Ariel Sharon finally died. I say finally because he was not especially active the last few years. The doctors were trying to keep him alive at the end but my personal point of view is that after eight years in a coma it might be time to move on. I can see where his family did not want to let him go but when you are in a persistent vegetative state there is little reason to stay alive. If recovery is not an option and you will spend the rest of your life in a coma then what is the point.
There were mixed reactions at his death. It surprised nobody. Most people are pretty amazed that he lasted as long as he did. Some will mourn him deeply while others moved on a long time ago. He was one of those people that most either loved or hated. I think he was an important military commander but only an average politician.
Palestinian terrorists praised his death, of course. He was a Jew, after all. Some predictably called his death a punishment from God. It seems queer to me that when an old and sick Jew dies it is Israel’s fault but when an old and sick Arab dies it is Israel’s fault. I also have to doubt that God sides with terrorists who target schools and hospitals. But what do I know.
Even some Palestinians who might not be considered terrorists were seen rejoicing in the streets when they heard about Sharon’s death. I do not think Sharon was the best prime minister in the history of the world but I have to wonder what is wrong with people who rejoice at another’s death. Sharon was no friend to terrorists but he did more than anybody else to take Israel out of Gaza. You would think that would make the people who wanted Israel out of Gaza happy. Obviously it only made them angry. Terrorist activity from Gaza increased dramatically as soon as Israel left. Maybe the terrorists wanted Sharon to stick around. Maybe they are not praising his death but giving thanks that his family’s long suffering is finally over. That might be unlikely.
Sharon was prime minister when I moved to Israel. I found it hard to label him at first because I was still looking at Israel the way people outside of Israel try to define it. He was very conservative in some ways and very liberal in others. It all makes sense to me now but he seems like an odd character when everything is BBC black and white. In some ways I miss having Sharon as prime minister. But it is right that he is no longer on the political scene. A lot has changed since he was in charge. From my point of view the worst thing about Sharon’s stroke, aside from the eight years in a coma, was that Olmert became PM. I never missed that guy once he was gone.
Showing posts with label dead celebrities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dead celebrities. Show all posts
13 January 2014
16 April 2013
Take a Cruiser with All Hands
Many Americans cheered when Osama bin Laden was killed. Some people said that was in poor taste. Osama was a bad guy to most of us. He was a terrorist. He was responsible for the murder of thousands of people. Sane people would not mourn his death. But openly applauding the murder of a fellow human being is a bit much for some.
My personal view is that people can cheer his death as much as they want. He was evil. Plenty of people are vilified and characterised as evil but he truly was. I did not applaud his death but I do not mourn him either.
Many Brits are now cheering Margaret Thatcher’s death. Some Americans say it is all in poor taste. Maggie was a bad person to many. She was not a terrorist by any stretch of the imagination. But one could argue that she was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. Though I doubt she ever ordered anybody to strap on a bomb and blow up children.
I will not mourn her death. She was the leader of a country with which I have no special connection. I reacted to news of her death in the same way that I reacted to the death of Roger Ebert. Neither was a particular surprise.
A glaring difference between Thatcher and Osama, other than the terrorism and democratic elections, is that one of them was the active leader of his group while the other had been out of power for more than 20 years. I can see rejoicing when Thatcher left office. But there seems little point in gloating at her death. If you think she was a terrible leader who ruined your country, fair enough. But she stopped doing that a long time ago. Dying changed nothing.
Americans, those people who were called gauche when Osama died, rejoiced when Richard Nixon resigned. I don’t remember any of them cheering when he died. Perhaps the British could learn something from their backwoods cousins.
My personal view is that people can cheer his death as much as they want. He was evil. Plenty of people are vilified and characterised as evil but he truly was. I did not applaud his death but I do not mourn him either.
Many Brits are now cheering Margaret Thatcher’s death. Some Americans say it is all in poor taste. Maggie was a bad person to many. She was not a terrorist by any stretch of the imagination. But one could argue that she was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people. Though I doubt she ever ordered anybody to strap on a bomb and blow up children.
I will not mourn her death. She was the leader of a country with which I have no special connection. I reacted to news of her death in the same way that I reacted to the death of Roger Ebert. Neither was a particular surprise.
