Having Fun Re-Examining Flossing, and Seven Other Health Care Rules

Might be movin’ to Montana soon
Just to raise me up a crop of
Dental Floss

Frank Zappa — 1973

I can now admit it. I am a crappy dental flosser. I have carried the excuse that vigorous flossing either inflames mouth sores I already have, or aggravates my tendency towards getting them. While that is true, my bad habit was more because flossing just seemed like one more thing to add to a nighttime ritual that already was too bogged down with minutiae, when all I really want to do is read a few pages of whatever thriller is at my bedside, kiss Barb goodnight, and fall asleep. And each of the multiple dental hygienists my dentist has employed has complemented me on the appearance of my teeth since I stopped getting cola stains all over them. So why bother with flossing? But I did feel guilty.

Guilty no more! As reported in the New York Times, the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services no longer recommends flossing in its dietary guidelines. It seems there aren’t any good studies demonstrating that flossing really does prevent cavities. It may help against gingivitis, but even that evidence isn’t the strongest. I can now read my latest potboiler with a lighter heart. But just so you don’t think I am becoming a total libertarian, here are some current health rules I believe we should all still follow:

Going swimming less than one hour after eating is still a bad idea, especially if you are swimming in a school of very hungry sharks.
Spraying lighter fluid onto a glowing grill fire is verboten UNLESS you want to start global warming on your face.
Texting, either while driving or while sitting in the front row of a ball game still sucks, unless you enjoy getting the imprint of your steering wheel or a Rawlings Major League Baseball on your forehead (Note–an exemption to this rule can be given when White Sox are batting at the Cell.)
Don’t crack your knuckles in the middle of an emotional love scene at the multiplex. It might not cause arthritis, but it will cause dirty looks to be aimed your way, and possibly a punch in the nose if a particularly sensitive soul is in the seat next to you.
Picking your feet in Poughkeepsie–still not recommended. At least as long as Gene Hackman is alive.
Drink lots of coffee. No wait, don’t drink coffee. Or feel free to drink all you want. Who knows? I’ll stick to tea.
Have your men get a PSA blood test. Have your kids and grandkids get immunized. No Joke.

Stay health, stay happy, and keep on the lookout for our next edition. Housing updates to come–I promise.

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It’s Her Party and I’ll Cry If I Want To; Bernie Sanders Can’t Crack a Smile

It was a week when I should have been spending every night packing up the house. We have done a lot but there is so much more to do. It was a week when I could have been watching the City Series, a chance to see the White Sox one last time before they throw in the towel. It was a week when I could have binged on all the TV shows I missed while devouring ballpark hotdogs and late night pie alá mode in Milwaukee last weekend. But instead, it was the week I spent glued to convention coverage, watching night after night of key note speakers.

First Lady Michelle Obama, Former President Bill Clinton, President Barack Obama. Different styles, but all on message. Let the Democratic Party come together as one, unite behind Hillary Clinton, send Trump back to his Towers and TV shows. America would NOT be portrayed as part of a post-apocalyptic world that would be my private nightmare. With each speech the house in Philadelphia, the Cradle of Liberty, rocked. I won’t say I was standing up and cheering in my family room, but I did feel a whole lot better than I felt the week before.

Last night was Clintonpalooza. First Chelsea (my God is she really 36 already?) with Dad crying in pride on the sidelines. And then the Main Event, Hillary Clinton, “presumptive” candidate no longer. I concede that she doesn’t have the phrasing, the tonality, the rhythm of the wonderful speakers from earlier in the week. But I loved the way she wasn’t afraid to tackle Trump. Her message was more to the left than I wanted or expected, but it was an acknowledgement of the strength of the Bernie Sanders movement.

