The Seventh Sense

RIP Mary Travers

Good singer.  Looked like Jabba the Hut in later years.

Probably not nice of me to say that.

RIP: Patrick Swayze

References to Ghost and "(I've Had The) Time of My Life" are not encouraged.

Succumbed after long battle with pancreatic cancer.  He was 57.

Patrick Swayze, Lisa Niemi (Swayze's wife), George De La Pena in One Last Dance

RIP: "Norma Rae"

Crystal Lee Sutton, formerly Crystal Lee Jordan, was fired from her job folding towels at the J.P. Stevens textile plant in her hometown of Roanoke Rapids, N.C. for trying to organize a union in the early 1970s. Her last action at the plant -- writing the word "UNION" on a piece of cardboard and standing on her work table, leading her co-workers to turn off their machines in solidarity -- was memorialized in the 1979 film by actress Sally Field. The police physically removed Sutton from the plant for her action.

She died yesterday from brain cancer.

Her death touches upon the contemporary hot topic involving health care reform.  Several years ago, Sutton was diagnosed with meningioma, a type of cancer of the nervous system. While such cancers are typically slow-growing, Sutton's was not -- and she went two months without potentially life-saving medication because her insurance wouldn't cover it initially. Sutton told the Burlington (N.C.) Times-News last year that the insurer's behavior was an example of abuse of the working poor:

"How in the world can it take so long to find out [whether they would cover the medicine or not] when it could be a matter of life or death," she said. "It is almost like, in a way, committing murder."

Though Sutton eventually received the medication, the cancer had already taken hold. She passed away on Friday, Sept. 11 in a Burlington, N.C. hospice.

RIP: The Man Who Saved More Lives Than Any Other Person In History

Oh, I could tell you his name, but it probably wouldn't mean anything to you: Norman E. Borlaug.  He died at the age of 95 last night.

What was his claim to fame?  Well, the title above says it all.  He saved more human lives than anybody in the history of.... well.... in the history of history.

How many lives?  Well, the figure most often used is one billion.

That's right.  Dude saved the lives of around one billion people.

Believe it or not, the fictional The West Wing mentioned Borlaug and his accomplishments.

A popular book in the middle of last century called The Population Bomb warned of massive starvation primarily in Africa and the Middle East, and would have come true but for Borlaug's innovations, helping to more than double world food production between 1960 and 1990. 

The father of the green revolution, his efforts averted global famine during the second half of the 20th century and saving perhaps 1 billion lives.

Accusing Someone Of Politicization Is Itself Politicization

Conservatives Warn of Wellstone Effect:

Key conservative voices have begun to charge in the day after Sen. Ted Kennedy’s death that Democrats are inappropriately politicizing the senator’s death, his memorial and his legacy.

Kennedy was that ultimate political creature, a “lion of the Senate,” and the last son of the archetypal American political family — his passing is inevitably political. In his final days, he focused on a narrow political goal, pleading with state leaders to change state law to posthumously fill his Senate seat with an interim appointee who would be a vote in favor of the health care legislation he championed.

So his allies on the left have made no secret of their hopes that his legacy will
serve to bolster the uncertain health reform plan, with Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) even suggesting the bill be named for Kennedy.

And that has some influential conservative voices sounding the alarm and calling foul.

Yeah.  Call me crazy, but I don't think tone or nature of Kennedy's memorial service should be fashioned to cater the sensabilities of Kennedy's political opponents.  I don't think Kennedy's opponents get to decide what is and isn't an "inappropriate" tribute to Kennedy.

Changing the name of the health care bill is a fitting way to honor a man who devoted his life to health care reform.  His family would be honored; HE would be honored.  Conservatives don't get to speak for him.

Conservative Kennedy Bashing

I don't want to draw too much attention to the vileness from some conservative quarters on the subject of Ted Kennedy's death -- it's rather ugly.

But it confounds me that many of these conservatives like to cloak themselves in the Bible and Christian goodness.  I mean, I'm not saying that Kennedy was a saint, but if Jesus had a vote in Congress, don't you think he would support these legislative acts (all of which Kennedy lead, fight for, and/or sponsored):

• The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996
• State Children's Health Insurance Program (S-CHIP)
• Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act of 2009 (Americorps)
• The Civil Rights Act of 1964
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965
• Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993
• Fair Housing Act of 1968
• Handicapped Children's Protection Act of 1986 (overturning a SCOTUS decision)
• Ryan White Care Act of 1990 (AIDS care)
• Americans with Disability Act of '90
• Civil Rights Act of 1991
• Minority Health & Health Disparities Research & Education Act of 2000
• National & Community Service Trust Act of 1993 (Americorps)
• Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1990
• Military Child Care Act of 1989
• The WARN Act of 1988 (60 days notice prior to plant closings)
• Employment Opportunities for Disabled Americans Act of 1986
• Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986 (vetoed by Reagan)
• Job Training Partnership Act of 1980
• Refugee Act of 1980
• Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act of 1980
• Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act - 1975
• Title IX of Education Amendments of '72 (bans sex discrimination by schools getting Fed $)
• Establishment of Women, Infants & Childrens ("WIC") Nutrition Program at USDA
• Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Act of 1970
• Older American Community Service Employment Act of 1970
• Occupational Safety & Health Administration Act of 1970
• The Voting Rights Act amendments of 1970
• The Bilingual Education Act of 1968
• The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 (War on Poverty: Head Start, Job Corps)
• The Mental Health Parity Act of 1996

But to these conservatives, Jesus probably would have been in favor of tax cuts for the wealthy and deregulation -- and Kennedy deserves Hell.

