Miscellaneous Notes - Rams' Male Cheerleaders, Peter's "Nights At The Brazen Huskey" and Travel Shots

1.  Rams' Cheerleaders - An LA Times story this morning highlighted Quinten Peron  and Napoleon Jinnies, the NFL's first two male cheerleaders, and next Sunday, the first two male cheerleaders in the Super Bowl.

"Last March, during open cheerleading tryouts, Peron and Jinnies showed up out of nowhere.
Peron is a professional dancer and choreographer who got the idea while watching a Lakers game.
“I’m looking down at the Laker Girls and I thought, ‘Why can’t I do this?’ ” he said.
Jinnies is a professional dancer and makeup artist who got the idea from friends dancing alongside him during a Disneyland show.
“We were just casually talking about auditions and I thought, ‘Why not just show up?’ ” he said.
In the Rams’ two previous seasons since their return to Los Angeles, no males had tried to make the cheerleading team. But there has never been a rule against it.
“He came home one day and said he was trying out for the Rams cheerleaders and I’m like, ‘They’ll let you do that?’ ” said Peron’s mother, Sherry. “He said, ‘It doesn’t say I can’t.’ So I said, ‘Go for it!’ ”
The men drew long looks when they showed up among 300 or so hopefuls, but their dancing and interviewing skills quickly won over Rams officials and their future teammates.
'They’re not just incredible men, they’re incredible people,” said Sarah
Scheade, one of the team’s five captains. “We thought it would be so special if they could represent our city.'”

I tried to find video of them performing - this one seemed to have the most of that, though not enough.  Also, its ad can be skipped after 4 seconds.




The Rams cheerleaders is not a topic I ever thought I'd post about.  In the big scheme of things, this is not a that big a deal - say like climate change or the Mueller investigation - but it sounds like these two have already become role models for many young male dancers.


2.  Nights at the Brazen Huskey
You can read Chapter 1 of Peter Dunlap-Shohl's new graphic novel "Nights at the Brazen Huskey" at
this Frozen Grin website.  Peter's previous book was his incredible adventure story of dealing with the villain PD (Parkinson's Disease.)













3.  SF-Seattle Shots - Mt Rainer Still Stands And The Sun Still Sets




After taking our grandson to pre-school yesterday, we headed for BART and the SFO airport to get back to Seattle for more time with our granddaughter here.  We flew out over Oakland.

That's Lake Merritt (the upper body of water.





And Mt Rainier still towers over the Washington landscape.

Here are two shots of downtown Seattle - one from the plane as it circled around to land from the north - and one from the ferry.  If you look closely at the aerial view, you can see the dock with two ferries about the middle on the right, and the ferris wheel a little below it.  (You may have to double click to enlarge and sharpen the image.)


From the ferry, the ferris wheel is pretty obvious.  I'm not happy about the reflected lights in the ferry window, but couldn't angle my way around them.  But this picture shows more of downtown to compare to the aerial photo.
The long gray line along the waterfront is the Alaskan Way viaduct - a highway that is being torn down 'early 2019'.  It's being replaced by a tunnel which will be open for people to walk in this Saturday.  Tickets are available online for free for the two mile walk.  From Engineering News-Record (ENR) Northwest:

"Seattle residents will get the opportunity to celebrate their new tunnel Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 2-3, and get one last chance to check out the Alaskan Way Viaduct, which will be fully removed in the coming months.
Washington State Dept. of Transportation has spent years leading the effort to build the nearly 2-mile-long State Route 99 tunnel under downtown Seattle and erase the need for the viaduct, considered seismically vulnerable. Now, on the eve of the tunnel opening to vehicle traffic, WSDOT has an entire weekend of festivities planned.
Saturday includes an 8K fun run, tunnel walk, family-friendly STEM activities and a community celebration and art festival on the viaduct. Sunday features a bike ride through the tunnel. Some events require tickets."

From the air again, looking straight west, from the water's edge out toward the Olympic range, it was looking out any time in the last ten thousand years - no sign of modern life at all.

And at the end of the ferry ride, we were welcomed by a fiery red sunset.  I tried to catch it with my iPhone camera, but it came out pale compared to the real thing.  (I know how I could have gotten it more accurately on my little Canon Powershot, but not on the iPhone.)  But I got it back closer to what it really looked like using iPhoto, though it was more red than orange.

