| (no subject) |
[Jul. 6th, 2009|10:38 am] |
Just back from a long weekend near Asheville with ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) kenllama, pumaviking and Dr. Turtle. Good times were had, although I had a bit of an upset stomach through most of Friday (too much bacon at breakfast?), and we had to strike camp in the rain yesterday morning. If you've not been to Asheville, it's a pretty hip town, especially if you're looking for good food. Highly recommended are the Early Girl Eatery (locally-produced ingredients, cooked Southern style) and the Laughing Seed (funky eclectic vegetarian; folks preferring meat might have a hard time finding a suitable entree, so check the menu first). I also discovered the debut album by MC Yogi, who performs what can only be described as bhakti hip-hop. If the concept doesn't immediately turn you off, check out the samples on his website. Ganesh is fresh, yo. |
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| Dad update |
[Jun. 24th, 2009|09:30 am] |
My dad flew back to Houston yesterday on a medical flight. (A *small* medical flight - it was a twin-prop plane with only room for maybe four patients.) When I talked to him after capoeira last night, he'd been in the emergency room at M.D. Anderson for about four hours, waiting for a room to open up and eating anything they'd give him. He was tired, but in good spirits. My mom and one of her sisters are driving back to Texas from Chicago, and should arrive today or tomorrow.
I got to make a brief visit to Chicago on Monday to see my parents before they left. The change in my dad is astounding. He's still physically very weak, having been bedridden for the better part of three months, but he was more lucid than I've seen him since he had the transplant. Apparently he doesn't remember much of the period after the procedure, including his stints in the ICU - my mom was telling him the story on Sunday night, and it's affected him pretty deeply to know that he had been that close to death, and to know that my sister and I dropped everything and rushed out to be with him. My father's never been emotionally very demonstrative, but his emotions are running a lot closer to the surface these days. Family has taken on a new level of importance for him - and for all of us.
His health is still somewhat tentative, and he will remain in recovery for some time to come, but I feel as though a major obstacle has been overcome. I'm amazed, and incredibly grateful. Thanks so much to all of you for your prayers and good wishes. |
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| Dad update |
[Jun. 15th, 2009|10:08 am] |
My dad's doctors are planning to send him back to Houston.
No, I'm not joking.
I got the call from my dad Saturday afternoon. (And he's feeling well enough to make a phone call *himself*, which is sort of a big deal right there.) Apparently his doctors in Houston and Chicago have been talking, and they think that he's well enough to transfer back to M.D. Anderson to complete his recovery. They've identified a supplemental insurance program in Texas that my dad would likely qualify for, and are making arrangements for a medical flight to get him there. (My mom's sister Joyce would probably fly up to Chicago to drive back with my mom to Houston; this is an altogether better idea than *me* driving Chicago to Houston with my mom.) He could leave in as little as eight business days.
Wow. Just...wow. |
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| Dad update |
[Jun. 10th, 2009|12:13 pm] |
In an effort to post when things are *not* on the downturn....
My dad is doing better. By the time I got out to see him on Friday, they'd already taken him off the ventilator, and the hospital moved him out of ICU into a regular room while I was there. His infections were apparently localized in the lines which had been implanted for dialysis; after those were removed, the infections cleared pretty quickly. Theoretically those lines will be reimplanted in the near future, but for the moment he's relying on the temporary line they put in on Friday. (In his *neck*. Ouch.) I spoke to him on the phone a couple of days ago (I call every day, but he's often too tired to talk), and he definitely sounded like he was on the mend. The discomfort and listlessness that he was displaying on Friday has apparently faded.
Thanks to everyone for your good wishes. Non-dad related posts, including pics of my new tattoo, will be up sometime soon. |
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| Dad update |
[Jun. 3rd, 2009|01:21 pm] |
I should really learn to post when things are going *well*. Last week my dad was actually getting out of bed, working with a physical therapist and scooting himself down the hall by pushing a wheelchair with his feet. I even got to talk to him on the phone a couple of times - he sounded exhausted, but lucid, or as much so as one can when wearing an oxygen mask.
