Once more, thank you very much for your generous financial contributions in 2013.
2014 is off to a crazy start, to say the least. It seems that some people have yet to sober up from their New Year celebrations. Whether it's Dennis Rodman's drunken basketball-diplomacy trip to North Korea to visit his BFF Kim Jong-un, or François Hollande's late-night motorcycle rides to hook up with his actress lover, you have to wonder whether they are operating with full capacity. And yet, these are the stories that grab the headlines (much to President Hollande's dismay) -- there's nothing funny, sexy, and print-worthy about working in the trenches of the mental-health field, especially as a non-union worker. Ask Glenn Reed -- he's been on both sides of the union workforce and there's no question which one he prefers. Indeed, the media are skilled at forming the conversation and mythologizing history -- consider the folklore of Presidents Kennedy and Reagan. Harvey Whitney, Jr. utilizes the myths that characterized the 1980s to point out that to be true to history, we need to account for all aspects of a historical time. Accordingly, Michael Barker sheds some much-needed critical light on the mythic life of Gandhian-styled guru Satish Kumar. Also not grabbing the headlines are the realities of aging Americans and others around the world. Paul Buhle discovered a slim volume of poetry that offers a deep sentiment about such reality, Dementia: This Undiscovered Country. Still, there are always the few notorious patients that make the news, and some have caught Jan Baughman's attention of late for their controversies surrounding medical ethics, local laws, and advance health care directives.
Now it's time for a musical interlude, and who better to warm our souls than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart? Raju Peddada presents Part I of a heartfelt series on the composer's exceptional creative genius. Next, Peter Byrne invokes his imagination with a short story on a chance meeting and reminiscence of a shared past -- or was it? Gilles d'Aymery muses on the political scandalgates of late, along with a small-world story of an old stove, old friends, and a radio show, and we close with the poetry of Guido Monte and Adele Ward, who converse about old oriental reflections.
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Glenn Reed: Union vs. Non-Union: A View From the Trenches of the Mental Health Field
Direct experience confirms the advantage of unions for workers in the mental health field and elsewhere. More...
Harvey E. Whitney, Jr.: Of The Mythic Worlds Of The Past
To be true to history, we need to account for all of the aspects of a historical time: Case in point, the mythic 1980s. More...
Michael Barker: Green Guru (Part I of II)
A critical look at Satish Kumar's life of spiritual nonviolence. More...
Paul Buhle: Heroic Lives
A poetry collection on heroic lives, role models, and the cost of dementia. More...
Jan Baughman: Altered States Of Notoriety
A look at some of the realities of the life and death continuum. More...
Raju Peddada: Overture - In Search of Mozart's Sublimity (Part I)
Part I of a series on the exceptional creative genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. More...
Peter Byrne: Pals
A chance meeting and reminiscence of a shared past -- or was it? More...
Gilles d'Aymery: Blips #140
A few selected scandals that came to the Editor's mind the other day, after he had a real problem closing the gate. More...
Guido Monte and Adele Ward: Ashabdam
Guido Monte and Adele Ward converse about old oriental reflections. More...
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