Teddy Hagiography

Last night was literally the first evening in months where I had no rehearsals, no performances, no auditions, no theatre-related meetings, etc.  In other words, it was the first evening in months where I could veg in front of the TV.

Man, what a bleak oasis.

With nothing to grab my interest, I gravitated to the news channels, where there was, not surprisingly, an endless parade of bobbleheads talking about Ted Kennedy.

I like Kennedy, but I don't like bobbleheads.  Some of it was a little over the top.  Keith Olbermann, for example, openly mused that Teddy might be the "greatest" Kennedy of them all.  (He wasn't; Bobby was.  Had Bobby lived, the country and the world would be a much better place today -- you wouldn't even recognize it.  I'm convinced of that.)

CNN, however, ran an HBO documentary called "Teddy: In His Own Words".  It was just a series of news clips and interviews, arranged chronologically, from and about Ted Kennedy.  No narration.  It was interesting and informative.  I didn't know, for example, that President Nixon had ordered surveillance of Kennedy in order to get the goods on him (this came from a Nixon tape).  He wanted Kennedy's secret service protection to include informatives who would tip the White House if Kennedy was doing something immoral.

Nixon was such a skank.

But PBS aired a re-run of The American Experience.  The subject matter was The Kennedys.  It made sense -- after all, Ted Kennedy didn't just die yesterday; the Kennedy dynasty died.

There they are.  Joe, Rose, and their nine kids.  With Teddy's death (coming on the heals of Eunice's death a few weeks ago), they're all gone now.

The American Experience: The Kennedys is a fascinating documentary, and if they replay it in the next few days, I highly recommend it.

The last chapter of the documentary is called "The Ninth Child", and it focuses on Teddy.  Even though I had seen the documentary before, I was struck by one particular comment from an RFK advisor.  He noted the incredible pressure that was placed on Teddy after Bobby was killed.  I'm paraphrasing, but he said something like this:

Imagine what it is like to be a person where if you don't become President of the United States, you are considered a failure.  And on top of that, you're the patriarch to 16 kids whose fathers have fallen at the hands of assassins.  I can't even begin to comprehend what that must have been like.  The personal strain and pressure and self-doubt....

That was where Teddy found himself in 1969.

It doesn't excuse the alcoholism and reckless behavior, but it certainly makes it logical.

RIP Edward Kennedy

In the 1930's, Joe Kennedy knew one of his sons would be President.  That future president, everyone assumed, was to be smart, handsome, and charismatic Joe Kennedy, Jr.  But Joe Jr. was shot down and killed in WWII.  All eyes fell to John.

Joe Kennedy lived long enough to see JFK become President, as well as the younger brother Bobby become Attorney General.

But then, in the shadows, there was another Kennedy son, comprised it seemed of leftover parts from his older brothers.  As Kennedys go, nobody expected much from Teddy.  Sure, he got into Harvard, but, being a Kennedy, one has to try awfully hard not to get into Harvard.  But once there, he didn't excel.  He didn't seem to have the Kennedyesque quality.  He was, in essence, George Bush -- living off of the family name.

So when he decided to run for public office in 1962 -- the U.S. Senate -- his older brothers urged him against it.  There stood a real chance that the young Teddy, age 30, might lose.  Worse still, he might win and be an embarrassment.

Well, he ran and he won... and sure, he won only because of his last name.

Then something happened.  He got in a plane crash and was hospitalized for several months.  He took that time to bone up on the issues and become knowledgeable.  Being in the hospital, one of his pet issues became health care.

Granted, he was still a Kennedy, with all the Kennedy personal failings.  Womanizing, drinking, etc.  This all came to a head in 1969 when he drove off a bridge on Chappaquidick, a small island off Martha's Vineyard.  The death of his car companion, a young campaign worker named Mary Jo Kepechne, was controversial enough, but the fact that Ted waited several hours to report the incident (having hurriedly gone instead to seek counsel with political advisers first) was what alienated many voters against him.

After Chappaquiddick, many said that Teddy could never be president.  By this time (the late 60's), he was the last Kennedy of his generation -- both JFK and Bobby had been assassinated.  In 1980, Teddy proved the nay-sayers right; he challenged a very unpopular incumbent President Jimmy Carter, and failed to even get the Democratic nomination.

But then a funny thing happened.  Senator Edward Kennedy found himself in a unique position: a man could go no higher politically, but who was virtually guaranteed a lifelong post in the Senate (because the Massachusetts people were never going to vote him out).  This freed him up from lobbyists and others on whom other politicians rely for campaign donations.  And it allowed him to make a strong commitment to public service.

He relished it, and went after it with gusto.

That, of course, is Ted Kennedy's strongest legacy -- his unflinching support for social justice, be it in the form of civil rights, education or health care.  Unrestrained by the politics of getting re-elected and free from catering to special interests, he did what most of us would want our elected leaders to do:  he did good.

Anyone who grew up with 120 miles of Boston during the past 4 decades, as I did, knows that you can't swing a dead cat without knocking over a couple of Kennedys.  I don't know how many times I've seen him speak -- as a visiting lecturer, at some commencement, in a campaign for someone (it probably helped that I went to college with his daughter).  I even talked to him briefly once in a Copley Plaza restaurant (he was very gregarious).

He may not have had a stellar personal life, but when it comes to public service, he is the role model.  Like his brothers, he was born into privilege.  Like his brothers, he believed that being graced with such privilege obligates one to give back to the community, a moral tenet that seems to be lost on the Wall Street CEOs of today.

