Surf Was Up at Mavericks!

I admit to an unhealthy fear of the water: the one time I did try swimming (after being pushed into a canal in Venice), I sank like a waterlogged bolt of fine wool gabardine. However, I discovered an utter fascination with surfing (watching, that is) on a long-ago vacation in O'Hawaii. The big wave riders at the North Shore breaks such as Waimea Bay, Sunset Beach and the Bonzai Pipeline are amazing athletes in what many professional commentators consider the most dangerous sport on the planet.
Living in Carmel, California, I regularly walk down to the beach and sit for an hour or so to watch the locals rip. But yesterday, I motored up Coastal Route 1 to Half Moon Bay to see this year's Mavericks Surf Contest at Pillar Point. The magnitude of what these intrepid acquamariners face is documented below.

Mercury News event coverage

New York Times article

A Doctor in the Mouse?

There's a really interesting article in Salon today about patient access to medical information on the web. It's written by an M.D. and is a counter to the petulance (I almost said flatulence) that appeared in Time magazine (and online) titled "When the Patient Is a Googler." The Time article is also by an M.D. I never thought I'd hear an intelligent, educated person (a scientist, no less) turn 'Googler' into a dirty word.

I have a close friend who goes in for a four-level cervical laminoplasty next week. Since this is spinal surgery, he wanted to learn as much as possible about the procedure and the recovery and the success rates and all the, you know, really pertinent stuff. So he turned to the Web. Now he feels much better (though he did have a tough time seeing a video of this operation on YouTube).

So, raspberries to you, Time medicine man - time for a upgrade!

Quadrophenia (and other great music)

Finally got around to ripping one of my holiday presents: Quadrophenia, The Who's second rock opera. And I thought Tommy was great with its amazing musicianship (just listen to Townsend on the acoustic guitar in the Overture) and tight thematic orchestrations that made that album one of the sixties classic rock set pieces. Quadrophenia though is, I believe, The Who's crowning achievement. This is immortal music and a must listen. Definitely something I would take if stranded on a desert isle (and still able to play my iPod).

Here are my music (re)discoveries in 2007:

1. Led Zeppelin (all of it)
2. The Who (Tommy, Quadrophenia)
3. The Beatles (anything and everything)
4. Schubert (the piano sonatas)
5. Bach (the cello suites - Rostropovich, naturally)
6. Jan Klemmer (Touch - the most romantic jazz album ever)
7. Al Di Meola (Kiss My Axe - no explanation required)
8. Lee Ritenour (Stolen Moments is a jazz classic)
9. Dave Brubeck (Time Out)
10. Jane Monheit (the best of the young jazz singers)

Why Giving Makes You Happy

Turns out compassion is good for your health. Who knew (other than saints, contemplatives and social workers)? But now it's being confirmed by science. Apparently, it is an established fact that 'givers are happier people than non-givers.' From the article:

A number of studies have researched exactly why charity leads to happiness. The surprising conclusion is that giving affects our brain chemistry...Charity also lowers the stress hormones that cause unhappiness...The bottom line from all the research on giving is that it is not just good for your favorite cause; it's good for you, too. For relief from stress and depression, it's probably more cost-effective than whatever your doctor might prescribe.

Now, if you're one of those cynical Scrooge types who doubt that you can ever clear away the mental black clouds you've made friends with all these years, consider the just-emerging discoveries in neural plasticity: among these, not only can you grow new brain cells, but how you think affects brain structure! It's fascinating stuff (I'm immersed in Train your Mind, Change Your Brain: How a New Science Reveals Our Extraordinary Potential to Transform Ourselves).

Of course, if you're motivated purely by economics, consider that you still have time to make a tax-deductible charitable contribution for 2007. That way you can also reap the health benefits in 2008 (we all have at least one health related New Year's resolution each January 1st). So, write that check today...be happier tomorrow!

