The Group That Changed The World - The Beatles

In 1960, in Liverpool, England, four young men joined together to form one of the most accomplished bands of all time. They would go on to become inspirational to all other bands that came after, leaving a legacy as legends of rock. They continue to find more listeners every day and changed the face of music as we knew it.
Officially making them international stars, all four members of the ensemble were welcomed by Queen Elizabeth II when they were given the highest honor as she knighted them in 1965. From that point on, their unreal popularity only grew and they continued to extend their fan base around the world.
Fans loyally support the remaining members to this day, and even although they were only together for 10 years, The Beatles each worked steadily after the band's disbandment. On December 8th, 1980, when John Lennon was murdered, fans all around the world were saddened and mourned his loss as a whole. The remaining Beatles all took part in musical tributes to their fallen comrade in arms, and though they hadn't formally been a group in 10 years, Lennon's death hit them all very hard.
The next Beatle was lost on November 29th, 2001, when George Harrison fell to lung cancer, leaving only Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr to carry on the legacy of The Beatles. Even after all this time, their esteem has never faltered and still to this day, Beatles vinyl is some of the most enjoyed on the market.
The Beatles were one of the most successful groups of all time, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the film 'Let It Be' in 1971, and have also received seven Grammy Awards and fifteen Ivor Novello Awards. They have been earned 6 Diamond albums, 24 Multi-Platinum albums, thirty-nine Platinum albums, and forty-five Gold albums in the United States alone, on top of the four Multi-Platinum albums, 4 Platinum albums, 8 Gold albums, and one Silver album in the United Kingdom, selling more record albums than almost any other band in history.
The Beatles have inspired films, as well as countless other bands, and have proved to be over multiple decades. Although they have been apart for over forty years, they still hold a special place in hearts all over the globe, sculptors have even dedicated pieces of art to the band. Even as their fans continue to age, their songs continue to stay true, entertaining crowds everywhere without fail and setting the bar for all other groups that follow, The Beatles really are legends of rock and roll.

The 70's: Storytellers, Rockers, and Disco

The '70's rolled in and pretty much took up where the '60's had left off. The turbulent '60's had seen the assassination of president John Kennedy and soon after, the shooting of his brother, Robert, an unpopular and seemingly no win situation with the war in Vietnam, and another assassination of a man who was trying to bring about great change, Martin Luther King Jr. But there was light at the end of the tunnel for the U.S. In May of 1969, the first manned- moon landing took place.
Not only did America beat the Soviets to the lunar surface, but we did it within the time frame that President Kennedy had proposed some eight years earlier. With all this going on, the music was there throughout.
Music would take a hard shot as well, however, right at the opening of the new decade. After six years of creating and playing music that changed and made history, the Beatles went their separate ways. After about four years of artistic, financial, and personal differences, John, Paul, George, and Ringo called it quits. Their fans were devastated. Their last no. 1 hit was Paul McCartney's, moving 'Let It Be'. All four would have success on their own, but the chemistry and charisma that was the 'Beatles', was gone.
A huge gear was missing in the machine that was rock 'n' roll, but the machine wasn't broke. How could it be? There were still so many great artists that were and had been there. Not to mention new stars that were on the horizon. The hard rocking Led Zeppelin got mellow and poetic with '71's No. 1 smash, 'Stairway to Heaven'. Singer/songwriters like Elton John, James Taylor, Carly Simon, Neil Young, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, and the late great Jim Croce were filling the airwaves with songs that told stories that spoke to us all, then and now. Black Sabbath, along with front-man Ozzy Osbourne introduced the music to 'Metal Rock'. Hard-driving, in-your-face, and with no apologies, it struck a very loud core with listeners. Love it, hate it, face it, Metal was here and impossible to ignore. African American artist like "the godfather of soul", James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and Sly and the family Stone, were educating and bringing folks of different races together, as well as entertaining. Marvin Gaye's unforgettable classic, 'What's Going On', spoke to rising poverty and crime of the inner-cities.
A new word, "funk" was being used more and more to describe the music that was coming from the black artists of the day. Stevie Wonder expertly mixed soul, funk, and a little touch of rock with mega-hit, 'Superstition', (challenge you not to move to it).
Another genre of rock was developing and growing popular, especially with southern listeners. A combination of country and rock, this new sound was known as 'Country' or 'Southern' Rock. Leading the way were bands like .38 Special, the Almond Brothers, Bad Company, and the legendary, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Their huge classic, "Freebird", is probably being sung along to by partially inebriated, enthusiastic, rednecks as I write this. God knows I have. Another band with a 'country' twang was the Eagles. Always just a little more rock than country, songs like, "Take It Easy", "One of These Nights", Best of My Love", and the ultra-classic, "Hotel California", along with an almost perfect melodic harmony between the members, made the Eagles one of the most popular, influential bands in pop-music history.
Then, in 1977, the film, "Saturday Night Fever", opened up in theatres. Creating a mega-celebrity out of 23 year-old star, John Travolta. The movie's soundtrack introduced America to the 'Bee Gees' and 'Disco'. The Bee Gees, hit 'Staying Alive' was the no. 1 hit of that year. Lasting only 4 years the "disco era", made stars out of artist like, Donna Summer, Gloria Gaynor, Chic, and, at the top of the totem-pole,the Bee Gees. A pulsing rhythmic beat, along with a soaring choir of instruments like trumpets, the music was 100% dance driven. Although it's reign was short, disco's legacy has out-lived it's sound. Whenever you hear today's dance-club music, your listening to disco, (slightly evolved), but still there.
For just regular, good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll, there was Paul McCartney and his band,' Wings'. The former Beatle was pumping out hit tunes like, "Band on the Run", "Juniors Farm", "With A Little Luck", and the simplistic but very catchy, "Let 'em In". Newcomers', Fleetwood Mac and their ground-breaking album, "Rumors", swept the airwaves in 1976. In 1979, Pink Floyd built an album and called it, "The Wall". It became an instant classic. Blondie sang about a "Heart of Glass", the Kinks met "Lola", but stayed just friends, and Queen promised, "We Will Rock You".
In 1977, an unexpected tragedy occurred. Legendary performer, and the 'King of Rock 'n' Roll', Elvis Aaron Pressley died in a Memphis, Tenn. hospital at the age of 42. He had been found unconscious in the bathroom of his Graceland home. Prescription drug abuse was the primary cause.
An entire nation mourned the once dynamic singer's passing. 24-48 hr. musical tributes on the radio and constant television coverage. One got the feeling that some head of state had died, and the truth was not far off. Elvis Pressley, it seemed had touched so many people with his music, movies, and his down-home country, manner. He is greatly missed to this day. "Long live the King".
The '70's. Some musical genres came and stayed, some came and went. We regretfully said good-bye to performers that were dearly loved like, Elvis, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Croce, and Janis Joplin. But like the Righteous Brothers sang, "If there's a rock 'n' roll heaven, you know they got a hell of a band"!

