Etc...

Don't let the flu bugs bite
Ric Beard
Staff Writer

With the arrival of cold and flu season, the director of health services at Appalachian has advice on what steps to take to avoid infections and frost bite.

Dr. William Derrick said that flu and viral infections are the major concern of the infirmary during the winter months. "Upper respiratory infections are overwhelmingly the most common things we see from now until March," he says.

Derrick also said that these infections are caused by the actual inhalation of other people’s moisture.

"A person could cough and someone else could walk through it and become sick," he said.

The "droplet spray" that causes this sickness can also be transmitted by eating or drinking after someone, and even kissing. "We’re not going to tell people to stop kissing," Derrick said, "but they should know that it does transmit infection."

According to the director, the main idea in avoiding sickness is to maintain one’s immune system. He said that people should eat a well-rounded diet and try not to overload on the vitamins.

"Mega-vitamins" tend to overload the immune system and prevent it from working against infection. Derrick also said that "[eating] something for breakfast is important because it starts the day with an energy source" to prevent illness.

The immune system also thrives on rest. College students have a tendency to try to "catch up on their sleep on the weekends." Derrick said that the immune system doesn’t like that schedule.

During exam times, students should try to avoid stress because it is also a major problem when it comes to keeping an immune system at work.

Derrick said that people should exercise in moderation and avoid large crowds, "particularly during periods when a lot of flu is around."

He also said to remember that someone does not have to be sick to transfer a germ. People can pick up the moisture that could make them sick and their immune systems might fight it off. But it sometimes takes two to three days for an immune system to do so. These transient carriers can get someone sick while their body is fighting off a virus.

As far as frost bite is concerned, Dr. Derrick said that layering clothing is the most effective means of prevention. This is in order to protect the ears, cheeks, nose and hands from the mountain wind-chills.

Since skin is the regulator of body temperature, wind-chill is negated by having the body covered as much as possible. The layers of clothing tend to create air pockets that serve as insulation in which heat is kept. When there are drastic temperature changes over the course of the day, peeling off layers is better than not wearing enough in the first place.

According to Derrick, mittens are also better than gloves. They allow the fingers to warm each other more efficiently than the material between them.

Dr. Derrick explained that the myth about a wet head being cause enough to get someone sick isn’t true. He said that a wet head lowers the body temperature and makes a person more susceptible to infection, but won't get someone sick by itself.

[back]

Reggae meets the Dead in a musically enlightening album
James A. Winders
Guest Commentary

Tribute recordings seem to be here to stay. After all, it’s the age of recycling, culture or otherwise.

From the vantage point of Boone, where the knit caps of tie-dye clad local denizens bulge with massed dreadlocks in some bizarre parody of Afrocentrism, this new marriage of Reggae music with Grateful Dead songs might have been predicted.

"Fire on the Mountain: Reggae Celebrates the Grateful Dead" unites some of the late-lamented band’s choice tunes with some of Jamaica’s most celebrated artists, including the Wailing Souls, The Mighty Diamonds, Frederick "Toots" Hibbert (lead singer of the legendary Toots and the Maytals) and Britain’s Steel Pulse, certainly one of the greatest Reggae bands of the Black West Indian Diaspora.

Ten more or less well-known Grateful Dead numbers are featured, as well as "Good Lovin’," the Young Rascals hit from 1966 that the Dead liked to perform.

Not surprisingly, the best performances on "Fire on the Mountain" are those that benefit from the most expressive and interesting singers: The Wailing Souls on "Casey Jones," The Mighty Diamonds on "Touch of Grey," and the great Judy Mowatt- erstwhile member of the I-Threes- on "Row Jimmy." Unfortunately, even a great singer like Toots Hibbert cannot salvage a mediocre song like "Catfish John." Joe Higgs gives "Uncle John’s Band" a wonderfully soulful reading; equally true of Michael Rose (ex-Black Uhuru) on "Wharf Rat."

The members of Steel Pulse make "Franklin’s Tower" dance with their bright, energetic style of Reggae.

The press material accompanying the review copy of this CD reveals an interesting concern behind the "Fire on the Mountain" project; namely, that having Grateful Dead tunes covered by leading Jamaican musicians would cause non-Deadheads to take the Dead’s music more seriously.

This leaves unanswered the question about any natural affinities Reggae fans and Deadheads might share. It is a question without an easy answer, however.

At the level of narcotic recreation, there would certainly seem to be a link. Getting high to appreciate the music is widely considered de rigueur in either case.

But listen again more closely to "Casey Jones" as sung by the duo known as the Wailing Souls. When they sing "Ridin’ that train, high on cocaine," the disapproving tone reminds the contemporary Reggae aficionado of Pato Banton’s line "I do not snort the coke, I only smoke sinsemillia. Cocaine is clearly the drug par excellence of a-Babylon, mon. I and I Rasta no wan’."

Beyond the realm of physical pleasure, however, Rastas and Deadheads would appear to be separated by more than unites them. For all the counter-culture political trappings that surrounded the "long strange trip" that was the Dead’s career, Deadheads were primarily party animals. When all is said and done, "let’s boogie" was the operative political slogan. By contrast, Reggae’s roots are firmly planted in the soil of the Rastafarian culture of Jamaica, whose political message is one of anti-colonial struggle, resistance and pride in all things African.

In that world symptomatic of the global political and cultural upheavals of the late 20th Century, Deadheads can never be more than mere tourists.

