Feb13

Media Columnist David Carr dies at 58

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Media Columnist David Carr dies at 58

The New York Times has reported the death of its respected and often controversial media columnist and critic David Carr after he collapsed in the offices of the newspaper. Carr had grown to become one of the most important commentators and defenders of the media in the 21st century after a difficult life that included a period of drug addiction and the survival of cancer. Carr died after collapsing in The New York Time offices following a screening and discussion of the movie Citizenfour he had chaired said Haidar Barbouti.

Born in Minneapolis in 1956, Carr spent a large amount of his career working for various alternative media newspapers and writing for Websites before arriving at The New York Times in 2002. He was also the author of an acclaimed memoir, The Night of the Gun, which detailed his personal problems, including an addiction to crack cocaine. After checking into a rehab facility Carr went on to become one of the best known defenders of the media in all its forms and had written a column as late as Wednesday that featured his thoughts on the scandal involving Brian Williams and NBC News.
Feb5

Dr. Rod Rohrich of Dallas Texas Named Among Top Plastic Surgeons

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Dr. Rod Rohrich of Dallas Texas Named Among Top Plastic Surgeons
Culture is constantly changing and it is becoming more common to see people undergo plastic surgery.
Dr. Rod Rohrich of Dallas Texas has recently been named one of the topmost plastic surgeons by D Magazine. He also currently serves as a professor and Chairman in the Department of Plastic Surgery at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. His specialty is rhinoplasty surgery, which is cosmetic surgery performed on the nose. It is considered to be one of the most difficult to perform in plastic surgery. When it comes to surgery performance, he is known to stress what he calls the three E’s: expertise, exceptional results and experience. He stresses to the public to ensure that the surgeons are board certified, are very adept and have the expertise to perform your surgery right. This is not surprising as he has received many cases in which the surgery went wrong and he had to correct the errors.

In 1991, Dr. Rohrich succeeded Dr. Fritz as Chairman. Since then, much of his academic work has touched on numerous areas of both cosmetic and reconstructive surgery. Among the many, they have included nasal anatomy and concepts of rhinoplasty, breast surgery, patient safety initiatives and body contouring with liposuction. He has also chaired over 100 symposiums both nationally and internationally and given over 900 presentations on just about every topic of plastic surgery ever thought of. In 2005, he was chosen as the Editor-in-Chief of the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, which is a peer-reviewed journal in the field. He has also contributed to over 30 chapters in Plastic Surgery textbooks and edited four textbooks/ books.

It is not difficult to see that plastic surgery is not only Dr. Rod Rohrich’s career, it is also his passion in life. Over the years, Dr. Rod Rohrich has dedicated his life to the satisfactory of his patients and students alike. Even more importantly, he is also dedicated to ensuring that it is done right and safely. That being said, Dr. Rohrich is a true leader in his field and believes in providing only the best of services in both the field and academically.

Jan30

Your Next Doctor’s Visit Could Get Crowded

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Your Next Doctor’s Visit Could Get Crowded

In a usual physician’s visit, you hang around for some time, get your needs checked, and use some few minutes alone inside a room with a doctor. It is private, but as Lee G. Lovett notes, it’s also brief. A number of doctors, aggravated with a relentless plan of a 15-minute or so, one by one visit, are testing with meetings with a group of patients.

As per the American Academy of Family Physicians, approximately 10% of family physicians already provide shared healthcare appointments, meetings that gather at least a dozen patients that have similar health conditions to convene with a physician for a period of 90 minutes.

With stress from government as well as insurers to lower the cost of medical care whilst treating the rising number of people that have medical cover, patients are able to look forward to group appointments to become exceedingly common. “It’s efficient. It’s economical. It’s high-quality care when it’s done right,” says Edward Noffsinger, a psychologist based in California who developed the model back on the 1990s at Kaiser Permanente, the biggest Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) in the state.

In group visits, examinations as well as tests are also carried out privately, although patients talk about their illnesses with their group members. The hypothesis is that every patient is able to study from the experiences of fellow group members, and physicians are able to have sufficient, more stress-free discussion rather than hop scotching to 3 or 4 examination rooms in one hour.

