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Global Medicine, The Universal Language of Health and Human Rights
The field of medicine has never been neutral. As healthcare professionals, our daily goal should be nothing short of curing the world. That involves more than simply applying band-aids. That involves addressing the underlying causes of human suffering on our planet and speaking out on behalf of those who’s voices have been silenced. The language … Continue reading
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A blog, a business, a better future. Modeofaide is complex in theory, simple in approach. A blog dedicated to the arcane beauty of life and the subtleties of humanitarianism. A developing business that seeks to provide the highest quality apparel while making aide-work not only fashionable, but pragmatic as well. A future in which the … Continue reading
Watching a family share a meal provides a great insight into the dynamics of their relationship, and if you enjoy both statistics and keeping up with the times, it’d be a safe bet to assume you know that the American meal-sharing landscape is a tarnished one. Fortunately for you and this review, I’ve found the … Continue reading
William S. Burroughs once philosophically pondered, “Which came first, the intestine or the tapeworm?” While philosophers are off somewhere hotly debating the topic, one thing is for certain; they were born in the same household, and they certainly grew up together. Tapeworms have certainly held an interesting place in the American landscape, viewed with fear, … Continue reading
I walked into the retirement home, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Dressed up as a life-size Raggedy Andy, big red wig and all, I couldn’t help but laugh at myself. I felt vulnerable, as if everyone was looking at me, and indeed my suspicions were validated as every eye in the room had … Continue reading
In 1951, on what I would imagine to have been a very sunny day in Redlands, California, my grandparents embraced marriage. Harry S. Truman was the President of the United States at the time, and Nat King Cole was unleashing soulful hit after hit upon the general public. Their story began, interestingly enough, in a … Continue reading
Perspective. We all possess one. As an individual behind a lens, one is able to control the perspective of the viewer, and provide a sense of visual integrity to the audience. This comes at a cost though, for the captor of this moment in time is undeniably lost in the brevity of the situation. Although … Continue reading
Stumbling across a quaint, local bakery has always yielded positive results, and this most recent instance was no exception. While on a brief vacation back home, we managed to wander over to a local cake shop, Patty’s Cakes and Desserts, in Fullerton, California. A small, charmingly decorated store greeted us along with the friendly face … Continue reading
Please do not let the absurd title fool you; there is a certain truth to it. In a recent guest lecture given by Lincoln Johnson in the Developmental Neurobiology course at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as he was describing Age-Related Macular Degeneration, he referred to the eye as possessing distinct “retinal architecture.” While … Continue reading
As a biology student at the University of California, Santa Barbara, I have had the privilege of experiencing a number of fascinating and unique courses, none more inspiring than the Underserved Medicine Seminar. The seminar, put on by the bright folks at Doctors Without Walls-Santa Barbara Street Medicine, sought to enlighten attendees to the medical plight … Continue reading
The Birth Of American Eugenics On November 24, 1859, Charles Darwin’s book, On The Origin Of Species, was published. This ushered in a new era of biology as the principles of evolution and natural selection became catalysts of scientific progress. Darwin, seeing the potential application of his work in regards to human evolution, commented … Continue reading
Bonsai, by definition, is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees in a container. The most rudimentary form was first observed around 4000 B.C., in ancient Egyptian pictorials in which containers cut out of stone held the tiny tree. Subsequently, the Chinese adopted it and referred to the practice as penzai. Then, during the time … Continue reading
Aristotle believed that “men acquire a particular quality by constantly acting in a particular way.” Aristotle understood the mechanisms of humanity far too well. A typical interpretation of such an idea in the culture of today might assume a tie-in to classical conditioning. The practice of conditioning has been understood in psychological terms for many … Continue reading
As I took this photo on a road trip along PCH with some of my best friends, the words of Ray Bradbury came flooding into my mind as to the mythical history of lighthouses, taken from my favorite short story, The Fog Horn. “One day many years ago a man walked along and stood in the … Continue reading
“I did this without thinking. I acted not as I thought I should but as I had no choice but to do.” An aide doctor caught sight of movement just out of his frame at a feeding center in war torn Somalia circa 1992. Scanning the mound of bodies that rested near the medical tent, a … Continue reading
