Brain surgery...

Brain surgery...  Reader Jim M. passes this one along:

In the hospital where a family member lay gravely ill, the relatives gathered in the waiting room.

Finally, the doctor came in looking tired and somber.

"I'm afraid I'm the bearer of bad news," he said as he surveyed the worried faces. "The only hope left for your loved one at this time is a brain transplant. It's an experimental procedure, very risky, but it is the only hope. Insurance will cover the procedure, but you will have to pay for the BRAIN."

The family members sat silent as they absorbed the news. After a time, someone asked, "How much will a brain cost?"

The doctor quickly responded, "$5,000 for a Democrat's brain; $200 for a Republican's brain."

The moment turned awkward. Some of the Democrats actually had to try not to smile, avoiding eye contact with the Republicans. A man unable to control his curiosity, finally blurted out the question everyone wanted to ask, "Why is the Democrat's brain so much more than a Republican's brain?"

The doctor smiled at the childish innocence and explained to the entire group, "It's just standard pricing procedure. We have to price the Republicans' brains a lot lower because they're used."

On that sort of scale, a libertarian's brain is probably worth about a nickel :)

A tale...

A tale...  Reader Jim M. passes along this tale:

Husband takes the wife to a disco.  There's a guy on the dance floor living it large, break dancing, moon walking, back flips, the works.

The wife turns to her husband and says, "See that guy?  25 years ago he proposed to me and I turned him down."

Husband says: "Looks like he's still celebrating!!!"

We're told that Husband will be discharged from the hospital sometime next week, and that he will recover from his injuries.

I'm not sure what Jim (who is divorced) thinks the takeaway from this should be :)

Martian vista...

Martian vista...  Curiosity is looking about.  Click to embiggen...

Unusual nebular globule...

Unusual nebular globule...  Via APOD, of course.  Such beauty in our skies, revealed by telescopes!   Full resolution version...

Airport in the clouds...

Airport in the clouds...  In Germany...

Anamorphic illusions...

Anamorphic illusions...  These are illusions that only work perfectly if you're standing in a particular spot, with your head at a particular height.  These five are some of the best I've seen.  I especially liked the third one (click the little “Next” below right of each picture to get the next one).  The photographer did a nice job of showing you both the “sweet spot” for each illusion, and what it looks like when you're not in the sweet spot.

I've only seen two of these in real life: one in London, and the other in a stairwell of a business building in St. Louis, Missouri.  Both were good, but not as good as those in these photos.  The world needs more of these!

A hopeful sign...

A hopeful sign...  The broader Muslim community is peaceful and rejects violence against non-Muslims, much as the broader Christian community is peaceful and rejects violence against non-Christians.  There has long been one very large difference between the two communities, however: the Muslim community, by and large, simply shuns their violent coreligionists and declares them not representative of Islam in general (a true statement, but not very effective PR).  The Christian community has long been cooperative with law enforcement to deal with the violent Christians.

For a long time now, only a few outspoken Muslims have advocated a more hands-on approach – and their pleas have been largely ignored.  Now there's a mosque that has decided to try a more active approach: the mosque frequented by the Boston Marathon bombers.  Let's hope this becomes a widespread practice in the Muslim communities around the world...