Before going any further with this, I will provide a link to the American Society of Media Photographers’ (ASMP) page about Property and Model Releases. The reason for this is I recently read an article on Altadenablog about some photos of homes that were used in an advertisement for an organization. One person, [...]

I cannot plan anything. Really, I can’t. Last evening I was supposed to attend a “Girls Night In” dinner party with friends. We were all to bring a dish — one of our favorites — and the plan was to sit, eat, talk, laugh and drink. Needless to say, for me [...]

First, my condolences to the family of Dawn Brancheau. What a remarkable woman. Brancheau pursued her dream to become a “Shamu trainer” after visiting SeaWorld when she was 11-years old. Brancheau went on to attend the University of South Carolina where she earned degrees in psychology and animal behavior. It was [...]

The other day I received some sad news about a young girl who lost her battle with lupus. Like me, she too had lupus nephritis. For the past few days I have been asking myself why it is that me, the old fart, is still around when so many younger than I are [...]

Friday and Saturday were pain days for me. I could blame the pain on the coolness of the days which eventually turned rainy by Saturday or perhaps it was due to something else. Whatever the case, I found myself able to do very little in the way of activity sans necessity. To keep my [...]

Many years ago a friend told me to take echinacea to ward off colds. I tried it one time and was worse for wear afterward. I kept the herb around for a long while, in my cabinet to never be seen or heard from again — so I thought — as a reminder [...]

According to a study from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, short-term, high-dose cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) appeared equivalent to the traditional lower dose monthly regimen for moderate-to-severe systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study randomized 51 patients with active disease to the traditional cyclophosphamide regimen or to 50 mg/kg daily for four days, stratifying them according to organ system [...]

Before I get into herbal remedies I need to stress one thing, before starting any “herbal remedy”, always consult with your doctor first. Because there are so many herbal products and supplements out there, with just as many manufacturers, you won’t know what is mixed in with the herb or supplement that could affect [...]

Nope, no Jobim here but there is a good twist of vitamin D in this post. I did not expect to find vitamin D in this article on lupus but I did. The article at KXII.com features two Oklahoma women, Vickey Wiles and Sheila Johnson, who are co-facilitators for the Davis chapter of [...]

I held off all notions on what killed Michael Jackson until I was able to see his full autopsy report. The media speculations were all over the place involving Demerol, opiates, needle marks all over his body, name it and I saw it. Around the time of Michael’s death I offered up my [...]

On the road again - Just can’t wait to get on the road again. The life I love is making music with my friends And I can’t wait to get on the road again. On the road again Goin’ places that I’ve never been. Seein’ things that I may never see again I like all sorts of music and I’d be hard [...]

I have taken a few days off to tinker around, catch up with emails, chat with friends and do all sorts of varied and sundry things. Since my diagnosis with lupus in 2005, my life has been more reactionary then proactive and I so hate being reactionary. Since 2005 I have had to learn to [...]