Wedding Plans 4
I’ll be honest, having worked at a fine dining restaurant in DFW that often had a mariachi band playing out front – these fuckers can get pricey. And why wouldn’t they? At least 4 trained musicians, playing good music*? But people can and do try to whittle down their rates, sometimes using ridiculous bargaining chips.
*I personally love mariachi music live, but YMMV.
Big days recently in the news. Love him or hate him, G.W. Bush certainly stacked the deck alright. And our constitutional rights continue to erode. Does it bother anyone else that these recent decisions have all been 5-4 split? I dunno about you, but that isn’t a decisive ruling, in my mind. But it is what it is.
And then we have THIS bullshit, which sticks in my craw in so many ways, it feels like I’m trying to swallow a handful of broken glass. Gosh, you’re invested in the Gun Control topic because you managed to create a child? So did I. You want your child to grow up in a world without unwarranted gun violence? So do I. But because you know nothing about guns, and think they’re a frightful boogeyman, you expect me to respect you? Eat a bag of dogshit and die in a fiery hell.
Idiots. Idiots abounding.
Again, Mental Health Care is the answer. But that takes effort and time. Lord knows, we can’t have that. No, let’s just ban certain guns because they look scary to mommies whose only “gun expertise” is that they think guns are bad (blanket statement) and kids are holy.
Ugh.
Hey! You have to EARN the right to die in a fiery hell.
You’re right, drowning in a septic tank is a much apropriate fate for this ”think of the children” crusaders.
“Think of the children” crusaders invariably choose the crusade that affects the .0000000000001%, not where the majority of harm comes from. I bet NONE of them could name the 5 leading causes of death in kids 14 and under.
This is because picking on those whom are unpopular (or cannot fight back for whatever reason) minimizes collateral damage to the crusaders’ fragile egos when they get rejected. After all, they’re only trying to help… And if some obvious barbarians or malcontents don’t like it, well, obviously that has no bearing on the crusaders’ moral superiority. Does it? Naaah…
Damn. Old as I am, I’m still too young to be this cynical.
that’s a fate I’d only wish on a very select few… *Shudders*
My brother does weddings and receptions at his ballroom and I help out as I can. The last wedding we did featured a mariachi band with a harpist, accordian, violin and guitar. It worked – they were good – but it was definitely strange seeing and hearing them. I’m too used to guitar and brass mariachi bands.
“Think of the children! If only mommy was allowed to carry her gun, she could’ve returned fire and stopped the psycho-shooter!”
this in the wrong place?
I don’t think so.
Think of the children! A mariachi band!
I can’t personally think of anything more psycho than a mariachi band! 😉
Agreed, we need better mental health care. Trouble is implementing it. Some people want to go back to the days where more folks were put into state mental institutions. They forget a couple of things, like what hellholes those institutions were (watch ‘Titicutt Follies’ if you can find it, not ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ for a genuine picture of how bad it was), as well as the fact plenty of non-nuts people were put in those institutions for being simply eccentric, pregnant out of wedlock, or maybe even some flavor of politics which was outside the mainstream. And while modern medicine has greatly helped many folks with mental problems to where they don’t need to be institutionalized, they still have to take their meds, and badshit can happen when they don’t. At least when in institutions, they were made to take their medicine. It’ll be a tough discussion for our nation to have, but no one wants to have it, other than the broad statement “we need better mental health care’. No one wants to discuss details.
Plus there’s some indication that more than a few of our mass shooters in recent times -one of the Dylan/Kliebold duo, Adam Lamza, possibly the Aurora shooter- had all been on anti-depressants. But few talk about that. There’s a lack of hard evidence there due to medical privacy laws. And if you want to go the Alex Jones route, Big Pharma might be suppressing evidence that some anti-depressant users go psycho-shooter because it’d hurt their profits.
There were some good hospitals that helped people, and some good doctors that made a difference in how people were treated while getting treatment. Dr. Zeller among them.
I have a little related idle speculation also lacking in hard evidence…
I’m curious to know how often bipolar disorder is misdiagnosed as clinical depression. This is important because antidepressants can make BPD worse. Take somebody with moderate but livable Bipolar II (and possibly poor self-esteem), add a hefty dose of antidepressants that induce mania or (better yet) a mixed state, and you have a potential recipe for disaster.
The reason why bipolar can be misdiagnosed as depression is simply that it’s easier to get a bipolar person into the psychiatrist’s office when they’re on the depressive phase. You won’t be able to pin them down long enough for them to voluntarily walk in if they’re manic – be it euphoric or dysphoric mania, or even mixed state. Since unmedicated mania finishes out with exhaustion, physical and mental crashing, you’ll have a depressed person on your hands by the time they’ve slowed down again.
Mental health care of any real effectiveness will take a full history when the patient has their first appointment. This requires having a minimum of 30 minutes, concentrating on talking to the patient and registering their responses. This is too often out of the question unless you pay for private care. Most psychiatrists will simply sling whatever treatment is suggested by their current presentation at them, and at a general family doctor’s practice you’d be lucky to get that much consideration. Worryingly, given the general staffing of a psych unit in a hospital…it’s the conveyor belt mode of medicine there as well.
For the record, it’s really the SSRI family of anti-depressants that can induce mania. It’s possible to prescribe a bipolar person anti-depressants from another family to take care of the downswings without screwing with their mood on the other side. But again, it needs proper regular assessments.
The answer to your question is that in this NHS area of England, 78% of people seen by the bipolar/manic depression support services were previously wrongly diagnosed with depression. 4.75% were wrongly diagnosed with schizophrenia. I don’t know how many people are still out there with a false diagnosis.
78%. Ye gods.
I was aware of the likelihood of bipolar patients being initially seen when depressed–that’s what made me wonder what the frequency is of misdiagnosis. I’m interested in what you said about SSRIs; my perhaps-mistaken impression was that inducing mania is a problem for reuptake inhibitors in general (ie, almost everything prescribed now) and not limited specifically to SSRIs.
Either way, I think there’s a hint of an answer here to “how can we improve mental health care”.
Worse, remember that these 78% are in the group that eventually received a correct diagnosis.
Not every NHS area in the UK has decent mental health care, let alone a specialised support system for bipolar people.
The three neurotransmitters that have RIs keyed to them (except for experimental or offlabel drugs) are serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine. Each of these produces a different effect; serotonin is the most likely to trigger mania. I was prescribed a DRI that gave me total Jello tremors 24/7. Older antidepressants are sometimes prescribed, like MAOIs or heterocyclics that are no longer the front line for treating clinical depression.
Care is not going to improve until health services have the funding to provide training, awareness and a psychiatrist who can spend more than 10 minutes with a patient per appointment.
My ex-husband has bipolar I. He was originally misdiagnosed with major depressive disorder. Reason being: He went to the doctor during a severe, protracted depressive episode. Went to a general practitioner, not a psychiatrist. The GP only asked him about the depression and didn’t ask any screening questions that might have exposed his manic and hypomanic episodes. GP put him on Lexapro (sans mood stabilizers), which shot him straight into a euphoric mania. Which turned into a truly horrible mixed episode, complete with psychotic features. Which landed him in the psych hospital, where he finally received the BP diagnosis. So yeah, I’d guess BP gets misdiagnosed as MDD a lot, since the depressive episodes, not the manic/hypomanic episodes, are most likely to be what get people in to the doctor.
Um, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was written based on the author spending ONE summer as the night janitor at a state mental hospital in the 1950s, while he was (by his own admission) stoned out of his mind on mescaline and LSD pretty much every waking moment.
It is somewhat misleading as a factual presentation of the actual situation that existed in the 1960s and early 1970s in mental hospitals. (But did, along with “patient advocates” pushing for unlimited release of anyone who would theoretically be sane if voluntarily drugged up, contribute to driving some very sick people out of mental hospitals and on to the streets – where they promptly quit taking their meds, dropped between the cracks, and lived in squalor while suffering from untreated schizophrenia and psychosis.)
“(watch ‘Titicutt Follies’ if you can find it, not ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest’ for a genuine picture of how bad it was)”
You do know you’re not disagreeing, right?
My mom worked at the infamous Steilacoom (Western State) mental ward in the early 50’s during nursing training.
Wanna hear some horror stories? Talk to mom.
Can’t we all just be pro-choice and not attempt to control other’s lives? We need a corporate sponsored grass roots movement like:
Brothers Against Rich Fabulist Bloomberg’s Anti Gun Stuff. (You know you want to be one!!)
I’ve actually seen worse acronyms than that. (At the least, they were equally bad and completely unintentional.)
