Monday, November 29, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Monday, October 25, 2010
Saturday, July 04, 2009
bull shoals 09
so, we just got back from our annual bull shoals excursion. i wanted to post an image viewer with slide advancement and witty captions and junk, but my computer skills won't allow it. i did, however, find this sweet tool on picasa that creates a collage for your enjoyment.
 |
| From Bull Shoals 09 |
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Back from Honduras
Hola Supporters-
I am back from Honduras and you should know that it was a phenomenal trip. I am so thankful for your support financially and/or prayerfully.
There’s so much to tell and I hope to be able to share stories with each one of you.
This was my first international trip (excluding a couple very brief Mexico trips, which don’t really count because it might as well have been a border town in the States with a bunch of dogs). If you’ve traveled to a 3rd world country before, you know it can be a life-changing experience and this one fell nothing short of that. The timing was impeccable; I had really begun to feel overwhelmed with medical school and was losing my view of the end goal, but this trip (and encouragement from my lovely wife) re-motivated and reminded me why I want to be a doctor: to help those in need.
You got a bit of the concept of the trip from Ali’s email, but let me fill you in a bit more. The purpose of the trip was to set up a free clinic in a place with virtually no access to healthcare for 4 days. The intent of this trip was not to get in, gain some experience, and get out never to come back again; this trip was planned in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine, who is committed to a long-term relationship with the people of Santa Ana, Honduras. Oh yeah, don’t try to find Santa Ana on Google Maps or anything; it’s literally ‘off the map.’ We were able to bring quite a bit of donated medical supplies with us.
Each day, folks would show up in the morning and line the walls of the clinic before I even woke up (we slept at the clinic). You get used to the sound of roosters pretty quickly- I think their internal clocked was completely jacked because they pretty much thought it was morning all night. The patients would wait patiently (pun intended) sometimes up to 4 hours to be seen. A patient would check in and be assigned a number, and then 2 or 3 medical students would take vitals (heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure,…). After vitals, the patient would wait for a room to open up at which time a medical student would take their history and perform the appropriate exam. If any lab diagnostics were need, the student would send the patient to the lab. The types of test we would run in the lab you ask? – mostly glucose level, urine analysis, pregnancy test, and hemotocrit. The student would present the case to the attending physician (we had two) and a diagnosis and plan were created. After that, the patient went to the pharmacy to get their prescription filled and they were off. All of this took place within the clinic. Oh yeah, all of this took place in Spanish. We had translators and, fortunately, both attending physicians spoke fluently. I can now carry on the equivalent of a 2 yr. old conversation in Spanish, which doesn’t get me very far except for laughed at.
The clinic was entirely student-run, so it was quite the learning experience for all of us. Ali mentioned Dr. Johnson (the attending that traveled with us)- I gleaned a ton from him. He’s a strong Christian with a real passion for social justice, so I dug him.
Let me tell you a little about the people in Honduras: they were patient, gracious, kind, hard working, respectful, and generally in really great shape. I saw an 86 yr. old man who walked to the clinic, get this, from 6 hours away that could reach down a touch his toes. In fact, all the old people could do that. There was no obesity epidemic like in the States. I expected to see some diabetes, but nothing. These people were so starved for access to care that they would come in from villages that were hours away. Their medical complications were generally treatable- bacterial infections, GI tract worms, fungal infections, pain, allergies,… There were, however, preventable complications that we just didn’t have the means to treat. In the States, it wouldn’t have been a problem…
The Honduran government provides very basic care for the entire population, but if you live in a city and are middle-class, you get private care. The rural communities are COMPLETELY left out because there’s absolutely nothing around. On that note, education is free for children (up to a certain grade) just like here, but the schools don’t have any books, and the students’ families have to purchase them in addition to uniforms. Families are way too poor to afford books and uniforms as well as their basic necessities; because of this, many children stop attending school after about 5th or 6th grade. About 5 years ago, the people of Santa Ana were able to get electricity. Since the government was not willing to help out, the people ran the electricity themselves! Amazing! To me, there’s an obvious ploy by the government to suppress the voice of the poor and maintain control.
Switching gears, what did we do for fun? Futbol! That’s soccer for all you westerners. These kids would play in their bare feet on a terribly uneven surface with no grass, and still slaughter us. In fact, the only 3 scores that the Americans had all week came from Hondurans that we recruited to be on our team. Every day at 5pm, it was a big event for the town…even for El Salvador. I didn’t mention that Santa Ana is right on the El Salvadoran border. I’ve actually been to two Central American countries now. Kind of far removed from our border concerns here- I would just walk over and hang with the kids in El Salvador. Everyone got along. The food was excellent too! Nothing processed, everything home-cooked by las cocineras. If you ever get the chance to have a pupusa, jump all over it.
At the end of the trip, one of the students said that he thought the experience would make him grateful and appreciative for what he had back home, but instead he was grateful and appreciative of what the people in Santa Ana had- a tremendous sense of community (I guess that’s what no tv does). I guess that pretty much sums it up.
Here’s a link to some pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/bcooper876/Honduras#.
Well, I’m tired of writing and, like I said, I have plenty more stories that I’d love to share with you. I’m sorry for the novel.
Adios,
ben
I am back from Honduras and you should know that it was a phenomenal trip. I am so thankful for your support financially and/or prayerfully.
There’s so much to tell and I hope to be able to share stories with each one of you.
This was my first international trip (excluding a couple very brief Mexico trips, which don’t really count because it might as well have been a border town in the States with a bunch of dogs). If you’ve traveled to a 3rd world country before, you know it can be a life-changing experience and this one fell nothing short of that. The timing was impeccable; I had really begun to feel overwhelmed with medical school and was losing my view of the end goal, but this trip (and encouragement from my lovely wife) re-motivated and reminded me why I want to be a doctor: to help those in need.
You got a bit of the concept of the trip from Ali’s email, but let me fill you in a bit more. The purpose of the trip was to set up a free clinic in a place with virtually no access to healthcare for 4 days. The intent of this trip was not to get in, gain some experience, and get out never to come back again; this trip was planned in partnership with Baylor College of Medicine, who is committed to a long-term relationship with the people of Santa Ana, Honduras. Oh yeah, don’t try to find Santa Ana on Google Maps or anything; it’s literally ‘off the map.’ We were able to bring quite a bit of donated medical supplies with us.
Each day, folks would show up in the morning and line the walls of the clinic before I even woke up (we slept at the clinic). You get used to the sound of roosters pretty quickly- I think their internal clocked was completely jacked because they pretty much thought it was morning all night. The patients would wait patiently (pun intended) sometimes up to 4 hours to be seen. A patient would check in and be assigned a number, and then 2 or 3 medical students would take vitals (heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure,…). After vitals, the patient would wait for a room to open up at which time a medical student would take their history and perform the appropriate exam. If any lab diagnostics were need, the student would send the patient to the lab. The types of test we would run in the lab you ask? – mostly glucose level, urine analysis, pregnancy test, and hemotocrit. The student would present the case to the attending physician (we had two) and a diagnosis and plan were created. After that, the patient went to the pharmacy to get their prescription filled and they were off. All of this took place within the clinic. Oh yeah, all of this took place in Spanish. We had translators and, fortunately, both attending physicians spoke fluently. I can now carry on the equivalent of a 2 yr. old conversation in Spanish, which doesn’t get me very far except for laughed at.
The clinic was entirely student-run, so it was quite the learning experience for all of us. Ali mentioned Dr. Johnson (the attending that traveled with us)- I gleaned a ton from him. He’s a strong Christian with a real passion for social justice, so I dug him.
Let me tell you a little about the people in Honduras: they were patient, gracious, kind, hard working, respectful, and generally in really great shape. I saw an 86 yr. old man who walked to the clinic, get this, from 6 hours away that could reach down a touch his toes. In fact, all the old people could do that. There was no obesity epidemic like in the States. I expected to see some diabetes, but nothing. These people were so starved for access to care that they would come in from villages that were hours away. Their medical complications were generally treatable- bacterial infections, GI tract worms, fungal infections, pain, allergies,… There were, however, preventable complications that we just didn’t have the means to treat. In the States, it wouldn’t have been a problem…
The Honduran government provides very basic care for the entire population, but if you live in a city and are middle-class, you get private care. The rural communities are COMPLETELY left out because there’s absolutely nothing around. On that note, education is free for children (up to a certain grade) just like here, but the schools don’t have any books, and the students’ families have to purchase them in addition to uniforms. Families are way too poor to afford books and uniforms as well as their basic necessities; because of this, many children stop attending school after about 5th or 6th grade. About 5 years ago, the people of Santa Ana were able to get electricity. Since the government was not willing to help out, the people ran the electricity themselves! Amazing! To me, there’s an obvious ploy by the government to suppress the voice of the poor and maintain control.
