Obituaries

[Warren Dew]

Finally Cuba will have a chance to escape their half century of socialist induced economic depression, as China finally did after Mao died.

[Marypoza]

RIP to Ron Glass, the Shepherd in Firefly, the show that got cancelled waaaaaaay too soon. There were offhand remarks on the show like, "& he's not a Shepherd", & he had an Ident card that got him (& the Serenity crew) VIP access, one episode he told some cops that were smuggling on the side that they were gonna walk away & leave Serenity & her cargo alone- & the cops did just that! l would of luvved to learn the Shepherd's backstory

[Galen]

(11-26-2016, 10:05 PM)Marypoza Wrote: RIP to Ron Glass, the Shepherd in Firefly, the show that got cancelled waaaaaaay too soon. There were offhand remarks on the show like, "& he's not a Shepherd", & he had an Ident card that got him (& the Serenity crew) VIP access, one episode he told some cops that were smuggling on the side that they were gonna walk away & leave Serenity & her cargo alone- & the cops did just that! l would of luvved to learn the Shepherd's backstory

I am inclined to agree.

[pbrower2a]

LaMia Airlines Flight 2933 (LMI 2933) crashed on 28 November 2016 while transporting the Brazilian Chapecoense football team from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, to José María Córdova International Airport in Medellín, Colombia. The airliner, an Avro RJ85, carried 77 people: sixty-eight passengers, which included the team and 21 journalists, and a crew of nine. The team was en route to play the 2016 Copa Sudamericana Finals against Colombian team Atlético Nacional.[2][3][4] Six people survived the crash. The Colombian Special Administrative Unit of Civil Aeronautics is investigating the incident with support from the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaMia_Airl...light_2933

If one did not get the hint from the 2016 Olympics, soccer is the national sport of Brazil. This would be analogous to the loss of an American baseball team on the way to the World Series or a league championship NFL team on the way to the Super Bowl.

[pbrower2a]

Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (Russian: Марк Евгеньевич Тайманов; 7 February 1926 – 28 November 2016) was one of the leading Soviet and Russian chess players, among the world's top 20 players from 1946 to 1971. He was also a world-class concert pianist. Taimanov became a Grandmaster in 1952, and in 1956 won the USSR Chess Championship.[1] He was a World Championship Candidate twice, in 1953 and 1971. In 1971, however, Taimanov lost his Candidates match by 6–0 to Bobby Fischer. Taimanov excelled in team play representing the USSR. Several chess variations are named after him.


Taimanov was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, to Jewish parents.[2] His mother, a piano teacher, introduced him to music. His family moved to Saint Petersburg when he was six months old.[3] When he was eleven years old, he played a young violinist in the 1937 Soviet film "Beethoven Concerto".[4]

He played in 23 USSR Chess Championships (a record equalled by Efim Geller), tying for first place twice. In 1952 he lost the playoff match to Mikhail Botvinnik, who was World Champion at the time. In 1956, after finishing equal with Yuri Averbakh and Boris Spassky in the tournament proper, he won a match-tournament ahead of them, for the title.[6]

Taimanov is probably best known for his 6–0 loss to Bobby Fischer in the 1971 World Championship Candidates match. About this match, Taimanov later recalled that Fischer "was an incredibly tough defender" and that "the third game proved to be the turning point of the match".[7] However, few players have beaten six world champions (Botvinnik, Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, Spassky, and Anatoly Karpov) as Taimanov has. After his loss to Fischer, the Soviet government was embarrassed, and, as Taimanov later put it in a 2002 interview, found it "unthinkable" that he could have lost the match so badly to an American without a "political explanation".[7] Soviet officials took away Taimanov's salary and no longer allowed him to travel overseas. The official reason given for punishing Taimanov was that he had brought a book by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn into the country, but that explanation was secondary in nature. The officials later "forgave" Taimanov, and lifted the sanctions against him. Fischer's match wins later in 1971, first by 6–0 against Bent Larsen, then by 6.5–2.5 against Tigran Petrosian, may have helped change their minds. Taimanov considered this match "the culminating point" of his chess career and later wrote a book about the match, titled How I Became Fischer's Victim.[7]

