David Amaguer, Rex Hausmann and Russell Stephenson exhibition: Objective Space at Bihl Haus starting August 28, 2009

From Bihl Haus Arts:

What do flowers in the fireplace, graffiti on the walls, tanks, an obelisk, sculpted paintings, childhood memories, the color pink, and the cosmos have in common? OBJECTIVE Space, that's what! This exhibit of paintings, interactive installations, and graffiti-inspired works explore the physical, fictive, mental, and spiritual space that is Bihl Haus Arts. The artists are David Almaguer, Rex Hausmann and Russell Stephenson, three members of the Texas Cannons of Proportion (TCP), an artists' collective. We hope you'll join us on Friday August 28, 5:30-8:30 when OBJECTIVE Space opens at Bihl Haus Arts with a rousing, interactive reception.

David Almaguer’s graffiti stencil paintings act as a counterpoint to the vandalism that once enveloped the exterior of Bihl Haus before its transformation. David brings the outside in. His images carry sardonic titles, but his larger-than-life depictions of tricycles, piñatas, and gangster monkeys are mostly about a wide-eyed childhood—with a twist. They lead into a space in time that Almaguer hopes every grownup can still access.

Rex Hausmann asks visitors not to take participation for granted at Bihl Haus. This TCP member uses his own panoply of means to bring attention to the building’s overlooked negative spaces and openings: tall ceiling heights, windows, a fireplace, a trapdoor, and outdoor surroundings. Nothing too small (cupcakes) or too ungainly (foreman tools) should be discounted.

Russell Stephenson’s series of images investigate macrocosmic and microcosmic spaces in which every human being is a part. With abstracted titles such as Requiem Settings or Pulse, Stephenson’s elegant works that employ painting, sculpture and printmaking techniques, refer as much to the dynamism of natural forces as they testify of the OBJECTIVE Space found in private, though no less real, transformations.

See you this Friday, Aug. 28, 5:30-8:30 pm for this not-to-be-missed opening reception!

Why We Need Government-Run Universal Health Insurance and why private health insurance doesn't and cannot work

This video explains pretty well why private health insurance can never be as efficient as a well run national one, such as Medicare for instance.

There are also other reasons why private insurance makes no sense for health.

For insurance to work, everyone paying into the pool must have roughly equal chances of experiencing an unexpected remotely likely event, or an event whose timing is unexpected though the event itself is not.

For example, houses of similar construction, built to code have roughly similar and remote chances of catching fire.

Because the chances of these events happening is remote for any one homeowner and because the costs of the event if it were to occur are very large, people are motivated to purchase insurance and the rates for each insured are low compared to the payout.

For the insurance company it is critical that they be able to make sure they do not insure anyone for whom the presumably remotely likely event is actually very likely. That is why they look for fraud and try to track repeat offenders. However, if you are unlucky enough to have a house fire, you are not more likely to have another house burn down. It is a random event that is unconnected to the likely hood of you having another loss.

Private insurance for health does not work because the need for insurance is largely known to both insureds and the insurer. Sick people want insurance. Healthy people know they are unlikely to need it. So many more sick people want health insurance than healthy people that the company must do what it can to avoid insuring the ill.

If they were to insure people with chronic diseases or who are at risk for disease due to lifestyle and other known risk factors, the premiums would be so high that they would not appeal to the people whose known risk factors were low, and there would be little advantage for the high risk people in having insurance because the yearly premiums would approach the yearly cost of their medical bills.

When you buy an individual health insurance policy, you must be healthy. If you have any pre-existing condition, the insurance company will exclude it, either for life or for a number of years. So they gather a pool of initially healthy people who pay premiums into a pool.

As some of the initially healthy people age and become sick, payments are made from the pool and rates rise. When rates rise high enough the people who are still healthy find that they can switch carriers and join a premium pool that includes only people like themselves who are healthy for the moment. The people in bad health, of course cannot switch to a lower cost plan.

As more and more healthy people leave the pool, sick people begin to dominate it and rates skyrocket. Even if the policyholders cannot be canceled (which is not the current law nationwide) the rates go up and up until they cannot afford the premiums.

This is known to every single person in the insurance industry who has ever studied the principles of insurance. The health insurance industry knows that their business model is an inappropriate use of insurance.