Everyone being pro choice is just too sensible. We can’t have people respecting other’s opinions and choices. It’s simply too rational. Think of the children!! *snort*
I think it’s a GREAT idea. I think MDA SHOULD get more involved. No, no, hear me out. Let them support their candidates, and cuddle up with them. Then as the Leland Yee’s get exposed for what they are, it’ll drag them down with them. It’s not like this astro-turf movement has any legs. If it has to keep getting cash infusions from Bloomberg to hold it up, we’re winning. NRA survives(and dare I say it, THRIVES) because of it’s own supporters. Everytown Moms Demand Action from Mayors with Illegal Guns is loved by the elitists behind the walls of a gated community. While they may have a few very wealthy donors, WE ARE LEGION!
I’m a mom. My idea of moms for gun safety is making sure my offspring knows the Four Rules and can recite them in his sleep. (Which he can.)
This. Oh, in this crowd, you’re hardly the only one, but nice to see you here none-the-less. 🙂
I’ll note that my daughter can ‘spot the menace’ on the range as fast as she can on the highway. ‘Tis a fun and educationsl game to play. (Hint: If you can’t spot the menace in five seconds, *you* are the menace)
Hard to compare range to highway here because … well, no ranges … but if I drive half an hour without noticing at least one other person driving like a selfish, half-asleep, impatient, egotistical dickhead I have to assume that either I’m not paying enough attention and need to stop for a coffee or it’s 3am.
What it boils down to is situation alertness.
When one of us says ‘Spot the Menace!’ the other has five seconds to respond with the closest dangerous person, situation, and event that they can observe. If they cannot identify the a menace, then they themselves are the menace – either because of failure of situation awareness, or because – all other things being equal – if no one around you is acting the idiot, then you’re the one most likely to cause or initiate the next event that causes you harm.
I started playing this game with my daughter when she was six, though in those days it was ‘spot the idiot’ – Usually cyclists riding badly, or wearing inappropriate attire / missing safety gear. The intent was to teach her safety in a way that became a part of her automatic world view. It has since then progressed to looking out for more than just cyclists, to include all manner of vehicles, and firearms safety too.
MDA annoys me to no end. I have a pair of girls, they are 6 and 3 they have been around firearms the entirety of their lives. Why? I want them to know and respect what they can do. When I open my safe they come to see what daddies ‘playing’ with and we have the talk about what to do if they find one or even a bullet for that matter. I tossed a X54R round in my 3 year-olds carseat and she found it and promptly called to me telling me she had found it. Never been prouder of her.
My girls will know and respect firearms next year the oldest gets a BB gun for her birthday as well. 😉
You’ll put your eye out!!
In all seriousness, it’s great that you’re teaching your kids early about gun safety. That’s parenting done right.
It’s the right thing to do. I will always own firearms. That was one condition my wife had to get used to herself. She is from a very antigun home now she wants to get her CCW permit for hers and our daughter’s protection she also owns her first gun a SCCY CPX-1 and wants her next one. Talk about a total 180 change.
That’s a guitar, bass, two fiddles and a trumpet. Five professionals working
for $20 an hour and you want to bargain them down?
Of course food and drinks should be included!
Sad that people still think musicians will play for free “for the love of it”.
And those costumes don’t pay for themselves! 🙂
GOOD Mariachi band? There’s no such thing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtfBrw5CiIg
Well, if Albert Gore, Jr., had been our President from 2000-2008 we wouldn’t have the Heller and McDonald gun rights decisions; and, post-Newtown in a Gore administration we’d have, at the very minimum, a new Assault Weapons Ban, far more comprehensive than the last one, and with no grandfathering.
And what have Obama’s picks done for gun rights?
http://youtu.be/TsDgKk-iBDY
You need to see when Mariachi El Bronx is touring in your neighborhood. Great live band, plus us gringos can understand the words
I don’t see the prayer decision as “eroding our rights” in any way. Not sure why some are going ape-shit over that one.
A guy calls the musicians’ guild to get a quote on a 6 piece band for a wedding. The rep says “Off the top of my head, about $2000”. He says, “WHAT? FOR MUSIC?. “The rep responds ” I’ll tell you what. Call the plumbers’ union & ask for six plumbers to work from 6 to midnight on a Saturday night. Whatever they charge you, we’ll work for half.”
Maybe get a blister on your little finger,
Maybe get a blister on your thumb. 😀
Just going to throw this out there. Omar and Maria get married, Omar lives like a king for a couple of months blows all the cash he made from the sale and has to go back to work at the shop with Mick now his boss.
“Twenty-six states have strengthened gun laws since Newtown, but 28 have weakened them, according to data compiled by the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, also based in San Francisco.”
Apparently there are 54 states now.