Taimanov represented the USSR in international team play with enormous success. At the 1956 Moscow Olympiad, as first reserve he scored (+6, =5, −0), winning team gold and board bronze medals.[8] Taimanov represented the USSR four times in the European Team Championship. At Vienna 1957, he played board seven, scored (+2, =3, −0), winning team and board gold medals. At Oberhausen 1961, he played board eight, scored (+6, =3, −0), and won team and board gold medals. At Hamburg 1965, he played board seven, scored (+3, =4, −1), and won team and board gold medals. At Kapfenberg 1970, he played board six, scored (+4, =2, −0), and won team and board gold medals.[9] In the inaugural USSR vs World team match, Belgrade 1970, he played board seven, and scored (+2, =1, −1) against Wolfgang Uhlmann.


Opening variations are named after Taimanov in the Sicilian Defence, Modern Benoni and Nimzo-Indian Defence. He wrote books on two of his named variations, as well as an autobiographical best games collection. Taimanov's favorite chess players were Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Tal and Garry Kasparov.[7]


Opening variations are named after Taimanov in the Sicilian Defence, Modern Benoni and Nimzo-Indian Defence. He wrote books on two of his named variations, as well as an autobiographical best games collection. Taimanov's favorite chess players were Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Tal and Garry Kasparov.[7]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Taimanov

[Odin]

John Glenn has died.  

[pbrower2a]

John Glenn -- the textbook example of everything right with America.

[Eric the Green]

(12-08-2016, 06:22 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: John Glenn -- the textbook example of everything right with America.

I always admired him. I was just looking at his horoscope aspects yesterday as part of my odyssey to revise my scoring system, and calculated a 17-11 score for him. I was wondering how he was doing at age 95. He wasn't quite good enough as a presidential candidate in 1984, but he was a remarkable idealistic hero and a great role model for his dedication and courageous demeanor; a true pioneer. He was the face of the late first turning, with his famous flight in the year of the Seattle World's Fair, at a time when obsession and fascination with technology and space flight combined with a true humanitarian spirit during the presidency of JFK.

[pbrower2a]

Greg Lake, the "Lake" of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer:

Gregory Stuart "Greg" Lake (10 November 1947 – 7 December 2016) was an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer who gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer (ELP).

Born and raised in Dorset, Lake began to play the guitar at the age of 12 and wrote his first song, "Lucky Man", at the same age. He became a full time musician at 17, playing in several rock bands until fellow Dorset guitarist Robert Fripp invited him to join King Crimson as their singer and bassist. They found commercial success with their influential debut album, In the Court of the Crimson King (1969). Lake left the band in 1970 and achieved significant success in the 1970s and beyond as the singer, guitarist, bassist, and producer of ELP. As a member of ELP, Lake wrote and recorded several popular songs including "Lucky Man" and "From the Beginning". Both songs entered the UK and US singles charts.

Lake launched a solo career, beginning with his 1975 single "I Believe in Father Christmas" which reached number two in the UK. He went on to release solo albums and singles thereafter, collaborating with several artists in the process. Lake performed with various groups in the 1980s, and occasional ELP reunions in the 1990s, and toured regularly as a solo artist into the 21st century. He died on 7 December 2016 in London after suffering from cancer, at the age of 69.

Much more here.

[Ragnarök_62]

(12-12-2016, 05:57 PM)X_4AD_84 Wrote: Now only Palmer is left.

Interestingly, regarding Crimson, they toured this year. Fripp looked pretty good in the YT vids. I think his love of his vocation keeps him young. Most of the old prog people are now in their late 60s into their 70s. The original punks are late 50s to late 60s. The original post punk / new wave / alt people are my age plus or minus. The original grunge era / 2nd wave alt are all in 40s into mid 50s. YIKES!!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/03/health....html?_r=0


The social pathologies have never ended, regardless of age.

