Kristong Hari Versus Master Anos: A Preview!

I am currently busy doing a short documentary film and photography series about the messianic prophet Kristong Hari and the blind exorcist Master Anos, the two fascinating mystics, and their fierce rivalry in Quiapo! Coming soon!!!

Mr. Herminigildo Anos aka Master Anos The Exorcist

Master Anos

Mr. Lauro Gonzales, aka Kristong Hari

Kristong Hari

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #47 - Answer

Congratulations to TS Hendrik from 'The Non-Review' for correctly guessing that this week's TV theme is from 'Pushing Daisies'.

The show revolved around Ned the pie maker and owner of 'The Pie Hole', played by Lee Pace, and his gift of giving life back to the dead.... As a young boy, Ned finds out that he can revive the dead by touching their lifeless bodies. However, Ned also finds out that with great power, comes great consequences, and he learns that his ability to revive the dead comes with a few stipulations:

1. If the subject that Ned has revived is brought back to life for more than one minute, something or someone nearby will die to 'restore balance'.

2. If Ned touches the revived subject a second time, it dies again, this time permanently.

Private investigator Emerson Cod, played by Chi McBride of 'Boston Public' and 'Human Target' fame, catches wind of Ned's gift and makes him an offer he can't refuse.... Ned would bring murder victims back to life, find out who killed them, then get paid to solve the crimes....

Ned, now working with PI Cod, runs into the corpse of his childhood love, Charlotte 'Chuck' Charles played by the beautiful Anna Friel.... Ned brings her back to life, and struggles with his emotions throughout the series.... Ned loves Chuck, but can never touch her (because she'll die again), and he's lived his entire life with the fact that her father died because he brought his mother back to life for more than a minute....

Kristin Chenoweth, the little woman with the big voice and the original 'Glinda' from Broadway's 'Wicked', won an Emmy Award for her role as Pie Hole Waitress Olive Snook.... Ellen Greene and Swoosie Kurtz play Chuck's synchronized swimming and anxiety-ridden aunts Lilly and Vivian Charles.

The scenery for 'Pushing Daisies' was like none other.... Everything was so colorful and magical. I think it was best described as 'storybook-esque'. It was a great show for people like me, who are easily distracted by colorful or shiny things.... All of the colorful and shiny things were on the screen in 'Pushing Daisies'!

Did you know that the show's narrator, Jim Dale, has won two Grammy awards for his narration of the Harry Potter Audio Books and was the evil Dr. Terminus in Disney's Pete's Dragon! Hey, you try saying Passamaquoddy!

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #47

Happy Friday! Is everybody gearing up for the big three day weekend?

I'm keeping today's theme short and simple.... Can You Guess This TV Theme?

Accident On The Freeway

I was on my way to the City of Los Angeles, about to pass the 10 freeway / 405 freeway interchange, when a car cuts me off and tries to go across three lanes to get on the 405.... Unfortunately, when trying to get into the right lane to get on the 405, the driver that cut me off is not able to squeeze in between two cars and slams on her brakes.... The only thing I could do is slam on my brakes as well....

I was right behind the brake slammer, so even though I tried to stop, my truck started going to the right and clipped the brake slammer's bumper.... We pull to the side of the road and the crazy lady (brake slammer) starts screaming 'Didn't you see me turning! Didn't you see me turning!'

Now I'm going to have to take my truck into the shop and have to deal with insurance companies, claims adjusters and all the crap that goes along with getting into an accident.... On the other hand, thank goodness nobody was hurt and everybody was able to walk away from the accident....

Hoy Mamang Tsuper!

Ito na yata ang isa sa pinaka-nakabubwisit na ugali ng tsuper na Pinoy (hindi ko naman nilalahat), ang dyumingel sa gulong ng sarili nyang sasakyan. Kunsabagay dyipni nya naman yan, pero paano naman ang mga sasakay sa kanyang dyip? Hindi kaya sila biglang bumaba dahil sa ubod ng panghi ang gulong nito? O paano naman ang kalsada na dinaraanan ng mga tao? Tiyak na matatapakan nila ang ihi ng mamang ito. Bagama't may ordinansa na laban sa mga ganitong gawain, nalalabag pa rin ito. Wala naman kasing pulis, ang nasa isip siguro ng tsuper na ito. Oo nga naman. Maari na nga sigurong wag sumunod kung wala namang nagpapasunod.

