...don't let the door hit ya in the ass on the way out, eh?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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I totally agree. Babies are good eatin'. Particularly when slathered in BBQ sauce. Mmmmm. Tasty.

Have at it, my devoted Cake Eater readers.

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Holy Crap! Doug's back!

And it's a good thing, too, because way back in July, he linked to my baldie picture---and then had the gall not to post anything for six months, meaning that I was still getting hits from that damn post until a few days ago, when it, mercifully, was pushed down the page.

Despite this egregious error, I'm nonetheless glad to have him back at the keyboard. If for no other reason than I can give him loads of shit about Nebraska's faltering football program.

Heh.

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A bit of advice to our favorite web slinger from moi. Ahem. Feel free to use the UN building when you pull your Tarzan routine, but for the love of God, don't actually enter the freakin' place.

{...}In a move reminiscent of storylines developed during the second world war, the UN is joining forces with Marvel Comics, publishers of Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk, to create a comic book showing the international body working with superheroes to solve bloody conflicts and rid the world of disease.

The comic, initially to be distributed free to 1m US school children, will be set in a war-torn fictional country and feature superheroes such as Spider-Man working with UN agencies such as Unicef and the "blue hats" - UN peacekeepers.

Camilla Schippa, chief of office at the UN Office for Partnerships, told the Financial Times the script was being written now and the final storyline was due to be approved in February. The illustrators are working for free. After publication in the US, the UN hopes to translate the comics into French and other languages and distribute them elsewhere, Ms Schippa said. The idea came from French film-maker Romuald Sciora, who had been working on other UN projects and is making a DVD about the international organisation that will be distributed to schoolchildren along with the comic books.{...}

Spidey, Spidey, Spidey. Whatever are we to do with you? Poor, naive sap. Mary Jane's behind this one, isn't she? You can fess up. We'll understand.

Whilst I'm sure Mary Jane's heart is in the right place, she's wrong about this one. She fed you some line of bull over cold, leftover pizza, about how the UN, really and truly, is the only international governmental organization that can truly help those in need around the world, didn't she? Well, my web-slinging friend, don't you see that she's taking you for a ride? Mary Jane, while a very nice girl, I will admit, is also an actress. Of course she's going to have a very liberal worldview, wherein the UN is good and wonderful and the mean, old US is withholding their funds and talking trash about the work they do. MJ would understand that it's all about PR. Where better to reap the benefits of good PR than with those who have very little power to distinguish between the facts of the situation---i.e. that the UN is the most corrupt of corrupt organizations and most Americans have formed a bad opinion of them for precisely that reason---and the lure of a free comic book? Yes, Spidey, we're talking about the children; they are first front engaged in any propaganda war because they have a limited sense of the world, and the motivations of the people within it. They're easy targets, Spidey. Go to your history books and check out where Goebbels and Stalin made their biggest strides---and you'll see it was with the children of their respective countries. You're being used, Spidey, in a propaganda war to bring children over to the dark, insidious side of institutional corruption. While I would agree that institutional corruption isn't exactly on the same level as anti-semitic fascism and communism, the toll it exacts, however, can be just as hefty as either of those ideologies.

I fully realize you're a physics geek, who's got bigger problems to deal with in his daily life that don't revolve around widespread corruption at the UN, but, really, you need to wise up.

Posted by: Kathy at 10:35 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Hey, you Romney for Minnesota bastards: don't say I didn't warn you.

I've decided that while Mitt does have some fabulous hair, he needs to switch it up.

And I'm just the girl for the job.

Here's Mitt with Don King's hair. Kinda suits him, for some strange reason.

Who's hair should we appropriate for Mitt next, kids? Any ideas? I'm thinking Zsa Zsa Gabor, but I'm not sure.

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Benazir Bhutto, the first woman to be prime minister of an Islamic country, was murdered in cold blood today by a suicide bomber in Rawalpindi. The NYT has a decent, covers-the-bases obituary here. Whilst, you can find the details of her murder here. Via Gateway Pundit, we have a claim of responsibility coming from Al-Qaeda, but I'm not quite so sure it's to be trusted.

A spokesperson for the al-Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for the death on Thursday of former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto.

“We terminated the most precious American asset which vowed to defeat [the] mujahadeen,” Al-Qaeda’s commander and main spokesperson Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid told Adnkronos International (AKI) in a phone call from an unknown location, speaking in faltering English. Al-Yazid is the main al-Qaeda commander in Afghanistan.{...}

Whether that's actually true or not, I don't know, but suicide bombing is definitely Al-Qaeda's m.o., so I wouldn't be surprised if they're responsible. As much as Bhutto complained about the security Musharraf's administration offered---and the resulting conspiracy theories that abound regarding the attack on her procession back in October---I highly doubt he had anything to do with it.

