2003-06 Vital Source Mag – June 2003
Whirlwind Heat
By Brian Barney The first big thing to come from Jack White’s (of The White Stripes) new label is a hot little art-rock trio called Whirlwind Heat. At first glance, Do Rabbits Wonder? looks pretentious with mod Warholesque art work and songs entitled by color: "Black," "Tan," "White," etc. After a spin or two though, the infectious Devo-meets-Iggy Pop approach shows an irresistible flavor that takes raw intensity and style well into the area of accessibility. The beats have a straight-ahead, nearly house feel with vocals that, while sometimes brash and a little bit scary, are interesting and definitely in the pocket. The overall mood and motivating element, however, is David Swansons’ Moog synth. Undulating, innovative and overbearing, the highly recognizable sound of the 70s dinosaur of keyboards is brought back to life with a subtle aggression giving the disc a flowing theme from beginning to end. Although Jack White’s influence may not be that discernable musically, it is comforting to know that he seems intent on searching out talent that is truly alternative.
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Get Ready for Pax Americana
By John Hughes Is it far-fetched to believe there is a master blueprint for America’s future, a grand plan or design in the minds of our leaders? Conspiracy theories aside, there is, at least in international relations, the beginning of one, hailing from the (some would say “neo”) conservative end of the spectrum. Star wars, anyone? Or, how about cyber wars? Or, failing those futuristic calamities, how about three simultaneous, independent wars conducted by one country? It could happen. It’s part of the plan. And you can read all about it. It’s not a joke. It’s the Project for the New American Century. Any citizen interested in exploring at length the motives, mentality, and long-term international mission of the Bush Administration can get a thorough start at newamericancentury.org, the official website of the Project for the New American Century. This Project has been the subject of rampant speculation and rumor, and has been mentioned in numerous conspiracy theories. You may have heard about the “cabal” within our government, and their “plot to take over the world.” With this website, you’ll get beyond the rumors, and read for yourself the Statement of Principles, numerous papers on NATO and Europe, Iraq and the Middle East, East Asia, the Balkans and more, published by “neo-conservatives” who have the President’s ear. You may read a defining 76-page paper, in the “Defense and National Strategy” section, entitled “Rebuilding America’s Defenses: Strategy, Forces and Resources For a New Century.” This Defense Report was published in September of 2000, two months before the Presidential election. The Project for the New American Century was created in 1997 with a clear agenda for American involvement in the world. Signing off on this Project, as influential members, were future key members of the Bush Administration, like Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Assistant Secretary of State Paul Wolfowitz. These three men have had an enormous impact on the disposition of the current administration. Put simply, the PNAC can reliably be considered a topographical map for foreign policy within the current administration. A study in global aggression as servant of American might. The Project can be studied as an articulation of American international strategy for now and the near future. The strategy is one of spectacular military growth and development, at the service of global aggression. “At present,” the Defense Report states, “the United States faces no global rival. America’s grand strategy should aim to preserve and extend this advantageous position as far into the future as possible.” In the Statement of Principles, which calls for a revival of “the essential elements of the Reagan Administration’s success,” a pivotal question is asked: “Does the United States have the resolve to shape a new century favorable to American principles and interests?” Within the Statement, reference to the principles and interests of nations other than ours is limited to those that echo the principles and interests of the United States. The mission of this government should be, according to the […]
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Lucinda Williams
By John Hughes The brilliant Ms. Williams, 50 year old alt-country chanteuse, angst goddess, poet and daredevil, has added nine great new songs to her legacy as one of the most underrated songwriters in a generation. World Without Tears was recorded live, and the results are incandescent. Never before has Lucinda sounded so raw and exposed. Her singing is ringed with fire. Never before has her band sounded so hot and free. For nine songs, she rocks, rages, mourns the world’s pains, declares her love, flirts, yearns, and tells the hidden truth. It’s exhilarating, gorgeous music ‘n message. Of course, there are more than nine songs on this album. There are thirteen, and the four lesser ones are ballast, which weighs the ship down a little. Her anger at the preachers she was subjected to during her Nashville years, expressed in “Atonement,” and her grief over life here, emoted in “American Dream,” are not served by songs worthy of Lucinda Williams. But even in these, the musicianship behind her and the intelligent lyrics she’s written manage to limit the damage. Much is being made of the concept that with this record she’s leaving her Americana roots behind. It’s true, you can hear more of Keith Richards, Paul Westerberg and Patti Smith between the grooves than you can of Loretta Lynn. But Lucinda Williams has, for several years, been a musician beyond category, playing what moves her at the time, with all the greats imbedded in her soul. She’ll never not be alt-country. She’s just that and a whole lot more. This is a marvelous CD.
