MJ with JB

Different Funerals and outfits,,,

Without James Brown, the Show Will Go On

James Brown's band will go on, just as he always wanted.

Bassist Fred Thomas, 61, said he expects to practice with his bandmates within days as they ready themselves to tour in 2007.

Brown's agent, Frank Copsidas, said it was more likely that the first date for the 11-member band would be sometime in February, perhaps in Los Angeles. He said there was significant interest in the band.

Brown, who died Christmas Day, had always told Copsidas the show must go on, even without him. As for the band members, Copsidas said that Brown told him: "Gotta take care of them. They're family. They're like my kids."

Meetings are planned for late next week to consider whether the band should bring in a new lead vocal or share the singing duties among the remaining band members, most of whom sing anyway.

"I told people to write down all their ideas," Copsidas said. "I love to get all the ideas and hear them."

Thomas said he thinks the remaining band members can put together an impressive show, even without the man who brought them fame.

Brown's death shocked the public because the singer still toured so regularly, even at 73, but Thomas said it was not so surprising to some like himself who had watched Brown's health deteriorate as he fought the effects of heart disease and diabetes.

In the past year, Thomas said, he had pleaded with Brown to pace himself on stage - to show flashes of his flamboyant dance style, but just enough to get the crowd excited.

"He'd say, 'You're right,'" Thomas said.

But then he'd go on stage and dance like he was 16 again, Thomas recalled with a chuckle. "To the last show to see how hard he worked was incredible," he said. "That was his heart. You couldn't stop him."

In the same way, he said, the band can't be stopped either. The group consists of three guitarists, two bass players, two drummers, three horns and a percussionist.

"We are the only true James Brown funk band in the world and the funk of this band is in demand," Thomas said.

No one knows that better than Thomas Hart, a Washington lawyer who sometimes represented Brown in business deals. He noted that trade publications said the value of the Ray Charles catalog grew 10 fold after his death.

Hart had no doubt that Brown's death had significantly boosted the value of his work and life story. But he said, "We would gladly trade the value for his presence for one more day."

Jonelle Procope, president of the Apollo Theater Foundation, said the famed music hall would be interested in staging a tribute to Brown and having his band perform there.

"Sure would, absolutely," she said in an interview at the conclusion of Thursday's public viewing of Brown's body on the Apollo stage where he debuted 50 years ago. "I would very much hope it would be at the Apollo."

She said other vocalists will emerge, allowing the band to go on.

"Funk is funk," she said. "It still would be infectious."

End of the Road...

Iraqis grieve beside the grave of the former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Ouja, 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Dec. 31, 2006. Saddam was buried shortly before dawn Sunday inside a compound for religious ceremonies in the center of Ouja, the town of his birth.

Flying like a bird at 5,000ft

Man has dreamt of flight ever since our ancestors first saw birds soaring into the sky.

And even after the dream was realised, first with hot-air balloons and later with heavier-than-air aeroplanes, the dream remained unfulfilled.

Because being truly at one with the air, able to swoop and soar like a falcon or an albatross, remained an impossibility. And in legends where the dream became real, as in the myth of the Ancient Greek birdman Icarus, the price was a heavy one; an ignominious crashing to Earth.

But for one brave Swiss pioneer, a former military pilot called Yves Rossy, the dream has become reality.

For as these amazing pictures show, Rossy, 45, has managed to come as close as it is possible to get to the feeling of being truly like a bird.

Back in 2003 Rossy, now a commercial airliner captain, began his Flying Man project, when he strapped a pair of stubby wings to his back and leapt out of a plane, swooping eight miles in freefall for the loss of just 1000ft in altitude.

Strapping on the contraption, which is made of various metals, fibreglass, Kevlar and carbon fibre, Rossy climbs into the small aircraft which is to launch him into his flight.

At an altitude of some 7750ft, he leaps out, just like a skydiver. But unlike a skydiver, he does not plummet to the Alps below.

There is just enough lift generated by the 10ft aerofoil strapped to his back to negate the effects of gravity. At first, after the wings are unfolded electrically, he becomes a glider then, when the four kerosene-powered engines are turned on, he becomes a jetplane.

Thanks to the engines, each of which develops 22kg of thrust, he can not only maintain altitude but actually gain height, he says, at a rate of several hundred feet a minute - until the fuel runs out six minutes later. He lands with a conventional parachute.

"There have been no proper aerodynamic studies of how to simulate this sort of flying," he says. "All simulations involve a rigid aircraft. My wings are rigid, but of course I am not." He steers the contraption, he says, 'purely by intuition'.

Like a bird, he can adjust his 'trim' with incredible precision with the flick of a foot or by simply leaning his body one way or the other.

"It is like how a child would fly," he says. He says his ultimate goal is to take off and land just using his Jetwing without an aircraft to take him into the air.

Now he has gone one better, strapping four, small kerosene-fuelled turbojet engines (mini-versions of the engines used to power airliners designed to power model aircraft) to his wings to create what is effectively the first rocket-propelled hang-glider: the ultimate microlight, jet-powered flight at its most minimalist.

His passion to fly like a bird began at the age of 30 when he began learning how to do free-fall parachute jumping. He has completed 1,200 free-fall jumps.

He said: "I had tried sky-surfing, but that didn't last long enough either, so I decided to create my own wings to enable me to fly for longer."

Rossy's flights have taken place from the Yverdon airfield in western Switzerland. Last week, after opening the wings, he glided to 7750ft, ignited the engines and waited 30 seconds for them to be able to stabilize and began to open the throttle.

At 5000ft, he achieved horizontal flight for more than 4 minutes at 115 mph, faster than the small aircraft which took him into the air.

He steers simply by shifting the weight of his body, and lands with the aid of a parachute once the fuel is exhausted.

"It was an amazingly good feeling, like in a dream. When you are in an aircraft you have to steer by a stick. You have no contact with the elements," Rossy told the Daily Mail.

His extraordinary flight can be seen on Rossy’s website, www.jet-man.com.

Like the semi-mythical flying jet-backpack (which was actually tested by the US military in the 1960s) Rossy's £150,000 flying machine, which with engines, wings and fuel weighs only 110lbs, sounds like something out of science fiction.

"It would be a great device for James Bond so he can go behind enemy lines," he says. "I want to fly, not to steer."

"Up there in my invention, I am as free as a bird."

Best not let the health and safety brigade hear about this.

THE EXECUTION OF SADDAM HUSSEIN

See Video HERE.

See CELL Phone camera video footage HERE.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Saddam Hussein struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners. But as his final moments approached, he grew calm.

He clutched a Quran as he was led to the gallows, and in one final moment of defiance, refused to have a hood pulled over his head before facing the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power.

A man whose testimony helped lead to Saddam's conviction and execution before sunrise said he was shown the body because "everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed."

