On A Pale Horse

Once upon a time I was proud of the fact that I walked along lonely downtown Detroit street and came back alive. I'm a suburbinite, I fear the seedy underbelly of a busy metropolis. My parents have long told stories of people that go to the big city but never come back the same. But at age 17 I was a bad ass. Oh how things change, now a days I spend my time searching the trecherous world wide web from the comfort of my hand-me-down desk. I AM FIERCE!
I don't think I could live the lifestyle of Tobias Schneebaum. In the 1950's Schneebaum lived amoung cannibals in the Amazon jungle and later wrote the book Keep the River to Your Right
which was turned into a documentary in 2000. Later in life, he wrote, that his passion for exploration derived out a need for community. He found that with the Arakmbut, a cannibal tribe, that his homosexuality was not looked down upon as it had been in the States in the early 1950's.

In addition to exploration Mr. Schneebaum was an artist, anthropologist and an AIDS activist.

Mr Schneebaum passed away from complications of Parkinson's disease.

March 22,1922 - September 20, 2005 RIP

Labels: 1922 births, 2006 September deaths, activist, author, Parkinsons

Dallas was on CBS on Friday nights, right after The Dukes of Hazzard. I hated both shows but watched them because my friends watched and I didn't want to be left out of the conversation Monday morning. My friend CH could recite the whole plot line of Friday nights episode, I couldn't tell you one damn thing about it...I'd mostly agree that Patrick Duffy was a fox and that Bo Duke was way cuter then Luke. Thankfully we moved on to Dynasty which was far more interesting then Dallas
It wasn't until my later years when I was deep into Alfred Hitchcock movies that I really knew or cared anything about Ms Bel Geddes. Her career started in the 1940's and lasted through the end of the Dallas series.

There seems to be a rash of lung cancer deaths recently first Peter Jennings, then Barbara Bel Geddes and then the recent annoucement that Dana Reeve was diagnosed. Hopefully this won't finish the tri-fec-ta (because I don't know how to spell the damn word).

Barbara Bel Geddes
October 31, 1922 - August 8, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1922 births, 2005 August deaths, actor, cancer

The man that invented TV dinners passed away on July 21st.
This man is credited, in our little dysfunctional family at least, for feeding the family when there wasn't enough cash for McDonalds or Little Ceasers. The Swanson dinner aided in the downward spiral of the nuclear family. Mom can rush out to the bar and get hammered while the kiddies can dine on gelationous mystery meat, dried out corn and blazing hot styrofoam mashed potatoes with the icy cold center. I remember skipping the first 6 aisels at the grocery store then stocking up on Tide, Bounty then finishing off with six or seven 2 Liters of Diet Coke and rounding out the trip by picking out two weeks worth of turkey pot pies, Stoffers Mac & Cheese, and Swanson's Heat and Eat. Ahhh memories...
Here's to you Mr. Thomas.

1922 - July 21, 2005

Labels: 1922 births, 2005 July deaths, heart attack, personality

Ventriloquists always kind of spooked me out...maybe it was because of that creepy Anthony Hopkins flick "Magic" that I saw as a kid. But if I was into them this guy would be my all time favorite. The name may not be familiar but his voice was. Back in the early 80's kids would either be mesmorized by the Transformers or the Smurfs...it was like some sort of evil religion that took over the youth of America. I was a Smurf-aholic. I had the stickers, the backpack, the lunch box, millions of 1-1/2" high figurines!!! I was crazy about the smurfs - they were smurf-tacular. Back then I was secretly jealous of Smurfette, she didn't belong, she came in late in the game, she was created by Gargamel as a way to infiltrate the Smurf village. THEN she got all pretty because she became 'good' (bleech) and all the boys wanted her. There's more I could rant about but that would delve deep into my neurosis and be horribly off the subject.
We didn't know Paul Winchell but we did know his voice. On the Smurfs he was the voice of Gargamel & Baby Smurf (he needed a voice?), as well as other characters such as Dick Dastardly, Winnie the Pooh's own Tigger, and countless others.

Thanks for keeping me entertained on Saturdays.

For more about Paul Winchell check out this web site

RIP
December 21, 1922 - June 24, 2005

Labels: 1922 births, 2005 June deaths, natural causes, television