Neil Armstrong, 1st man on the moon, dies at 82
 

Neil Armstrong was a soft-spoken engineer who became a global hero when as a steely-nerved pilot he made "one giant leap for mankind" with a small step onto the moon. The modest man, who had people on Earth entranced and awed from almost a quarter-million miles away, but credited others for the feat.

Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon July 20, 1969, capping the most daring of the 20th century's scientific expeditions. His first words after becoming the first person to set foot on the surface are etched in history books and the memories of those who heard them in a live broadcast.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong said.

In those first few moments on the moon, during the climax of a heated space race with the then-Soviet Union, Armstrong stopped in what he called "a tender moment" and left a patch to commemorate NASA astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who had died in action.

Although he had been a Navy fighter pilot, a test pilot for NASA's forerunner and an astronaut, Armstrong never allowed himself to be caught up in the celebrity and glamour of the space program.

"I am, and ever will be, a white socks, pocket protector, nerdy engineer," he said in February 2000 in one of his rare public appearances. "And I take a substantial amount of pride in the accomplishments of my profession."

http://news.yahoo.com/neil-armstrong...--finance.html

I remember watching him step out onto the moon. I watched on a small black and white tv. I was 7 I think. I wanted to be an astronaut after that.

RIP Mr. Armstrong

RIP PINO ~
 

On this 7th anniversary of Katrina, you were euthanized in the group home where we left you to be safe in. The world is a sadder place without you. All of your *kids* miss you everyday. So many owe their lives to you!

Hurricane Isaac is reminding me of that tragic day, hopefully what happened to you will never happen to another, you deserved better.






PINO Rosemary Pino ""Mama'' tragically departed this world to meet her Heavenly Father on Monday, August 29, 2005 during Hurricane Katrina. Throughout her life, Mama was a pioneer for rights of the gay and lesbian community. In addition, she worked diligently for human rights and AIDS. With her beloved business partner and devoted friend of 56 years, Margie Normand, they owned and operated numerous gay bars including, The Grog, De Ja Vu', Pino's, The Blue Odyssey, and Club 621. Prior to the bar business, Pino worked for Hibernia Bank and Camp Leroy Johnston. Mama was heavily involved with the gay carnival organizations. A member of A.G.G.I., honorary mom for the Krewe of Polythemus and the Krewe of Armenius, she also served as a board member for the Krewe of Ishtar (an all women's gay club). Standing only five feet high, Mama's distinctive laugh and bubbly personality made her appear to be six feet tall. She volunteered for The Lighthouse for the Blind and taught blind children to swim. She loved to swim and played softball until she was forty years old. Mama fought for the underdog and often adopted gay kids whose parents had disowned them. She supported her friends and everyone who ever met her adored her and her fun loving spirit. Mama enriched other's lives and will be sadly missed by her surviving sister, Joyce Pino Cantrell; business partner, Margie Normand; close personal friends, Bonnie, Kathy, Sis, Cindy, Dee, Sue, Judy, Rusty, Mark, Keith, Linda, Beverly, and Anisha; and countless other friends. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, December 20, 2005 at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, 448 Metairie, Road, Metairie, LA. Visitation will begin at 10:00 AM at the church. Burial will follow in Metairie Cemetery. LAKE LAWN METAIRIE FUNERAL HOME is in charge of arrangements.

Steven Franken (May 27, 1932 - August 24, 2012) tv and film character actor
 

Steve Franken's first screen role was in 1958 as "Willie" in CBS' Playhouse 90 dramatic series. He was then cast as playboy dilettante Chatsworth Osborne, Jr., on the CBS series The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

Franken also appeared in The Lieutenant, The Rat Patrol, Bewitched, Love American Style, and Adam 12.

He also appeared in the films Follow Me Boys! , The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu, The Party, and The North Avenue Irregulars.

ty kobi .. did he play a nerd on Dobie Gillis too ?

Hip-hop mogul Chris Lighty dies in NYC at 44
 

Chris Lighty, a hip-hop mogul who helped the likes of Sean "Diddy" Combs, 50 Cent and Mariah Carey attain not only hit records, but also lucrative careers outside music, was found dead in his New York City apartment Thursday in an apparent suicide. He was 44.

