On A Pale Horse

Collector, Painter & Author of Das Boot

He passed away from heart failure

February 6, 1918 - February 22, 2007
RIP


sources
Buchheim Museum der Phantasie
Lothar Gunther Buchheim

Labels: 1918 births, 2007 February deaths, author, heart failure

Where oh where does the time go...
Oh yeah, I know, sitting in front of the damn TV, watching every bad basic cable show known to man, that is if I can stay awake long enough to actually make it to the final credits. As of late I've been spending more and more time on the love seat with the cat on my chest and one of the dogs at my side (no easy feat considering dog in question weighs 63 lbs at his vet appointment this past week); but at least I'm not stuck with one channel as it was back in the day.

Alder, originally born in Vienna, Austria, migrated to the US via England during World War 2 and started his career with Zenith in 1937. He worked with military communications until the war ended and then directed his attention to television. In 1955 the first concept of the TV remote invented by Eugene Polley, this was called the Flashomatic. The Flashomatic was popular but flawed. Robert Adler improved on the concept by having a remote that worked on ultra high frequencies that were generated by clicking on aluminum rods, this early version didn't require batteries at all. In the 1960's he further tweaked his invention by having the remote create ultra frequencies sounds electronically.

Adler continued working outside of the television industries and was granted 180 US patents, his most recent on February 1st of this year. In 1998 he, along with other Zenith engineers, were presented with an Emmy for "pioneering work in the development of the remote control".

Mr Alder passed away from heart failure in a Boise, Idaho nursing home.

1913 - February 15, 2007 - R.I.P.

sources:
Alder web information
Yahoo News

Labels: 1913 births, 2007 February deaths, heart failure, inventor

I've had to take about five or six different economics classes during the course of my academic career. For some reason all the econ teachers were kinda freaky, one was a surfer dude, one reminded me of Dave Foley (looks & humor), still another was really uptight; he pursed his lips when someone didn't answer a question quite the way it should have been. The one class that I remember the best was way (way, waaaaayyyyy) back in high school. The teacher, Mr.D, didn't seem all that interested in teaching the class so we mostly watched videos. He had this one series, purchased from PBS (I'm sure he got a really cool tote bag for it too) called "Economics U$A". Richard T. Gill served as an analyst for the program. Econ was one of those required courses at my high school so Dick Gill became a joke to all of us seniors; something about his style was a bit different. I didn't realize how different though until I started researching this obit. After spending twenty two years as a Professor at Harvard he left his position he launched his second career as an opera singer and then returned to television to write and appear in the 28 episodes of this series. But yet again I'm off the subject. This isn't about Richard Gill this is about a Milton Friedman.

Milton Friedman was born in 1912 to immigrant parents in New York City. When he was a year old the family moved to a small town in New Jersey about 20 miles out of NYC. He graduated high school in 1928, at the age of 16 and then attended Rutgers University on scholarship graduating in 1932 during the Great Depression. After spending some additional time at the University of Chicago and Columbia he went on to work in various positions conducting research on economic trends, consumer budget and professional income. During the course of his career he worked for the US Treasury Department, academic positions and as economic adviser during Barry Goldwater's and Richard Nixon's run for Presidency. He retired from the University of Chicago in 1977 but continued to remain active in research and discussion of the economic field. During his life he won numerous awards, honorary degrees and in 1976 he won the Nobel Prize for Economics. For all of you, eh, cannabis users you might want to recognize his work in researching the economic benefits of legalization of marijuana.

Mr. Friedman passed away from heart failure.


July 31, 1912 - November 16, 2006
RIP

Labels: 1912 births, 2006 November deaths, economics, heart failure, political

Remember back in the day when you were branded what type of person you were by what music you listened to?
I went to this private (read snotty) high school where money mattered and if you looked strange you were mocked. Most of my friends went to (evil) public high school where crap like that existed but it didn't seem to matter as much. One crowd that I hung out with were the 'hairband headbangers' - yes I did own a Bon Jovi tape. The other crowd were the skaters & punks, I was a little ramp groupie on the weekend and a Aquanet abuser during the week. It was a double life that I hoped wouldn't slam into each other - damn that would have been embarrassing. But what would be even more shameful to admit was that I owned a New Kids on the Block tape and a Madonna tape. I swear it was only because it was good music to work out too! Even so I should have been proud to admit that my musical tastes could not be pigeonholed. But what the hell did I know. So as any Midwest suburbanite white chick would admit back then we all thought that Madonna was the greatest thing known to man - hell she came up with that whole weird dance thing, Vogue, right? What a genius pioneer!! It wasn't until I got into college and the gays set me straight. Madonna was cool BUT she ripped off the New York gays with that whole Voguing bullshit.