The Best Hip-Hop Album of May 2011 - HeartBeat by Pennjamin Bannekar

My initial choice for the rap album of May 2011 was a bit controversial with some friends. They thought I was crazy for even thinking about naming Tyler, the Creator's album Goblin but I found his lyrics very entertaining and unique. However, a late entry into the race came out of nowhere and won by a nose.
Tinnie Tempah's album Disc-Overy was awful to me. I thought that JadaKiss's album I LOVE YOU, Killer Mike's album Pl3edge and Still On The Hustle by Neek the Exotic and Large Professor crushed that garbage. People, please don't believe the hype.
The album that won was dropped by a dude that I have to say in all honesty, I'd never heard of before and almost decided not to bother listening to it. But if I am going to do this blog each month and be honest I have to put in the work and listen to everything which brings me to another point.
Just because I didn't mention an album released this month doesn't mean I didn't hear it. Everything that was released on iTunes or Rhapsody I heard and if your stuff isn't on one of these digital services then that's on you as the artist and your company. I have a job and bills to pay I am not about to runaround chasing down every loose mix tape and 12". Just not doin' it.
From a hot new artist coming out of Chicago, Illinois I present to you The Best Hip-Hop Album of May 2011- HeartBeat by Pennjamin Bannekar.
Although this cats style is nothing like Common who is also from Chi-town there is a respect and appreciation for soul music that is shared by these cats which is so appreciated in this current age of not so clever synthesized beats and out of tune hooks.
The dopest song on the album in my opinion is Illwrite. The chord progressions of the horns chosen as the central tone work perfectly to create a modern day "player" feel as his lyrics performs the obligatory brags and boasts but at the same time subtly crushes all the foolish Illuminati slick talk being bandied about regarding successful rap artists.
There are a couple of misses on the album like Counterfeit and Worlds Apart but the songs that do work are outstanding and are sure to be heard bouncing in the cars and jeeps this summer.
Program these tracks on your mp3 player: 3,4,6,7,9,10,11 and 13
The Rap Album of May 2011 - HeartBeat by Pennjamin Bannekar, for real.