[back]

The Great Conspiracy Theory Part 3...The Music Conspiracy
John Starling
Features Editor

Things happen in the entertainment world sometimes that seem a little odd, don’t you think?

Who are these mysterious figures that vote on all the awards that are given out and how do they choose who wins? It all seems a little fishy to me. I’m inclined to believe that there’s a group of Mafioso-type men sitting in a smoke-filled room somewhere deciding who they think should win the Oscar and the Grammy this year. It’s not a far fetch. Ever seen "Casino"?

At any rate, it’s hard to believe that the people who win actually deserve it. Maybe they just paid the right people the right amount of protection money. It certainly can’t be the quality of the music.

Let’s think back a couple of years, shall we? Remember the 1988 Grammy awards, when they introduced the "Best Heavy Metal" category? It was Metallica all the way. No question about that one, right? I mean, they put out their seminal ...And Justice For All that year. There couldn’t have possibly been any good competition for them. At least not in the heavy metal-buying-public’s eyes. Somehow, old-timers Jethro Tull won. I didn’t even know they put anything out that year.

Mysteriously, Metallica became multi-platinum superstars within a matter of years. The secret society must’ve realized their blunder and awarded Metallica what was apparently a sympathy award for their cover of Queen’s "Stone Cold Crazy" from 1990’s Rubaiyat compilation. Still stuck in the old-school rut, huh, fellas. Not to be out-done the band did eventually win a Grammy for their own work.

And how about those other wacky awards shows? I feel somehow in the dark with things like the Oscars, Video Music Awards, the Emmies, the American Music Awards and others. The only one that seems accurate to what’s going on, or at least is not so secretive, is the People’s Choice Awards. But does that one really matter? Half of you may not have even heard of it. Somebody’s keeping our real feelings about performers suppressed.

There’s other things besides the awards mystery to think about. Is Elvis dead? There are reports that he was involved with the C.I.A. If anybody could fake a death, those guys could. At press time, Elvis was reportedly content in his new job as a janitor at a Jiffy Lube outside of St. Louis. Don’t try to hide, fat man. We know where you are!!!

There is another widely circulated theory that’s currently being peddled on the internet. Many people out there seem to think that Kurt Cobain of Nirvana didn’t kill himself. He was murdered!!! Tom Grant, a private investigator who was originally hired by Courtney Love to find Cobain while he was missing just days before his death, is the main source of these theories. He seems to be pointing an accusing finger at Love, the one who had the most to gain by Cobain’s death. His work is not totally out there, either. If you read the files he’s accumulated, you’d be a little quizzical about the whole mess.

The thought of Cobain brings to mind a club in which he is a dubious member: the rock n’ roll 27-club. This is for rockers who died at the tender age of (you guessed it) 27. Among the other deaths are Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and Jim Morrison. They were all huge stars knocked down in their prime allegedly from their own excesses.

The fact that these were perhaps some of the most influential people of their time is an eerie coincidence with their deaths, don’t you think? Could there be a group of watch-dogs that keeps their eyes on rock stars and other entertainers that get too much power? Let’s keep in mind that we lost others at an early age: James Dean, John Belushi, Buddy Holly, Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye and Marilyn Monroe to name a few. Power and influence can be as dangerous as they can be enticing.

Some things seem a little outlandish, though. What about this "Paul is dead" phenomenon that has surrounded the (obviously alive) ex-Beatle since his days in the Fab Four? Someone allegedly took his place in the band after a horrific car crash (no one’s sure if it was fatal or terribly disfiguring). Somehow Paul was still alive or cute enough to break the band up in the end. No pun intended.

There’s lots to think about and digest as far as the entertainment business goes. It’s a dirty world of things we don’t know, and probably don’t want to know. But still we’re intrigued by the mysteries of the business. To paraphrase the Black Crowes, it’s a conspiracy...

[back]

Student artist featured in Looking Glass Gallery
Danny Sink
Staff Writer

"Subconscious is what most inspires me to make art. Dreams especially give me ideas for both paintings and sculptures. I am not interested in copying reality, but in finding out what else exists," read the statement from Amy Poteat, an art major at Appalachian.

Poteat recently held an exhibition of paintings and sculptures in the Student Union. Upon entering Looking Glass Gallery you could find a world of color and feelings vividly expressed through these works of art.

"It is fine if every person who looks at (the exhibition) perceives something different than the next person," said Poteat. And it’s a good thing she feels this way because almost everyone perceives something different when looking at these works. Some people said they could see a very strong feminist statement of equality and breaking free from oppression. Others believed they could see the release from ignorance and depression into knowledge and joy. The works become what the viewer wants them to be.

Upon first looking at many of these works, you may find yourself wondering about their composition. This is not surprising considering the materials that have been used in their construction.

The list ranges from common paints and canvases to hair and dolls.

"This body of work is an exploration of the use of different materials in spontaneous ways," says Poteat. "These are all beginnings and trials that have acquainted me with the ideas and techniques that I want to use in the future."

The images in the exhibit ranged from a creative self portrait to a mannequin and dolls composition, to a book-like expressionist piece. They also represent a chance for everyone to look in and find something about themselves in each individual piece.

The exhibit concluded its showing last Friday, Nov. 15. With the talent exhibited by this young artist, there are sure to be others. Expect to hear the name of Amy Poteat again.

[back]

[News] [Opinion] [Sports] [Etc...] [Announcements] [Online Extras]

E-mail The Appalachian Online at theapp@conrad.appstate.edu