Willi Ninja (born William Leake) was a cult hero in the New York drag ball circuit and a master of the art of voguing. He dance talents were featured in the critically acclaimed movie "Paris is Burning" . In 2004, he opened a modeling agency called EON (Elements of Ninja) and on the side worked with top celebrities such as Naomi Campbell and Paris Hilton to perfect their runway/red carpet struts.

Willi passed away due to AIDS related heart failure.

April 12, 1961 - September 2, 2006
RIP

Labels: 1961 births, 2006 September deaths, AIDS, culture, heart failure

I've never really understood Cuba Gooding Jr. At times he seems like a complete boob by picking roles like Boat Trip, Rat Race, & Snow Dogs then turns around and appears to be a real intelligent funny actor that picks roles in flicks like As Good As It Gets, Boyz in the Hood & Radio. But I guess there is something to be said about making millions doing commercial crap and justifying the soul with low paying serious roles. The real mystery to me is why he got an Oscar for Jerry Maguire rather then for his portry of Master Chief Petty Officer Carl Brashear in the movie Men of Honor.

Carl Brashear enlisted with the US Navy in 1948 shortly after the desegration was instituted but not fully grasped. But he worked his way through the diving program and became the first black certified diver in 1951. In 1966, while on a mission to recover an unexploded hydrogen bomb a towing line broke and hit his lower right leg nearly severing it. Doctors tried to repair the damage but the leg was ultimately amputated. His career in the Navy was an up hill battle from day one and this obstacle wasn't going to get in Brashears way either. He continued to train and battle through pain and discomfort to become the first amputee diver in 1968 and the first black Master Diver in 1971. He retired from the Navy in 1979 and continued a career with the government until his final retirement.

He passed away from respritory and heart failure.

January 19, 1931 - July 25, 2006 - RIP

Labels: 1931 births, 2006 July deaths, heart failure, military, pioneer

I'm not telling you how old I was in 1978 but I was old enough to remember my dad taking me to see Heaven Can Wait at the theatre across the street from Eastland and just down the road from the St. Clair Shores apartments where we lived. He had just picked me up from my Grandma's house (8 Mile & Groesbeck a nice place before Tycoon's moved in).

My dad never really knew what to do with me so he just took me to movies. Which I think was an inherited trait because my other Grandma (his mom) did the same thing with me.

Anyways...it was in this movie I first saw a soprano saxophone and I knew right then and there that was the only instrument that I wanted to play. This was way before Kenny G. totally pussified the sax the way he did. Because this was such a dream I took band for eight years (band fag for life!) and each year I asked the band director if we could add a soprano sax to the line up and every year the answer was 'no'. Well every year that is except my senior year when D.K. added a beautiful soprano sax, from the band budget, but let someone else play it. Just another crushing moment in a series of disappointment.

Jack Warden played Coach Max Corkle in that flick. He also played Morris Buttermaker in the TV adaptation of Bad News Bears (staring little Cory Feldmen). But playing the gruff and hard nosed coach wasn't the only part that he was good at. He was nominated for two supporting actor Oscars in the aforementioned Heaven Can Wait as well as Shampoo and walked away with an Emmy for his part in Brian's Song.

He served in WW2 as a paratrooper and was scheduled to make a jump on D-Day but shattered his leg during a practice jump the day before. It was when he was in bed recuperating he decided to become an actor and made his film debut in 1951 with 'You're in the Navy Now".

He passed away in a New York hospital from a combination of heart and kidney failure, or as his manager called it "Just old age".

September 18, 1920 - July 19, 2006

RIP

Labels: 1920 births, 2006 July deaths, actor, heart failure, kidney failure

In 1991 my Grandpa M. passed away which gave way to the second inheritance that I blew through like a whore on Michigan Avenue. I dropped coin on some of the dumbest things ever: comic books, aquarium supplies, feeder fish (what fun), Tyco racetrack sets, velvet Bruce Springsteen paintings, endless hours of playing Street Fighter II and, the point of this rant, tickets to WWF matches. And yes, they were WWF matches, not this WWE shit. I'm talking about the early 90's here when wrestling was going through a major wane, when you could get up front and personal with the wrestlers because there wasn't a damn soul in the Palace of Auburn Hills, when I was dating Booby. Aw god was it great.

I never saw Eddie Guerrero wrestle. I don't give a rat's tushy about wrestling anymore - it's just another thing that I make fun of my husband for watching.

On November 13th Guerrero was found dead in his hotel room in Minnesota at the Marriott City Center Hotel. The autopsy concluded that he passed away from heart failure from an undiagnosed heart disease possibly brought on by his past troubles with alcohol and drug abuse.

October 9, 1968 - November 13, 2005
RIP

Labels: 1968 births, 2005 November deaths, heart failure, sports