[Eric the Green]

Here's a special tribute to a friend who passed away late in 2014. She knew my Dad too, or at least knew of him, and I was in correspondence with her and met her. I wrote to her to encourage her to play Toccata in F and more organ music, which she responded to bountifully. I listened to her every Sunday morning in the 1980s and sometimes later too. I think she was born in the mid-1940s. I enjoyed her personal approach, and how she would show the connections between Bach pieces and other composers. I thought she might recover from her accident, but I haven't been keeping up with her and just learned of her passing. Her theme song was the duet from Cantata 78, about Master Jesus (this is the performance she played). Her favorite was the Chaconne from Partita #2 in d minor



Mary Berg, host of KPFA’s ‘A Musical Offering’
January 19, 2015 11:27 am by Frances Dinkelspiel
Mary Berg

Mary Berg, died on Nov. 28, 2014

On Jan. 31, Bay Area music-lovers will pay their respects to Mary Berg, whose Sunday morning reveries on Berkeley’s KPFA radio, the first public radio station in the United States, lulled generations of classical music fans into their final day of the weekend from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.

“A Musical Offering” had a large and devoted audience who eagerly soaked up Berg’s passion for Bach and gentle, empathetic on-air voice. A devoted aficionado of early music, Berg scoured outlets all over the area for rare recordings to share with her early morning friends and never tired of exposing the Bay Area to her never-ending supply of choral and orchestral pieces from the lesser known corners of classical music. Her program was the antidote to the repetitive classical music highlight programs heard on commercial radio and her audience treasured it greatly.

Berg was an accomplished audio technician and worked in professional sound long before women commonly did so, in a long line of feminist pioneers associated with KPFA and the Pacifica Radio stations. Within the station, she was an ardent supporter of ever more democracy, the honoring of volunteer labor and the elevation of new young voices from the community.

In her private life, she described herself as a bookish only child with a vivid imagination when she was young, and she loved travel adventure, feminist fiction, spicy food, good red wine, and domestic animal companions of all types.

In her later years, Berg was a sought-after pet sitter for many local residents. Her long-time companion passed away some years ago after a sustained partnership.

Berg suffered a broken hip and femur in the fall of 2013 after being hit by a car, and never fully recovered mobility. She continued her weekly musical program at KPFA from a wheelchair into the spring of 2014 until she was forced to stop due to declining health. She passed away peacefully in her sleep on Nov. 28, 2014.

The celebration will be held on Jan. 31, 2015 from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m at the Fellowship Hall of the Berkeley Federation for Unitarian Universalists 1924 Cedar St. (off Bonita) in North Berkeley. All friends, family and fans are welcome to attend.

Berkeleyside is always honored to publish, at no charge, obituaries of members of the Berkeley community. Please email text and photo(s) to editors@berkeleyside.com.

[pbrower2a]

Alan Willis Thicke (born Alan Willis Jeffery; March 1, 1947 – December 13, 2016) was a Canadian actor, songwriter, and game and talk show host. He is known for his role as Jason Seaver, the father on the ABC television series Growing Pains. His son is the singer Robin Thicke. In 2013, Thicke was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.



Much more here.

[pbrower2a]

Pilot who crippled the German warship "Bismarck", preparing it to be sunk:

John William Charlton Moffat (17 June 1919 – 11 December 2016) was a Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm pilot, known for crippling the German battleship Bismarck during its Atlantic sortie, codenamed Operation Rheinübung on 26 May 1941, whilst flying a Fairey Swordfish biplane.



In 1929 Moffat saw an Avro 504 aircraft fly over Kelso, triggering a lifelong passion for flying.[4] The pilot was offering rides for 10 shillings. Moffat described the pilot as a Biggles look-alike and was impressed by him. Moffat flew that day for the first time. Moffat described his feeling of his first flight:

Quote:As for the experience of flying, I was astounded by it. This was like riding in the locomotive but infinitely more thrilling. There was the noise, the smell of hot oil and high-octane petrol [fuel], and the speed seemed immense as we took off into the air, high above the countryside, with the town far below us. It was the stuff of dreams, like a glimpse of another world that made it impossible, once I was back on the ground, to view my surroundings in the same way again.... Now that I think about it, that pilot has an enormous amount to answer for.[5]

