We Hardly Knew Ye - People We Lost in December, 2007

28

• Tab Thacker, 45, American NCAA wrestling champion, actor (Police Academy films, City Heat, Wildcats), diabetes complications.

27

• Benazir Bhutto, 54, Pakistani Opposition Leader and former Prime Minister (1988–1990, 1993–1996), assassinated.
• Steven Florio, 58, American businessman, former CEO of Condé Nast, heart attack.
• Jim Beauchamp, 68, American Major League Baseball player and coach.
• Tatiana, 4, Siberian tiger at San Francisco Zoo, mauled a visitor to death, shot.

23

• Oscar Peterson, 82, Canadian jazz pianist, kidney failure and complications from a stroke.
  

22

• Sylvan Fox, 79, American Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist, complications from pneumonia.
• Leila Backman Shull, 113, American supercentenarian, seventh-oldest living person in the world.
  

21

• Carol Bly, 77, American author and poet, ovarian cancer. [74]
• Ken Hendricks, 66, American contractor and billionaire, fall from roof

20

• Gar Campbell, 64, American actor and director, cancer. [86]
• Jeanne Carmen, 77, American actress and pin-up girl, lymphoma.
• Russell Coffey, 109, American serviceman, one of three known remaining American veterans of World War I.

19

• Frank Capra, Jr., 73, American movie studio executive, son of director Frank Capra, prostate cancer.
  

18

• Jack Linkletter, 70, American television host, son of Art Linkletter, lymphoma. [102]
• Bill Strauss, 60, American writer on generations, satirist, and founder of the Capitol Steps, pancreatic cancer. [103]

16

• Dan Fogelberg, 56, American singer-songwriter ("Same Old Lang Syne"), prostate cancer.

15

• John Berg, 58, American actor, suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning.

13

• Laura Huxley, 96, American musician and author, widow of Aldous Huxley, cancer.
• Floyd Red Crow Westerman, 71, American musician, actor (Dances With Wolves) and Native American activist, leukemia.

12

• Ike Turner, 76, American R&B musician and record producer, ex-husband of Tina Turner, emphysema.
  

10

• Emil Brenkus, 94, American jazz bassist, prostate cancer.
• Jerry Ricks, 67, American blues guitarist.

9

• Al Scaduto, 79, American cartoonist (They'll Do It Every Time).
  

5

• Jillian Kesner-Graver, 58, American actress (Happy Days), Orson Welles historian, staph infection.

4

• Chad "Pimp C" Butler, 33, American rap artist (UGK).
• David "Chip" Reese, 56, American professional poker player, heart attack.

1

• Jennifer Davidson, 38, American senior vice president of programming and scheduling for Cartoon Network.

When the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, it may be that they take better care of it there.

— Cecil Selig

The Close

Vincent Van Gogh's Family Reunion

After much careful research, it has been discovered that the artist Vincent Van Gogh had many relatives. Among them were:

His obnoxious brother.................. Please Gogh

His dizzy aunt ..............................Verti Gogh

The brother who worked at a convenience store.....Stopn Gogh

The grandfather from Yugoslavia...............U Gogh

The brother who bleached his clothes white.....Hue Gogh

The cousin from Illinois..................................Chica Gogh

His magician uncle.................................Wherediddy Gogh

His Mexican cousin.....................................Amee Gogh

The Mexican cousin's American half brother..........Grin Gogh

The ballroom dancing aunt...........................Tan Gogh

A sister who loved disco............................Go Gogh

The nephew who drove a stage coach .......Wellsfar Gogh

The bird lover uncle...................................Flamin Gogh

His nephew psychoanalyst.......................E Gogh

The fruit loving cousin.............................Man Gogh

An aunt who taught positive thinking........Wayto Gogh

The little bouncy nephew.........................Poe Gogh

And his niece who travels the country in a van...

...Winnie Bay Gogh

Jeff Dunham with Achmed the Dead Terrorist - Jingle Bombs

Dogs save drowning toddler

TWO family dogs are being hailed as heroes after they saved a two-year-old boy from drowning in a dam.

Military Evangelism Deeper, Wider Than First Thought

Soldiers at Fort Jackson Army Base pose with their rifles and Bibles.
A Hamas suicide bomber posing with a rifle and a copy of the Koran. The Military Religious Freedom Foundation says the two photos show how the infiltration of fundamentalist Christianity in the US military is starting to mirror Islamic fundamentalism.

For US Army soldiers entering basic training at Fort Jackson Army base in Columbia, South Carolina, accepting Jesus Christ as their personal savior appears to be as much a part of the nine-week regimen as the vigorous physical and mental exercises the troops must endure.

That's the message directed at Fort Jackson soldiers, some of whom appear in photographs in government issued fatigues, holding rifles in one hand, and Bibles in their other hand.

Frank Bussey, director of Military Ministry at Fort Jackson, has been telling soldiers at Fort Jackson that "government authorities, police and the military = God's Ministers,"

Bussey's teachings from the "God's Basic Training" Bible study guide he authored says US troops have "two primary responsibilities": "to praise those who do right" and "to punish those who do evil - "God's servant, an angel of wrath." Bussey's teachings directed at Fort Jackson soldiers were housed on the Military Ministry at Fort Jackson web site. Late Wednesday, the web site was taken down without explanation. Bussey did not return calls for comment. The web site text, however, can still be viewed in an archived format.

The Christian right has been successful in spreading its fundamentalist agenda at US military installations around the world for decades. But the movement's meteoric rise in the US military came in large part after 9/11 and immediately after the US invaded Iraq in March of 2003. At a time when the United States is encouraging greater religious freedom in Muslim nations, soldiers on the battlefield have told disturbing stories of being force-fed fundamentalist Christianity by highly controversial, apocalyptic "End Times" evangelists, who have infiltrated US military installations throughout the world with the blessing of high-level officials at the Pentagon. Proselytizing among military personnel has been conducted openly, in violation of the basic tenets of the United States Constitution.

Continued...

The Call For Impeachment Goes Mainstream

From The Philadelphia Inquirer

Impeach Cheney now - The allegations that he abused power are credible.