Fellow Anchorage Blogger's Book Get's Notice From Top Medical Journal

I've been a strong fan of Peter Dunlap-Shoal's book, My Degeneration: A Parkinson's Journey since

before it was even a book.  He was blogging cartoons - he was the Anchorage Daily News political cartoonist before his Parkinson's diagnosis - about his adventures with the evil Parkinson's.  I coined the term cross-cultural translation to describe the kind of research I was doing, and Peter's work fits perfectly into the field.  He's helping able bodied (at least people without Parkinson's, since no one is 100% able bodied) folks understand what his world looks like and feels like, with great detail and even greater sly humor.  He's also helping people with Parkinson's understand their own journeys.

So I was delighted when he first started blogging, then when his blog got awards, found a publisher, and ecstatic when I was able to get a copy. (Disclosure: I'm humbled and honored that he even mentions me in the book as someone who encouraged him to publish.  It was obvious to me how sensational the book was going to be, but I realize we can't always assess our own work objectively.) And his blog is linked to the column on the right under Alaska Bloggers.


And now, The Journal of the American Medical Association has highlighted Peter's book with effusive praise.  This is wonderful, because doctors should be reading it and recommending it to their patients.  I'm always delighted when good, decent people like Peter get recognized for their work.  Way to go Peter!!!!

Here's the start of the JAMA review:

My Degeneration: A Journey Through Parkinson’s 

My Degeneration by Peter Dunlap-Shohl is the true account of the author’s life with Parkinson disease (PD), and it is terrific, a read-in-one-sitting book that engages, teaches, and challenges readers from the first page until its conclusion. It’s one of the best graphic medicine books of 2016.
It starts with a punch to the gut when Dunlap-Shohl receives the unwanted diagnosis, contemplates a future of drooling and dependency, and seriously considers suicide. He’s brutally honest about his fears and struggles, and the beautifully rendered drawings show both the external reality of this chronic and debilitating disease and his internal struggles to cope.

I went through the University of Alaska Anchorage library to get to this, but you can see the whole review at the link here.

The Alaska Parkinson's Rag - Gets National Accolades

Peter Dunlap-Shohl is a pretty remarkable guy.  He's got a wicked sense of humor and very little observable ego.  He also has Parkinson's Disease.  It's not the disease that makes him remarkable, it's how he's dealing with the disease - with the humor and low ego.  The most visible manifestation is his blog - which takes his cartoonist skills and makes the disease accessible for non-PD people.  He also, I'm sure, makes it a little easier to bear for those who do.

Here's what Healthline* - the website that put The Alaska Parkinson's Rag on its list of 15 best Parkinson's Disease (PD) blogs  - says about Peter's blog:
(*Note:  I can't get this to open right when I use Firefox on my Mac, but it works for me on Safari.)

Off & On: The Alaska Parkinson’s Rag

Off & On: The Alaska Parkinson's Rag offers a high-energy, artistic look at life with Parkinson’s disease. Peter Dunlap-Shohl, a quirky and creative cartoonist, this site [sic] combines the latest information on PD with comics, commentary, and poignant personal accounts.

If you’re seeking a soulful, upbeat journey of disease and discovery, look no further: Dunlap-Shohl delivers. You’ll find in this blogger the positive partner you need, whether you’re in Alaska or somewhere much, much warmer.

(I don't think the writer read my recent post that showed it was 9˚F warmer in Anchorage than San Francisco.)

I think blogs like these should get attention so that people who have or know people with PD can learn more about the disease and the people with it.  But I'm generally suspicious of "The Best 15 XXXX" lists.  The site says  "Winners selected by Tracy Rosecrans | Medically Reviewed on July 25, 2013 by George Krucik, MD, MBA"  Linked In says Tracy Rosecrans is the Director of Marketing at Healthline Networks, Inc. in the SF Bay area.  She's also done web consulting.

I give them credit for saying who did the list and that they were checked by a doctor.  Maybe she has some special expertise on what it's like to have PD.  Or maybe not, but she thought this would be a good gimmick for the Healthline blog.  Were there any criteria for choosing blogs? (I'm guessing diversity of approaches.)  Did she consult anyone with PD?  I have to mention these things so that people don't get too worked up about the awards. Especially PD bloggers who didn't get mentioned.   It sounds like one person checked the internet and thought this was a good variety of PD blogs.  I do that sometimes, but I don't make up awards to go with it.  At the very least, it's probably not a bad thing to highlight some PD blogs. 

