I love making predictions in books, movies, and television.  Once you get the formula down it almost seems easy.  That’s why I like foreign and independent movies so much, they’re original, hard to predict, and keep my brain busy.  So frequently there’s this one event that happens to the character early in the novel upon which it later shapes the character’s interests and habits as a direct result.  For example (I swear to God I just thought in my head “por exemplo” I guess there are some Spanish phrases that have just stuck – just like “turn your books to page…” Anyway…), A father used to take his little girl rock and shell collecting and she grew up to be a geologist.  I never really felt like I had that direct a to b causal relationship.  I never liked filling in the hobbies circles, doing career test questions, or completing any sentence or question starting with “what is your favorite________?”  I still can’t answer my favorite color question to Kosette which drives her crazy.  She just doesn’t get how someone can’t have a favorite.  But if you heard her in the car this morning, she does get it because she was telling Kellen that her favorite color was “purple, pink, red…”

I have been fascinated with etymology (study of the origin and meaning of words) and the origins and meanings behind phrases, sayings, and idioms for a long time.  Besides, how can I have such a jokester Dad and not enjoy witty wordplay and punnery?!  I THOUGHT the first time I got caught by the etymology bug was when I went to the required workshops prior to working at the Renaissance Faire.  There I learned about expressions and words of frequent use during the times.    It was then and there I learned that the word “honeymoon” came from this:

• The month after marriage, or so much of it as is spent away from home; so called from the practice of the ancient Teutons of drinking honey-wine (hydromel) for thirty days after marriage. Attila, the Hun, indulged so freely in hydromel at his wedding-feast that he died.
• “It was the custom of the higher order of the Teutons . to drink mead or metheglin (a beverage made from honey) for thirty days after every wedding. From this comes the expression ‘to spend the honeymoon.’”-W. Pulleyn: Etymological Compendium

When I lived in San Diego I discovered the radio program on NPR called “A Way With Words” featuring Martha Barnett and Grant Barrett and I could have sworn Richard Lederer.  I loved it because people of all ages called in; from 7 year olds on up.  Perhaps they’re archived somewhere in internetland.  God, that would make a great podcast.  (Found it, but don’t know how to “do” a podcast.  Anybody?  http://www.podfeed.net/podcast/A+Way+with+Words/16448)  They have a website too http://www.waywordradio.org/ I’ve had some of his books on my amazon wishlist for ages.  That’s my type of bathroom reading.  That and a scrabble dictionary for Scrabble or Quiddler.  They say Richard Lederer’s book are hysterical and we used some of his pieces for our Middle School Teaching program.  Middle Schoolers on up really love it.  They say some of his best works are:  Fractured English, Anguished English, and The Cunning Linguist.   I see he has a website too http://www.verbivore.com/.  If you like that kind of stuff too, word games and trivia, you should listen to the programs, check out the websites, or read the books.  I bet his books are on tape too.  They would serve as good long cartrip entertainment.

Yeah, so what does this have to do with Amelia Bedelia?  In describing the book, you can see how it struck such a chord with me.  For those who don’t know, Amelia Bedelia is a children’s book by Peggy Parish first published in 1963.  Well, I saw a collection of those books tucked away in the children’s section of the library and just had to check them out.  I was so excited to rediscover them.  But the funny thing is that I didn’t remember a single thing about them, or who she was, just that I loved them as a kid.

In reading the first one to Kosette, I discovered my THING; my first a then b connection.  Perhaps it was this book and this character that predisposed my interest in etymological subject matter.  Amelia Bedelia made me into a wannabe verbivore.  Amelia Bedelia is a nice, polite, maid of a late to middle aged upper middle class couple during the early 60s.  She screws up every task they assign her, whether its via verbal or written direction, because she processes the language literally or uses the alternate definition of a word or expression.  Her saving grace from getting fired is that she’s an excellent cook and she’s always nice and eager to please.  Fritz Siebel’s illustration were black and white ink sketches with a primary green wash of watercolor where needed.  I happen to enjoy the simplicity of that art style.

It becomes quite a tongue twister as you say her name practically every other sentence.  Kosette didn’t quite get it because she didn’t know the true or mistaken meanings behind the expressions that would make it so humorous.  Each incident allowed me to teach her two different things.  Even an older child might have a bit of difficulty as the phrases in this book are a bit antiquated.