"Now, he is in the garbage of history," said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.

Iraqi television showed what it said was Saddam's body, his head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle.

The footage showed the man identified as Saddam lying on a stretcher, covered in a white shroud. His neck and part of the shroud have what appear to be bloodstains. His eyes are closed.

In Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, hundreds of people danced in the streets while others fired guns in the air to celebrate. The government did not impose a round-the-clock curfew as it did last month when Saddam was convicted to thwart any surge in retaliatory violence.

It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed three U.S. presidents. Despite his ouster, Washington, its allies and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious sectarian conflict.

The execution took place during the year's deadliest month for U.S. troops, with the toll reaching 108.

President Bush said in a statement issued from his ranch in Texas that bringing Saddam to justice "is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror."

He said that the execution marks the "end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops" and cautioned that Saddam's death will not halt the violence in Iraq.

Within hours of his death, at least 46 people died and more than 80 were wounded in two bombings - 31 in one attack south of the capital and 15 in a Baghdad blast.

Ali Hamza, a 30-year-old university professor, said he went outside to shoot his gun into the air after he learned of Saddam's death.

"Now all the victims' families will be happy because Saddam got his just sentence," said Hamza, who lives in Diwaniyah, a Shiite town 80 miles south of Baghdad.

But people in the Sunni-dominated city of Tikrit, once a power base of Saddam, lamented his death.

"The president, the leader Saddam Hussein is a martyr and God will put him along with other martyrs. Do not be sad nor complain because he has died the death of a holy warrior," said Sheik Yahya al-Attawi, a cleric at the Saddam Big Mosque.

Police blocked the entrances to Tikrit and said nobody was allowed to leave or enter the city for four days. Despite the security precaution, gunmen took to the streets of Tikrit, carrying pictures of Saddam, shooting into the air, and calling for vengeance.

Security forces also set up roadblocks at the entrance to another Sunni stronghold, Samarra, and a curfew was imposed after about 500 people took to the streets protesting the execution of Saddam.

A couple hundred people also protested the execution just outside the Anbar capital of Ramadi, and more than 2,000 people demonstrated in Adwar, the village south of Tikrit where Saddam was captured by U.S. troops hiding in an underground bunker.

In a statement, Saddam's lawyers said that in the aftermath of his death, "the world will know that Saddam Hussein lived honestly, died honestly, and maintained his principles."

"He did not lie when he declared his trial null," they said.

Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, were not hanged along with their former leader as originally planned. Officials wanted to reserve the occasion for Saddam alone.

"We wanted him to be executed on a special day," National Security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie told state-run al-Iraqiya television.

Sami al-Askari, the political adviser of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told The Associated Press that Saddam initially resisted when he was taken by Iraqi guards but was composed in his final moments.

He said Saddam was clad in a black suit, hat and shoes, rather than prison garb. His hat was removed and his hands tied shortly before the noose was slipped around his neck.

Saddam repeated a prayer after a Sunni Muslim cleric who was present.

"Saddam later was taken to the gallows and refused to have his head covered with a hood," al-Askari said. "Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted: 'God is great. The nation will be victorious and Palestine is Arab.'"

Iraqi state television showed footage of guards in ski masks placing a noose around Saddam's neck. Saddam appeared calm as he stood on the metal framework of the gallows. The footage cuts off just before the execution.

Saddam was executed at a former military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, al-Askari said. During his regime, Saddam had numerous dissidents executed in the facility, located in a neighborhood that is home to the Iraqi capital's most important Shiite shrine - the Imam Kazim shrine.

Al-Askari said the government had not decided what to do with Saddam's body.

The Iraqi prime minister's office released a statement that said Saddam's execution was a "strong lesson" to ruthless leaders who commit crimes against their own people.

"We strongly reject considering Saddam as a representative of any sect in Iraq because the tyrant only represented his evil soul," the statement said. "The door is still open for those whose hands are not tainted with the blood of innocent people to take part in the political process and work on rebuilding Iraq."

The execution came 56 days after a court convicted Saddam and sentenced him to death for his role in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims from Dujail. Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam's appeal Monday and ordered him executed within 30 days.

A U.S. judge on Friday refused to stop Saddam's execution, rejecting a last-minute court challenge.

U.S. troops cheered as news of Saddam's execution appeared on television at the mess hall at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in eastern Baghdad. But some soldiers expressed doubt that Saddam's death would be a significant turning point for Iraq.

"First it was weapons of mass destruction. Then when there were none, it was that we had to find Saddam. We did that, but then it was that we had to put him on trial," said Spc. Thomas Sheck, 25, who is on his second tour in Iraq. "So now, what will be the next story they tell us to keep us over here?"

At his death, he was in the midst of a second trial, charged with genocide and other crimes for a 1987-88 military crackdown that killed an estimated 180,000 Kurds in northern Iraq. Experts said the trial of his co-defendants was likely to continue despite his execution.

Many people in Iraq's Shiite majority were eager to see the execution of a man whose Sunni Arab-dominated regime oppressed them and Kurds. Before the hanging, a mosque preacher in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Friday called Saddam's execution "God's gift to Iraqis."

In a farewell message to Iraqis posted Wednesday on the Internet, Saddam said he was giving his life for his country as part of the struggle against the U.S. "Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if he wants, he will send it to heaven with the martyrs," he said.

One of Saddam's lawyers, Issam Ghazzawi, said the letter was written by Saddam on Nov. 5, the day he was convicted by an Iraqi tribunal in the Dujail killings.

Najeeb al-Nauimi, a member of Saddam's legal team, said U.S. authorities maintained physical custody of Saddam until the execution to prevent him being humiliated publicly or his corpse being mutilated, as has happened to previous Iraqi leaders deposed by force. He said they didn't want anything to happen to further inflame Sunni Arabs.

"This is the end of an era in Iraq," al-Nauimi said from Doha, Qatar. "The Baath regime ruled for 35 years. Saddam was vice president or president of Iraq during those years. For Iraqis, he will be very well remembered. Like a martyr, he died for the sake of his country."

Iraq's death penalty was suspended by the U.S. military after it toppled Saddam in 2003, but the new Iraqi government reinstated it two years later, saying executions would deter criminals.

Saddam's own regime used executions and extrajudicial killings as a tool of political repression, both to eliminate real or suspected political opponents and to maintain a reign of terror.

In the months after he seized power on July 16, 1979, he had hundreds of members of his own party and army officers slain. In 1996, he ordered the slaying of two sons-in-law who had defected to Jordan but returned to Baghdad after receiving guarantees of safety.

Saddam built Iraq into a one of the Arab world's most modern societies, but then plunged the country into an eight-year war with neighboring Iran that killed hundreds of thousands of people on both sides and wrecked Iraq's economy.