Sadly, he was never to realize his lifelong dream of universal, affordable health care, and his death yesterday from brain cancer, while expected, comes at an ironic time.  I don't think it will change the scope of the health care debate, but someday, Kennedy's dream will come true.  It may be another generation, but when it happens, I am confident that he will be recognized.  As Kennedy himself said exactly one year ago today:

“This is the cause of my life. New hope that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American – north, south, east, west, young, old – will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not a privilege.”

I've always had a soft spot for Ted Kennedy as a person.  I cannot imagine what it must have been like all those years to be the Kennedy king, singlehandedly carrying the mantle of the family name whose members included JFK and Bobby Kennedy.  I mean, that's a pretty steep curve that he's been graded on.  As Time's Joe Klein writes:

He was scared catatonic, of course. Scared of death, obviously. There was no reason to believe, in a nation of nutballs, that he would be allowed to continue, unshot. But he was frightened of more profound things as well — overwhelmed by his own humanity in the face of his brothers' immortality, convinced that he'd never measure up, that Joe and Jack and Bobby had been the best of the Kennedys.

You can actually feel that weight being thrown on Ted's back here, as he speaks one of the best eulogies I've ever heard, on the occasion of his brother Bobby's funeral:

It was probably worse after JFK, Jr. died.  It seemed clear that Ted Kennedy was the end of the dynasty, and for the first time in my entire life, I now live in a world that lacks a Kennedy on the national political scene.  Rather strange.

The last of Joe and Rose Kennedy's nine children, Ted died 14 days after his sister Eunice.

For those who despair that Kennedy's absence might make the country an unhealthier place, remember this:

“For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”  ---Senator Edward M. Kennedy.  1932-2009.

UPDATE:  The reaction from the right blogosphere is entirely predictable.  Much call for respect and all that, but the unwashed masses (the commenters) can't seem to resist the "burn in Hell, Teddy" rhetoric.

Another meme is emerging from the right -- they think it is inappropriate that Kennedy's funeral be some sort of tribute to the things that Kennedy cared about -- like social justice, civil rights, and health care.  "It's about the man", they say, harkening to the Paul Wellstone funeral many years ago.

Such concern trolling is both funny and upsetting.  Of course it is about the man, but you can't separate the man from the things that the man stood for, fought for, and believed in his entire life.

UPDATE:  Kennedy debates Nixon in 1971 about health care.  Cronkite, who also passed recently, does the introduction...

RIP Bob Novak

Some greatest hits:

He was an old-school Washington reporter.  He took a downward spiral when he became a member of the fledgling Tv network CNN in the early 1980's.  The Evans-Novak Report was pretty thoughtful, but then came Capital Gang, and the Crossfire, setting the groundwork for TV political panel yell-a-thons.  Then he became a tool for the Bush White House, outting Valerie Plame.  This led to a few on-air bad behavior incidents.  He retired last year after being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

In 2007, he explained what he envisions heaven to look like: “I’m going to a place where there are no blogs.”

UPDATE:  Eleanor Clift, who often sparred with Novak on The McLaughlin Group remembers Novak:

On television, we were rarely on the same side. Bob Novak reveled in his hardline views. I was one of those bleeding-heart liberals whose views he routinely ridiculed. It was the mid-'80s, and we would sometimes drive out together on Friday afternoons to the NBC studio to tape The McLaughlin Group. The top would be down on his LeBaron convertible, and he always wore his Chicago Cubs cap. I considered him a friend, and he was instrumental in getting me on the show, which at the time was all male.

His office was on the same floor as NEWSWEEK's Washington, D.C., bureau, in a building just one block from the White House. He'd been there since 1964; I was a relative newcomer, arriving a dozen years later. We shared the elevator and a copying machine and enough face time in our comings and goings over the years that I thought we were buddies. But when that red light came on atop the camera to signal that the taping had begun, more often than not, he would lunge forward, wag his finger in my face, and ascribe some terrible left-wing transgression to "Eleanor Clift and her ilk."

Sincerely, John Hughes

What started as a fan letter to John Hughes turned into a two-year penpal relationship for Alison Byrne (now Alison Fields).  They corresponded often from 1985-1987.  At one point, Hughes wrote:

"You've already received more letters from me than any living relative of mine has received to date. Truly, hope all is well with you and high school isn't as painful as I portray it. Believe in yourself. Think about the future once a day and keep doing what you're doing. Because I'm impressed. My regards to the family. Don't let a day pass without a kind thought about them."

In 1997, as an adult, Allison was working in North Carolina on a diversity education project, and had sent a short training film she had made to John Hughes, with whom she had no contact for ten years.  She didn't know what response, if any, he would have.

But she was surprised.  He called her, and they talked for an hour.

John told me about why he left Hollywood just a few years earlier. He was terrified of the impact it was having on his sons; he was scared it was going to cause them to lose perspective on what was important and what happiness meant. And he told me a sad story about how, a big reason behind his decision to give it all up was that "they" (Hollywood) had "killed" his friend, John Candy, by greedily working him too hard.

He also told me he was glad I had gotten in touch and that he was proud of me for what I was doing with my life. He told me, again, how important my letters had been to him all those years ago, how he often used the argument "I'm doing this for Alison" to justify decisions in meetings.

Read Alison's blog post for a rather touching rememberance.

