Let's hear it for the Audies

My Harry Potter obsession continues to reach ever higher nerdiness levels. The latest incarnation? Devouring the audiobooks on road trips.

If you have not experienced HP in this form, I highly recommend it. Jim Dale is a spectacular narrator, bringing J.K. Rowling's work to life while providing wonderfully rich voice interpretations for each character (I especially love his take on Professor McGonagall, Hermoine and Hagrid). So impressed have I been by Dale's work that I took a moment to check out his Web site, jim-dale.com. Turns out, he took home a Grammy for his "Deathly Hallows" audiobook -- he has seven total Grammy nominations in his career -- and has won a record 10 Audie Awards.

That's right. Audie Awards. That's a real thing. Who knew?

MCA has cancer

The e-mail this afternoon from the Beastie Boys contained the subject line, "HOUSTON WE HAVE A PROBLEM." Turns out, the problem is that Adam Yauch, a.k.a. MCA, has cancer in one of his salivary glands.

Not to worry (too much), Yauch says. The tumor on his parotid gland and lymph node is "very treatable" and he is going to undergo surgery next week. Well wishes to him on a speedy recovery.

The other bad news? His treatment will force the B-Boys to cancel their tour and push back the release date of their new album, "Hot Sauce Committee, Part One."

Here's the video Yauch posted on YouTube to explain the situation.