Neither do I have any clue about what her assassination means for the future of Pakistan. I'm not going to pretend to, either, because, in all honesty, Pakistani politics is always a crapshoot, and I'm of the general opinion that anyone who claims to be the soothsayer of the moment in regards to Pakistani politics is full of it. They don't know what will happen. They can only guess. And they'll most likely be wrong when it all shakes out.

The only commentary I'm going to offer in regards to Bhutto's heinous assassination is that I find it curious that while it's been much heralded that she was the most powerful woman in Pakistani politics, and in Islamic politics in general, it hasn't been mentioned at all that, perhaps, her gender might have had something to do with why she was murdered. There hasn't been one ounce of speculation that I can see in any of the articles I scanned on Google News, that the fact that she was a woman put her at greater risk from Islamic nutjobs. Why, even in the Al-Qaeda claim of responsibility, the only reasoning the Al-Qaeda commander offered was that she was an ally of the United States and had promised to help defeat terrorism.

I don't know whether this is a MSM whitewash job, to avoid the reality of the situation, as they do so spectacularly most of the time, or if, really and truly, her gender had nothing to do with it. That she was simply murdered for who she was, what she represented and what she stood for. If that's the case, well, isn't it rather extraordinary that Islamic nutjobs---who feel they have to be protected from women, lest they be tempted toward sin, and subsequently subjugate them every day of the week, and twice on Fridays, all over the globe---inadvertently achieved a measure of Western-style gender equality and murdered Bhutto simply for her politics. They didn't murder her because she was with a man to whom she was not related. They didn't murder her because she had the gall to get behind the wheel of a car and drive herself where she needed to go. They didn't stone her because they believed she was an adulteress. They murdered her for her politics.

It doesn't make her murder any less heinous. But what's not being said is rather significant: that Bhutto was their equal and she deserved to be murdered the same way as any man with whom they disagreed.

That, at least, is something in a culture where she easily could have been murdered for not covering her hair.

Posted by: Kathy at 12:42 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Clueless

Who better to disparage than lawyers? They're known for talking fast, driving expensive cars and making sure they take as much of our hard-earned money as possible - when we're at our most vulnerable.

Some lawyers are willing to face up to their bad rep. The attorneys at Parsinen Kaplan Rosberg & Gotlieb of Minneapolis have turned it on its head, creating a magazine-style public relations piece called "(Not Just Another) Despicable Lawyer."

Designed for some 5,000 clients and friends of the firm, the magazine contains stories about the good works its lawyers have done, the interesting trips they've taken or the hobbies they enjoy outside the office. It also lists gift ideas that benefit others, like Heifer Project International, which provides animals for families in poor countries.

"I think this piece has really captured the essence of the culture of the firm," said Mary Kay Ziniewicz, the firm's business development director, who came up with the idea.

"Our clients see a side of their attorney that they didn't know before, and so it really opens up conversations," she said. {...}

So, what we have here is yet another waste of paper in the name of "community relations," to put it kindly. It's fluff pr, but it's fluff pr, with style, and a sense of humor about itself. Whilst I will give them credit for the tack they took, they still manage to screw it up, however.

{...}In one of the magazine's more personal pieces, managing partner Howard Rubin talks about his personal crisis of confidence and a simultaneous struggle with his mother's Alzheimer's disease.

"I dwelled on life's problems and what they were doing to us, rather than focusing on what I could be doing," he wrote.

He realized that he wanted to help others and loved to throw great parties. Rubin ended up serving on the board of the Alzheimer's Association, chairing its annual gala.

The energy he gained from that work also spilled over to his law practice. He began to see that his contributions were valuable, and he decided the firm "needn't be dull and laborious - we could have unforgettable parties!"{...}

{my emphasis}

Yay! Unforgettable parties! Who wouldn't want to go to an unforgettable law firm party? We, apparently, can all find higher purpose in this life simply by having an unforgettable (!) party! It's, like, in the Bible or something.

The pressing question I would like answered, however, is if the firm's clients who received this piece o' work were somehow charged for it----and the postage the firm used to send it out.

Posted by: Kathy at 09:11 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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So, in a bit of precisely plotted populist electioneering, the Serbian parliament was set to pass a resolution today, "{...}implicitly rejecting membership of the European Union and NATO if the West recognizes the independence of Kosovo." President Boris Tadic is up for re-election in January, and, apparently, he's ready to forgo the carrots for the stick. Probably because it'll play well during his re-election campaign, when the prizes double during the rhetoric round.

Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica had this to say in regards to said resolution:

{...}"Kosovo is big enough for Serbs and Albanians," the prime minister added. But "the main problem is that the United States is preventing the Albanians from compromising."{...}

{my emphasis}

Gee, if only those pesky Americans would get the hell out of the way, of course bees would buzz, birds would fly, dogs and cats and Albanians and Serbs would live together in peaceful harmony. If only the US administration would evacuate to Hawaii for the month of January and take up surfing as an admirable past-time, the Albanians would see reason and peace would break out all over, like a particularly virulent case of the crabs.

Yep. It's all our fault. Really and truly. The Serbian Prime Minister said so.

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We've gotten some snow here in Cake Eater land over the past couple of days.

Starting on Friday night, we received some sort of precipitation that resembled a slurpee. That froze solid on Saturday afternoon, when the temperature dropped quite quickly after another inch of the white fluffy stuff covered it over. On Sunday, we received about four inches when the tail end of the blizzard that hit Wisconsin rather badly sideswiped us. Yesterday, we received another few inches, and this morning, it's snowing lightly and is supposed to stop in the next hour or so. Reportedly, on Friday we're to get another one to three inches.

The only reason I mention this precipitation pattern is to note that I'm really sick and tired of the snow plow drivers only showing up for overtime hours. As in, the plows are all over the roads late at night, but if you need them to be running at any time during the day, well, that's a crapshoot. The Cake Eater pad resides on a fairly busy road, which is managed by Hennepin County. Across the street, in the Province of Minneapolis, the streets, per usual, have barely been cleaned off at all. Our back alley is taken care of by the Cake Eater City crews, and they've been on the ball---and I've got no issues with them. (They even plow the sidewalk in front of my house, because the plows dump their stuff there and they wisely realize that no mere mortal snowblower could work its way through that crap.) But it appears as if the Hennepin County and City of Minneapolis crews would prefer to make sure they're making as much money per hour of snowplow driving as possible, whilst the roads become completely unmanageable in the meantime. This is not to say I haven't seen crews from my perch, here in the Cake Eater pad, during the day, but they are far and few between during that time period, whereas during the evening, they're all over the place. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize what's going on here. Mr. H. reports a similar situation within Ramsey county, where he lives.

I suspect, if the snow keeps up in this fashion, the county and Minneapolis will be announcing sometime in early February, if not sooner, that they've run entirely out of money for snow removal and will come begging to the state for assistance. Of course, when they go a-begging to the legislature, I'm certain they will not mention that their drivers only seem to show up for work when they're getting paid double for their services.

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Well, here we are again, my devoted Cake Eater readers. Another year has passed, and in time-honored holiday fashion, I'm going to post everyone's favorite photo of me...

...if for no other reason than my hair was longer in this photo than it is now. Perhaps if I have enough spiked egg nog tonight, I'll let the husband take a photo of me and I'll post it for comparison purposes. But only if I have enough spiked egg nog. We'll just have to see how things on that front progress.

My hair aside, I realized earlier this month that I really didn't need any Christmas presents because I'd received a pretty big present this year, in the form of my survival from ovarian cancer. Whenever anyone asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I honestly couldn't come up with anything to tell them. And while my reply frustrated the Cake Eater Mom, I'm fine with it. I want for nothing. I've got my life, and my health, and that's all that really matters. While my survival required some rather large sacrifices, we're coming to terms with the situation. We're not healed yet, but, just like everything else, I have faith that we'll get there. Someday. That's enough for now.

I have so many blessings in my life. I have my fabulous family, who really stepped up this year to keep me buoyed up during my incarceration in the hospital and at home, afterwards, and during my treatments. We've had illness and adversity in our family before. We're no different than any other family in that regard. Yet, as the first of our immediate family to be diagnosed with cancer---a disease that has done a number already on our extended family---I know I scared the shit out of them. I'm so sorry I scared them. I couldn't really help it, but I'm sorry nonetheless. Instead of running away, like some of my real-world friends did, however, they all stepped up and did what they could to help, even if that was just sending the occasional e-mail telling me that they were thinking of me. That's no small thing. I'm thankful for them. I am also thankful for my in-laws who, despite having their own massive battles to fight this year, took the time, of which they didn't have much, to help out in their own way.