RIP John Hughes

Life goes by pretty fast
If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

-  Ferris Bueller

From CNN:

John Hughes, the producer, writer and director whose 1980s films such as "Sixteen Candles," "The Breakfast Club" and "Some Kind of Wonderful" offered a sharp-eyed look at teenagers and their social habits, has died, according to a statement from his representative. He was 59.

Hughes died of a heart attack while taking a morning walk in Manhattan, according to the statement.

No, he will never go down as one of the most austere artistes, but his films mirrored an entire generation and are classics.

 

RIP Uncle Walt

Yeah, I know it was last week.  And he was on my "death watch" for a couple months.  Still, it's a bit of a shock and sad.

I wonder how much a younger generation weened on the 24 hour cable news can appreciate the stature that Walter Cronkite had.  I was less than ten during the 1960's, and even then, I thought of him as "the honest one".  Walt was a real anchorman -- not the pretty boy/girl type you see today.  He was also a journalist -- he went and got the story, rather than just report what various parties said in their respective press releases.  Even after he retired, he managed to pop up now and then (usually from presidential elections), lending his considerable gravitas.

His heyday was in the 1960's and he narrated the nation through assassinations, war, and technological hurdles.  Since this is the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, it is only fitting to show Walter in a rare moment -- being speechless -- as the LEM lands on the lunar surface (complete with CBS's cheesy 1960's graphics)

Cronkite was very knowledgeable about this subject matter, as he was about everything he reported.  He took the time to learn what he was talking about, so that he could report about it intelligently.  There's never been another like him since.

He was 92.

UPDATE:  The JFK assassination coverage...steady and sober

The Ghost Of Michael Jackson

In case you haven't seen it, this is the CNN footage which accidentally caught the ghost of MJ (some say):

It's a little hard to see, but someone was able to enhance the video:

RIP Robert Strange MacNamara

I was a big fan.  Not that I agreed with him or his policies all the time, but I think his life story was fascinating.

Go rent Errol Morris' "The Fog of War", a documentary/interview with Mac.

RIP Bo

He was a good boy.

RIP Karl Malden

One of the best charactor actors.  He was 97.

These Things Always Come In Threes

Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson.... you know how it goes.  Always in threes.

The problem is that it is sometimes hard to tell which deaths "count" for a morbid triad.

Fortunately, someone as appointed himself the Death Trilogy Commissioner, so we won't have to wonder anymore.

Also, in related news, someone else has appointed himself the world's leading internet evangelist and God, and informs us where Michael Jackson is now:

Pastor Bill Keller, founder of  LivePrayer.com, submits the following and is available for comment:

In all of the intense media coverage after the death of pop superstar Michael Jackson, the one thing that has driven me crazy has been hearing over and over, often by high profile Christians, that Michael is now at peace in Heaven. Really? I hear this same thing whenever a famous person dies, regardless what they believed during their life, as well as from people when a family member or close friend dies, again, regardless what they believed during their life.

 

If this is true, than what is the use of the Gospel? If this is true, why should anyone waste their time and effort telling people about Jesus? If this is true, than the death of Jesus on the cross was a meaningless exercise, his resurrection didn't need to occur, and people can believe whatever they want during this life and make it to Heaven. THAT MY FRIEND IS THE UNIVERSALISTIC LIE FROM HELL!!!

 

The fact is God made only ONE plan of salvation. There is only ONE way to everlasting life and that is faith in Jesus Christ, the Jesus Christ of the Bible. There are NOT many roads that lead to God, only one, the Jesus road!!! You can't believe whatever you want and die and end up in Heaven. That is a lie from satan that is leading millions of souls to the flames of hell for all eternity. WHAT YOU BELIEVE DOES MATTER!!!

 

It is arguable that Michael Jackson was the most recognized person on the planet. Despite his vast fame and material possessions, Michael was bankrupt in the things that really matter in life, joy, peace, contentment, HOPE! Those things only comes through having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and living according to God's Word.

RELATED... Oh, Michael, you're weird even in death:

 

 

Really?  Diana Ross?

The 911 Call

Click to hear

Celebrities Who Didn't Die Yesterday

No, Jeff Goldblum did not fall off a cliff in New Zealand.

No, Harrison Ford did not die in his yacht off St. Tropez.

Jackson Around The Net

New Republic's John McWhorter:

Michelangelo said that when he sculpted the David statue, David was already inside the block of marble and his job was just to take away what was not David. Jackson worked against nature’s endowment just as diligently, but surely the pale wraith he became was not something that had been waiting to see the light of day. Rather, what Jackson seemed to find was a negation, a mangling of personhood - what else can we say of someone attending a court date for child molestation in his pajamas? The irony is that despite this man’s towering stature as a keystone of American popular music’s history, there is surely a part of all of us that sees the man as more fortunate resting in peace.

I'll add more when/if I see something.

Oh, but can I say something?  I cringe whenever I hear anyone say that Michael Jackson broke the color barrier.  What is that -- some kind of joke, given is changing skin color?  Sure, before Michael came on, MTV didn't play black artists, and yes, MJ changed that.  But it's not like there were a lot of black artists making videos and hits (this was in the post-disco, pre-rap days).  And MTV was only a couple of years old anyway.  And certainly, MJ didn't break the color barriers in music.  Plenty of black artists had crossed over before him... for decades.

The Corner's Jonah Goldberg:

Calling Michael Jackson an icon doesn’t let him off the hook for anything. But to listen to the news anchors you’d think it absolves him of everything.

I say: Who cares who his famous friends were? Who cares what a “fascinating” person he was? If you want to talk about his death as an end of an era, have at it. But that’s not what the Barbara Walters set is doing.

