is Important

Edgar Casey referred to the importance of our lymph system in  over 3,000 readings he did  in  the early 1900’s*  Poor lymph circulation is frequently designated in the Cayce readings as the culprit for various complaints, irritation, discomforts or painful spots. Of particular concern  is the appearance of a growth, knot or lump that may arise in certain areas of the body, causing alarm, apprehension or perhaps a denial of the potential danger. Their relationship  according to the Cayce readings, an important element in body functioning, offering what appears to be a unique perspective on this as-yet little understood or recognized component of our physical body.(The lymph system) Venture Inward March/ April 2008 issue

Like Cinderella, the lymph  labors quietly in the shadows to clean up the mess made by virtually all the other systems of the body. Widely regarded as a lesser sister to the circulatory system, the lymphatic system is actually a crucial player in you body’s ability to ward off disease and heal from injury. Dr. Marcella Pick 2009

You can perform daily maintenance on  yourself and keep your lymph system healthy. Stimulating lymphatic Drainage on your self every day before arising from bed, or while in the shower will decrease water retention 

(swelling) in your body) especially the face. It is helpful to decrease sinus infections, release congestion in the sinuses.  I have been able to move the flu through my body in 24 hours.

I have been teaching personal lymphatic care for a year. I have had positive feedback from those that have attended the class and do the lymphatic work daily. 

How You Think  affects Your Lymph System and Your Over All Health;

Eating healthy food is the beginning of keeping your immune/ lymph system strong. Keeping a positive outlook on how you view your self, your life and others is equally as important.

Are you a pessimist?  Do you trust people? Are you a cynic?  If you were to  look at  half a glass of water, what would you see? Would it be  half empty or half full? Is the world against you, nothing working out? Do you share with  family and friends  and strangers, or do you try to get a deal?

When visiting family are you going to a free dinners not bringing anything to share, dropping by friends  for a party, showing up empty handed.? Perhaps you accuse people on the street that are  asking for money, as  being dishonest addicts trying to get a fix.

How you perceive yourself and others greatly affects your well being( your mental and physical health.) As part of the Lymphatic Drainage Class I offer, how you perceive yourself is a very important part of it.

Can you look in the mirror and say I Love You to yourself? Can you look in the mirror and be happy with who  you see? Loving yourself is first and foremost  before you can truly love others. Taking the time to do lymphatic work on yourself daily allows you the time to connect with your body. You can learn about your physical body, just by focusing on yourself while you are in the shower, not thinking of all the things on your to do list.

Part of the class I teach to women is on breast health. I believe how you perceive your body is very important. As you perform lymphatic drainage around the breasts, positive affirmations about yourself are used.

I do not believe in the fear mode. Some of the results from the  positive ,daily breast work: one woman who had had   fibrotic tissue and had had biopsies in both breasts went for her half year mammogram and was told by a surprised doctor, her breasts were completely clear! Another woman found the very beginning of  cells in her body, she attributes this to the  lymphatic breast work she had begun on herself.

More and more men are getting breast cancer! If you are using deodorant that has aluminum in it, Stop! You are poisoning your body. If you wear wires in your bras too often, or you find marks on your body after taking your clothes off… that means you are restricting the lymphatic flow through your body! Upper and lower body, so loosen those belts and bras!

Remember To  Breathe

The lymph system does not have a pump to move the  fluid through the body. It relies on movement of muscle like vessels through out the body. Breathing deep breaths  helps moves the lymph throughout the body. Breathing keeps you in the present moment, and also helps you think  more clearly. Taking deep breaths before reacting to a situation may create a more positive out come for you.

Sweating is Good For You

Sweating is another way you can help your body detox.  Sweating releases toxins through our largest organ, our skin. Sweating does not look pretty, but it serves a healthy purpose. If you are not athletic, think about a sauna. A sauna allows you to sweat the toxins out of your body.

Exercise

Challenge yourself. If you are not athletic, try walking. If you walk, step up the pace and mix some speed walking in. Yoga, swimming, running, biking are just a few ways you can help your lymph circulate through your body. The added bonus is you will feel great after your work out. 

We have  more control of our bodies wellness than we give ourselves credit for. If you have never experienced a Lymphatic massage, I recommend you try it. See if there is anywhere you can lymphatic self help. If there is not, contact me at soulbodyemergence@yahoo.com 

Last Sunday driving to church I had the radio on…this eagles song came on (all to familiar) and even though my past is long behind me…I felt like I could currently relate to the lyrics

Life in the fast lane, Surely makes you lose your mind
Life in the fast lane, Huh
Life in the fast lane, Everything all the time
Life in the fast lane, Huh
- Eagles – Life in the Fast Lane

My life has felt like its in a fast lane and I haven’t posted in a while because I just feel like its been one thing after another in the past few weeks…I just want to drive in the slow lane…or just stop at a rest station…a nice one with trees and a clean bathroom..