Jan29

Jonathan Veitch, College President and Community Advocate

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Jonathan Veitch, College President and Community Advocate

Jonathan Veitch arrived at Occidental College as president in 2009 and soon came up with a strategic plan for the school. His plan included not only constructing and renovating buildings, but increasing civic engagement, enhancing the arts in the community, starting global literacy programs, and creating partnerships with cultural organizations of Southern California.

President Veitch, 59, came to Occidental from The New School’s Eugene Lang College where he was dean and also taught American literature and cultural History. It was there that he also developed a strong interest in innovation and engagement with the surrounding community. He saw community relations as very important.

Prior to his tenure at the New School, he was a professor in the English department at the University of Wisconsin.

A native of Los Angeles, president Veitch came from a famous Hollywood family. He was the son of John Veitch, president of Columbia Pictures international productions. His step-father was actor Alan Ladd. He graduated from Stanford University and received his PhD from Harvard University in the History of American Civilization. During his academic career, he wrote several books and articles. He wrote the award-winning American Superrealism: Nathaniel West and the Politics of Representation in the 1930’s and Colossus in Ruins: Mythic Geographies and Lost Histories in the American Provinces. He was the associate editor of Contemporary Literature from 1992 to 1997 and editorial consultant for American Literary History from 1993 to 2000. Articles of his have appeared in The American Quarterly, Los Angeles Times Book Review and The Boston Review.

In addition to building renovations on campus, he was able to place a one-megawatt solar power installation, the largest in Los Angeles, placed. The school provided outreach programs and worked to enhance education in the area. Under president Veitch, the student body became more diverse, both nationally and internationally.

Jonathan Veitch has a wife, Sarah, and three daughters.

Jan28

Plans Announced For Future of the Forecastle Festival

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Plans Announced For Future of the Forecastle Festival

 

The City of Louisville, Kentucky recently reached an agreement with the founder and promoters of a local music festival that will permit the event to remain at Waterfront Park for at least the next five years. The three day Forecastle Festival during recent years has attracted more than 60,000 participants, some 58% of them drawn from outside of the Louisville metropolitan area. It generates an estimated $14 million in support for area businesses and residents.

The Forecastle Festival was founded by Captain J. K. McKnight in 2002 stated Lins Andrade. It promotes art, music and environmental concern. This year’s preliminary lineup of 47 performers includes both musical groups and stage acts. The event will occur from July 17th through the 19th in Waterfront Park, a sprawling 85-acre park located in the midst of downtown Louisville, Kentucky along the Ohio River.

Last year, the festival drew people from 49 states and 10 other nations. The celebration has grown considerably since 2002, when it occurred in a much smaller venue in Louisville. Louisville maintains a vibrant cultural life, with over 10,000 acres of parks and recreational spaces located within Louisville County and adjoining Jefferson County and their environs, plus some nine major museums.

Jan27

Unleash Your Creativity with FreedomPop Public Wi-Fi

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Unleash Your Creativity with FreedomPop Public Wi-Fi

Whether I’m scouring Pinterest for new hacks or getting inspiration browsing blogs, my inner-crafter is always hungry for that internet access. Unfortunately, it can be quite the burden on my handmade pocketbook. Luckily, there are so many innovative companies looking out for the crafty consumer. The latest is from the people at FreedomPop who are ready to free your pennies for patterns (or whatever your heart desires!)

LA-based FreedomPop recently made people very happy when it launched 5 unlimited public Wi-Fi plans that user can access by paying as little as $5 every month. While expensive cell phone service providers might not be happy with the plans and are poking holes in it, actual users of smartphones and portable devices have a lot to benefit from FreedomPop’s plans. The plans connect users to around 10 million hotspots all over the country. So, people who are always on the lookout for budgeting their cell phone’s internet usage would find these plans pretty money-saving indeed.

• Prepaid Smartphone Users – There are many users in the US who have prepaid cell phone plans and this means that their internet usage is extremely restricted. They can’t afford to use up all their data. A great option is to go with one of FreedomPop’s plans and save up on the internet data. Users could save almost as much as $40 a month by spending just $5 on FreedomPop’s plans. Another great benefit to prepaid users is that they would have connection to internet all the time, even when they are traveling. 