I also have my fantastic friends. My real-life friends, like Mr. H. and ML and the Doctor, just to name a few, have been there with incredible amounts of support, Louis Vuitton scarves, friendship, and much-needed laughter. They're incredible people and I'm truly blessed to have them in my life. I also have my online friends, people like Chrissy, who sent marvelous pick-me-up presents and emails, but who also made and shipped a SHITLOAD of gooey cakes to help out with my nephew James' JDRF fundraising efforts and never got a proper 'thank you' note from moi for her efforts, but who, somehow, doesn't think bad manners are a reason for cutting off friendship. For that I'm REALLY grateful, because she's truly an extraordinary person and I'm grateful for her presence in my life. I'm also grateful for the Llamas for their friendship. Steve-o kept up with the usual harassment, which made it feel much like things were still the same, and for Robbo in particular (and who just sent me the sweetest Christmas note, which completely made me blubber.) for plenty of things, but mostly for making me laugh like nothing else had in a long while with his "chemo pr0n" comment when I posted this picture. A certain "Just Me," with whom most of us are familiar, has also been a rock, and who graciously allowed me to make something useful out of all the knowledge I gained from my hysterectomy. Surprisingly, despite the fact I'm full of shit, she even took some of my advice and, in the process, made me feel useful for the first time in a long time.Phoenix, Cal Tech Girl, Eric, Zonker, Mitch , RP, and SO many others that I'm undoubtedly forgetting to mention, have also been just fantastic. But, last but not least, I cannot forget my devoted Cake Eater readers from Winterset, Russ and his wife, the Lovely Janis, who sent not only many, many emails of friendship and support, but who also sent a sleeve of cups from Kelly's, which I've been meaning to blog about, but haven't quite gotten around to doing yet. The internet truly does make the world a small place, but it makes my world so much bigger and richer because of the people I've been fortunate to meet through it.

And, finally, I have my incredible husband, who has been such a gift this year, that I really cannot express how grateful I am for him. I married a good man. I've written before that he's a wonder, and that I'm grateful for the knowledge of him, but really, kids, he's gone so far beyond and above the call of duty this year, that, well, I get all weepy thinking about him and all he's done for me for no other reason than that he loves me. I feel humbled and undeserving of his love and devotion. I'm a lucky, lucky girl.

And now, because I have other things I have to do this Christmas Eve Day, I will wrap this post up with a golden oldie recommendation for tonight. I wrote this little bit way back in 2003, during my very first Cake Eater Christmas, and I've always been particularly proud of it, unlike most of my writing. I always struggle to get things right, and usually after I post something, I think of a million ways I could have gotten something across better. This is one of the few instances where I think I got it just right the first time around:

Make the time tonight, between glasses of wine and obnoxious relatives, to go outside. Enjoy the peace and quiet, albeit temporary. Enjoy the cold for a few minutes. Breathe deeply and, for a brief moment, enjoy the icicles forming in your lungs. Shiver copiously. And then look up at the night sky, and if Rudolph's honker isn't too distracting, gaze at the stars.

Then, think of a young couple who on this night, roughly two thousand years ago, gave everything over to their faith and a God who demanded difficult things of them to fulfill His will. Know that they submitted without hesitation. Think of the gift they gave us this night and know that they gazed at the same stars you're looking at.

And know that the world is a wondrous place.

Merry Christmas, my devoted Cake Eater readers.

UPDATE: I'm also incredibly thankful for YouTube.

And Linus.

Posted by: Kathy at 12:30 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Interesting piece in this weekend's FT, detailing a visit to Winterset, Iowa, home of devoted Cake Eater readers, Russ and The Lovely Janis, and their freezer, which I'm assured is chock-a-block full of venison.

Anyone wondering why Hillary Clinton has a battle on her hands in Iowa should visit the picturesque town of Winterset. The mid-western state, which holds the first critical nominating caucus 10 days from Saturday, is one of the few in the US never to have elected a woman to the House of Representatives, the Senate or, even, to its governorship.

Located amid the ice-covered corn and soyabean fields of central Iowa, Winterset is the birthplace of John Wayne, hero of countless westerns and lifelong friend of Ronald Reagan, president from 1981-1989. “You should visit Winterset,” said a senior figure in one of the Democratic campaigns. “It is like stepping into a 1950s movie set.”

Although John Wayne was born a century ago and his family left town when he was just three, the gruff, plain-spoken leading man of classics such as True Grit, Stagecoach and Fort Apache would find remarkably little had changed. People leave their doors unlocked in Winterset, and their cars running when they pop into the post office.

“Iowa is a socially conservative state,” says Jerry Scheertfeger, former mayor of Winterset, in an interview at the soda fountain in the Montross Pharmacy opposite the clock tower in the town square. “We are proud of John Wayne. He was always on the side of good, he always won and he never used bad words.”{...}

Go read the whole thing. I find it refreshing that the reporter focused on The Duke, Winterset's other claim to fame, rather than that lame-ass book. (In case you're wondering how Winterset and "The Bridges of Madison County" are connected, well, Winterset is the county seat for Madison County. Pretty little courthouse on the square, too.) However, I think, perhaps, the reporter had some preconceived notions about how "religious" people were in that neck of the woods and went out of his way to quote people who supported his notions. I also suspect that Russ will be disappointed that there was not one mention of Fred in the article.