SPOILER ALERT:   For those who have no plans on reading the book but are curious as to what I’m talking about, here are the phrases from the first book:

1. “CHANGE the towels in the green bathroom”
2. “DUST the furniture”
3. “DRAW the drapes when the sun comes in”
4. “PUT THE LIGHTS OUT when you finish in the living room”
5. “MEASURE two cups of rice”
6. “TRIM the fat before you put the steak in the icebox and please DRESS the chicken”
7. From a dift. book – “PRUNE the hedges” and “PITCH the tent” and “STEAL homeplate”

I enjoyed looking at the home’s interior and exterior architecture and decor.  It’s fun to look at the old appliances and see how things used to be done.  Again, something I had to explain to Kosette.  But she did enjoy the book and we have since checked out many in the series.  I like the self-titled original best though.

One of our board books is about race cars where you count backwards from 10 to one and they have the three dimensional cars on each page.  But there’s a couple little things where the language and subtle artwork seems to teach and perpetuate gender stereotypes.

Looking at the cover, who do you think ultimately wins the race?  Who drops out in what order?  And why?

They drop out one by one in this exact order: purple, pink, orange, green, red, white, dark blue, yellow, and silver.  Notice, the colors always associated with the female gender (purple and pink) are the first to lose.  Add to that the fact that they drop out for barely any reason at all.  The other cars seem to have a legitimate reason like land in the creek or run into hay.  Noooo, “Putt-Putt!  Purple car is way too slow” (note the other “male” colors do cool Vroom! or “uh-Oh” or “Honk”.  Purple gets a belittling pathetic “Putt-Putt”.  And you’re made to pity and tsk, tsk the pathetic pink car, “Poor little Pink car is way in back”.  Serves her right for being in a traditional “male” dominated sport of car racing.  Since we normally assume that only a woman would drive a pink or purple car that the driver is female.  Is this yet another veiled perpetuation of the women being bad drivers?  Also, the audience of those two cars are entirely male.  You can tell because any females are portrayed in dresses or with children.

Is it just a harmless book geared towards little boys interests in cars or is it an indoctrination of young boys to sexist attitudes and stereotypes via subtle sexist clues within the text and illustrations?  And what about the messages it sends to the girls who might happen to read it as mine does?  It seems sexist to me; albeit probably unintentional on the author’s part.

Here’s a couple paragraphs I found to lend a more scholarly argument to the matter.

Understanding subtle sexism: detection and use of sexist language

Sex Roles: A Journal of Research ,  August, 2004 by Janet K. Swim,   Robyn Mallett,   Charles Stangor

Sexism comes in many different forms, including blatant, covert, and subtle sexism (Benokraitis & Feagin, 1999). Blatant sexism is defined as obviously unequal and unfair treatment of women relative to men, whereas covert sexism is defined as unequal and unfair treatment of women that is recognized but purposefully hidden from view. Both blatant and covert sexism are intended, but only covert sexism is hidden. In comparison to these two forms, subtle sexism represents unequal and unfair treatment of women that is not recognized by many people because it is perceived to be normative, and therefore does not appear unusual. Thus, like covert sexism, subtle sexism is hidden but unlike covert sexism, subtle sexism is not intentionally harmful. Subtle sexism is particularly interesting from both theoretical and practical perspectives because it may be quite prevalent (Benokraitis & Feagin, 1999), and may have an insidious impact on its victims (Swim, Hyers, Cohen, Fitzgerald, & Bylsma, 2003).

Sexist language is an example of subtle sexism in that it consists of speech that reinforces and perpetuates gender stereotypes and status differences between women and men (Banaji & Hardin, 1996; Crawford, 2001; Gay, 1997; Maass & Arcuri, 1996; McConnell & Fazio, 1996). Sexist language is learned at an early age (Hyde, 1984) and can be considered a linguistic habit (Lips, 1997). People may use sexist language for a variety of reasons. They may do so because it is traditional, it is ingrained in current written and spoken language and can be difficult to change, people lack knowledge about what constitutes sexist language, people do not believe that such language is sexist, or people are attempting to protect established social hierarchies (Parks & Roberton, 1998; Ruscher, 2001).

