Dave Eggars writes in the introduction to David Foster Wallace’s huge ( emotionally and physically – 1079 pages ) novel, Infinite Jest, about  “a constant tragic undercurrent that concerns people who are completely lost – lost within their families, lost within their nations, lost within their time and who only want some sort of direction or purpose or sense of community and love.”  This seems universal.  After digging through Infinite Jest a number of times, never to finish, I can understand the commitment necessary to forge a connection to others or to the divine through creative expression.  Is this my answer?  Investigating and committing to photography and writing with a quest for love are encouraged by yoga.  These postures, after years of practice, seep deeper and deeper into my heart allowing the art to emerge.  Sometimes I’m sore, but mostly these days, I’m inspired.  The asanas have become established within me inducing a clearing for the expression that seems more important than ever. Love.

Enjoy a magical staycation at luxurious and eco-friendly Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur

It’s the type of place where magic unfolds, where troubles take a backseat, where relaxation hits an all time high, and where perhaps the greatest view in California exists. Perched high on a cliff 1,200 feet above the Pacific Ocean, the Post Ranch Inn in Big Sur has earned the status as No. 1 lodging experience in the United States (at least from this reviewer). I have never seen anything like it, and perhaps I never will again—because the Post Ranch Inn is a thoroughly innovative, vastly original, solar-powered, organic cuisine offering, high-end luxury resort in a location that’s one-of-a-kind, with amenities and staff that are impeccable. You won’t find this experience anywhere else. It’s worth every dollar you spend on booking a room with a jaw-dropping view, eating a divine dinner, and partaking in a superb spa treatment.

UCSC Ranks 18^th in World in Survey for Geosciences
A November 2009 survey named the University of California, Santa Cruz, as one of the top 20 geosciences institutions in the world.
The British magazine Times Higher Education (THE) conducted the survey using data provided by Thomas Reuters from its Essential Science Indicators. The analysis looked at peer-reviewed journal articles from January 1999 through June 2009, assessing rankings based on the number of citations per paper to ensure that the rankings indicate impact, not just output.

A tax of one cent per ounce of soda has been proposed to generate revenue and curb over consumption of the sugary staple beverage. Also, many schools across the country are currently restricting or banning the sale of sodas in vending machines on their campuses. According to the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, a 20-ounce serving of soda contains around 17 teaspoons of sugar, and a child’s risk of obesity increases by an average of 60 percent with every additional serving of soda. “Bubbling Over,” a recent study by Yale University’s Rudd Center, reported that 41 percent of Santa Cruz children and 56 percent of Santa Cruz teens drink one or more soda or other sweetened beverage a day.

It's a bit of a slim week for me personally but still one I'm excited about. I know I mentioned the upcoming film adaptation of Mark Millar's incredibly fun "Kick Ass" series not too long ago, and now you can take a peek at the source material.

This blog is a bit different from all the others as I am writing as a patient-to-be.  My wise  ENT doctor, Alexis Lane, has agreed that my enlarged and cryptic (in the “multiple caves” sense, not in the “short” sense) tonsils are to be relegated to the bin of lost body parts.   Now, you might think I would feel relieved to be rid of these recurrent sore-throat, chronic tonsillitis nightmares that I have experienced since the age of 6, and I am.  But as a holistic doctor by nature—I don’t LIKE intervention--especially when it comes to my own body.  Yet I have always let reason rule and, tomorrow morning, I am going under the knife.  Tonsillectomy is fairly routine in children, but in adults it is more tricky and MUCH more painful.