A glaring difference between Thatcher and Osama, other than the terrorism and democratic elections, is that one of them was the active leader of his group while the other had been out of power for more than 20 years. I can see rejoicing when Thatcher left office. But there seems little point in gloating at her death. If you think she was a terrible leader who ruined your country, fair enough. But she stopped doing that a long time ago. Dying changed nothing.
Americans, those people who were called gauche when Osama died, rejoiced when Richard Nixon resigned. I don’t remember any of them cheering when he died. Perhaps the British could learn something from their backwoods cousins.
01 November 2012
Blame Canada
Carter: Israel not committed to two-state solution
By REUTERS
10/22/2012
Former US president says two-state approach seems to have been "abandoned," points finger at PM during "Elders" visit.
Former US president Jimmy Carter on Monday said the Israeli-Palestinian peace process had reached a crisis point and that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government was not pursuing a two-state solution.
"That policy of promoting a two-state solution seems to be abandoned now and we are deeply concerned about this move towards this catastrophic so-called one-state choice ... this is a major concern," Carter told a news conference.
Carter helped forge Israel's peace deal with Egypt in 1979, the first between the Jewish state and an Arab country but has been a strong critic of Israeli settlement policy in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
"Every (Israeli) prime minister that I have known has been a pursuer of the two-state solution and I don't know that (US President Barack) Obama has found that Prime Minister Netanyahu has been willing to go that route," Carter added.
He spoke during a visit along with other members of "The Elders", a group of former world leaders, to Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.
"All indications to us is that this two-state solution has basically been abandoned and we've had a moving forward towards a 'greater Israel' which I think is contrary to the two-state solution concept," Carter said.
Netanyahu has voiced support for a two-state solution, but has said a future Palestinian country must be demilitarized and accept an Israeli military presence along the Jordan River, its likely eastern frontier.
By REUTERS
10/22/2012
Former US president says two-state approach seems to have been "abandoned," points finger at PM during "Elders" visit.
Former US president Jimmy Carter on Monday said the Israeli-Palestinian peace process had reached a crisis point and that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's government was not pursuing a two-state solution.
"That policy of promoting a two-state solution seems to be abandoned now and we are deeply concerned about this move towards this catastrophic so-called one-state choice ... this is a major concern," Carter told a news conference.
Carter helped forge Israel's peace deal with Egypt in 1979, the first between the Jewish state and an Arab country but has been a strong critic of Israeli settlement policy in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
"Every (Israeli) prime minister that I have known has been a pursuer of the two-state solution and I don't know that (US President Barack) Obama has found that Prime Minister Netanyahu has been willing to go that route," Carter added.
He spoke during a visit along with other members of "The Elders", a group of former world leaders, to Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.
"All indications to us is that this two-state solution has basically been abandoned and we've had a moving forward towards a 'greater Israel' which I think is contrary to the two-state solution concept," Carter said.
Netanyahu has voiced support for a two-state solution, but has said a future Palestinian country must be demilitarized and accept an Israeli military presence along the Jordan River, its likely eastern frontier.
24 June 2012
Does Size Matter?
Work
Fancy
Rugged outdoor
Everything elseThere have been quite a few studies about penis size, some more reputable than others. Kinsey had a hard-on for penises, so to speak. It’s worth noting that in every study where men measure their own erections the average sizes are higher than in studies where men are measured by researchers. The hard data suggests that most men tend to aim too high. My own anecdotal evidence and highly unscientific research confirms this.
But average is such an impotent word when discussing the penis. According to the American Journal of Medicine the average erect penis is 15cm from top to tail. I shall use centimetres instead of inches since the numbers are bigger and that makes men very happy. According to Playboy Magazine the average length is 46cm. I don’t know if either study was questionnaire-based or hands-on. I would think that anybody who cares about accuracy would have a bone to pick with the Playboy study.