Posted by: Kathy at 01:41 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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So, my devoted Cake Eater readers, I haven't talked about my hair in a while, so I should probably remedy that, eh?

I actually have some right now, which is good. I enjoy the fact that I have hair now. It beats baldness...with a short, pointy stick, and it beats it easily, with little to no effort extended. Particularly since it's gotten cold outside and my head chills easily. Even though my hair is currently shorter than most of the dos you see on the average dude, I'm really beyond caring at this point in time. It's going to be ugly for a very long time and I've accepted that fact. Plus, I'm saving money on shampoo and product, as I don't use very much. So, there's that bonus, too, right? I should be counting my blessings, right?

Well, I think something's happening in regards to the hair and I don't know that it's going to be a good thing.

When I went to chemo class at the oncologist's office, they gave me this handy dandy expandable file folder (generously provided by Amgen, raper and pillager of cancer patients and their insurance companies everywhere), chock-a-block loaded with valuable information for those of us unlucky enough to go through chemotherapy. In it was one sheet regarding hair loss.

I thus quoteth from the sheet:

{...}Prior to hair loss, you may experience various sensations on your scalp such as tingling, itching or hurting. When you're able to pull out small tufts of hair, you will probably lose your hair within three days.

{...}It usually takes about six months for your hair to grow back to normal. As your hair begins to grow, it appears as "vellus hair." This soft, fluffy hair will last about two months. It gradually falls out and is replaced by more normal growing hair.

In about four months your hair may grow in curly. If your choose to have your hair colored, wait four months after your final treatment. The first time you have your hair colored, the color will not take very well, but the second time it should take normally.

It is best to wait six months after your last treatment to perm your hair. The recommended type of Perm is ISO Partin.

I did the math. The fuzz started coming in about a month after my last taxol treatment in July, so we'd be talking mid-August, for those of you keeping score at home. For about a week or two, it was simply comprised of white fuzz, that you couldn't see very well. Then the brown stuff started growing in, and by the last part of October, I felt comfortable enough with the coverage to go out of the house without my head wrapped up in a scarf. People stopped staring about this point in time, which was good, too. Right now, it's filled in nicely, and is sticking up in odd places, to the point where, if you catch me at the right moment, (like right after I pull my hat off) I vaguely resemble Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade. The hair is very fine, but it's my natural color, and Thank God, there's no gray coming in.

However, it appears there's a catch. You see, given the above information, I fully expected this brown stuff that I have now to fall out in October. But it didn't. It stayed put and I somewhat forgot about the fact that it might fall out. I knew that the new, and most likely curlier, stuff would come in soon enough, but after October passed without any hair loss, I somewhat forgot about it. Until now.

You see, for the past week or so, I haven't had any body hair growth to speak of. It's been very light and shaving, which isn't my favorite activity to begin with, has pretty much been kaiboshed. I didn't think too much of it. There's still a lot going on with my body, even lo these many months since the last chemo IV. I just figured it was something else, and it was nothing to worry about. As long as it's not painful or very disturbing, my general policy is not to be bothered about it. But yesterday, my scalp started hurting again, like it did when I lost my hair back in the spring. The best explanation I can come up with for this tenderness is that it feels like you've had your hair in a pony tail for too long. I know that doesn't help those of my devoted Cake Eater readers who've never had hair long enough to put back in a pony tail, but I don't know how else to explain it. It's just sore and tingly. Which, I don't think bodes well. It feels just like it did back then. Given the sparse information on the "four month out" period, I don't know if this means I'll go bald again, and then the regular hair will grow back in, or if this just means it's growing back, and will gradually replace the hair I have now.

Sigh. And just in time for Christmas, too!

I tried to call Dr. Academic's super-duper-helpful-with-the-information-nurse about this yesterday, but it turns she's out on maternity leave. (Seriously, I didn't even know she was preggers until I saw her last month. The woman didn't show AT ALL until the very end.) I didn't want to deal with the B-Team, because they always hand off conflicting, and sometimes wrong, information, so I left it alone. I'm somewhat in the dark right now about just will happen, but this year has been shitty enough all the way around, so it wouldn't surprise me one little bit if all the hair fell out and I was bald for Christmas, and New Years---and in the middle of winter, when it's freakin' cold outside, too. That would just be my luck.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:03 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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So, the husband and I sat down to view Shoot 'Em Up this evening.

I will not outline the plot, because there was no plot. Well, a small one might have snuck in there, somewhere, but really, it didn't mean to, man. It was only trying to help. Really, it shouldn't have bothered. Because it just distracted from the action, and, Jesus, Mary, Joseph and all the saints and angels, is there some action in this movie! It was stylized to a fare-thee-well, and clever in bits, but it was repetitive and so freakin' over the top, that you wondered what they could pull off next, because they couldn't go there, could they?

