The Epidemic Continues

A multitude of news stories broke this week that draw further attention to the increasing threat of prescription drugs. Abuse of prescription drugs, like substance abuse in general, shows no discrimination in the target demographic.

First, on the heels of last week’s blog about teen star, Corey Haim, investigators into his death found that he was using nearly twenty different doctors for prescription drugs. In his apartment they found prescription drugs such as Valium, Vicodin, Soma, and Haloperidol. He also had prescriptions written for OxyContin. Investigators now believe him to be linked to a prescription drug ring in California.

A recent study involving senior citizens (65 years or older) found that most of them, nearly 67%, take five or more types of accidental overdoseprescription drugs and 21% take ten or more types of prescription drugs. This puts them at risk not only for abuse of certain prescription drugs, but also increases their risk of adverse effects and fatal interactions between the various drugs. This is awareness is crucial during a time when many U.S. cities are seeing a 70-80% increase (since 2000) in accidental overdoses due to prescription drugs.

This week at a pharmaceutical warehouse in Connecticut, police witnessed the most audacious example of a growing phenomenon when thieves stole $75 million worth of prescription drugs for resale on the black market.

CNN reported this week that 1 in 5 teens in grades 9 – 12 admitted abuse of prescription medication, especially xanax.

A recent article in Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News reported that physicians who are coping with prescription painkiller abuse are often flying under the radar. “[Misuse and abuse of prescription medications] is increasing, actually rather dramatically, in the population as a whole,” said Marv Seppala, MD, himself a recovering addict who was among the first physicians in the country to be certified by the American Board of Addiction Medicine. “Abuse of prescribed medications, specifically opioids, is now second to marijuana in terms of abuse,” he said. “There is also a remarkable increase in cases involving health care professionals.”

And lastly, some of the more alarming news regarding abuse of prescription drugs was released this week by the Pentagon about the Army. As reported by USA Today, the military is trying to curb the amount of prescription drugs given to the troops when a study found that military doctors wrote almost 3.8 million prescriptions for pain relief for troops last year. This was more than four times the 866,773 doses given in 2001. Military officials and analysts see the increase in use of pain medication as a result of the continuing toll on ground troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the results released this year, one in four soldiers admitted abusing prescription drugs, mostly pain medication, in the 12 months prior to the Pentagon survey in 2008.

[Via http://readyforrecovery.wordpress.com]

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16

st. patrick’s church at night. this is one great location in the city, in front of the yerba buena gardens, next to jessie square, behind the contemporary jewish museum, a block from the sfmoma. it thrives during the day, mixing tourists, locals, students, children, the elderly, the homeless, the list goes on. i have had lunch sitting on the grass here on many occasions, a breath of much-needed fresh outside air. parks and public squares are the lungs of the city, they become a critical factor in the inhabitability of a city. the desire and pleasure of a city grows according to the quality of its public spaces.

Why Can't We be Friends?

Friendships can be great, exciting, necessary and tricky.  Friendships between Christians and non-Christians can be especially tricky?  Why?

What makes a friend?  Being connected to them on facebook?  Here are some things I think make a friendship:

• You tend to have a few close friends.  You might know a lot of people, but only a few are friends.
• You tend to have friends that you have things in common with.
• You generally want to spend time with your friends.  (I know this is obvious, but sometimes it is the sign that someone thinks you are their friend because they want to spend time with you, but it is not reciprocated…awkward huh?).
• You have a sense of equality with your friends.  Which is why it is hard to be friends with your boss.
• You tend to have friends who see the world in a similar way to you.

Or as one person put it: “A friend is a trustworthy peer, whom we mutually chose to lovingly live with to seek our mutual good”

Sometimes though friendship can be put to the test when you don’t have everything in common, especially the way you see the world.  It is hard to be friends with someone who sees the world as something to be exploited when you see the world as something that needs to be looked after, or being friend with a racist when you think everyone has a right to live in the world.

This is where Christian/ non-Christian friendships can be difficult.   There are some core values that Christians have because they are Christian and non-Christians have because they are not.  There will also be some core values that they share because people tend to have somethings in common.

Here is where things might get a bit touchy if you are reading this as a non-Christian.  I can’t work out another, less awkward way of putting this, so until someone else helps me here is the honest truth. Christians will tend to go to other Christians for advice or counsel, because they are seeking counsel from people who share their worldview.  That might make you feel like you are a second rate friend.  But you need to understand that part of friendship is having a similar worldview and you may not.

What do we do?

1. Realise that we have differences and that is OK.

2. To be friends we need to be looking for things that we have in common.  No-one is going to agree 100% with someone else.  But where you can seek counsel from one-another about the things you have in common.