When the U.S. invaded in 2003, Iraqis had been transformed from among the region's most prosperous people to some of its most impoverished.

Al Iraqiya television footage

A combination photo of frames grabs taken from Al Iraqiya television shows masked executioners preparing to hang former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Baghdad December 30, 2006.

Typo takes tourist 13,000 km out of his way

BERLIN, Germany (Reuters) -- A 21-year-old German tourist who wanted to visit his girlfriend in the Australian metropolis Sydney landed 13,000 kilometers (8,077 miles) away near Sidney, Montana, after mistyping his destination on a flight booking Web site.

Dressed for the Australian summer in T-shirt and shorts, Tobi Gutt left Germany on Saturday for a four-week holiday.

Instead of arriving "down under", Gutt found himself on a different continent and bound for the chilly state of Montana.

"I did wonder but I didn't want to say anything," Gutt told the Bild newspaper. "I thought to myself, you can fly to Australia via the United States."

Gutt's airline ticket routed him via the U.S. city of Portland, Oregon, to Billings, Montana. Only as he was about to board a commuter flight to Sidney -- an oil town of about 5,000 people -- did he realize his mistake.

The hapless tourist, who had only a thin jacket to keep out the winter cold, spent three days in Billings airport before he was able to buy a new ticket to Australia with 600 euros in cash that his parents and friends sent over from Germany.

"I didn't notice the mistake as my son is usually good with computers," his mother, Sabine, told Reuters.

Katie Rees Ex-Miss Nevada

I forget, why isn't she qualified to be Miss Nevada USA?, oh wait, it wasn't the Miss USA "i'm a drunk whore" contest....whew...really had me puzzled for a minute....oh well...

I wonder what her solution for world peace is?....

Dead at the Apollo

Jobs stock options ‘not approved by board’

Steve Jobs, chief executive of Apple Computer, was handed 7.5m stock options in 2001 without the required authorization from the company’s board of directors, according to people familiar with the matter.

Records that purported to show a full board meeting had taken place to approve Mr Jobs’ remuneration, as required by Apple’s procedures, were later falsified. These are now among the pieces of evidence being weighed by the Securities and Exchange Commission as it decides whether to pursue a case against the company or any individuals over the affair, according to these people.

News of the irregularities, which is expected to be revealed in a regulatory filing by Apple before the end of this week, will add to pressure that has been growing on one of Silicon Valley’s most highly-regarded companies since the middle of 2005.

Apple is among more than 160 companies that have owned up to stock option backdating – handing options to executives and other employees at exercise prices that were set in hindsight at favourable levels – a scandal which has led to the departure of a number of chief executives.

The latest revelation is likely to add to questions about Apple’s disclosures about its internal investigation into the backdating issue. In October, the company largely exonerated Mr Jobs over the matter, saying that while he had been “aware” of the backdating “in a few instances”, he “did not receive or otherwise benefit from these grants and was unaware of the accounting implications”.

According to an Apple filing in 2002, the options under review were handed to Mr Jobs in October 2001, at an exercise price of $18.30 a share. However, the purported board authorisation was dated near the end of the year, suggesting that the benefits were both not properly authorised and were backdated. Mr Jobs later surrendered his options before they were exercised, implying that he did not gain any direct benefit from them. He was later given a grant of restricted stock by the company instead.

Apple’s lawyers have briefed people involved in the case on the findings of the company’s internal review of the matter, though it remains unclear how much detail will be included in the filing.

Under Apple’s rules, the chief executive’s remuneration must be set by a compensation committee of independent directors and later authorised by the full board.

An Apple spokesman refused to comment on the matter on Wednesday, but said the company had handed the findings of its internal enquiry to the SEC. The company said in October that it had found “no misconduct by any member of Apple’s current management team” but that its investigation “raised serious concerns regarding the actions of two former officers”. At the same time, it also announced the resignation from its board of Fred Andersen, a former chief financial officer. Mr Andersen had not been a director at the time of the 2001 options grant.

Screw Burning Man, Here's a FESTIVAL !!!

Fire the video up HERE.

Full Details HERE.

Fast forward this to 3 minutes and 17 seconds

Is it just me or...

The idea of Rev Al Sharpton driving in a van with the body of James Brown from Georgia to New York at what has to be ABOVE the speed limit because they couldn't get a plane flight....uh...well FRICKEN FUNNY....

Mom on the Farm

See it HERE.

Burning Love' songwriter dead

Songwriter Dennis Linde, who wrote Elvis Presley's last major hit, "Burning Love," has died. He was 63.

Linde died Friday of a rare lung disease, his daughter Lisa Marsden said Saturday.

"Burning Love" was a hit for Presley in 1972. He also wrote "Goodbye Earl," a hit by the Dixie Chicks in 1999 and "Callin' Baton Rouge," a Garth Brooks hit in 1993.

Linde was born in Abilene, Texas, and became hooked after his grandmother gave him a $14 guitar.

Friends remember him as a man with a quick wit who blended quirky lyrics with up-tempo melodies.

He was also a reclusive homebody who would rather spend time with family than appear at music industry functions, including those honoring him with awards.

"He was the quintessential mystery man of Nashville because he didn't go to all the functions," Scott Siman, an artist manager who had known Linde since the 1970s, told The Tennessean newspaper. "If you ever saw Dennis Linde it was amazing, because you didn't get that opportunity very often."

His other songs included "It Sure Is Monday," recorded by Mark Chesnutt, "Janie Baker's Love Slave" by Shenandoah, "John Deere Green" by Joe Diffie and "Queen of My Double Wide Trailer" by Sammy Kershaw.

He was elected to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001 and selected as BMI's Songwriter of the Year in 1994.

Funeral arrangements were incomplete, but the family said they planned a music celebration of Linde's life after New Year's

Former President Gerald Ford dies at 93

Former President Gerald R. Ford, who declared "Our long national nightmare is over" as he replaced Richard Nixon but may have doomed his own chances of election by pardoning his disgraced predecessor, has died. He was 93.

The nation's 38th president, and the only one neither elected to the office nor the vice presidency, died at his desert home at 6:45 p.m. Tuesday.

"His life was filled with love of God, his family and his country," his wife, Betty, said in a statement.

Ford was the longest living former president, surpassing Ronald Reagan, who died in June 2004, by more than a month.

Ford's office did not release the cause of death, which followed a year of medical problems. He was treated for pneumonia in January and had an angioplasty and pacemaker implant in August.

Funeral arrangements were to be announced Wednesday.

"President Ford was a great man who devoted the best years of his life in serving the United States," President Bush said in a brief statement to the nation Wednesday morning. "He was a true gentleman who reflected the best in America's character."

Former President Carter described him Wednesday as "one of the most admirable public servants and human beings I have ever known." Former President Clinton said, "all Americans should be grateful for his life of service."