I know that Michael Jackson wasn’t convicted of the despicable crimes he was accused of. And that’s why he never went to jail. Three cheers for the majesty of the American legal system. But in my own personal view, he wasn’t exonerated either. Nor was he absolved of his crimes because he could sing, moonwalk, or sell 10 million records. (Though many of us suspect the money and fame he made from those things is precisely what kept him out of jail).

And, while I merely think he was a pedophile, I know he was not someone responsible parents should applaud, healthy children emulate, nor society celebrate.

Take a gander at the current Amazon's Music Bestseller List.  19 of the top 25 are MJ.

TPM's Josh Marshall:

While I liked Jackson's music and had great respect for his talent, I just didn't have a strong emotional connection to him.

So, not sadder or more upset, but more shocked. And I was thinking last night, what feels different about this?

I think it's because so much of Michael Jackson's life seemed like make believe. Sometimes farcical. But always like play acting, somehow. So much theatrics. So many costumes. And on various levels the desire -- often frighteningly realized -- to deny or defy his physical self, his age and much more. Even the things that seemed terribly serious, perhaps especially those -- the trials for child molestation which could have landed him in jail for years or decades -- never seemed to stick. Whether he was truly guilty of these accusations or not, it always blew over. All together it conditioned me to think of Jackson as someone whose drama was always just drama -- whether it was the threat of prison or vast debts or bizarre physical tribulations -- all of it would pass or blow over, perhaps not even have been real, leaving him more or less in place, as weird or surreal as ever, but basically unchanged.

In the span of time between when news first broke that Jackson had been rushed to the hospital and when it was reported that he'd died, I actually saw some people speculating on the web that the whole thing might be a stunt to get out of his tour dates or perhaps some health emergency that was not quite as serious as it was being described. And even though these speculations turned out to be tragically, embarrassingly off base, I wasn't sure if they might not turn out to be accurate since it seemed somehow more in character, at least more in keeping with the never ending drama.

In the end death just seemed more out of character for Michael Jackson than for most people. Because through most of his life he and reality seemed at best on parallel but seldom overlapping courses. And death is reality, full stop.

Here's an especially stupid tribute, from the Cato Institute's Ilya Shapiro:

While the big news of the day wouldn’t seem to have a public policy angle, Michael Jackson’s death allows us to remember that such phenomenal career achievements can only be possible in an economic system that rewards and harnesses talent.

The King of Pop’s creativity allowed him and his family to make hundreds of millions of dollars, yes, but it also created thousands of jobs in the music and marketing industries and brought joy to fans around the world. Whatever his personal eccentricities — perhaps, in part, as a result of them — Jackson represents a capitalist success story.

No central planner could have invented him, and no government bureaucracy could have transformed pop music in the way he did.

So take that Obamasocialists!!!

Seriously, I don't think the death of Michael Jackson really adds much to the capitalism vs socialism debate.  Sure, socialism didn't produce much to the pop music world, but so what? 

Maybe I should note that Michael Jackson's early death at age 50 only proves that America has shitty health care.  That would be a stupid point, too.

And by the way, some damn good movies come from socialist countries and totalitarian countries (the Iranian cinema is especially good; go rent The White Balloon if you can find it).  Just saying...

Bad Day For Icons: RIP Michael Jackson

Unlike Farrah Fawcett, this was a total surprise.

I'm not sure I can add to the testimonials and news coverage about his career.  I only note that when I came home from the performance this evening (the Michael Jackson kick choreographed weeks ago into the curtain call took on a special poignancy, however brief), I turned to MTV, a cable station which I haven't watched in over a decade.  Along with Madonna, Michael Jackson was MTV.  But they were showing a reality show.  Lord, how times have changed.

I wish I could express to the kids out there (and I'm even talking about people half my age) just what an impact Jackson had on pop culture, music and dance.  I suppose it was much like Elvis in the generation before me.  Michael Jackson was the last of three megasuperstars -- Valentino, Elvis being the other two.  Nobody -- nobody -- has ever reached that level of fame since.

Yes, there were the eccentricities.  The scandals.  But his talent was undeniable. 

 

Jackson was already famous when he performed on the now famous "Motown: Then and Now" TV special which aired on May 16, 1983.  He wasn't the headliner.  It wasn't an "event"; just another TV music special.  He performed with The Jacksons, and he sang a song called "Billie Jean" from his new album Thriller, the follow-up to the very successful Off The Wall.

What happened then has been compared to The Beatles on Ed Sullivan.  Suddenly, he taken the concept of fame to a new level.

He rocked the house on that Motown special, and performed this -- thing -- which became known as "the moonwalk".  The entire nation couldn't believe it's eyes.  Yeah, he was lip-synching, but it made no difference.  The performance made the nightly news the following day.  And for the next several years, Jackson dominated popular culture, most especially the "YouTube" of the day: the music video.

Here's the performance in the Motown special that brought Jackson to a new level.  If you want to know the public image if Michael Jackson just before that show, go here.  Then come back.  He was pretty good, huh?  But superstar?  No.  

So now to the Motown special.  Remember, this was the first time most of saw the moonwalk, the kick, the half-kick, the white glove.... even the beginnings of the crotch grab are in there.

Astounding to think that was more than 25 years ago.  (Sidenote: Fuck, I'm old).

For my money, this was his best song -- Black or White -- a great blend of hard rock, dance and rap.  Also had one of the best vamps/hooks evah.

He still had it in his later years. Here he is with Britney in 2001, singing another fave of mine "The Way You Make Me Feel".