Back To The Future Mall Name Change

When Doc Emmett "Doc" Brown is gunned down by the Libyans in the mall parking lot, before Marty McFly takes the DeLorean time machine to 1955, the mall is called Twin Pines Mall.

When Marty arrives in 1955, he runs over one of a pair of twin pine trees in the yard of Otis 'Old Man' Peabody.

When Marty returns to 1985, the sign in the mall parking lot notes the name of the mall as Lone Pine Mall.

OK GO - Kings Of The One Take Video

Last week I posted about an awesome one take music video for Diane Birch's 'Valentino'.....

Now, I'm sure you've all heard of OK GO. They're the kings of the one take video.... They were big before, but they skyrocketed to fame after they filmed their one take music video for 'A Million Ways' in their backyard.... Apparently, that video can't be embedded, but you can see it here.....

After the wild success of the 'A Million Ways' video, OK GO released their second one take video for 'Here It Goes Again'.... You know the video, four guys with four treadmills in a basement.... Seamlessly hopping from treadmill to treadmill....

For OK GO's newest one take experiment, the band created two one take videos for the new single 'This Too Shall Pass'....

The first video features the band member marching around in a wooded area, while a marching band in camouflage pop out of nowhere with their instruments to accompany the band.... The marching band video can't be embedded either, but you can see it here....

In their second video for 'This Too Shall Pass', and possibly their most impressive video, OK GO created a Rube Goldberg Machine that works continuously for around four minutes!

Their latest stunt wasn't a one take music video, but definitely worth checking out.... At the Maker's Fair in New York City, OK GO played a set while underwater.... Well, the band members had buckets of water on their heads and the lead singer was completely submerged in a water suit / goldfish aquarium....

Side note: You can skip the first 11 minutes of this video.... The first 11 minutes is all about the guys getting into their water outfits, the play their first song (I Want You So Bad I Can't Breathe) at around the 11 minute mark, and their second song (This Too Shall Pass) at around the 17:15 mark of the video....

Skull base Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH)

Findings:

Figure 1and Figure 2: There is diffuse sclerosis of the left mastoid with near complete opacification of the mastoid air cells.
Figure 3 and Figure 4: There is diffuse sclerosis of the mastoid with a soft tissue thickening identified in the cavernous sinus. There is additional dural extension suggested along the left leaf of the tentorium.


Diagnosis: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), skull base


Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is the term used to describe the spectrum of diseases characterized by proliferation of specialized bone marrow-derived dendritic cells, called Langerhans cells (LC) with bone and/or soft tissue involvement. Although the etiology and pathogenesis of LCH is poorly understood, studies suggest that it is a reactive disease caused by immune dysregulation. The disorders once collectively called Histiocytosis X (eosinophilic granuloma, Hand-Schüller-Christian disease, and Letterer-Siwe disease) are now part of this category. LCH is defined in terms of whether it involves a single site, multiple sites, a single organ, or multiple organs. Prognosis and treatment are closely linked to the extent of disease at presentation and whether or not “risk” organs (ie: liver, spleen, lung, bone marrow) are involved. In general, patients with LCH localized to the bone have a favorable prognosis whereas patients with multisystem involvement incur a poor prognosis.

Langerhans cell histiocytosis of the bone is a relatively rare disorder with an incidence of one case per 2 million persons per year. The skull is the most commonly involved bony site in the pediatric age group. Otologic involvement usually occurs during the course of multisystemic disease, and may be the only symptom in up to 25% of patients. Because the otologic symptoms are similar to otomastoiditis, diagnosis of LCH of the skull is often delayed. The most frequent otologic symptom is otorrhea resistant to medical treatment. Other findings include mastoid swelling, aural polyps, periauricular eczema, sagging of the canal wall skin from erosion of the posterior bony external auditory canal, conductive hearing loss, and otalgia. Neurosensorial deafness, vertigo from involvement of bony labyrinth, and paralysis of cranial nerves (particularly VII and VIII) have been described. The classic clinical profile is a young man with otalgia, otorrhea, and post-auricular mass. If the diagnosis is suspected, a full examination and work-up is warranted to exclude the possibility of multisystemic or multiostotic disease.

