In a follow up to this post.

From BBC News:

William Barrington-Coupe sent a letter to the BIS label to admit faking parts of CDs by Joyce Hatto, the label said.

BIS said he told them he did it because his wife had cancer and could be heard groaning in pain during recordings.

“It is self-evident that I have acted stupidly, dishonestly and unlawfully,” he wrote, the label told the BBC.

Hatto was hailed as an unsung classical music star when she died in June 2006.

But BIS chief executive Robert von Bahr said he had received a letter from Mr Barrington-Coupe in which he acknowledged the deception.

“It is very touching and he does go through every detail and how he did it and he makes it very credible,” Mr von Bahr said.

According to Gramophone magazine, Barrington-Coupe admitted passing off other people’s recordings as being by his wife, but he did it to give her the illusion of a great end to an overlooked career.

He initially patched in short passages by other performers who shared Hatto’s sound and style to cover her grunts of pain, the magazine said.

But as he got better at the process, he started inserting longer sections.

Despite the confession, Mr von Bahr said he would not take legal action.

“I don’t see how either myself or the industry can get any satisfaction for pure revenge,” he said. “I think the whole thing is deeply tragic story.”

What a sad end to a legacy.

Thelonious Monk doing his famous signature piece in 1958. There’s never been another one like him.

Tony’s band Beaf won the final round of Rawk Final Four Saturday night, taking both the People’s Choice and the Judges’ Choice awards. They played to a packed house of 960, including a few parents.

As a prize, they get 4 days of recording studio time in Seattle–including travel expenses and lodging–as well as a night opening for a big band at a great venue here in town.

I’m so proud of these guys. They work incredibly hard and write all their own material. If someone didn’t tell you, you’d never know they are 17 and 18 years old.

You can listen to them on their MySpace page.

Photo by Rhea.

Is this for real? It looks that way.

A German Company, The Institute for Condom Consultancy, in cooperation with Vinico and Qualo Design, thinks they have come up with the answer to slipping/misfitting condoms.

From their website:

Our team is developing a type of spray can into which the man inserts his penis first. At the push of a button it is then coated in a rubber condom. It works by spraying on latex from nozzles on all sides. We call it the ‘360 degree procedure’ — once round and from top to bottom. It’s a bit like a car wash. The plan is to make the product ready for use in about five seconds. We believe it would function more effectively as a contraceptive because it would fit better and not slip. However, before the new condom can be sold in shops, the firm must ensure that the latex is evenly spread when sprayed, as well as optimise the vulcanization process. We had hit upon the idea when considering the difficulties some people faced using condoms, and drew inspiration from spray-on plasters now used in medicine.

They’re currently looking for beta testers.

Via GizMag

This is very tough for me to write. Yesterday I got my copy of Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder; A 4-Step Plan for You and Your Loved Ones to Manage the Illness and Create Lasting Stability by Julie A Fast and John Preston. I spent most of the day reading it, alternating between nodding my head in agreement and wiping away tears.

It’s a workbook geared not only to those who have bipolar disorder but also to friends and families of those who do. It covers the basics pretty well, in a far less academic manner than An Unquiet Mind by Kay Redfield Jameson, which I read immediately after being diagnosed. To be honest, An Unquiet Mind scared me and made me fear that I would eventually slip into psychosis and never come out. At the time, I didn’t understand that there was more than one kind of bipolar disorder and that my experience didn’t have to mimic Ms. Jameson’s own. I gained some intellectual understanding of the problem, but found little with which I could identify and little to comfort me.

Take Charge is different. It includes information on Bipolar II, which is what I have, and spells out symptoms in a matter of fact manner. It covers the range from depression to hypomania (a milder, shorter-lived form of mania, without the euphoria), mania, paranoia and anxiety. It explains how prolonged use of antidepressants can cause cycle acceleration, which causes mood swings to become faster and more severe, and why, after 8 years on them, I was in worse shape than before I started. The book talks about why I respond to stress, even good stress, with panic attacks sometimes, and gives tips on how to manage them. It has suggestions for identifying a swing before it starts and how to short circuit it. I learned that 90% of people with bipolar struggle with anxiety and that it needs to be medically managed. I thought it was just me so I never told my doctor. Most importantly, though, the book told me that the longer a person goes undiagnosed and untreated–in my case, 30 years–the longer it takes to respond to medications. In those terms, three years to get stable doesn’t mean I’m a failure. It’s about average.