28 March 2012
You Can Never Be Too Rich
Photographed by Oliviero Toscani
Aside from the damage to the fashion industry, for whom I frankly don’t have all that much sympathy, I think this law is a bad idea because Israel is a democracy. We have all that free market capitalism going on here. The market is supposed to determine trends, not the state. If people do not like looking at paper thin models they can stop buying the products that advertise with them. When people stop buying, the advertisers will start advertising differently. The top fashion designers prefer to use stick figures, I assume because they are easier to tailor, but if the consumers want to see Kathy Bates instead of Kate Moss then that is who they will use.
I’ve nothing against Kate Moss but she is the only very thin model I could think of by name.
This woman is considered a “plus size” model11 December 2011
The Greens of Summers
Davida Karol died Friday. You may not have heard of her but I think she was one of the classiest old broads you could ever meet. She was mostly known as an artist, actor, photographer, writer. She never really gained much fame in any one medium but excelled at whatever she did. She painted landscapes, photographed politicians and normal people, translated Russian and Polish literature into Hebrew, played old ladies and grandmothers on TV. She is best known to art gallery owners as a stubborn old lady who would nag you until you showed her work. People who watch Israeli TV might not know her name but would recognise her as that old lady.
28 March 2011
How to Be Famous
The Beatles are unquestionably the most successful musical act in the entire history of the universe. It took years of playing questionable establishments and a lot of record company rejection before they made it big. That is how you did it back then. You played as much as you could wherever you could and your local following developed into a larger following.
Now all you have to do is go on one of the Pop Idol programmes and you are an instant superstar. Never mind the fact that none of the winners of any of those shows has ever become a pop idol. Britney Spears may be more well known for her public behaviour than her music but at least she went through years of auditions and rejections before she got the chance to make her first album. How did Justin Bieber earn his fame? As far as I know he put a video on Youtube and some record producers pushed him through marketing before he ever recorded anything. When did he pay his dues?
George and Ringo said it don’t come easy. They meant that it did not come easy back then.
Really?
Now all you have to do is go on one of the Pop Idol programmes and you are an instant superstar. Never mind the fact that none of the winners of any of those shows has ever become a pop idol. Britney Spears may be more well known for her public behaviour than her music but at least she went through years of auditions and rejections before she got the chance to make her first album. How did Justin Bieber earn his fame? As far as I know he put a video on Youtube and some record producers pushed him through marketing before he ever recorded anything. When did he pay his dues?
George and Ringo said it don’t come easy. They meant that it did not come easy back then.
Really?23 March 2011
Mother Courage
Lassie Come Home, Courage of Lassie, Jane Eyre, The White Cliffs of Dover, National Velvet, Life with Father, Cynthia, A Date with Judy, Julia Misbehaves, Little Women, Conspirator, The Big Hangover, Father of the Bride, Father’s Little Dividend, A Place in the Sun, Quo Vadis, Love is Better Than Ever, The Girl Who Had Everything, Rhapsody, Elephant Walk, Beau Brummell, The Last Time I Saw Paris, Raintree Country, Giant, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Suddenly Last Summer, Scent of Mystery, Butterfield 8, The Sandpiper, The VIPs, The Taming of the Shrew, Doctor Faustus, Reflections in a Golden Eye, The Comedians, Secret Ceremony, The Only Game in Town, Under Milk Wood, Hammersmith is Out, Divorce His Divorce Hers, Night Watch, Ash Wednesday, Identikit, The Blue Bird, Victory at Entebbe, A Little Night Music, Return Engagement, The Mirror Crack’d, Malice in Wonderland, Young Toscanini, Sweet Bird of Youth, These Old Broads
She was Shakespeare’s Katharina, Christopher Marlowe’s Helen of Troy, Louisa May Alcot’s Amy March, Carson McCullers’ Lenora Penderton, Theodore Dreiser’s Angela Vickers, Dylan Thomas’ Rosie Probert, Agatha Christie’s Marina Rudd, Carrie Fisher’s Beryl Mason [playing a character Debbie Reynolds’ character does not like because they fought over a man a long time ago], Tennessee Williams’ Maggie Pollitt, Tennessee Williams’ Catherine Holly, Tennessee Williams’ Alexandra Del Lago, Rebecca in Ivanhoe, Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Velvet Brown, Kay Banks, Leslie Benedict, Gloria Wandroud, Jimmie Jackson, Louella Parsons, Cleopatra, Maggie Simpson.