Yes, Junior, they could and they would.

At one point, I didn't think it could get any more over-the-top and I was thrilled with one development and I, quite literally, began screaming at the tee vee, "Gimme More! Gimme More!" And, God bless them, they obliged me. When the movie was finished, I was worn out, and breathless, like I'd just had spectacular, knocked-the-house-off-the-foundation sex and was having a hard time coming back down to earth. It was exhilarating in a completely mindless way...and it was fan-fucking-tastic.

Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti are to be kissed full-on the lips for making this movie. I'll slip Clive some tongue, but Paul...well, ok, I'll slip Paul, tongue, too. They deserve it, because between the two of them, they manage to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. No one else could have pulled this off. They did not take themselves seriously, because if they had, they would have ruined it. And they knew it.

Anyway, the upshot is that Shoot 'Em Up is bad. So, so bad. But it's bad in a very good way. For once, the movie is as advertised. It's a shoot 'em up movie. Nothing more, nothing less. For that alone, I want to thank someone profusely. But that the movie is grand in every, way shape and form, well, that makes it even better.

Highly recommended for a couple of hours of mindless, exciting fun.

Posted by: Kathy at 09:43 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I wonder what it could be?

Oh, yeah. I've got it now.

"It all just depends on what your definition of 'is' is."

{ht: Ace}

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A crying shame.

Outraged family and friends are blaming a medical insurer's heel-dragging for the premature death of a California teenager who died awaiting a liver transplant.

Nataline Sarkisyan, a 17-year-old from Glendale, Calif., died Thursday just a few hours after her insurer, Cigna Health Care, approved a procedure it had previously described as "too experimental" and that dozens of Sarkisyan's supporters protested at the Cigna's headquarters.

{...}The Sarkisyan family claims that Cigna first agreed to the liver transplant surgery and had secured a match weeks ago. After the teen, who was battling leukemia, received a bone marrow transplant from her brother, however, she suffered a lung infection, and the insurer backed away from what it felt had become too risky a procedure.

"They're the ones who caused this. They're the one that told us to go there, and they would pay for the transplant," Hilda Sarkisyan said.

Geri Jenkins of the California Nurses Association said the teen had insurance, and medical providers felt comfortable performing the medical procedure. In that situation, the the insurer should defer to medical experts, she said.

"They have insurance, and there's no reason that the doctors' judgment should be overrided by a bean counter sitting there in an insurance office," Jenkins said.

Doctors at the UCLA Medical Center actually signed a letter urging Cigna to review it's decision. Nataline Sarkisyan was sedated into a coma to stabilize her as the family filed appeals in the case.

During the middle of Thursday's protest, Hilda Sarkisyan fielded a call from Cigna alerting her that her daughter's procedure had been given the green light. Cigna released a statement announcing the company "decided to make an exception in this rare and unusual case and we will provide coverage should she proceed with the requested liver transplant."

The cheers, however, soon gave way to concern as the the hospital called to say that Nataline's health had taken a serious downturn. The family was forced to make the decision to take her off life support, and she later died. The battle to convince Cigna to support the medical procedure had taken too long.

The family said that it will now consider filing a lawsuit against Cigna -- after Nataline Sarkisyan is laid to rest. {...}

I hate stories like this. My sympathies go out to Nataline's family.

But, and there's a rather important "but" here, Nataline's parents would have you believe that Cigna is to blame for her death, rather than the lung infection that ultimately killed her. They're playing the if only game. If only Cigna hadn't denied coverage, she could have had the liver transplant, and all would be well. The big bad health insurer is to blame, once more, for another senseless. It's John Q all over again.

I don't think it's quite as clear cut as all that.

There's no guarantee that Nataline would have survived, even if she'd had the liver transplant. Transplants are risky things, and they don't always work. I'm no doctor, obviously, but it seems to me that if a young girl who was suffering from leukemia, had most likely been through some kind of chemotherapy treatment, and had already had a bone marrow transplant, would already have been somewhat immuno-compromised. Her age would have helped out some with this, though. It's a simple fact: younger people do better with cancer treatment. Yet, you have to add into the mix that she would have had to take immuno-suppresion drugs to keep her body from rejecting the transplant, and then it seems like her survival would have been a long shot. Her youth might not have helped out all that much in such a circumstance. Yet, again, I'm not a doctor, so take my analysis with a grain of salt. I'm just a former chemo patient who had a serious crash course in how the immune system works earlier this year. But the doctors were willing to do the transplant, despite the fact that she had a lung infection---that should suffice for the insurance company, right? I'm not sure. Insurance providers have to weigh the risks of paying for such procedures. As in, if Nataline had received the transplant, then had passed away, it's likely they would have faced liability for her death, then, too. It's a damned if you do, and damned if you don't situation.