And there’s the rub. Bernie, Bernie, Bernie. Half-hearted applause and not a hint of a smile. I know you lost, I know you are disappointed and feel cheated. But come on, you know she needs you, or at least needs your supporters. And you know you really don’t want to open the door to a Trump presidency, once a laughable lunacy, now a poll-able possibility. Would one ear to ear grin, one signal to Bernie Backers that this girl from Park Ridge, Il was alright, really have been that hard? That look on your face is ranked right up there with Clint Eastwood’s chair as one of the worst props in convention history.

So in the musical spirit of this blog, a few suggestions for your play list should you ever be in this situation again:

When You’re Smiling
God Put a Smile on Your Face
Sarah Smile
Can’t Smile Without You.

Or just remember the Beach Boy’s Album Smiley Smile. You can do it Bernie. I know you can!

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We Take a Shine to YInMN. It’s the New Blue!

Have you seen her dressed in blue?
See the sky in front of you.
The Rolling Stones-1967

Once again, I have mislead my blog readers. I told you that white was the decorating color of the year. That may be what Sherwin-Williams and Benjamin Moore want us to believe. But they missed the boat on this one. Did you know we have a brand new pigment, one that no one has ever seen before? Named YInMn Blue, it was created by chemists at Oregon State University a few years ago out of the elements Yttrium, Indium and Manganese. It is extremely vivid and lucky for us, is now on the verge of commercialization. That means you (or we) can be the first on the block with the first new color in a million years or so. According to various resources on the web, you can use the pigment in paint, you can use the pigment on roofs (environmentally friendly and reflects infrared light, keeping homes cooler), but you can’t use the pigment in hair dye. No YInMN punk rockers or YInMn-haired grandma’s, at least not yet.

I think a special new color deserves some special new uses. Here are a few.

A rebirth of interest in the Neil Diamond Song Catalogue with the new hits “Forever in YInMn” and “Song Sung YInMn.”
Capture a Pokémon Go character who is wearing a YInMn cloak and collect triple points.
You think “Avatar” was special? Just wait until you see Na’vi creatures in YInMn blue in “Avatar 2-The Sequel We Don’t Really Need.”
Support Prostate Cancer Awareness group SEABlue with a contribution for the September 11th 5K. Or contact me at les.raff@gmail.com to order a YInMn wristband ($5 each.)
An improved Boo Berry Cereal with YInMn colored flakes and a special prize.
Forget that Little Blue Pill–the Viagra Special Edition Little YInMn Pill will keep you going strong for hours.
No World Series Championships for Cubbie Blue in 108 years? Give ’em YInMn baseball caps, and go ahead and schedule the championship parade. Because YInMn doesn’t fade.
If caps works for the Cubs, imagine what full YInMn uniforms can do for the St. Louis Blues. Sorry Blackhawk fans-the St. Louis YInMns are here to stay.
Rename The House of Blues as The House of YInMn, and hear some of the music that made Chicago famous. And I am pleased to inform you that Jim Belushi and Dan Aykroyd have NO plans to film “The YInMn Brothers.” John Belushi can continue to rest in peace.
You love the Red, White, and Blue? How about the Red,White and YInMn to truly make America great again!

Whether you are singing the blues or kicking them, just remember, with YInMn, it’s a whole new ballgame.

10 Things That Have Changed In A Year, and One That Hasn’t

It seems like yesterday, but it has been about a year since I started writing “Down-Size Maybe,” first as an independent blog on Word-Press, and for the last eight months as part of ChicagoNow. It was meant to be a blog about our home building experience, but like the whole failed concept of “Down-sizing,” the blog has just grown and grown. There have been approximately 125 posts, with poems, songs, raps, some satire, and some smiles along the way. Writing has been a great way to keep in touch with old friends and make some new ones. I have even learned a little punctuation and ~~speling~~ spelling. So let’s take a look at what else has changed in year.