U.S. Reps. Robert Wexler (D., Fla.), Luis Gutierrez (D., Ill.) and Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.) are members of the Judiciary Committee

Last month, the House of Representatives voted to send a resolution of impeachment of Vice President Cheney to the Judiciary Committee. As members of the House Judiciary Committee, we strongly believe these important hearings should begin.

The issues at hand are too serious to ignore, including credible allegations of abuse of power that, if proven, may well constitute high crimes and misdemeanors under the Constitution. The allegations against Cheney relate to his deceptive actions leading up to the Iraq war, the revelation of the identity of a covert agent for political retaliation, and the illegal wiretapping of American citizens.

Now that former White House press secretary Scott McClellan has indicated that the vice president and his staff purposely gave him false information about the outing of Valerie Plame Wilson as a covert agent to report to the American people, it is even more important for Congress to investigate what may have been an intentional obstruction of justice. Congress should call McClellan to testify about what he described as being asked to "unknowingly [pass] along false information." In addition, recent revelations have shown that the administration, including the vice president, may have again manipulated and exaggerated evidence about weapons of mass destruction - this time about Iran's nuclear capabilities.

Some of us were in Congress during the impeachment hearings of President Bill Clinton. We spent a year and a half listening to testimony about Clinton's personal relations. This must not be the model for impeachment inquiries. A Democratic Congress can show that it takes its constitutional authority seriously and hold a sober investigation, which will stand in stark contrast to the kangaroo court convened by Republicans for Clinton. In fact, the worst legacy of the Clinton impeachment - where the GOP pursued trumped-up and insignificant allegations - would be if it discourages future Congresses from examining credible and significant allegations of a constitutional nature when they arise.

The charges against Cheney are not personal. They go to the core of the actions of this administration, and deserve consideration in a way the Clinton scandal never did. The American people understand this, and a majority supports hearings, according to a Nov. 13 poll by the American Research Group. In fact, 70 percent of voters say the vice president has abused his powers, and 43 percent say he should be removed from office right now. The American people understand the magnitude of what has been done and what is at stake if we fail to act. It is time for Congress to catch up.

Some people argue that the Judiciary Committee cannot proceed with impeachment hearings because it would distract Congress from passing important legislative initiatives. We disagree. First, hearings need not tie up Congress for a year and shut down the nation. Second, hearings will not prevent Congress from completing its other business. These hearings involve the possible impeachment of the vice president - not of our commander in chief - and the resulting impact on the nation's business and attention would be significantly less than the Clinton presidential impeachment hearings. Also, even though President Bush has thwarted moderate Democratic policies that are supported by a vast majority of Americans - including children's health care, stem-cell research, and bringing our troops home from Iraq - the Democratic Congress has already managed to deliver a minimum-wage increase, an energy bill to address the climate crisis and bring us closer to energy independence, assistance for college tuition, and other legislative successes. We can continue to deliver on more of our agenda in the coming year while simultaneously fulfilling our constitutional duty by investigating and publicly revealing whether Cheney has committed high crimes and misdemeanors.

Holding hearings would put the evidence on the table, and the evidence - not politics - should determine the outcome. Even if the hearings do not lead to removal from office, putting these grievous abuses on the record is important for the sake of history. For an administration that has consistently skirted the Constitution and asserted that it is above the law, it is imperative for Congress to make clear that we do not accept this dangerous precedent. Our Founding Fathers provided Congress the power of impeachment for just this reason, and we must now at least consider using it.

E-mail Rep. Wexler at reprobertwexler@gmail.com

Word of the Day

mendicant \MEN-dih-kunt\, noun:

1. A beggar; especially, one who makes a business of begging.
2. A member of an order of friars forbidden to acquire landed property and required to be supported by alms.
3. Practicing beggary; begging; living on alms; as, mendicant friars.

Money has ever posed problems. Not even love, said Gladstone, has made so many fools of men. Throughout time the most obvious but universal dilemma -- that there is never enough of it -- has confounded everyone, from mendicants to monarchs, and their ministers.
-- Janet Gleeson, Millionaire

She was well dressed, obviously not a mendicant.
-- William Safire, Scandalmonger

Mendicant derives from Latin mendicare, "to beg," from mendicus, "beggar."

"You only lose energy when life becomes dull in your mind. Your mind gets bored and therefore tired of doing nothing. Get interested in something! Get absolutely enthralled in something! Get out of yourself! Be somebody! Do something! The more you lose yourself in something bigger than yourself, the more energy you will have."

Norman Vincent Peale
1898-1993, Pastor, Speaker and Author

Today's Blissful Place - Trust Me, I'm In Need of One!

Dog fashion shows diversity

Chihuahuas dressed in Chinese and Japanese dog jackets show off at a dog show held by the Jilin Pet Industry Association in Changchun, China.

Website of the Day

America's Cheapest Family and The HomeEconomiser Newsletter are dedicated to encouraging you to find creative ways to live within your means, avoid debt with a smile, and achieve goals you never dreamed possible.

A Challenge to Hillary Bashers: Explain Why You Hate Her

The loathing of Hillary Clinton unites everyone from the ultraright to the ultraleft -- but why?

Traveler IQ Challenge

From VSL

Sudoku was all the rage until its pattern was discovered, rendering it a yawner. Happily, we’ve found the next addictive online game: the Traveler IQ Challenge.

Here’s how it works: A small world map loads onto your browser. The game is easy at first, asking you to click on well-known world cities (e.g., Toronto) on the map — the goal is to come as close as possible to the actual location in the shortest amount of time. After you click on the spot, you’re shown (in kilometers) how far off you are. If you get enough points, you proceed to the next level.

Once you think you’re a living, breathing atlas, the game gets harder; you’ll find yourself having to locate more obscure places (e.g., the Solomon Islands) and historical locations (the Battle of Waterloo 1815).

Sure, the map is small, but that’s part of the fun. Here’s a hint: Brush up on your African capitals.

Cards You Won't Find In The Shops

"Looking back over the years that we've been together, I can't help but wonder:.............
What was I thinking?"

"Congratulations on your wedding day!.............
Too bad no one likes your wife."

"How could two people as beautiful you............
have such an ugly baby?"

"I've always wanted to have someone to hold, someone to love.........
After having met you, I've changed my mind."