Ford was an accidental president. A Michigan Republican elected to Congress 13 times before becoming the first appointed vice president in 1973 after Spiro Agnew left amid scandal, Ford was Nixon's hand-picked successor, a man of much political experience who had never run on a national ticket. He was as open and straightforward as Nixon was tightly controlled and conspiratorial.

Ford took office moments after Nixon resigned in disgrace over Watergate.

"My fellow Americans," Ford said, "our long national nightmare is over. Our Constitution works. Our great republic is a government of laws and not of men. Here the people rule."
And, true to his reputation as unassuming Jerry, he added: "I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots. So I ask you to confirm me with your prayers."

He revived the debate over Watergate a month later by granting Nixon a pardon for all crimes he committed as president.

That single act, it was widely believed, contributed to Ford losing election to a term of his own in 1976. But it won praise in later years as a courageous act that allowed the nation to move on.
The Vietnam War ended in defeat for the U.S. during his presidency with the fall of Saigon in April 1975. In a speech as the end neared, Ford said: "Today, America can regain the sense of pride that existed before Vietnam. But it cannot be achieved by refighting a war that is finished as far as America is concerned." Evoking Abraham Lincoln, he said it was time to "look forward to an agenda for the future, to unify, to bind up the nation's wounds."

Ford was in the White House only 895 days, but changed it more than it changed him.

Even after two women tried separately to kill him, his presidency remained open and plain.
Not imperial. Not reclusive. And, of greatest satisfaction to a nation numbed by Watergate, not dishonest.

Even to millions of Americans who had voted two years earlier for Nixon, the transition to Ford's leadership was one of the most welcomed in the history of the democratic process — despite the fact that it occurred without an election.

After the Watergate ordeal, Americans liked their new president — and first lady Betty, whose candor charmed the country.

In a long congressional career in which he rose to be House Republican leader, Ford lit few fires. In the words of Congressional Quarterly, he "built a reputation for being solid, dependable and loyal — a man more comfortable carrying out the programs of others than in initiating things on his own."

When Agnew resigned in a bribery scandal in October 1973, Ford was one of four finalists to succeed him: Texan John Connally, New York's Nelson Rockefeller and California's Ronald Reagan.

"Personal factors enter into such a decision," Nixon recalled for a Ford biographer in 1991. "I knew all of the final four personally and had great respect for each one of them, but I had known Jerry Ford longer and better than any of the rest.

"We had served in Congress together. I had often campaigned for him in his district," Nixon continued. But Ford had something the others didn't: he would be easily confirmed by Congress, something that could not be said of Rockefeller, Reagan and Connally.

So Ford became the first vice president appointed under the 25th amendment to the Constitution.

On Aug. 9, 1974, after seeing Nixon off, Ford assumed the office. The next morning, he still made his own breakfast and padded to the front door in his pajamas to get the newspaper.
Said a ranking Democratic congressman: "Maybe he is a plodder, but right now the advantages of having a plodder in the presidency are enormous."

In 1976, he survived an intraparty challenge from Ronald Reagan only to lose to Democrat Jimmy Carter in November. In the campaign, he ignored Carter's record as governor of Georgia and concentrated on his own achievements as president.

Carter won 297 electoral votes to his 240. After Reagan came back to defeat Carter in 1980, the two former presidents became collaborators, working together on joint projects.

"His life-long dedication to helping others touched the lives of countless people," Carter said Wednesday. "He frequently rose above politics by emphasizing the need for bipartisanship and seeking common ground on issues critical to our nation."

At a joint session after becoming president, Ford addressed members of Congress as "my former colleagues" and promised "communication, conciliation, compromise and cooperation." But his relations with Congress did not always run smoothly.

He vetoed 66 bills in his barely two years as president. Congress overturned 12 Ford vetoes, more than for any president since Andrew Johnson.

In his memoir, "A Time to Heal," Ford wrote, "When I was in the Congress myself, I thought it fulfilled its constitutional obligations in a very responsible way, but after I became president, my perspective changed."

Some suggested the pardon was prearranged before Nixon resigned, but Ford, in an unusual appearance before a congressional committee in October 1974, said, "There was no deal, period, under no circumstances." The committee dropped its investigation.

Ford's standing in the polls dropped dramatically when he pardoned Nixon. But an ABC News poll taken in 2002 in connection with the 30th anniversary of the Watergate break-in found that six in 10 said the pardon was the right thing to do.

The late Democrat Clark Clifford spoke for many when he wrote in his memoirs, "The nation would not have benefited from having a former chief executive in the dock for years after his departure from office. His disgrace was enough."

The decision to pardon Nixon won Ford a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2001, and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (news, bio, voting record), acknowledging he had criticized Ford at the time, called the pardon "an extraordinary act of courage that historians recognize was truly in the national interest."

While Ford had not sought the job, he came to relish it. He had once told Congress that even if he succeeded Nixon he would not run for president in 1976. Within weeks of taking the oath, he changed his mind.

He was undaunted even after the two attempts on his life in September 1975. Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a 26-year-old follower of Charles Manson, was arrested after she aimed a semiautomatic pistol at Ford on Sept. 5 in Sacramento, Calif. A Secret Service agent grabbed her and Ford was unhurt.

Seventeen days later, Sara Jane Moore, a 45-year-old political activist, was arrested in San Francisco after she fired a gun at the president. Again, Ford was unhurt.

Both women are serving life terms in federal prison.

Asked at a news conference to recite his accomplishments, Ford replied: "We have restored public confidence in the White House and in the executive branch of government."
As to his failings, he responded, "I will leave that to my opponents. I don't think there have been many."

In office, Ford's living tastes were modest. When he became vice president, he chose to remain in the same Alexandria, Va., home — unpretentious except for a swimming pool — that he shared with his family as a congressman.

After leaving the White House, however, he took up residence in the desert resort of Rancho Mirage, picked up $1 million for his memoir and another $1 million in a five-year NBC television contract, and served on a number of corporate boards. By 1987, he was on eight such boards, at fees up to $30,000 a year, and was consulting for others, at fees up to $100,000. After criticism, he cut back on such activity.

Ford spent most of his boyhood in Grand Rapids, Mich.

He was born Leslie King on July 14, 1913, in Omaha, Neb. His parents were divorced when he was less than a year old, and his mother returned to her parents in Grand Rapids, where she later married Gerald R. Ford Sr. He adopted the boy and renamed him.

Ford was a high school senior when he met his biological father. He was working in a Greek restaurant, he recalled, when a man came in and stood watching.

"Finally, he walked over and said, 'I'm your father,'" Ford said. "Well, that was quite a shock." But he wrote in his memoir that he broke down and cried that night and he was left with the image of "a carefree, well-to-do man who didn't really give a damn about the hopes and dreams of his firstborn son."