Castles in the Air: That’s all we had a year ago. A piece of land next to a pond, nothing on it but a forlorn looking For Sale sign. It is now a beehive of activity, about 2/3’s of the way toward becoming our home. The neighbors can’t wait to have all the construction finished with, we can’t wait to move in.
Isn’t She Lovely: We were grandparents of one lovely lady, now we are grandparents of two. Double our pleasure, double our fun, double our number of bedrooms in the loft space of the “Big.”
Tumbling Dice: A year ago Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos were the darlings of Forbes and Silicon Valley while portraying themselves as the future of laboratory medicine. Since then Forbes has delisted Ms Holmes, and Medicare has delisted Theranos. Sometimes when you fly too high to the sun your wings melt.
We are the Champions: We went from losers to winners. We topped a Halloween Costume Party Contest, one of my blogs made the ChicagoNow “Best Ten Posts of the Month List.” and I sneaked in a win on “3 for Free.” Our total cash compensation? $25, or about 0.00000001% of a decent PowerBall win. But recognition from Jimmy Greenberg and Lin Brehmer? Priceless.
Tears of a Clown: Early in the primary season: Donald Trump was a loud mouthed, bad-haired buffoon. Oh wait, that hasn’t changed, but now he is a Presidential Candidate (presumptive) of a Major Political Party (also presumptive.)
Norwegian Wood (This Bird has Flown): Yes, a year ago I did have Twitter and LinkedIn accounts. I had sent exactly zero tweets, and posted about as many times on LinkedIn. Now I have posts and followers. Some of my links have wound up on Houzz and the New York Times. I have become a citizen of the 21st Century!
The Games People Play: Bulls a mess, Blackhawks trying to fit under salary cap, Cubs on play-off pace, White Sox languishing, Bears have wide receiver issues. Wait, did I write that last sentence this year or last?
King of the World: July 2015 – Jon Snow is dead, Cersei is humbled; July 2016 – Jon Snow is King of the North, Cersei is Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. Is it time for a Ned Stark resurrection?
(I Want to Be) Elected: A year ago no one had heard of Bernie Sanders and he was opposing Hillary. Now everyone know who he is and he is supporting her. Sort of.
Greenback Dollar: Last year he was just a face on the $10 bill. Now it will take you about 50 of those to get a seat when Hamilton comes to Chicago

And one thing that never changes:

Forever and Ever Amen: Barb’s hard work and vision. Thanks, Babe!

Music Trivia as always: Who were the original artists for the 11 songs listed above? Let me know at les.raff@post.com

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Cole Porter and Suburbia–A Great American Weekend

Just slippin on by on LSD

Alliota Haynes and Jeremiah- 1971

Yes, I know. I swore I would not go near the Taste. I documented my reasons, and I swear by every one of them, even though Whitney from SpotHero did give me some parking alternatives. What I had neglected to take into consideration was that we had plans for Saturday evening that DID include our making the trip downtown to the lakefront. Friends had invited us for supper in their Lake Point Tower apartment, followed by the Cole Porter Celebration at the Pritzker Pavillion at Millenium Park. So it was into the city we headed!

The drive from the northwest suburbs to the city on any given Saturday can vary from a breeze (a rarity) to a centipede-like crawl (the normal,) but we anticipated the worst for Taste Saturday, so the long slow drive was no surprise and easily taken in stride. It was our hunt for clearly visible but difficult to approach Lake Point Tower, one of the rare buildings east of Lake Shore Drive, that almost doubled our commuting time. The NAV system in the car sent us flying towards the Field Museum and Adler Planetarium-definitely an overshoot. Finally, after several U-turns, a desperation call to our hosts led to their sighting our car from their high-up apartment, and then guiding us to the building, as calmly as any air traffic controller at O’Hare or the long defunct Meigs Field.

Subsidized parking in the building (sorry, Whitney) was followed by a tasty supper and then a bus ride to Millennium Park. What a lovely evening it was for an outdoor concert! An orchestra, a chorus and four soloists going through the Cole Porter song book. I was especially delighted to see and hear Karen Mason, who we had last seen in concert with Don McLean (yes, THAT Don McLean) in the early 1980’s. Karen looked and sounded great, then and now. After the show we strolled back to the apartment, our way illuminated by the fireworks show at Navy Pier. Final note to suburbanites-you do NOT want to drive west on Ontario to get to the Kennedy on Saturday night. Take Grand to Milwaukee to Ogden. You will save 45 minutes (at least.)