Over the past two weeks….

• I ran over a street sign.
• Scott went to the ER two Saturday nights ago…he thought he had a heart attack and had the worst spasms/seizures I’ve ever seen. Took me, and EMT, two female nurses and a male nurse to hold him down so they could get an IV in.
• Pearl earrings my mom gave me are missing from my house.
• Important mail missing from my house.
• Im house-sitting most of this month and the bird died yesterday.
• While at my house-sitting job the night Scott was in the ER someone threw rotten apples at my car.
• Work has been insane.
• Can’t continue with my small group because it meets on a night that I have pre-marital.

This all in the past two weeks. Its nuts! I feel like I am cautiously going out into the world when I leave in the mornings….what will happen this time? Will I accidently run over a squirrel instead of a street sign? Will something happen to Scott and I can’t get to him in time to help him. What else?

It feels like

…life in the fast lane and it surely makes you lose your mind..life in the fast lane…everything all the time

I sometimes feel like I need to be Penny in that Twilight Zone movie “A Little Peace and Quite” when she wears this pendant she found. She can actually make time stop so she can rest. Actually if this really happened to me I would probably freak out and this movie has a super bad ending. I would rather trust in the Lord than a pendant around my neck.

I do want to be out of the fastlane. I want to stop trying to fight the Lord in trying to do things on my own. I want to be able to get out of the way and just let Him do His job. To trust that just when we break muscles so they grow back stronger, that in the Lord allowing these circumstances is breaking something in me to grow back stronger and healthier than it was before. Knowing that He has formed me for Himself and its to bring Him praise (Isaiah 43:21 “The people whom I have formed for Myself, Will declare My Praise“) It doesn’t matter if material things are missing (my moms earrings) or if the bird died, or if Scotts health is not right. The Lord knows and has it completely under control with out my help…He will provide….and He will take me out  of this fast lane to give me His rest. That He will if I allow Him provide a pretty sweet rest stop….with an amazing view just so I can praise Him. That in all of this…He wants us to trust in Him and to abide in this temporary land to cultivate and harvest faithfulness….

Psalm 37:3

Trust in the Lord and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness

That as Brooke Fraser sings in the C.S. Lewis song…If i find in myself desires nothing in this world can satisfy,
I can only conclude that I was not made for here…If the flesh that I fight is at best only light and momentary,
then of course I’ll feel nude when to where I’m destined I’m compared…

Nothing in this world can satisfy…Scott can be 100% healthy and not have a spasm ever again…I can be 100% assured that he would make it till we are married…that I would have a happy and long life married to him with plenty of kids….but nothing….nothing in this world can satisfy…that only the words of Christ can ever satisfy all our deep longings….it can satisfy all that this world could ever offer.

Psalm 40:14

oh satisfy us in the morning with Your loving-kindness, That we may sing for joy and be glad all our days

Nothing….no trial…no frustration…nothing…should ever stop us from truly praising our Lord for the unmerited grace he bestows on us. His gifts are worth far more than anything this world can provide. Not only has he rescued and redeemed us and call us His own…but he also bestows blessings of peace, joy, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control….

Oh Lord if only…I can truly trust in You….stop trying to do things on my own…stop thinking this world could ever satisfy me…because my heart that knows and loves you…knows the truth….

…Let thy goodness like a fetter bind my wandering heart to thee…

Americans Win Nobel Prize

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091005/ap_on_re_eu/eu_nobel_medicine

The last few weeks have seen the announcement of some of the most important prizes in Australian Contemporary Music.

Firstly, as mentioned earlier, was the Australian Classical Music Awards. A full list of winners can be found here, and it was both nice to see awards going to, in some cases, the ‘right’ people (Southern Cross Soloists, George Lentz), rather than the politically expedient people.

A method other than performance activity, though, needs to be come up with in order to determine the ‘work of the year’ prizes. For instance, it’s utterly unsurprising that the work of Lyn Williams was more performed than any other vocal work of 2008. It would be nice for all of the winners of those prizes, surely, to be able to claim that the prize had been won on merit, rather than statistics.

