Media Today

[Rick Plant]

President Biden @POTUS

The first image from the Webb Space Telescope represents a historic moment for science and technology. For astronomy and space exploration.

And for America and all humanity.



https://twitter.com/POTUS/status/1546621112297168896

[Rick Plant]

2022 MLB All-Star Game snubs: Freddie Freeman, Ty France, Carlos Rodón left off rosters

Here are 19 players who have a case that they should have made a Midsummer Classic roster

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/2022-mlb-all-star-game-snubs-freddie-freeman-ty-france-carlos-rodon-left-off-rosters/

[Rick Plant]

Manufacturers struggle to keep pace with vinyl record demand



The arrival of the compact disc nearly killed off record albums, with vinyl pressing machines sold, scrapped and dismantled by major record labels.

Four decades later, with resuscitated record album sales producing double-digit annual growth, manufacturers are rapidly rebuilding an industry to keep pace with sales that reached $1 billion last year.

Dozens of record-pressing factories have been built to try to meet demand in North America — and it’s still not enough.

The industry “has found a new gear, and is accelerating at a new pace,” said Mark Michaels, CEO and chairman of United Record Pressing, the nation’s largest record producer, in Nashville, Tennessee.

Demand for vinyl records has been growing in double-digits for more than a decade and mass merchandisers like Target were bolstering their selection of albums just as the pandemic provided a surprising jolt. With music tours canceled, and people stuck at home, music lovers began snapping up record albums at an even faster pace.

Record album sales revenue grew a whopping 61% in 2021 — and reached $1 billion for the first time since the 1980s — far outpacing growth rates for paid music subscriptions and streaming services like Spotify and Pandora, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

Record albums nearly spun into oblivion with sales overtaken by cassettes before the compact discs brushed both aside. Then came digital downloads and online piracy, Apple iPods and 99-cent downloads. Streaming services are now ubiquitous.

But nostalgic baby boomers who missed thumbing through record albums in their local record stores helped to fuel a vinyl resurgence that started about 15 years ago.

It coincided with the launch of Record Store Day to celebrate indie record stores, said Larry Jaffee, author of “Record Store Day: The Most Improbable Comeback of the 21st Century.”

These days, though, it’s more than just boomers.

A younger generation is buying turntables and albums — and cassette tapes, too — and a new generation of artists like Adele, Ariana Grande and Harry Styles have been moving to vinyl, Jaffee noted.

In Pittsburgh, taxi driver Jamila Grady is too young, at age 34, to remember the heyday of record stores.

But she finds records to be irresistible. She created wall art from some of the album covers from nearly 50 albums she’s bought since 2019, starting with “Lemonade” by Beyoncé. She acknowledges it’s an indulgence since she already listens to music through Soundcloud, Apple Music and Pandora.

“For record players, there’s something so beautiful about taking the record, putting it on the payer, and dropping the needle,” she said.

Manufacturers had to start nearly from scratch.

The major labels shuttered their plants long ago, but new ones are coming online. Record makers launching over the last 10 to 15 years include Toronto-based Precision Record Pressing, Memphis Record Pressing, Cleveland’s Gotta Groove Records and Kansas’ Quality Record Pressing.

Jack White of White Stripes, opened his own vinyl pressing plant, Third Man Pressing, in 2017 in Detroit, and pleaded with the major record labels to reopen manufacturing facilities.

There are now about 40 plants in the U.S. — most of them smaller operations — but challenges remain.

Nationwide, backlogs are six to eight months because of growing demand, and supply chain disruptions of raw materials, including vinyl polymers, have caused problems, Michaels said.

It’s not easy to launch a new pressing plant because there are only a handful of companies — none in the U.S. — that make record-pressing machines. Those machines are backordered, as well.

People can debate the sound quality but it comes down to an emotional reaction, not technical specifications, said Bob Ludwig, a multi-Grammy winner who created Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, Maine.

A friend who listened to Ludwig’s remastered version of Queen’s “Night at the Opera” called it “stunning” and “electric.”

“I love the vinyl experience. All of it. To me, there is an electrifying sound when I play records that I don’t feel from digital,” said Mark Mazzetti, an independent A&R executive who worked for Sting, Janet Jackson and others at A&M Records.

No one knows the ceiling for record growth because of the constrained supply, said Chris Brown, vice president for finance at Bull Moose Records, a record store chain in New England.

New releases often fail to meet demand, and reorders take even longer, leaving little capacity for lesser-known eclectic albums, he said.

“Part of the fun of collecting records is being surprised,” he said. “But midlevel stuff doesn’t get printed, or there’s a long wait.”

Record producers gather this week in Nashville for their annual trade event called Making Vinyl.