The best imaging modality to diagnose LCH of the skull base is dedicated temporal bone CT. The skull base may show focal or diffuse bone destructive change and may present as: 1) sharply-defined “punched out” appearance, 2) irregular sclerotic lesions or 3) fragments of bone within soft tissue component. Other locations that are affected include the petrous apex, mandible, maxilla, and vertebral body. Ossicular and otic capsule destruction are common. Bilateral disease occurs in up to 30% of patients. The radiologic differential diagnosis for LCH of the skull base includes mastoiditis, cholesteatoma, cholesterol granuloma, and rhabdomyosarcoma. Rhabdomyosarcoma may exactly mimic unilateral LCH- biopsy may be required to differentiate the two entities.

Contrast-enhanced examination may help differentiate inflammatory mastoid lesions from LCH. Findings include a heterogeneously enhancing mass in the temporal bone, including mastoid complex, middle ear, extracalvarial, intracranial, and extra-dural compartments. The skull base tends to show a variable amount of enhancing soft tissue. On MR, T1 weighted images reveal iso- to hypointense mastoid, middle ear or skull base mass. T2 weighted images reveal hyper- to isointense soft tissue mass. Contrast-enhanced T1 weighted images show a heterogeneously-enhancing mastoid, middle ear, or skull base mass. MR may be obtained to delineate boundaries of soft tissue component which generally displays poorly defined borders.

The prognosis of LCH localized to the temporal bone is excellent, with a cure rate of 90%. The soft tissue component resolves initially, followed by reossification of the bone lesion. The treatment of choice for LCH localized to the mastoid-middle ear consists of surgical curettage or mastoidectomy. Low dose radiotherapy is used for larger, destructive lesions. Systemic disease is treated with chemotherapy in combination with radiation therapy.

The Dog Eaters

In the Philippines, the cliché goes that when a dog bites man it is not news, but when a man bites dog, then it is news. In the poor urban slums of Manila, there are still people who eat dog meat clandestinely. No, they do not kill their pet dogs (which they treat as part of the family), but instead hunt for the askal or the asong kalye, the stray dog that nobody owns. This despite the 1998 law called the Animal Welfare Act (Republic Act 8485) prohibiting the killing of dogs and eating dog meat*.

The enactment of this law is the result of lobbying by many animal rights advocates who perceived dogs to be inherently emotional animals and attached to humanity. They argued about the cruel treatment of dogs and their gruesome slaughter by dog meat dealers. Additionally, they argue that dog meat consumption has been linked to the transmission of rabies to man, with two reported deaths in the Philippines.

Prior to this recent law against dog-eating, dog meat is consumed openly in Baguio and its surrounding mountainous regions. There are also people in Pampanga, Bulacan, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, and Metro Manila who regularly eat dog meat. Back then, some restaurants offered dog meat in their regular menu, a favored piece de resistance especially among beer drinkers who consider dog meat as the tastiest meat even compared to beef or pork. Aficionados add that dog-meat has the ability to warm the body, not only because it is always cooked with lots of chopped chilies, but because it is considered an aphrodisiac.

Nevertheless, even now that the law has been passed protecting man’s best friend from becoming man’s food, there are still hundreds of dogs slaughtered for food consumption. The website dogmeattrade.com reports that some 500,000 dogs are slaughtered annually in the Philippines for human consumption. Indeed passing a law and enforcing its provisions are two different things, especially in the Philippines.

In fact, aren't we always treated to a spectacle in the news of police tracking down dog meat dealers on the way to the northern mountainous provinces, where dog-meat is regularly consumed? The dog dealers would pack the unfortunate canines inside cramped and enclosed steel cages to prevent people from seeing them and hearing their barks and moans. In the eight hours of travel that the dogs have to endure, some of them die of suffocation, heat, exhaustion, and thirst along the way, while the others that survived were in such a deplorable condition you would think they’d have been luckier if they died en route.

This goes to prove there are still many people who eat dog meat regularly. And if they grew up eating dog meat, wouldn’t it be a violation of their human rights not to let them eat the meat they were accustomed to? That is just one of the controversial questions asked me by one of my dog-eating friends in Baguio. Indeed, my friend added, if dog meat is to be outlawed, wouldn’t it be logical also to prohibit the eating of pork, chicken, beef, or other animals as well?

