Music For Product Of The Seventies

Think good music disappeared with Skynrd? Are seventies revival acts the only concerts you see anymore? With this feature I'll try to spotlight current music guaranteed to be enjoyed by us Products of the Seventies.

Put on your headphones, maybe torch a bowl if your life still allows that, and give this one some concentration. On the surface, good straight-ahead southern rock, maybe with a pinch of twang. It takes some active listening to understand the lyrics, but it's worth it. They're incredible. Trailer park tragedy, southern culture, and deep, searching, introspection rolled up into each album. Some of the songs are laugh-out-loud funny, others are too painful for me to hear. This band gets my highest praise and recommendation.

I Didn't Sign Up For This

When I agreed to get older, this is something I didn't sign on for. I had no idea getting older meant that hair in my ears would be growing faster than the hair on my chin. Then when I try to shave it, I end up cutting my ear. I wonder how much permanent removal costs.

Site Redesign

I'm in the process of working out a redesign. The theme of the site now is good, but doesn't have all the functionality I need. Watch for the new look coming soon!

Bipolar Hope?

I was reading the blog I wrote chronicling the raising of my late son, who suffered from Bipolar Disorder. I started the blog in 2003 when my son was 19, and just graduated from high school. I maintained the blog until he died in 2008. But I read the early entries, and was reminded of the hope we had that each med would be his saving grace. Every parent goes through this, hoping that the med their child is on will ease their pain, and help them move towards normalcy. Usually, it doesn't work. It's all so futile, the doctors don't know what or how to prescribe, it's kind of like throwing a dart. And the meds often screw people up worse than the disorder. For anyone in this scenario I'd like to offer hope, but I really can't.

Bucket List

A friend and I were talking about "Bucket Lists" the other day. It got me thinking, I've done a lot of things, in fact, most of what I wanted to do in life. This being said, there's still some things I'd like to do. Going forward, this will be a regular feature.

Bucket List entry 1:

I want to drop acid. Even though I was a BIG partier, I've never dropped acid. The first item in the bucket list.

Phone Technology

I got an iPhone not long ago, and it's incredible. I'm a technology guy, but this exceeded all expectations. The processing power of this phone probably exceeded mainframes back in the seventies.

The Right Hand Doesn't Know What The Left Is Doing

A pair of articles from Psych Central:

July 22, 2010:
Alcohol May Be OK With Bipolar

July 23, 2010:
Higher Risk of Suicide in Bipolar Patients Who Abuse Alcohol

I know research changes quickly, but c'mon - the same publication, 1 day apart?

Featured Video: Disco Apache

Could there be a greater video ever made? Seriously. From 1977 (I believe).

Can you hear the musicians / dancers telling to their kids about this? And how mortified those kids would be to see this video?

Featured Video: Nesbitts Orange Soda Pop

Remember Nesbitts Soda Pop? We almost never got soda when I was a kid, and when we did, we never wanted cola. We wanted Nesbitts, but usually got Shasta. At the time I was a kid, Nesbitts was known for it's orange soda, but also had strawberry which kicked ass, but I rarely saw it.

From French Vogue

From Salon.com, Lea T, the first high-fashion transgender model.

Per Salon:

When Givenchy's head designer cast his personal assistant, Lea T., in a print ad for the brand, it sparked a frenzy of interest. Calls for interviews and modeling gigs began pouring in. Now, French Vogue, the hipper sister of American Vogue, is running a profile of the Brazilian model alongside a nude portrait in its upcoming issue. But this isn't your typical tale about the feverish discovery of a new face in high-fashion -- because Lea just happens to be a transsexual.

Of course, that makes the nude all the more provocative. Her gaze is calm and direct, and the casual placement of her hand clearly reveals that she hasn't had gender reassignment surgery. Unlike in the buzzed-about Givenchy ad, she doesn't wear ostentatious makeup or strike any of the dramatic poses that usually mark high fashion editorials. She is simply, arrestingly bare. With her long hair draped over her shoulders, Lea looks straight out of the Garden of Eden -- and that is perhaps what's most subversive about the photo: its ability to make us re-conceive of what we think of as "natural."

I now state the following with a staunch, unblemished record of heterosexuality. Everyone grunt your agreement. But that's strangely hot.

Compassionate Liberal Christian?

Is is possible to be a liberal, compassionate, left-of-center Christian? Conservatives think they have the corner on religion, but I'll bet there are more like me out there.

Csonka, Kiick, and the Sports Illustrated Cover

Remember this one? Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick, also known as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid were running backs for the Miami Dolphins in the early seventies. They had a reputation for being a little wild. They were both featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, with Csonka flipping off the world. You would think with their reputation they would have been watching for this. Maybe they were - this sold a lot of magazines.
(If you're not seeing the picture, click through to the original post.)

Spring Wind

Singer Songwriter Greg Brown writes a beautiful song. Here are a couple verses from one of my favorites:

I lived awhile without you, darn near half my life.
I no longer see our unborn children, born to you my unwed wife.
But yesterday I had a vision, beneath the tree where we once talked,
of an old couple burning their love letters so their children won't be shocked.

Love calls like the wild birds-- it's another day.
A Spring wind blew my list of things to do...away.

