Mimicry Is The Best Form Of Flattery

It has recently come to my attention that I may have the psychological syndrome called FAS (Foreign Accent Syndrome). This is a real thing, seemingly, as I did a quick Google search on it. The back story here is that my daughter recently scolded me: She said, "When you talk to someone with an accent you adopt their accent into your response to them."

And she would be right.

I know I am doing it at times and at times I a am completely unaware I am doing it. Like last month when we were doing the buying for The Candy Bar in New York City and I was conversing with a gentleman who had a heavy Latin accent. Evidently, in my responses, I intoned the nuances of this gentleman's specific vernacular into my speech. And she called me on it. Again, she would be right and I'm not quite sure why I do it. I've done it before, a bunch of times, but none more specifically than when I was traveling in Europe or I am speaking to someone with a strong accented speech pattern. I have even opened a conversation in Paris with a simple, "Bonjour" to which the person I am talking to assumes I am French speaking and will respond in a long response in French which I do not understand at all.

Upon closer inspection I may be suffering from "the chameleon effect" instead of FAS-which can medically be the result of a brain trauma. The chameleon effect is said to be subconscious and more like "mimicking". Many famous people have been criticized in the media for it. Madonna, Oprah and Tony Blair have all been condemn for changing their accents to suit their audience. Scientists and researchers are actually studying this phenomenon. "Researchers who made the discovery believe accent mimicry is part of the brain's in-built urge to 'empathize and affiliate' with other people."

So it would seem that I am not alone or even "weird" as my first born would lead me to believe. It would seem I am in good company. Bottom line is I'm not crazy or brain damaged. Maybe I'm just deploying a useful strategy. By adopting some of the speech patterns I hear, deep down, what I could really be trying to say to you is "I hear ya...and I understand you completely."

I Don't See No Stinkin' Fat Lady Singing

I may not be as young as I used to be, but I know I'm not as old as I sometimes think I am.
So, I now wake up with a few new aches and pains that may not have been there last month. So what? The laugh and expression lines that once formed and then disappeared, now have become a permanent part of my face, forever. Should I not laugh or smile? These only serve to remind me that I chose to live a life to the fullest.

To my BFF Danny, I say, we are closer to the middle than we are to the end, so let's rejoice in that.

In answer to your question: NO, puffiness around the eye area does NOT mean you are getting old and losing your youth. Unless you think you are getting old and losing your youth, then I can't help you. But I think I know you a bit better than that, and I think I need to break this issue down for you so you can see for yourself.

THE FACTS:

Puffiness around the eye area is the presence of excess fluid (edema). The contributing factors are numerous, but the most common are here:

• Diet-caffeine and sodium are killers. Too much caffeine and foods high in sodium can all make your eyes look even PUFFIER. Alcohol can cause fluid to pool under the eye, and foods like canned veggies and canned soups, high in sodium can be the culprit.
• Sleep Habits: Sleeping flat on your back, without a pillow, can cause fluid to build under the eye area. Try elevating your head by adding another pillow to your head at night.
• Medical condition: It's quite possible there is something else going on here. Abnormally low levels of protein in the blood, a kidney condition or too little thyroid hormone are mentioned as possibilities for periorbital oedema. Talk to your doctor, have your blood pressure checked, your urine and your blood tested to determine any of these things. 
• Allergies: Most certainly the most common in all the research I read. And here's the thing you can have allergies and not even know it. When you react to allergens, histamines are released.  They can cause swelling in the face, especially around the eyes. An antihistamine may help with swelling, but you would be better served knowing exactly what you are allergic to and avoiding it. 
• Yes, AGE: Heredity and age can be contributing factors to puffiness in the eye area. When the skin under the eye becomes thin, it begins to sag and eyes look more puffy and tired. But I don't think that's the culprit here. 

Bottom line, you are not old, so stop thinking you are old because then you will become old. Good thing you have me to remind you, because I'm just a few paces behind you in this marathon we call life. 

And we ain't goin' anywhere. 

You can best believe that when we get there we will be fabulous. 

This is the way I plan on being when I get there...

Beantown Breakthrough

This is very cool.