TEEN CANTEEN (1st located at our neighborhood's own Jefferson UMC) Reunion August 23, 2009

The first location of San Antonio's TEEN CANTEEN was right here in the Jefferson neighborhood at the Jefferson United Methodist Church.

Here's a link to a fantastic article, Through the Past Brightly, by Margret Moser in the August 17, 2009 Austin Chronicle about the Canteen and the SAMSTOCK, Teen Canteen Reunion show, Saturday August 23, 2009 at Floores Country Store, 14492 Old Bandera Road, Helotes Texas 78023.

Here's either an revised version of Margret's article or something completely different from the Classic San Antonio Facebook Group:

Until a few years ago, San Antonio’s Teen Canteen was relegated to “remember when?” status. The northside nightclub that catered to teenagers during the 1960s and 70s lay forgotten in the city’s musical history…almost. At Samstock: the Teen Canteen Reunion 2009 on Sunday, August 23 at Floore’s Country Store, more than a dozen bands and musicians from its heyday will reunite for fun and to pay tribute to owner-promoter Sam Kinsey.

At the behest of local civic and church groups, Sam Kinsey opened the first Teen Canteen in 1960, at Jefferson Methodist Church Hall. Kinsey played deejay to the youthful crowds, spinning 45s on a portable record player. This was the format for several years, as the Canteen moved around to several locations, including a ballroom dance studio, until it settled at Wonderland (now Crossroads) Mall in 1963.

In its new, larger location, the Teen Canteen went from records to the real thing. It housed two separate stages so bands could perform at the same time during the regular rounds of Battle of the Bands and entertain the hundreds of teens who flocked there. In 1968, the Canteen moved to its last location on Bitters Road across from Northeast Stadium, the place it would occupy until it closed in 1977, a victim of the lowered drinking age and more generous all-ages policies.

In retrospect, the Teen Canteen was the staging ground for San Antonio’s vibrant rock & roll scene before the Beatles until the dawn of punk, and its roster of local and touring bands made it a gem in the crown of Texas music. The Teen Canteen gave many San Antonio and area bands their start, including the Laughing Kind, Homer, the Chayns, the Outcasts, Swiss Movement, Virgil Foxx, the Zilches, Rocksand, Castle, Spook Julius, Mr. Moose, Meadow, Mourning Dove, Stillwater, Excalibur, Nassur Blue, United, and Island.

Those bands and/or members of them will be performing at Samstock. Teen Canteen owner and promoter Sam Kinsey will be in attendance. For website updates and band times, see http://www.mikesbandarchive.com/news

Samstock: the Teen Canteen Reunion 2009 takes place at Floore’s Country Store, 14492 Old Bandera Rd., on Sun. Aug. 23, 4-midnight. Cover is $10, the memories are free.

FOR MORE INFORMATION AND PHOTOS

Neka Scarbrough-Jenkins, 210-573-6352

Margaret Moser, 512-292-3005

* www.mikesbandarchive.com, click "news" for event updates and info
* teencanteensa@gmail.com
* Friends of Teen Canteen San Antonio (facebook)

Why even consider nuclear when Geothermal energy which is clean, reliable and abundant in South Texas has yet to be exploited?

Here's a major event that is especially important since geothermal energy is proposed as a viable, steady, reliable and non-radioactive alternative to expansion of the South Texas Nuclear Project. If after all the possible geothermal resources have been exhausted then perhaps it will be time to look at nuclear.

The San Antonio Geothermal Symposium, is Saturday, September 19, 2009, at Trinity’s Chapman Center Auditorium.

Speakers will discuss the feasibility of residential and commercial geothermal air conditioning and electricity generation. The talks will be geared to the public as well as to energy professionals.

Please come to explore this often neglected generation source in which Texas has the potential to be the number one producer. South Texas has a particular feasibility for geothermal air conditioning and electricity generation. Geothermal is a clean, reliable source of energy that uses mature technology and is fuel-free. The cost and payback time for residential and small business geothermal are roughly equivalent to those of solar photovoltaics. The cost for central geothermal in Texas is projected to be lower than elsewhere because previously drilled spent oil and gas wells can be used for geothermal piping.

Registration starts at 8 am. The program runs from 9 am to 12:10 pm and then from 1 pm to 4 pm. Link to pdf of agenda.