To all you Costco shoppers out there…I have a food recommendation for you.  They sell 20 oz. bags of whole dried tart cherries by Stoneridge Orchards.  They are DELICIOUS!  Almost like candy.  Very plump and tangy.  And they are wonderful mixed into cookies.  I like them with oatmeal cookies or chocolate chunk.  I also sprinkle them on top of oatmeal and salads.  Very worth the $8 or so.

I’m sure there will be many future examples of my kids saying “the darnedest things”.  Here was one that fracking cracked me up.

As I sat, typing my blog post, I listened to Kosette and Kellen converse in the bathtub about their plastic horses.  They are an awesome sturdy brand made in Germany and we have a bunch of different farm animals, stable of horses, and some dinosaurs.  These will be one of the few keepsake toys I will put aside for the next generation.  Anyhoo…they are also anatomically correct.

About a month ago, they made this weird deal between themselves that although all the horses were originally Kosette’s save one, Kellen would now get all the boy horses, and she all the girl ones.  So they sat in their bath, amidst about 15 plastic horses, and were identifying the sex to divy them up properly.  Sometimes they need a little help and holler for a second opinion.  After I walked away from the last ID of a stallion and sat down to the computer again, I could hear Kosette complain to Kellen in frustration (because that was one she clearly wanted to be a girl and keep for herself.)   She loudly harumphed, “How come all them have to have penises?!”  To which Kellen deadpanned his answer as if it were a knock-knock joke, “Because they were all out of boobies.”

Bah Dum Bum – Crash!  Thank you!  And good night!

Finally, a healthy addiction to share with you all.  Warning: this post is a blatant attempt to convert all you non-believing skeptics into good practicing tongue scrapers.

I’ve been doing it for a couple years now and there is absolutely no going back.  I simply have to do it every time I brush my teeth or I do not feel clean or fresh yet.  I also feel that way about shaving my pits every time I shower or apply deodorant but I admit that’s anal.  This however…this is a necessity.  God, I wish I’d known about it earlier.

It is really nice to have when you are sick (especially with a phlegmy cold or after throwing up) but it is an absolute LIFESAVER when you are hung over.  It really helps get rid of the residual taste of old liquor or excess garlic or onion on your tongue and in your mouth that no amount of brushing and mouthwash seems to relieve.  I know for me, if I don’t ease that lingering liquor ooze or strong tasting meal, I feel queezy for the remainder of the day.  And man, nothing beats a fresh cup of coffee after brushing your teeth and scraping your tongue.  You can taste the nuances soooooo much better.

According to Wikipedia and a mishmash of other internet sources, people have been scraping their tongues for centuries.  “Regarding the origins of tongue cleaning, it is known that they have been used since ancient times in India ^[2] and China.  Ayurveda, the practice of traditional Indian medicine, recommends tongue cleaning as part of one’s daily hygiene regimen, to remove the toxic debris, known as Ama.  In the 19th century, people were also using specially designed, handcrafted tongue cleaners ^[3] made of sterling silver, ivory and tortoise shell.”  and also of mother-of-pearl, whalebone, celluloid, tortoiseshell, and plastic.  ”

Cleaning the tongue with an appropriately designed tongue cleaner also massages the tongue. This is an important element of traditional Chinese medicine where the tongue surface is identified as an important reflexogenic zone. ^[14]…

Fresh breath

Tongue cleaning is meant to remove some of the millions of bacteria (up to 500 different types ^[4]), decaying food debris, fungi (such as Candida), and dead cells, from the surface of the rear of the tongue. Tongue cleaning is generally viewed as the solution for most cases of halitosis, or bad breath. Scientific studies have shown that in approximately 80-95% of cases, bad breath originates in the oral cavity, mainly from material on the rear of the tongue. Research shows that only the rest of about 5-20% of cases originate in the stomach, from the tonsils, from decaying food stuck between the teeth, gum disease, tooth decay, or plaque accumulated on the teeth. Clinical studies have shown that using tongue cleaners on a daily basis has a significant effect on eliminating anaerobic bacteria and decreasing oral malodor. ^[5][6][7]

[edit] Better oral hygiene

It is estimated that approximately 70% of the bacteria in the oral cavity thrives on the surface of the human tongue. These microorganisms colonize and multiply on the protein-rich areas of the tongue, and eventually, through the saliva, reach all areas of the mouth including the teeth and gums. These bacteria are considerable contributors to periodontal problems, plaque on the teeth, tooth decay, gum infections, gum recession and even tooth loss.