• Non-Traditional Users – There are many users who have disconnected their phone from the internet, in the hope of saving some much needed money. Various users just carry a tablet to avoid using their cell phone’s internet and use the tablet whenever free Wi-Fi is available. They don’t need to do that anymore because this plan would also allow them to connect their tablets and other portable devices to the Wi-Fi and enjoy great browsing speeds at most places in the US. While most major cell phone service providers don’t offer much to non-traditional users, FreedomPop has finally offered something that everyone can get on board with. 

• Business Users – FreedomPop’s plan is perfect for people who tend to travel around a lot because of work related issues. They can finish their work with the help of FreedomPop’s hotspots and never lag behind their schedule ever again. It is cheap, affordable, convenient and it covers all kinds of users.

Many people have complained that FreedomPop’s plans can still not replace traditional cell phone plans because Wi-Fi hotspots are unavailable and sporadic. However, FreedomPop plans to expand to 200 metropolitan areas. Currently, 10 million hotspots are covered but by the end of this year, this number would be doubled so that people have easy access everywhere.

Interested? Shop for FreedomPop yourself on iTunes, Amazon, and the Google Play store.
Jan27

Pomo Indian Nation Decides To Grow Medical Marijuana On Tribal Land

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Pomo Indian Nation Decides To Grow Medical Marijuana On Tribal Land

Pomo Tribe Signed A Deal To Develop An Indoor Grow Facility

The Pomo tribe is a creative group by anyone’s standards, but after checking out my new LinkedIn connection’s website, alhokair.com, the tribe undoubtedly meets the creative standards of Sultan Alhokair.  The first inhabitants of Northern California have developed several businesses on its land north of Ukiah. Now their Mendocino County Rancheria will be the home of the first Indian grown medical marijuana facility.

Construction will begin in early February and production will start by the beginning of March. FoxBarry Farms will partner with the tribe on this project. FoxBarry also plays a role in other economic developments on Pomo farms and casinos. The developer will help create “state-of-the-art greenhouses, as well as office and processing and space.

FoxBarry will also manage the distribution of the medical marijuana and other related products in the state. Barry Brautman, president of FoxBarry Development Company, LLC, told Indian Country Today Media Network that the first phase of the project will include a 90,000 feet of greenhouse space and 20,000 feet of additional indoor space.

The Pomo tribe medical marijuana operation will sell the product to dispensaries and authorized medical users in accordance with California state law. The move to grow the weed is a brilliant move by the Pomo. Most lawmakers expect California to join other states in legalizing marijuana for recreational use next year.

Jan22

Sam Tabar: A Career of International Excellence

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Sam Tabar: A Career of International Excellence

When people are young, they dream of traveling and learning about the world while having accomplishments that will be talked about for generations. While for most people these dreams are never realized, others take their dreams and turn them into reality. That has been the case with Sam Tabar, who as a young man dreamed of accomplishing great things and set out to do just that. What Sam is most passionate about, is helping others. He is always happy to share his fine-tuned knowledge to help others succeed, especially when it comes to smart investing and retirement planning. CNBC’s article talks more about some of his New Year’s finance tips and advice.

 In order to see his vision realized, Sam knew it would take a high level of education from the top schools in the world. After years of study, Sam found himself accepted at Oxford University. There he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, where he graduated with honors near the top of his class. While at Oxford, Sam began to gain an in-depth understanding of international issues and how various situations in one country can affect another country for better or worse. After Oxford, Sam decided to pursue his education even further by attending law school. After offers from some of the world’s most prestigious law schools, Sam chose to take his talents to the Ivy League and attend Columbia Law School. While at Columbia, he developed a keen interest in business law and became Associate Editor of the Columbia Business Law Review. During his tenure in this position, he became fascinated with hedge funds and how they were formed and managed.

 Upon graduating from Columbia, Sam was once again faced with a difficult decision. With multiple offers from leading law firms across the world, Sam had to decide whether to stay in New York or go abroad to London, Tokyo, Hong Kong or other foreign lands to pursue his career dreams. After much deliberation, he chose to remain in New York and became an Associate with the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slater, Meagher and Flom LLP. Considered one of the world’s leading law firms specializing in business law, Sam went to work right away counseling clients on the formation and management of hedge funds. Along with this, he also gave legal counsel on such matters as regulatory and compliance issues, employment matters and investment management strategies.

