My hero - Andy Kaufman

You may not know this about me but my favorite comedian, above all rest, is Andy Kaufman. Forget Man in the Moon - that horrible catastrophe of a movie, below are 4 embedded parts of an Andy Kaufman appearance on HBO. I won't even try to describe his comedy in depth. All I can say was that the man was a genius and he bent the rules of what comedy was and what a comedian can do on stage. Thank fgoes out to thelonelysandwich for posting these on youtube.com

rest in peace Genie

Genie passed away this weekend from internal complications related to stasis and adhesions from spaying. She was the most incredible rabbit I have ever encountered. She was big in every way, not just in size. Nancy and I first rescued her from Geneva, NY (hence the name Genie) where she was living on the street. Little did we know that this big rabbit was going to grow and grow and grow and take a big place in our hearts. It was amazing to watch her - from the soaring twirls and binkies in moments of happiness and the walloping flops she would make at your side, showing her loyalty and affection-she was always fun and interesting to watch. Sure she had an appetite for destruction (futon legs, book spines, carpet) but it was easy to overlook when you'd get a glimpse of those big eyes and that big bunny nose. She'll forever be linked to that great David Bowie song. which I know is playing somewhere as a big gray rabbit does binkies into the sky " the jean GENIE let yourself gooooooowwhooooah!" '

We'll miss you dearly.

Jill Bolte Taylor: Neuroscientist and Stroke Survivor

I listened to this woman speak on Fresh Air this morning. It is an amazing story and one that is close to my heart as my dear Aunt Blanche suffered a few years ago and I want to understand more about this medical occurrence..

In short, Jill's story:

One morning, a blood vessel in Jill Bolte Taylor's brain exploded. As a brain scientist, she realized she had a ringside seat to her own stroke. She watched as her brain functions shut down one by one: motion, speech, memory, self-awareness ...

Amazed to find herself alive, Taylor spent eight years recovering her ability to think, walk and talk. She has become a spokesperson for stroke recovery and for the possibility of coming back from brain injury stronger than before. In her case, although the stroke damaged the left side of her brain, her recovery unleashed a torrent of creative energy from her right. From her home base in Indiana, she now travels the country on behalf of the Harvard Brain Bank as the "Singin' Scientist."