Ford played center on the University of Michigan's 1932 and 1933 national champion football teams. He got professional offers from the Detroit Lions and the Green Bay Packers, but chose to study law at Yale, working his way through as an assistant varsity football coach and freshman boxing coach.

Ford got his first exposure to national politics at Yale, working as a volunteer in Wendell L. Willkie's 1940 Republican campaign for president. After World War II service with the Navy in the Pacific, he went back to practicing law in Grand Rapids and became active in Republican reform politics.

His stepfather was the local Republican chairman, and Michigan Sen. Arthur H. Vandenberg was looking for a fresh young internationalist to replace the area's isolationist congressman.

Ford got twice as many votes as Rep. Bartel Jonkman in the Republican primary and then went on to win the election with 60.5 percent of the vote, the lowest margin he ever got.

"To his great credit, he was the same hard-working, down-to-earth person the day he left the White House as he was when he first entered Congress almost 30 years earlier," Clinton said Wednesday.

Ford had three sons, Michael, John and Steven, and a daughter, Susan. He was the last surviving member of the Warren Commission, which investigated the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963 and concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald was the lone assassin.

After Ford's death, the U.S. flag over the White House was lowered to half-staff. The New York Stock Exchange held a moment of silence Wednesday in Ford's honor, while at Ford's presidential museum in Grand Rapids, a steady stream of visitors lit candles and lined up to sign condolence books about the former president.

Lohan Back on TRACK!

LINDSAY Lohan got down and dirty at Scores West for three hours early yesterday - jumping onstage to do a wild bump-and-grind, then ushering topless dancers into the bathroom to apologize for recently calling them all "whores."

"I love strippers," the 20-year-old actress gushed as she entered the famed mammary mecca at 12:30 a.m., and launched into a half-hour deejay shift during the club's "Turntable Tuesdays."

Next, "She got up on the stripper pole and began to dance with the Scores Girls with 400 customers cheering her on," said our source. "Then, she joined her entourage of 15 in the VIP area, and got lap dances from many of the girls, including a special double-dance from two strippers at once.

"It was hot. But while everybody was drinking, Lindsay was not. It was strictly Perrier for her."

Lohan - who plays a topless dancer in the upcoming film "I Know Who Killed Me" - enraged exotic dancers when Page Six reported this month how she e-mailed pals: "They're all whores, they're all whores . . . except for some, obviously." But yesterday she humbly apologized to several of the Scores girls - and they accepted her mea culpa with open arms.

Katia, a blond, 34D-25-33 knockout, told us, "She was big tipper, and I think that she is great."

Brooke, an impressive 34C-24-34, added, "She'll make a good stripper - she's a natural."

Lohan, who's taking stripper classes to prepare for her movie role, complained of bruises on her inner thighs a few weeks back. In an e-mail to friends intercepted by Page Six, she wrote, "I mean we're talkin' like, UPPER AND INNER THIGH ACTION -bruised . . . like a walking black-and-blue mark. I mean really though, really, I didn't know it was actually possible to have bruises in such areas of the body."

It was a long night of partying for Lohan, who was earlier seen at both at Bungalow 8 and Stereo, where she gave co-owner Mike Satsky some pointers on deejaying. Lohan's mouthpiece Leslie Sloane Zelnik had no comment.

JB's Body To Lie In State At The Apollo

It turns out the Godfather of Soul will take center stage in New York City one more time, and at a venue he helped revolutionize during his storied career. James Brown will lie in state at the Apollo Theater on Thursday where his faithful will be given an opportunity to say their goodbyes.

The viewing will take place from 1 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the theater, located on 253 W. 125th Street in Harlem.

Reverend Al Sharpton organized the public viewing and will give a celebratory sermon following the viewing to honor the legendary singer, who was originally scheduled to perform at B.B. King's Blues Club in the city on New Year's Eve.

Brown's body will then be brought back to Augusta, Ga. for a private service on Friday, before another public viewing and his burial on Saturday.

Brown died of heart failure in an Atlanta hospital on Monday at the age of 73 after being admitted for pneumonia days earlier. The statue of him in his native Augusta was draped in an American flag and a red scarf after news of his death became public.

It's Naked Calenders for Charity time AGAIN ...

Chandra Gates decided the Humane Society of Jefferson County was a worthy enough cause for her to bare it all -- well, some of it -- for a nude-calendar fundraiser.

"I'm shy about the picture but definitely proud of the cause," said 39-year-old Gates, an animal caregiver there. "I was big on the fact that the cat was tame and wouldn't be running off."
The Humane Society in the city of Jefferson, about 50 miles west of Milwaukee, is one of many nonprofit organizations from Australia to Wisconsin selling tastefully nude 2007 calendars, although one philanthropy expert says the practice is, er, overexposed.

A group of women ranging in age from mid 50s to early 70s in Yorkshire, England, pioneered the idea in 2000 when they sold a calendar of discreet nude photographs of themselves to raise money for cancer research. The women, whose story inspired the 2003 movie "Calendar Girls," raised $2.55 million through sales of 800,000 calendars as well as book and film royalties.
The women have released a 2007 calendar, the group's third, that has a photo of the women -- clothed -- with Prince Charles.

In Gates' black-and-white photo in the Humane Society calendar, she is pictured from the waist up, holding a cat against her bare chest as she stands in a snowy yard.

Humane Society executive director Lisa Patefield said the calendar's other pictures are equally artistic. Her group expects to raise $30,000 through the sale of 1,500 calendars.

"For nonprofits, it's getting tough to raise money," Patefield said. "In order to be competitive in fundraising, you have to come up with something new, something exciting."

But one philanthropy expert suggests calendars are only a short-term solution for charities looking to maintain long-term viability.

"From a fundraising point of view, it's probably more appropriate to look for people who care about the (charity's) mission -- people who can help financially or with time, with talent," said Peter Rea, a business professor at Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio.

Some customers say they buy nude calendars to support a cause even though the calendar will sit in a drawer.

Bill Collar, the president of the Muehl library board in Seymour, Wis., bought a calendar last year featuring six local librarians au naturel but strategically covered by oversized books.
"We put it away as a keepsake. I'm not really comfortable with putting it up in the living room," said Collar, 63. "We purchased it for the purpose of supporting the library."

Rea said such an example shows that charities might be better off selling products their customers would actually want and use.

Some groups, including the Jefferson County Humane Society, said they don't plan to make calendars in subsequent years because the originality factor is gone. But the Calendar Girls in England are still getting strong demand for their latest run of calendars, said Clare Lipscombe, press manager for Leukaemia Research in London, the fundraiser's beneficiary.

"It might be difficult for other groups but we haven't found people losing interest," Lipscombe said. "Maybe because these girls were the original ones who started it all."