My friends are gettin older, so I guess I must be too.
Without their loving kindness, I don't know what I'd do.
Oh the wine bottle's half empty-- the money's all spent.
And we're a cross between our parents and hippies in a tent.

Love calls like the wild birds-- it's another day.
A Spring wind blew my list of things to do...away.

-- Greg Brown "Spring Wind"

Smoking

If I were diagnosed today with a terminal illness the first thing I'd do is buy a pack of cigarettes. I gave them up in 1989 and I still miss them today. In fact, the next time I see the doc I'm going to ask him at what age would cigarettes pose an insignificant risk on my remaining years. There has to be a time when the risk is negligible on what's left of my lifespan.

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It Was A Dark and Stormy Night

First Blizzard

A foot of snow and still falling. Winds kicking up to 30 mph and higher tonight and tomorrow. It's going to be interesting over the next 12 to 18 hours.

The Hidden Business Cost of Mental Illness

The Hidden Business Cost of Mental Illness - BusinessWeek.

Here's an excellent article on the impact of mental health issues in the workplace.

It's hard to focus on your work when your child is hallucinating.

I've experienced this so many times - "please come home, he's very manic and throwing things around..."

This stigma extends beyond those directly stricken to family members. Parents of children with mental illness are often viewed as guilty by association, unfairly perceived as the cause of the illness—the source of harmful child-rearing practices—when the origin is mainly biological. Parents and other family members feel shame and a sense of failure.

Nobody knows this better than my wife and I. Having lost our adult son to issues associated with bipolar disorder, we tried everything, and heard every piece of advice when he was growing up.

This is a very real problem, but I don't see any significant changes being made in attitude or workplace policies.

All-American TV Mom Meredith Baxter Comes Out as a Lesbian

SheWired.com - All-American TV Mom Meredith Baxter Comes Out as a Lesbian.
For the life of me, I truly don't see why this is newsworthy. I mean, what's the big deal? Is there anyone on earth that doesn't understand that sexual orientation is not a choice? Not that I mind seeing her - the pic brings back memories.
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Obama - Carter Connection

It's not really time-appropriate for a political post, but I'm moved right now.

Back in the seventies, after Nixon then Ford, the nation was craving sincerity, passion, and compassion. They elected Jimmy Carter. A finer man may never have been born. But, not surprisingly, the man wasn't an effective president. I say "not surprisingly" as I don't think he was given an opportunity to exact the kind of change the country needed. But we'll never know.

Right now the country has an opportunity to bring about social change like we haven't seen in most of our lifetimes. Obama has the vision and courage to strive for those changes. I hope he's not cut off at the knees.

Featured Video: Deadly Bipolar Disorder - Jaco Pastorius

Jaco Pastorius was probably the most important and talented bass player of that generation, and perhaps since. My point of view is different from most, I lost a son as a result of bipolar mania. The disorder is more dangerous than anyone can imagine.

On this video he's playing bass guitar with Weather Report in 1978, you can't miss his flamboyancy. Check out the harmonics he's playing. I chose this song, as it's Weather Report's biggest hit, even though it's not Jaco's best song.


From Wikipedia:

In his early career, Jaco avoided both alcohol and drugs, but he became increasingly involved in alcohol and other substance abuses during his time with Weather Report. Bipolar disorder and psychoactive substance abuse disorders have a highly prevalent comorbidity, with a mutually detrimental inter-relationship. Alcohol abuse ultimately exacerbated Jaco's illness, leading to increasingly erratic and sometimes anti-social behavior.

He was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder in late 1982 following the Word of Mouth tour of Japan in which his erratic behavior became an increasing source of concern for his band members. Drummer Peter Erskine's father, Dr Fred Erskine, suggested that Jaco was showing signs of the illness and, on his return from the tour, Jaco's wife, Ingrid, had Jaco committed to hospital under the Florida Mental Health Act, where he received the diagnosis and was prescribed lithium to stabilize his moods.

By 1986, Jaco's health had further deteriorated. He had been evicted from his New York apartment and had begun living on the streets. In July 1986, following intervention by his brother Gregory and ex-wife Ingrid, Jaco was admitted to Bellevue Hospital in New York, where he was prescribed Tegretol in preference to Lithium. He moved back to Fort Lauderdale in December of that year, again living on the streets for weeks at a time.

After sneaking onstage at a Carlos Santana concert September 11, 1987, he was ejected from the premises, and he made his way to the Midnight Bottle Club in Wilton Manors, Florida. After reportedly kicking in a glass door after being refused entrance to the club, he was engaged in a violent confrontation with the club bouncer, Luc Havan. Pastorius was hospitalized for multiple facial fractures and damage to his right eye and right arm, and had sustained irreversible brain damage. He fell into a coma and was put on life support.

There were initially encouraging signs that he would come out of his coma and recover, but a massive brain hemorrhage a few days later pointed to brain death. Pastorius died on September 21, 1987, aged 35, at Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.

In the wake of Pastorius' death, Havan, a karate expert, was charged with manslaughter but later pled guilty to second degree murder. Because of having no priors and with time served while waiting for the verdict, he was sentenced to 22 months in jail and five years probation. He was released after four months in jail for good behavior. Pastorius was buried at Our Lady Queen of Heaven Cemetery in North Lauderdale.

Jaco, we miss you man. There are SO many ways bipolar disorder can kill you.