She was directed by Vincente Minnelli 3 times, George Stevens 3 times, Richard Brooks 3 times, Mervyn LeRoy twice, Joseph Mankiewicz twice, Michael Curtiz, Stanley Donen, Mike Nichols, John Huston, George Cukor.
She starred with Orson Welles, William Powell, Spencer Tracy, Margaret O’Brien, Joan Fontaine, Irene Dunne, Mickey Rooney, Jane Powell, Walter Pidgeon, Greer Garson, Robert Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Stewart Granger, Ava Gardner, Katherine Hepburn, Marlon Brando, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Burt Lancaster, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Paul Newman, Rex Harrison, Peter O’Toole, Peter Ustinov, Alec Guinness, Roddy McDowell, Anthony Hopkins, Shirley MacLaine, Jane Fonda, Warren Beatty, Michael Caine, Angela Lansbury, Debbie Reynolds and more often than not Richard Burton.
04 January 2011
Another Decade Over and a New One Just Begun
2001
Zhang Xueliang (100), Anne Morrow Lindbergh (94), Balthus (92), Stanley Kramer (87). Laurent-Désiré Kabila (61), King Birendra of Nepal (55), Queen Aiswarya (51) were all assassinated. Prince Dipendra (29) killed himself after murdering his family. Sabiha Gökçen (88) and Douglas Adams (49) had heart attacks. Aaliyah (22) died in a plane crash.
Anthony Quinn (86), Harry Secombe (79), Jack Lemmon (76), Poul Anderson (74), Donald Woods (67), George Harrison (58), Joey Ramone (49) all died of cancer.
2002
Margaret Booth (104), Billy Wilder (95), Stanley Unwin (90). Spike Milligan (83) liver failure, George Roy Hill (81) Parkinson’s disease, Ian MacNaughton (76) car accident, John Frankenheimer (74) stroke, Dudley Moore (66) progressive supranuclear palsy, Linda Lovelace (53) car accident, Nozomi Momoi (24), stabbed and immolated. Chuck Jones (89), Antonio Margheriti (72), Lonnie Donegan (71), Erachaim ben Eliyahu (59), John Entwistle (57) all had heart attacks.
Milton Berle (93), Thor Heyerdahl (87), Rosemary Clooney (74), Richard Harris (72), Stephen Jay Gould (60) all died of cancer.
2003
Bob Hope (100), Katharine Hepburn (96), Elia Kazan (94), Wendy Hiller (91), Gregory Peck (87), Art Carney (85). Leon Uris (78) and Idi Amin (78) died of kidney failure, Noel Redding (57) liver failure, Maurice Gibb (53) bowel obstruction, Howie Epstein (47) drug overdose, Carlo Urbani, the doctor who discovered SARS (46) SARS, Elliott Smith (34) stabbed, Rachel Corrie (23) crushed by a bulldozer, Dolly (6) euthanized. John Schlesinger (77) and Michael Kamen (55) had heart attacks.
Leni Riefenstahl (101), Hume Cronyn (91), Conrad Hall (76), Alan Bates (69), Gregory Hines (57) all died of cancer.
Colonel Rick Husband (45), Commander William McCool (41), Lt Colonel Michael Anderson (43), Lt Ilan Ramon (48), Captain David Brown (46), Captain Laurel Clark (41), Kalpana Chawla (40) exploded on American space shuttle Columbia.
2004
Fay Wray (96), Donald Trumbull (95), Henri Cartier-Bresson (95), Ronald Reagan (93), Julia Child (91), Uta Hagen (84). Robert Lees (91) decapitated, William Manchester (82) stroke, Peter Ustinov (82) heart attack, Marlon Brando (80) heart attack from pulmonary fibrosis and cancer, Janet Leigh (77) vasculitis and peripheral neuropathy, Hans Gmür (77) surgical complications, Yasser Arafat (75) liver failure, Spalding Gray (62) suicide, Christopher Reeve (52) heart failure from septicemia, Neal Fredericks (35) drowned in plane crash while filming.