For those of you eagerly awaiting our house progress, well, it looks great. The exterior stone is 95% in place, limestone window ledges mortared in, the roof a fait accompli. Neighbors continue to walk by and compliment the look of the house. Barb’s due diligence is paying off. We also had a productive meeting yesterday with Ham and Jeff, going over some layout details and considering the shape and composition of the backyard deck. Still no decisions there. I am partial to cedar, but know the ongoing maintenance that is required. Any thoughts for us?

A promised shout out to friend and neighbor Barry B for naming the most songs/artists with a year in their title in our little quiz. He bent the rules a bit, but still came up with the most names that met the “Approved” list. Just like “3 for Free” on ‘XRT, no prize for this one.

That’s it for this edition. In the newly learned greeting of our granddaughter, “Have a good day sir!”

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I Recognize Taylor Swift’s Boyfriend-How Cool Is That?

What to do with expiring airline miles? Last year, I made the mistake of using them for a slew of magazine subscriptions. Now the mailbox groans with Time and The Economist, Sports Illustrated and ESPN Magazine, Inc. and Fast Company. Issues of Vogue and Glamour stack up unread until they line the bottom of the recycle bin. And then there are the life style rags, People and Us Weekly. A favorite game of mine is to go through Peeps and Us looking at all the celebrity pictures and wondering if I can name or recognize any of the celebrities. Christy Turlington-nope. Kardashians? I can’t tell a Kim from a Khloe from a Rob–or from a Robert, for that matter. Gabrielle Union would draw a total blank, if not for the fact that she is soon to be a Chicagoan, battling it out with Kristen Cavallari for #1 jock wife. In general, if the magazine stars aren’t Queens or Princes on Game of Thrones, I don’t know ’em.

So imagine my surprise the other day to see a cover shot of Taylor Swift and her new boyfriend Tom Hiddleston. His name was only vaguely familiar, but there could be no doubt about the picture. Taylor’s new squeeze and future song fodder was Jonathan Pine! Who, you ask? I may not know my starlets, but I know my John Le Carré, and TH was definitely the star of the recent BBC production of Le Carré’s 1993 novel, the post-Cold War thriller The Night Manager.

Johnny L and I go way back. It took me a few novels to adapt to his pace, to understand that the point of many of his works was that not much happens. Once I figured it out, I could easily become immersed. Tinkler, Tailor, Soldier, Spy was my escape from text books during my first year in medical school. On our honeymoon in Acapulco,The Honourable School Boy entertained me while Barb was enthralled by Australia and the The Thorn Birds. (Explanation-Barb got very, very sunburned under the broiling Mexican sun leaving us lots of reading time in our air-conditioned hotel room.) I have now read Le Carré’s entire canon, and enjoyed movie and TV versions of most of the novels. My one misstep was dragging friends to the film adaptation of Tinker, Tailor. I found it fascinating, our friends did not.

BBC’s The Night Manager was a recent six-parter broadcast on AMC. It tracked away from the plot of the novel, but heroic Hiddleston was there to thwart an arms deal, and successfully bed the beautiful young American heroine to boot — foreshadowing Taylor? His nemesis was the delightfully nasty Hugh Laurie, freed from his phony American accent. Between Manager and Veep, Laurie has been a hoot this year, but Hiddleston ensured a less than pleasant end for him in this one.

So Tom/Jon, I am rooting for you. And being a John Le Carré nerd has made me hip. Who knew?

After Watching “Independence Day: Resurgence” I Wonder. Could Will Smith Get Me Through an Apocalypse?

