Andre Fenton dressed up for his “Millennipalooza” bash, which took place ar Zamek Roztez, Czech Republic, on December 31, 1999.

Before he was Dr. Andre Fenton, noted neurobiologist, he was just Andre, my friend from high school and valedictorian of our graduating class. I took the photo above while attending “Millennipalooza”, a New Year’s Eve party he hosted on December 31, 1999. He somehow managed to get his hands on Zamek Roztez, a.k.a. Roztez Chateau, a stately manor located about an hour’s drive outside Prague. It was one helluva New Year’s Eve gathering, with about 60 or so of us each pitching in for a vacation that featured a 24-hour buffet, a bar that made mojitos on demand, a New Year’s Eve ball with dinner, dancing and fireworks at midnight. Andre has always been a master at throwing a party.

(I should post photos from “Millennipalooza”. It was a great party.)

He’s also a noted neuroscience guy, and as a recent article in Nature states, he’s figured out how to wipe out a single, specific memory from lab rats.

Here’s an interesting side-effect of the story appearing in Nature: despite the fact that the technique has been tested only on rats (who can’t be interviewed to determine if the procedure has some subtle side effects), he’s said that a number of people have tried to get him to erase memories of certain (presumably painful) events in their lives.