RIP

RIP Mr.Gandolfini...you will be missed

[Kobi]

ROME (AP) -- Margherita Hack, an astrophysicist who explained her research on the stars in plain language for the public and who championed civil rights in her native Italy, died on Saturday in the Adriatic Sea town of Trieste, where she had headed an astronomical observatory. She was 91.

President Giorgio Napolitano's condolence message hailed her as a "high-level personality in the world of scientific culture."

`'At the same time, she represented a strong example of civil passion, leaving a noble fingerprint in public debate and in the dialogue with citizens," Napolitano said.

Hack headed the observatory in Trieste, the first woman to hold that post, from 1964 to 1987, and was a popular and frequent commentator in Italian media about discoveries in astronomy and physics.

The current director of the observatory, Stefano Borgani, told Sky TG24 TV that Hack was one of the first astronomers to `'have the intuition" that the future of astronomical observation lay in using space satellites.

An atheist who decried Vatican influence on Italian politicians, Hack helped fight a successful battle to legalize abortion in Italy. She unsuccessfully lobbied for the right to euthanasia and also championed gay rights. Among her victories was a campaign against construction of nuclear reactors in Italy.

A vegetarian since childhood, she also was an advocate for animal protection and lived with eight cats and a dog.

Hack, an optimist with a cheerful disposition, studied the heavens in the firm belief there was no after-life.

`'I have no fear of death," Hack once said in a TV interview. "While we are here, death isn't" with us.

`'When there is death, I won't be here," she said.

She liked to joke that the `'first and last" time she was in a church was for her marriage to fellow native Florentine Aldo De Rosa, in 1944. She agreed to a church ceremony only because the groom's parents were very religious. Hack dressed simply in life, including for her own wedding, when she wore an overcoat-turned-inside out for a bridal gown.

Hack enrolled at the University of Florence as a student of literature, but after one class, switched to physics. By the early 1950s, she was an astronomer at the Tuscan city's astronomical observatory.

She was also an athlete, excelling in track. Specializing in the long jump and high jump from 1939 to 1943, she won national university championships and placed high in national championships.

Hack was active in left-wing politics, including most recently supporting the governor of southern Puglia, Nichi Vendola, one of Italy's few openly gay politicians.

`'With Margherita Hack's passing, we lose an authoritative voice in favor of civil rights and equality," said Fabrizio Marrazzo, a spokesman for a gay advocacy group, Gay Center. `'More than once, Hack came out in favor of gay rights, civil unions and the dignity of gay families."

[FemmeItalian]

[Kobi]

Joe Conley, an actor best known as the small town storekeeper on the TV series "The Waltons," has died at age 85.

The Los Angeles Times reports Tuesday that according to wife Louise Conley, Joe Conley died at a care facility in Southern California on Sunday. She says he had suffered from dementia.

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Conley had bit parts on 1960s series like "Green Acres" and "The Beverly Hillbillies" before he landed the role on CBS's "The Waltons" in 1972 that would last nearly a decade.

Conley played Ike Godsey, postmaster and owner of the Jefferson County general store frequented by the Walton family in Depression-era Virginia. He would appear in 172 episodes over nine seasons and in TV movie reunions that lasted into the 1990s.

[Kobi]

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Cory Monteith, the handsome young actor who shot to fame in the hit TV series "Glee" but was beset by addiction struggles so fierce that he once said he was lucky to be alive, was found dead in a hotel room, police said. He was 31.

Monteith, who played the character Finn Hudson on the Fox TV series about a high school glee club, was found dead in his room on the 21st floor of the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel on Vancouver's waterfront at about noon Saturday, according to police.

Deputy Police Chief Doug Lepard said there was no indication of foul play. Monteith's body was found by hotel staff after he missed his check-out time, Lepard said.

In April, Monteith admitted himself to a treatment facility for "substance addiction" and asked for privacy as he took steps toward recovery, a representative said at the time.

Monteith's TV credits included roles on the series "Kaya" and "Kyle XY" and guest appearances on "Smallville," ''Supernatural," ''Stargate," ''Flash Gordon" and "Interns." His film credits included "Final Destination 3," ''The Invisible," ''Deck the Halls" and "Whisper."