Elmer Bernstein (82), Jerry Goldsmith (75), Naomi Shemer (73), Ray Charles (73), Jerry Orbach (69), Johnny Ramone (55) all died of cancer.
2005
Simon Wiesenthal (96), Efraim Reuytenberg (91), Geraldine Fitzgerald (91), Saul Bellow (89), Ernest Lehman (89). Peter Malkin (77) stroke, Ismail Merchant (68) surgical complications, Hunter S Thompson (67) suicide. Robert Wise (91), Arthur Miller (89), Karol Wojtyła (John Paul II) (84), Dalene Matthee (67), Richard Pryor (65) all had heart attacks.
Anne Bancroft (73), Bob Denver (70), Cyril K Harris (68), Debra Hill (54) all died of cancer.
2006
Gerald Ford (93), Augusto Pinochet (91), Glenn Ford (90), Pieter Willem Botha (90), Richard Fleischer (89), Betty Friedan (85), Shoshana Damari (82). Maureen Stapleton (80) obstructive pulmonary disease, Saddam Hussein (69) hanged. Jeane Kirkpatrick (80), James Brown (73), Slobodan Milošević (64) all had heart attacks.
Robert Altman (81), Peter Boyle (71), Masumi Okada (70), Syd Barrett (60) all died of cancer.
2007
Michelangelo Antonioni (94), Avraham Shapira (93), Ingmar Bergman (89), Kurt Waldheim (88), Fernando Fernán Gómez (86), Norman Mailer (84), Marcel Marceau (84), László Kovács (74). Deborah Kerr (86) Parkinson’s disease, Kurt Vonnegut (84) brain injuries from a fall, Benazir Bhutto (54) assassinated.
Luciano Pavarotti (71), Michael Brecker (57), Dan Fogelberg (56) died of cancer.
2008
Richard Widmark (93), Kon Ichikawa (92), Jerry Wexler (91), Arthur C Clarke (90), Mel Ferrer (90), Edmund Hillary (88), Suharto (86), Cyd Charisse (86), Charlton Heston (84). Isaac Hayes (65) stroke, Bobby Fischer (64) kidney failure. Miriam Makeba (76) and George Carlin (71) had heart attacks.
Paul Newman (83), Harold Pinter (78), Sydney Pollack (73), Neil Aspinall (66), Michael Crichton (66), Dith Pran (65), Richard Wright (65), Stan Winston (62), Anthony Minghella (54), Jeff Healey (41) all died of cancer.
2009
Karl Malden (97), Jack Cardiff (94), Les Paul (94), Walter Cronkite (92), Helen Suzman (91). Allen Klein (77) Alzheimer's disease, Claude Berri (74) stroke, David Carradine (72) autoerotic asphyxiation, John Hughes (59) heart attack, Marilyn Chambers (56) cerebral hemorrhage, Michael Jackson (50) drug overdose, Natasha Richardson (45) skiing accident, Brittany Murphy (32) pneumonia and anaemia.
James Whitmore (87), Bea Arthur (86), Ted Kennedy (77), John Updike (76), Corazon Aquino (76), Dom DeLuise (75), Farrah Fawcett (62), Ron Silver (62), Patrick Swayze (57) all died of cancer.
2010
Hizkiah ben Nachum (93), Lena Horne (92), JD Salinger (91), Dino De Laurentiis (91), Éric Rohmer (89), Luis García Berlanga (89), Arthur Penn (88), Blake Edwards (88). Tony Curtis (85) heart attack, Claude Chabrol (80) anaemia, Qian Yunhui (53) crushed by a truck.
Patricia Neal (84), Jean Simmons (80), Dennis Hopper (74), Lynn Redgrave (67), Jamie Gillis (66) all died of cancer.
Zhang Xueliang (100), Anne Morrow Lindbergh (94), Balthus (92), Stanley Kramer (87). Laurent-Désiré Kabila (61), King Birendra of Nepal (55), Queen Aiswarya (51) were all assassinated. Prince Dipendra (29) killed himself after murdering his family. Sabiha Gökçen (88) and Douglas Adams (49) had heart attacks. Aaliyah (22) died in a plane crash.