The History of the Smaller Advent Speaker

If you are a retro speaker enthusiast, chances are you have heard of the Large Advent Speaker, but have you ever heard of the Small Advent Loudspeaker? For audiophiles looking for that classic uncolored Advent sound without the huge footprint of the large advent speaker, the smaller advent speaker was the perfect solution. It reallt is a testament to the smaller advent speaker that even today, a pair of these bought in 1972 holds up against the current speaker technology of the day. This really can't be said of the large advent speakers or speakers from similar brands like Bose and JBL from that era.
You could call the early 1970's approach of advent speakers as groundbreaking. They were the consummate innovators led by Kloss and his team of mad audio geniuses. Since Kloss's goal when he founded advent in 1967 was to develop a commercially viable large screen TV, the Advent Loudspeaker was something he arrived to somewhat circuitously. Lucky for us, he did! The Large Advent Speaker as we all know was the state of the art method of acoustic suspension "book shelf" speaker of the day. Featuring a smaller hard domed tweeter and a 1 foot air suspended woofer, this speaker packed a reasonable punch in a small package. The cabinet of the large advent loudspeaker was made out of wood or MDF (customer choice). It included 1 tweeter control.
So anyhow, come 1972 Kloss fresh off the success of the large advent loudspeaker decided he needed to design a smaller model. The smaller advent loudspeaker was very similar to the original advent speaker though with an 8 and a half-inch woofer and a nine and a half inch diaphragm in its smaller cabinet. The crossover and tweeter frequencies were actually the same as the large advent loudspeaker but they lacked the control that was standard with the original advent loudspeaker. It also lacked the option for a real wood cabinet. That said, the price was about 30% cheaper at about $140 a pair at product release.
To found the smaller advent speaker team, Kloss brought in respected colleague Andy Kostatos (who went on to found Boston Acoustics later), and he offered his expert talents to the speaker, specifically in the fine tuning of the cross over. Eventually Kostatos left advent in 1974 after a recapitalization effort shook up the company.
The stock Small Advent Loudspeaker was a real beauty and due to its more compact components, when shopping for these speakers now on the used market, there is a great chance that you will find a loudspeaker that is like new or at wost with only some minor refurbishments such as the rubber gaskets or the cones.
There are a few interesting things to take note of when dealing with the Small Advent monitor. The first thing is that they really aren't that "small". Truthfully, the smaller advent cabinet is actually larger than 90% of what would be considered bookshelf speakers today. Secondly, the construction quality was pretty rough and not as slick or glossed as current day speaker / cabinet builds are. That said, the smaller advent loudspeaker bindings were in particular were actually pretty sophisticated for the time and remain so today. Finally, if you are shopping for smaller advent loudspeakers, do your best to find a pair with the original documents - the manual that came with these bad boy's was awesome! It was clear even back then that the Small Advent Loudspeaker was directed towards and manufactured for serious audiophiles - the same folks who covet these loudspeakers even today. The smaller advent loudspeaker is a great introduction to advent monitor and a time-tested loudspeaker in the world of audio!

Asbestosis: History and Treatment

Knowing the exact extent of each patient's asbestosis is necessary so to plan the appropriate management strategy.
Although a histopathologic examination of lung tissue is not necessary in diagnosing asbestosis, this serves a great role in determining the extent of the patient's disease. The American College of Pathologists have put out a grading scheme for these histopathological abnormalities, which runs from Grade 1 through 4. Grade 1 embodies fibrotic changes that are confined to the walls of the respiratory bronchiole without affecting the distal alveoli. Both Grades 2 and 3 label changes that identify a more advanced stage of asbestosis. Finally, Grade 4 represent fibrosis in the alveoli and septum. Honeycombing is also evident in the Grade 4 level of changes.
Asbestos bodies or ferruginous bodies can also be seen in histopathological specimens of lung tissues afflicted with Asbestosis. Ferruginous bodies are simply asbestos fibers that have come to develop a coat. This coating is made up of protein and ferritin (storage form of iron). These asbestos bodies have a characteristic appearance of long beads. Asbestos or ferruginous bodies however are not pathognomonic for asbestosis. Incidental findings of these are found in people who have no history of exposure to asbestos.
Management of asbestosis mainly revolves around the prompt cessation of exposure to asbestos once a diagnosis is reached, and a proper treatment and follow-up plan. Continued exposure to asbestos will enhance the progression of the disease. Although even when cessation of exposure has been established, asbestosis will still progress albeit at a much slower phase. Controlling asbestos exposure in places of work still remains as the most effective prevention. The wearing of respiratory protective gear as mandated by federal law should be done.
Physicians should advise patients who are smokers to quit smoking. These patients should also be referred to smoking cessation clinic to facilitate their quitting the habit. Careful search for any concurrent respiratory infections should be done. Prompt and proper anti-microbial treatment should be given if any are detected. Immunizations against seasonal Influenza virus and Pneumococcal bacteria should also be given. Particular attention must be paid to each individual patient's oxygenation status, both at rest and during exercise. If hypoxemia is detected, supplemental oxygen should be prescribed.
Treatments and follow-up plans should be tailored to each individual patient according to the severity of each patient's asbestosis and the level of functional impairments documented. The frequency of clinic visits, as well as the frequency of imaging studies and pulmonary function tests to be done should also complement the prepared treatment plan. This goes to show that an accurate and precise assessment of each individual patient's disease severity as well as level of functioning must be accomplished.
Provisions for hospice referral and palliative care should also be given appropriately once the disease reaches its terminal stages.
Medical therapy with corticosteroids and immunosuppressant drugs has not been found to alter the course of asbestosis. Although such is the case, these drugs may still be use for symptomatic relief from aggravating symptoms brought about by the various inflammatory, vasculitic and fibrosing processes that are at play.
Treatment of asbestosis revolves around basic symptomatic relief methods and a sound referral plan. Prompt recognition and diagnosis still is absolutely necessary for the apt execution of these plans.