I ate a dog

When I was a young boy, I was tricked into eating dog meat by a dog-eating uncle in a town fiesta in Pampanga. I was told it was beef. Up to now I still remember how delicious it was, and how it was so tender and juicy. When the other guests began to talk on how dog meat was much tastier than beef and pork, it was only then I realized I was eating a dog. I stopped eating right away and almost puked. Up to now, writing this piece, I still feel like throwing up whenever I remember that shameful and gut-wrenching episode. I am positive that I would have never eaten the meat if I knew that it was a dog meat. The only meats I regularly eat are pork, beef , and chicken. I shun other meats like horse, goat, and carabao, let alone dog. It is not because I am a sensitive person, but rather because I have not been reared to eat these.

Be that as it may, I would not say I wouldn’t eat them in the future. Culture changes with a force majeure. For instance, explorers trapped in the icy regions of the South and North Pole were forced to eat their sleigh dogs when the situation arose they would have starved and died otherwise. Many tribes in Siberia and Alaska also consume dog meat as emergency sustenance -- when no other food is available -- during the cold winter months.

Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer who first conquered Antarctica, was known to have eaten his sled dogs during his expedition to the South Pole. By eating some of the dogs, he required less human or dog food, thus lightening his load. If I would be in a similar situation as Amundsen, I would certainly eat dog meat if it were the only way to survive. But if I had another choice, I would never eat a dog. This is because my conscience cannot bear to eat the animal closest to human affection.

In truth, dog meat is considered food not only in the Philippines but in many countries around the world as well, including China, Japan, Hongkong, Korea, India, Tonga and East Timor. In the past, some peoples in France, Belgium, Germany, and Poland were known to consume dog meat.

Dog hunting in the slums

In the urban slums of Manila, many people still eat dog meat, a favorite pulutan (finger food) of the istambays during their merry drinking. I chanced on a group of these dog-hunting istambays during one of my visits to the poorest slums of Tondo.

From where I stood, I smelled a strong scent of burning hair and skin, which is that of the dog they have recently killed. Of course, they knew that it is against the law to kill a dog, so their activity is clandestine. Fortunately, at the time, I was with a guide from the neighborhood whom the hunters knew. My guide assured them that I am not from the police, and they agreed to let me document their cooking, provided I did not photograph their faces, and that I gave them fifty pesos for a Tanduay.

The first question I asked was how the dog hunters obtain a dog. What I was told sent chills down my spine – it was like a gruesome murder plot in the making. In this part of the slums, everything that can be eaten will be eaten. Pagpag, discarded left-overs from fast food restaurants, are dug out of the piles of trash and eaten. And so it is with the askal (stray dog). Some men in the Tondo slums consider it a delicacy and they spend the whole day hunting for stray dogs.

Hunting the askal

The dog hunters are usually a group of four men-- one acts as look-out; another, as baiter, a third, as executioner; and the last, as slaughterer.

The dog, however, cannot be killed in the same manner as a chicken or a pig, which easily bleeds to death with a single thrust of the knife to its nape. The dog, when cornered, often fights back, biting its killers, even if its throat has been slit open. Killing a dog with a knife is thus a dangerous task to the hunters. It must be done in a more gruesome but, thankfully, instant manner.

The technique, therefore, is to lure the askal with bait, say a piece of meat tied to a long string. The dog spots the meat and proceeds to eat it, at which time one of the hunters pulls the string until the dog is trapped in a secluded place, where the executioner awaits in a corner. The method, however cruel it may be, is to kill the dog with a single blow to the head with a blunt and heavy object, such as a baseball bat or a maso (huge hammer). The executioner must exert all his strength and be precise in his blow as there is no second chance: the dog can bite back if it knew its life is in danger. It is also believed, that the more forceful the blow, the less the dog would suffer, as it will instantly die. Blood would not spill out this way (except for some from the mouth and the nostrils), keeping the meat warm and in turn giving warmth to the body of the dog eaters.