Anthony Quinn (86), Harry Secombe (79), Jack Lemmon (76), Poul Anderson (74), Donald Woods (67), George Harrison (58), Joey Ramone (49) all died of cancer.
2002
Margaret Booth (104), Billy Wilder (95), Stanley Unwin (90). Spike Milligan (83) liver failure, George Roy Hill (81) Parkinson’s disease, Ian MacNaughton (76) car accident, John Frankenheimer (74) stroke, Dudley Moore (66) progressive supranuclear palsy, Linda Lovelace (53) car accident, Nozomi Momoi (24), stabbed and immolated. Chuck Jones (89), Antonio Margheriti (72), Lonnie Donegan (71), Erachaim ben Eliyahu (59), John Entwistle (57) all had heart attacks.
Milton Berle (93), Thor Heyerdahl (87), Rosemary Clooney (74), Richard Harris (72), Stephen Jay Gould (60) all died of cancer.
2003
Bob Hope (100), Katharine Hepburn (96), Elia Kazan (94), Wendy Hiller (91), Gregory Peck (87), Art Carney (85). Leon Uris (78) and Idi Amin (78) died of kidney failure, Noel Redding (57) liver failure, Maurice Gibb (53) bowel obstruction, Howie Epstein (47) drug overdose, Carlo Urbani, the doctor who discovered SARS (46) SARS, Elliott Smith (34) stabbed, Rachel Corrie (23) crushed by a bulldozer, Dolly (6) euthanized. John Schlesinger (77) and Michael Kamen (55) had heart attacks.
Leni Riefenstahl (101), Hume Cronyn (91), Conrad Hall (76), Alan Bates (69), Gregory Hines (57) all died of cancer.
Colonel Rick Husband (45), Commander William McCool (41), Lt Colonel Michael Anderson (43), Lt Ilan Ramon (48), Captain David Brown (46), Captain Laurel Clark (41), Kalpana Chawla (40) exploded on American space shuttle Columbia.
2004
Fay Wray (96), Donald Trumbull (95), Henri Cartier-Bresson (95), Ronald Reagan (93), Julia Child (91), Uta Hagen (84). Robert Lees (91) decapitated, William Manchester (82) stroke, Peter Ustinov (82) heart attack, Marlon Brando (80) heart attack from pulmonary fibrosis and cancer, Janet Leigh (77) vasculitis and peripheral neuropathy, Hans Gmür (77) surgical complications, Yasser Arafat (75) liver failure, Spalding Gray (62) suicide, Christopher Reeve (52) heart failure from septicemia, Neal Fredericks (35) drowned in plane crash while filming.
Elmer Bernstein (82), Jerry Goldsmith (75), Naomi Shemer (73), Ray Charles (73), Jerry Orbach (69), Johnny Ramone (55) all died of cancer.
2005
Simon Wiesenthal (96), Efraim Reuytenberg (91), Geraldine Fitzgerald (91), Saul Bellow (89), Ernest Lehman (89). Peter Malkin (77) stroke, Ismail Merchant (68) surgical complications, Hunter S Thompson (67) suicide. Robert Wise (91), Arthur Miller (89), Karol Wojtyła (John Paul II) (84), Dalene Matthee (67), Richard Pryor (65) all had heart attacks.
Anne Bancroft (73), Bob Denver (70), Cyril K Harris (68), Debra Hill (54) all died of cancer.
2006
Gerald Ford (93), Augusto Pinochet (91), Glenn Ford (90), Pieter Willem Botha (90), Richard Fleischer (89), Betty Friedan (85), Shoshana Damari (82). Maureen Stapleton (80) obstructive pulmonary disease, Saddam Hussein (69) hanged. Jeane Kirkpatrick (80), James Brown (73), Slobodan Milošević (64) all had heart attacks.
Robert Altman (81), Peter Boyle (71), Masumi Okada (70), Syd Barrett (60) all died of cancer.
2007
Michelangelo Antonioni (94), Avraham Shapira (93), Ingmar Bergman (89), Kurt Waldheim (88), Fernando Fernán Gómez (86), Norman Mailer (84), Marcel Marceau (84), László Kovács (74). Deborah Kerr (86) Parkinson’s disease, Kurt Vonnegut (84) brain injuries from a fall, Benazir Bhutto (54) assassinated.