"I must admit, you brought Religion in my life...........
I never believed in Hell until I met you."

"As the days go by, I think of how lucky I am.......
that you're not here to ruin it for me."

"As you grow older, Mum, I think of all the gifts you've given me.
ike the need for therapy..."

"Thanks for being a part of my life!!!..........
I never knew what evil was before this!"

"Before you go,.........
I would like you to take this knife out of my back. You'll probably need it again."

"Someday I hope to get married............ but not to you."

"You look great for your age.......Almost Lifelike!"

"When we were together, you always said you'd die for me.........
Now that we've broken up, I think it's time you kept your promise."

"I knew the day would come when you would leave me for my best friend.......
So here's his leash, water bowl and chew toys."

"We have been friends for a very long time...........
What do you say we call it quits?"

"I'm so miserable without you..................
It's almost like you're here."

"Congratulations on your new bundle of joy...............
Did you ever find out who the father was?"

"You are such a good friend that if we were on a sinking ship and there was only one life jacket....
I'd miss you heaps and think of you often."

"Your friends and I wanted to do something special for your birthday---------
So we're having you put to sleep."

We Hardly Knew Ye - People We Lost in November, 2007

1

• Sonny Bupp, 79, American child actor (Our Gang, Citizen Kane), last surviving credited cast member of Citizen Kane.
  
• Paul Tibbets, 92, American pilot of the Enola Gay which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, heart failure.

6

• George Osmond, 90, American patriarch of the Osmond singing family.

10

• Laraine Day, 87, American actress (Foreign Correspondent, The High and the Mighty).
• Norman Mailer, 84, American Pulitzer Prize–winning author (The Naked and the Dead, The Executioner's Song), renal failure. [199]
• John H. Noble, 84, American prisoner in Russian gulag and author (I Was a Slave in Russia), heart attack.

12

• Ira Levin, 78, American author (Rosemary's Baby, The Stepford Wives) and playwright (Deathtrap), heart attack.

14

• Michael Blodgett, 68, American actor and screenwriter (Beyond the Valley of the Dolls), heart attack. [158]
• Ronnie Burns, 72, American actor, adopted son of George Burns and Gracie Allen, cancer. [159]
• Bertha Fry, 113, American supercentenarian, third-oldest person in the world, pneumonia.

19

• Kevin DuBrow, 52, American rock singer (Quiet Riot), accidental cocaine overdose. [112]
• Dick Wilson, 91, British-born American actor ("Mr. Whipple"), natural causes.

26

• Mel Tolkin, 94, American head writer for Your Show of Shows.

27

• Robert Cade, 80, American doctor, inventor of Gatorade, kidney failure
• Cecil Payne, 84, American saxophonist, prostate cancer.
  
• Sean Taylor, 24, American football player (Washington Redskins), homicide by gunshot.

28

• Jeanne Bates, 89, American film actress, breast cancer.

29

• Ralph Beard, 79, American college basketball player for the University of Kentucky involved in point-shaving scandal.
• Nardi Reeder Campion, 90, American author and columnist.
• Jim Nesbitt, 76, American country music singer.

30

• Ralph Ezell, 54, American bass guitarist (Shenandoah), heart attack.
• Robert "Evel" Knievel, Jr., 69, American stunt performer.

Word of the Day

perspicacity \pur-spuh-KAS-uh-tee\, noun:

Clearness of understanding or insight; penetration, discernment.

His predictions over the years have mixed unusual aristocratic insight with devastating perspicacity.
-- "Why fine titles make exceedingly fine writers", Independent, November 3, 1996

Doubtless these thumbnail sketches, like everything else Stendhal wrote, were intended ultimately to relate to his own notion of himself as a creature of invincible perspicacity and sophistication.
-- Jonathan Keates, Stendhal

Perspicacity comes from Latin perspicax, perspicac-, "sharp-sighted," from perspicere, "to look through," from per, "through" + specere, "to look."

With lies you may get ahead in the world but you can never go back.

— Russian proverb

Frost over the World - Benazir Bhutto - 02 Nov 07

Sir David speaks to former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto about her controversial return to Pakistan, who she thinks is behind the deadly bombing of her convoy in Karachi last month, and whether she and Musharraf can forge a powersharing agreement.

Why the Democrats Could Lose in 2008

Democrats think the public is just interested in new social programs, but voters are looking for something more inspirational.

For weight loss that really counts, count calories

Study finds those who shed pounds and kept them off limited portions

Website of the Day - The Happiness Project

The Happiness Project

Another Blonde Joke

A blonde named Mary decides to rent a movie

She goes to the video store, and after looking around for a while, selects a title that sounds good.

She drives home, makes some popcorn and gets comfortable by the Television set.

To her disappointment, there's nothing but static on the screen, so she calls the video store to complain.

Mary: "I just rented a movie from you and there's nothing on the tape but static."

Clerk: "Sorry about that. We've had problems with some tapes. Which title did you rent?"

Mary: "Head Cleaner."

Most complex problems do have a solution

Most complex problems do have a solution,... Stretch your mind.

Many years ago in a small Russian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the village money lender.

The money lender, who was old and horrible, fancied the farmer's beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. The cunning money lender suggested that they decide the matter this way: He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble
from the bag.

1. If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2. If she picked the white pebble, she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

Standing on a pebble-strewn path in the farmer's field, the money lender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag.

He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field that day. What would you have done if you were th e girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl could refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl could show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money lender as a cheat. But he will not forgive the loan.

3. The girl could pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her Father from his debt and imprisonment.

Take a moment to ponder over this story. Experts use it to make people appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.

The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chose any of the logical choices.

What would you recommend the girl do?

Do not look at the answer yet, give your advice after a few minutes of your own lateral thinking................

Well, here is what she did:
She put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble.

Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles. "Oh how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked."

Since the remaining pebble was black, they had to assume that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:
Most complex problems do have a solution, which you can find if you stretch your mind.
If logic isn't working, try lateral thinking. Lateral thinking is a creative exercise. Practice it every day.

"The simple step of writing down your ideal scene can lead you to discover the unfailing natural laws of manifestation."