That’s the encouraging part.

On the other hand, I’m not sure I’d want anyone close to me to read it. I’m too fearful of the reactions to it. It uses words that have scary connotations, like psychosis, suicidal ideation, hallucinations, intrusive thoughts, obsessions and compulsions. They don’t all happen to everyone, but it presents a dismal picture of what bipolar is like. It also details some of the things that happen in my head–the things I try so hard to never let show–and I don’t think I’m ready for others to know them. It makes a big point that people with bipolar aren’t crazy, yet many of the things it talks about do indeed sound crazy to those on the outside. Hell, they sound crazy to me, and I’ve felt them.

It gives practical suggestions for family and friends on how to best respond to different phases, like saying, “I know this is just the depression talking,” but it downplays the fact that when they’re happening, the emotions are very real. When I’m down in the well, sometimes I just need comfort, the reassurance that someone cares. It also overlooks the fact that people with bipolar have normal moods, too, even when we’re medicated. Sometimes we are exuberant, sad, angry, happy, or pensive, just like anyone else. Everything we feel and say isn’t “the bipolar talking.”

It also plays up the role of other people in keeping us stable, too much so, in my opinion. While understanding is critical, in the end it’s my responsibility to maintain control, not someone else’s. I refuse to be a burden in need of constant care; I’m afraid this book would convince a reader that a person with bipolar isn’t worth the trouble.

So rather than recommend the book to friends, I’ll probably copy out small sections and share it that way. I have one friend who, every time we get together, tells me how she liked me so much better when I was manic because I was so much fun then. It hurts me every time and I never know what to say. Maybe a page from the book can say it for me.

So I guess this is a mixed review. It is helpful in many ways, depressing in others. If you have bipolar, read it when you’re stable. If you’re feeling shaky, it might upset you with negative possibilities. If you care about someone with the disease, ask him or her before picking it up and be prepared to discuss it along the way. Not everyone needs or wants the same things. We’re individuals, though we may have some symptoms in common. Most of all, see past the disease to the person who has it. There’s more to us than that.

I started the morning by slamming my hand in the door. I think one finger is broken–it’s swollen, purple and hurts like crazy when I touch it–and I’m not sure about two others. Thank goodness it’s my left.

Some days it doesn’t pay to leave the house.

Growing up in the Reformed Church of America (RCA), dancing was forbidden. My church youth group once had to leave a hayride party with the Methodists because music and dancing was served up along with the hot cocoa back at their gym.

Turns out the RCA isn’t alone. New York City has a law banning dancing in bars which don’t have a special club license to allow it.

From the Seattle PI:

The city’s 80-year-old cabaret law banning dancing by patrons in ordinary bars and restaurants is legal, the state Supreme Court’s Appellate Division ruled Thursday.

The Gotham West Coast Swing Club and several people had sued, saying the law violated their constitutional right to free expression.

But the appeals court backed the law, which was enacted in the Prohibition era to crack down on speakeasies.

“Recreational dancing is not a form of expression protected by the federal or state constitutions,” the court wrote.

NYC claims the law protects residential areas from noise, congestion and safety hazards.

Back in my musician days (sinner that I was), bars knew that without a dance floor there was no point in hiring a band. Who wants to pay a $5 cover if all you can do is sit and watch? The intimate setting of a small bar with rock and roll and the ability to move to it is a joy, one I enjoyed for hundreds of hours, both as a musician and a dancer, and on some occasions, both. And who can ever forget the special experience of a slow sensuous waltz at the Eagles hall after a cousin’s wedding? I doubt any of those small venues could afford a special license to allow it.

I suppose it’s part of the Law And Order campaign. As Emma Goldman said, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want your revolution!”

If you talk on a cell phone, you can now support a worthy cause while you do it. Planned Parenthood has teamed up with Working Assets Wireless to offer Planned Parenthood Wireless, a cell phone service that will give 10% of your bill back to Planned Parenthood for a cost on par with other providers. PPW used the nationwide Sprint Network.