Switching gears, what did we do for fun? Futbol! That’s soccer for all you westerners. These kids would play in their bare feet on a terribly uneven surface with no grass, and still slaughter us. In fact, the only 3 scores that the Americans had all week came from Hondurans that we recruited to be on our team. Every day at 5pm, it was a big event for the town…even for El Salvador. I didn’t mention that Santa Ana is right on the El Salvadoran border. I’ve actually been to two Central American countries now. Kind of far removed from our border concerns here- I would just walk over and hang with the kids in El Salvador. Everyone got along. The food was excellent too! Nothing processed, everything home-cooked by las cocineras. If you ever get the chance to have a pupusa, jump all over it.
At the end of the trip, one of the students said that he thought the experience would make him grateful and appreciative for what he had back home, but instead he was grateful and appreciative of what the people in Santa Ana had- a tremendous sense of community (I guess that’s what no tv does). I guess that pretty much sums it up.
Here’s a link to some pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/bcooper876/Honduras#.
Well, I’m tired of writing and, like I said, I have plenty more stories that I’d love to share with you. I’m sorry for the novel.
Adios,
ben
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
25 Most Influential Albums in My Life - What Are Yours?
disclaimer: i’m not going to proofread this, so get over the errors (kyle)
1. august and everything after - counting crows
as close to perfection as one could hope. if i had to listen to one album for the rest of my life, this is it. they continue to put out solid work, but i think their best effort is probably the one that required the least effort.
2. heartbreaker - ryan adams
if i was only allowed to play one album on my guitar for the rest of my life, this would be it. timeless. classic. this was before ryan passed the cigarette threshold and jacked up his voice with ridiculous vibrato. because of this album, gold, and love is hell, i will buy every one of his albums despite how bad it may suck. wonder how mandy moore will affect his music? or how he'll affect hers...
NOTE: from here on there is no order
3. devils and dust - bruce springsteen
i'm not a huge bruce springsteen fan, but this album is rock solid. it's an acoustic masterpiece with phenomenal lyrics.
4. soft spot - clem snide
you can't go wrong with a name like eef barzelay. kyle introduced this album to me back in '03 and it is folk perfection. never gets old.
5. viva la vida - coldplay
maybe a bit premature on this one, but i think it's worthy. people knocked this when it first came out...not sure why. it's standard coldplay and i have to pick a coldplay album, so this is it. i don't think any other band can make simple chord progressions sound so cool. i was a little worried that this album was going to sound forced because i read an article with chris martin that sad he was having writer's block, but it sounds so smooth. can't go wrong with the king of ambient producing (brian eno).
6. O - damien rice
there's opera on this album, and i dig it. raw. emotion. unfortunately, his more recent efforts fall short.
7. crash - dave matthews band
the first time i heard "crash into me" i was like you can't say that on the radio. this is dmb at their peak. jamminess at its height. every song is phenomenal.
8. life in slow motion - david gray
this guy is a hidden gem. i think i read once that white ladder outsold the joshua tree in ireland. and i'm pretty sure he's british. i'm too lazy to corroborate these statements. anyways, folk is his game and he's that good at it. between white ladder and life in slow motion, i like life... a bit more. ain't no love kills me every time. strong. real strong.
9. mockingbird - derek webb
i'm actually not a huge fan of this album musically because i can't get over the double voice, but lyrically...wow! i remember being blown away that someone was finally saying these things.
10. cracked rear view - hootie and the blowfish
these guys got a bad wrap from the musical community. i guess they were too catchy or something. but this album is worthy. simple, yes, but darius rucker knows how to win you over. he's apparently singing country now because i think i saw his name on the marquee for the houston rodeo. if i were going to listen to country, i'd do it for darius.
11. our endless numbered days - iron and wine
despite his binomial name, it's only one dude. his voice is so damn soothing.
12. twentysomething - jamie cullum
the first time i ever saw this dude he was laid out on his piano performing some sort of british wrestling maneuver at an austin city limits performance on pbs. he's that into his music. i even dig his cover of jimi. this jazzy album always makes it on my play list.
13. continuum - john mayer
i could do without john's hollywood conversion as of the past couple of years. he talks like he wants everyone to think he's so profound and cool. but i can't deny his music. i first heard that popular song off of room for squares in los angeles and i remember his voice and style being like nothing i'd ever heard. and then i heard neon, and anyone who plays guitar knows how good he is. he sounds like stevie ray live. this album really grew on me. spends some time with it. he says a lot.