Luciano Pavarotti (71), Michael Brecker (57), Dan Fogelberg (56) died of cancer.
2008
Richard Widmark (93), Kon Ichikawa (92), Jerry Wexler (91), Arthur C Clarke (90), Mel Ferrer (90), Edmund Hillary (88), Suharto (86), Cyd Charisse (86), Charlton Heston (84). Isaac Hayes (65) stroke, Bobby Fischer (64) kidney failure. Miriam Makeba (76) and George Carlin (71) had heart attacks.
Paul Newman (83), Harold Pinter (78), Sydney Pollack (73), Neil Aspinall (66), Michael Crichton (66), Dith Pran (65), Richard Wright (65), Stan Winston (62), Anthony Minghella (54), Jeff Healey (41) all died of cancer.
2009
Karl Malden (97), Jack Cardiff (94), Les Paul (94), Walter Cronkite (92), Helen Suzman (91). Allen Klein (77) Alzheimer's disease, Claude Berri (74) stroke, David Carradine (72) autoerotic asphyxiation, John Hughes (59) heart attack, Marilyn Chambers (56) cerebral hemorrhage, Michael Jackson (50) drug overdose, Natasha Richardson (45) skiing accident, Brittany Murphy (32) pneumonia and anaemia.
James Whitmore (87), Bea Arthur (86), Ted Kennedy (77), John Updike (76), Corazon Aquino (76), Dom DeLuise (75), Farrah Fawcett (62), Ron Silver (62), Patrick Swayze (57) all died of cancer.
2010
Hizkiah ben Nachum (93), Lena Horne (92), JD Salinger (91), Dino De Laurentiis (91), Éric Rohmer (89), Luis García Berlanga (89), Arthur Penn (88), Blake Edwards (88). Tony Curtis (85) heart attack, Claude Chabrol (80) anaemia, Qian Yunhui (53) crushed by a truck.
Patricia Neal (84), Jean Simmons (80), Dennis Hopper (74), Lynn Redgrave (67), Jamie Gillis (66) all died of cancer.
22 November 2010
10 February 2010
Why Jesus Was Not the Messiah
I think that if a group of people decide to write down their own code of conduct and then another group comes along a thousand years later and rewrites it to fit their own agenda they don’t get to tell the first group what the original books said. You are more than welcome to worship Jesus or any other Jew as much as you want but when you tell us that he is our Messiah and we’ve our books and your books telling us otherwise, you can expect us to change our beliefs as much as you change yours whenever Muslims tell you the new versions of your books.
And if you could stop killing people in the name of Jesus that would be great. I’ve listed what Jesus was not. I think he also was not the kind of person who wanted his followers to kill everybody. His message was about love as far as I can tell. If you think enough of him to edit our books to make him look better then you should think enough of him to follow his main principle and be nice to each other.
And if you could stop killing people in the name of Jesus that would be great. I’ve listed what Jesus was not. I think he also was not the kind of person who wanted his followers to kill everybody. His message was about love as far as I can tell. If you think enough of him to edit our books to make him look better then you should think enough of him to follow his main principle and be nice to each other.
02 January 2010
Another Year Over and a New One Just Begun
2009 started with a bang. Literally. I was sent to Gaza in January to film things I’m not really supposed to talk about but probably can since it is no state secret, but I don’t really know who will read this so it is probably better if I don’t, even though I will not go to prison for it or even lose my job technically, but I can face more trouble than it is worth really since it is not that exciting. I didn’t want to go but I wanted to go. I constantly assured my family that I was nowhere near danger. I joked that the equipment was too valuable. It is funnier now than it was then.
22 December 2009
Why I’m Not a Snob
By the time I went to university I was a movie junkie. I felt empty if I did not see at least two or three movies a week. I never really cared about genres but at this point I preferred surreal comedies. While some of my friends and every nerd on the planet could quote Life of Brian I was quoting The Meaning of Life. I was proud of my imitation of the machine that goes ping.