Christmas Eve at The Bakers

All the presents are bought and wrapped and donations made (WWF, Doctors Without Borders, Second Harvest Food Bank, Embracing the Child); all the decorations are up and the tree (recycled from hemp) decorated, angel on top; food and spirits ready for tomorrow's feast; "A Christmas Carol" (Alastair Sim as Scrooge) in the DVD player; and candles, candles, candles everywhere. The most glorious night of the year is here - Christmas Eve! Tonight we'll each open one present (a brilliant tradition invented by some avid celebrant keen to 'get things started'). My Christmas wish is for all of you - and everyone, everywhere - to be blessed with the gift of kindness. Merry Christmas!

A No-Show on The Polar Express

For twenty-one Christmas seasons, Chris Van Allsburg's Caldecott Medal winning The Polar Express has been a favorite holiday gift to young readers and the nostalgic among us. It's been the perennial Christmas bestseller: 250,000+ copies per year.

Originally published in 1985 (with a complete makeover in 2005, re-mastering Allsburg's original oil-pastel paintings), the children's picture book even spawned an animated movie in 2004, boosting sales of the hardcover that year to over one million copies. But this year, The Polar Express was a no-show on the bestseller lists. For the first time in memory, there was no listing of the title on The New York Times Children's Bestseller List in the months and weeks leading up to Christmas.

Of course, hundreds of children's picture books celebrating Christmas (including this one) are in competition with each other; so it's no surprise when any single title falls off the list. But lament not. Consider: there are reportedly eight million copies of The Polar Express in print, making the title the best-selling Christmas themed children's picture book of all time (not including, of course, the many pictoral interpretations of Clement Moore's poem Twas the Night Before Christmas). A great legacy for Chris Van Allsburg.

Environment News Service

Knowledge is power: power to act. But with so much bewildering, and often contradictory, information and prescriptive advice about the environment out there, what's a bear to do?

I've discovered a fantastic source of accurate and timely environmental news that makes acting on information much easier. The Environment News Service (ENS) presents late-breaking environmental news "in a fair and balanced manner." I like the 'fair and balanced' part! Check it out for yourself.

One recent Press Release leads with "NEW BOOK TEACHES CHILDREN HOW TO POSITIVELY IMPACT THE ENVIRONMENT" and it sounds like an interesting read - perhaps even a last minute holiday present for the family.

Author as Philanthropist

Known to most Potterites are J.K. Rowling's generous charitable contributions to a variety of worthy causes around the planet. What's newsworthy today, however, is Amazon.com's open letter to Ms. Rowling thanking her for the opportunity to purchase The Tales of Beedle the Bard at a Sotheby’s auction in London. The book contains five wizarding tales that had been referenced in Harry Potter VII (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). According to Amazon.com, "The Tales of Beedle the Bard is extensively illustrated and handwritten by the bard herself--all 157 pages of it. It's bound in brown Moroccan leather and embellished with five hand-chased hallmarked sterling silver ornaments and mounted moonstones." Moreover, the Amazon acquisition is one of only seven handmade copies in existence. Amazon paid handsomely: £1,950,000 (US$2,800,000) BUT - and here's the great part - "Ms. Rowling is donating the proceeds to The Children's Voice campaign, a charity she co-founded to help improve the lives of institutionalized children across Europe."

We live in exciting times.

Came across this very interesting take on what we know - or even can know - about the universe. It's all about what science has shown us over the past 2000 years; but it's not too deep for we layfolk. The questions posed are profound and great exercise for the grey matter.
Yes, indeed, it's wonderful to be alive!

Greetings from Basil Baker

Hello blogworld!

My name is Basil Baker. Although I've been online for over nine years now - and even 'blogged' a bit about one of my cases - this is the start of my blog (in earnest) for the tens of thousands of visitors to our "literate site for bear lovers" as well as all the new visitors we hope to reach. Take a quick surf over to www.basilbaker.com and sample the broad diversity of our interests from art to music to literature to life on our beautiful planet. I hope to hear your comments.