Daily Archives: February 3, 2010

Benefit for Brenton Gillespie Sunday Feb 7

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Earlier victim of para-transit assault is having benefit after serious head injury at school

Brenton Gillespie

Brenton Gillespie fell down the stairs recently at school. His head injuries were serious enough to send him to the hospital in Moncton, NB.

Brenton, who lives with a learning disability, was the victim last year of an assault by his Para transit driver. The driver pled guilty in court and was given a conditional discharge.

Valerie Gillespie, Brenton’s mother, was outraged that a person convicted of assault would be driving children with disabilities. While the School Board banned the driver, Pat and the Elephant continue to employ the driver in that role. The ordeal of the assault, court and subsequent controversy has been hard on the family.

“Brenton was at school one day. While walking down the stairs with a teacher, he slipped and fell the length of the stairs. He suffered severe head injuries.

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Digital age is making paupers of artists and writers

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Free sharing of creatives is a zero sum game that only benefits Google and other lords of the internet cloud

The Internet and digital transmission of movies, music and writing – the creative works – has spawned the scenario where it is easier for artists to distribute their works and harder to get compensation.

The companies who control the net – ISPs and Google – are becoming the wealthy new “lords of the cloud.”

The extreme socialist views of the Web 2.0 credo have not resulted in better lives for artists but turned them into sellers of t-shirts and memorabilia.

Prior to the modern recording industry artists needed patrons – kings and queens, lords and ladies. Rich patrons sponsored the arts. An artist could also busk and some played to audiences in booked halls. It wasn’t considered a career. Continue reading →

More US women dying from pregnancy

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Now more dangerous to give birth in California than it is in Kuwait or Bosnia, a recently-released report shows.

California maternal mortality

Slate – Pregnancy is still safe for the vast majority of women, but the results of a recently released report from the California Department of Public Health are cause for concern: The past decade has seen the most “significant spike in pregnancy-related deaths since the 1930s,”

California Watch reported. “The mortality rate of California women who die from causes directly related to pregnancy has nearly tripled in the past decade, prompting doctors to worry about the dangers of obesity in expectant mothers and about medical complications of cesarean sections.”

The problem, it turns out, may be occurring nationwide. An alert issued last week to hospitals by the Joint Commission, the leading health care accreditation and standards group in the country, warned, “Unfortunately, current trends and evidence suggest that maternal mortality rates may be increasing in the U.S.” “The alert asked doctors to consider morbid obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, along with hemorrhaging from C-sections, as contributing factors,” California Watch reported.

Bob Dylan sings on John Hammond Tribute

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John Hammond: From Bessie Smith to Bruce Springsteen. Hammond retired from Columbia Records in 1975. Hammond was the producer who signed Bob Dylan to Columbia in 1962.

Bob Dylan singing Hurricane for the John Hammond tribute

From PBS American Masters 1990 John Hammond: From Bessie Smith to Bruce Springsteen

The PBS special was released on VHS  and Laser-disc in 1990. Both are out of print. Amazon is offering used copies of the VHS: John Hammond: From Bessie Smith to Bruce Springsteen [VHS]

Text from DylanTube

This is a very special performance from Dylan and 3 band members Scarlet Rivera on violin, Rob Stoner on bass and Howie Wyeth on drums. They toured with Dylan in 1975 as part of the Rolling Thunder Revue.

The tour began the following month after this performance. Dylan’s voice is awesome in this period bearing some gruff and tenderness. At this stage Bob is starting to really wave his voice around and if you listen to the album ‘Street Legal’ recorded in 1978 you’ll hear a transformation in his singing that began in the mid 70s. Bob Dylan just keeps on progressing if you ask me. Continue reading →