-----Original Message-----
From: D. M. Moore Being "blessed" with a person next door who thinks it's fun to play rap
music all day long with the bass turned up loud is wearing on my nerves.
Anyone know if there's scientific evidence to prove that repetitive sounds
induce stress? Hello Diane and list,This is another "bigger picture rant" I have been saving up... :o) Diane, in the absence of effective landlord or police intervention, is there any kind of "tenants' rights" advocate where you live? Yes, there is overwhelming evidence that noise can and indeed does induce stress, on myriad levels. Check out one of my favourite websites - tons of relevant information...: Right to Quiet Society for Soundscape Awareness and Protection http://www.quiet.org/ Here is a bit of a "teaser" from this site:
"We want our homes to be havens from unwanted noise, and we ask that the soundscape of our public
spaces -- which is common property, like the air we breathe -- be respected. We insist on our right to listen, or not listen, to music and other program audio according to our own
tastes and moods, without having other people's choices forced on us wherever we go." From the wonderful book, "Chanting - Discovering Spirit in Sound" by Robert Gass, on the harmful effects of noise: "Noise literally can make us sick...Cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and high levels of stress - even some cancers - have been found to increase with increasing noise pollution." Contemporary society is beset with stress, excess noise, "sensory overload" and general pathology on so many levels. The causes of this lie in many sources - "boom boxes", "muscle cars", "choppers", addictive "spirit/mind/bodysets", mainstream media, polarized politicians, "bigger, cheaper, faster" mentalities, greed, brittle and dispassionate social and educational structures, selfishness, separation from nature and our "spiritual selves"... As a musician, I feel a certain sense of "mission" to advocate for interdependent "eco-aesthetics"... Oh, to be like the white-robed Spock in Star Trek IV, with his "Vulcan grip thing", calmly taking out the obnoxious "ghetto blaster dude" on the city bus...:o) Hope I haven't ranted too much... I miss the old "Vocalist-Backstage". There is much healing to be done... Blessings and Happy Solstice to all. Michael Eckford <michaelb@yknet.yk.ca>
more rants at http://www.angelfire.com/me/interdependence/, which really needs some work...
Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada "Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them." - Albert Einstein | 