The second is the Ian Potter Composer Fellowships. These have, for over a decade, been one of the great bastions of composer support in this country, and provide an established composer with $80,000 over two years, and an emerging one with $20,000. This is the last year that this prize is being offered for composition (they’re moving on to an as-yet-undisclosed other artform as of 2011), and so of course every man and his dog entered (including moi, naturally…).

I was expecting to be writing here that the recipients were utterly undeserving, to rail against the triumph of mediocrity. I was prepared to attribute it to the questionable politics of the jury (cue rant about postmodernist hegemony, or some-such). Or perhaps chalk it up to karmic necessity after their having got it so absolutely right last time around.

But it turns out the prizes went to Gordon Kerry and Iain Grandage. Now, I’m not really familiar with any of Grandage’s music, although his name has been one that crops up increasingly frequently of late, and I’m sure that such a grant will allow us all a better opportunity to engage with his work. Gordon Kerry, on the other hand, is right up there, in my opinion, with a small handful of composers who are so deserving of, and yet so infrequently receive, such honours that it’s almost criminal.

The jury also made an exceptional grant of $8,000 to Damien Ricketson. Good on them.

Not bad for a jury that knows absolutely nothing about contemporary music.

(Resonate coverage to be found here).

The third is the announcement of finalists for the Paul Lowin prizes. List of finalists can found here.

It’s a great shame that Carl Vine’s Symphony No 7 looks like the most serious contender for the orchestral prize. While it’s a work that clearly demonstrates a formidable orchestral technique, and an obviously musical mind, I just kinda feel that the piece would have been more interesting had it been written by Carl Vine, rather than cobbled together out of clearly recognisable trinkets nicked, sans context, from Shostakovich, Vaughan Williams and, especially, Stravinsky (like, seriously, it could be re-branded as a concerto for Petroushka and orchestra…). Bitchy sniping aside, though, the two performances I’ve heard of it now (on radio) have been bloody good, and anybody that thinks that either WASO or ASO can’t play need to start paying closer attention…

On the other hand, the Song Cycle category has three very strong contenders indeed, and my preferences there tend more towards stylistic predilections, rather than actual opinion, and it seems a shame not to be able to recognise three such worthy candidates equally.

(Also, does anybody find it weird that the press release doesn’t mention the pieces by name?)

The pecking order of who gets the Influenza H1N1 Monovalent Flu Vaccine begins.

USA today had this to say, “Even hospitals will have to dole out the vaccine carefully, because they initially won’t get enough for their entire staffs. “So they’ll make decisions” about who’s vaccinated first, says Gregory Poland, an infectious-diseases specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. “It’s reasonable that the nurse that works in the neonatal ICU will get it first and someone in dietary services will get it later.”  http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-10-01-swine-flu-vaccine_N.htm

We wouldn’t want value some one who handles the food in a hospital that feeds patients above a nurse.  A nurse might see 50 patients while the food service worker might spread a virus to 1000’s.

The article goes on to state, “No matter how much health officials tout the vaccine as safe — “It’s 1,000 times safer than getting the flu,” says John Bartlett, director of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health — some people remain fearful.”

Give me a break- mere weeks of testing and Biodefense Strategies can not comprehend why anyone wouldn’t question efficacy and are fearful of lasting repercussions.  How much federal funding does John Hopkins get to spew propaganda?

Lest we forget that this Sept., it was noted that, “The Children’s National Medical Center is getting a $150M gift from the government of Abu Dhabi—’one of the largest philanthropic donations ever made to a U.S. pediatric hospital,’ Susan Kinzie reports in WaPo. ‘The Persian Gulf country has given large sums to Johns Hopkins Medicine and other U.S. institutions. But the gift was arranged by Joseph E. Robert Jr., a prominent Washington philanthropist with deep ties to Children’s and personal connections to wealthy members of the UAE’s royal family.’ The gift will create the Sheik Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation, which ‘will collaborate across disciplines to improve surgery for children.’ The gift ‘has created palpable excitement at the Northwest Washington hospital, which treats thousands of children and performs 15,000 surgeries each year.’http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/09/16/ethics-not-a-priority-for-marion-barry-loose-lips-daily/ 

Lest we forget- John Hopkins has won more than $107 million in research grants through the federal stimulus package. http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2009/09/21/daily39.html  Johns Hopkins researchers have submitted nearly 1,300 proposals for stimulus-funded projects to date. 

