Hospice for Two

Two friends await the Reaper: Eileen in a nursing facility and Dale at home. Eileen turned 80 this year and has gone downhill fast, deep in dementia, rapidly nearing the end with orders not to revive. She was my landlady when I lived in a Glendale apartment many years ago, a real fireball with a great sense of humor. But at this point, I believe death will be a blessing.

Dale, who I've mentioned before, is a family man in his late 40s. Since January 2007, he's battled cancer and its complications. Doctors have finally announced his system can't handle any more "cure." Treatment has ceased and Dale's been sent home to wait for the end. I saw him yesterday and he's taking this a lot better than I would. There's anger at the unfairness, but he seems to be accepting the impending arrival of the big sleep. I remember times when Dale would bitch and complain about his job and the customers and the economy. (He was a salesman.) Now he's revealing a courage and grace I admire and hope to one day emulate - though not too soon.

May God welcome them both.

Congrats to 50K Finishers

A fine cool day with a heavy marine layer that muffles the street noise so that I can barely hear horns honking and the deafening thump of over-bassed auto music.

Congratulations to the indomitable Coach Kiley for completing a 50K run last week. That's around 31 miles, undulating across San Gabriel Mountain trails. Also congrats to Jimmy and Kate Freeman for finishing the same race only faster. More importantly, they've completed a year of marriage which is the longest ultramarathon anyone will ever attempt.

First Natural Rave

Another milestone from two generations ago involves the first natural rave. Held at a farm in upstate New York, the event featured dancing but no laser light or glow sticks. The music was a hash, lacking any techno or house bands. Typical of the groups present were The Who and Jefferson Airplane, none of whom could deliver the punch and rhythmic base lines of Infected Mushrooms or Nightcore. Nevertheless, the Rave used rain and mud to play up the "naturalness" and compensate for the lack of a decent fog machine.

What was the name of this inaugural bash?

Right you are: No-Frigging-Glow-Stick-Rave.

Man of Steal

Another victory in the fight over who owns what portion of Superman's life. I believe the original creators sold him to D.C. Comics for fifteen dollars and some soup. For many years now, Warners, D.C. and the family of co-creator Jerry Siegel have tussled over sundry legal aspects. I would guess we haven't seen the end.

Famous London Photo Explained

Forty years ago this month, the first non-solid, pedestrian crosswalk appeared in London. As you can see, there are white, unconnected bars for people to cross the street on instead of a solid rectangle as was customary at the time. This was originally proposed by the London City Council as a paint-saving measure, but met tremendous opposition from safety advocates. They argued that pedestrians who stepped off a white bar onto an exposed section of street would then be jaywalking and subject to fine, or else risk being struck by a vehicle as they were no longer "safe."

Calmer minds prevailed and the non-connecting bars were painted on a single road. In swinging 1969 London, they soon became a hit and were copied by street maintenance departments worldwide.

That road is now famous. Can you guess its name?

Correct. White Bar Road.

Area 51 Marathon

Out in the Nevada desert somewhere near cryptic Area 51 sits the start-line for a midnight marathon, pitting runners against the dark, flying saucers and black helicopters. Running machine Emil gave it a go and returned unprobed with this race report.

Shadow Over Santa Susana

...is the name of a new book on the Manson family. MDW and I visited a trendy LA art gallery yesterday to hear the author speak.
Part of the attraction involved a high-school author chum of MDW's who wrote the forward to 'Shadow' and was present to read it to the assembled crowd. (Mike is seen here wearing a bull shirt.) As for the book, it sprinkles the CIA's MK ULTRA mind-control experiments using LSD atop the 1960s sex-and-drug drenched LA celebrity scene with a healthy garnish of Charles Manson. Quite the mix, but it sounds like fun reading. (Author Adam Gorightly pictured here, awash in note cards.)

Events on August 9th

Forty years ago tomorrow tonight, Chuck Manson's kids killed Sharon Tate and six others up in Bel Air. Earlier that evening, Tate dined at El Coyote on Beverly Blvd. - still there - before returning home to a grisly fate.

In 1945, the plutonium bomb code-named "Fat Man" exploded over Nagasaki, killing 39,000 Japanese outright.

My friend Ken's birthday is tomorrow. He is five months older than me and I always count on his reports on how a year is playing out. I'll join him age-wise in December.

UPDATE: Almost forgot, in 1974 President Nixon resigned.

'Lessen You're a Hog or a Cattle'

So long, John Hughes. My wife and I still watch Planes, Trains, and Automobiles around Thanksgiving. (A friend used to work for John Candy and recalled he kept the trunk in his office.) Rest well and remember...we'll always have Stubbsville.


h/t: snowmoch

Something Scary This Way Comes

Here is a show for children. If you are on hallucinogens, it will appear normal.

h/t: Viral Footage

This Isn't Nice...

...but I'm posting it nonetheless. Here are 40 time-wasting websites. I barely got through the first nine without clicking on something.

h/t: PC World via American Digest