on another note: is that the world’s longest birthday song or what? by the time the song’s over and you’re allowed to blow out the candles there’s a pool of wax and limp wicks all over the cake. birthday fail, danishland!

from the seattle times:

Erik, who is living with liver cancer, has always wanted to be a superhero. On Thursday, the regional chapter of the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted him that wish with an elaborate event that involved hundreds of volunteers in Bellevue and Seattle…

Pulling off a wish like this one required a big story, and a lot of heart. And so, with a note of panic in his voice, Spider-Man explained the dilemma: “Dr. Dark” and “Blackout Boy” had imprisoned the Seattle Sounders in a locker room at Qwest Field. Only Electron Boy could free them…

Watching her son run across the plaza in front of the Space Needle, mom Judy Martin said Erik goes to school when he’s able, but is often too tired. “He hasn’t had this much energy in a long time,” she said. “They called it the power of the wish, and they’re right.”

Like any good superhero, Electron Boy kept his innermost thoughts to himself. But he did have one important thing to say:

“This is the best day of my life.”

try to guess how much this story made me cry. if you said between 0 and 20 buckets of tears, you’re wrong. just look at that little mouth breather. he’s fucking adorable.

seriously, though, what is the street value of a blowjob?

Australian fiona graham, known by her stage name, er, i mean geisha name, as Sayuki, underwent rigorous training to become Japan’s first non-japanese geisha, a role that by its very nature is meant to epitomize the height of japan-ness. according to her website, she first became a geisha as fieldwork for her anthropological studies, but has now dedicated herself to becoming a full-fledged geisha, sans tape recorder.

“Sayuki denies she’s a flawless example of Japan’s ancient flower and willow world. ‘Being a geisha takes a lifetime to perfect,’ she deflects, as she clacks along in lacquer sandals that she wears slightly too small to make her size-8 feet look more petite. Sayuki, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, became the first foreign woman in the notoriously closed profession’s 400-year history to formally debut as a geisha two years ago, in late 2007. ‘I’ve only just begun, she says. ‘To many of my geisha sisters, I’m still a walking disaster.‘”

read the full article in marie claire

“As both a child and adult, Peek’s favorite place was the library, where he devoured books at a confounding rate. At the time of his death, Peek is believed to have committed at least 9,000 books to memory. He could recite so many gigabytes of facts that people often called him Kim-puter. NASA made him the subject of MRI-based research.”

the article goes on to describe Peek’s touring circuit stating that he has “spoken to more than 64 million people and traveled nearly 3 million air miles,” which is actually pretty surprising because i didn’t realize that Qauntas flew to that many destinations. i’ll just put it in my notebook of Information My Paltry, Divided Brain Will Undoubtedly Not Retain.