Tongue cleaning improves the sense of taste (because of cleaning the taste buds) and also stimulates the secretions of digestive enzymes.^{[15]“…”}Breath specialists generally agree that the majority of cases of halitosis (bad breath) come from the rear of the tongue, an area that can be cleaned efficiently by using an ergonomically designed tongue cleaner.”

But evidently those with AIDS or prosthetic heart valves should not do so as simple things like brushing your teeth or dental procedures can cause bacteremia (introduction of bacteria into your bloodstream – sort of like sepsis) and endocarditis.

Not all tongue scrapers are created equal though.  Having bought several types for comparison sakes and to keep one handy in my travel kit and one in my purse/car as well as one upstairs and downstairs, I’ve tried a few types.

Here is what I’d recommend based on my personal experiences, listed in order of preference:

The best by far...Dr. Tungs Tongue Scraper I bought at the Co-op.

I bought a dual sided one at the supermarket.  It was okay.  Better than nothing.:  A plastic one with a little brush on the back.  I don’t recommend ones with the brushes.  They’re more likely to introduce bacteria into your bloodstream and the brush doesn’t do as well as the scraper side.  All the little “teeth”…well the points that are up leave surfaces that are untouched, like a comb compared to a spatula.

Don’t buy these; they don’t do shit:

Mine was made of recycled plastic and had little nubbies on it but it just doesn't have enough surface area or tooth to give it scraping friction. It just slides right off.

Rounded plastic edges give no resistance. Pointless.

Lyric mix-ups amuse me.  Once you hear somebody’s confusion, it’s almost impossible not to sing it their messed up way because it was so funny it sticks out in your head.   My oldest friend, Emily Sinclair, produced a reality show special about it a couple years ago and had asked for some personal examples.

For myself, I always confused Madonna’s “Material Girl” song lyrics singing “only guys who save their PANTIES make my rainy day” instead of “only guys who save their PENNIES…”  Personally, I still like my way better.  It also suits Madonna.  Somebody didn’t correct me on that until college. (Skip to 2:06 for the exact moment in the song)

There’s also a Tori Amos or No Doubt song one that I messed up but I can’t remember the example..something about coffee.  Trina, one of my best friend’s from college, could elucidate me if and when she reads this post since she was the one who discovered that funny one.

When I think of lyric mix-ups I can’t help but think of the Friends episode where Phoebe miss-sings Elton John’s Tiny Dancer song like  “Hold me close young Tony Danza.”

Thanks to Kosette, I have a new classic to add to my mental lyric mix-up repertoire.  I don’t think I’ll be able to hear or sing it right ever again.  I happen to love the 1983 movie of Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance” starring Kevin Kline, Angela Lansbury, and Linda Ronstadt.  I still only have the VHS tape but would love to get the DVD and soundtrack.  (It is annoying to rebuy movies you already own you know?  But, especially with musicals, it would be really nice to skip to a song you want to hear.)  I started my kids on it really young so they are quite familiar with it.  In fact, I keep it with the kids movie collection so they always have that as a a regular option from which to choose.  And choose it they do…Kellen for the swords, pirates, and silly police dance – Kosette for the songs with the ladies in the pretty dresses “I only like the girl parts” she says.  They knew it well enough, that they recognized it immediately in The Muppet Show sketch starring Gilda Radner where she sings with a giant carrot General (I’m bummed that nobody has posted that sketch online for you to be able to see what I’m talking about).  I was so proud when both of them got the reference within the first 15 seconds of the song!  My indoctrination to musical geeks appears to be working.  HAHAHA (maniacal laughter)!!!!!!!!!

Anyhoo, last night as she colored at the table, she was singing “Poor Wandering One” to herself.  I tuned in and discovered that instead of singing those lyrics she sang, “One Hundred One”.  It had me in stitches then and I’m chuckling still, as I write this.  Here’s the song combined with the one before for those unfamiliar with it.  If you skip to the time of 5:06 then you’ll get to the exact moment in the song.

Kellen and I had peanut butter and guava jelly sandwiches for lunch today.  I hadn’t had guava jelly in ages (as in pre-1989!) but I saw it in the local Safeway and simply HAD TO buy it.  Man, it’s crazy how taste and scent can just transport you back in time sometimes isn’t it?!

