It's no surprise that Margot Robbie is playing the first human Barbie in her new movie. Her looks and stature make her a natural to portray Mattel's doll introduced in 1959. But Paris Hilton, too, can resemble the most famous toy of all. And so Paris may've beaten Margot to the punch as the first human Barbie. But wait. We must suspend belief to buy into Barbie becoming human in Robbie's new movie. Likewise, we've got to swallow hard to believe whether Paris was really "human" in her Barbie … [Read more...]
Implicit Bias against People with Facial Differences?
Implicit bias is a phrase for the idea that we're all probably at least a little bit biased, even if we really don't want to be. It's a term that describes what's happening when, despite our best intentions and without our awareness, stereotypes and assumptions creep into our minds and affect our actions. Implicit bias. The phrase has been used lately regarding race, and especially by those alleging that slight "microagressions" are hurtful to racial minorities. The right has fought … [Read more...]
Is socialite fraudster Sorokin still a con artist?
I've written about Anna Sorokin as well as other imposters and con artists here. And I've also written about innumerable psychopaths on this website. Is Anna Sorokin a psychopath? Here's the question needing to be addressed right off if you want a quick answer to whether Sorokin is still a con artist: Is she a psychopath? I'm not sure if she is. However, she's likely a type from the three inter-related Triad diagnoses which includes - narcissists, Machiavellians (manipulators), … [Read more...]
The saga of the Titanium Rib and Dr. Mel Smith
I've had a lifelong interest in discrimination and birth-defects stemming from being bullied for my once-nasal cleft-palate speech. Hence I was interested when college classmate Alain Gunn wrote The Titanium Rib. The Discrimination Angle The book is about a device that allows infants born with defective chests and lung function to live. And it's a true story of two dedicated surgeons —one being a black man who endured discrimination as a trailblazer entering the lily white ranks of … [Read more...]
Appearances can be deceiving – President Kennedy’s health
As a '60s liberal, I swallowed whole the storyline about our new president, John F. Kennedy. If appearances could be trusted, he was young, vigorous, and courageous (rescuing a fellow sailor in WWII.) Just the man to usher in the so-called Camelot years. I was a high school junior with a surgically repaired cleft-lip-and palate, finally able to talk without tell-tale nasality. But I'd been restricted from PE thru middle-school and from competitive sports during high school. Thus, I … [Read more...]
Adorable cleft-lipped boy adopts a cleft puppy—instant love.
Amid the 4 Ps confronting us Californians —pandemic, poverty, protests, and pyrotechnics* — comes a heartwarming story from Sydney Page at The Washington Post. Just what I needed, as a fellow cleft-affected person, to forget about the "plagues" which are depressing us in the San Francisco Bay Area. We've had to keep indoors (no outdoor masked activity) for twenty-something straight "unhealthy" Spare the Air days due to wildfires. Then a man who has a 2-year-old with a cleft … [Read more...]
Rory Gilmore and Janie Junebug love books and share ’em.
Many of you remember The Gilmore Girls popular show which aired 2000- 2007. It created a book club for people to read all of the 339 books referenced on the show, esp by Rory Gilmore who loved reading books. She also loved the smell of books. Rory Gilmore loves books. Rory taught us important things that are now a part of many people's everyday life. First - always take a book with you. This tip has saved countless of us from complete boredom. Whether we're meeting up with a friend … [Read more...]