Humane Society of Jefferson County HERE.

Leukaemia Research calendar HERE.

James Brown's wife out on her "Hynie"

James Brown's lawyer said Tuesday that the late singer and his partner were not legally married and that she was locked out of his South Carolina home for estate legal reasons.
"It's not a reflection on her as an individual," lawyer Buddy Dallas told The Associated Press. "I have not even been in the house, nor will I until appropriate protocol is followed."

Brown's partner, backup singer Tomi Rae Hynie, was already married to a Texas man in 2001 when she married Brown, thus making her marriage to Brown null, Dallas said. He said Hynie later annulled the previous marriage, but she and Brown never remarried.

"I suppose it would mean she was, from time to time, a guest in Mr. Brown's home," Dallas said.
On Monday, after the 73-year-old "Godfather of Soul" died at an Atlanta hospital, Hynie, 36, found the gates to Brown's Beech Island, S.C., home padlocked and said she was denied access.
Hynie argued that she has a legal right to live in the home with the couple's 5-year-old son.
"This is my home," Hynie told a reporter outside the house. "I don't have any money. I don't have anywhere to go."

Dallas said legal formalities need to be followed now, adding that Brown's estate was left in trust for his children. He declined to elaborate on Brown's final instructions.

"It's not intended and I hope not interpreted to be an act of unkindness or an act of a lack of sympathy," Dallas said. "Ms. Hynie has a home a few blocks away from Mr. Brown's home where she resides periodically when she is not with Mr. Brown. She is not without housing or home."

Dallas said Brown and Hynie had not seen each other for several weeks before his death.
The couple had had a sometimes tumultuous relationship. Brown pleaded guilty in 2004 to a domestic violence charge stemming from an argument with Hynie and was let off with a $1,087 fine. He was accused of pushing Hynie to the floor at the home and threatening to kill her.
Hynie could not be reached Tuesday for further comment. A lawyer who has represented her in the past, Robert Rosen, was out of the country and could not be reached, according to a receptionist in his Charleston, S.C., office.

Brown, whose classic singles included "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag" and "I Got You (I Feel Good)," died of heart failure less than two days after he had been hospitalized with pneumonia, his agent said. Funeral details had not been set Tuesday morning.

Beyonce's hairy situation...

When it comes to glue, Beyonce seems to have trouble avoiding sticky situations.

Earlier this month, she appeared at the Dreamgirls premiere with a patch of oddly marked skin on her cleavage which seemed to be the result of overzealous application of sticky tape.

Now during a performance at a concert in Florida, she appeared onstage with bizarrely bunched up skin by her hairline, after glue had been applied too tightly to hold her hair in position.

The 25-year-old singer is believed to favour a special type of hair extension-where real human hair is woven and glued into her own locks.

But if the hair is fixed too tightly, this unsightly 'varicose vein' effect can result.

Although Beyonce's hair extensions have been badly fitted on this occasion, other celebrities have suffered far more in their quest for a long flowing mane.

Earlier this month for example, actress Kate Beckinsale was pictured with bald patches on the back of her head-an unfortunate hazard of hair extensions.

And celebrities including Victoria Beckham and Nancy Dell'Olio have also suffered baldness when their real hair was ripped out along with the extensions.

Commenting on the danger of this practice, expert Glen Lyons of the Philip Kingsley

Trichological Clinic in London said: "Although techniques have improved, the potential damage caused by traction- the pulling of the attachment from the glue-remains."

Beyonce performed a number of songs at the Florida concert earlier this month, which was televised for the World Christmas Day Parade and aired in the US yesterday.

Merry Christmas 2006

James Brown RIP 2006

So many shows, The Venetian Room at the Fairmont Hotel in SF with a Chinese Trade Delegation, Down front at the SF Civic celebrating your release from prison, But I'll never forget that night at the Saddle Rack in San Jose CA, James Brown playing in a Country Bar , while the local crowd looked on in shock....

Heres some video.

My Ebay Holiday Gift Idea

Gold Leather Biker Jacket and Jeans by Johnsons of the Kings Road London. Commissioned by me for cover of Face Magazine Sept 1986.

The Perfect Superstars outfit and assured of wild results believe me what fun Ive had in this.As an old punk/New Romantic I cant wear it any more and dont want to see it end up in a museum.I think it should go on and have a new lease of life with an electric superstar person.
Jacket is 38 Chest with Mex Tex for Johnsons Label,Jeans 29 Inch waist 31inch inside leg very tight cut with inside leg zips.

Have La Rocka Label.6inch fringe to yoke front and back and sleeves comes with studded gold belt which needs some attention.Two pkts to front.Quilted black lining to Jacket ,jeans lined to knee.

All buttons have unique skull and cross bones engraved design apart from Jeans waist which has been repaired.Jeans have 2 pkts to front and 2 zipped pkts to rear all zips in working order.Jeans also have own belt in gold leather.Jeans are well worn and the knees are sagging but can be saved by a soak and gentle iron also gold has worn on knees.

It's on EBAY, BID HERE

Holiday Gift # 762

The Cold War Unicorns play set can help you relive the good old days when the bad guys wore red, and the good guys wore red, white, and blue.

Recreate the cold war in your living room as the "commie" unicorn and the "freedom" unicorn battle each other for global domination.

Each superpower unicorn stands 3-3/4" tall.

Great gift for the politically nostalgic.

Get them HERE.

Exotic dancers bare bodies for toy drive

SAN FRANCISCO - In addition to the friendliness they normally extend to customers, some exotic dancers in San Francisco will be spreading a more traditional kind of holiday cheer this season, as they help put toys into the hands of underprivileged children.

As they have for more than nine years, approximately 700 dancers at 11 clubs citywide will donate approximately $15,000 from their tips to the San Francisco Firefighters’ Toy Program, a union charity that last year provided nearly 20,000 toys to 4,189 families.

If they choose to participate, dancers working at clubs such as Centerfolds, the Garden of Eden and the Hungry I perform one song for charity during their shifts between Thanksgiving and Christmas. They contribute their tips from that song — usually about $20 — to Toys for Tots.

In 1998, the union began recognizing the dancers’ efforts officially, and this year, the dancers’ donations to the program will have reached a total of $100,000, said Joe Carouba, president of BSE Management, which operates the clubs.

So far this year, the dancers have raised a little more than $10,000. “I’m going to guarantee that it’ll be at least $15,000, even if I have to kick in a little myself,” Carouba said Friday.

But the partnership between the dancers and the union has not always been smooth. Last year, Carouba said, some anonymous letters from department members criticized the union for accepting a donation of a van from the dancers, whom they said set a bad example by being objectified.

But the union is standing by its donors, regardless of what they wear to work.