Barb and I had free tickets to the local multiplex, one that features small theaters with large reclining chairs and reserved seating. Unfortunately, it is a theater that caters more to the mall type crowd than to empty-nesters, so the selection of films was less than optimal. We settled on Independence Day: Resurrection, the sequel to the 1996 Will Smith blockbuster. We kicked back into our rockers, and overcoming the urge to nap, SPOILER ALERT saw the intrepid citizens of the Planet Earth once more repel those nasty extra-terrestrials, setting the stage for Independence Day: They’re Back! in 2036.

So no actual apocalypse this time around. But we have seen plenty of “end of the world as we know it” movies and TV shows. Whether its Mad Max, The Walking Dead, The Stand, The Road, or 10 Cloverfield Lane, we are experts at what to do to prepare for, and then survive, the dark ages that flying saucers, global warming, or nasty viruses might have in store for us. Despite all this good advice I am afraid I would be a terrible flop in the new world ahead.

Some of my inadequacies:

I have never fired a crossbow. Yeah, maybe I have played around with a bow and arrow in my summer camp days, but I think even those had suction cup tips. And in the cold dark, future only a powerful crossbow is really going to cut it.
Forget it when it comes to operating a short band radio. Unless survival messages from the powers that be show up on Pandora, I am screwed.
I am totally unfamiliar with the use of firearms. Apparently this will put me at a distinct disadvantage when dealing with approximately 1/3 of my fellow Americans. So be it.
I have not stockpiled water, a first aid kit, and other life preserving provisions. This is one thing that even the State of Illinois recommends.There will be plenty of room in the basement of the new places for a few cases of Evian. Governor Rauner, can you send me some emergency supplies, please? Just put in on my tab, I’ll pay up when the state does.
I have never eaten wild game. Or roadkill for that matter. Though I suppose when everyone runs out of fuel there won’t be any roadkill anymore. Not even from a Tesla.
I can’t start a fire from two sticks, unless one of them is a match. And even then I find it tricky.
I am easily suggestible. Nasty space creatures will have no difficulty implanting dangerous ideas and visions in my brain. Who knows, maybe they are already in control of me!
In medical school they taught me how to use a scalpel, but put a machete in my hands (another weapon of choice in Scary Future World) and I am worthless.
Scruffy beards don’t look good on me.

I will never vote for Donald Trump. Ever. And isn’t he our best bet for keeping out aliens?

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A shout out to Rene Paley, the winner of a $25 Amazon Gift Card in our music trivia contest. Nice work Rene. Now don’t all the rest of you wish you had entered?

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Reading a Prostate Biopsy-Inside the Mind of a Pathologist

tray — One Patient’s Prostate Biopsy Slides

West Suburban Chicago

6 a.m.

“Let’s see, how many prostate cases do we have today. Looks like I get nine. Better get started now before the phones start ringing and before the lab techs start popping their heads in. And oh yeah, I will have urine cytology slides and FISH heading my way.

“Too deathly silent in here though, better turn on the radio. The Sox lost last night, so no point in listening to the Mulley and Hanley on The Score. I’ll flip to FM and go with Lin Bremer on “XRT. A little music and a chance at ‘Three for Free.”

“Got my tea, let’s find the first case. My case list start’s with Bobby Bright, routine 12 part biopsy. That will be one of the big trays that can hold all 24 slides. Oh, here it is, top of the stack. All the slides have their labels, and the labels match the requisition and billing sheet. Good, no issues. Flip on the microscope light, grab the first slide and we are rolling.

“Part A is from the right apex. A few inflammatory cells, but nothing that looks suspicious for cancer. Check off the benign code on my worksheet. Part B, right middle, oh-oh. I don’t like that group of glands. Their growth pattern is too irregular. Let’s look at a higher microscopic power. Yup, there are big nucleoli, and I don’t see any basal cells. Pretty sure this is malignant, but am I sure? I think I will order a PIN4 stain. The insurance company won’t be happy paying for it, but they would be more unhappy paying for a prostatectomy the patient doesn’t need. Mr. Bright wouldn’t be too happy about any of that either. So let’s do the stain. I should have it by this afternoon in time for case review, so there won’t be any delay. Rest of the case is benign, good for this guy, he might only need active surveillance, no surgery or radiation for now. Oh, I better remember to flag this case for possible molecular testing. That will help decide the treatment question.

