Notes by Farouk Rojas

"Man was born to work hard," he said.

His patients ranged from penniless peasants from the Third World to such famous figures as the Duke of Windsor, the Shah of Iran, King Hussein of Jordan, Turkish President Turgut Ozal, Nicaraguan Leader Violetta Chamorro and Presidents Kennedy, Johnson and Nixon.

But he said celebrities don't get special treatment on the operating table: "Once you incise the skin, you find that they are all very similar."

Read the full article on CNN...

I made a little recording for a friend who just turned 40.  I sent her the Mexican 'Happy Birthday' song, sung by me and recorded a cappella in my home studio.  It was an interesting piece of information for me because I could see where I have made progress with my voice and where there is still a lot of work to do.

Also, it was a good reminder of just how much work it takes to record a song successfully.  I spent over an hour trying to get a good take of a very short song, which I have sung many many times in my life.  It was, to say the least, humbling.

It was also humbling to see just how much work my diaphragm still needs, but it was exciting to experience the fruits of the 45ish hours I put into my voice last month.  No, not nearly enough, but way more than I have ever put into it.

I think I hadn't actually recorded anything and sent it to someone since 1999, at least not in a studio.

It has been quite a tragic week for my voice work, as I have had all sorts of allergy symptoms, which have made it very difficult if not impossible to practice.  I am working on the emotional and dietary aspects that have made this the worst allergy season in many years (actually, I didn't notice allergy season the last 2 years).  

I think a big part of the problem is emotional, as after looking at a couple of issues, today I seem much better, although my voice is fried from so much sneezing, coughing and asthma inhaler treatments.  I am feeling hopeful that I will be able to return to practice on Sunday, Monday at the latest.  

Through digg.com, I stumbled upon this chart:

From the Create Debate blog.  See if this describes you or not... 

According to CNN:

"A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Thursday indicates that 71 percent of the American public disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president." 

This is a very sad thing to see published in the mainstream media.  This is supposed to be the same man that this country re-elected 4 years ago.  If these numbers have any truth to them, this puts into question the whole political system of the United States.  How can so many people be so unhappy today with someone they insisted on keeping in office less than 4 years ago? Was it truly such a Jekyll-and-Hyde transformation for the 2nd term?  Or were people that blind that they couldn't see the warning signs during the first term?  Worse even...were people blinded by the shallow realities of the immediate moment of the election, with no regard for the trends, the potential future?  Is this country really that fickle?

Through BoingBoing, this article in the BBC website:

"The factory in Guangdong had been completing overseas orders for the flag of the Tibetan government-in-exile.
Workers said they thought they were just making colourful flags and did not realise their meaning."

Well, if you're the factory of the world, you are the factory of the world.

For a more sophisticated, if less energetic, approach, try XTC Radio.  Aside from a very fancy tag line, they also have great sound and great selection.

Not much to say about this radio station.  It sounds great and the music is good.  I find it very helpful for working, as their selection of music is not very distracting and helps me keep my energy up.  You can tune in using a variety of software programs.  (iTunes, WinAmp, etc.)