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Borrower Beware
By Bethany Sanchez PART TWO OF A TWO-PART SERIES In the first of this two-part series, last month’s installment on predatory lending described how Mrs. Green, a 72-year old Milwaukee widow got trapped into a high-cost loan offered to her by real estate “professionals” who were engaging in illegal activities. This month, we’ll talk about how to avoid predatory loans and the personal and financial devastation they almost invariably leave in their wake. The Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council (MMFHC) provides an important community resource for people like Mrs. Green — homeowners or potential homeowners who suspect that they may be victims of predatory lenders. Organized and coordinated by MMFHC, Strategies to Prevent Predatory Practices (STOPP) utilizes a coalition of community-based organizations, housing industry representatives and government to identify and eliminate predatory lending practices throughout Milwaukee County. STOPP is working to identify predatory trends, educate consumers so that they can avoid predatory loans, enforce laws protecting borrowers, support new legislation that would provide additional needed protections and help victims of predatory loans with free advice and new loans that the borrower can afford. The free STOPP hotline (see below) provides coordinated help for the borrower. You can avoid the predatory lending trap. How can you avoid a predatory loan? How can you help your mother, friend or neighbor avoid a loan that charges too much and may strip him or her of their home equity and threaten them with foreclosure? Don’t trust door-to-door or telephone salesmen offering bargains on loans. Beware of promises of fast approvals. Shop around. Research companies with whom you’re considering working. A little extra time invested up front could save your home, and your credit. Watch out for high interest rates, high fees, and high closing costs. Compare fees and charges. With the help of a credit or homeowner counselor, find out your credit score, the kind of loan you should be able to qualify for and what payments you can really afford. Don’t be too quick to put your other bills and debts into a high-cost consolidation loan. It may put your house at risk. Beware of a lender that pressures you to apply for more than you actually need. Ask lots of questions if the lender’s appraiser says your house has a surprisingly high value. Find out what similar homes in your neighborhood have sold for in the last six to twelve months. If the loan amount offered exceeds the range, be wary. Be careful of large balloon payments that may not be right for you. Never gamble that you’ll be able to afford something “later” that’s not within your reach now. Ask lots of questions about terms and don’t sign any blank document the lender promises to fill out later. Read all disclosures carefully, making sure you under stand everything you are signing. Get someone to review the documents for you if you still have questions. Remember that you, the borrower, are in control. You have the power to turn down any loan […]
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Homeo-what?
