Palace of Fine Arts

Surfing Tubes jingle

Here's a west coast version of Jingle Bells, performed by me and the Absters.
Let me know what you think!

Yosemite Valley

I took this photo after a treacherous hike up to Yosemite Falls with a giant backpack on my back, it makes it so worth it for me.

Why are health insurance companies for profit?

This revelation struck me this morning as I was reading an article on the front page of sfgate that I have a personal connection to.
(http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/12/15/MNQETTOVL.DTL)

Kaiser profited over $2.9 BILLION dollars in a 9 month period this year. (http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2007/11/05/daily36.html)

Kaiser also forked over $96.1 million dollars to the consulting company McKinsey, in 1995. (http://www.kaiserpapershawaii.org/kaiserwatch.htm)

But Kaiser can't afford $250,000 to pay for one person's experimental therapy when it's their fault their "prevention and early detection" strategies didn't work? A simple biopsy could have prevented their need to pay this money, instead, IT'S TIME TO FORK IT OVER KAISER.

this makes me really peeved.

John Legend

Last year I was introduced to John Legend, a UPenn grad with an amazing voice who plays the piano and writes his own lyrics- very awesome lyrics mind you.

I highly recommend checking him out on youtube, his song "Ordinary People" is wonderful.

Books I recommend

In no particular order:

A Call to Conscience - A compilation of Martin Luther King speeches
Granada -A historical novel based on the conquest of Arab Spain
The Audacity of Hope -Barack Obama's political thesis
The Kite Runner -so much better then the movie will be
Uncle Tom's Cabin -Harriet Beecher Stowe, an absolute must read.

more to come when I think of them...