Because there I was sitting at the little kid table where the sun beamed through the window on us warmingly, and I was asking Kellen if he wanted more apple when I took a bite and I could so vividly imagine me eating the same kind of sandwich during vacations to Maui, Hawaii.  My mom was raised there so we were fortunate enough to visit every other year.  We had a time share on Kihei Beach – Bottom floor far end of all the buildings before there was a big break of landscape so it felt more private.  I remember feeling annoyed at my stomach that I had to stop the fun I was having out in the water or on the beach to come in and feed the belly.  My sister and I were in such a rush, we didn’t want to bother to wash off and come in.  We’d sit out on the deck at the circular glass table and plastic strappy chairs, in our sandy bathing suits, and wolf down our pb and guava jelly sandwiches cut on the diagonal (always).

I liked to see how at home my mom was in Hawaii, how relaxed, happy.  She’d step out in her Asian sarong, navy blue with grey egrets, or one of her many muu-muus.  How her gold jewelry with her Hawaiian name would glint off her tanned ruddy skin (shrug, we’re Irish).  Kelli and I would get along well during these times.  A lunchtime truce from our constant competition and bickering.  We felt too darned good to fight.  Hell, we’d even smile and talk a bit.  The sun would slant in and warm our backs as we’d get the digestion chills from all our blood flow going to our stomachs.  We’d watch a gecko halt its progress down the wall to soak up the sun as much as we were.  We were forced to switch gears and become more aware of our senses during that brief downtime….feel the sun’s warmth, breeze’s caress, hear the rhythmic lapping of the waves on the shore, the muted activity of the tourists at the pool (what the frack people?!  You’re 20 fracking feet from the WARM, clean, clear ocean and you want to go into the pee infested chemical reaking pool that are a dime a dozen in the states?!), and smell and taste the saltiness in the air, on our lips….  Then it was a race back to the beach, back to our stables of My Little Ponies and setting up their sandcastle kingdom or compete to see who can dig up the most sand fleas, or boogie board, or pretend to surf on the boogie board in the shallows of the shore, or body surf and gradually drift down the beach and then run back up towards our place.  Good times.  Simple times.  Simple food.  Simple pleasures….

If you haven’t had guava jelly, it’s delightful and sweet.  It ranks sweeter than strawberry but less than honey.  I’m not a huge fan of guava juice.  I think it’s something about the pulp.  But I love guava jelly.  It makes for one unusual pb and j for us islanders and is a nice change of pace from the standard pbj fare.

Maui made Guava Jelly but NOT the kind I bought at Safeway in Oregon

Actual Guava Fruit

First of all, I adore James Lipton and his show Inside the Actor’s Studio.  That’s definitely one of the top shows I miss seeing.  I constantly think of new answers for myself were I ever in the hotseat.  In fact, I think it would be so fun to have a mock interview with all of our family members as “actors” and audience members during a get together.  Anyhoo, that is a really fun question.  And my answer to that one changes often.  I can see now that I’m going to need to do a whole other post on just the questionnaire that James Lipton uses.  I remember learning that Meryl Streep loves dirty jokes but come to think of it, I don’t think that was from this interview.

Here’s Meryl Streep’s answers to Lipton:

Back when we were watching the series Deadwood (awesome, by the way), I embraced the “cocksucker” curse, unfortunately homophobic in origin, however very fun to say, especially in the accent of the actors whom delivered the line on the show.

Now that Kham and I have gotten into the SciFi series Battlestar Galactica (an updated version), I find myself saying “Frack” with a vengeance.  Those genius writers got around the censorship by making up their own F word in all of its mutations.  We have loved this series and are catching up as fast as we can.  I was more sucked in and entertained by the first 15 mins. of this show than the entire Dark Knight film that got all the kudos.

Lastly, I love curses from the British Isles – Bloody Hell, Bugger, bollocks, wanker – especially when uttered in accent.

In fact, there’s a few scenes in the movie, Four weddings and a Funeral (starring Hugh Grant and Andie McDowell – Fantastically Funny movie by the way, with a killer depressing funeral scene with the most brilliantly delivered recitation of a W.H. Auden poem), where they just let loose every one in their repertoire, normally when they’re late getting to a wedding.  Too bad somebody hasn’t done a clip stringing them all together.  Here’s the funeral clip though.  It is sooo sad and touching.