Asozena

I witnessed first hand how the hunters cooked the askal. The dog is tied upside down with a wire tied to a post. A blow torch is applied to the dog’s body to burn its hair. The strong scent of the burning hair and skin pervades through the whole neighborhood so that soon everyone becomes aware that a dog is being cooked. Dog butchering and cooking are always considered a spectacle, and after a few moments come the rubbernecks who want to witness how a dog becomes “azocena” (literally, dog supper). Some of the men who did not participate in the hunt would contribute a few pesos to buy spices with. This entitles them to partake of the cooked meat.

The burnt hair is then scraped with a sharp blade until the charred body of the dog is exposed. The head is cut. The burnt skin is chopped into little strips, and marinated in vinegar, ginger, and siling labuyo. This is called kilawin, and is a favorite pulutan with Tanduay or beer. The dog is slit open from anus to esophagus to remove the internal organs. The intestines are cleaned of any remaining undigested food and are destined to become the isaw, or barbecued intestines. The blood that is still in the stomach is dripped into a glass. According to old belief, pure dog blood cures tuberculosis, and a tubercular can drink it from there. A man, who had been suffering from cough, volunteered to drink the blood, to the amusement of everyone. It relieved his cough, he stated.

Meanwhile, the other internal organs of the dog such as the heart, lungs and liver are chopped to little morsels and roasted over a pit coal. The “spare parts” like the paws, the tail, and the ear are also cleaned of remaining hair. These, too, will be cooked and eaten.

The dog meat is cooked in a variety of ways. In this case, the men agreed to cook kaldereta, one of the most popular dog dishes. A large cauldron was borrowed from one of the neighbors. Pooling their money, the men bought spices in the nearby sari-sari store: garlic, onions, siling labuyo (red chillies), butter, ginisa mix, and tomato paste.

The meat is chopped to small morsels and placed inside a huge pot and then boiled to a certain tenderness and then set aside. In the cauldron, the crushed garlic and chopped onions are sauteed in butter. The ginisa mix, siling labuyo and tomato paste follow. Finally, the tenderized meat, including head, feet, ears, paws and tail, are added and simmered.

When the cooking is done, the dog hunters serve the kaldereta on a small table, bring out the Tanduay, and sit in a circle to begin their merry drinking and eating. It is for them a fine way to warm up, relax, and enjoy after a tiring day of hunting and killing.

---

* The law excludes killing of dogs for the religious rituals of the mountainous tribes in the Cordillera.

Are You Still As LOST As I Am?

Wait.... What?

I'm going to need somebody smarter than myself to explain the ending of LOST.... I enjoyed the entire episode.... I enjoyed the ending.... Were they in purgatory? Was the island purgatory? Were the side flashes purgatory?

Where were Michael and Walt?

Please enjoy the shirtless men of LOST and Eyeballs of LOST as you explain the ending....

Multiple bilateral infarcts secondary to IV drug abuse-related cerebral vasculitis

Additional clinical history: Woman in acute heroin withdrawal who also has bilateral lower extremity weakness.


Findings:

Brain MRI shows restricted diffusion within the bilateral parietal and occipital lobes as well as over the motor cortex of the frontal lobes bilaterally, left greater than right. T2 prolongation is noted in all the locations where restricted diffusion is seen. Coronal and sagittal reformatted CTA images show areas of subtle beaded appearance of arteries, with focal narrowing and dilatation.


Diagnosis: Multiple bilateral infarcts secondary to IV drug abuse-related cerebral vasculitis


Key points

Increased T2 signal lesions with restricted diffusion have a broad differential
Clinical history, distribution (vascular territories involved, unilateral vs. bilateral), number (single vs. multiple), the presence or absence of mass effect, and the presence or absence of a peripheral ring or central necrosis are key diagnostic clues.
Abscesses may be single or multiple, may be unilateral or bilateral, often have a peripheral ring, and often display mass effect.
Tumors often have mass effect, often have a peripheral ring, may be single or multiple, may be unilateral or bilateral, and may show central necrosis.
Hemorrhage is often in the subdural or subarachnoid space, but may be intraparenchymal, especially if there is history of head trauma or associated fracture.
In acute infarct, there is no mass effect, no peripheral ring, and no central necrosis and the lesions are usually in a single vascular distribution and are usually- but not always- unilateral.
Examples of bilateral acute infarcts, as seen in this patient (note multiple bilateral lesions without mass effect, peripheral ring or central necrosis), are watershed infarcts occurring in typical watershed zones and infarcts occurring secondary to cardiac emboli or vasculitis, both of which are not distributed with respect to single vascular territories (as in this patient).
Besides IV drug abuse (as in this patient), cerebral vasculitis with secondary infarct can be seen in bacterial meningitis, tuberculous meningitis, viral, mycotic, syphilitic or post radiation arteritis, cell mediated arteritis, collagen vascular disease, sarcoid, Wegener's granulomatosis, and Moyamoya disease.