Maria Richards , coordinator of Southern Methodist University’s Geothermal Laboratory, Stathis Michaelides, Chairman of the UTSA Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Glenn Kroeger, Chair of the Trinity University Department of Geosciences, will be among several speakers at this event.

The cost is $25 ($12 for students)

Registration includes continental breakfast, lunch and symposium presentations. Registered Professional Engineers will receive a certificate for 4.0 professional development hours.

The registration deadline is September 12. Seating is limited so registrations will be accepted on a first- received basis until the auditorium capacity is reached. Register by submitting the registration form or by calling 210-999-7601. Link to registration form.

The Chapman Center is located on the western edge of the Trinity University campus. Free campus parking is available in any student or faculty lot for this event. However, parking is not allowed on Rosewood Street. Link to map of Trinity University. Location of auditorium on Google Map.

The San Antonio Geothermal Symposium is sponsored by the Trinity University Engineering Science Department in partnership with the U.S. Green Building Council Central Texas – Balcones Chapter, San Antonio Environmental Policy Office, San Antonio Clean Technology Forum, and University of Texas at San Antonio Mechanical Engineering Department.

Geothermal Resources of Bexar County

Don't miss the week of Design for our Westside Creeks. All sessions open to the public!

The re-creation of our creeks could transform neighborhoods from TJHS to Prospect Hill. This is a very important process to be aware of and to be involved in. Imagine our creeks turned from ditches into things of beauty and pride.

Bihl Haus co-produced dance at the Carver, Saturday August 22, 2009

From the Bihl Haus Arts Complex:

Dear Friends, of Bihl Haus Arts,

Please help support Bihl Haus by attending one of the most beautiful dance performances you'll see all year in San Antonio! RAMAYANA, the classical Indian dance co-produced by Bihl Haus right here in San Antonio, premieres this Saturday, Aug. 22nd, 6:30 pm at THE CARVER (Jo Long) THEATER, 226 N. Hackberry. The production is directed and choreographed by Dr. Sreedhara, founder of Kaveri Natya Yoga, our partner. Principle Indian dancers are coming from New York, San Diego and across Texas to perform. The cast is also made up of dancers from San Antonio, too, including the very elegant Dr. Rajam Ramamurthy, director of the Arathi School of Indian Dance.

RAMAYANA will be danced in the tradition of Bharathanatyam, an ancient Indian form. Sculptural in execution, this dance style employs meaningful hand positions and precise leg and footwork to tell a classic story of the triumph of good over evil. Dancers--forty, yes forty of them!!!--don intricate hand-made costumes in brilliantly colored silks lavishly adorned with beads and ribbons. Each dancer wears tinkling brass ankle bells that create rhythm in response to the slap! of a full flat bare foot. Male dancers are bare chested save for suspender-like straps and golden pectoral chains. Elegant female dancers are coiffed in flowers and ribbons. Their long thick black braids fly behind them as they gracefully spin and dip to exquisite music--music produced and recorded in India specifically for this production and featuring some of India's finest traditional musicians.

This performance of RAMAYANA is the first fundraiser of the year for Bihl Haus Arts. We hope that you'll help support Bihl Haus by purchasing your tickets today, priced at a very reasonable $10 general/$5 seniors, children & military w/ ID. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com, by calling 800-745-3000, at all Ticketmaster outlets, including HEB, or by calling the Carver Box Office, at 210-207-2234.

We hope to see you at The Carver Theater, 226 N. Hackberry, on Saturday, August 22nd, at 6:30 pm!

Historic Home Fair set to help homeowners cope with historic district regulations: August 29, 2009 at Municipal Auditorium

From 9 am to 1 pm on Saturday August 29 at the Municipal Auditorium, the City's Office of Historic Preservation will present a Historic Home Fair intended to help homeowners in the city's myriad of historic districts cope with regulations required for renovation within them.

The event is free and open to the public. Planned sessions include how to improve energy efficiency in acceptable ways, repairing required wood frame windows and what sort of additions to your property that the city might find acceptable.

These sessions are sure to be a big help to homeowners and remove some of the uncertainty that comes with needing approval before beginning changes to your property.

The office is seeking exhibitors for an Exhibitor's fair with products and services of interest to owners of homes within the historic districts.