The medical minds over at MIT have come up with a potentially life-saving device in the battle against cancer. Dr. Omid Farokhzad and Dr. Robert Langer created an effective approach to cancer treatments by using targeted nanoparticles called BIND-014. These nanoparticles act as drones who seek out and deliver cancer killing medicines to cancer cells only. This could be the big Kahuna for cancer treatment.

What really caught my attention was the story of a woman cancer patient in this morning's Boston Herald. She had failed chemotherapy and radiation treatments and had exhausted all other options for her diagnosed stage two cervical cancer. Evelyn Sorensen was told by her doctors that she had about a year to set her affairs in order. She was urged to take a vacation, say goodbye to friends and family and prepare for the worst. The 47-year-old demanded to see a list of clinical trials from her radiologist and spotted the BIND-Bioscience trial, based in Cambridge.

Sorensen, who lived in Cambridge in the 1990's, joined the trial in August. "People in Cambridge really know what they are doing," Sorensen said. What she didn't know was that serendipitous moment would change the course of her life and reverse her death sentence. Her tumors shrank by 70 percent after her first treatment. Sorensen reported to no horrid side effects such as nauseua and hair loss. She even joked about the docs slipping her a "placebo mickey" because she felt no ill effects. In the six months since the trial, Evelyn's body has no cancer and is still taking the medication to stay that way. She is now strong enough to return to work and is exersicing regularly. Her family is amazed at how far she's come in six months. "I'm starting to feel like my old self," she said.

Thank God for medicine, money and the brilliant minds who devote their lives to making incredible science. BIND-014 is very interesting and how it works was explained to me like this:

-Imagine these nanoparticles like microscopic robots who have a targeted, cancer-detecting "GPS'".

-These microscopic robots have their work cut out for them. Our immune system is designed to stop them before they get to the cancer. Like a division of our armed forces elite, these tiny robots must be quick and stealth to evade the immune system.

-When they reach their target they release their cancer-killing medicine, then slowly biodegrade and get absorbed safely in the body.

One can only hope that his breakthrough brings life and hope for so many battling this devastating disease.

What Would Cheech And Chong Think?

I was watching TV last Friday night and I caught a news story that got my attention.

It was a news piece on the benefits of using medical marijuana as an alternative treatment for adolescents with severe ADD and ADHD. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Fascinated, I watched on. A mother of a 13 year old boy with severe ADHD was talking about how medical marijuana has literally saved her son's life. After years of trying all kinds of drugs and alternative drugs to help her son, the doctor prescribed an unconventional treatment; medical marijuana. The mother reported that her son was instantly able to find his equilibrium and return to school.

While I personally feel like a little hit-off-the-peace-pipe-a-day, may keep the doctor away, I couldn't condone the regular smoking of cannabis for adolescents, as the obvious dangers of smoking anything come into play. The story went on to explain that there are alternative ways to take the pot into the body. Research says that cannabis can be baked into foods and/or made into tea and candy. And that same research is inconclusive. Longitudinal studies are being done to determine the credibility of marijuana as an effective treatment of ADD and ADHD and the findings at this time are undocumented.

Still, people like the mother of the 13 year old feel that she would rather have her son "take a hit" and find his inner balance, then give him large doses of amphetamines and Ritalin which have been unsuccessful in her son's case. Also, proponents of medical dope say there are far too many adults suffering from ADD/ADHD who swear by it. A search of the internets turned up all kinds of pro and con arguments and lots of medical professionals who are either for it, or willing to look at the research on it.

I say if it makes you feel better and works to promote a better life, then I am all for it, as unconventional as it may be. The unfortunate truth is that it's regular use can lead to a lifetime of addiction and other medical problems. But maybe just as much as prescribed narcotics can, and one can argue the "organic" aspect of using marijuana as an alternative treatment. Has society vilified an organic substance that quite possibly could be a "miracle drug" in the treatment of certain disorders? The benefits of cannabis have long been touted as an approved medical treatment in the management of pain and other chronic disorders. Why not now?

Only time will tell, but in the meantime how could we begrudge a teen for using a prescribed substance under a doctors orders, to alleviate a chronic disorder just because society says it's bad for you?