People in the business are excited about the growth, and it’s almost like “printing money” for manufactures as sales soar to new heights every year, said Bryan Ekus, president of Making Vinyl.

No one knows how long the run will continue, so there’s a sense that “we should make hay while the sun shines,” Ekus said.

In Nashville, United Record Pressing launched in 1949 and never stopped producing records. It’s currently in the midst of a $15 million expansion that will triple its capacity in the middle of next year.

Michaels can’t help but to wonder how long the double-digit growth can be sustained, but he said he’s optimistic about the future.

It’s both heartwarming and good for business to see high schoolers and young adults showing an interest in records, he said.

“I believe in music and I believe in the importance of music in people’s lives. I don’t think that changes,” he said.

https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-music-tennessee-f76d8df96043153f8bd735539795ddaf

[Rick Plant]

How do drugs know where to go in the body? A pharmaceutical scientist explains why some medications are swallowed while others are injected
https://theconversation.com/how-do-drugs-know-where-to-go-in-the-body-a-pharmaceutical-scientist-explains-why-some-medications-are-swallowed-while-others-are-injected-182488

[Rick Plant]

Migraine sufferers have treatment choices – a neurologist explains options beyond just pain medication



Migraine headaches currently affect more than one billion people across the globe and are the second-leading cause of disability worldwide. Nearly one-quarter of U.S. households have at least one member who suffers from migraines. An estimated 85.6 million workdays are lost as a result of migraine headaches each year.

Yet many who suffer with migraine dismiss their pain as simply a bad headache. Rather than seeking medical care, the condition often goes undiagnosed, even when other incapacitating symptoms occur alongside the pain, including light and sound sensitivity, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.

Researchers have discovered that genetics and environmental factors play a role in the condition of migraine. They happen when changes in your brainstem activate the trigeminal nerve, which is a major nerve in the pain pathway. This cues your body to release inflammatory substances such as CGRP, short for calcitonin gene-related peptide. This molecule, and others, can cause blood vessels to swell, producing pain and inflammation.

For some, medication has its limits

A migraine can be debilitating. Those who are experiencing one are often curled up in a dark room accompanied by only their pain. Attacks can last for days; life is put on hold. The sensitivity to light and sound, coupled with the unpredictability of the disease, causes many to forego work, school, social gatherings and time with family.

Numerous prescription medications are available for both the prevention and treatment of migraine. But for many people, conventional treatment has its limitations. Some people with migraine have a poor tolerance for certain medications. Many can’t afford the high cost of the medicines or endure the side effects. Others are pregnant or breastfeeding and can’t take the medications.

However, as a board-certified neurologist who specializes in headache medicine, I’m always amazed at how open-minded and enthusiastic patients become when I discuss alternative options.

Watch:

Your brain sends you warning signals, such as fatigue and mood changes, to let you know a migraine may be on the way.

These approaches, collectively, are called complementary and alternative medicine. It might be surprising that a traditionally trained Western doctor like me would recommend things like yoga, acupuncture or meditation for people with migraine. Yet in my practice, I value these nontraditional treatments.

Research shows that alternative therapies are associated with improved sleep, feeling better emotionally and an enhanced sense of control. Some patients can avoid prescription medications altogether with one or more complementary treatments. For others, the nontraditional treatments can be used along with prescription medication.

These options can be used one at a time or in combination, depending on how severe the headache and the cause behind it. If neck tension is a contributor to the pain, then physical therapy or massage may be most beneficial. If stress is a trigger, perhaps meditation would be an appropriate place to start. It is worth talking to your provider to explore which options may work best for you.

Mindfulness, meditation and more

Because stress is a major trigger for migraines, one of the most effective alternative therapies is mindfulness meditation, which is the act of focusing your attention on the present moment in a nonjudgmental mindset. Studies show that mindfulness meditation can reduce headache frequency and pain severity.

Another useful tool is biofeedback, which enables a person to see their vital signs in real time and then learn how to stabilize them.

For example, if you are stressed, you may notice muscle tightness, perspiration and a fast heart rate. With biofeedback, these changes appear on a monitor, and a therapist teaches you exercises to help manage them. There is strong evidence that biofeedback can lessen the frequency and severity of migraine headaches and reduce headache-related disability.

Yoga derives from traditional Indian philosophy and combines physical postures, meditation and breathing exercises with a goal of uniting the mind, body and spirit. Practicing yoga consistently can be helpful in reducing stress and treating migraine.

Watch:

Meditation is an alternative therapy that could help with your migraine.

Manipulation-based therapy

Physical therapy uses manual techniques such as myofascial and trigger-point release, passive stretching and cervical traction, which is a light pulling on the head by a skilled hand or with a medical device. Studies show that physical therapy with medication was superior in reducing migraine frequency, pain intensity and pain perception over medications alone.