“There’s my microphone. I guess I forgot to turn it off last night, but it’s still charged. Good thing, I can dictate the diagnoses without having to recharge. The staff can start typing early.

“OK, next case, Grant Aspen. Wow, these glands look really stunted. And the cells are so bizarre. But that blood vessel doesn’t look right either. Hmm, I think I know what’s going on, but let me check the medical chart. So glad we have the electronic health record, it really makes my life easier. Yeah, just what I thought. This guy had prostate cancer five years ago and was treated with radiation therapy. All those freakin’ changes are from the rays. No cancer here. Let’s get this dictated and move on.

“Next case is one of those MRI-Fusion biopsies. Sometimes that MRI is really good at picking out the area in the prostate where the risk of cancer is high. That will be Part M on this case. Here it is, yeah, that’s tumor for sure. But how do I want to grade this. Is this a Gleason 3+3, or a Gleason 3+4. It’s hard to tell on this level. Good thing we have 6 levels on each biopsy. This next level definitely has poorly formed glands, so we’ve got some Gleason Grade 4 here for sure. That will make the Gleason Score a 3+4=7. And I see cancer in some of his other biopsies as well. I am afraid he is going to wind up in the OR for a robotic prostatectomy. Better dictate to flag this patient for our Quality Assurance audit. After he has his prostate out I can check that pathology report against our biopsy report.

“Damn, there goes the fire alarm. Forgot that we are having a fire drill today. Oh well, the sun is shining and a few minutes standing around in the parking lot will help clear my mind. Gotta keep sharp, never know what the next slide will show.”

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Our Seven Worst Theater Experiences-One for Every Day of the Week!

The play’s the thing

Hamlet Act 2, Scene 2

William Shakespeare~1603

Plop down in front of the TV? That’s a near daily occurrence. Visit the local Cineplex? We may do that a couple of times a month. But for most of us, live theater is a rarer, more delectable experience. It no longer requires donning a sport coat and tie, but whether it is plotting a route to the Loop, planning a theater weekend in New York City, or just a suburban drive to Lincolnshire or Oakbrook, there is a specialness about the experience. I have written about some wonderful theater we have seen. But what goes around comes around, and it’s time to let loose on some of the stinkers. So, in no particular order, here are seven shows we have seen, and wished we hadn’t.

Biggest Disappointment: Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boubil, composers of Les Misérables, will always be our heroes. But their miserable concoction The Pirate Queen, which played Chicago in 2006 before debuting in New York in 2007, managed to avoid any of the tunefulness or dramatic story lines of its predecessor. No surprise that the show quickly walked the plank on Broadway.
Easiest Show for Us to Make an Early Exit: We have seen some wonderful shows with our intermittent subscription at the Marriott Lincolnshire Theater. Cabaret, from the 2014-2015 season, comes to mind. But that same season also had a production of Godspell that was absolutely dreadful. Half the audience, including Barb and I, filed out during intermission with no intention of returning. Maybe everyone was inspired to head to their favorite church, synagogue or mosque to seek divine forgiveness for buying tickets to this snoozer. Did people really like the original production in 1971?
Best Show to Leave When Your Son Gets a Fever: While we are dissing the Marriott, here’s one more low blow. A production of Chess, the Tim (Evita) Rice/Benny Anderson-Bjorn Ulvaeus (both from ABBA) collaboration was so dreadful we almost cheered when we learned at intermission that Michael had a temperature of 102°. Good thing we left. The reviews said the second act was even worse than the first.
Lacking Star Power: Back in 2009 you had to know someone to get a ticket to see James Gandolfini and the rest of a great cast in God of Carnage. It wasn’t quite Hamilton but it was big. By the time we caught the show a few months after the openning, the cast had turned over, and we were more interested in whether or not we would make our post-matinee flight back home than in the on-stage shenanigans.
Overheated: This should have been a winner. F. Murray Abraham starring as The Merchant of Venice at the Private Bank Theater downtown. We might have enjoyed the show if someone had mentioned to the theater manager that it can get hot in Chicago, even in March. Without air-conditioning the theater was absolutely stifling; our view of the stage was blocked by everyone fanning themselves with their Playbills.
Sob Story: Barb cried and cried at the movie theater during the Bette Midler tearjerker Beaches. I cried and cried being forced to sit through the interminable stage version at the Drury Lane Theater in Oak Brook. As far as I know, this Pre-Broadway tryout has still not found a path to the Great White Way.
A Hot Mess from Start to Finish: Who remembers the theatrical version of Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. I didn’t think so. A good cast featuring Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti, Sheri Rene Scott, and Brian Stokes Mitchell trapped in musical nightmare. I hear the London version lasted a little longer than the New York City version. That’s reason enough to kick Britain out of the EU.

