
More at washingtonpost.com
"He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
"Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.
The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.
After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours..."
More at ap.orgThat Classmates.com online ad, complete with its hyperactive punctuation, is so ubiquitous — more than 1 billion Web-site displays — that folks around the world know those faces: the serious, bespectacled young woman and the fresh-faced young man, forever linked in cyberspace.
They've even inspired parody pages.
But, in answer to the ad: Sorry, no, the two are not married and they did not breed a passel of tots.
They do, however, share an employment history.
Her real name is L.A. Smith, his is Bryce Lane.
Their high-school senior portraits are featured in the ad for Classmates.com, the site run by Renton-based Classmates Online that helps its 40 million-plus users find and stay in touch with old friends — particularly former school chums for reunions.
Smith is now 46, a writer, editor and artist in Bothell; Lane is 34, an investment banker in Bellevue.
Their imaginary online happily-ever-after tale began a little more than three years ago..."
More at seattletimes.comMr. Butch, the charismatic, dread-locked, “honorary mayor of Allston,” died this morning after an accident on his motor scooter.
Mr. Butch, whose real name was Harold Madison Jr., was traveling inbound on Brighton Avenue on his scooter around 8 a.m. at a speed close to 50 miles per hour when he appeared to lose control of the vehicle, fly over the handlebars and strike a light pole, witnesses told police. He was taken to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. He was 56.
As news of his death spread through the Allston Village neighborhood, friends remembered Mr. Butch as charismatic and friendly.
“That happiness was always there in him. That’s the only thing I ever saw of him,” said Toni Fanning, a friend of Butch who worked at Ritual Arts on Harvard Avenue. “I never knew him to be mean, I never knew him to be sad.”
Butch came into the public consciousness by hanging around the Kenmore Square area in the 1980s, playing guitar outside of the nightclub The Rathskellar (known as The Rat) and interacting with the local punkrockers who congregated there."
More at townonline.com
s g collins created a short film about Mr. Butch in 2002 called Searching For Mr. Butch. It's at postwar.nl (language NSFW)
So rare that the Central Saanich dog recently graced the New York Times. She also had several of her photos shown on The Today Show, all because of a rare genetic mutation that has led to her being the Incredible Hulk of dogs.
Wendy is a 27-kilogram rippling mass of muscle. Forget the so-called six-pack stomach: Wendy has a 24-pack. And the muscles around her neck are so thick, they look like a lion's ruff.
"People have referred to her as Arnold Schwarzenegger," says doting owner Ingrid Hansen, stroking Wendy's sleek black coat and white chest.
Wendy was recently part of a genetics study done in the U.S. on mutation in the myostatin gene in whippets, which resemble greyhounds in appearance. The National Institute of Health study reported that whippets with one single defective copy of the gene have increased muscle mass that can enhance racing performance in the breed, known for speeds up to 60 kilometres an hour."
More at canada.com
Eleven 7-11s in the United States and two in Canada have been converted into Kwik-E-Marts as part of the promotion.
Golam, Burbank's friendly counterman, was having a lot of fun shouting, "Welcome to Kwik-E-Mart!" as each customer walked in. The other employees were rushing to re-stock cartoonishly pink donuts while the 7-11 rep made frantic calls on his cell phone demanding more Buzz cola, "Send me everything you've got! It's ALL gone. Everything."
More pics at laist.com
More pics at boredstop.com