This week? Not so much. The doctors moved him back into the ICU on Monday, and they've put him back on a ventilator, as he's not breathing well enough with the mask, even with the oxygen dialed up to 100%. His blood gas readings indicate that he's not removing carbon dioxide from his system as efficiently as he should, which suggests that his lung function in general is affected, probably as the result of the alveolar hemorrhage. He was apparently in actual respiratory failure for at least part of yesterday. My mom says that he also has an infection, something "like MRSA," although she didn't or couldn't provide specifics. I'm going to Chicago on Friday to meet with his doctors for an overview of his current situation; I can't imagine that the outcome is going to be good. |
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| Band pics |
[Jun. 1st, 2009|02:30 pm] |
I just received some photos this weekend from Seven Tuesday's last gig in December, so I thought I'd put them up here.
( Photos below cut ) |
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| Dad update |
[May. 19th, 2009|12:32 pm] |
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Rather than try to recap the course of the last few days, I refer you to otterkin's public posts on our trip to Chicago and the recent complications with my dad. I convinced the attending ICU fellow to send me a copy of the review article that he'd been distributing to his staff, and did some follow-up research this morning. Some additional info: diffuse alveolar hemorrhage is not uncommon among bone marrow transplant patients, nor is it associated with a generally good prognosis - the survival rate is somewhere between 20% and 50% depending on the study. Getting off of ventilation is apparently a good first step, but it's only a first step. Dad is on day 4 of a 5-day course of high-dose corticosteroids (1 g prednisolone, I think), followed by a gradual weaning. If he survives the next month, I think he'll probably be through the highest-risk period. Many thanks again to everyone who has sent prayers and good wishes. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 30th, 2008|09:14 pm] |
I'm guessing that most of the people who care about this have already seen it, since I am Non-Posting Boy lately, but for those who haven't: my dear friend and fantastic musician S.J. Tucker (s00j) has had some serious health issues recently, and since the Itinerant Bard package doesn't come with medical insurance, she could use some help. Head over to her website or to the ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) saveours00j community for ways to help out. Thanks. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 5th, 2008|11:53 am] |
Much ink will undoubtedly be spilled discussing this election: its history, its historicity, what went right (or wrong, depending on your viewpoint), and what happens next. I don't have anything meaningfully erudite to add to that discussion today. Instead, I have a personal perspective.
One of my Missouri ancestors was a slaveowner. He wasn't a plantation baron or anything like that - he just owned a couple of domestic slaves to help his wife around the house. I don't know much else about him. I don't know if he was a benign or a harsh master. I just know that, during the long period of this nation's history when keeping human beings as slaves was considered by many to be acceptable based on the color of their skin, at least one of my ancestors kept slaves.
Yesterday, his several-times-removed descendant was unspeakably proud to watch that nation elect a black man to its highest office.
Thank you, America. |
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| Public service announcement |
[Nov. 4th, 2008|09:56 am] |
Just a reminder of Scott's House Rule #37: If you didn't vote, I don't want to hear you bitch about the election results. Thank you for playing.
Democracy, fool! What?! |
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| CD Swap update: discs away! |
[May. 6th, 2008|12:26 pm] |
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At long last, I've managed to get all of my discs for featherynscale's CD swap into the mail. US folks should have them by the weekend; the UK swapper on the list should get a disc next week sometime. |
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| Wedding weekend! |
[Mar. 17th, 2008|06:07 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | Cry Cry Cry - Down By the Water (internal) | ] |
The three-day-weekend just past involved an Epic Road Trip (which I've decided to define as any trip of a weekend or longer in which at least one-third of your time is spent on the road) to Massachusetts for the wedding of pumaviking and Dr. Turtle. (Proper nomenclature for the Puma-Turtle connection will be forthcoming.) otterkin and I drove out with sqwook and Mr. Sqwook (who, in fairness, did all the actual driving), in a blur of Celtic music, Henry Rollins, coffee, road chocolate (courtesy of grailquestion!), and good conversation. Also forming the Ann Arbor contingent were beliebt and her boyfriend C, and amynes and Rob, as well as former Ann Arborite and brother-of-the-bride kenllama. The ceremony itself was wonderful: mostly Jewish, but well-explained for the goyim in the room, and full of levity and joy. K and A chose to use one of my recordings for their processional music (which still blows me away - thank you both), and the Otter and I got to give one of the seven blessings during the ceremony. We cried. It was lovely. And then we ate and drank and danced ourselves silly to various 80s and 90s hits, and then collapsed into an exhausted sleep before waking up for buffet breakfast with the Happy Couple and heading back out on the long drive home.