The thing that bothers me about all this is why did Nataline's parents stage a protest at the insurance company, when it was most likely possible for them to accept payment liability for the transplant. Then their daughter could receive her much needed transplant, and then they could have hired a lawyer and fought it out with Cigna later. At least, by their reasoning, their daughter would now be be alive. Why is the blame laid automatically at Cigna's feet, when their daughter's health is their responsibility?

People forget that you can get health care without insurance. It happens every damn day of the week, in every hospital in this country. While I'm sure this would have been an exceptional case in terms of self-pay situations, it should have been presented as an option to the Sarkisyans. Why didn't the doctors at UCLA say, "Hey, let's do the transplant and then worry about who's paying for it later?" Why was it so important to the family that the procedure be covered by insurance? I can understand how scary it is to not have a financial safety net underneath you when you make large, expensive decisions like this. Believe me, I understand that. But that's no excuse for inaction in such a circumstance as this. I, too, have had approval for expensive procedures denied by my insurance company because of rules they have set in place, to prevent abuse of the system. But you can always fight that. And you can do it later, after the crisis has passed. Providers usually understand this. It takes a large leap of faith to do this, yes (and it usually requires a Visa card with a large limit on it, too, because they'll want at least a down payment up front.), but it's possible. The problem can be solved. Insurance companies are required by law to have appeals processes in place, so that you can always state your side of things. The procedure is listed out on the back of every single claim rejection---or even every damn letter---they send out. It's a pain, yes, but the process is there for a reason, so that insurance companies aren't later blamed for preferential treatment or, conversely, discrimination. Despite what the media and Hollywood would have you believe, insurance companies are not populated entirely by heartless bastards. While there are some glaring exceptions to that rule, for the most part, insurers do try to make sure that people get the coverage that they're paying for. The Sarkysians were obviously aware of the appeals process, too, because that's precisely what they were doing when their daughter took a turn for the worse. Furthermore, there are generally state and federal funds that could have been applied for to for assistance in paying for the transplant. Hospitals usually employ people whose sole job is to know how the system works, so that they can find the money to get paid and to keep the hospital running. Did the family not qualify for these programs? Do the programs not cover transplants? Did the hospital even inform the family of their options in this regard? There are many unanswered questions. And, from what I can see, no one's bothered asking them in their rush to tar and feather Cigna for their refusal. The questions loom large, but the main one I have is why didn't the family take the financial leap of faith that might have kept the daughter alive? Why did they think that their only option was to fight the insurance company?

Truly, it bothers me to raise these issues so soon after their daughter's death. But they're the ones who went crying to the media, so I guess that makes them fair game. I simply wish they'd seen that they had more options available to them than simply fighting the insurance company. While there's no guarantee that Nataline would still be alive today if her family had done things differently, perhaps, at least, she might have had a fighting chance.

Posted by: Kathy at 11:07 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Why is it that store clerks think they have the right to get all uppity when you choose not to give them your personal information when you're checking out?

I had to purchase some Christmas presents this morning, and when I was checking out, the chick behind the counter started asking me all the same questions an alien would ask right before they probed you anally---you know, if an alien wanted to know what your phone number was, or your email address, mailing address, name of first born child, etc.. I politely said, 'no, thank you' to her inquiries, (even if I'm not sure that was the right reply) and then she proceeded to give me a long lecture about all the "good stuff" I would be missing out on, and if only I gave her my information I could be showered with coupons galore. My eyes narrowed and I said, "I only shop here once a year, if at all, so it's not going to bother me one little bit if I don't get your coupons."

She then proceeded to roll her eyes at me as she handed me my receipts. She didn't say, 'Thanks for your business, come again!" She didn't even wish me a "Happy holiday."

Look here, retailers of the world, if all you're going to offer me is COUPONS, I'm not going to give up my personal information, ya dig? It's MY information. Not yours. I know you think you have some right to it, but you don't. I've actually received FREE LEATHER GOODS for my information. Why on earth would I give up the goods for measly coupons? Are you insane? Furthermore, what is it with people who DO give up their information, thinking they have to? Ahem. YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT. Your information is VALUABLE. Until the quid is worth the quo, don't give it up. Duh. For what said retailer will make in selling your information off, you should get something for the deal, and coupons, quite frankly, are not an equal trade. Wise up, eh?

Oh, and don't get me started about buying a "discount card" at Barnes and Noble. IT'S NOT A DISCOUNT IF YOU HAVE TO BUY IT, IS IT? Duh. I repeat, wise up, people and stop being suckered.