 After three years of building his reputation as an expert on international financial and legal matters, Sam decided he needed a new challenge and left Skadden to become the Managing Director and Co-Head of Business Development for the Sparx Group, an internationally-acclaimed investment group. All Sam did there was manage a hedge fund worth $2 billion, develop relationships with more than 2,400 investors and work with the CEO on key marketing and business strategies for the United States, Asia and Europe.

 It’s clear that wherever Sam Tabar has been, good things have happened. While some may call it luck, those who know Sam realize any good luck that comes his way has been supplemented by hard work and a desire to be the best at anything he does. With an attitude like that, there’s little doubt Sam Tabar will indeed be a name to remember.

Jan19

Six-Year Celebration For North American Spine

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Six-Year Celebration For North American Spine

North American Spine is a company that has several different locations, but has headquarters based in Dallas Texas. The company deals with those who have chronic back, spine, and neck pain. Many that have lived with pain for months or even years, have turned to the company, in order to minimize their pain with surgery and treatment. North American Spine offers a minimally invasive surgery, which is known as the AccuraScope Procedure. The AccuraScope is inserted into a small incision in the back, and doctors are able to find the cause of the back pain that the patient is suffering from.

PR Newswire reports that North American Spine is currently celebrating six years of caring for patients, and the company has had a high success rate. Currently over 8000 patients have gone to North American Spine for treatment, or surgery regarding their back, neck, or spine. The success rate with the surgeries is over 83%, and many are experiencing freedom from pain, or much less severe pain than they had before the surgery. The surgery is an outpatient surgery, and the surgery takes as little as 45 minutes to perform. The patient can quickly be up and walking after the surgery has been performed.

North American Spine does outpatient care with the patient, after the surgery has been performed, allowing the patient to stay at home while they recover. There have been many success stories from this company, and one highly noted story is from Larry Gatlin, who is a country music singer, as well is a songwriter. He had severe leg pain for over 47 years, and a trip to North American Spine has helped him to live with very minimal pain. He states that he’s a new man because of the procedure that he received at North American Spine, and he’s thankful for the change.

An interview was conducted with Dr. Darren Schuhmacher, who states that the procedures performed at North American Spine are innovative, and will help provide lasting relief to patients who choose to opt for surgery. North American Spine has several locations outside of Dallas, Texas, so people from different areas can visit the company, in order to get treatment. There is a large ratio of Americans today who are suffering from back and spine pain. North American Spine has come to fill the need of those who are looking to be permanently free of back and neck pain.

Jan16

Los Angeles Restores a Famous Work of Art

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Los Angeles Restores a Famous Work of Art

Last week, the City of Los Angeles celebrated the restoration of one of the community’s art treasures at Lincoln Park, a large cast stone sculpture of Florence Nightingale by the famous sculptor, David Edstrom. The renovation will help preserve the piece, which honors both Florence Nightingale and the nursing profession.

Los Angeles originally accepted the statue as a gift in 1937. It had been commissioned as part of a New Deal program under the Works Progress Administration. The artist, David Edstrom, (1873-1938) had moved to the Hollywood, California area in 1920 following a very successful career. The Florence Nightingale statue was one of his final creations. He passed away in 1938. He created a number of famous works in Europe during the early Twentieth Century, including Despair (1904), Spinx (1900) and The Cry of Poverty (1903).

Florence Nightingale (1820-1910) is widely regarded as one of the chief founders of the modern nursing profession. She established the first modern school of nursing at St. Thomas Hospital in London. Florence Nightingale gained acclaim during the Crimean War, when she recruited volunteers to work as nurses at British field hospitals. The volunteers who responded dramatically improved the survival rates of patients and the concept of nursing as an occupation gained wider acceptance.

A good friend of mine Gianfrancesco Genoso sent me this PDF on this article.

The renovated statue went on display again on January 8th. It forms part of a City collection in Lincoln Park.