Andrei Codrescu

As Google invests in a startup called Improbable, a digital simulation of real cities, economies and biological systems, commentator Andrei Codrescu thinks of Communism and that dream of a new world.

Commentator Andrei Codrescu remembers the first word processor he had — the Kaypro II in the 1980s. Its inventor, Andrew Kay, died Aug. 28, at the age of 95.

Commentator Andrei Codrescu reflects on the text message written by poet Seamus Heaney just before he died. In Latin he wrote to his wife "do not be afraid." The 74-year-old Heaney died in a Dublin hospital last week. Codrescu says no great meaning should be implied — it was just a personal message to his wife.

Commentator Andrei Codrescu offers his memory of actor Al Lewis, who has died at age 82. Lewis played Grandpa on the 1960s TV comedy The Munsters. Codrescu says that Lewis gained fame in the Spanish-speaking world in dubbed versions of the show.