Healthcare, Poverty, Homelessness...and Matt

Thank you all for the suggestions about getting My Book published. Maybe it will be in print by the time the anniversaries of the historic events portrayed occur. That means about 6 weeks.

Do you remember your third grade crush? Well, Matt does...later in this post.

U. S. News and World Report focuses on Health and Wellness in their February 2009 issue that came the other day. It will take a while to read all the "good stuff," but a couple of things already stand out.

There is a listing of the nation's "Least Fit Metro Areas." This is based on per cent of residents who follow expert's advice and exercise 150 minutes per week. Birmingham is number 6 least fit(39.5%). Chattanooga was the # 1 least fit (37.3), and Mobile and Tuscaloosa followed B'ham at number 7 and 8. The most fit Metro area is Boulder, Co (67.1). No southern cities are in the "most fit" top 10. All 10 "least fit" are in southern states.

The magazine also offers "12 Most Effective Prevention Measures," things like smoking cessation, colorectal screening, pneumococcal immunization...and others. Since I score the maximum on all of these (two had to do with women's health and do not apply) shouldn't my health insurance cost be lower than average? A lot lower? Well, it's not.

Tomorrow, New Baptist Covenant is holding their regional meeting in Birmingham at the Civil Rights Institute and historic 16th Street Baptist and Church and St. Paul's United Methodist Church. The theme for the day will be Good News for the Poor. Bobby and I are registered to attend and look forward to hearing Dr. Wayne Flynt speak on "The History of Poverty in Alabama," a documentary "Beneath the Skin: Baptists and Racism," and a worship service with President Jimmy Carter. There are lots of other sessions to choose from, but we can't attend them all.

Today, remember the free BeatLads concert on the roof of Church of the Reconciler. Don't forget to bring a blanket or a coat to benefit the homeless .

Oh, people are apparently missing the music videos, so here is one. This guy, Matt Alber (already claimed by Homer as his new internet crush) has a wonderful voice. Listen to "Monarch" the first song that plays on the Matt Alber link (or watch the video below). He's got a little Rufus Wainwright sound to him.

Then watch this. He performed the alto soloist in Handel's "Messiah."


Here's how he describes it. "I performed Handel's "The Messiah" as the alto soloist with the world renown baroque orchestra Musica Angelica in Los Angeles, directed by Chunguk Lee.Singing with these players was one of the most exciting musical experiences of my life. This is a challenging aria, but these players provide the true fire with which to fly upon. Thank you, Chung, for an experience of a lifetime."

At the Matt Alber link you can listen to several of his songs...including song #3, Field Trip Buddy, about his same-sex third grade crush. Hmm...I remember mine... (Big sigh)

Here's his video for Monarch: