where the dingoes & crows won't molest me

Following the Schaivo schemozzle myself and other family and friends have been working out how to make very clear our wishes in an Advanced Healthcare Directive (AHD). Whilst looking at the current state of play for NFR I came across this AHD by Michael Mackay, a senior doctor in an Australian Emergency Department.

"Should I have my cardiac arrest while going about my duties in the emergency department — immediate defibrillation please! And maybe a whiff of oxygen. (If I don’t survive, I will be quite surprised.)

Should I arrest in the hospital dining room, forgo the mouth- to-mouth (I am squeamish about these things). I may (grudgingly) accept some chest compression, until the defibrillator arrives. But if you have not got me back after three shocks — call off the circus. Go back and finish your lunch.

If I arrest in the street, you will do what you will. But I won’t be happy. I doubt you will be able to get a defibrillator to me quickly enough. If I arrest at home, I know it will be very difficult for you to do nothing. But it will be 15 minutes before the ambulance arrives. And to end up brain damaged on a ventilator is something I do not want. (But if you are clever enough to call the ambulance so that I arrest after it arrives, by all means use the defibrillator.) When I am in a bed in a hospital ward “old and grey and full of sleep”, do not use your hands to commit violence upon me — use them to comfort me."

The above was taken from a complete article on A Time To Die by Mackay in the eMJA .

Discussion on the Schiavo case, occasionally the broader Not For Resuscitation and (sometimes) related palliative care issues at Troppo, Mark Bahnisch's new blog Larvatus Prodeo plus Currency Lad and Saint.

Another eMJA article on the Victorian Supreme Court ruling on tube feeding.

A variety of Advanced Healthcare Directives (AHD) (Advance Directives, Living Wills) templates and information from the Voluntary Euthanasia Society of Victoria. Forms and information about an enduring power of attorney (medical treatment) from The Public Advocate Office Victoria

lean on me

Sometimes things fall apart. At the centre. Other times everything comes together.

Tonight at 2 am I flicked on RAGE ABC TV. First up was Bill Withers doing USE ME live. It reminded me how great this guy was.

Then at his peak he just retired. No drugs. No gambling. No marriage or money problems. He lives happily in the suburbs - not performing.

He's one part folk, one part R&B, one part blues, a lot of jazz and a whole lot of funk and soul. It's seamless. No one else seems to be able to do this combination so effortlessly. No one else even does it with effort.

One of the greatest live albums is Bill Withers LIVE at Carnegie Hall. [There are few lasting live albums. Bob Marley is one, Van's Too Late To Stop Now is another]

The Bill Withers USE ME clip was engrossing, encompassing all the elements of his style.

Next there was a clip of Chuck Berry live doing Johnny B Goode. His striped trousers reminded me of Hendrix. His duckwalk reminded me of Hendrix. His bit of free forming guitar solos slung low and between his legs reminded me of Jimi. I did think that whilst Chuck's backing band was clearly not important and much lesser than him Jimi's was integral.

The RAGE logo / theme clip with Iggy Pop always reminds me of how I like Iggy and then reminds me of Molly Meldrum. I like Molly too.

Then a clip of Johnny Cash singing HURT.

Then Radiohead doing CREEP. I understood them then. Great song. Only song I can remember where the word fuck worked.

Yesterday I walked into the local library vaguely looking for a Wiggles, or something, DVD to assist uncle type babysitting duties that night. Not much around that I recognised but I did grab the DVD of Rust Never Sleeps - Neil Young. Had a quick flick through for 30 minutes. Crazy Horse makes old Shakey work at his best. Teetering on the edge of chaos they propel forward each song forcing Neil to pour everything into the tune to hold it together in whatever shape he vaguely imagined it. Just like they did at the Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne last year.

Sometimes I think Powderfinger is my favourite song. [I have about 900 favourite songs]. Every time I hear "Look Out Mamma There's White Boat comin' Down the Riv - arrgh…", I tense up in anticipation and then relax into the song thinking that perhaps it's the best opening salvo, lyrics & riff, of any song. I like Neil very loud and noisy. The DVD is highly recommended. There's a great version of Tonight's The Night at the end. And I can, if I choose, start with Welfare Mothers (make better lovers) and then run Powderfinger into Cinnamon Girl and Hey Hey My My or Hurricane or any combination I like.

Took me back to Greenwich Village NYC 1979 when I went to the premier of the Rust film. It was as exciting as any live concert. You could smoke and drink in USA cinemas then and there were joints and beers floating freely through the seats. Well my seats anyway. I still have those cardboard and paper "Rust -O-Vision" glasses handed out.

I'll probably still be listening to them all in 10 years time. Johnny Cash the most. More than likely Bill Withers is the best.

Late note. Food for Thought:
I've only just noticed that beginning with his article on Plunderphonics on March 8, Gary Sauer-Thompson has written 4 or 5 blog pieces on music, ranging from the piece on Plunderphonics through to Jacques Attali's Noise: The Political Economy of Music, and then a bit on Aesthetics & Rock Criticism.

cigarettes, whisky, catholics, words, funny

Dave Allen is dead.

A small note to those who can't remember or weren't there.

There was a time, when it was possible to have a successful, and popular, television show that consisted of not much more than an intelligent, articulate, neatly dressed person sitting on a stool, smoking a cigarette, whilst drinking a whisky, talking to you but not at you, and being funny.

Requiescat in pace you funny nine and a half fingered bastard.

macquarie fields riots and societies spongers

There has been much discussion and attempts to tease out the causes of the recent riots at Macquarie Fields in the southwestern suburbs of Sydney.

There are substantial threads and ideas, to stimulate even the most reluctant commentators, running at Troppo Armadillo and Catallaxy. Well worth reading and jumping in to comment.

We are all familiar with the idea that the bulk of the welfare burden, child abuse cases, single teenage mums and prison population in Tasmania can be traced back to just 30 families. Many solutions have been suggested from just giving each of these families a house of their own for life and a stipend of about $2,000 a week for life. All of which would be cheaper than the existing bill for the current Welfare Dependency. In addition a few hundred welfare public servant bludgers could be made redundant thus ensuring a sizable profit on the whole deal.

These sort of "problem families" do not exist only in Tasmania. Melbourne has its own problems.

I can reveal one family in particular, whose husband shot through owing money, and refused to pay child support, now they are bludging off welfare, there is terrible family violence involving knives, legal squabbles, grandfather who allegedly died in the arms of a woman other than his wife whilst still married, one of the children driving whilst drunk and attacking police in public, once or twice, and using dodgy accounting to keep getting the pension.

Let get rid of these types who set a bad example, don't respect our laws, attack police, clog our law courts and can't get a proper job.