What’s your worst theater experience? Leave a Comment below. Just remember the Comment section on the ChicagoNow website is after that row of ads. I hate that set-up but that’s the way it is.

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Why do we never get an answer…

…when we’re knocking at the door.

Moody Blues–1970

To those of you who didn’t try last week’s “Downsize, Maybe” Easy Squeezy Tuesday Music Trivia Quiz, shame on you! I told you the contest was easy. I told you that you didn’t even have to get the answers right to qualify for the prize. And I bet you would have known most of the answers anyway. Aren’t you sorry now you didn’t try? Fortunately, a lot of you DID try the quiz. Anyone who answered even one question,right or wrong, was entered in our prize drawing, except for the few of you who didn’t enter a return email address. Sorry about that, but you have to read the directions, folks! I bet the people who didn’t were all guys who throw out the directions before they put together IKEA furniture and then wonder why they have so many left over parts. (Alert, Alert—As I was writing the blog I heard about big IKEA recall–do you know where your dresser is?)

Anyway, for those of you playing along at home, here are the correct answers and a few unrelated comments:

Catfish and the Bottlemen (for those of us still listening to new music.)
Freddie and the Dreamers (how could anyone miss this?)
Florence and the Machine (overshadowed by Adelle, but still a great sound.)
Gladys Knight and the Pips (she was a winner on the Ted Mack Original Amateur Hour at age 7.)
Huey Lewis and the News (would “Back to the Future” be the same without them?)
Bill Haley and the Comets (sometimes called his Comets.)
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (tied with Steven Tyler for least handsome rock star in history.)
Bob Marley and the Wailers (no, not the Whalers, I don’t think they have whales in Jamaica.)
Tommy James and the Shondells (Crimson and Clover, over and over.)

At least one hit record from each decade, 1950’s to the 2010’s, from that crew.

My favorite wrong answer was definitely “Florence and the Nightengales”–and that response came from a laboratorian, not a nurse. Way to go lab people! As for the best newly created name, I would call it a tie between “Randi Libido and the Friskies,” and “Dr. Stone and the Lithotripters.” You have to be involved in urology to love the latter, though.

Our winner has been notified and will soon have their Amazon Card. I don’t have permission yet to use their name here, but I will let you all know when I have the OK.

That’s today’s scoop. Back to the house or the wide, wide world on our next post. Until then, keep on rockin’, and don’t forget to subscribe. Just enter your email address in the box below and click “Create Subscription.” Who knows, you might become our next contest winner, or just enjoy some good summer reading.

Speaking of good reading, check out the blog post by fellow ChicagoNow writter Kerri Morris–it’s a very nice piece about life in our pathology lab. Thanks for the shout out, Kerri.

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You never know what you will find here. To subscribe, type your email address in the box and click the “create subscription” button. It is completely spam free, and you can opt out at any time.