Michael Moore.

Michael has been in hospital, and has bills to pay.

As many of you know, Michael has been doing peritoneal dialysis for the last few years. (That's the herbalist Michael Moore, not the twit.) A few weeks ago he got peritonitis, was hospitalized, was in intensive care for a few days, and is now at home, chipping away at his DVD course, doing fairly well.

And I expect that he has hospital bills that need paying. As a Finn, I don't even want to imagine how tall that bill might be. Here's what herbal folks can do to help:

1) there's a 501c3 Herbalists Medical Fund Health Fund set up by the AHG; 100 per cent of donations will go to Michael. To donate write your check to "Herbalists Medical Trust Health Fund" and mail it to: AHG Office, 141 Nob Hill Rd, Cheshire, CT, 06410. Tax breaks apply this year on donations before Dec 31. You can also pay by credit card or by wire transfers - if you first contact Tracy at the AHG office, ahgoffice@earthlink.net, or tel: (203) 272 6731. Of course, if that "tax deductible" is moot for you, cos you're not in the US, or you don't have tax, or whatever, you can send your check or whatever to Donna or Michael. Their addresses are on Michael's site.

2) Michael Moore has a CD set with .mp3s on his site. I bought that set a year or so ago. I also invested in an .mp3 player (it's an el cheapo USB drive with some twiddlings) (a word to the wise: if you do buy an el cheapo .mp3 player, go for one which can go backwards and forwards within tracks. You'll need it.), and have been giggling my way through these recordings.
That's almost 122 hours worth of herbal-medical information, and it'll set you back by $100 (or, if you're on the other side of one or the other pond as seen from the US, $110).
The file names are deceptive: Abies, yes, that's about Abies (fir), but it's also about cell physiology and stomach ulcers. On the Acalypha track you'll get told about stomach physiology, and the Achillea file also mentions alteratives and how to use artemisias for sweatings.
And there's mutterings like "Botanists. They have nothing to do, and they already have hairy palms, so they've gone and renamed Cimicifuga to Actaea." sprinkled throughout the recordings. Which are all the funnier because he's muttering these to a full class of students ...

So go, buy the CD set, or donate, cos Michael and Donna (and their finances) probably need a bit of boosting right now.

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Would you believe that I have 15.3 GB of .mp3 files on my hard drive? You would? Right then, would you believe 15.3 GB of herbal .mp3 files? That's, lemme see, 356 hours in 1057 tracks. It keeps me busy, for when I'm out and about. (Michael's Materia Medica CD set is only 2.5 GB - it's well compressed.)

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Related entries: I'm a fan - Michael Moore update - RIP: Michael Moore