Posted by: Kathy at 12:59 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Sigh. Don't we, perhaps, have better things to do, o' pointy chapeaued ones?

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican on Wednesday condemned the film "The Golden Compass," which some have called anti-Christian, saying it promotes a cold and hopeless world without God.

In a long editorial, the Vatican newspaper l'Osservatore Romano, also slammed Philip Pullman, the bestselling author of the book on which the family fantasy movie is based.

It was the Vatican's most stinging broadside against an author and a film since it roundly condemned "The Da Vinci Code" in 2005 and 2006.

"In Pullman's world, hope simply does not exist, because there is no salvation but only personal, individualistic capacity to control the situation and dominate events," the editorial said.

{...}The Vatican newspaper said "honest" viewers would find it "devoid of any particular emotion apart from a great chill."

{...}The Vatican newspaper said the film and Pullman's writings showed that "when man tries to eliminate God from his horizon, everything is reduced, made sad, cold and inhumane."

The U.S.-based Catholic League, a conservative group, has urged Christians not to see the movie, saying that its objective was "to bash Christianity and promote atheism" to children.

The Vatican newspaper called the movie "the most anti-Christmas film possible" and said that it was "consoling" that its first weekend ticket sales were a disappointing $26 million.{...}

I hadn't commented on this "Whole here we go again, it's another DaVinci Code" thingymabob, because the Vatican hadn't chimed in directly. But now that they have, well, it's time to revisit ground we've covered many, many times before.

Whilst sighing loudly.

First off, I don't take anything the Catholic League has to say seriously, because, to steal a line from Kathy Griffin, it appears the organization is one guy who has mad emailing/press release-issuing skillz. Second, I'm a little tired of the Vatican feeling threatened by works of fiction. Man up, for Heaven's sakes, because God only knows that there are plenty of men in the Vatican---there should be some spare testosterone floating around there somewhere. I fail to see why the Church would be so threatened by works of fiction that it felt the need to slam them into a wall, much like a wrestler would in a WWE pay-per-view extravaganza, and, furthermore, blatantly ask people to boycott them. It's a move that screams you have no faith in what you're preaching, and that you're afraid, somehow, sometime in the future, people will see that there's just a man behind the curtain and not the Great and Powerful Oz. Stop it. You're making asses out of yourselves. You're supposed to be above this sort of thing.

If someone's faith is so threatened by the mere thought of people going to see a movie based on a book with heavy atheist themes, then you don't really have much faith, do you? That it's the pointy chapeaued ones who apparently don't have much faith in people to view the movie, simply for entertainment's sake, and to not come out of the movie theater as a flaming atheist, ready to rush right over to Barnes and Noble to pick up Richard Dawkins' latest 'God is Dead, You Idiots' screed, is, well, disturbing.

Do I not have ANY readers in Vatican City? For Heaven's sake people, stop making fools out of yourselves!

*My apologies to Robbo for stealing his schtick.

Posted by: Kathy at 12:55 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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And it's all because your mama don't dance and your daddy don't rock n' roll.

Posted by: Kathy at 07:55 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Just in case you, my devoted Cake Eater readers, were looking for an online company to print out your Christmas cards, well, I would highly recommend going someplace other than Photoworks.

I'd never done the photo holiday cards before, and given my hair situation, I will admit that it's exceedingly strange that this would be the year to break that particular sound barrier, but as I had a nice photo of the husband and myself, I thought I'd give it a whirl. (Besides, sending out a picture, whilst simultaneously wishing everyone a "Happy and HEALTHY holiday season" sort of gets me out of writing a holiday letter, no?) The only problem with this photo was that it was taken at sunset, with the sun behind us, and the trick of using the flash to compensate for the overwhelming backlighting was not working for some strange reason. Well, never mind, because, verily, there is such a thing as Photoshop. I was able to tweak the photo in that particular program and it looked pretty good by the time I was finished with it. It was a little dark, but you could see us and that's what mattered. I put together the card at Photoworks, received a hefty discount at checkout, and all was well until the cards actually showed up at the Cake Eater pad. For whatever reason, Photoworks did not print the photo in my tweaked manner, but, of course, let their computer program autocorrect the photo---and they ruined the print in the process. You can barely see the husband or myself in the photo, but oh, boy can you really see the setting sun!

I'm still sending the cards out, and I can already hear the ribbing I'll take about them from my friends and family. But I'm not going to redo them. I already paid good money for Christmas cards, and, by golly, I'm going to use them.

However, I thought I'd pass along the warning for what it's worth. I'm not really happy, but I'm somewhat beyond caring at this point in time. A Christmas card is a Christmas card, right? Even if it's crappy. It's the thought that counts. Right?

Posted by: Kathy at 12:03 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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