The current special is a free camera phone with 200 anytime minutes and unlimited nights and weekends for $29.99. In addition to other packages they also offer a family plan for exactly what I’m currently paying with T-Mobile. They’ll even buy out your old contract if you want to switch.

Remember, with number portability, you can take your old phone number with you.

Has anyone tried this or any other “give when you pay” ventures? I’d love to know what you think of it.

Julie sent me this link the other day, from the book Take Charge of Bipolar Disorder; A 4-Step Plan for You and Your Loved Ones to Manage the Illness and Create Lasting Stability by Julie A Fast and John Preston.

From the You Are Not Alone website:

The problem for people with bipolar disorder is that the thermostat in the brain doesn’t always do its job correctly. Medical research has clearly documented that bipolar disorder involves a biologically based impaired ability to effectively regulate intense emotions - just like a broken thermostat that can’t monitor the temperature correctly. There is nothing wrong with you psychologically; instead, there is something wrong with your brain’s neurochemistry.

Your Brain Is Very Sensitive

Because your brain doesn’t function as a normal brain should, outside events and your own behaviors can lead to serious mood swings. Sleep deprivation or disruption is a notorious trigger for bipolar mood swings, as are other factors that can significantly alter hormonal functioning and brain chemistry. Stressful life events can provoke shifts into overwhelming states of mania or depression. And even in the absence of specific stressors, abnormal neurochemical functioning in the limbic system can, at times, spontaneously provoke the emergence of intense mood swings, like a thermostat that for no apparent reason turns on the furnace, even though the house is already warm. This explains why you can’t by willpower alone just get a handle on your emotions.

I’ve already ordered the book. I don’t know if there will be any new information there–I’ve done a lot of research in the last 3 years–but this thermostat analogy makes sense to me, as does the statement that sleep disruption can cause problems. I know that’s an issue for me.

But I’m not sure how I feel about the broken metaphor, though. I’m not broken. I’m just dealing with a challenge that most people don’t face, and I’m winning. I go about living my life and working through the things that are difficult for me, just as everyone else does. I’m not defined by my disorder. It’s a part of me, but not the most important part.

Still, I hope this book will give me some helpful tips for staying on top of things. Once I’ve read it I’ll give it a full review.

From AP, via the Jacksonville (NC) Daily News:

After years of holding out against equal prize money, Wimbledon yielded to public pressure Thursday and agreed to pay female players as much as male players at the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament.

The All England Club fell in line with other Grand Slam events and offered equal pay through all rounds at this year’s tournament.

“Tennis is one of the few sports in which women and men compete in the same event at the same time,” club chairman Tim Phillips said at a news conference. “We believe our decision to offer equal prize money provides a boost for the game as a whole and recognizes the enormous contribution that women players make to the game and to Wimbledon.

“In short, good for tennis, good for women players and good for Wimbledon.”

Last year, men’s champion Roger Federer received $1.170 million and women’s winner Amelie Mauresmo got $1.117 million.

“It is a victory for women’s tennis, and a victory for women in general,” Mauresmo said Thursday after reaching the semifinals of the Dubai Open. “It was really a matter of principle. It is a question of equality.”

The U.S. Open and Australian Open have paid equal prize money for years. The French Open paid the men’s and women’s champions the same for the first time last year, although the overall prize fund remained bigger for the men.

The WTA Tour lobbied for years to get Wimbledon to drop its “Victorian-era view” and pay the women the same as the men.

“This is an historic and defining moment for women in the sport of tennis, and a significant step forward for the equality of women in our society,” WTA Tour chief executive Larry Scott said. “We commend the leadership of Wimbledon for its decisive action in recognizing the progress that women’s tennis has made.”

…

“When you’ve got men and women playing at the same tournament, it is ludicrous to have a difference in pay,” three-time men’s champion John McEnroe told The Daily Telegraph. “It would be setting an example to the rest of society in general to have equal prize money.”

The move with cost Wimbledon $1.1 million dollars, to be taken out of tournament operating costs rather than a reduction in the overall purse.

The French Tennis Federation is expected to follow suit with equal pay at all levels, though no action is planned before their March 16th meeting.