[DapperButch]

CRAP!!! Really bummed to hear about Cory Monteith. I was a Glee fan that first season. I feel really bad for his girlfriend (Lea Michele). This sucks. I was really hopeful he was going to make it.

[Kobi]

LGBT activist and reporter Eric Ohena Lembembe was beaten to death over the weekend, LGBT activists in Cameroon announced today.

Fellow activists said they found his bloody, lifeless body early today at his home in Yaoundé, Cameroon.

Investigations by human rights defenders are under way to discover who was responsible for the crime.


At his death, he was serving as the local executive director of the Cameroonian Foundation For AIDS (Camfaids), an advocacy group fighting against AIDS and for human rights of LGBT people in Cameroon, which is one of the world’s most violently anti-gay nations.

Lembembe, a regular contributor to the Erasing 76 Crimes blog, was the author of one of the blog’s most popular articles, “What traditional African homosexuality learned from the West.”

That article is included in the book From Wrongs to Gay Rights, along with his articles about Roger Mbede, who was imprisoned because of an amorous text message to a man; Franky Djome and Jonas Kumie, who were imprisoned because they are a transgender couple; anti-gay blackmailer/extortioner Albert Edward Ekobo Samba; and the homophobic attack on last year’s IDAHO celebration in Yaoundé.

He formerly worked as a writer and editor for the monthly Tribune du Citoyen in Cameroon.

http://76crimes.com/2013/07/15/beati...e-in-cameroon/

[Queenie]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

CRAP!!! Really bummed to hear about Cory Monteith. I was a Glee fan that first season. I feel really bad for his girlfriend (Lea Michele). This sucks. I was really hopeful he was going to make it.

It's heartbreaking! I read that he was going to move in with his girlfriend when he got back to LA. She just must be devastated! I wonder how he will be written out of, Glee...

[Kobi]

NEW YORK (AP) — Dennis Farina, a onetime Chicago cop who as a popular actor played a cop on "Law & Order," has died.

Farina died Monday morning in a Scottsdale, Ariz., hospital after suffering a blood clot in his lung, according to his publicist, Lori De Waal. He was 69.

For three decades, Farina was a character actor who displayed remarkable dexterity, charm and, when called for, toughness, making effective use of his craggy face, steel-gray hair, ivory smile and ample mustache.

Farina appeared in films including "Get Shorty," ''Saving Private Ryan," ''Midnight Run" and "Out Of Sight."

Among his many TV portrayals was Detective Joe Fontana on "Law & Order" during the 2004-06 seasons. He starred in the 1980s cult favorite "Crime Story" and was a regular in the 2011-12 HBO drama "Luck."

He recently completed shooting a comedy, "Lucky Stiff."

A veteran of the Chicago theater, Farina appeared in Joseph Mantegna's "Bleacher Bums" and "Streamers," directed by Terry Kinney, among other productions.

Born Feb. 29, 1944, in Chicago, he was a city detective before he found his way into the acting profession as he neared his forties.

His first film was the 1981 action drama "Thief," directed by Michael Mann, whom he had met through a mutual friend while still working for the Chicago Police Department.

"I remember going to the set that day and being intrigued by the whole thing," Farina recalled in a 2004 interview with The Associated Press. "I liked it. And everybody was extremely nice to me. If the people were rude and didn't treat me right, things could have gone the other way."

http://news.yahoo.com/dennis-farina-...172640962.html

[Soft*Silver]

Actor Adam Sandler is reported to have died shortly after a snowboard accident earlier today - August 9, 2013.

The actor & novice snowboarder was vacationing at the Zermatt ski resort in Zermatt, Switzerland with family and friends. Witnesses indicate that Adam Sandler lost control of his snowboard and struck a tree at a high rate of speed.

Adam Sandler was air lifted by ski patrol teams to a local hospital, however, it is believed that the actor died instantly from the impact of the crash. The actor was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident and drugs and alcohol do not appear to have played any part in his death.