3. Christians need to realise that they are called to love more than their friends and that means loving people you might be friends with.

““43 You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward will you have? Don’t even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing out of the ordinary? Don’t even the Gentiles do the same?” (Matthew 5:43-47 HCSB)

4.  non-Christians, we would like you to help us do this.  We want to be friends with people who aren’t Christian.  We do want to share with you about our view of the world and Jesus, not because we will get brownie points (Jesus has given us all we need on that front) and not because we think we are better than you (though I can understand that might be how you feel) but because we simply think that being a Christian is the best thing in the world.

Questions to ponder:

• Who are your friends?
• Who do receive counsel from?
• Who do you like hanging out with?
• How do you be friends with someone who has a completely different worldview to you?

Stringband

Fatted Calf Stringband cover

I finally went to TD’s today, on a get-up-and-stretch break from doing homework at Soma. I walked out with 5 CDs for about $30, a couple used, and a couple brand new. Happy day.

The one I couldn’t wait to pop in and listen to was Fatted Calf Stringband. I just heard of the band about a week ago, that they sometimes played squaredances. I am not a squaredancer, but I do like strings! So when I saw the CD, I took a look. The first thing I do when picking out music is look at the album art and track names, but this simple, embossed cardboard cover didn’t say anything but “Fatted Calf Stringband.” It was also the most expensive of all the CDs I had in my hand at that moment (but still only $10!). What made me buy it? Well… 1) it’s local music 2) it’s strings and 3) the minimalistic, uninformative cover had red stars on it. I’m a sailor. I like red stars. If it had had one red star on the left and one green star on the right (red for port, green for starboard), I would’ve paid more than $10 for it, but then I would have expected sea chanteys. So the two red stars are perfect. (Your homework: Look for green 5-point stars. They are extremely hard to find. Scrapbooking supplies, rubber stamps, iron-on patches… stars come in red, white, blue, gold, silver, and sometimes white. No green. What does the world have against starboard?)

Anyway, I bought the thing, carefully unwrapped it, and pulled out the single-sheet insert. I didn’t recognize any of the track names. The straight-to-the-point liner notes say: “Recorded in one day with one mic by Mike Bridavsky at Russian Recording, Bloomington, Indiana. The Fatted Calf Stringband is: Brad Baute fiddle/guitar Joel Lensch fiddle/guitar Alex Mann bass Chris Mattingly banjo.” Just “one day.” Not which day, which year, etc. Just “one day… in Bloomington, Indiana.” I like it.

So how does it sound? It sounds like a fantastic sampler of a band you really want to see live. This isn’t surprising, given the genre. This is music that is meant to be seen, heard, and experienced. It’s best with a little give and take, a little audience interaction. For now it’s a substitute for “the real thing,” great for a work day you just can’t escape or a drive in the car.

To discover more of Fatted Calf, including streaming audio, check out their Myspace page

Arctic Monkeys at Soma

Alex Turner is a bad, bad man. Photo courtesy of Rima A.Z.

I don’t know if I would call it a tradition, but somehow my friends and I always end up in San Diego at the end of summer. Why anyone would want to name their town after a whale’s vagina is beyond me.

Anyways, our times spent down south usually entails some quality live music and college-aged debauchery . Two years ago it was The Shins and Rise Against (not at the same show, obviously). Last year it was Ok Go. This year, it was Arctic Monkeys at my favorite venue, Soma.

For those not familiar with the legendary San Diego locale, don’t get too excited. Soma is essentially a dirty concrete warehouse, lodged uncomfortably between karate clubs and home furnishing stores. It doesn’t have much going for it–location and cleanliness being two obvious strikes–aside from the fact that it holds some of the most amazing shows that I have ever witnessed.

Last night, the Arctic Monkeys were by no means an exception.

First up though, was The Like. While they hail from my corner of Southern California and have been around for a while touring with the likes of Muse and Kings of Leon, this was my first encounter with the cute female quartet.

Although we got their halfway between the set, snaking our way through a packed crowd for the headliners, I was impressed by the openers. With a style that depends on a solid organ or keyboard backing, infused with smart bass lines and the Jenny Lewis-esque voice of Elizabeth “Z” Berg, the band invigorated an anxious crowd with a fast-paced set of feminine energy. So basically, I like The Like.

On to the main attraction. Following the openers, the packed Soma crowd wasn’t willing to cooperate with a 45 minute layover, causing a pre-set mosh that had sweaty bodies swaying and nearly hitting the deck. People were pissed. My Spanish-speaking crowd comrades were yelling “PUTA!” and small children were crying. And on the seventh day there were Arctic Monkeys and all was good.