It doesn't get better than that. Never will.

Sadly, his odd behavior and color-changing caused people to forget about him, or be sick of him, or both.  He still cranked out some nice new stuff -- Stranger In Moscow, for example, can stand on its own as a strong soul ballad.  But he'll always be remembered for owning the early-to-mid eighties.

Knowing MJ, I suspect he's got some odd provision in his will that he be frozen or something, and that might bring forth chuckles or whatever.  I'll leave it to others to decide what accounted for his oddness - early fame, super fame, or really ugly and brutal child abuse (I think the last one can never be entirely dismissed).  But for the time, it's important to remember just how much he shaped my generation, our culture, and the world.

One more for the road, and a happy smile to boot.  You know a better 9 year old performer?

RIP Farrah Fawcett

We saw this coming.  Very sad.  She passed only moments ago, fighting her battle with cancer the best she could until the end. She was 62.

The young model....

...turned iconic image of the 1970s...

 

...turned respected actress...

 

Even throughout her wildly successful Charlie's Angels phase (which only lasted one year with her), she was dismissed as an unserious blonde actress.  Then came the classic TV movie The Burning Bed which established her as a serious actress.  Unfortunately, with some exceptions (one of my favorite plays/movies, Extremities), Farrah could never quite escape the tabloids.  Even in sickness.

Early early days:

Cronkite Death Watch?

Just the thought of it -- the rumor of it, even -- is depressing.

RIP Natasha Richardson

Tragic circumstances, obviously.  And I bristle at the phrase "talk-and-die syndrome".

Anyway, here's Natasha performing "Maybe This Time" in Cabaret, for which she won a Tony.

So What's Going On?

Get the story straight, people:

 

RIP Ron Silver

Consummate actor, and liberal-turned-conservative-because-of-9/11

One of his finest moments on The West Wing:

How Many Times Is James Whitmore Going To Die?

Didn't he die a couple of years ago?  I mean, obviously not, but it seems like he did.

Anyway, it's sad.... again.

RIP Ricardo Mantalban

A non-Fantasy Island highlight:

and of course....

Almost Alanis

From Ironic:

An old man turned ninety-eight. He won the lottery and died the next day.

Well, close.  The guy, Donald Peters of Connecticut, was 79, and died the day he bought the tickets:

Peters bought two Connecticut Lottery tickets at a local 7-Eleven store on Nov. 1 as part of a 20-year tradition he shared with his wife Charlotte. Later that day, the 79-year-old retired hat factory worker suffered a fatal heart attack while working in his yard in Danbury.

On Friday, his widow cashed in one of the tickets: a $10 million winner which, in her grief over her husband's death, she had put aside and almost discarded before recently checking the numbers.

I think that falls under the dictionary definition of "bittersweet".

"In Passing" 2008 Roll Call

2008 dead celebrities I really felt kinda bad about upon hearing that they had died:

• Suzanne Pleshette (died Jan 19 at age 70)

• Roy Scheider (died Feb 10 at age 75)

• Paul Scofield (died March 20 at age 86)

• Sydney Pollack (died May 26 at age 73)

• Harvey Korman (died May 29 at age 81)

• Cyd Charisse (died June 17 at age 86)

• George Carlin (died June 22 at age 71)

• Paul Newman (died Sept 26 at age 83)

• Studs Turkel (died Oct 31 at age 96)

• Eartha Kitt (died Dec 25 at age 81)

Yes, yes.  I know others died (Heath Ledger, Charlton Heston, etc.).  But their deaths, while sad or surprising or whatever, didn't make me go, "Oh man!".

VHS Is Dead

There is only one company in American still supplying VHS videos.

And they're closing their doors.

"It's dead, this is it, this is the last Christmas, without a doubt," said Kugler, 34, a Burbank businessman. "I was the last one buying VHS and the last one selling it, and I'm done. Anything left in warehouse we'll just give away or throw away."

Full story here.

FUN FACT:   The last major Hollywood movie to be released on VHS was "A History of Violence" in 2006.

RIP Majel Barrett Roddenberry

Better known as Nurse Chapel in the original Star Trek, the mother of Troi in Star Trek - The Next Generation, the voice of virtually all the computers in all of the Star Trek iterations (including the soon-to-be-released film), and the wife of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.

All of which earned her the moniker "The First Lady of Star Trek"

She passed away in her sleep yesterday morning.

RIP Madelyn Dunham

Sad, and sad timing.  Obama's ailing grandmother died.

Obama addressed this tonight in Charlotte:

The morons at the Free Republic question the timing, some suggesting that she died last week, and the news was released now so that Obama could get the last minute "sympathy vote".  Pretty ugly, huh?

Well, ugly is as ugly does.  Incidentially, the RNC, through the California Republican Party, filed an FEC complaint against Obama complaining that Obama visited his ailing Grandma.  The complaint was filed just hours before she died.  Kind of dickish, in retrospect.

RIP Estelle Reiner

Mother of actor-director Rob Reiner, wife of writer-actor Carl Reiner, Estelle was best known for utterance of a single movie line, which appears at the end of this clip:

RIP Paul Newman

A class act.

RIP Don LaFontaine

You know him as the voice-over guy who does movie trailers. "In a world...."  CNN reports:

Don LaFontaine, the voiceover king whose "In a world ..." phrase on movie trailers was much copied -- and much parodied -- has died, according to media reports. He was 68.

LaFontaine died Monday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, according to ETOnline, "Entertainment Tonight's" Web site. He died from complications from pneumothorax, a collapsed lung that causes air to build in the pleural cavity, his agent, Vanessa Gilbert, told "ET."