Marc Allen
Author of The Greatest Secret of All: Moving Beyond Abundance to a Life of True Fulfillment

A Great Republican Record

Here's a little part of US history

I can't vouch for the validity of any of these.....

Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846. John F Kennedy was elected to Congress in 1946.

Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. John F. Kennedy was elected President in 1960.

The names Lincoln and Kennedy each contain seven letters.

Both were particularly concerned with civil rights.

Both wives lost their children while living in the White House.

Both Presidents were shot on a Friday. Both Presidents were shot in the head.

Lincoln's secretary was named Kennedy. Kennedy's secretary was named Lincoln.

Both were assassinated by Southerners.

Both were succeeded by Southerners.

Both successors were named Johnson.

Andrew Johnson, who succeeded Lincoln, was born in 1808.

Lyndon Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy, was born in 1908.

John Wilkes Booth, who assassinated Lincoln, was born in 1839.

Lee Harvey Oswald, who assassinated Kennedy, was born in 1939.

Both assassins were known by their three names.

Both names are comprised of fifteen letters.

Lincoln was shot at the theatre named 'Kennedy'. Kennedy was shot in a car called 'Lincoln'. (I thought Llincoln was shot in FORD Theatre!)

Booth ran from the theatre and was caught in a warehouse. Oswald ran from a warehouse and was caught in a theatre.

Booth and Oswald were assassinated before their trials.

Sign The Petition

Eastern Promises

From VSL:

In 2005, critics and fans were outraged when A History of Violence star Viggo Mortensen was overlooked during Oscar season. But Mortensen and director David Cronenberg re-teamed for this year’s Eastern Promises (available 12/26), an elegant and even superior thriller that picks up the main theme from Violence: the exploration of man’s mysterious, complicated, and often animal nature.

The movie is set in the shadows of London side streets, and Mortensen plays Nikolai, a Russian-born driver rising through the ranks of a Russian organized-crime family. There are all sorts of twists and turns (and, not surprisingly, lots of bloodshed), but the film remains streamlined and focused in its intensity. The performances — Naomi Watts is the midwife unwittingly entangled with the baddies, Vincent Cassel the reckless son of the boss — are all excellent, but it’s Mortensen’s movie. His character is complex — as ruthless as he is inscrutable — and utterly impossible to look away from.

We Hardly Knew Ye - People We Lost in October, 2007

3

• Jimmy Hutmaker, 75, American alleged to be 'Mr. Jimmy" in The Rolling Stones song You Can't Always Get What You Want.

8

• John Henry, 32, American Hall of Fame thoroughbred racehorse, euthanized after kidney failure.

9

• Carol Bruce, 87, American actress (WKRP in Cincinnati), COPD

13

• Alec Kessler, 40, American basketball player (Georgia Bulldogs, Miami Heat), heart attack.

14

• Salih Saif Aldin, 32, Iraqi correspondent for The Washington Post, shot.
• Big Moe, 33, American rapper, heart attack.
  
• Slew o'Gold, 27, American thoroughbred racehorse and Hall of Fame inductee, euthanized. [133]
• Sigrid Valdis, 72, American actress (Hogan's Heroes), lung cancer.

15

• Nicky James, 64, British pop singer (The Moody Blues), brain tumour.
• Lucius Theus, 85, American airforce major-general, Tuskegee Airman.

16

• Deborah Kerr, 86, British actress (From Here to Eternity, Black Narcissus, The King and I), complications of Parkinson's disease.

17

• Billy Berroa, 79, Dominican Spanish broadcaster for New York Mets on WADO, prostate cancer. [102]
• Joey Bishop, 89, American entertainer, last surviving member of the Rat Pack.
• Teresa Brewer, 76, American pop and jazz singer, supranuclear palsy.
• Taku, 14, American orca at SeaWorld San Antonio.

18

• Vincent DeDomenico, 92, American inventor of Rice-a-Roni.

19

• LaLa Brown, 21, American R&B singer, shot.

26

• Jim Cummins, 62, American correspondent for NBC News, cancer.
  
• John L. Gaunt, 83, American Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, congestive heart failure.

28

• Porter Wagoner, 80, American country music singer, lung cancer.

30

• Robert Goulet, 73, American singer and actor, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
• Linda S. Stein, 62, American former manager of the Ramones, real estate agent, beaten.

Word of the Day

deracinate \dee-RAS-uh-nayt\, transitive verb:

1. To pluck up by the roots; to uproot.
2. To displace from one's native or accustomed environment.

In the People's Republic, communism's utilitarian bent first poisoned the culinary arts and then, in the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, tried to deracinate what were regarded as the insidious strains of China's former culture.
-- Benjamin and Christina Schwarz, "Going All Out for Chinese", The Atlantic, January 1999

He was a Jew who was never given a chance to belong anywhere, a deracinated intellectual.
-- David Cesarani, Arthur Koestler: The Homeless Mind

Deracinate comes from Middle French desraciner, from des-, "from" (from Latin de-) + racine, "root" (from Late Latin radicina, from Latin radix, radic-). The noun form is deracination.

Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit.

- E.E. Cummings

We Hardly Knew Ye - People We Lost in September, 2007

1

• Russell Ellington, 69, American basketball coach for the Harlem Globetrotters, lung cancer.
• Sally Haley, 99, American painter, natural causes.

2

• Anthony Day, 74, American editorial page editor for the Los Angeles Times, emphysema.
• Marcia Mae Jones, 83, American actress (Heidi, These Three). [198]

3

• Carter Albrecht, 34, American keyboardist, guitarist (Edie Brickell & New Bohemians), shot. [183]
• Clarke Bynum, 45, American basketball player (Clemson Tigers) and 2000 hijack hero, cancer.
  
• Janis Martin, 67, American singer, cancer.
• Steve Ryan, 60, American theater and television actor.
  

4

• Michael Evans, 87, American stage and television actor.
  
• Seth Tobias, 44, American financial commentator for CNBC's Squawk Box.

7

• Alex, 31, American-born African grey parrot, subject of animal language experiments.
  
• Russell E. Dougherty, 87, American former commander in chief of the Strategic Air Command. [150]
• Joseph W. Eschbach, 74, American doctor and kidney specialist whose research lead to treatment for anemia, cancer.