Photo courtesy of arcticmonkeys.com

There’s not much you can say that people haven’t heard about the band from Sheffield. Being terribly biased, I embrace anything Arctic Monkeys as a godsend, from new singles to Alex Turner sneezing. Their music is everything I appreciate: biting lyrics, massive energy, high-powered guitars and English accents. So it hurt me when I slightly railed on the group’s third album, “Humbug,” in an earlier review. I hope they find some means of forgiving me.

Last night though, they had no intentions of doing so, forcing the new album down Soma’s throat. They made you to love it. As much as I chastised the band for moving away from their established style, I was singing and moshing for the first five songs, four of which were from “Humbug.” Single “Crying Lighting” was a particular crowd favorite, and “Pretty Visitors” was pure mayhem.

With the crowd well-acquainted five songs in, the band continued on their tear, but insisted that they do it at their own pace. Of their bread and butter hits, they passed on “A Certain Romance” and “Fake Tales of San Francisco” and continued to play off their new album, performing eight of the 10 tracks by their set’s end. And while they closed with “505,” the Arctic Monkeys equivalent of a love song, they made their point– they’ve changed their style and they’re not going back. The way the crowd reacted, they did’t seem to mind.

As for me, I’ll be ok with it as long as every show can be comparable to my night at Soma.

-Ryan

Arctic Monkeys- Crying Lightning (download)

Arctic Monkeys- Pretty Visitors (download)

The Like- Fair Game (download)

A Side Trip to Stumptown, Manhattan

People I know who have spent time in the Portland area have raved about Stumptown Coffee for years. They roast the beans right in the store! Nothing on the East Coast compares! So after the second-day-of-school parents’ breakfast on Friday, my wife and I tagged along through the rain when another parent suggested we walk over to the new Stumptown outlet in the Ace Hotel in an area that some people are trying to call SoMa (for “South of Macy’s”) in the high 20s off Broadway.

The shop was nicely appointed, with a classic feel, more upscale than your average grungy coffee shop. The baristas wore neckties and jaunty hipster hats (which were mocked by some on Twitter when I posted a quick slideshow on Posterous).

The service was great. This is not one of those places where people linger over laptops. There are no chairs, which keeps people from lingering too long. Diner’s Journal declares the shop’s style to be distinctly New York.

My wife ordered a soy decaf latte, which she declared to be just fine. She’s not a big coffee fan. I had a house espresso, which was tasty and as good as shots pulled at Cafe Grumpy and Ninth Street Espresso, my other favorite Manhattan coffee haunts. Was it better? No, sorry, Stumptown fans. Something else was missing: Unlike in Portland, the beans are not roasted on the premises. Stumptown imports the beans and roasts them locally in Red Hook, Brooklyn.

I ended up spending my last dollar on this bag of beans from Costa Rica, because Stumptown wasn’t taking credit cards. Dudes, nobody carries money in New York anymore.

Name Montes de Oro

Origin: San Pablo de Tarrazu, Costa Rica

Roasted: Sept. ? by Stumptown Coffee.

Purchased: Sept. 11 at Stumptown in the Ace Hotel at 18 West 29th Street and Broadway, Manhattan.

Description From the excellent, detailed Stumptown Web site (includes video): “Rainier cherry and clementine orange flavors meld harmoniously with sweet notes of honey, caramel and milk chocolate.”

In the cup There was no real description on the bag, so I went with my gut, having had good experiences with Costa Rican coffees (tthough not always). I definitely got lucky. First of all, if you’ve read my past entries, you’ll know I tend to have a sweet tooth when it comes to coffee.

This coffee is delicious and left me feeling warm on this chilly, damp Saturday morning before I took my daughter to her gymnastics class, where I’m taking advantage of the free WiFi at Chelsea Piers upstairs to write this post during the class. I have a great view of my kid walking backward on the balance beam. I’m also playing Calexico on the iPhone because the chattering parents around me are making me a little nuts. My multitasking life.

Stumptown reports: “The producers behind Montes de Oro, Emilio and Laura Gamboa, cultivate their coffee in San Pablo de Tarrazu. Emilio personally oversees the processing each and every night of the harvest. He ensures strictly ripe cherry and fully washes it with INGESEC technology. The coffee is gently dried on African beds, which provides time for sugar development.” Oh, just go watch the video.

Other reviewers of this coffee, including the 2008 vintage, have described it as fruitier — pineapple, thistle and kiwi? Maybe a little clementine orange in there? I didn’t pick up on any of that. Maybe those flavors come out in a regular coffee. I made this as espresso in the Jura and was grooving on the caramel, honey and chocolate.

I highly recommend this one, and I guess I’ll have to leave some extra time now and then for another side trip to Stumptown to try some of the others. They had a whole wall of them.

[Via http://palafo.com]