Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my blog! My goal here is to get more personal – and simply share stuff with my friends, family, and patients!  You can expect some posts on the latest advances in cosmetic surgery (although it seems like there’ll be a fair amount of music-related posts – they’re too much fun to make!) I also expect that we’ll have more contests and free stuff, special events and even very special guests!

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Mr Jelly Lord horizontal crop 2

Mr. Jelly Lord – Jelly Roll Morton

January 23, 2024

Mr. Jelly Lord (1:33) Recorded 1/21/24 Jelly Roll Morton, born October 20, 1890 in New Orleans, has been called the first great composer and piano player in jazz. Actually, Morton once confessed that his innovations resulted from his inability to remember and play ragtime pieces properly. He had to “fudge” the notes. His improvisations led him to create loose, swinging rhythms that were more informal than ragtime, and sounded a lot more fun. Morton was jazz’s first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated. I can personally attest to that. How else would a kid from the Philadelphia suburbs be able to record this song 100 years later? His composition “Jelly Roll Blues”, published in 1915, was one of the first published jazz compositions. He also claimed to have invented jazz. I don’t know about that (Louis Armstrong and others might also take issue with that claim), but he was certainly foundational and very influential in the development of jazz from ragtime. Morton had an eye for the ladies and the charm of a snake oil salesman. To tide himself over, from time to time, he put his talents to use as a […]

On the good ship lollipop

On the Good Ship Lollipop

December 7, 2021

On The Good Ship Lollipop Tribute to Shirley Temple   What can I say about Shirley Temple (who passed away today – December 7 – at age 85)? I will miss her but never forget her spirit. Thanks for all your smiles!  We should all slow down and watch a Shirley Temple movie soon!  In the meantime… Enjoy, Dr. Weiss Dedicated to Josh and Lana

The Scream

Help! John Lennon’s cri de couer

July 19, 2021

Help!   Dear family of patients, On this summer day July 19, 1965 – 56 years ago, the Beatles released the single “Help!” (now ranked at number 29 on the Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.) I remember listening to it over and over again with my brother in his room on our portable 45 rpm record player.  I also remember wrestling with my brother while listening to the B-side “I’m Down” (OK, I was 12 and my brother was 10.) I sent you this song as an Earth Day video a few months ago, but looking back, I now feel that the importance of the Earth Day message as well as the accompanying visuals (not to mention my amateur vocals) detracted from simply enjoying the beautiful sound of this arrangement and instrumentation (Bösendorfer Grand piano sample on the Yamaha Clavinova.) I can’t quite put my finger on it, but the aural quality and chord changes alone, sans lyrics, seem to express all the existential angst of our current global pandemic moment, while improbably being strangely soothing at the same time. Lennon said that Help! was one of his favorite Beatles songs and “one of the only true songs he ever wrote.” I’ve chosen […]

First earth

Earth Day Help!

April 22, 2021

One of the first color images of Earth, a digital image mosaic taken in 1967.   I was playing this song (Help!) the other day and started to imagine that the Earth was trying to talk to us all  through the lyrics of a Beatles song. Looking at this image makes us realize that we are undeniably all in this together – whatever happens. In my opinion, the best thing that we could do for the earth is to simply stop trying so hard to kill it! Live sustainably and plan for the future of the earth!  The earth needs us now! Dr. Weiss

Covid vaccine signup

Vaccine Signup for 65+

January 13, 2021

This information was just received from Hoag Hospital in Orange County, CA.  Please check for similar information in your county (I just registered my mom in Pennsylvania last night.) The Orange County Health Care Agency (OCHCA) has now approved vaccinations for people aged 65+, which is an important milestone in the fight against COVID-19. Hoag is one of a number of sites in the County that will be offering vaccinations for seniors and high-risk patients. Please note that the actual vaccines have not yet been received, but preparations are being made for distribution for the general public aged 65+. See below for links to more information and registration. To learn more about the OCHCA’s vaccine distribution plan, please refer to their website: https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/phased-approach-vaccine-distribution. The County is encouraging residents to register for notifications about the vaccine with an app they plan to use called Othena. You can go to www.othena.com/individuals.php to register. Hoag is not involved with the Othena app, so any further questions should be directed to the County. General questions COVID hotline: 714-834-2000. This massive vaccination effort will take time and require patience.  In the meantime and as always, this bears repeating: please continue wearing masks, staying home, washing hands and […]