"Heroes of the Game" Four Square in its true perspective

Thanks to Jefferson United Methodist Church and other generous donors our neighborhood now boasts not only a refurbished basketball court but a refurbished "4-Square". This video explains the game as well as any. Like any game local rule variations apply.



For more information check out www.squarefour.org , gameskidsplay.net, and of course Wikipedia.

Like kickball and dodgeball but in a much, much smaller way, adults have come back to 4 Square to recapture the thrill of youthful competition. A "world's championship" has been held the past few years in Bridgton Maine which has attracted dozens and dozens of spectators and participants. Competition is open people of all ages, shapes and sizes who appear and pay a modest fee. The event is a fundraiser for Lakes Environmental Association.

Is a Texas Four Square Championship in the works for the Jefferson UMC court? It could be a fun collaborative fundraiser for the church and/or various neighborhood associations.

Jefferson Unitied Methodist refurbishes Basketball and 4 Square play area and opens it to the neighborhood

Jefferson United Methodist Church has reached out to the Jefferson area with a gift of play space for adults and children. With the help of some donors they have refurbished the playing area that was once a center of neighborhood and church basketball competition and opened it again to the public.

The court directly across from TJHS has four baskets and a "4 Square" play area. To help make it work for everyone they have laid out the following ground rules:

1. The court is to be used for basketball and "4 Square" only.
2. Basketball games are to be played to a maximum of 15 points (1 basket= 1 [point).
3. The winning team may play until it loses.
4. The church and its ministries have first priority over use of the courts.
5. All four baskets are for everyone's use: men, women, girls and boys.
6. No fighting is allowed.
7. Treat others with respect.
8. Pick up trash and keep the area clean.
9. No alcohol or drugs are allowed.
10. No skateboards, bikes, roller blades or skates are allowed.
11. No vehicles of any kind are allowed
12. No parking is allowed.

If these rules are followed we can enjoy a harmonious addition to our neighborhood. So take a walk around our beautiful neighborhoods, our beautiful high school and take a look at our new play area.

Reform Reality Check: Reform will benefit small business - not burden it

Reform Reality Check: Vets' health care is safe and sound

Health care reform will reduce rationing of care. Insurance companies do it all the time. Reform will reduce it.

Health Insurance Reform Consumer Protections: The Security You get from health insurance reform

From: http://www.whitehouse.gov/health-insurance-consumer-protections/
THE SECURITY YOU GET from health insurance reform:

* No Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions
* Insurance companies will be prohibited from refusing you coverage because of your medical history.
* No Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays
* Insurance companies will have to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge for out-of-pocket expenses.
* No Cost-Sharing for Preventive Care
* Insurance companies must fully cover, without charge, regular checkups and tests that help you prevent illness, such as mammograms or eye and foot exams for diabetics.
* No Dropping of Coverage for Seriously Ill
* Insurance companies will be prohibited from dropping or watering down insurance coverage for those who become seriously ill.
* No Gender Discrimination
* Insurance companies will be prohibited from charging you more because of your gender.
* No Annual or Lifetime Caps on Coverage
* Insurance companies will be prevented from placing annual or lifetime caps on the coverage you receive.
* Extended Coverage for Young Adults
* Children would continue to be eligible for family coverage through the age of 26.
* Guaranteed Insurance Renewal
* Insurance companies will be required to renew any policy as long as the policyholder pays their premium in full. Insurance companies won't be allowed to refuse renewal because someone became sick.

Health Care Reality Check FAQ

Facts about Health Care Reform: Payment if you want to make sure your doctor understands your living will

There is a lot to debate about the merits of any health care reform. It is a complex system which means that any change will have unexpected consequences. It will always be in need of reform and adjustment.

But the opposition to the changes being proposed are not based on fact. The corporations and their Republican allies are using fear and distortion rather than to debate the proposal on its merits.

When the debate becomes about the merits of consumer driven health insurance versus a single payer, versus regulated competition versus a single risk pool then it will become a reasonable debate.

Here is a calm, rational video which debunks one of their most outrageous lies.

Rachel Madow reveals Republicans behind fake grassroots effort to stop health reform.

From the corporations and millionairs who brought us swiftboating and Joe the Plumber comes anti-healthcare mobs.