For the record, I know Peter and have had links to his blogs for a number of years now, and I know that Peter and his blog are special.  His PD cartoons are incredible.  They give me a sense of what he's going through.  And he would deny everything I'm writing about him.


Here is a list of the others with a brief excerpt from each.  These are not necessarily (or even likely) representative of what the bloggers do, just something I found in recent posts.  Like a lot of other posts, this sort of got out-of-hand.  Live with it. 

Walking My Path With Parkinson’s 

 "I'm feeling hopeful again. The physical therapy for my arm, neck and shoulders has been very helpful; in fact I "graduated" from PT this week.   Most helpful though, I think, has been Dr. Wasserstein's direction in taking medications.  He has me on a schedule, taking 3 Amantadine capsules a day, and now I feel great!

So here's that promised list of "Do's" and "Dont's" for communicating with doctors and their minions:"

Studio Foxhoven

Eating well - finally

"There wasn't much I could eat for dinner, so I had a spoonful of almond butter, a couple of carrots from our garden, half an avocado, and some salad without dressing. I glared at my family, graciously, as they ate their spaghetti, and lettuce dripping with raspberry vinaigrette.  I was coping quite well until my husband brought out the Moose Tracks ice cream.
It wasn't fair.
Three months ago I decided to watch my diet. What I saw was a lot of carbohydrates and sugary stuff. There was a decent amount of good food, too, but the carbs and sweets side of the scale was a wee bit out of balance.  And so was I.  I hadn't been feeling too good."

LIM Yoga Blog

On the benefits of hugging without PD folks taken into consideration:

"When someone raises both arms and leans toward me for an embrace, my state of being turns to fear. I’m not entirely steady (physically, that is) and the pressure of even a light touch can throw me off balance. If I’m already in the off-balance mode, the hug can turn to a tumble when it ends as my fellow hugger releases her arms, straightens and steps away. I need more time to regain an upright stance, so when she walks, I’m still in a forward lean."

Parkinson's Journey

 There's also much lighter fare than this one.

The United States Patent & Trademark Office filed the “Notice of Publication of Application” July 11, 2013 Titled: Blood-Brain-Barrier Permeable Peptide Compositions. This is a historic first, as the permeable peptide compositions are minimally or non-toxic and are, in mouse models, able to target and destroy proteins in the Central Nervous System that cause Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Contrary to what the general public may believe, most drugs do not reach the central nervous system (CNS) due to the presence of a physical barrier known as blood-brain barrier (BBB). Ninety eight percent (98%) of drugs never reach the brain and the ones that reach cannot slow down or halt Parkinson’s disease or Alzheimer’s disease. Drugs such as Levodopa that do cross the BBB merely provide symptomatic relief and stop working after sometime.

FoxFeed Blog

This is the Michael J. Fox Foundation website and blog.

"Could that medication you're taking to lower your cholesterol also prevent Parkinson's disease (PD)?
Maybe, says a new population-based study from researchers at National Taiwan University in Taipei, which found that, in particular, individuals taking simvastatin (Zocor) and atorvastatin (Lipitor) had a lowered risk of developing PD. "
  

The Journey

"This has been a huge week medically for me. My neurologist appointment was on Monday. I had my stitches removed Tuesday morning (yesterday) and my new doctor's appointment was Tuesday afternoon. Today, I finally got to go back to the chiropractor. My back, neck, limbs, etc, etc.... were SO far out it was not even funny. I have been putting it off since hitting my head on May 24th, because I did not think it was worth it until now to have my back put in.  All of the vertigo issues and the thought of hitting my leg or otherwise hurting it seemed more important than my aching back. I remembered to take my DizzyFix to this appointment. He was really impressed with it and even asked me if we could do the maneuver with it, so he could see it in action. He already knows the Epley Maneuver, but did not know anything about the DizzyFix. He wants one for his office, now. :)  "

National Parkinson Foundation

"This month, the National Parkinson Foundation launched its second major smartphone app, Parkinson’s Central. In 2011, the NPF developed and released the first ever Parkinson’s app for docs, the Parkinson’s Toolkit. The instant success and popularity of these smartphone-based apps has proven that Parkinson’s disease has shifted into the technological generation, where patients and families expect information to be instantly available, literally in the palm of their hand. In this month’s What’s Hot column, I will discuss these two Parkinson’s disease apps, and also address the challenges of reaching everyone suffering from this disease, on a worldwide scale. "

Parkinson's Insights
 (Parkinson's Disease Foundation)

"1.  BigBrain is like the Google Earth of the brain, allowing researchers to not only see the big picture of brain anatomy but also allowing them to zoom in with incredible resolution to practically see individual cells.