14. fall, winter, spring, summer - jon foreman
i don't need to say anything about these ep's except for this: buy them. now.
15. in harbors gray - kyle lent
i'm a little biased, but this is an example of someone who has an undeniable gift. probably the most talented musician in my ipod. he puts a lot of emotion into this album and he produced it just the right amount. there's no reason this guy isn't really freakin' famous right now other than you need to buy the album and tell everyone you know about it.
16. mute math - mute math
i've never heard a band use percussion like they do. they don't just keep the beat with percussion, they make music with it. no one compares to them right now, but i'm sure many will attempt to copy.
17. let it bleed - the rolling stones
this album is way ahead of it's time. you get a little of everything on it - rock, folk, country, and even choir. i don't own any other stones albums, but i still feel confident in saying this is their best.
18. surfacing - sarah mclachlan
still a favorite to play when we're having people over and can't figure out what to put on. every song is a masterpiece. there's a reason that she puts so much space between her albums...she makes sure they're that good before she records. i used to listen to this album way more than anyone without mental disturbances should listen to it. it was like my catcher in the rye for about a year.
19. takk - sigur ros
so, i watched this sigur ros documentary. beautiful. they use crescendo like no one else. and the bow on the guitar? - sick!
20. exile - steve reynolds
i heard him one day on xm radio, and...acoustic perfection. this dude's flawless on the guitar and his voice sounds a lot like kyle lent's. this album should be standard in everyone's library; unfortunately, he's little known.
21. illinois - sufjan stevens
what was that band that is such a big influence on him?...the danielson family band or something like that. anyways...bizarre! you can actually hear their influences. sufjan is a master at folk. period.
22. poetry & airplanes - teitur
i hesitate to put this one in the list because of how terrible his follow-up albums are, but i digress. if i'm judging this album on its own merit, it deserves a spot in my top 25. and, besides, i used to play 'i was just thinking' to ali while we were dating, so i have nostalgic feelings for it.
23. bringing down the horse - wallflowers
jakob dylan still puts out really good work. his voice is so raw. and good. i think adam duritz actually sings backup on 6th avenue heartache. adam and jakob...strong combo. great collection of songs.
24. achtung baby - u2
i remember my parents taking this album from me when they won some grammy's for it because they cursed like sailors during their acceptance speech. anyways. one, who's gonna ride your wild horses, mysterious ways, tryin' to throw your arms around the world,...all on the same album...you've got to be kidding me. just like everything they touched in the 80's and 90's - gold.
25. wildflowers - tom petty
i don't listen to this album as much as i should, but this is by far his best effort. he is definitely the king of 3 chord songs, but he can pull it off. this dude's got a sick music library, too! he's a true fan of music.
1. august and everything after - counting crows
as close to perfection as one could hope. if i had to listen to one album for the rest of my life, this is it. they continue to put out solid work, but i think their best effort is probably the one that required the least effort.
2. heartbreaker - ryan adams
if i was only allowed to play one album on my guitar for the rest of my life, this would be it. timeless. classic. this was before ryan passed the cigarette threshold and jacked up his voice with ridiculous vibrato. because of this album, gold, and love is hell, i will buy every one of his albums despite how bad it may suck. wonder how mandy moore will affect his music? or how he'll affect hers...
NOTE: from here on there is no order
3. devils and dust - bruce springsteen
i'm not a huge bruce springsteen fan, but this album is rock solid. it's an acoustic masterpiece with phenomenal lyrics.
4. soft spot - clem snide
you can't go wrong with a name like eef barzelay. kyle introduced this album to me back in '03 and it is folk perfection. never gets old.
5. viva la vida - coldplay
maybe a bit premature on this one, but i think it's worthy. people knocked this when it first came out...not sure why. it's standard coldplay and i have to pick a coldplay album, so this is it. i don't think any other band can make simple chord progressions sound so cool. i was a little worried that this album was going to sound forced because i read an article with chris martin that sad he was having writer's block, but it sounds so smooth. can't go wrong with the king of ambient producing (brian eno).
6. O - damien rice
there's opera on this album, and i dig it. raw. emotion. unfortunately, his more recent efforts fall short.