9

• Hughie Thomasson, 55, American guitarist (The Outlaws), heart attack.

10

• Loretta King Hadler, 90, American film actress, natural causes.
  
• Ted Stepien, 82, American businessman and former owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team.
• Jane Wyman, 90, American Academy Award-winning actress and first wife of Ronald Reagan.

11

• Gene Savoy, 80, American explorer, claimed discovery of over 40 lost cities in Peru, founder of religion, natural causes.
• Willie Tee, 63, American singer, songwriter and producer, colon cancer.
  

12

• Bobby Byrd, 73, American soul/funk singer, long-time friend and collaborator of James Brown, cancer.
• Daryl Holton, 55, American murderer, first man executed by electric chair in Tennessee in 47 years.

15

• Brett Somers, 83, American actress, comedienne and panelist (Match Game), stomach and colon cancer.

18

• Norman Gaylord, 84, American chemist, developed permeable contact lens.
• Nate Hill, 41, American football player (Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Washington Redskins).

21

• Rex Humbard, 88, American televangelist, congestive heart failure.
• Coral Watts, 53, American serial killer, complications of prostate cancer. [68]

26

• Velma Wayne Dawson, 94, American creator of the Howdy Doody puppet.
• Randy Van Horne, 83, American singer of TV theme songs (The Flintstones, The Jetsons), cancer.
  

27

• Dale Houston, 67, American musician (Dale and Grace).
  
• Rena Rago, 85, American artist, stroke complications.
  
• George Rieveschl, 91, American inventor of Benadryl, pneumonia.
  

28

• Charles B. Griffith, 77, American screenwriter.
• Evelyn Knight, 89, American singer, lung cancer.
• Martin Manulis, 92, American Emmy Award-winning television and film producer.
• Wally Parks, 94, American drag racing and hot rod pioneer, pneumonia.
  

29

• Lois Maxwell, 80, Canadian Golden Globe-winning actress, first Miss Moneypenny in James Bond film series, colorectal cancer.

30

• Al Chang, 85, American two-time Pulitzer prize-nominated military photographer, leukemia.
• John Henebry, 89, American Air Force major general, heart failure.

The Diet After Christmas

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,

The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt---

I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"
So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip

Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
"Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.

I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore---
But isn't that what January is for?

Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

Website of the Day - Post Secret

PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a homemade postcard.

Twas The Day After Christmas

'Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house,
Every creature was hurtin', even the mouse.
The toys were all broken, their batteries dead;
Santa passed out, with some ice on his head.

Wrapping and ribbons just covered the floor,
While upstairs the family continued to snore.
And I in my T-shirt, new Reeboks and jeans,
I went into the kitchen and started to clean.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the sink to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the curtains, and threw up the sash.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a little white truck, with an oversized mirror.
The driver was smiling, so lively and grand;
The patch on his jacket said "U.S. POSTMAN."

With a handful of bills, he grinned like a fox
Then quickly he stuffed them into our mailbox.
Bill after bill, after bill, they still came.
Whistling and shouting he called them by name...

"Now Dillard's, now Broadway's, now Penny's and Sears
Here's Robinson's, Levitz's and Target and Mervyn's.
To the tip of your limit, every store, every mall,
Now charge away--charge away--charge away all!"

He whooped and he whistled as he finished his work.
He filled up the box, and then turned with a jerk.
He sprang to his truck and he drove down the road,
Driving much faster with just half a load.

Then I heard him exclaim with great holiday cheer,
"Enjoy what you got. . . . . .you'll be paying all year!

Word of the Day

tarradiddle \tair-uh-DID-uhl\, noun:

1. A petty falsehood; a fib.
2. Pretentious nonsense.
Oh please! Even in the parallel universe, tarradiddles of this magnitude cannot go unchallenged.
-- "Taxation in the parallel universe", Sunday Business, June 11, 2000
Mr B did not tell a whopper. This was no fib, plumper, porker or tarradiddle. There was definitely no deceit, mendacity or fabrication.
-- "Looking back", Western Mail, May 11, 2002
Other amendments, such as a chef at the birthday party, a dancing bear in the hunting scene, and a brief solo for the usually pedestrian Catalabutte, seemed more capricious, and the synopsis suggested further changes had been planned but perhaps found impractical. Some tarradiddle with roses for death and rebirth also necessitated different flowers for the traditional Rose Adagio.
-- John Percival, "The other St Petersburg company", Independent, November 22, 2001

Tarradiddle is of unknown origin.

Bush is Insensitive, Apathetic, Stupid and Dangerous

Oh, my friend, it's not what they take away from you that counts. It's what you do with what you have left.

— Hubert Humphrey

Snoopy vs The Red Baron

Bowie & Bing - Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy

A Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light, I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight. My wife was asleep, her head on my chest, My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white, Transforming the yard to a winter delight. The sparkling lights in the tree I believe, Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep, Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep. In perfect contentment, or so it would seem, So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near, But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear. Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then thesure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear, And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night, A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.

A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old, Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold. Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled, Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear, "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here! Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve, You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"

For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift, Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts. To the window that danced with a warm fire's light.

Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right, I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night." "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line, That separates you from the darkest of times.No one had to ask or beg or implore me, I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me. My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam And now it is my turn and so, here I am. I've not seen my own son in more than a while, But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.

Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag, The red, white, and blue... an American flag.

I can live through the cold and the being alone, Away from my family, my house and my home. I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet, I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat. I can carry the weight of killing another, Or lay down my life with my sister and brother...Who stand at the front against any and all, To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."

"But isn't there something I can do, at the least, "Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast? It seems all too little for all that you've done, For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret, "Just tell us you love us, and never forget. To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone, To stand your own watch, no matter how long. For when we come home, either standing or dead, To know you remember we fought and we bled. Is payment enough, and with that we will trust, That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

The Tablecloth

The brand new pastor and his wife, newly assigned to their first ministry, to reopen a church in suburban Brooklyn,arrived in early October excited about their opportunities. When they saw their church, it was very run down and needed much work. They set a goal to have everything done in time to have their first service on Christmas Eve.

They worked hard, repairing pews, plastering walls, painting, etc, and on
December 18 were ahead of schedule and just about finished.