“These artists are no different than the rest of San Francisco. When it comes time to understand that some people can’t have a toy at Christmas, these guys and gals, they understand it,” John Hanley, president of International Association of Firefighters local 798, said Friday. “I have not heard one child complain about it either.”

Debbie, a dancer at the Gold Club who asked to be referred to by her stage name, said many of the dancers have children of their own. “If you saw how hard the girls work and to know how they’re providing for their own child, they want other kids to be provided for as well,” she said.

The charity dances will end Wednesday with a party at the Gold Club, at which patrons can get their pictures taken with dancers in evening gowns, sitting in an overstuffed “Santa” chair on loan from the toy program. The dancers will present a check to the toy program Friday.

“We're grateful to have it,” Hanley said.

Dan DeCarlo is Spinning in his Grave

Am I the only one that can see the Spears/Lohan WHOREFEST coming to a theater near you in 2008?

Jesus Christ Action Figure Playset

Firm designs nasal spray to fight obesity

Dieters may find some welcome assistance from a new nasal spray that could help resist the appetizing aromas of cinnamon bun stands, pizza parlors or tempting bakeries.

Compellis Pharmaceuticals of Cambridge, Massachusetts said it will begin human trials next year of a nasal spray designed to fight obesity by blocking the senses of smell and taste. It won a patent for the product this month.

"The pleasurable effect of eating is all stimulated by smell and taste," Christopher Adams, the company's founder and chief executive, told Reuters on Tuesday.

"The premise is that olfactory activity that controls both smell and taste is a trigger and a feedback mechanism to eat. If you have some kind of reduced sense of smell or taste, you tend to eat less," he said.

The product, known as CP404, is among the latest devices and treatments under development in the multibillion-dollar fight against obesity.

An estimated 65 percent of adult Americans are overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk of heart disease, diabetes and other conditions that account for more than $100 billion of the country's $1.9 trillion annual healthcare bill.

Smokin with Fred and Barney

Indian Runner Fails Gender Test

An Indian runner who won a silver medal in the women's 800 meters in the Asian Games this month has failed a gender test and is expected to be stripped of the medal, according to reports Monday.

Santhi Soudarajan took the gender test in Doha, Qatar, after the victory.

The test reports sent to the Indian Olympic Association on Sunday said Soudarajan "does not possess the sexual characteristics of a woman," The Times of India reported. The test was administered by a medical commission set up by the games' organizers.

There are no compulsory gender tests during events sanctioned by the International Association of Athletics Federation, but athletes can be asked to take a gender test. The medical evaluation panel usually includes a gynecologist, endocrinologist, psychologist, and an internal medicine specialist.

Dr. Manmohan Singh, chairman of the medical commission of the Indian Olympic Association told the Indian Express newspaper that the Olympic Council of Asia had been informed of the results of Soudarajan's gender test.

Sports officials in the athlete's home state of Tamil Nadu said that they have no information on her whereabouts.

"If the reports are true, then it is very sad and extremely disappointing," her coach, P. Nagarajan, told the Indian Express.

Holiday gift wrapping options

Opie and Anthony at it again...

Mayor Thomas Menino is outraged over a WBCN [website] radio show set to air tomorrow - the day the Hub conducts its annual homeless census - in which homeless men were taken to a New Jersey mall and set loose on a shopping spree to shock the suburban crowds.
“Some of them might be recovering alcoholics coming back from addiction and recovery, and they’re doing this for ratings? For a cheap dollar?” Menino said.
Radio shock jocks Opie & Anthony taped the show yesterday at Short Hills Mall in New Jersey, and it will air in Boston today. This is the third year the radio duo has hosted the “Homeless Shopping Spree,” where they round up homeless people and bus them to a mall and arm them with gift cards.
Though the show does not take place in Boston, Menino said he’s nonetheless angry that it is aired here on the day that scores of volunteerstravel across the city to calculate the number of Hub homeless.
“That radio station and the personalities think this is good programming,” he said. “It’s bad programming. I don’t care if it’s in Timbukto. It shouldn’t be on the air.”
Phone calls to the Opie & Anthony Show programming director at his office were not returned.

See the video HERE.

Miss USA and Her Boobs Leave NYC

Miss USA Tara Conner has been stripped of her tiara and sent packing from the throne. Rumors of Conner's firing have recently been stirring, and the Donald finally confirmed what we were pretty sure of all along. She's allegedly a big-time party girl with a cocaine habit. And she's only 20.

Conner has been booted from her plush Trump Place apartment on the Upper West Side and has returned home to Kentucky. Her air connection options were good (several non-stops leave NYC for both Louisville and Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky daily), but with her record, they probably sent the girl back on the Greyhound bus

If you want to live like a disgraced beauty pageant queen, you should know that Trump Place apartments are actually available to travelers. In theory, at least. A company called A Hospitality Company owned and was renting apartments in the complex as late as this year, but they're now closed.

A Bootsy Collins Christmas

Hear it all right HERE.

Holiday Gift Idea #87

95% of Americans had premarital sex

More than nine out of 10 Americans, men and women alike, have had premarital sex, according to a new study. The high rates extend even to women born in the 1940s, challenging perceptions that people were more chaste in the past.

"This is reality-check research," said the study's author, Lawrence Finer. "Premarital sex is normal behavior for the vast majority of Americans, and has been for decades."

Finer is a research director at the Guttmacher Institute, a private New York-based think tank that studies sexual and reproductive issues and which disagrees with government-funded programs that rely primarily on abstinence-only teachings. The study, released Tuesday, appears in the new issue of Public Health Reports.

The study, examining how sexual behavior before marriage has changed over time, was based on interviews conducted with more than 38,000 people -- about 33,000 of them women -- in 1982, 1988, 1995 and 2002 for the federal National Survey of Family Growth. According to Finer's analysis, 99 percent of the respondents had had sex by age 44, and 95 percent had done so before marriage.

Even among a subgroup of those who abstained from sex until at least age 20, four-fifths had had premarital sex by age 44, the study found.

Finer said the likelihood of Americans having sex before marriage has remained stable since the 1950s, though people now wait longer to get married and thus are sexually active as singles for extensive periods.

The study found women virtually as likely as men to engage in premarital sex, even those born decades ago. Among women born between 1950 and 1978, at least 91 percent had had premarital sex by age 30, he said, while among those born in the 1940s, 88 percent had done so by age 44.

"The data clearly show that the majority of older teens and adults have already had sex before marriage, which calls into question the federal government's funding of abstinence-only-until-marriage programs for 12- to 29-year-olds," Finer said.

Under the Bush administration, such programs have received hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding.

"It would be more effective," Finer said, "to provide young people with the skills and information they need to be safe once they become sexually active -- which nearly everyone eventually will."

Wade Horn, assistant secretary for children and families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, defended the abstinence-only approach for teenagers.