7. crash - dave matthews band
the first time i heard "crash into me" i was like you can't say that on the radio. this is dmb at their peak. jamminess at its height. every song is phenomenal.
8. life in slow motion - david gray
this guy is a hidden gem. i think i read once that white ladder outsold the joshua tree in ireland. and i'm pretty sure he's british. i'm too lazy to corroborate these statements. anyways, folk is his game and he's that good at it. between white ladder and life in slow motion, i like life... a bit more. ain't no love kills me every time. strong. real strong.
9. mockingbird - derek webb
i'm actually not a huge fan of this album musically because i can't get over the double voice, but lyrically...wow! i remember being blown away that someone was finally saying these things.
10. cracked rear view - hootie and the blowfish
these guys got a bad wrap from the musical community. i guess they were too catchy or something. but this album is worthy. simple, yes, but darius rucker knows how to win you over. he's apparently singing country now because i think i saw his name on the marquee for the houston rodeo. if i were going to listen to country, i'd do it for darius.
11. our endless numbered days - iron and wine
despite his binomial name, it's only one dude. his voice is so damn soothing.
12. twentysomething - jamie cullum
the first time i ever saw this dude he was laid out on his piano performing some sort of british wrestling maneuver at an austin city limits performance on pbs. he's that into his music. i even dig his cover of jimi. this jazzy album always makes it on my play list.
13. continuum - john mayer
i could do without john's hollywood conversion as of the past couple of years. he talks like he wants everyone to think he's so profound and cool. but i can't deny his music. i first heard that popular song off of room for squares in los angeles and i remember his voice and style being like nothing i'd ever heard. and then i heard neon, and anyone who plays guitar knows how good he is. he sounds like stevie ray live. this album really grew on me. spends some time with it. he says a lot.
14. fall, winter, spring, summer - jon foreman
i don't need to say anything about these ep's except for this: buy them. now.
15. in harbors gray - kyle lent
i'm a little biased, but this is an example of someone who has an undeniable gift. probably the most talented musician in my ipod. he puts a lot of emotion into this album and he produced it just the right amount. there's no reason this guy isn't really freakin' famous right now other than you need to buy the album and tell everyone you know about it.
16. mute math - mute math
i've never heard a band use percussion like they do. they don't just keep the beat with percussion, they make music with it. no one compares to them right now, but i'm sure many will attempt to copy.
17. let it bleed - the rolling stones
this album is way ahead of it's time. you get a little of everything on it - rock, folk, country, and even choir. i don't own any other stones albums, but i still feel confident in saying this is their best.
18. surfacing - sarah mclachlan
still a favorite to play when we're having people over and can't figure out what to put on. every song is a masterpiece. there's a reason that she puts so much space between her albums...she makes sure they're that good before she records. i used to listen to this album way more than anyone without mental disturbances should listen to it. it was like my catcher in the rye for about a year.
19. takk - sigur ros
so, i watched this sigur ros documentary. beautiful. they use crescendo like no one else. and the bow on the guitar? - sick!
20. exile - steve reynolds
i heard him one day on xm radio, and...acoustic perfection. this dude's flawless on the guitar and his voice sounds a lot like kyle lent's. this album should be standard in everyone's library; unfortunately, he's little known.
21. illinois - sufjan stevens
what was that band that is such a big influence on him?...the danielson family band or something like that. anyways...bizarre! you can actually hear their influences. sufjan is a master at folk. period.
22. poetry & airplanes - teitur
i hesitate to put this one in the list because of how terrible his follow-up albums are, but i digress. if i'm judging this album on its own merit, it deserves a spot in my top 25. and, besides, i used to play 'i was just thinking' to ali while we were dating, so i have nostalgic feelings for it.
23. bringing down the horse - wallflowers
jakob dylan still puts out really good work. his voice is so raw. and good. i think adam duritz actually sings backup on 6th avenue heartache. adam and jakob...strong combo. great collection of songs.
24. achtung baby - u2
i remember my parents taking this album from me when they won some grammy's for it because they cursed like sailors during their acceptance speech. anyways. one, who's gonna ride your wild horses, mysterious ways, tryin' to throw your arms around the world,...all on the same album...you've got to be kidding me. just like everything they touched in the 80's and 90's - gold.
25. wildflowers - tom petty
i don't listen to this album as much as i should, but this is by far his best effort. he is definitely the king of 3 chord songs, but he can pull it off. this dude's got a sick music library, too! he's a true fan of music.
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