By Jan Wolfenberg Homeo-what? Or, homeopathy demystified I am a homeopath. This means I practice the art and science of homeopathic medicine. I use these medicines first and foremost whenever faced with a health challenge. And so, in the columns I’ve been writing for Vital Source over the last few months, I naturally mention homeopathic medicines (usually called “remedies”) as options for the conditions I’ve been discussing. It has been brought to my attention that a number of you have been asking the $65 question: what the heck IS homeopathy?? Well, folks, that’s a question that rightly requires more space than this magazine is able to give me to answer really well. But, in the hope of providing some kind of explanation to you, the Vital Source readers, I’ll do my best to describe the gist of this wonderful system of medicine. There’s no oatmeal in homeopathy. First of all, let me tell you what homeopathy is NOT. It is not a blanket term for any and all forms of alternative medicine, folk remedy or old wives tale cure. A common misconception is that, because it begins with “home”, it is an umbrella term for all “home” remedies — from herbal medicine to oatmeal baths. Homeopathy is a method of self-healing practiced all over the world that is a separate and unique science of medicine. It has its own methodology and unique remedies, different from all other forms of alternative or complementary treatment. The first part of the word, “homeo” comes from the Latin for “similar;” and the ending, “pathos,” is the Latin for “suffering.” So the word “homeopathy” means “similar suffering.” So, what in the world could THAT mean? “Cure by similars”…and that would be…? At the heart of homeopathy is the phenomenon of cure by similars. What is a “similar?” A similar is a substance that could produce pathological symptoms in a healthy person when given in excess; this substance, in a specially prepared form, is used to invite a healing response in an unwell person presenting with similar symptoms. For example, one of the most common homeopathic remedies for nausea is Ipecac, a substance known for its ability to induce vomiting. Knowledge of this principle of cure by similars actually predates the development of homeopathy into a medical science by several centuries. Hippocrates records the use of this approach to healing (c. 400BC in Greece). We find references to it from the Oracle of Delphi, from Indian medical texts as old as 4,000 years, and from ancient Chinese medical texts. Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician of the late 1700s, rediscovered this principle of cure and, through experimentation, formulated the science that became known as homeopathy. What’s the difference between homeopathy and Western medicine? In practical application, how is homeopathy different from conventional western medicine? First of all, in homeopathy, as in many other forms of natural medicine, the wisdom of the body is respected. Symptoms are therefore understood as the efforts of the body to heal itself, […]
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
Rishi Tea’s founders subscribe to the leaf itself
By John Hughes It is not widely known that Rishi Tea, perhaps the finest tea company in the world, winner of an unprecedented three consecutive Best Tea awards from the Specialty Coffee Association of America, is a six-year old Milwaukee-based venture, founded by three graduates of Rufus King High School. Joshua Kaiser, whose brainchild this was, and his colleagues Aaron Kapp and Benjamin Harrison, still in their early thirties, have founded an elegant, growing, socially conscious, organic tea company. They purvey a product which might very well redefine your understanding of tea with one sip, and which supports traditional tea artisans. They work out of a warehouse within these city limits, but all their tea is derived directly from specific, known gardens in rural Asia. To sit and speak with these three is to encounter three distinctly different personalities which mesh well together, and which are united in their passion for truly great tea. In an interview in mid-May, Joshua, Aaron and Benjamin spoke for two hours with Vital Source, and spoke with a depth of commitment and seriousness uncommon for persons of any age. They have been studying tea in depth for many years — it’s variety and history through the millennia; it’s being touched by culture and vice versa; it’s commerce and “mind-boggling evolution;” and the art of it’s cultivation. These are men who will continue to learn about all the aspects of tea for a long time, and who only want to continue to improve their company. Their quest for Quality is exhilarating. Three students of the leaf make good. Joshua Kaiser, who graduated from Edgewood College in Madison, has had a fascination with tea for years. He wanted a career which allowed independence, creativity and travel. He wanted to form a loose leaf tea company, rather than one with broken bits of leaf in tea bags. He wanted to “track the production of quality tea” down through the centuries into the present, to find it now, and to offer the market tea from a single origin, a single garden in a special village for each variety, grown with traditional techniques. He wanted to offer an alternative to multi-origin tea, sold as a commodity by brokers all over the world, where the packaging was most of the cost of the product. He wanted to give business to Asian practitioners of the ancient art of tea cultivation, so they and their craft could survive. A serious young visionary with a swarthy demeanor, which occasionally melts into a smile, he recruited Aaron Kapp, and then Benjamin Harrison. Aaron was a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison with an interest in gardening, and a personal friend. A talkative and cheerful man, Aaron attracted Kaiser with a whimsical wit and the ability to work long and intense hours. Benjamin had graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine, and was succeeding in the corporate world of New York City. He has a steady, even-keel temperament and was the last of the three to […]
Jun 1st, 2003 by Vital Archives
