showcases Archives - Where Is The Outrage?

Movie Review: This is it

I haven’t seen this film yet but it is on my list. My sis has and has written a GREAT review. So –

Elvis fans – shoot yourself now. There is only one King and his name was Michael Joseph Jackson. He ETHERS all competition, there has been nor ever will be anyone like him. What This Is It shows you is pure artistic genius. This is an artist who knows what he wants and how to do it from lyrical intonation, to choreography, to film, to stage design. This man looked at a stage full of dancers and was able to say “She’s the one.” When a musician moved a nano-second too quickly from chord to chord, Michael stopped him and said, “Not so fast, you have to let it simmer. It needs to be bathed in moonlight.” My creative heart just fluttered. Bathed in moonlight (stealing it).
I embarrassed BougieMom… just a little bit. From after the opening segment through the end credits, I (and most of the audience) sang, danced, clapped, and cheered. At one point I attempted to get up to do the Thriller dance and she cut me an indulgent but definite side-eye. I eased back into the seat. To compound issues, we were in a theater that served food and drinks and yes, I ordered the gigantic Long Island Iced Tea. Since I hadn’t eaten since breakfast by four sips in, I was feeling every bit of the groove. More than once I let, “Get it Michael, you go boy!” fall right out of my mouth.
I won’t spoil which songs he sings or what the overall show feels like except to say that it’s an extravaganza for the senses. From start to close, it showcases amazing talent, dedication and attention to detail. Honestly, his rehearsal footage was better than most live performances I’ve been to. As we are all sadly aware, most of today’s “marquee” singers can’t hold a note without production help and autotune. This dude not only breaks off acapella riffs, he mimics instruments with his voice to let the musician know how it’s supposed to sound.
His doctor deserves to be shot. It comes to you about midway through the movie that this is a guy FULL of life and focused on the future. If he was some sort of doped-up druggie, he hid it amazingly well. Hell, I was tired just watching him move around. I really had to make a conscious decision to enjoy the feeling and the music and not dwell on the grief. But it was very hard to reconcile this vibrant live wire of an entertainer with someone who is no longer with us. You look at him up there larger than life and cannot comprehend how he ended up dead. If the jury for Dr. Caribbean Kevorkian’s trial sees this movie, he’s going under the jail. (more…)

Doctors and Medicare Reimbursement

Now, before everyone gets all teary eyed, I can think of no other profession that has had 20 years of salary cuts. My father made more money in 1979 as a family practitioner than the average family doctor makes today. This whole system is crazy. Ever wonder why M.D.’s are hurried and upset?

I support the AMA on this issue. I have called my Senators. We’ll see if it will do any good.

The honest truth is that our government has tried to balance the national budget on the backs of physicians for over 20 years. Since physicians are not unified and they don’t have an effective lobby, lawmakers have found it easy to crank back on payments and reimbursement for years.

———-

From New York Times:

Congress returns to work this week with Medicare high on the agenda and Senate Republicans under pressure after a barrage of radio and television advertisements blamed them for a 10.6 percent cut in payments to doctors who care for millions of older Americans.

The advertisements, by the American Medical Association, urge Senate Republicans to reverse themselves and help pass legislation to fend off the cut.

How to pay doctors through the federal health insurance program is an issue that lawmakers are forced to confront every year because of what is widely agreed to be an outdated reimbursement formula. But the dispute, which showcases the continued potency of health care issues, has reached a new level of urgency this year. Some doctors are reassessing their participation in the program and powerful interests on all sides are in a lobbying frenzy. (more… )