Our family rocks, y'all. |
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| CD Swap review: lilia_blackbear |
[Mar. 8th, 2008|07:42 am] |
On the face of it, lilia_blackbear's mix of Occupational Songs (which she defines as "songs that mention an occupation in the title", which apparently stretches far enough to include Stevie Nicks' "Sorcerer") *should* have been a good match for me. It's an eclectic mix of pop, rock, and alternative tunes, spanning several decades of American music. Unfortunately, we're just not on the same wavelength. The individual tracks are either songs by artists I don't like (Dave Matthews Band, Bush, Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan*, solo Robert Plant), or they're songs I don't like by artists that I otherwise *do* like (TMBG, Queen, Heart, Rush). The Tori Amos and Fiona Apple tunes were probably my favorites, but I don't find them particularly distinctive among the output of either singer. Hopefully she'll have more fun with my mix. When I, y'know, actually get it in the mail....
(* - No, I don't like Dylan. It is what it is. I don't particularly care for Bob Marley or early Beatles either. My tastes may be eclectic, but they're also somewhat particular.) |
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| CD Swap review: featherynscale |
[Mar. 4th, 2008|11:24 am] |
I'm participating in featherynscale's Great Mix CD Swap of '08, and thought I'd put my reviews here as public postings so that participants who are not on my f-list can see and comment. First up, as it happens, is a disc from featherynscale herself, entitled Strung Out: 14 Inappropriate Uses of the Violin and Cello. The title pretty much sums it up - this is not your grandfather's chamber orchestra. Metal, industrial, indie rock, and trip-hop influences are the order of the day, translated through throbbing strings and violent bowing. I'm already familiar with several of the artists (Apocalyptica, Emilie Autumn, Rasputina), but none of the tracks duplicate my own holdings, which is always a welcome surprise. =) This is great stuff! I especially like the Apocalyptica tracks from their album Cult: my previous exposure to them was their first album of Metallica covers, so hearing them do an original tune (with vocals!) and a version of Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" was head-bangingly good. Zoe Keating's more experimental cello pieces are also fascinating, and make me want to dig out my looping pedal and start making solo music again.
I give it: four antlers!
I received a disc from lilia_blackbear yesterday, so I should have another review coming in a couple of days. And I'll get the rest of my discs in the mail soon, I swear.... |
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| Audio search help needed |
[Jan. 21st, 2008|01:40 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | James - Laid (internal) | ] |
I've been having some fun this weekend working with the audio files that are included with the new Nine Inch Nails remix album. I'm maybe 2/3 of the way through my first remix, a lyrically-altered version of "The Great Destroyer." (I'll post an MP3 link here when it's finished.) I've got a couple other pieces in mind, but they require additional sonic elements that are currently outside my grasp. So, if anyone could help in finding the following, I'd appreciate it:
-Recordings of un- or minimally-accompanied Sanskrit chants/songs to Shiva. I already have the Krishna Das recording of "Namah Shivayah," and it's got too much instrumentation for my purposes.
-Audio clips of various Bush administration officials, from which I can lift significant phrases such as "waterboarding," "torture," "rendition," "Guantanamo," etc.
Thanks in advance!
[EDIT: Turns out that Media Matters has a fair few clips associated with their stories, which are conveniently organized by topic; they tend to be media personalities rather than administration officials, but I think they'll serve my purposes.] |
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| Thoughts on the Pearl Pentacle: do as thou wilt |
[Jan. 17th, 2008|07:38 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | feri | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Audioslave - Like a Stone (internal) | ] |
While I was sitting this morning, I was musing on Love and Law, and began thinking about Crowley's famous dictum "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law," accompanied by another statement later in The Book of the Law: "Love is the law, love under will." I started to frame this pair of statements in terms of the Pearl Pentacle, and the resulting chain of thought made so much sense that I thought I'd share it here.
( Click as thou wilt ) |
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| New tune! |
[Dec. 3rd, 2007|12:16 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | nasoalmo | ] |
| [ | music |
| | the obvious.... | ] |
I mastered my new solo guitar tune this morning, so here it is: turning |
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