CIM Post Marker

 

A place holder until I can write up my notes on training and the race.

Famous People Born on My Birthday v. 8

 Birthday Post Redux

Having completed a marathon, I spent this year writing and marketing a book on my journey to the start line. I also trained for, and completed, a second marathon just last Sunday. Hence, my b-day post is late. A recap will be up shortly. (No book for this race. Well, maybe an audio book.) Having reached the age of 70, I may hire a town car for my next marathon. Delighted to enter a new decade. 

These people were also born on December 5th. How many have you heard of? Here's a more mature list. Enjoy productive lives!

In no particular order.:

1. Martin Van Buren - b. Dec. 5, 1782

2. George Armstrong Custer - b. Dec. 5, 1839

3. Walt Disney - b. Dec. 5, 1901

4. John P. McCann - b. Dec. 5, 1952

1. Martin Van Buren succeeded greatly in becoming the 8th President of the United States but was hardly remembered even in his own day. He had a large bull frog stuffed and used as an ink well in the White House. However President Taft later sat on it by accident and they had to throw the thing out. That's about it.

2. George Armstrong Custer succeeded greatly as a soldier in the Civil War but had a mixed record fighting Indians. (1-1-2, I think.) He is best remembered for his  spectacular fail at the Battle of the  Little Big Horn. At first, everything was going well; then it all fell apart under an Indian tsunami. In later years, Custer had a park named after him as well as a monument and a movie where his part was played by Errol Flynn. That's a whole lot more than Van Buren ever got.

3. Walt Disney succeeded greatly in animation, a pioneer in the field, creator of iconic characters—but not the word 'iconic' which has been seized upon by junior execs.—established Disney studios and Disneyland and is fondly remembered to this day. Nonetheless his body is frozen in a vault beneath Disney's Burbank lot and should Walt be reanimated and start making decisions again it could effect his legacy.

4. John P. McCann was greatly successful as a Hollywood atmosphere player. McCann was the ship-board stand-in for a Canadian actor portraying Errol Flynn in My Wicked, Wicked Ways. In addition, he is visible catching Dennis Quaid's jacket at around 1:19 in a clip from  Great Balls of Fire.
More successful in animation, McCann created the non-iconic character of The Huntsman. For the next fifteen years, he piggy-backed onto as many successful shows as his friends would allow. While the record is still being written, outsiders agree that McCann will be remembered by Bank of America and several other creditors who might reasonably feel aggrieved should he pass from the scene within the next several months without attending to the balance of his debts.

Images: whitehouse.gov, Parcbench, fold3

Top 100 TV Theme Songs

 

According to Rolling Stone. But there's plenty of nostalgia for all ages. 

Marathon Countdown

rt.com

Very little on the running front lately. I'm still depressed over the Dutchman's death and don't feel like blogging or Tweeting or working on my next book. I look for reasons not to do anything. But the marathon approaches this Sunday and I'm not so bummed out that I'd eat the race fee, hotel room, or months of training.

My goal remains to once again break five hours. Last year's Surfers Point race only counted a hundred or so marathon runners. Lots of elbow room. The CIM sports around 10k. That means close contact with my fellow humans in the first few miles. So I've factored that in as an asset to slow me down when every instinct cries, "Take off!"

Despite my grief, the race must go on. As Auden said in Musee des Beaux Arts: 

"About suffering they were never wrong,

The Old Masters: how well they understood

Its human position; how it takes place

While someone else is eating or opening a window or just

walking dully along;"

Based Black Friday/Cyber Monday Book Sale

 Back Again and Hungry for the Eyes of Readers

@AetherCzar

Yes, Hans Schanz, scientist and author, once again promotes free or .99 ebooks. Perfect for those holiday moments before the tryptophan kicks in. Choose sci-fi, fantasy, military sci fi, dystopian fiction or browse a selection of non-fiction including my very own Jury Doody. 

Go now, gather up these deals, and enjoy a fine read. At some point, the relatives will arrive and you can forget peace and quiet. 

So Long, Dave "Dutch" Heckman

Courtesy Angie Heckman

"Just Round the Corner"

He forgot more things than most people ever learned. 

Emmy Award-winning cameraman, passionate photographer, author and a brilliant funny guy, Dave Heckman passed away last week in Mar Vista, California, aged 71. We met in a bar across the street from KTLA back in 1979, later living in the same apartment building. When Dave bought a home in Hollywood, I moved into a guest house above the garage. 

Around 1986, he decided he wanted a nickname. For the next year or so, Heckman would correct people calling him 'Dave,' insisting he be referred to as 'Dutch.' In time, Dutch succeeded in giving himself a nickname on his own terms.

As Kurt Vonnegut might have said, "And so it went."

Below awaits a Heckman sampler. It's hard to believe there will be no more of Dave's hilarious acerbic comments. But plenty old ones remain.

Undistilled Heckman

What better eulogist than the Dutchman himself?

2007 - 2009:  Products of a Diseased Mind blog

Distilled Heckman

Write Enough! blog posts either mentioning Dave or featuring his writings.

2006: Getting Around with a Leg Cast

2007: The Value of Nothing

 Excerpt from The Value of Nothing

2008: 27 Years Ago

Time and Mrs. Murphy

2012: The Riots Recalled

The Dutchman Recalls the Riots

2019: Stalinfest

The Dutch/D G Heckman Reviews

If you miss Dave's outrageous humor, look no further than his books.

2014 Appalling Yarns

2017 Dreadful Outcomes

My wife, Joy, sent me the passage below. When it comes to the memory of Dave "Dutch" Heckman, I will be guided by this soothing wisdom: