Green Oasis

This photo of Seo You Jin in the classic Nyan-Nyan pose is overloading the cuteness recognition circuitry of my brain. These illicit levels of cuteness are activating the never-intended-for-use grandma portion of my psyche. I have an irresistible urge to pinch her cheeks and give her cookies and milk. Get her out of my mind!

(via kottke.org)

I am grateful for …

1. … shelter from the elements. My relationship with the weather is much better knowing that I can get some me-time away from it.
2. … beautiful vernal weather. (+25 points for using a vocabulary word)
3. … a healthy mind. I realize something of how fragile that is.
4. … a long weekend with my family.
5. … that I am capable of thinking for myself and that I do so on occasion.

Kate lived through what must be some people’s worst nightmare. She was diagnosed as suffering from persistent vegetative state but retained enough awareness to understand the people around her and to feel pain and distress because of how they were treating her. Neuroscientists scanned her brain activity and found normal activity levels, something they had not imagined they would find. She has since returned to a communicative state and says her story is about never giving up hope.

(via Mind Hacks)

Maybe I’m an odd fellow, but I keep wondering what it’s like to be an earthworm. I mean, what does it feel like? Perhaps it feels like nothing.

One particular patient who can’t consciously see because his visual cortex has been destroyed navigated an obstacle course unaided. His subconscious mind guided him using information gathered his eyes even though he lacked a conscious visualization of his environment.

Maybe a sentient being can function in the world without having a conscious experience of it.

It’s funny how television programs from childhood can embed themselves in the unconscious. I watch the 3-2-1 Contact intro and it’s as if the last 20 years never happened. I remember every snippet of the montage: the water drop, the kissed baby, the frog, the trampoline, everything.

(via kottke.org)