Covid image template master

Hoag Vaccines and Testing

December 30, 2020

To my family of friends and patients, Here is some information from Hoag Hospital that may be of interest to you. (For those outside of Orange County, I’m sure similar things may be happening in your own communities.). Included below is the latest COVID vaccine distribution update and the current COVID testing protocols and quarantine recommendations. Think of how these facts might apply to your own home and workplace situations.  Also included is a warning on an emerging multi-drug resistant yeast infection that can live on hard surfaces for months! Yet another reason to practice safety protocols including frequent hand washing (as if we needed another reason!) Vaccine news After just 14 days after receiving the first shipment of the Pfizer vaccine: 77% of Hoag medical staff have gotten first shot of Pfizer vaccine, as of December 30 (only 4% have declined for now). More than 3000 Tier 1 high and moderate risk Hoag employees and medical personnel have also gotten their first dose No frontline, high-risk physician was left exposed, which was the result running more than 30 vaccine clinics in eight (8) days. The clinics were organized, sanitized, socially distanced, and extremely efficient. Covid Exposures and Testing protocols […]

Leon Russell at microphone

A Song for You

November 13, 2020

A Song For You Leon Russell passed away on this day 4 years ago. In my opinion, this is one of the loveliest love songs ever written. Believe it or not (it's true), I once put on an international multi-specialty medical conference in Deer Valley and I had Leon Russell perform. Pretty crazy, eh? Enjoy, Dr. Weiss Bosendorfer piano sound - For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. Try listening to it with a good set of headphones! It sounds better than any piano I've ever played!!
This Masquerade

This Masquerade

December 16, 2019

Leon Russell must have known he had written this instant jazz classic as soon as he finished it.  I mean, how could he not? Once again, the chord changes are universal, but the truth of the words makes the song. This song has a special place in my heart because I once hired Leon to play at a medical conference I put together in Deer Valley and he didn’t disappoint (he did go on a little late though!) Enjoy, Dr. Weiss Dedicated to Jerry S and Tom M Bosendorfer piano sound - For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. Try listening to it with a good set of headphones! It sounds better than any piano I've ever owned!!
Daisy Bell Bicycle Built for Two

Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)

December 13, 2019

"Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)" is a popular song written in 1892 by British songwriter Harry Dacre, with the well-known chorus, "Daisy, Daisy / Give me your answer, do. / I'm half crazy / all for the love of you", ending with the words, "a bicycle built for two". It is the earliest song sung using computer speech synthesis by the IBM 7094 in 1961, a feat which was referenced in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Science fiction author Arthur C. Clarke witnessed the IBM 704 demonstration and referred to it in the film, in which the HAL 9000 computer sings "Daisy Bell" during its gradual deactivation. Again, we hear the same three or four chords used in one of the first ‘standards’. Enjoy, Dr. Weiss Bosendorfer piano sound - For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. Try listening to it with a good set of headphones! It sounds better than any piano I've ever owned!!
When You Wish Upon A Star

When You Wish Upon a Star

October 19, 2019

'When You Wish Upon a Star' is a song written by Leigh Harline with lyrics by Ned Washington (who also wrote the lyrics to 'Stella by Starlight', 'On Green Dolphin Street' and 'The Nearness of You') for Walt Disney's 1940 adaptation of Pinocchio. It won an Academy Award for Best Original Music Score and Best Original Song. The American Film Institute ranked 'When You Wish Upon a Star' seventh in their 100 Greatest Songs in Film History! The piece has also become a jazz standard. It has been performed by artists including Linda Ronstadt, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck Quartet, Glenn Miller, Joe Pass, Wynton Marsalis, Bill Evans, and many others. This is one of those songs that took me several weeks to want to record, because it gave me so much joy to play! This performance is dedicated to Denis R and Therese L. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Dr. Weiss Bosendorfer piano sound - For this recording I’m playing a Yamaha Clavinova – which has the same keyboard action as a traditional acoustic piano, but there are no strings. Pressing a key activates (in this case) a sound which was sampled from a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand piano. [...]