Lighty had been a part of the scene for decades, working with pioneers like LL Cool J before starting his own management company, Violator. But he was in the midst of a divorce and had been having recent financial and personal troubles.

Lighty's roster ranged from Academy Award-winners Three 6 Mafia to maverick Missy Elliott to up-and-comer Papoose and perpetual star Carey. He made it his mission not so much to make musical superstars, but rather multifaceted entertainers who could be marketed in an array of ways: a sneaker deal here, a soft drink partnership there, a movie role down the road.

http://seattletimes.com/html/enterta...yndication=rss

RIP
 

Feminist Icon Shulamith Firestone dead at 67.

From the New York Times:

Shulamith Firestone, a widely quoted feminist writer who published her arresting first book, “The Dialectic of Sex,” at 25, only to withdraw from public life soon afterward, was found dead on Tuesday in her apartment in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan. She was 67.

Ms. Firestone apparently died of natural causes, her sister Laya Firestone Seghi said.

Subtitled “The Case for Feminist Revolution,” “The Dialectic of Sex” was published by William Morrow & Company in 1970. In it, Ms. Firestone extended Marxist theories of class oppression to offer a radical analysis of the oppression of women, arguing that sexual inequity springs from the onus of childbearing, which devolves on women by pure biological happenstance.

“Just as the end goal of socialist revolution was not only the elimination of the economic class privilege but of the economic class distinction itself,” Ms. Firestone wrote, “so the end goal of feminist revolution must be ... not just the elimination of male privilege but of the sex distinction itself: genital differences between human beings would no longer matter culturally.”

In the utopian future Ms. Firestone envisioned, reproduction would be utterly divorced from sex: conception would be accomplished through artificial insemination, with gestation taking place outside the body in an artificial womb. While some critics found her proposals visionary, others deemed them quixotic at best.

Reviewing “The Dialectic of Sex” in The New York Times, John Leonard wrote, “A sharp and often brilliant mind is at work here.” But, he added, “Miss Firestone is preposterous in asserting that ‘men can’t love.’ ”

The book, which was translated into several languages, hurtled Ms. Firestone into the front ranks of second-wave feminists, alongside women like Betty Friedan, Kate Millett and Germaine Greer. It remains widely taught in college women’s-studies courses.

A painter by training, Ms. Firestone never anticipated a high-profile career as a writer; she had come to writing through preparing manifestoes for several feminist organizations she had helped found.

The crush of attention, positive and negative, that her book engendered soon proved unbearable, her sister said. In the years that followed, Ms. Firestone retreated into a quiet, largely solitary life of painting and writing, though she published little.

Her only other book, “Airless Spaces,” was issued in 1998 by the experimental publisher Semiotext(e). A memoir-in-stories that employs fictional forms to recount real-life events, it describes Ms. Firestone’s hospitalization with schizophrenia, which by the 1980s had overtaken her.

The second of six children of Orthodox Jewish parents, Shulamith Bath Shmuel Ben Ari Feuerstein was born in Ottawa on Jan. 7, 1945, and reared in Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis.

The family Americanized its surname to Firestone when Shulamith was a child; Ms. Firestone pronounced her first name shoo-LAH-mith but was familiarly known as Shuley or Shulie.

After attending Washington University in St. Louis, Ms. Firestone earned a bachelor of fine arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1967. Around that time she helped found the Westside Group, a Chicago feminist organization, before moving to New York.

There, she was a founder of three feminist organizations — New York Radical Women, the Redstockings and New York Radical Feminists — begun as alternatives to mainstream groups like the National Organization for Women.

Ms. Firestone came to renewed attention in 1997 with the release of “Shulie,” an independent film by Elisabeth Subrin. Ms. Subrin’s 37-minute film is a shot-for-shot remake of an earlier, little-seen documentary, also titled “Shulie,” made in 1967 by four male graduate students at Northwestern University.

The 1967 film, part of a documentary series on the younger generation, profiles Ms. Firestone, then an unknown art student, as she paints, talks about her life as a young woman and undergoes a grueling review of her work by a panel of male professors.

In the 1997 remake, conceived as a backward look at a social landscape that seemed to have changed strikingly little in 30 years, Ms. Firestone is portrayed by an actress, Kim Soss. Her dialogue is uttered verbatim from the original documentary.