LaFontaine, who was born in Duluth, Minnesota, began as a voice actor in the mid-1960s while working as a recording engineer, according to his Web site. His strong, slightly gravelly voice was featured on trailers for thousands of films, including "The Godfather," "Fatal Attraction" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." For a time in the late '70s, LaFontaine was the official voice of Paramount Pictures.

His favorite work was one he did for the 1980 film "The Elephant Man," he said in interviews, but whether the film was Oscar-caliber or a bomb waiting to blow, he handled every assignment equally.

"My philosophy is that you have to really believe what you're reading, even if you think the film's a piece of junk," he told Swindle magazine. "Even the worst picture is someone's favorite film, and that someone is the fan I am always talking to."

He also provided the voice for hundreds of thousands of commercials, for companies including General Motors, Ford, McDonald's, Coca-Cola and many others, according to his Web site.

The good-humored LaFontaine was willing to poke fun at himself, particularly in a recent ad for Geico insurance, in which he gave dramatic flair to a woman's story about her car accident. He also voiced the trailer for "The Simpsons Movie," in which his descriptions were mimicked by commentary from the film's characters.

But LaFontaine was most famous for his phrase "In a world ...," used by seemingly dozens of movies determined to create an otherworldly atmosphere.

A nice tribute...

He also had a great sense of humor...

He'll be missed.

RIP Randy Pausch

Last year, Carnegie Mellon University ran a series of lectures entitled "The Last Lecture", where professors were asked to think about what matters to them most and give a hypothetical final talk to students.

One of the professors who spoke was Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist.  Unlike the other lecturers in the series, Randy knew it was to be his actual last lecture, because he was facing terminal cancer.

In his moving presentation, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals.  The entire presentation (1:16:27 in length) became an inspiring Internet phenomenon.

From his sudden fame fron the above lecture, Randy became a mini-celebrity.  He lobbied Congress for more federal funding for pancreatic cancer research and appeared on "Oprah" and other TV shows. In what he called "a truly magical experience," he was even invited to appear as an extra in the new "Star Trek" movie.

He also published a book last April, which is still on the bestseller list (#8 last week)

He died today at age 47.

Jesse Helms -- Leader Against HIV?

What is Elizabeth Dole smoking?  From the Congressional Record dated July 14, 2008:

SA 5074. Mrs. DOLE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 2731, to authorize appropriations for fiscal years 2009 through 2013 to provide assistance to foreign countries to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows: On page 1, line 5, strike ‘’and Henry J. Hyde’’ and insert ‘’, Henry J. Hyde, and Jesse Helms‘’.

That's right.  Elizabeth Dole wants to change the name of the

"Tom Lantos and Henry J. Hyde United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008"

to the

"Tom Lantos, Henry J. Hyde and Jesse Helms United States Global Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Reauthorization Act of 2008"

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that Jesse Helms probably would like his name attached to a bill that seeks to rid tuberculosis and malaria.  But HIV/AIDs?  Jesse is rolling in his grave (as are, I suspect, thousands of victims of HIV/AIDs).  Jesse was no fan of AIDS prevention, as Joe My God notes:

Jesse Helms, the man who in 1987 described AIDS prevention literature as "so obscene, so revolting, I may throw up."

Jesse Helms, the man who in 1988 vigorously opposed the Kennedy-Hatch AIDS research bill, saying, "There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy."

Jesse Helms, the man who in 1995 said (in opposition to refunding the Ryan White Act) that the government should spend less on people with AIDS because they got sick due to their "deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct."

Jesse Helms, the man who in 2002 announced that he'd changed his mind about AIDS funding for Africa, but not for American gays, because homosexuality "is the primary cause of the doubling and redoubling of AIDS cases in the United States."

This last bit is true.  Helms did come around (after two decades) to think we should fight AIDS in foreign children who aren't, you know, teh gay.  Some moral epiphany, huh?

On the other hand, one could argue that putting Helms' name on an AIDS prevention bill has a ring of justice to it -- kind of a posthumous "fuck you" to a man who is too dead to complain. 

What's next?  The George Wallace Civil Rights Act?

RIP Olive Riley

At 108, she was unofficially recognized as the world's older blogger.

Her blog -- The Life of Riley

She died this past weekend from, well, from being 108 years old.

Jesse's Grill

You might wonder why I havent opined on the passing of Jesse Helms and his bigoted foul legacy.

It's because I was taught not to speak ill of the dead.

Besides, we all know he's in hell.

UPDATE:  But here's a column from David Broder written in 2001 (when Helms was still alive), which pretty much sums it up with these words:

The New York Times described him as "a conservative stalwart for nearly 30 years," the Boston Globe as "an unyielding icon of conservatives and an archenemy of liberals." The Washington Post identified Helms as "one of the most powerful conservatives on Capitol Hill for three decades."

Those were accurate descriptions. But they skirted the point. There are plenty of powerful conservatives in government. A few, such as Don Rumsfeld and Henry Hyde, have been around as long as Helms and have their own significant roles in 20th century political history. What really sets Jesse Helms apart is that he is the last prominent unabashed white racist politician in this country -- a title that one hopes will now be permanently retired. A few editorials and columns came close to saying that. But the squeamishness of much of the press in characterizing Helms for what he is suggests an unwillingness to confront the reality of race in our national life.

RIP George Carlin

The New York Times has a nice obit.

RIP: Cyd Charisse

How I will always think of her...

