LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Jerry Lewis' 41st annual Labor Day holiday weekend telethon raised a record $61 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, organizers in Las Vegas said Monday.

The contributions and pledges raised during the 21 1/2-hour event handily beat last year's haul of $55 million. The 2005 telethon was hit by national fund raising for victims of Hurricane Katrina. Indeed, Lewis earmarked $1 million from the telethon for the Salvation Army's relief efforts in the South.

This year's nationally televised event took place in the comic's adopted hometown of Las Vegas after a 12-year run in Hollywood. Lewis, 80, hosted, despite suffering a heart attack in June. He has never missed a telethon despite a litany of ailments over the years, including back pain, addiction to painkillers and an inflammatory lung disorder.

iTunes is currently playing: What I Did for Love from the album A Chorus Line by Priscilla Lopez & Company.

[Hunter Syndrome is in the same group of diseases as San Filippo Syndrome. San Filippo Syndrome is MPS III.]

On Monday, July 24, 2006 Shire Human Genetic Therapeutics announced that Elaprase™, the enzyme replacement therapy for MPS II (Hunter Syndrome), was approved by the FDA.

Hunter syndrome is a rare, life-threatening genetic condition that results from the absence or insufficient levels of the lysosomal enzyme iduronate-2-sulfatase. Without this enzyme, cellular waste products accumulate in tissues and organs, which then begin to malfunction.

ELAPRASE is the first and only treatment approved for people suffering from Hunter syndrome. The product, which is given as weekly infusions, replaces the missing enzyme that Hunter syndrome patients fail to produce in sufficient quantities.

“Regulatory approval of ELAPRASE will enable physicians to move needy patients beyond palliative care and make Hunter syndrome a treatable disease,” said Joseph Muenzer, MD., Ph.D, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “Until today, there were no options for addressing the underlying cause of this devastating disease.”

Shire expects to launch ELAPRASE in the United States within the next 30 days.

iTunes is currently playing: The Dreams Of Children from the album The Dreams Of Children by Shadowfax.

When I was in Indiana for a year, one of the things I missed was the Roy Rogers Restaurant in Bayville, NJ. Their roast beef sandwich is to die for.

The other day I noticed that they still have a picture of Roy up on the wall, with a quote from him about how good the food is. Kind of weird, considering how long it has been since he passed away. It occurred to me that most of the people under the age of 40 (or maybe even 50) who go in there probably don't even know who Roy Rogers was, which is a shame. He and Dale were the sort of people who made the world a better place by the way they lived their lives.

Another interesting thing about Roy Rogers (the restaurant, not the man) is that they apparently don't give a rat's behind about being politically correct. If you buy a super size meal, your fries come in a cardboard holster. Kids can even wear it on their belt and keep their toy gun in it. Oh, wait, kids don't play with guns anymore, do they. They aren't supposed to play cowboys and indians anymore, either, I guess. (Oops. I meant to say "cowboys and Native Americans".)



Well, it may not be politically correct to say so, but I think that holster is adorable.

iTunes is currently playing: SHOTGUN from the album Jr Walker & The All Stars - Ultimate Collection by Junior Walker & The All Stars.

In an AP story, Hollywood "insiders" debate the future of Mel Gibson's career following his recent arrest for DUI and alleged drunken anti-Semitic comments:

One media expert said Gibson irreparably damaged his career with his "crazy" behavior following his arrest by Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies in Malibu early Friday. Charges of anti-Semitism were also leveled against the actor-director with the release of his 2004 blockbuster "The Passion of the Christ."

"It's a nuclear disaster for him," said publicist Michael Levine, who has represented Michael Jackson and Charlton Heston, among others. "I don't see how he can restore himself."

I would remind Mr. Levine that director Roman Polanski drugged and raped a 13 year old girl and fled the country to avoid prosecution, yet he was given an Academy Award years later. Does he believe that driving (and making stupid racist comments) while drunk is a greater crime than child rape? If folks in the entertainment industry think so, they are definitely out of touch with mainstream America. (But we already knew that, didn't we.)

iTunes is currently playing: Town Without Pity from the album Anthology 1961-1968 by Gene Pitney.

From the N.Y. Daily News:

Christians who mostly turned the other cheek as "The Da Vinci Code" climbed the best-seller list are launching a counteroffensive now that Dan Brown's novel is set to hit the big screen.

As the movie's May 19 opening draws nearer, Roman Catholic and other Christian leaders are unveiling new Web sites, taking out full-page ads to "debunk" the work's claims and speaking out in the media and from the pulpit.

The archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, denounced the book's controversial premise that Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had children, calling it "the stuff of imagination."

iTunes is currently playing: The Book I Read from the album Live at the Sun Palace (Tokyo) by Talking Heads.

... it's time for MARSHMALLOW PEEPS!!!!



Did you know:

Just Born, a candy company that was formed in 1910, got into the Peeps market by buying the Rodda Candy Company of Lancaster, Pa., in 1953. Though Rodda was best known as being technologically advanced in the art of jellybean making, they also produced Peeps.

At that time, the making of Peeps was a time-consuming process. When Just Born bought the company, it took 27 hours to make one Peep. Today it takes 6 minutes. Also, before the Peep-making technology was streamlined, Peeps were squeezed through a pastry tube, one at a time and then the eyes were painted on by hand. It wasn't exactly high-tech candy making. Just Born revolutionized the Peep-making technology and now 3,500 Peep eyes are created every minute.

And for the health conscious:

Each Peep has 32 calories (160 per five-chick serving) and 0 fat grams.

Want to know more about Peeps? Here ya go!



iTunes is currently playing: Candy Everybody Wants from the album MTV Unplugged by 10,000 Maniacs.

Kiefer Sutherland Signs on for THREE MORE SEASONS of '24'.

How do they cover all those tattoos? And why does Kiefer have Our Lady of Guadalupe tattooed on his arm?



iTunes is currently playing: Hero's Dream from the album Picture This by Jim Brickman.

... because I have three cats and my cat allergies have gotten worse of late. The article referred to a medication being developed for cat allergies but gave no information about when it might be available:

... a new study on pet allergies found that using a new compound made from the allergy-producing protein in cat saliva might help end cat allergies — almost like a cat-allergy vaccine.

The story did, however, offer this interim solution:



I don't think I could get my kitties to wear an outfit like that, even if it came in cat sizes!

iTunes is currently playing: You've Got A Friend In Me from the album Guilty: 30 Years Of Randy Newman by Randy Newman.

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

From the Drudge Report:

Poll: Republicans Are Happier Than Democrats
Wed Mar 15 2006 10:14:36 ET

The Pew Research Center recently updated a question about happiness that the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago has been asking since 1972.

In every asking of the question, ROLL CALL reports, Republicans have been happier than Democrats.

Republicans tend to be better off than Democrats, and that is one explanation for the happiness gap. But when the researchers controlled for household income, Republicans at all income levels were happier than Democrats at those same income levels.

As for ideology, conservative Republicans were happier than conservative Democrats, and moderate to liberal Republicans were happier than comparable Democrats.

iTunes is currently playing: Laugh and Be Happy (Demo) from the album Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman by Randy Newman.

... to an angel who would have turned 32 today.

Love, Mom.



iTunes is currently playing: Simon Smith and the Amazing Dancing Bear from the album Guilty: 30 Years of Randy Newman by Randy Newman.