By lowering stress levels and promoting relaxation, massage can decrease migraine frequency and improve sleep. It may also reduce stress in the days following the massage, which adds further protection from migraine attacks.

Some patients are helped by acupuncture, a form of traditional Chinese medicine. In this practice, fine needles are placed in specific locations on the skin to promote healing. A large 2016 meta-analysis paper found acupuncture reduced the duration and frequency of migraines regardless of how often they occur. Acupuncture benefits are sustained after 20 weeks of treatment.

What’s also fascinating is that acupuncture can change the metabolic activity in the thalamus, the region of the brain critical to pain perception. This change correlated with a decrease in the headache intensity score following acupuncture treatment.

Vitamins, supplements and nutraceuticals

Herbal supplements and nutraceuticals, which are food-derived products that may have therapeutic benefit, can also be used to prevent migraine. And there is evidence to suggest vitamins work reasonably well compared to traditional prescription medication. They also have fewer side effects. Here are some examples:

Magnesium is believed to help regulate the blood vessels and electrical activity in the brain. A study found that patients given 600 milligrams of magnesium citrate daily for 12 weeks had a 40% decrease in migraine. Side effects included diarrhea in nearly 20% of patients.

Vitamin B2, or riboflavin, is also considered useful in migraine prevention. When dosed at 400 milligrams daily for 12 weeks, researchers found it reduced migraine frequency by half in more than half of participants.Another beneficial supplement is Coenzyme Q10, which is involved in cellular energy production. After three months, about half of those taking 100 milligrams of Coenzyme Q10 three times a day had half the number of migraine attacks.

A potential natural solution is feverfew or Tanacetum parthenium, a daisylike perennial plant known to have anti-migraine properties. Taken three times daily, feverfew reduced migraine frequency by 40%.

Devices can be beneficial

The Food and Drug Administration has approved several neurostimulation devices for migraine treatment. These devices work by neutralizing the pain signals sent from the brain.

One is the Nerivio device, which is worn on the upper arm and sends signals to the brainstem pain center during an attack. Two-thirds of people report pain relief after two hours, and side effects are rare.

Another device that shows promise is the Cefaly. It delivers a mild electrical current to the trigeminal nerve on the forehead, which can lessen the frequency and intensity of migraine attacks. After one hour of treatment, patients experienced a nearly 60% reduction in pain intensity, and the relief lasted up to 24 hours. Side effects are uncommon and include sleepiness or skin irritation.

These alternative therapies help treat the person as a whole. In just my practice, many success stories come to mind: the college student who once had chronic migraine but now has rare occurrences after a regimen of vitamins; the pregnant woman who avoided medication through acupuncture and physical therapy; or the patient, already on numerous prescription medications, who uses a neurostimulation device for migraine instead of adding another prescription.

Granted, alternative approaches are not necessarily miracle therapies, but their potential to relieve pain and suffering is notable. As a physician, it is truly gratifying to see some of my patients respond to these treatments.

https://theconversation.com/migraine-sufferers-have-treatment-choices-a-neurologist-explains-options-beyond-just-pain-medication-181348

[Rick Plant]

'Should disturb everyone': Fox News analyst stunned by 'breathtaking' Jan. 6 hearing



Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley reacted with surprise on Tuesday at what he said was a "breathtaking" hearing about the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Turley said that he was most shocked by revelations that Trump officials nearly came to blows during a heated Oval Office meeting about overturning the election.

"It's still damaging," Turley said of former White House counsel Pat Cipollone's deposition. "That meeting in the [Oval Office] is really breathtaking. It's very disturbing."

"At one point, there was a suggestion that there might be fisticuffs," he gasped. "It's almost like this is Dr. Strangelove and the president is saying there is no fighting in the war room. It was just a bizarre moment."

Turley added: "You're in the Oval Office and people seem to be actually chest pounding. So this is very disturbing. All of these details should disturb everyone."

Also Tuesday, Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) said that he believes the House Select Committee has outlined enough to prove that former President Donald Trump could be charged with seditious conspiracy.

"Trump was the facilitator of the Jan. 6 insurrection," he explained. "He knows that people responded to his tweets and what he says, and he knows how the far-right feel about him and feel about his leadership. I mean, everything from the Tiki Torch March after he first got into another white nationalist event when they essentially identified him as their president."

Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley called today's Jan. 6 hearings "breathtaking."

Watch Video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1546926259539742723

[Rick Plant]

WATCH LIVE: NASA officials discuss new photos released from the James Webb Space Telescope

Starts at 5:00