ShowMeBlog

Christopher Hitchens dead at 62

“(CNN) -- British-American author and essayist Christopher Hitchens died Thursday from complications of esophageal cancer. He was 62.

Hitchens was known for his wry monthly columns for Vanity Fair magazine.

"There will never be another like Christopher. A man of ferocious intellect, who was as vibrant on the page as he was at the bar," said Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. "Those who read him felt they knew him, and those who knew him were profoundly fortunate souls."

Hitchens was born in Portsmouth, England, in 1949 and graduated from Oxford University in 1970…”

 

    I was not a fan of Christopher Hitchens.  I have family members and friends that loved him and will feel like he is a saint now.  There is no question that he had a God given ferocious intellect. 
    I just think it was a sin shame that such a great writer used all that great talent to attack Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  
   Christopher Hitchens was violent, irrational and intolerant of religion.  He was, of course, anti-Catholic but then he was born and education in England so it was to be expected.  He went out of  his way to attack the faith of others.  He made his living attacking the faith of people.
   

    
“…In the question and answer session following a speech Hitchens gave to the Commonwealth Club of California on 9 July 2009, one audience member asked what was Hitchens' favorite whisky. Hitchens replied that "the best blended scotch in the history of the world" is Johnnie Walker Black Label. He also playfully indicated that it was the favorite whisky of, among others, the Iraqi Baath Party, the Palestinian Authority, the Libyan dictatorship, and "large branches of the Saudi Arabian Royal Family". He concluded his answer by calling it the "breakfast of champions" and exhorted the audience to "accept no substitute"…[154]”   Wikipedia

Harry Morgan 04/10/1915 - 12/07/2011

  “Harry Morgan (born Harry Bratsberg,^[1][2][3] sometimes written as Harry Bratsburg^[4]; April 10, 1915 – December 7, 2011) was an American actor. He was widely known for his roles as Pete Porter in both December Bride (1954–1959) and Pete and Gladys (1960–1962), Detective Bill Gannon on Dragnet (1967–1970), Amos Coogan on Hec Ramsey (1972–1974), and Colonel Sherman T. Potter in M*A*S*H (1975–1983) and AfterMASH (1983-1984). Additionally, Morgan appeared in more than 100 films…”

Smokin’ Joe Frazier RIP

“(CNN) -- Former heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier died Monday, after he was diagnosed with liver cancer, his family said in a statement.

Frazier was 67.

"We The Family of ... Smokin' Joe Frazier, regret to inform you of his passing," the statement said. "He transitioned from this life as 'One of God's Men,' on the eve of November 7, 2011 at his home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

He fought fellow boxing legend Muhammad Ali three times, including the famous "Thrilla in Manila" fight in 1975.

"He's a true gentleman," personal and business manager Leslie Wolff said Saturday when confirming Frazier's illness. "Along with Muhammad Ali, (he is) one of the two most recognizable athletes in the world."

Fans and well-wishers were encouraged to post their thoughts and prayers on a Facebook page at joefrazierscorner.com…”

 

  I was never a fan of boxing but I did see some of his fights.  He was on hell of a boxer. 

RIP: Andy Rooney

“Andrew Aitken "Andy" Rooney (January 14, 1919-November 5, 2011) is an American radio and television writer. He is most notable for his weekly broadcast "A Few Minutes with Andy Rooney", a part of the CBS News program 60 Minutesfrom 1978 to 2011. His final regular appearance on 60 Minutes aired October 2, 2011…

 

Family life

His wife, Marguerite "Margie" Rooney (née Howard), died in 2004 of heart failure, after 62 years of marriage. Rooney later wrote, "her name does not appear as often as it originally did [in my essays] because it hurts too much to write it."^[34] He has four children, including a daughter, Emily Rooney, who is a TV talk show host and former ABC News producer; she currently hosts a nightly Boston-area public affairs program, Greater Boston, on WGBH. Emily's identical twin, Martha, is Chief of the Public Services Division at the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. The third daughter, Ellen, is a photographer based in London. His son, Brian Rooney, has been a correspondent for ABC since the 1980s. Rooney was hospitalized on October 25, 2011 for developing postoperative complications. As of October 26, the 92-year-old Rooney was listed as in stable condition.^[35]

Rooney currently lives in the Rowayton section of Norwalk, Connecticut^[36] and in Rensselaerville, New York,^[37] and is a longtime season ticket holder for the New York Giants.^[38]…”

Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, has died!

  CNN web site just reported that Steve Jobs, co-founder of Apple, has died at age 56.  He had a number of health problems.  It has been reported that he had pancreatic cancer.