On December 19 a terrible tempest - a driving rainstorm hit the area and
lasted for two days.

On the 21st, the pastor went over to the church. His heart sank when he saw that the roof had leaked, causing a large area of plaster about 20 feet by 8 feet to fall off the front wall of the sanctuary just behind the pulpit, beginning about head high.

The pastor cleaned up the mess on the floor, and not knowing what else to do
but postpone he Christmas Eve service, headed home.

On the way he noticed that a local business was having a flea market type sale for charity so he stopped in. One of the items was a beautiful, handmade, ivory colored, crocheted tablecloth with exquisite work, fine colors and a Cross embroidered right in the center. It was just the
right size to cover up the hole in the front wall. He bought it and headed back to the church.

By this time it had started to snow. An older woman running from the opposite direction was trying to catch the bus.. She missed it. The pastor invited her to wait in the warm church for the next bus 45 minutes later.

She sat in a pew and paid no attention to the pastor while he got a ladder, hangers, etc., to put up the tablecloth as a wall tapestry. The pastor could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and it covered up the entire problem area.

Then he noticed the woman walking down the center aisle. Her face was like a sheet.. "Pastor," she asked, "where did you get that tablecloth?"

The pastor explained.

The woman asked him to check the lower right corner to see if the initials, EBG were crocheted into it there. They were. These were the initials of the woman, and she had made this tablecloth 35 years before, in Austria.

The woman could hardly believe it as the pastor told how he had just gotten the Tablecloth. The woman explained that before the war she and her husband were well-to-do people in Austria. When the Nazis came, she was forced to leave. Her husband was going to follow her the next week. He was captured, sent to prison and never saw her husband or her home again.

The pastor wanted to give her the tablecloth; but she made the pastor keep it for the church. The pastor insisted on driving her home, that was the least he could do.. She lived on the other side of Staten Island and was only in Brooklyn for the day for a housecleaning job.

What a wonderful service they had on Christmas Eve. The church was almost full. The music and the spirit were great. At the end of the service, the pastor and his wife greeted everyone at the door and many said that they would return One older man, whom the pastor recognized from the neighborhood continued to sit in one of the pews and stare, and the pastor wondered why he wasn't leaving.

The man asked him where he got the tablecloth on the front wall because it was identical to one that his wife had made years ago when they lived in Austria before the war and how could there be two tablecloths so much alike.

He told the pastor how the Nazis came, how he forced his wife to flee for her safety and he was supposed to follow her, but he was arrested and put in a prison.. He never saw his wife or his home again all the 35 years in between.

The pastor asked him if he would allow him to take him for a little ride. They drove to Staten Island and to the same house where the pastor had taken the woman three days earlier.

He helped the man climb the three flights of stairs to the woman's apartment, knocked on the door and he saw the greatest Christmas reunion he could ever imagine.

We Hardly Knew Ye - People We Lost in August, 2007

Oliver Hill, 100, American lawyer, lead attorney on the Brown v. Board of Education case.

Gato Del Sol, 28, American racehorse, won 1982 Kentucky Derby, euthanized.

Clarence "Tex" Walker, 61, (24 January 1946 – 8 August 2007) was a prominent rhythm and blues musician who was the lead singer with Bill Pinkney's Original Drifters and The Coasters. After touring Europe with Big Joe Turner, Walker appeared at the prestigious Bishopstock Blues Festival, before forming his own group in London, The Walker Street Blues Band, and recording "Blues in Black," which was released to critical acclaim in Britain. Walker died of a heart attack on August 8, 2007. He had the attack in the King's Arms Hotel at Woodstock, Oxfordshire and died four days later.

Henry Cabot Lodge Bohler, 82, American civil rights campaigner, member of Tuskegee Airmen, brain injuries following a fall.

Merv Griffin, 82, American talk show host, real estate tycoon, creator of Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune, prostate cancer.

Phil Rizzuto, 89, American baseball player, Hall of Fame inductee and sports broadcaster, pneumonia.

Brian "Crush" Adams, 44, American professional wrestler, accidental overdose of pain killersanti-depressants.

Maxwell Lemuel "Max" Roach, 83, (January 10, 1924 – August 16, 2007) was a bebop/hard bop percussionist, drummer, and composer. He worked with many of the greatest jazz musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins and Clifford Brown. Roach also led his own groups, and made numerous musical statements relating to the civil rights movement of African-Americans. He is generally considered to be one of the most important drummers in history.

John Blewett III, 33, American NASCAR driver, racing crash.

Max Hodge, 91, American television writer, creator of Mr. Freeze on the 1960s Batman series.

Eddie Griffin, 25, American former Seton Hall, Rockets and Timberwolves basketball player, car accident.

Jon Lucien, 65, American smooth jazz singer/songwriter, respiratory failure and complications of kidney surgery.

Michael Deaver, 69, American Deputy White House Chief of Staff (1981–1985), pancreatic cancer.

Leona Helmsley, 87 (July 4, 1920 – August 20, 2007) was a billionaire New York City hotel operator and real estate investor. She was a flamboyant personality and had a reputation for tyrannical behavior that earned her the nickname "Queen of Mean." The image of Helmsley was sealed when a former housekeeper testified that she heard Helmsley say: "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes." She was convicted of federal income tax evasion and other crimes in 1989 and served 19 months in prison (and two more months in house arrest), after receiving an initial sentence of 16 years, heart failure.

Robert Symonds, 80, (December 1, 1926 – August 23, 2007) was an American actor. He was the associate director of the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center from 1965 through 1972, prostate cancer.

Aaron Russo, 64 (February 14, 1943 – August 24, 2007) was an American entertainment businessman, film maker, and libertarian political activist, cancer.

Arthur A. Jones, 80 (November 22, 1926 – August 28, 2007)was the founder of Nautilus, Inc. and MedX, Inc. and the inventor of the Nautilus exercise machines, including the Nautilus pullover, which was first sold in 1970. He was born in Arkansas, and grew up in Seminole, Oklahoma.

David Garcia, 63 (1944? - August 28, 2007) was a broadcast journalist for ABC News. Garcia had the distinction of becoming one of the first Hispanic news correspondents for a major American television network in the early 1970s, complications of a liver condition.

