Have you ever seen the (b)rain?

Are you familiar with Parade magazine? You're forgiven if it has eluded your attention, since it is "old media" at its oldest. It is a magazine that is inserted free in the Sunday edition of many newspapers. Since I still like my papers, I usually give it a glance in the morning.

One of the enduring features of Parade is the "Personality Parade" column, which showcases reader questions about celebrities. My late father particularly loved this one, as it sometimes features some head-scratchers. His favorite was the incensed reader who asked how a comedian could get away with referring to Ronald Reagan as a "known heterosexual", since that was such a scandalous falsehood.

I find myself wondering sometimes if the readers who write to this column are even real. I mean, they can't be, right? Take this sample question from last Sunday's edition :

"I love Creedence Clearwater Revival co-founder John Fogerty. How come there's no musical a la Mamma Mia! of his work?"

The best part about that question? The "answer" is a total non-sequiter that has nothing to do with the original question.

I can't wait to see what wonders tomorrow's edition holds.