Marjolin Ulcer-MRI

Malignant degeneration of untreated chronic wounds is a well-known complication. These rare, aggressive tumors that originate in chronically nonhealing wounds are called Marjolin’s ulcer. This is a 15 year old boy with long standing burn scar on the forearm.

Case submitted by Dr Yasmin Usmani, Meerut

Teleradiology Providers

Pneumocystis Carnii-CT

The hallmark finding of PCP on HRCT scans is ground-glass attenuation, which is present in more than 90% of patients and represents an exudative alveolitis. The term ground-glass refers to parenchymal opacification, which does not obscure the underlying pulmonary architecture. This usually occurs in a bilateral, symmetric, predominantly perihilar distribution and may be geographic or mosaic in appearance, with areas of normal lung adjacent to areas of affected lung. Thickening of interlobular septa (due to edema) and foci of consolidation may be associated.

Reported by Teleradiology Providers

Nagtutuli: Isang Libreng Patalastas

Kababayan, ikaw ba ay isang lalaki? O mas mainam na tanong, ikaw ba ay hindi pa nagpapatuli at nais nang magpatuli sa lalong madaling panahon? Kung nais mo nang malampasan ang "rites of passage" na ito, wika nga, ay wag nang mag-aksaya ng panahon. Samantalahin ang tag-araw, bago bumalik sa paaralan! ( O bago bumalik sa trabaho). Narito ang isang mahusay magtuli sa bayan ng San Pablo, Laguna. Mahusay nga daw ang manunuli dito ayon sa mga binatilyong bagong tuling aming nakapanayam, na pawang ngumunguya pa ng murang dahon ng bayabas. Para nga daw kagat lamang ng langgam ang mararamdaman, ang mangiyak-ngiyak na sabi pa sa amin ng mga binatilyo.

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #46 - Answer

Congratulations to Lisa Marie from 'The Domestication Of A Party Girl' for correctly guessing that this week's TV theme is from 'Party Of Five'.

Neve Campbell, Scott Wolf, Lacey Chabert, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jeremy London, Matthew Fox.... 'Party Of Five' could be the most beautiful show ever!

After losing both of their parents in a car crash with a drunk driver, the Salinger children are left to figure out life on their own.... One of my most favorite shows! I'm going to be spending a lot of time watching 'Party Of Five' DVD's this weekend....

There's a tie in though.... There's always a tie-in.... The 2 1/2 hour series finale of LOST is on ABC this Sunday! I can only imagine that it will be the best episode of television of all time! Matthew Fox will be Dr. Jack Shephard for the last time.... It's the end of an era....

I remember sitting in my living room, watching an episode of the first season of LOST with my wife, my sister-in-law and her ex-boyfriend.... This was before we got our DVR.... What I didn't know is that minutes before the show started, my wife had found out that she was pregnant with our first child.... Not wanting to ruin the episode of LOST, my wife waited until the episode ended to tell me that we were 'with child'.... I wonder if she's going to have any big news for me tonight?

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #46

Happy Friday everybody! It's that time again! Can You Guess This TV Theme?

Mainit na Panahon!