 

“Steven Paul "Steve" Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011^[6]) was an American entrepreneur and inventor. He was co-founder,^[7] chairman, and former chief executive officer of Apple Inc.^[8][9] Jobs also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. He was credited in Toy Story (1995) as an executive producer.^[10]

In the late 1970s, Jobs, with Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Mike Markkula,^[7] and others, designed, developed, and marketed one of the first commercially successful lines of personal computers, the Apple II series. In the early 1980s, Jobs was among the first to see the commercial potential of Xerox PARC's mouse-driven graphical user interface, which led to the creation of theMacintosh.^[11][12] After losing a power struggle with the board of directors in 1985,^[13][14] Jobs resigned from Apple and foundedNeXT, a computer platform development company specializing in the higher-education and business markets. Apple's subsequent 1996 buyout of NeXT brought Jobs back to the company he co-founded, and he served as its CEO from 1997 until 2011. In 1986, he acquired the computer graphics division of Lucasfilm Ltd which was spun off as Pixar Animation Studios.^[15] He remained CEO and majority shareholder at 50.1% until its acquisition by The Walt Disney company in 2006.^[16] Consequently Jobs became Disney's largest individual shareholder at 7% and a member of Disney's Board of Directors.^{[17][18][19][20]}

His aim to develop products that are both functional and elegant has earned him a devoted following.^[21]

On August 24, 2011, Jobs announced his resignation from his role as Apple's CEO. In his letter of resignation, Jobs strongly recommended that the Apple executive succession plan be followed and Tim Cook be named as his successor. Per his request, Jobs was appointed chairman of Apple's board of directors.^{[22][23][24][25]}

On October 5, 2011 Apple announced that Steve Jobs had died at the age of 56. ^[26]…”

‘Electron Boy’ Erik Martin dies

  The world has  lost a super hero with the death of Erik Martin.

 

“Credit: Make-A-Wish Foundation

As Electron Boy, 13-year-old Erik Martin of Bellevue grabs his "lightning rod" and prepares to do battle with the evil Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy on Thursday, April 29, 2010.”

 

“SEATTLE -- A Bellevue boy who got his wish last year when he was turned into a superhero for a day has lost his battle with cancer and other health problems.

Erik Martin died Friday morning at Seattle Children’s hospital, The Seattle Times reports. He was 14.

In April 2010, the Make-a-Wish foundation granted Erik’s wish by making him a superhero. As Electron Boy, Erik was escorted by police in his superhero DeLorean back and forth across Lake Washington, saving civilians and battling the bad guys.

The Seattle Sounders FC, Puget Sound Energy and "Deadliest Catch" stars Edgar Hansen and Jake Anderson got involved.

The story went viral and made Erik an instant celebrity. A Fans of Electron Boy fan page on Facebook has more than 11,000 fans.”

 

“Uploaded by MakeAWishFoundation on May 17, 2010

Erik, 13, wished to be a superhero. When a dark cloud descended upon Western Washington on April 29, he sprang into action as Electron Boy. Electron Boy spent the day using his powers of good to defeat the evil mayhem created by Dr. Dark and Blackout Boy. More than 350 people from the community helped the Make-A-Wish Foundation® make Erik's wish come true. Thank you, Electron Boy!”

Dead: Kara Kennedy (51), Eleanor Mondale (51)

“(CNN) -- Kara Kennedy, daughter of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, died of a heart attack on Friday, a family aide told CNN Saturday. She was 51…”

 

 

“MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) – Eleanor Mondale, daughter of former Vice President Walter Mondale and a former WCCO Radio show host and WCCO-TV reporter, died early Saturday morning at age 51.

Mondale had been battling brain cancer since 2005…”

Bubba Smith dies

“(CNN) -- Former college and pro football star Charles Aaron "Bubba" Smith, who went on to an acting career after his retirement from sports, was found dead at his home, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said Wednesday. He was 66.

Police and fire officials were called to Smith's home after "he was found unresponsive" and pronounced him dead, said Ed Winter, assistant chief of operations and investigation for the coroner..”

Bubba Smith – Wikipedia

Former first lady Betty Ford dies at 93

“(CNN) -- Betty Ford, the widow of late President Gerald Ford and a co-founder of an eponymous addiction center in California, has died at the age of 93, according to the director of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum.

Ford died Friday evening with family at her bedside, according to a family member.

Elaine Didier, the director of the Grand Rapids, Michigan, museum, confirmed Ford's death to CNN.

No other details were immediately available. The family is expected to release a statement later Friday or Saturday, Didier said…”

‘Columbo’ actor Peter Falk dies at 83

“CNN -- Actor Peter Falk, who rose to fame on a shambling manner and a rumpled raincoat as the TV detective Lt. Columbo, has died. He was 83.

Falk died peacefully at his Beverly Hills home Thursday evening, according to a statement released by his friend, attorney Larry Larson. The cause of death was not released.

Though he was a renowned movie and stage actor -- he earned two Oscar nominations in the early '60s and won an Obie (an off-Broadway honor) for his performance in Eugene O'Neill's "The Iceman Cometh" -- he is best remembered for the polite, raincoat-wearing, Peugeot-driving Los Angeles police detective who always wanted to know "just one more thing."

That line -- which usually meant that the seemingly absent-minded detective was about to outwit his perfect-crime-committing suspects -- became so popular that Falk used it as the title of his memoir.”

 

    I loved that show.  At some point I did get tired of it.  Because it was the same thing over and over again but he was great in that part. 

     Peter Falk – Wikipedia