Moffat passed the Entrance examination for Kelso High School and finished his preliminary education there. Moffat excelled at Rugby and was selected for the school's first team.[6] Moffat had wanted to go to Edinburgh University but owing to the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the Moffats could not afford the University tuition fees.[7] Moffat applied for a bursary, took examinations and attended interviews, but failed to make the grade and was not offered assistance. Moffat had no choice but to leave school at 16, to make his living working for a bus company, which he disliked, and using his musical talents playing at weddings.[8]

By 1938, Moffat was bored with life at the bus depot and decided to apply for a position as a naval pilot in the reserve having seen an advertisement which promised to train him as a pilot while offering him a substantial wage. Moffat had not pursued a flying career earlier, believing it to beyond the aspirations of ordinary people, but now seized the opportunity and applied to join the Fleet Air Arm.[9]

Moffat heard nothing from the Navy and moved to London. After failing to find work in the Rhodesian police force through their High Commission in London, he received a letter from the Navy offering him a part-time job in the reserves. Moffat accepted the Navy's offer and was ordered to report to HMS Frobisher in Portsmouth.[10]
Moffat had been on leave in Kelso on 1 September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. On 3 September 1939 Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. The following day, Moffat was ordered to the St Vincent Barracks Gosport, on the west side of Portsmouth Harbour, which was one of the Royal Navy Boy's Training Establishments.[11]

In December 1939 Moffat moved to a flying school in Belfast. By the time of the fall of France in June 1940, Moffat had completed his training and was based with 759 Squadron at Eastleigh. Before the Battle of Britain he had two encounters with enemy aircraft. While test flying a Gloster Gladiator, testing an improvised oxygen system, Moffat reached 29,000 ft. During the descent he was attacked by Messerschmitt Bf 109s but he escaped into clouds without damage. Soon afterwards, he was also engaged by a Heinkel He 111 while test flying an unarmed Blackburn Skua. Moffat reported the event to a Hawker Hurricane unit (not specified) which scrambled to intercept.[12]

In July 1940, Moffat's Squadron took part in the attack on Mers-el-Kébir, although Moffat himself did not travel with the Ark Royal carrier for the attack. Later that autumn, Moffat joined 818 Squadron.[13]


On 24 May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck sank the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Hood, and HMS Ark Royal was ordered, as part of Force H, to hunt down Bismarck and sink her. On 26 May 1941 the Bismarck was nearing the safety of the French port of Saint-Nazaire. A last-ditch attempt to slow the battleship down, so that the British heavy units could catch up with her, was made that night.

At 21:05 hours, Moffat and his Observer T/S-Lt.(A) J. D. "Dusty" Miller, and telegraphist/Air Gunner (TAG) LA A. J. Hayman, flying in the Fairey Swordfish 5C/L9726, crippled the Bismarck with a torpedo strike on her port stern. The explosion jammed Bismarck's rudder 12° to port, which left her unmanoeuvrable and unable to escape. The Home Fleet and Force H duly destroyed Bismarck the following morning.[14]


Moffat left the Navy in 1946 and returned to Glasgow. He went to college in Glasgow to get a business degree and also achieved a diploma in hotel management. Moffat had stopped flying after leaving the Navy. In his 60s, after 40 years, he began flying again.[15] He celebrated his 90th birthday in June 2009 by performing aerobatics in a light aircraft.[14] In 2010, his book 'I Sank the Bismarck' (ISBN 9780552159487), co-written with documentary writer Mike Rossiter, was released. He died on 11 December 2016 at the age of 97.[16]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Moffa...y_officer)

[pbrower2a]

Karel Husa (August 7, 1921 – December 14, 2016) was a Czech-born classical composer and conductor, winner of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize for Music and 1993 University of Louisville Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition.[1] In 1954 he went to the United States and became an American citizen in 1959.

Husa learned to play the violin and the piano in early childhood and, after passing his final examination at high school, he enrolled in the Prague Conservatory in 1941 where he studied in a class of Jaroslav Řídký, and attended courses in conducting led by Metod Doležil and Pavel Dědeček.