Talaga namang napakainit ng panahon natin ngayon, kaya tuloy ang mamang ito ay napilitan ng matulog kaninang tanghali sa gilid ng Carriedo Fountain sa Santa Cruz, Maynila upang makaranas ng lamig. Sa paminsang-minsang pagtilamsik ng mga tubig sa kanyang mukha at katawan ay naremedyuhan din naman ng kaawa-awang mama ang taas ng temperatura. Tingnan nyong mabuti at tulog na tulog ang pobre (pindutin ang larawan upang palakihin). Kaya kung ako sa inyo, kung kayo ay magagawi sa Carriedo Fountain ay maaari nyo ding gawin ito upang maibsan naman ang init sa katawan at maiwasan ang heat stroke, hehe. Palagay ko'y mas mainam itong gawin kaysa gumala sa mall na bukod sa nakakapagod, ay napakamagastos pa. Dito, libre na'y ginhawa pa! Di ba, mamang tulog?

Happy Birthday To Balki Bartokomous!

'Well, feed me garlic and call me stinky!'

The man we all know and loved, until he got really creepy and made us feel awkward on 'The Surreal Life', Bronson Pinchot turns 51 years old today....

Thank you for Balki Bartokomous.... He will forever be in our hearts as the lovable nonsensical cousin who is fresh off the boat from Mypos.

May you stand tall and rise and fall on the wings of your dreams.... Nothing's gonna stop you know....

It's time for the 'Dance of Joy'!

By the way.... Have you ever seen the video of the 'Perfect Strangers' intro using Seattle, Washington as the backdrop?

Diane Birch - Valentino One Shot Music Video

Before I start this post, I want to let you all know about a fellow blogger going through a very difficult time.... Michelle from Momma's Pixie Dreams has received the horrifying news that her 16 month old daughter has cancer.... Ian from The Daily Dose Of Reality has really gone out of his way to help by setting up a site for donations to help cover medical and physical therapy costs, and over $3,000 has been raised already! If you click on Monkey's picture below, you'll be directed to the donation site.... Any and all donations are greatly appreciated, and any money remaining will go to help another family battling cancer....

Click on monkey to donate...please help!

Lately it seems that the music video is a lost art.... The amazingly talented Diane Birch has created an amazing music video for her new song 'Valentino'!

The video was shot in one take, and as you can see by the director's board, it took at least 57 takes to get the video right....

Here's the music video and a 'behind the screen' view of how the video was made!

Count The Passes #2

Ok, ok.... You're all way smarter than me.... You saw the gorilla....

Try it again.... Now that you've seen it, you'll see the him walk through every time....

The creator of the video has tweaked it a little bit, see if you can spot the gorilla this time....

1. Watch this short video.... In the video you will see a group of ball players, some in white and some in black passing two balls around. Your goal is to count how many times the ball is passed by the team wearing white shirts. It's that easy!

Awesome Father Takes Pancake Breakfast To Another Level

Before everything else in my life, I'm a father first.... And I get really excited when I find sites that feature good fathers. Jim documents his pancake adventures as he creates creative design and architectural creations for his daughter Allie. They're not simple star or square patterns, you'll see octopus pancakes and princess pancakes.... Here are a few of my favorites!

Click on the banner below to go to his site and see pictures and videos of the rest of his awesome pancakes!

Focal cortical dysplasia

Findings:

Figure 1 and Figure 2: Axial FLAIR and T2W MR images demonstrate blurring of the grey-white junction with high signal intensity in the subcortical white matter of the right frontal lobe. Adjacent cortical ribbon thickening is also present. These findings are characteristic of focal cortical dysplasia.


Diagnosis: Focal cortical dysplasia


Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a congenital disease in which the neurons arrange abnormally in focal areas of the cerebral cortex. It is a common cause of intractable and drug resistant epilepsy, and while seen mostly in the pediatric population, it is not uncommon to see the disease manifest itself in adulthood. Radiologic diagnosis is important for pre-surgical planning and can have prognostic implications.

FCD can be further sub-typed based on histopathology. In Type I FCD there is architectural distortion of the cerebral cortex alone without any abnormal cells. In Type II FCD, however, pathology will demonstrate both architectural distortion and dysmorphic neurons. This includes the characteristic elliptically shaped neuron with a displaced nucleus and lack of axons, known as the “balloon cell”. While the pathologic diagnosis is made retrospectively, clinically those with Type I FCD generally are responsive to medical therapy, while those with Type II FCD are resistant.