Richard Jewell, 44, American security guard wrongly accused of the Atlanta Olympics bombing, diabetes.

Word of the Day

pari passu \PAIR-ee-PASS-oo; PAIR-ih-PASS-oo\, adverb:

At an equal pace or rate.

Expand the state and [its] destructive capacity necessarily expands too, pari passu.
-- Paul Johnson, Modern Times: The World From the Twenties to the Eighties

Independent hedge funds can sell their holdings in a stock all at once, but if a hedge fund is part of a mutual fund company, it generally must sell pari passu . . . with the company's mutual funds that hold the same stock, constraining flexibility.
-- Geraldine Fabrikant, "Should You Bristle at These Hedges?", New York Times, November 8, 1998

Pari passu literally means "with equal step," from Latin pari, ablative of par, "equal" + passu, ablative of passus, "step."

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts, for you will never go any higher than you think."

Benjamin Disraeli
1804-1881, British Statesman and Prime Minister

So you think you know carols?

This 25-question quiz tests your knowledge of the lyrics of some our most famous winter holiday songs.

'Grandma' got run over by the ratings, dear

Playing the right Christmas song isn't just a matter of whether you'll tick off Aunt Harriet or force Grandpa to cover his ears and flee into the snow. For radio stations that broadcast wall-to-wall holiday tunes this time of year -- and there are 366 such stations in the United States -- the playlist is a major financial decision. Which is why radio stations pay attention to surveys such as the ones conducted this year by two media research companies. Bottom line: Avoid "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" at all costs.

Making a list ...

Edison Media Research and Pinnacle Media Worldwide asked people to rate Christmas-themed tunes. Edison's results:

LOVED

1. Nat King Cole's "The Christmas Song" (You know -- "Chestnuts roasting on an open fire ...")

2. Bing Crosby's "White Christmas"

3. Johnny Mathis' "Do You Hear What I Hear"

4. Burl Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas"

5. Harry Simeone Chorale's "Little Drummer Boy"

HATED

1. The Singing Dogs' "Jingle Bells" (This 1955 Danish record, re-edited and rereleased in 1970, consists of random barks put together in a rendition of the familiar tune.)

2. Cartman's "O Holy Night" (the familiar song as butchered by the cartoon character from Comedy Central's "South Park," voiced by Trey Parker)

3. Elmo & Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"

4. The Jackson 5's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"

5. Barbra Streisand's "Jingle Bells?"

Checking it twice

The second research firm, Pinnacle, divided its survey into categories:

* Adult contemporary listeners rated Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" No. 1. They didn't care for NewSong's "The Christmas Shoes."

* Adult Top 40 fans went for Bobby Helms' "Jingle Bell Rock." Downgraded: The Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping."

* Hip-hop/R&B fans liked the Jackson 5's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" though Edison respondents loathed it. Among the songs faring poorly with hip-hop fans was James Brown's "Santa Go Straight to the Ghetto."

* Country listeners ranked Ives' "A Holly Jolly Christmas" at No. 1. Montgomery Gentry's "Merry Christmas From the Family" was disowned.

* Smooth jazz fans backed "The Christmas Song" by Chicago's own Nat King Cole. Less liked was "Happy Christmas" by Mindi Abair.

Gray Christmas

Oldies ruled in the ratings. Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You" (1994) was an exception, placing sixth on Pinnacle's adult contemporary list. The most recent song well-loved in Edison's survey was 36 years old: "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

What to do about 'Grandma'?

"Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" was widely disliked, but it also was loved by many others, with very little middle ground. Elmo Shropshire, 71, half of the duo Elmo & Patsy, claims Patsy, his ex-wife, never sang on the record. He says the song has sold "well over" 10 million copies since San Francisco radio station KSFO first aired it 28 years ago. Shropshire told The Washington Post's Paul Farhi: "A lot of younger people say it's not really Christmas until they hear it."

-- Sources: The Washington Post, edisonresearch.com, pinnaclemediaworldwide.com

A hug from Amma

When it comes to being tactile, the British are notoriously, well, hands-off. So what leads hundreds of people to travel to a giant hall in London all for a hug?

Top 25 Life-Improving Christmas Gifts for Under $10

Christmas Eve

Years ago, I drove a cab for a living. It was a cowboy's life, a life for someone who wanted no boss. What I didn't realize was that it was also a ministry. Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a moving confessional. Passengers climbed in, sat behind me in total anonymity, and told me about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, made me laugh and weep.

But none touched me more than a woman I picked up very late Christmas Eve. I responded to a call from a small brick four-plex in a quiet part of town. When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many poor people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needed my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.

"Just a minute," answered a frail, elderly voice.

After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80s stood before me, dressed like somebody out of a 1940's movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. "Would you carry my bag out to the car?" she said.

I took the suitcase to the cab, and then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness. "It's nothing," I told her. "I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated."

"Oh, you're such a good boy," she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, "Could you drive through downtown?"

"It's not the shortest way," I answered quickly. "Oh, I don't mind," she said. "I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice." I looked in the rearview mirror. Her eyes were glistening.

"I don't have any family left," she continued. "The doctor says I don't have very long." I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. "What route would you like me to take?" I asked.

For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.

As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, "I'm tired. Let's go now."

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were attentive, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.

"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse. "Nothing," I said.

"You have to make a living," she answered. "There are other passengers," I responded.

Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. "You gave an old woman a little moment of joy," she said. "Thank you, Dear."

I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life. I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?

On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life. We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware--beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.

We Hardly Knew Ye - People We Lost in July, 2007

David Ritcheson, 18, American hate crime victim, suicide by jumping.

Hy Zaret. 99 (August 21, 1907 – July 2, 2007) was an American lyricist and composer best known as the co-author of the 1955 hit "Unchained Melody", one of the most recorded songs of the 20th century.

James "Jimmy" Walker, 63 (April 8, 1944 – July 2, 2007) was an American professional basketball player. A 6'3" (1.90 m) guard, he played nine seasons (1967–1976) in the NBA as a member of the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets, and Kansas City Kings.Walker was a two-time All-Star who scored 11,655 points in his career. He was also th e father of former NBA player Jalen Rose, though he abandoned Rose's mother prior to his birth and took no part in the child's upbringing. Walker died on July 2, 2007, at the age of 63, from complications related to lung cancer.

