One of the few TV shows that's got its hooks in me is The Americans. Maybe it's because I grew up during the cold war. Or maybe it's because the villains often seem like heroes. Keeping bad guys and good guys straight is fun. Watch, esp if you think Russians are channeling Soviets now.The new season of the show starts this Wednesday on FX (10pm PST). This season is bound to resonate even more deeply than in the past four seasons because Russia and the Trump administration seem to be … [Read more...]
Thanks to fans of my book and blogs re cleft lip and palate.
I appreciate all of you who’ve followed my cleft lip and palate blogs over recent years. I'll continue to post info relevant to this most common of birth defects.I'm also grateful to those of you who've bought Cleft Heart: Chasing Normal about my experiences with my clefts regarding bullying, facial asymmetry, speech difficulties, etc.Since no good intentions or deeds ever go unpunished, I’m hoping you blog and book fans will consider giving copies of Cleft Heart to your doctor and dentist. Or … [Read more...]
TV’s 10 most evil villains today.
This site is about faces and heroes, villains, and fools. I've looked at asymmetrical faces—due to cleft lips and palates often—a lot. However, I haven't written many blogs about villainous faces which often feature asymmetry. For that matter, I've given villains short shrift, favoring heroes. Villains are key. Villains are important in storytelling. Without villains, we cannot have heroes. If everyone in a story is good, it's difficult knowing whom to root for. This is doubly important for … [Read more...]
‘Gone Girl’ still victimized by cyberbullying.
In this my first first blog of 2017, I will begin a process of including more topics about villains, apropos of the theme of this website. Today, I'm writing about a cyberbullying villain.Heroes, Villains and Fools.Of late, I've focused a lot on heroes, including unsung heroes who are facially-challenged or caregivers of such people. In the future, I'll try to write more about villains—especially those privileged ones who commit violent crime (murder) and nonviolent crime (fraud). The daily … [Read more...]
How countries rank re cleft lip & palate needs.
On a day when many of us see people around the world celebrating New Years on TV, I thought it appropriate to consider how cleft lip care resources vary around the world.There are many countries in the world where patients with cleft lip and palate cannot get access to specialized cleft repair. Flying surgeons and other types of cleft medical missions play an important role in providing surgical care to the areas of the world with limited resources. … [Read more...]
How can Santa make the Holidays happy? By delivering 3D printers for cleft lip surgery.
You may see Santa and his reindeer streaming thru the sky tonight or see them on those radar images TV newscasters use to chart his path from the North Pole. If so, let's hope that he's delivering 3-D printers which'll help countries around the world take better care of cleft lip and palate kids. 3D printers.What do I mean? Well, let me first describe how 3D printers work in case you're not familiar with this cutting-edge technology. According to one source, the first step in the printing of … [Read more...]
Cleft lip superboy (Joaquin Phoenix) fights bullies.
Cleft lip (really micro cleft) actor, Joaquin Phoenix, then known as Leaf, uses his super-breath and heat-vision to rain death upon the three stereotypical '80s bullies who dare to throw him in a dumpster. It's just a dream, and he's not actually Superboy. Video called Superkid: Cleft lip wonder.Superboy (1988-92) was a flawed but likable attempt to put a youthful spin on the Man of Steel by placing him in college and ridding Metropolis of crime between classes. John Haymes Newton did a … [Read more...]