After the end of the Second World War, Husa was admitted to the graduate school of the Prague Academy, where he attended courses led by Řídký and graduated in 1947. At the same time, he decided to continue his studies of composition and conducting in Paris. In 1947 he studied with Arthur Honegger and Nadia Boulanger. He studied conducting with Jean Fournet, Eugène Bigot and André Cluytens. After finishing his courses in conducting at École Normale de Musique de Paris and at Conservatoire de Paris he embarked on a career during which he has conducted the world's leading orchestras and participated in many major projects. He divided his time between composing and conducting, taking an ever more active part in Parisian and international musical life.

His First String Quartet marked a big step on the composer's path to the realm of international music: the Quartet received the 1950 Lili Boulanger Award and the 1951 award at the music festival in Bilthoven in the Netherlands. It has since also been performed on many other occasions, e.g., at the festival of the International Society for Contemporary Music in Brussels (1950), festivals in Salzburg (1950), Darmstadt (1951), and the Netherlands (1952) as well as at various concerts in Germany, France, Sweden, England, Switzerland, Australia and the United States. Other compositions written by Karel Husa during his stay in Paris include Divertimento for String Orchestra, Concertino for Piano and Orchestra, Évocations de Slovaquie, Musique d'amateurs, Portrait for String Orchestra, First Symphony, First Sonata for Piano, and Second String Quartet. Throughout this period, the composer's underlying preoccupation and interest was style, which was primarily influenced by Vítězslav Novák, Leoš Janáček, Béla Bartók and Igor Stravinsky.

He is probably best known for his Music for Prague 1968, a work in memory of the 1968 Soviet bloc invasion of Czechoslovakia. His String Quartet No. 3 won the Pulitzer Prize in 1969. Husa was the 1993 recipient of the Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition presented by the University of Louisville for his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. From 1954 until 1992 he was a professor at Cornell University and lecturer at Ithaca College from 1967 to 1986. Composers who studied with Husa include Steven Stucky, Christopher Rouse, John S. Hilliard, Christopher Kaufman, David Conte, and Byron Adams. Husa resided in Apex, North Carolina in his last years.
He was a National Patron of Delta Omicron, an international professional music fraternity.[2]

The University of Massachusetts Amherst Wind Ensemble held a performance at the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall celebrating Karel Husa's 90th birthday on October 21, 2011.[3]

On January 16, 2012, he was presented with an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Louisville.[4] He died on December 14, 2016.[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karel_Husa

[pbrower2a]

Henry Judah Heimlich (German pronunciation: [haimlɪç]; February 3, 1920 – December 17, 2016) was an American thoracic surgeon widely credited as the inventor of the Heimlich maneuver,[1] a technique of abdominal thrusts for stopping choking,[2] described in Emergency Medicine in 1974.[3] He also invented the Micro Trach portable oxygen system for ambulatory patients[4] and the Heimlich Chest Drain Valve, or "flutter valve," which drains blood and air out of the chest cavity.[5]

.......
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n 1962, Heimlich invented the chest drainage flutter valve (also called the Heimlich valve).[url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Heimlich#cite_note-9][9][10] He says his inspiration came from seeing a Chinese soldier die from a bullet wound to the chest during World War II.[11] The design of the valve allows air and blood to drain from the chest cavity in order to allow a collapsed lung to re-expand.[12] The invention was credited with saving scores of lives on the battlefields of the Vietnam War and emergency rooms across the country.[13]

.......

Heimlich first published his views about the maneuver in a June 1974 informal article in Emergency Medicine entitled, "Pop Goes the Cafe Coronary". On June 19, 1974, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported that retired restaurant-owner Isaac Piha used the procedure to rescue a choking victim, Irene Bogachus, in Bellevue, Washington.[14]

From 1976 to 1985, the choking-rescue guidelines of the American Heart Association and of the American Red Cross taught rescuers to first perform a series of backblows to remove the FBAO (foreign body airway obstruction); if backblows failed, then rescuers learned to proceed with the Heimlich maneuver (aka "abdominal thrusts"). After a July 1985 American Heart Association conference, backblows were removed from choking-rescue guidelines. From 1986 to 2005, the published guidelines of the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross recommended only the Heimlich maneuver as the treatment for choking; the NIH still does for conscious persons over one year of age,[15] as does the NSC.[16]