Beverly Sills roles in operas around the world and on recordings. After retiring from singing in 1980, she became the general manager of the , 78 (May 25, 1929 – July 2, 2007) was perhaps the best-known American opera singer in the 1960s and 1970s. She was famous for her performances in coloratura sopranoNew York City Opera. In 1994, she became the Chairman of Lincoln Center and then, in 2002, of the Metropolitan Opera, stepping down in 2005. Sills lent her celebrity to further her charity work for the prevention and treatment of birth defects, lung cancer.

James David Street (b. 15 September 1993, London, England, UK - d. 4 July 2007, Thousand Oaks, California) was a young voice actor who voiced "Huckleberry Pie" in the 2003 Strawberry Shortcake cartoons. He also voiced "Pepito" in the "Madeline" cartoons. He died, tragically, at the age of 13, from a skateboarding accident. He hit his head on the pavement after falling from his skateboard while skating near his home; he did not wear a helmet.

Bill Pinkneyk, 81 (August 15, 1925 – July 4, 2007) was an American performer and singer. Pinkney is often incorrectly said to be the last surviving original member of The Drifters, who achieved international fame with numerous hit records. This is technically untrue, as he was not a member of the original lineup of the group. He did, however, join the group at an early stage, before it achieved great fame. He was chiefly responsible for its sound throughout the decades. The Drifters have had a strong influence on soul, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll music, probable heart attack.

Kerwin Mathews, 81 (January 8, 1926 – July 5, 2007) was an American actor. He is best known for playing Sinbad in the 1958 Ray Harryhausen stop-motion animation feature The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, where he engaged in a sword fight with animated skeletons.

Charles Gerstle Levison - better known as Charles Lane, 102 (January 26, 1905 - July 9, 2007)^[1] was an American character actor seen in many movies and TV shows, and at the time of his death was the oldest living American actor.^[2] Lane appeared in many Frank Capra films, including Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Arsenic and Old Lace and It's a Wonderful Life.

Rod Lauren, 67, (March 20, 1940 – July 11, 2007) was an American actor and singer.
As an actor, he worked mostly in television, appearing in single episodes of Alfred Hitchcock Presents and Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. amongst others during the 1960s. Lauren's most notable film is The Crawling Hand (1963) which achieved latter-day notoriety when it was featured on Mystery Science Theater 3000. As a singer, Lauren is a one-hit wonder who hit #31 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with the song "If I Had a Girl" in 1960 and performed twice on The Ed Sullivan Show, suicide by jumping.

Jerry Hadley, 55, (June 16, 1952 – July 18, 2007) was an American operatic tenor, who was a protegé of famous soprano Dame Joan Sutherland and her husband, conductor Richard Bonynge. He received three Grammy awards for his vocal performances in the recordings of Jenufa (2004 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording), Susannah (1995 Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording, and Candide (1992 Grammy Award for Best Classical Album), suicide by gunshot.

Tamara "Tammy" Faye Messner, 65, (March 7, 1942 – July 20, 2007) was an American Christian singer, evangelist, entrepreneur, author, talk show host, and television personality. She was the former wife of televangelist, and later convicted felon, Jim Bakker, and she co-hosted with him on The PTL Club from 1976 to 1987. She was known for her tendency to wear heavy makeup, particularly mascara and false eyelashes, and her eyebrows were tattooed on.^[1] She was a participant in the 2004 season of the reality show, The Surreal Life, metastatic colon cancer.

Ronald Norman Miller, 74, (c. 1933 - July 23, 2007^[1]) was an American popular songwriter ("Touch Me in the Morning", "For Once in My Life")and record producer, who attained many Top 10 hits with ballads written for Motown artists in the 1960s and 1970s, cardiac arrest.
Jesse Marunde, 27, (September 14, 1979 - July 25, 2007) was an American strongman athlete who placed second in the 2005 World's Strongest Man competition, heart attack.


Jake until his retirement because of cancer in , 12, (1995 – July 25, 2007) was a well known American black labrador who served as a search and rescue dog following the September 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. Jake served as a rescue dog from 19972006.








George Edward "Skip" Prosser, 56, (November 3, 1950 - July 26, 2007) was an American college basketball coach who was head basketball coach at Wake Forest University at the time of his death. He was the only coach in NCAA history to take three separate schools to the NCAA Tournament in his first year coaching the teams. In 21 years as a collegiate coach, he made 18 postseason appearances, heart attack.

Tom Snyder, 71, (May 12, 1936 - July 29, 2007) was an American television personality, news anchor, and radio personality best known for his late night talk shows The Tomorrow Show, on the NBC television network in the late 1970s and '80s, and The Late Late Show, on the CBS television network in the 1990s, complications of leukemia.

William Ernest "Bill" Walsh head , 75, (November 30, 1931 – July 30, 2007) was an Americanfootball coach of the San Francisco 49ers and Stanford University, and popularized the West Coast Offense. Walsh went 102-63-1 with the 49ers, winning ten of his fourteen postseason games along with six division titles, three NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowls. He was named the NFL's coach of the year in 1981 and 1984, leukemia.

Word of the Day

soporific \sop-uh-RIF-ik; soh-puh-\, adjective:

1. Causing sleep; tending to cause sleep.
2. Of, relating to, or characterized by sleepiness or lethargy.
3. A medicine, drug, plant, or other agent that has the quality of inducing sleep; a narcotic.

Hamilton's voice droned on, hypnotic, soporific, the gloom beyond the windows like the backdrop of a waking dream.
-- T. Coraghessan Boyle, Riven Rock

They were almost an hour behind in their daily schedule, and both women looked tired after a soporific afternoon of three executive meetings.
-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez, News of a Kidnapping

Happily, these three lullaby books offer the sort of comforting bedtime soporific that has delivered generations of children, young and older, into deep, safe slumber.
-- Lisa Shea, New York Times, January 30, 1994

Soporific is from French soporifique, from Latin sopor, "a heavy sleep" + -ficus, "-fic," from facere, "to make."