2.  Although BigBrain is like Google Earth, it currently does not have any labels.  That is, if you do not already know what you are looking at, BigBrain will not be able to help you.  (Is that New York City or Jersey City that I see?) Not all scientists are experts in neuroanatomy and so not everyone looking at BigBrain can delineate every brain structure.  Besides, annotating BigBrain will only need to happen once.  As this is done over time, researchers of all stripes will be able to ask interesting questions."

Shake, Rattle, and Roll

"We felt the need to raise some awareness about this disease, not too many people under the age of 50 are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease we are the minority.
This is where the idea to hold a Motorcycle Rally began. Wanda was the drive, she needed something to focus on and get her mind off of their future.
So began the planning of the first annual “Shake Rattle & Roll Motorcycle Rally for Parkinson’s disease”.
A group of friends were invited to join in the planning of the rally and together we got the wheels turning."

Positively Parkinson's

 "The call display had my heart beating faster instantly.  The voice on the other end of the phone announced the beginning of an adventure the likes of which I had never known.  One could argue, and some did (and still do), that to accept the assignment was foolhardy.  Were there not enough challenges in my life; grappling with the degenerative effects of Parkinson’s disease, maintaining a thriving practice of law as part of a dynamic team of professionals, and contributing “spare time” to charitable causes (including serving as an ambassador for World Parkinson Congress 2013 in Montréal in October)?  Certainly, I had not been looking to take on any additional responsibilities.  In fact, the opposite might have been true.  But I knew this was a call I needed to answer."

On Being a Christian With Parkinson's Disease

 "Do you feel weak? Are you on your last leg of energy? Has hope dimmed and are you overwhelmed and weary of the battle against PD? Do you doubt your ability to get through another day​?

God says, “My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9-10"

Sitting Comfortably

"It just so happens that I have had one of these nasty little tests before, so I knew what was coming. I remember the jolts of electricity from electrodes placed on the skin going down my arm, causing individual muscles to fire and jumping about like a cat on a hot tin roof in response. Then the needles which were stuck into the muscles which are stimulated by movement of the arm or by wiggling the needle in its site and readings taken. Not necessarily painful, but extremely uncomfortable."

National Young Onset Center 

"I got a lot of response to one of my recent Tweets (@PDpsych) and wanted to blog a little followup:
The best way to drive away those you love is to project your anger w/PD on them. Helping you cope & taking the heat are not the same thing.
I was commenting on a phenomenon many PD partners are very familiar with and that I wanted to blog more about as a follow up. Parkinsons can produce a lot of anger. This anger will not be found on any of the list of “non-motor” symptoms because it is not a direct outgrowth of the neurological change. It is a reaction to having a difficult, chronic disease. Being a little angry about PD is a pretty understandable human response. Making someone you love the target for that anger is not.
Parkinson’s disease has no face. When a person become angry and frustrated because of its impact, there is no one upon whom one can truly direct these feelings. A person who is not careful may find these feelings discharging anyway. The target is often only a proxy for the PD, an unwitting victim."

About Parkinson's Disease

"Much of my work at Parkinsons Recovery over the past six years has been dedicated to identifying all sorts of options that are helping people reverse their symptoms. This has been important work and it seems I am the only researcher in the world doing this type of research. Everyone else is very focused on a narrow issue (as was I when employed as a professor). If you do not focus narrowly as a  professor, you do not get promoted or tenured. I succeed with the promotions and tenure but contributed little to the world in terms of insights and revelations.
What is my revelation this week?  I believe we do not need to struggle for the answer. The journey down the road to recovery need not be a war of us against a “disease.” I believe the answer comes quite naturally and effortlessly as long as we allow it to float in and “have its way.”
What do I mean here? If we are struggling to find a solution . . ."

Note:  For the most part, the links are to the blog, not to the specific post I excerpted.  I'm doing this August 6, 2013, so if you are looking for the specific post and it's six months or two years after this post, it will be one of the recent posts from August 6, 2013.