The 2005 choking-rescue guidelines published by the American Heart Association called the procedure "abdominal thrusts". The new guidelines stated that chest thrusts and back blows may also deal with choking effectively.[17]
In Spring 2006, the American Red Cross "downgraded" the use of the Heimlich maneuver,[18] essentially returning to the pre-1986 guidelines. For conscious victims, the new guidelines (nicknamed "the five and five"), recommend first applying five backblows; if this method fails to remove the airway obstruction, rescuers will then apply five abdominal thrusts. For unconscious victims, the new guidelines recommend chest thrusts, a method first recommended in a 1976 study by Charles Guildner,[19] with results duplicated in a year 2000 study by Audun Langhelle.[20] The 2006 guidelines also eliminated the phrase "Heimlich maneuver" and replaced it with "abdominal thrust".[21]

Allegations of case fraud have dogged Heimlich's promotion of abdominal thrusts as a treatment for drowning.[22] The 2005 drowning rescue guidelines of the American Heart Association[23] did not include citations of Heimlich's work and warn against the use of the Heimlich maneuver for drowning rescue as unproven and dangerous, due to its risk of vomiting leading to aspiration.[23]
In 2003, Heimlich's colleague Edward Patrick issued a press-release portraying himself as the uncredited co-developer of the maneuver.[24][25] "I would like to get proper credit for what I've done...but I'm not hyper about it."

Heimlich used the maneuver himself for the second time on May 23, 2016, almost 42 years after his work was published, successfully saving the life of a fellow resident of his senior living community, Patty Ris.[26][27] He told the BBC in 2003 that he had used it for the first time on a man choking in a restaurant when he was about 80 years old.[10]

More here.

[pbrower2a]

Zsa Zsa Gabor (/ˈʒɑːʒɑː ˈɡɑːbɔːr, ɡəˈbɔːr/ ZHAH-zhah GAH-bor; born Sári Gábor; February 6, 1917 – December 18, 2016) was a Hungarian-American actress and socialite. Her sisters were actresses Eva and Magda Gabor. (Note: in Hingary, family names come before given names, so the composer known as Bartók Béla in Hungary is known as Béla Bartók, with or without accents, in most countries speaking European languages).


Gabor began her stage career in Vienna and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936.[1] She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style," with a personality that "exuded charm and grace."[2] Her first film role was a supporting role in Lovely to Look At. She later acted in We're Not Married! and played one of her few leading roles in Moulin Rouge (1952), directed by John Huston, who described her as a "creditable" actress.[3]

Outside of her acting career, Gabor was best known for her extravagant Hollywood lifestyle, glamorous personality, and her many marriages, having had nine husbands, including hotel magnate Conrad Hilton and actor George Sanders. She once stated, "Men have always liked me and I have always liked men. But I like a mannish man, a man who knows how to talk to and treat a woman – not just a man with muscles."[4]


Much more here.

The last notable person born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire?

[pbrower2a]

Lieutenant general Tette "Ted" Meines (25 September 1921 – 24 December 2016) was a Dutch military officer. During World War II he was a member of the Dutch resistance and helped Jewish families, for which he was awarded the title Righteous Among the Nations by Israel. After the war had ended Meines saw active service in the Politionele acties. During and after his military career he became involved in veteran affairs and was instrumental in the setting up of several veterans organizations. He is considered the founder of the Dutch veteran affairs policy.


During World War II, at age 22, Meines joined the Dutch resistance. He arranged for ration cards, sought safe hiding places for children and moved them there. Amongst other places he worked in Limburg and Twente.[3] Meines was a member of the NV-resistancegroup (nl).[5] In 1942 Meines was arrested, but was broken out by resistance members before he could be deported to a concentration camp. Afterwards Meines had to take another alias, and took that of a deceased pastor. In this role Meines held services in churches.[3][2] During the war Meines joined the Binnenlandse Strijdkrachten (nl).[6] Of his original group of twenty resistance members only four survived until the liberation of the Netherlands on 5 May 1945.[4]