Oh that’s right, in one instance, ”The settlement also says that John Hopkins got federal money (allegedly) that it was not entitled to. It used erroneous fringe benefit amounts for research personnel.’ http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/6201.php 

I can just about guarantee you that none of our tax dollars were for food handling and dietary safety.,

Open wide, say ahhh and check out these posts on the A/H1N1 Swine Flu from Ahrcanum, where the conspiracy spreads as fast as the virus itself.

While Swine Flu Conspiracy theory can sometimes be triggered by real world events. Opinions are like a$$holes be sure to subscribe to ours via RSS in the top right margin for updates.

http://ahrcanum.wordpress.com/swine-flu-report/

fndk

Non sono piu’ valide per lavorare in India le lauree mediche conseguite in paesi stranieri. Nonostante il paese di Gandhi abbia accordi di reciprocita’ con diversi paesi, tra i quali USA, Italia, Inghilterra, Giappone, Australia, Canada, gli studenti indiani che conseguono una laurea, un master o un dottorato in uno di questi paesi, prima di esercitare l’arte medica in India dovranno fare esami presso il Medical Council of India. Lo ha deciso la suprema corte indiana, cancellando cosi’ anni di accordi internazionali. La molti medici indiani, almeno coloro che lavorano nelle grandi citta’, nelle strutture private, ospedali e cliniche destinati all’elite indiana e internazionale, conseguono titoli all’estero, soprattutto Stati Uniti e Inghilterra. Da oggi, i titoli conseguiti ad Harvard, John Hopkins, Oxford, in India non varranno se non saranno verificati da un esame del consiglio medico indiano. La sentenza sta provocando numerose proteste soprattutto tra gli studenti di medicina, le cui famiglie investono molto sull’educazione in paesi stranieri dei loro ragazzi. Sono molti i paesi che mettono a disposizione borse di studio per gli studenti indiani, diversi dei quali decidono poi di non tornare in India ma di rimanere nel paese straniero a lavorare come medico, assicurandosi guadagni maggiori. Nel paese di Gandhi i medici piu’ quotati sono proprio coloro che hanno studiato all’estero, che non fanno mistero, attraverso insegne, cartelli e scritte sui biglietti da visita, dei loro master e dottorati conseguiti nelle universita’ straniere. Titoli che impressionano molto in India, tanto che questi medici hanno molta piu’ facilita’ di fare carriera.

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AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY

(‘TRY’, BEING THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHNS HOPKINS IS

FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY.

Cancer Update from Johns Hopkins:

1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do

not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few

billion.. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more

cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means the tests

are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached

the detectable size.

2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person’s lifetime.

3 When the person’s immune system is strong the cancer cells will be

destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.

4. When a person has cancer it indicates the person has multiple

nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic,

environmental, food and lifestyle factors.

5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet

and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.

6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells

and also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow,

gastrointestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver,

kidneys, heart, lungs etc.

7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and

damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.

8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce

tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not

result in more tumor destruction.

9. When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and

radiation the immune system is either compromised or destroyed, hence

the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and

complications.

10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and

become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause

cancer cells to spread to other sites.

11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by

not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply.

*CANCER CELLS FEED ON:

a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one

important food supply to the cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like

NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and it is

harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or

molasses, but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical

added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg’s aminos

or sea salt.

b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the

gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk

and substituting with unsweetened soy milk cancer cells are being

starved.

c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is

acidic and it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than

beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth

hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people

with cancer.

d. A diet made of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains, seeds,

nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline

environment. About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh

vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and

reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance

growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy

cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including

bean sprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes

are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).

e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green

tea is a better alternative and has cancer fighting properties.

Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins

and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.

12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of

digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes

putrefied and leads to more toxic buildup.

13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining

from or eating less meat it frees more enzymes to attack the protein

walls of cancer cells and allows the body’s killer cells to destroy

the cancer cells.

14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence,

Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the

bodies own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements

like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed cell death,

the body’s normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or

unneeded cells.

15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and

positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.. Anger,

un-forgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic

environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit. Learn to

relax and enjoy life.

16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment.

Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to

the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to

destroy cancer cells.

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This

information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as

well. Dioxin chemicals cause cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins

are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don’t freeze your

plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the

plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at

Cast le Hospital, was on a TV program to explain this health hazard.

He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us. He said that we

should not be heating our food in the microwave using plastic

containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat.. He

said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases

dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.

Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or

ceramic containers for heating food You get the same results, only

without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and

soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in

something else. Pa per isn’t bad but you don’t know what is in the

paper. It’s just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He

reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved

away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of

the reasons.

Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as

dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the

food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt

out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a

paper towel instead.

Join Jared Digby (A-T) patient with Dr. Howard Lederman from Johns Hopkins Medicine as he provides us with an overview of the genetic disorder, Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T).

As we plod along listening to the rhetoric and posturing from the left and its socialist supporters. Screaming we need to “fix” our health care system I ask myself, why? I realize we need to do something, but that something is not to hand it over to the Federal Government!!

Dang it is noisy here at Camp Ripley!! Night time flying practice or some such thing!!

We have the best health care in the world!

How many other Mayo Clinics are there? John Hopkins? Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center? Cleveland Clinic?

How many? I am waiting for your answer which will never come and you damn well know it!!

You think the Government can do a better job? If you do, your so stupid I am surprised you remember to breath!

Case in point or a “personal” experience!

Anyhow I called my darlink wife and she told me about your latest debacle in dealing with life insurance regarding her deceased mother….What a farce. To summarize Dear Mom in Law got roped into signing on with some trust outfit CLA, which she did not need and which all of us told her she did not, but she did and now everything is fubared when a simple will, which she already had would have worked. But nope she signed on with this shysters and all the help they appear to be amounts to piss in a thimble!!

Dang are they landing on the barracks out there!!! Yikes!!

Anyhow darlink wife is dealing with another Life Insurance Company, not sure which scam artist this time, and they told her she needed some number. My darlink replied she did not and was told since it was now IN THIS TRUST she did. So my darlink asked this person, whom was difficult to understand because she had a mouthful of crap, what she should do and was told she needed to call the IRS (Yippee, the worlds biggest extortion outfit!) and it would only take a few minutes. So darlink did, and after much time giving information and answering questions which seemed meaningless to the issue was informed….the computer had crashed and they needed to start over. My darlink said “nope”! As she had to go to work so she could earn money to pay taxes to keep this idiot IRS person employed!!

So you see a simple damn issue involving life insurance and the IRS fumbles that! IRS stooge was probably playing solitaire and not paying any damn attention! Happens to those in government!! Do you ever deal with the DMV(Department of Motor Vehicles)? Lots of efficiency there! Social Security? Where is the money? Medicare? Medicaid? Same question? Where is the money?

So tell me why you want Obamacare?

Blah I am going to try and sleep….if these airplanes and helicopters ever stop trying to land on the Barracks I am in!!

August 20, 2009

By MILT FREUDENHEIM

Health care may be a costly drag on the economy, but it’s still a great place to find a job.

Midcareer managers and other workers have been migrating to health care jobs for years, of course. Now, with the recession, the lure is even stronger. Hospitals, which employ more than four million people, added 135,000 jobs last year and 19,400 more in the first half of 2009, even as millions of American workers wound up unemployed.

“The demand for talented leaders in health care is only going to go up,” predicted Jane Groves, a senior vice president at Integrated Healthcare Strategies, an executive search and consulting firm in Kansas City, Mo. “All that demand can’t and shouldn’t be filled by people already working in health care.”

Frank Pinkowsky worked as a manager at DuPont for 24 years before taking a position as senior vice president for human resources at the Guthrie Clinic in Sayre, Pa. “Don’t underestimate the value of what you learned working for someone else,” he advised.

Colin Ward, a 37-year-old Baltimore hospital executive, also successfully switched careers, leaving ESPN after eight years of producing sports broadcasts. “I felt like I wanted to be contributing in some other way,” he said.

After 11 months of graduate classes in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a year as a paid apprentice at a Baltimore hospital, he had a master’s degree in health science and management.

Mr. Ward stayed at the hospital, Lifebridge Health, for three more years and in 2007 moved to his current post at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Towson, Md., as director of corporate strategy. Still a big sports fan, he produces Ravens football games for WBAL radio on weekends.

The Hopkins school, which also offers a three-year master’s of public health degree, is the largest of dozens of accredited graduate and undergraduate programs in hospital management. Many managers with experience in fields like human resources, finance and marketing find a welcome in health care, with a little studying up. Online courses, books, journals and professional magazines provide material.

The American College of Healthcare Executives, based in Chicago, offers several online pages of career tips, including a two-year-old salary summary at www.ache.org. The Association of University Programs in Health Administration also lists contact information for many schools at www.aupha.org.

“We just recently recruited a vice president for human resources from the supermarket industry,” said Mike A. Helm, a senior executive at Sutter Health, a hospital chain with 45,000 employees in Northern California. Sutter hires 20 to 30 executives a year.