Regardless of the pathologic type of FCD, patients that demonstrate preoperative imaging findings tend to have a better outcome after surgery than those who do not demonstrate any findings. The characteristic MR abnormalities in FCD include blurring of the grey-white junction, abnormal high T2 signal in the subcortical white matter, and adjacent focal cortical thickening. Often these findings are very subtle and may not be detected on MR imaging alone. In such cases MR/FDG-PET fusion has been utilized for more sensitive detection. Surgery is the mainstay of treatment for these patients.



Extra: Balloon cells are large elliptical shaped cells with displaced nuclei and are characteristic of focal cortical dysplasia.

Spinal Intradural Arachnoid Cyst-MRI

Intradural spinal arachnoid cysts are secondary to a congenital deficiency within the arachnoidal trabecula, especially in the septum posticum, or are the result of adhesions resulting from previous infection or trauma. Reported by -Teleradiology Providers

Intraosseous Calcaneal Lipoma-CT

Note the fat density lesion in the calcaneum with characteristic location.

Reported by Teleradiology Providers

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #45 - Answer

Congratulations to TS Hendrik from 'The Non-Review' for correctly guessing that this week's TV theme is from the epic television show 'Doogie Howser, M.D.' He answered the question while waist deep in Tennessee flood waters....

Neil Patrick Harris starred as Doogie Howser, America's favorite boy genius! Trying to create a balance between being a teenager and a doctor, Doogie learns about life with his parents (played by James Sikking and Belinda Montgomery), his colleagues (played by Lawrence Pressman, Kathryn Layng and Mitchell Anderson), and his best friend Vinny Delpino (Max Casella of Newsies fame).... At the end of every episode, Doogie translates his life lessons learned throughout the episode into poetic prose that he types into the blaring blue screen of his computer journal (or personal blog, as I like to call it)....

This show was awesome 20 years ago, and it's still great now! I've been watching episodes all day, and it's amazing amazing Neil Patrick Harris was as Doogie....

Do you remember Vinny always coming in through Doogie's second story bedroom window? Did he ever use the front door?

Did you know that Steven Bochco and David E. Kelly, the creators of the show, have said that if the show would not have been canceled so abruptly, they would have had a season long story arc in which Doogie becomes disillusioned with medicine and in the end, becomes a writer?


Two things about Mitchell Anderson, who plays Dr. Jack Maguire:

1. His hairstyle, while on Doogie Howser, is a exact duplicate of my hair now....
2. He was in one of my favorite movies from the 80's, with Joaquin Phoenix, Lea Thompson, Kate Capshaw, Tate Donovan, Terry O'Quinn, and many other awesome actors and actresses, 'Space Camp'!!!!! I'll save the details for 'Space Camp' for another post....

And I have the best news you're going to hear all day! Every episode of Doogie Howser, M.D. is available on HULU!!!!! Just click on Doogie and Vinny below to be magically transported to the Doogie Howser, M.D. - HULU site and enjoy the magic!

Can You Guess This TV Theme? #45

Good morning! Happy Friday! It's time to celebrate the arrival of the weekend with another edition of Can You Guess This TV Theme!

Julia Louis-Dreyfus Is A Hard Name To Spell - Even For Hollywood

Imagine that you're Julia Louis-Dreyfus.... You've enjoyed quite the career as a star on mega-blockbuster shows like 'Seinfeld' and 'New Adventures of Old Christine'.... And now you finally know that you've made it.... The Hollywood Chamber Of Commerce has selected you to receive a star on the 'Hollywood Walk Of Fame.... Can you believe it? You're the first of the 'Seinfeld' foursome to receive a star! Even Jerry Seinfeld doesn't have one!

Friends and family, including the likes of Larry David, Jason Alexander and Albert Brooks have all come out to commemorate the fact that your name will be immortalized with thousands of others as a part of entertainment history. They pick up the piece of wood covering your star, and this is what you see....


A big smudge over your last name.... What's that? Oh.... They didn't spell your name right on the star.... Instead of 'Julia Louis-Dreyfus', they put 'Julia Luis Dreyfus' on the star! Now you've made it....

You can stop imagining now.... Truth be told, 'New Adventures of Old Christine' is a very funny show, and Julia was a very good sport about the whole thing.... She even asked the Chamber of Commerce to keep the misspelled star in the ground.... Unfortunately her requests were denied, but they are going to give her the chunk of star with 'Luis' as a souvenir....