On 6 July 1992 Meines was recognized as a Righteous Among the Nations by Israel for his work in saving Jewish people in World War II.[5] In 2015 he was awarded honorary citizenship of Israel.[14]


Meines cited a meeting with Martin Luther King Jr. in 1952 as important in his life, with King Jr. telling him: "Be yourself, be good and tell it".[3]

Meines died on 24 December 2016, aged 95.[9][15]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Meines

[pbrower2a]

Heinrich Schiff (18 November 1951 – 23 December 2016) was an Austrian cellist and conductor. He studied cello with Tobias Kühne and André Navarra and made his solo debut in Vienna and London in 1971. He studied conducting with Hans Swarowsky, and made his conducting debut in 1986.

Schiff was born in Gmunden, Austria in 1951. He was Artistic Director of the Northern Sinfonia from 1990 to 1996, and recorded with them for the Collins Classics label.[1] He also held chief conductorships with the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra in Copenhagen, Denmark(1996–2000), and the Orchester Musikkollegium Winterthur.

In 2004, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra and served in the post from 2005 to 2008. He stood down from the post in 2008 for health reasons.[2]

Schiff played the "Mara" Stradivarius (1711) and "Sleeping Beauty" made by Montagnana in Venice in 1739.[3] His recording of the Bach Cello Suites won prizes, and his recording of the Shostakovich concertos won the Grand Prix du Disque. His recording of the Brahms Double Concerto with Frank Peter Zimmermann and Wolfgang Sawallisch won the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis. Composers who have written cello concertos for Schiff include John Casken[1][3] and Friedrich Cerha.[4]
Among his students were Rudi Spring, Gautier Capuçon, Richard Harwood and Natalie Clein. Schiff died in Vienna on 23 December 2016 at the age of 65.[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinrich_Schiff

[gabrielle]

(12-25-2016, 06:49 PM)taramarie Wrote: RIP George Michael.

2016 takes another musical icon of the decadent 80s. 

[Eric the Green]

The decadent in show business have gone down to an early death for decades. I was not a fan of George Michael, but Elton John was.

It is possible to live longer, by taking better care of ourselves. Some fall early anyway, from various causes.

On Christmas we celebrate someone who, it is said, rose from the dead and ascended. His death on the cross was intentional, on the part of himself. He asked Judas to betray him, and told his disciples in advance what was going to happen to him. 3 days after he was crucified, so it is said, he appeared first to the lady who may have been his wife, then to his other disciples, and doubting Thomas put his fingers through the holes in Jesus' hand where the nails on the cross had been, and Thomas was convinced.

There may have been others, in places like India, who have done this. Philosopher Henri Bergson prophecized that death would be overcome. In the 1990s, James Redfield wrote a book that was #1 on the bestseller list for months, called The Celestine Prophecy, which told of the secret held in Peru of the possibility of ascension.

The New Age culture, in which this book is an icon, is likely all but forgotten by the people on this board. But beneath the traditional secularist consensus in the blue and purple states, and the traditional religious consensus in the red states (and within all the states, the corresponding areas too), the New Age culture is there for those who wish to explore and pay attention to it. And it harkens back to and revives the esoteric aspects within all religions and cultures.

Did Jesus survive death? Did he even exist? We know that the plaque from his cross that proclaimed him the King of the Jews exists. Relics of his life were kept and treasured. We have the eyewitness accounts of his followers, and many sources for his sayings. My opinion is that only a very enlightened and spiritual being could have been the source of these sayings. Healing miracles were common in his time, and still happen today. People, including people I have known, have reported visitations from Jesus. We know the Virgin Mary appears to people too. Jesus apparently exists as a spiritual being from the other side, and may be able to be in many places at once, and even perhaps incarnate again at the same time. At a more basic level, Jesus is not a separate being from us. The Christ is the essential spiritual aspect of our being within each of us. And the same applies to The Buddha, according to Buddhists.

Jesus showed the way to ascension and survival of death. He was the prophet of the Old Age, in Western Civilization, but on the esoteric level, he is a prophet of the New Age too.

Merry Christmas! May the Christ be reborn again in us in this season.

You'll never find peace of mind until you listen to your heart.
-George Michael