Enjoy at your leisure!
September 9, 2024 Ellen Phiddian
(Back in the 80s I heard a story of Norman Cousins putting his apple juice in a specimen cup, then later taking a sip while listening to a visitor. I think of Norman Cousins when I see headlines like this one. I don’t believe he was a clown, but others’s mileage may vary, as to humor in the hospital, also Norman Cousins, not to mention clowns.)
Medical clowns are known to have a positive therapeutic impact on kids in hospitals for a range of health issues, and now it’s been shown they can reduce the length of stay and antibiotic use for children with pneumonia.
A study, done on 51 children, found that those visited by medical clowns on average left hospital more than a day earlier than those who weren’t.
“Medical clowns undergo specific training to work in hospitals,” says Dr Karin Yaacoby-Bianu, a researcher at the Carmel Medical Centre and Israel Institute of Technology, Israel.
“They have been shown to reduce pain and alleviate stress and anxiety in children and their families during medical treatment, and have been gradually integrated into many aspects of hospital care.
“But their impact on children being treated for pneumonia has not been investigated.”
Yaacoby-Bianu presented her team’s research at the 2024 European Respiratory Society Congress.
“Community acquired pneumonia is one of the leading causes of hospitalisation in children, globally,” she says.
The team split 51 children, aged between 2 and 18, who had been hospitalised with pneumonia, into 2 groups.
They all received standard care, but one group also had four 15-minute visits from a medical clown from the Dream Doctors Project during their stays.
The clowns did a variety of activities including music, singing, and guided imagination.
The group visited by clowns stayed in hospital for 43.5 hours on average, while the control group stayed in hospital for 70 hours on average.
Children visited by clowns needed an average of 2 days of IV antibiotic treatment, while the control group required 3. Other medical markers, like heart rate and inflammation, were lower in the clown group.
“While the practice of medical clowning is not a standardised interaction, we believe that it helps to alleviate stress and anxiety, improves psychological adjustment to the hospital environment and allows patients to better participate in treatment plans like adherence to oral antibiotics and fluids,” explains Yaacoby-Bianu.
“Laughter and humour may also have direct physiological benefits by lowering respiratory and heart rates, reducing air trapping, modulating hormones, and enhancing the immune function.”
Dr Stefan Unger, a paediatrician at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People Edinburgh, UK, who wasn’t involved in the research, says the study shows the positive effect humour can have in healthcare. (snip-MORE)
https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/body-and-mind/medical-clowns-pneumonia/
(One is definitely from a while back, but is somehow still pertinent…)
Jimmy makes his return after being away for the summer with his family. He talks about all of the news he missed this summer, the craziness that came out of Trump’s bigly mouth, his comments at “The Moms for Liberty” event over the weekend, new VP picks JD Vance and Tim Walz, the incredible twist that Netflix put on their hot dog eating contest this weekend, and all of our summer guest hosts rate their experience at the show on Yelp.
Read it sometime when you have a few minutes. It’s a fine little break from school shootings, etc. I was surprised by some new ideas for movies, and am looking forward to seeing a couple of these, at least.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Updated 4:07 PM CDT, September 3, 2024
The seasonal differences of the movie calendar have eroded a little bit with time. Neither of the last two Oscar juggernauts — “Oppenheimer,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” — opened in the fall, the traditional launching pad of Academy Awards hopefuls.
And just the same, f all tends to be nearly as stuffed as summer is with sequels, horror thrillers and would-be blockbusters. Still, some of the old rules still apply. A large percentage of 2024’s best movies are set to unspool in the coming months.
So with that in mind, here are some of the most anticipated films of this fall, from large to small and everything in between. (Snip-there are many-scroll on through on the page while enjoying a nice cool/warm drink of something, and/or some ice cream.)
First, it is absolutely a promotion for 9Lives kitty stuff and the shelter charity to which they’re contributing. I’m mainly posting this for the video; the ad ran while a mahjong game was loading on Shockwave. I’d never seen it before, and it’s cool, even though it’s an ad. Scottie’s kitties might also like it, along with anyone else kitty- or not kitty-related. I always loved Morris! To skip the blahblahblah and see the video, just scroll down.
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If your cat or dog is chosen to be Morris’ Vice President, you’ll choose which animal shelter will receive a $35,000 donation, estimated to be worth half a million 9Lives meals
LAKEVILLE, Minn., Aug. 14, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Earlier today, Morris, the legendary 9Lives spokescat, announced he’s once again running for President of the United States of America. He has already run for President on three separate occasions in 1988, 1992 and 2012. Fourth time’s the charm! Morris believes that meow is the time to bring his presidential hopes back into the spotlight and put renewed focus on the importance of pet adoption.
As he spreads his message of paws-itivity, Morris is eagerly on the hunt for a running mate – any cat or dog who shares his belief in The Good Life is invited to apply! If you think your pet has what it takes, visit www.MorrisforPresident.com to submit your nomination.*
The winner will receive a $1,000 prize and the chance to choose which animal shelter will receive a $35,000 donation from 9Lives – estimated to be worth half a million 9Lives meals. Internet sensation Doug the Pug will be serving as Morris’ Campaign Manager to help with his VP search.
As a bona fide rescue cat success story himself, Morris is an advo-cat for pets in need. In fact, he’s conceived five paw-licies to help all pets live The Good Life:
“Since becoming the 9Lives spokescat in 1968, my true purrrrr-pose in life has been to promote cat adoption and make it easier for humans to give cats a comfortable life with plenty of tasty, nutritious food,” said Morris the Cat. “I was a shelter cat myself before my rise to stardom. As President, I won’t quit until every cat out there is living The Good Life!”
For more information about Morris the Cat and 9Lives, head to www.9Lives.com. (snip)
We had a Radio Shack here in town for a lot of years, but not as long as till 2015. The manager/co-owner also had a story in another, larger city, and eventually moved there. He and DH were really good friends before I came along, and then we all made friends. I used to do volunteer literacy tutoring; one time, our director asked me if I’d try working with a young woman who could read and pronounce English, but had no idea how to converse, having only ever used Farsi for communication. Of course I tried it. It turned out she was our Radio Shack friend’s sister in law! I still am not really sure I taught her much; she already knew how to greet people, and some rudimentary questions and answers, “What do you think about this weather?” “Do you know whose cat that is?” But, she was not confident. She could comprehend and repeat, but not necessarily always apply and respond conversationally in English (her husband sometimes came along, and did translation.) I worked with her for a few years and she seemed to feel better about it all and I saw improvement, but no real click. One time, they didn’t show up for a session, and I’ve never seen them again. I’d heard that our friend had had a little trouble, too, here in town; this would have been a few weeks after the plane crashes in Sept. of 2011. I finally got up the nerve to just ask him if they were OK. He said they moved a little farther East, by some other relatives. They were doing fine, and he’d tell them I said hello. I asked him to tell their little girl that our son said hello, too; she had a crush on him because he read to her while I was working with her mom. I guess I just needed to share that story; this Radio Shack piece reminded me of all of that. Thanks for hangin’ in with me on this!
from the Smart Ones! Enjoy, probably without beverage.
Scottie's Playtime 