I always defended Mel Brooks up until Men in Tights and was very familiar with all of Woody Allen’s “early funny” movies. I was just getting into the Coen brothers. Fargo was the first movie I saw in an American cinema.
I always defended Mel Brooks up until Men in Tights and was very familiar with all of Woody Allen’s “early funny” movies. I was just getting into the Coen brothers. Fargo was the first movie I saw in an American cinema.
01 December 2009
30 October 2009
Was That It?
I think his family is right. Jackson went to extreme lengths to create his Wacko Jacko image. If he wanted to be seen as a dedicated professional with a sense of humour who cares about things besides private zoos and Elephant Man bones he had ample opportunity to do so while he was alive. This movie is damaging a carefully constructed image of the side show freak he wanted us to think he was.
29 September 2009
Knife in the Water
But Polanski did a horrible thing. I don’t think I am a judgemental person and I rarely condemn celebrities for their scandals, but I’m comfortable saying that what he did was completely wrong in every way. He drugged and raped a child very much against her consent. Her forgiving him does not change the nature of his horrible crimes. It has been pointed out that nobody else has ever accused him of such a thing. This was apparently a single incident. But it was still a terrible thing to do. He was experienced enough and smart enough to know better.
15 August 2009
The Birthday Babysitting Orgy Club and Rhythm Revue
The orgy scenes in the DVD we saw were not digitally censored. But the music was censored. Some morally outraged Hindu groups complained that the music during the orgy sequence was a Hindu prayer even though it was not. Either they don’t recognise their own prayers or they never saw the movie. I’m guessing that just like every other morally outraged religious group that complains about a movie, they never saw it.
So while what we saw was Kubrick’s vision, what we heard was not. For all the controversy around this movie before and after it was released what they changed was the music. Stanley Kubrick is probably in that great orgy in the sky laughing about it all.
So while what we saw was Kubrick’s vision, what we heard was not. For all the controversy around this movie before and after it was released what they changed was the music. Stanley Kubrick is probably in that great orgy in the sky laughing about it all.
14 July 2009
Two’s Company
I think it is appropriate that everybody is now talking about Jackson like he is the epitome of all that is good and pure in the world. When you are dead they should remember the good things and not whatever disgusting things were forced upon little boys. Allegedly. I personally think that he never did anything untoward to any children. What I thought was inappropriate was making his daughter give a speech in front of thousands of strangers in that stadium. That seemed more than manipulative. That was just mean.
21 May 2009
How To Annoy Me
At some point the “journalist” remarked on an Elvis pin John once owned that is now part of the exhibit.
“Apparently he was a huge Elvis fan. Who knew?”
Who knew? Everybody.
11 March 2009
This Post Has Nothing To Do With Andy Kaufman
On 20 July 1969 mankind penetrated the maidenhead of outer space and came on the moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin fertilised the surface of the moon while Armstrong moaned “That’s one small step for a man. And when I say small step I’m of course referring to my diminutive penis”. And like all men, they left a big mess.
Or did they?
We all saw Capricorn One where Sam Waterston and Barbra Streisand’s husband tried to convince everybody that Elvis is dead.
Or did we?
Americans often claim they invented democracy and freedom. This is false. France or Greece invented democracy and African and Pacific Island countries where women could walk around bare chested invented freedom. But one thing history and the truth can never take away from America is that they put a man on the moon. They are the first, and so far only, country to ever accomplish something that is really pretty impressive when you consider the primitive technology of the day. I think this is their greatest achievement.
Ironically, Neil Armstrong’s original line was supposed to be “Here I come to save the day”.
Or did they?
We all saw Capricorn One where Sam Waterston and Barbra Streisand’s husband tried to convince everybody that Elvis is dead.
Or did we?
Americans often claim they invented democracy and freedom. This is false. France or Greece invented democracy and African and Pacific Island countries where women could walk around bare chested invented freedom. But one thing history and the truth can never take away from America is that they put a man on the moon. They are the first, and so far only, country to ever accomplish something that is really pretty impressive when you consider the primitive technology of the day. I think this is their greatest achievement.
Ironically, Neil Armstrong’s original line was supposed to be “Here I come to save the day”.
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