They see me Rogen, they rollin’

I love seeing people outta their element.

Ah, scratch that. I love seeing people willing to be out of their element.

Like, that moment a public figure/entertainer knowingly drops the façade and gets a little nervous because they’re speaking in front of a bunch of politicians instead of other celebrities?

That takes some ‘nother-level open mindedness.

Seth Rogen did that last month, when he took on an audience of law-making humans. There was no sense of rehearsal as he read from a heartfelt speech about combating Alzheimers, and paused to take awkward sips of water occasionally. There was nothing fake about him promoting Hilarity For Charity. The line between acting and real-life interactions doesn’t blur for him as it can for many who do what he does.

Totally authentic.

That’s why it was a real pisser when most of the seats were empty as homeboy poured out his soul about how his mother in law got diagnosed with the debilitating disease at 55. He talked about how she subsequently regressed into a person who didn’t know him.

.@SenatorKirk pleasure meeting you. Why did you leave before my speech? Just curious.

— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) February 26, 2014

By 60, she’d forgotten who her own daughter was, didn’t even know who she herself was, couldn’t bathe without assistance, and needed help to go to the toilet.

It’s fkkng tragic what this disease does and it’s really annoying that a bunch of senators either pretended to care (AKA showed up because they knew camera crews would be there) and the other bunch didn’t even care enough to appear for appearances sake.

Some hopeful news comes on the heels of this, though.

Researchers may have developed an “early detection” test for Alzheimers.

This isn’t a cure (and it’s still being developed and all that red-tape stuff science guys have to do). The way it works, though, is that you get your blood checked early on. The lab tests it for these things called biomarkers, and from that you can tell the patient they’re likely to get the disease within three years. The test might be 90% accurate, but it’s not a cure and the existing drugs don’t cure Alzheimer’s.

So, like, what’s the point? How’s this a “breakthrough”?

Good question! The point is that the current meds could be super helpful if they could be given to patients early on enough. The problem is that by the time you start DudeWheresMyCar-ing, it’s already a bit late for any existing drugs to help – no matter how much you take.

This test could help potentially prevent any’a that from happening, stop that ish in its tracks, and keep grandma ripe into her 90’s and yelling at you instead of casting demons into the radiator.

But there’s still a long way to go in dementia research.

So, if you’ll be in New York next month, Seth’s having a Hilarity For Charity comedy gig to raise funds for his mission. I realize the “help out a good cause” thing isn’t always alluring – but there’s gonna be music, food, alcohol, and (obviously) comedy. So, go if you like.

I mean, how often can you say you’re helping other people by binge eating or drinking?