Ms. Subrin’s film, which was shown at the New York Film Festival, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Biennial and elsewhere, was well received by critics. But it distressed Ms. Firestone, who said she was upset that she had not been consulted in the course of its creation, her sister said this week.

In an interview on Thursday, Ms. Subrin said that she had sent Ms. Firestone a rough cut of her film through an intermediary. The intermediary later told her, she said, that Ms. Firestone “could appreciate it as a labor of love, but she hated the original film and didn’t see how my film was different.”

Besides her sister Laya, Ms. Firestone is survived by her mother, Kate Firestone Shiftan; two brothers, Ezra and Nechemia; and another sister, Miriam Tirzah Firestone.

In “Airless Spaces,” Ms. Firestone writes of life after hospitalization, on psychiatric medication. The account is in the third person, but the story is her own:

“She had been reading Dante’s ‘Inferno’ when first she went into the hospital, she remembered, and at quite a good clip too, but when she came out she couldn’t even get down a fashion rag. ... That left getting through the blank days as comfortably as possible, trying not to sink under the boredom and total loss of hope.”

The story continues: “She was lucid, yes, at what price. She sometimes recognized on the faces of others joy and ambition and other emotions she could recall having had once, long ago. But her life was ruined, and she had no salvage plan.”

I remember my dad sat me in front of the TV, I was barely 4.
He said "you will remember this day for the rest of your life. Watch history in the making"
I rememeber.......

Cardinal Martini, a rare liberal who was a papal contender in 2005 conclave, dies at age 85
 

Born on Feb. 15, 1927, in Turin, Martini was ordained a priest in the Society of Jesus in 1952. After terms as rector at the Gregorian and Biblical Institute, he was named archbishop of Milan in 1979 and held the post until his retirement in 2002; within that time he was also head of the European Bishops’ Conference for six years, until 1993.

Martini frequently voiced openness to discuss divisive issues for the church, such as priestly celibacy, homosexuality and using condoms to fight HIV transmission. While not at odds with church teaching, his views nevertheless showed his progressive bent. He was an intellectual and a noted biblical scholar, yet he had a warm and personable style and seemed to connect with his flock like few high-ranking prelates.

Martini was well known and well-liked by Italians, many of whom got to know him by his frequent contributions to leading daily Corriere della Sera, which for three years ran a popular column “Letters to Cardinal Martini,” in which Martini would respond directly to questions submitted by readers.

The topics covered everything from the clerical sex abuse scandal to whether it was morally acceptable for a Catholic to be cremated (”it’s possible and allowed,” he wrote). His responses were filled with Biblical citations and references to church teachings, but were accessible as well, written as if he were chatting with his readers rather than preaching to them.

Martini also wasn’t afraid to discuss issues that, while important to many lay Catholics, are usually considered off-limits by his colleagues.

In 2006, he raised eyebrows at the Vatican when he told the Italian weekly L’Espresso that condoms could be considered a “lesser evil” in combating AIDS, particularly for a married couple. While somewhat revolutionary at the time, his views seem to have struck a chord: Four years later, Benedict himself came close to echoing Martini’s sentiment when he said a male prostitute who intends to use a condom might be taking a step toward a more responsible sexuality because he was looking out for the welfare of his partner.

In 2009, Martini insisted he was misquoted by a German publication as calling for a re-evaluation of priestly celibacy as a means to combat pedophilia among priests.

But he returned to the topic of priestly celibacy earlier this year— as well as a host of other thorny issues like artificial procreation, embryo donation and euthanasia — in his last book “Believe and Know,” a conversation with a left-leaning Italian politician and doctor who had been his same interviewer for the 2006 Espresso article.

Martini retired as Milan archbishop in 2002 and moved to Jerusalem to devote himself to prayer and study. He had long established relations with the Jewish community, writing books and articles on the relations between Christianity and Judaism.

“Without a sincere feeling for the Jewish world, and a direct experience of it, one cannot fully understand Christianity,” he wrote in the book “Christianity and Judaism: A Historical and Theological Overview.” ‘’Jesus is fully Jewish, the apostles are Jewish, and one cannot doubt their attachment to the traditions of their forefathers.”

