I was pretty stunned to see this photo of well-loved/often hated film critic Robert Ebert.  So stunned that I kept navigating away from it, only to hit the "back" button so I could make sure it was really him.  If you ever watched "Siskel and Ebert" or "Ebert and Roeper" I bet you're pretty shocked, too.

I knew he had been battling cancer for some time now, but I suppose because he continues to publish a superhuman amount of movie reviews I assumed he had recovered and was back to "normal."  I don't know how the man manages to see so many films AND write about them AND do it well.  There must be a reel inside his head.

If you aren't aware, 4 years ago Ebert had surgery on his jaw to remove cancer.  The cancer and procedure drastically changed the shape of his face.  After the operation he had a tracheostomy
which left him completely without a voice.  He communicates now through his writing, speech to text software, and sign language.  A profound change for anyone...especially someone who many consider to be the face of popular film criticism.

I'm blown away that he's still critiquing, still writing, still praising and lambasting movies at a record pace.  Pretty inspiring to all of us who know we can do more, be more, learn more.

Read a bit about what he's overcome here (People's story on Ebert).  I'm hoping to pick up the full feature in Esquire magazine soon. 

Do you have a favorite Ebert review?