When to Know a Friend Needs Your Support

If you have a good friend going through a tough time, you may want to give a little extra time to them. Even, if you are unable to take of their problem, talking to someone can make a big difference. This is especially true if you are not directly involved. Sometimes having a fresh perspective who you feel comfortable letting down your guard with is a big help. They can speak openly and honestly about their thoughts and feeling and since you are not directly involved, they do not need to worry about hurting you or saying something you may react poorly to. One of the most important times a friend will need support and friendship is during a serious illness. If they are suffering or they are caring for a family member who has developed a disease, there will be times they just want to vent about their feelings. They may be frustrated, scared or just feeling blue. When someone is undergoing prostate cancer treatment or dealing with acoustic neuroma, they can have a variety of emotions. You can be a good friend by just sitting with them and talking.
Another example of a when a friend will need support is during a divorce. Their divorce means they are losing their life partner and while they may be happy to see them go, it can also be a tough transition. They may have feelings of betrayal, regret or anger. You can help them deal with these feelings in a healthy way. They may also need to just talk about the direction their life is now going and if you can be there and lend a hand, it will make a big difference.
If you know people who have children, it is probably just a matter of time before they deal with some struggles. Even the best kids stress their parents out occasionally and if you can share stories about your own child-rearing experiences, it can help your friend to feel like what they are going through is normal.
Everyone has work stress and being able to go out after a long day, enjoy a cocktail and vent about your work problems helps a great deal. Some workplace stress is a daily occurrence and while they may be annoying, everyone has to face them. There are also times when things get really bad in the workplace and an employee faces challenges and issues the average worker is not dealing with. If your friend is in a position like this, it can help to talk it out with someone and get an outsiders perspective on things.
Lastly, you will know if a friend needs your help if they ask you. You may get an unexpected call from a friend who lets you know they need to talk things out and want some company. Do your best to be there for them and lend them your support. You will help them feel better and you will feel great for being a supportive friend.

Indulgent Behavior You Should Enjoy in Moderation

Everybody likes to let loose occasionally and do things they would not normally do in life. These activities, done in moderation, are usually not harmful or unhealthy. Everyone likes to splurge every now and then to celebrate or indulge. Many times this behavior occurs around the holidays or a big celebration like a birthday, anniversary or wedding. You may even let loose when things have been going rough in your life. If you have been involved in some stressful situations of late, you might just want to go out with friends, let your hair down and relax. The important thing to understand when it comes to this kind of thing is to know now to control things so they do not get out of control. Indulging every now and then is great, but you need to make sure it does not become a habit. Behaviors that are fine in moderation may be unhealthy if done on the regular basis. The last thing you want is to make yourself sick or develop lung cancer or pancreas cancer because of a lot of bad life decisions.
Going out for a cocktail periodically is not going to harm you in any way. As a matter of fact, a lot of medical professionals believe an occasional glass of red wine is good for your heart. Some also believe beer is a healthy beverage when consumed in moderation. Even getting a little tipsy at a celebration will not leave any permanent scars. However, if you drink alcohol excessively, there will be lasting effects. This is especially true if it is done on a regular basis. If you find yourself consuming a lot of alcohol a few times a month, it may be a sign of a bigger problem. Likewise, if you are using alcohol to get through your day or self-medicate a serious problem, you should speak to your doctor about how you are feeling.
Overeating is another behavior a lot of people fall prey to. There is nothing wrong with ordering dessert occasionally or hitting the buffet when you are on vacation. However, if you are eating unhealthy foods and high quantities of fatty foods on the daily basis, your body is going to suffer. You will feel unhealthy and over time, the poor eating habits will take their toll. Save the sugary treats and indulgent foods for occasional splurges and special occasions and choose fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins for your regular meals.
Gambling is fun for a lot of people and when done in moderation, it is a great way to let loose with your friends and enjoy a night out. However, if you are gambling above your means or you view it as a means of earning an income, it is going to lead to a great deal of problems. Gamble for recreation, not to make a living.
Finally, relaxation is a great stress reducer and should be scheduled into everyone’s life. However, if you feel like you are always lazing about and you rarely leave your couch, you may be indulging in lethargic behavior. Save lying around for raining days and special occasions. When possible get outside and get active.