RIP William F Buckley

The New York Times is reporting that Buckley has died.

Not unlike the brand of conservatism for which he stood.  (Buckley was an outspoken critic of the Bush Administration, and the whole neocon movement).

Like him or hate him though, he was a giant.

Ezra Klein:

As a slightly more general point, in the last two or three years, a whole host of giants have passed away, men who were political thinkers at a time when that made you a cultural figure. John Kenneth Galbraith, Milton Friedman, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., Norman Mailer, and now, William F. Buckley Jr. Gore Vidal is just about the last of their number left. And that's a shame. They would write serious books of political analysis and sell millions of copies -- they were the writers you had to read to call yourself an actual political junkie. Now, the space they inhabited in the discourse is held by the Coulters and O'Reilly's of the world. Where we once prized a tremendous facility for wit, we're now elevating those with a tremendous storehouse for anger. Run a search on quotes from Galbraith, Buckley, or Friedman, then do the same for O'Reilly and Coulter. We're really losing something here...

When It Rains....

Kind of a rough weekend show-wise.  The audiences enjoyed the show, but a fellow actor was having an off-day yesterday, and he kinda threw me a little.  Hey, it happens.

Then the Patriots lost.

And this morning, word is out about David Wright, a local community theatre actor in Greensboro who died Friday night.  A really nice guy, very congenial.  Played Gaston in Beauty and the Beast there a few years ago.   Hard to understand why these things happen....

Anyway, returning to the Super Bowl, what can I say?  It happens.  And as for the ads, you got to hand it to the Miller Beer people.  No, they didn't have an ad -- but that came out right away with this Internet ad about the Super Bowl ads.

Smart marketing.

"And Then Out Of Nowhere, Heath Ledger Appeared, Ran Into My Burning House And Saved My Kitten" (and Other Stories)

I'm sure he was a nice guy, but... come on:

Dena Michnowich of Glen Cove, New York
I was walking in the lower east side of Manhattan one day and I noticed a really cute man holding his little daughter on his shoulders. She looked just like him. He told her that they had to make a right and asked her to point them in the right direction, which she did. I soon realized that it was Heath Ledger and I got really excited. I was walking right up to them as they were waiting to cross the street. When I got close, I waved and he smiled at me.

R. of Perth, Western Australia
I grew up with Heath around the speedway racing circuit. I remember the night he was a little boy and his Dad was racing speed cars at Claremont Speedway (my dad was in the race, too). ...Later Heath would pit crew for Graham Jones, and I crewed for my dad and brother. Heath and I were both the youngest on our crews so that meant our job was to take the fiberglass bonnets over to the hoses and wash the mud off after each race really dirty work but he managed to stay cleaner than the rest of us.

Crystal Davis of Toronto, Ontario
I met Heath in L.A. at a mall a year or so ago. I was staring at him working up the nerve to ask for an autograph. He saw me, started laughing and walked towards me. He said I was white as an "egg" and asked if he could do anything. I said, No thanks ... yes I forgot to ask for the autograph. He touched my shoulder and told me to take it easy and walked away. He looked back several times and smiled. What a great memory I have of him. My prayers go out to his family and friends.

Dan Bova of Larchmont, New York
Once when I was driving in Brooklyn, I got a flat tire. As I was jacking up my car, this deep voice from behind me said, "Need a hand?" It was Heath Ledger. I couldn't believe it. He helped jack up my car and change the tire. He was really good with tools!

UPDATE:  The Westboro Baptist cult assholes, known for their pickets at military funerals (and funerals for the Viriginia Tech students, the Omaha mall shooting victims, etc.), are at it again:

RIP Heath Ledger

It's always sad when they die young.  And always the cliche -- young successful male actor, dead in his New York apartment [UPDATE: apparently is was Mary-Kay Olsen's apartment], drugs likely to blame, yada yada yada. 

Still, it's no less of a shock.

RIP Suzanne Pleshette

How can you not feel at least a little sad about this?

Suzanne Pleshette, the husky-voiced actress who redefined the television sitcom wife in the 1970s, playing the smart, sardonic Emily Hartley on “The Bob Newhart Show,” died Saturday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 70.

Ms. Pleshette died of respiratory failure, her lawyer, Robert Finkelstein, told The Associated Press. Ms. Pleshette had undergone chemotherapy in 2006 for lung cancer.

A native New Yorker, Ms. Pleshette already had a full career on stage and screen in 1971 when producers saw her on “The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson” and noticed a chemistry between her and another guest, Mr. Newhart. She was soon cast as the wife of Mr. Newhart’s character, a mild-mannered Chicago psychologist, and the series ran six seasons, from 1972 to 1978, as part of CBS’s ratings-winning Saturday night lineup.

She was scheduled to get her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame next week.

RIP Bobby Fischer

An odd man, rabid anti-Semite (even though he was most likely Jewish, despite his denials), but a hell of a chess player, is dead.

Hen notoriously dropped off from the face of the earth around 1975, leading to much speculation in the chess world, and the foundation for the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer.

A Bobby Fischer quote: "This is all wonderful news" (9/11/01, upon learning that the Pentagon was attacked)

RIP Dan Fogelberg

I admit it -- "Same Auld Lang Syne" always made me cry....

Actually, "Leader Of The Band", too...

Come to think of it, you really should download "The Innocent Age" (it's not an entire downer)....

UPDATE:  His website, announcing the news.....

Inventor Of Gatorade Dies

There's a joke or pun to be made.

Can't seem to get the bat off my shoulders though.