In a statement Friday, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi paid tribute to his fellow Jesuit, saying his style as a pastor set him apart. He quoted Martini as writing in his book “The Bishop” that a bishop can’t guide his flock with decrees and prohibitions alone.

“Instead point to the interior formation, on the love and fascination with the Sacred Scripture, present the positive reasons for what we do according to the Gospel,” Martini wrote. “You will obtain much more than with rigid calls to observe norms.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/nation...b_story_1.html

I remember my dad snapping pictures of the TV set as we watched. He said the same thing: "This is something you will tell your children and grandchildren".

It's amazing to me that my dad was born when aviation alone was in its infancy, and he lived to see the Moon landing and the space shuttle.

Lyricist Hal David dies aged 91
 

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Hal David, who along with partner Burt Bacharach penned dozens of timeless songs for movies, television and a variety of recording artists in the 1960s and beyond, has died. He was 91.

Bacharach and David wrote many top 40 hits including "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head," ''Close to You" and "That's What Friends Are For."

"As a lyric writer, Hal was simple, concise and poetic -- conveying volumes of meaning in fewest possible words and always in service to the music," ASCAP's current president, the songwriter Paul Williams, said in a statement. "It is no wonder that so many of his lyrics have become part of our everyday vocabulary and his songs... the backdrop of our lives."

Many lyrics and tunes from Bacharach and David continue to resonate in pop culture, including "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and "I Say A Little Prayer" to "What The World Needs Now Is Love." Their music was recorded by legendary singers including The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Neil Diamond and their longtime partner Dionne Warwick.

David and Bacharach met when both worked in the Brill Building, New York's legendary Tin Pan Alley song factory where writers cranked out songs and attempted to sell them to music publishers. They scored their first big hit with "Magic Moments," a million-selling record for Perry Como.

In 1962 they began writing for a young singer named Dionne Warwick, whose versatile voice conveyed the emotion of David's lyrics and easily handled the changing patterns of Bacharach's melodies. Together the trio created a succession of popular songs including "Don't Make Me Over," ''Walk On By," ''I Say a Little Prayer." ''Do You Know the Way to San Jose," ''Trains and Boats and Planes," ''Anyone Who Has a Heart," ''You'll Never Get to Heaven" and "Always Something There to Remind Me."

B acharach and David also wrote hit songs for numerous other singers: "This Guy's in Love with You" (trumpeter Herb Alpert in his vocal debut), "Make It Easy on Yourself" (Jerry Butler), "What the World Needs Now is Love" (Jackie DeShannon) and "Wishin' and Hopin'" (Dusty Springfield). They also turned out title songs for the movies "What's New, Pussycat" (Tom Jones), "Wives and Lovers" (Jack Jones) and "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence" (Gene Pitney).

The hit-making t eam broke up after the 1973 musical remake of "Lost Horizon." They had devoted two years to the movie, only to see it scorned by critics and audiences alike. David, meanwhile, went on to collaborate successfully with several other composers: John Barry with the title song of the James Bond film "Moonraker;" Albert Hammond with "To All the Girls I've Loved Before," which Julio Iglesias and Willie Nelson dueted on; and Henry Mancini with "The Greatest Gift" in "The Return of the Pink Panther."

Rev. Sun Myung Moon
 

GAPYEONG, South Korea (AP) - Officials say the religious leader who founded the Unification Church and built it into a multibillion-dollar business empire has died in South Korea at age 92.

Church officials said Monday that the Rev. Sun Myung Moon died at a hospital the church owns near his home in Gapyeong (GAHP' young) after being hospitalized with pneumonia last month.

The patriarch and founder of the controversial Unification Church gained fame in the 1970s and 1980s for pairing up and marrying off thousands of followers at elaborate mass weddings. Critics accused the church of demanding cult-like devotion from its followers.

The church also built a business empire that included newspapers, schools, a ski resort and dozens of other ventures in several countries, including a peace institute, carmaker and hotel in North Korea.

http://www.legacy.com/ns/obituary.as...&pid=159618713

R.I.P Michael Clarke Duncan!!!
 

We have lost such a gentle giant among us. Michael was a truly beautiful soul!!! May you rest peacefully now, Michael!!!





http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/0...n_1852744.html

so sad, what a wonderful actor, and man

I thought he did one heck of a job in The Green Mile.