Health care does, of course, have its own jargon and a host of complex challenges. Managers have to know how to deal with doctors, nurses and professional groups, as well as with regulators.

“There are tons and tons of regulations, and the burden is growing,” said Dr. Steven A. Wartman, president of the Association of Academic Health Centers, a nonprofit group whose members are both research and health sciences universities that include hospitals.

The Obama administration’s $19 billion 10-year campaign to promote electronic medical records opens another huge opportunity, said Dr. Blackford Middleton, a technology research expert at Partners Healthcare in Boston. An estimated 40,000 to 160,000 additional health information professionals could be needed, he said.

Dr. Middleton is helping to develop an executive education course at the nonprofit American Medical Informatics Association and a certificate course at the Harvard School of Public Health. online, and the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health sponsors some informatics fellowships.

The industry trade association, known as Himss for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, offers an array of online courses that can help technology workers move into health care. Last month, Himss established its eLearning Academy, which, it says, “offers round-the-clock, on-demand access,” allowing students to work at their own pace on subjects like clinician-focused use of information technology, I.T. customer service to the health care user, and health care I.T. strategic planning.

James Platts, 30, chose a more formal academic setting for his training in health care management and completed the joint master’s program in business and public health at the University of California, Berkeley. He now works on health-related projects in the San Francisco office of the Boston Consulting Group.

He came to Berkeley in 2006 from the White House, where he was a junior-level staff member at the National Economic Council for two years. A Harvard graduate in economics, he also put in two years at Nasdaq, studying financial and economic data.

“I thought it would be fun and interesting from a health care perspective to live in California for a few years,” Mr. Platts said, referring to California’s large-scale health care issues and solutions.

Graduates of the Berkeley program are hired at an “average salary somewhat over $100,000,” said Kristi Raube, director of the joint health management program there. Tuition has tripled since 2007, to $35,893 for California residents and $45,093 for out-of-state students pursuing the joint master’s degree.

“Of course, nobody knows what will happen with health reform,” Dr. Wartman noted. One possibility could be pressure to cut costs by freezing hiring and squeezing out management jobs at hospitals and health insurers.

But, he said, “there is a very strong push to cover more people, with a lot of implications for growth in the health care work force.” Other drivers of growth, Dr. Wartman said, include “the continued march of science and technology, as well as uninvited developments such as new diseases.”

Last Year I went to this insane production of hamlet, where the actors only found out which roles they were playing by playing a game of rock paper scissors before the show started, there was no set, no costumes, props were provided by the audience, and it was AWESOME. So anyway after doing various productions of adhoc Hamlets all over London for a year, the company has moved on tackle Chekov’s ‘The Seagull’…..well I say Chekov’s ‘The Seagull’, but this time around The Factory have taken things one step further and are actually improvising their wayaround the famous play. This time the actors decide who’s playing who via a coin toss (actor Alex Hassel asked our group for a coin to toss, but unfortunately lost out, yeah he probably hates us now….oh well, he spent the evening MCing) and use their own names.
The Production I saw took place in the debating chamber of County Hall, which proved much more difficult to find than I’d anticipated, but when we actually entered it was quite a small room with three large windows, dining chairs and a couple of sofas lining the walls leaving the middle part of the room as the performance space. For the most part, I’m not sure this worked as well as the Hamlet, partly because there weren’t so many tasks or obstructions, and partly the audience didn’t seem as into it. The literature I read didn’t mention bringing props so I wasn’t sure if that was still part of the performance and I didn’t know whether to take anything, and no one in the audience seemed to have very much so they were at a bit of a loss for a seagull I think in the end they had to settle for a bit of ribbon which didn’t really work that well, I thought about lending them my monkey….but I’m selfish and would spend the rest of the play worrying about him. Also I didn’t some of the actors were quite as good as the ones in Hamlet, or just not really right for the roles they ended up playing (the girl playing the Arkadina role was only in her twenties, and played her at that age which didn’t work, she didn’t have much of a grip on the character and just really came over as annoying). Having said that it was still a very interesting experience, I think I’ll try and catch another one if it comes to another convenient venue (and bring a few amusing props).

oh and very exciting news! Rupert Evans is going to be in a play at the Donmar again! Alongside Dominic West in ‘Life is a Dream’ Hence the Rupert/Donmar/Kiss of the Spiderwoman Icon, hurray! Been wondering what he was up to, he was randomly sitting near me at Time and the Conways. Loved him in spiderwoman , one of the best things I’ve seen at the Donmar