Here’s the poem in written form if you’d like to see.  It made such an impression on me that I’ve memorized parts of it.

The poem is by W. H. Auden. Like many of his other works, it is known by
its first line, “Stop All the Clocks”; it is also known as “Funeral Blues.”

Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.

He was my North, my South, my East and West,
My working week and my Sunday rest,
My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song;
I thought that love would last forever; I was wrong.

The stars are not wanted now; put out every one:
Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun;
Pour away the ocean and sweep up the woods:
For nothing now can ever come to any good.

And just for fun, here’s a clip of Hugh Grant from the flick Music and Lyrics with Drew Barrymore where he does a parody of an 80s music video:

I was one of those girls who did daydream about having kids and what they would be like, how they’d look, act, interests and all the commonalities and differences from myself.  This was one I never could have predicted…my daughter likes the 1970s hard rocker Alice Cooper.  Here’s an image of him you might be familiar with:

You probably know him best from his “School’s Out” (for the Summer) song.  However, I can thank the old style Muppet Show for introducing him to Kosette.  She’s been singing his “Welcome to My Nightmare” song that they spoofed for a Halloween segment ever since we checked the disc set out of the library at least half a year ago.  She even sings some back up bits as Kham and I like to do (we are backups by nature, never leads).  We’ve always joked that she’s gonna end up a Goth chick.  Maybe we should’ve knocked on wood?  I can just see it now… she’s a teenager and I have a custom ring tone for each of my kids –   Guess what tongue-in-cheek song I’ll use considering she’ll be an obnoxious teen by then?

Here is the Muppet Show sketch featuring Alice Cooper for those unfamiliar:

When’s the last time you read Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears A Who or seen the latest animated film with Jim Carrey and Steve Carell?  Well, a few weeks ago I rented it.  It was a pretty good representation of the book. BUT……… The kids and I were humming along watching it on the couch when Kham walked in the front door, watched for 2 minutes and went – “Wow!  I’m surprised you’re watching this, considering that strong anti-abortion message.”   Oh my God!!  How on Earth did I miss that?!  I gulped.  He was TOTALLY right.  Whether Dr. Seuss intended it that way, or not, its main message has been taken up by the crazy pro-lifers with pics of aborted fetuses with his words  “A person is a person, no matter how small.”

See, I always looked at it from the angle of “be nice to animals and bugs” – don’t be a specist.  Don’t squash bugs or torture mice or frogs just because they’re small and defenseless in the environment.  But it always felt like I was the one twisting the message to make it work for that purpose.  The second Kham said that, it all clicked into place for me.  Oh, my God, he’s totally right.  I wanted to turn it off right then.  It made me sick and instantaneously ruined the book and the movie and made me suspicious of Dr. Seuss.  Evidently, Dr. Seuss was a supporter of Planned Parenthood so I’ll give him that.  His widow is extremely upset that the pro-lifers have taken up his words and twisted them to his purpose.

Still, he had to have seen that coming right?  It feels so in-your-face of a message.  The kids sound like drones when they say it too.  Or like the kids in the documentary Jesus Camp.  This realization has put such a bad taste in my mouth, I don’t think I can read that book to them anymore.  They got the point.  It’s on a high shelf, tucked behind another book.  Maybe I’ll change my mind later.  But not now.  I’m too repulsed.  Too disgusted.  Just look at this one site http://ctkc.blogspot.com/2007/03/horton-hears-who-ending-abortion.html and there’s plenty more where that came from.  Here’s the best, or should I say the WORST of it.  Hold onto your lunches:

Does that mean that God chose Barack Obama to be our President?  If so, Thank God.  This all made Monday’s announcement and ceremony so much more enjoyable to me about Obama repealing Bush’s policy against Stem Cell Research and complete lack of science as basis in the government’s decision-making.  I have cancer and Alzheimer’s in my family so, of course, I hope this helps progress towards treatments or cures for such ailments.  In that case, God Bless Obama.

Luckily, I’m not the President and don’t have to be politically correct.  Allow me to do the Balky Batakamoose Dance of Joy (remember Perfect Strangers – I reference that to this day but only the old fogies remember that one):