"One of its values is to help young people delay the onset of sexual activity," he said. "The longer one delays, the fewer lifetime sex partners they have, and the less the risk of contracting sexually transmitted disease."

He insisted there was no federal mission against premarital sex among adults.

"Absolutely not," Horn said. "The Bush administration does not believe the government should be regulating or stigmatizing the behavior of adults."

Horn said he found the high percentages of premarital sex cited in the study to be plausible, and expressed hope that society would not look askance at the small minority that chooses to remain abstinent before marriage.

However, Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America, a conservative group which strongly supports abstinence-only education, said she was skeptical of the findings.

"Any time I see numbers that high, I'm a little suspicious," she said. "The numbers are too pat."

Worlds Fastest Sheep

Kramer : A Target Audience

Good Night Peter Boyle where ever you are...

Take a Christmas Film Quiz

Do it Here.

The Holiday Reindeer Classic: Unrated Version

See it HERE.

A Taco Bell Moment...

"You folks been to Taco Bell lately? They have a wonderful new menu item, it's the 'Taco Apocalypto.'" -- David Letterman

you know you have been drinking when...

Wisconsin Hunter Bags Deer With 7 Legs

FOND DU LAC, Wis. -- Rick Lisko hunts deer with a bow but got his most unusual one driving his truck down his mile-long driveway. The young buck had nub antlers -- and seven legs. Lisko said it also had both male and female reproductive organs. "It was definitely a freak of nature," Lisko said. "I guess it's a real rarity."

He said he slowed down as the buck and two does ran across the driveway Nov. 22, but the buck ran under the truck and got hit.

When he looked at the animal, he noticed three- to four-inch appendages growing from the rear legs. Later, he found a smaller appendage growing from one of the front legs.

"It's a pretty weird deer," he said, describing the extra legs as resembling "crab pinchers."

"It kind of gives you the creeps when you look at it," he said, but he thought he saw the appendages moving, as if they were functional, before the deer was hit.

Warden Doug Bilgo of the state Department of Natural Resources came to Lisko's property near Mud Lake in the town of Osceola to tag the deer.

"I have never seen anything like that in all the years that I've been working as a game warden and being a hunter myself," Bilgo said. "It wasn't anything grotesque or ugly or anything. It was just unusual that it would have those little appendages growing out like that."

Bilgo took photos and sent information on the animal to DNR wildlife managers.

John Hoffman of Eden Meat Market skinned the deer for Lisko, who wasn't going to waste the venison from the animal.

"And by the way, I did eat it," Lisko said. "It was tasty."

PS: He kept the legs see photos HERE.

Katie Couric Lashes Out at 'Vultures'

Katie Couric admits that her new gig as anchor of the CBS Evening News has been "a little harder than I thought it would be."

"Some people out there are rooting for me to fail," Couric, 49, tells Esquire in its January issue. "You have to be unwavering in your convictions that you're doing something good, because there are a lot of circling vultures that will eat you alive."

Couric points out that Esquire itself criticized her after her Sept. 5 debut. "You guys even take a shot at me," she tells the magazine. "You have something in the November issue, something about how since I've become an anchor, you don't know me anymore. You don't know me anymore? Bite me."

Not that there isn't an upside to the new gig. "I sleep a little later, but I'm busier than ever," Couric tells PEOPLE in its new issue. "I now get to make pancakes or scrambled eggs for my daughters (Ellie, 15, and Carrie, 10) in the morning, though some days I can't get it together and we have cold cereal."

Those Who Passed in 2006...

Here, a roll call of some of the notables in the arts and popular culture who died in 2006. (Cause of death cited for younger people if available.)


JANUARY:

Raul Davila, 74. Played Hector Santos on "All My Children" in the 1990s. Jan. 2.

Lou Rawls, 72. Velvet-voiced singer of such hits as "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing." Jan. 6.

Jack Mabley, 90. Longtime Chicago newspaperman; wrote thousands of columns. Jan. 7.

Don Stewart, 70. Actor ("Guiding Light.") Jan. 9.

Shelley Winters, 85. The forceful, outspoken star who won two Oscars ("The Diary of Anne Frank".") Jan. 14.

Wilson Pickett, 64. Fiery soul music pioneer ("Mustang Sally.") Jan. 19.

Anthony Franciosa, 77. Hollywood actor ("A Face in the Crowd.") Jan. 19.

Janette Carter, 82. Country performer; last surviving child of the Carter Family. Jan. 22.

Fayard Nicholas, 91. With brother Harold, he wowed the tap dancing world, inspiring dancers from Fred Astaire to Savion Glover. Jan. 24.

Chris Penn, 40. Actor ("Reservoir Dogs"); brother of Sean. Jan. 24. Enlarged heart; multiple medications.

Endesha Ida Mae Holland, 61. Her autobiographical play "From the Mississippi Delta" told how the civil rights movement inspired her. Jan. 25.

Gene McFadden, 56. R&B singer, songwriter ("Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now.") Jan. 27. Cancer.

Arthur Bloom, 63. TV news director who helped found "60 Minutes"; his stopwatch used for its ticking image. Jan. 28.

Nam June Paik, 74. Avant-garde artist credited with inventing video art, combining multiple TV screens with sculpture, music, live performers. Jan. 29.

Wendy Wasserstein, 55. Playwright who celebrated women's lives ("The Heidi Chronicles.") Jan. 30. Lymphoma.

Moira Shearer, 80. British ballerina and actress whose debut film, "The Red Shoes," created a sensation. Jan. 31.

FEBRUARY:

Al Lewis, 82. Grandpa on "The Munsters." Feb. 3.

Reuven Frank, 85. Former NBC News president; helped early newscasts adopt more visual approach. Feb. 5.

Franklin Cover, 77. Actor; played the white neighbor on "The Jeffersons." Feb. 5.

Peter Benchley, 65. His 1974 novel, "Jaws," made millions think twice about stepping into the water. Feb. 11.

Jockey Shabalala, 62. Member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Feb. 11.

Rickie Layne, 81. Ventriloquist whose dummy, Velvel, had a Yiddish accent. Feb. 11.

Andreas Katsulas, 59. Character actor; one-armed man in 1993 film "The Fugitive." Feb. 13. Lung cancer.

Shoshana Damari, 83. Israel's beloved "queen of Hebrew music." Feb. 14.

William Cowsill, 58. Lead singer of The Cowsills family singing group. Feb. 17.

Ray Barretto, 76. Grammy-winning Latin jazz percussionist. Feb. 17.

Richard Bright, 68. Enforcer Al Neri in "Godfather" movies. Feb. 18.

Curt Gowdy, 86. Sportscaster; called 13 World Series, 16 All-Star games, first Super Bowl. Feb. 20.

Bruce Hart, 68. Lyricist ("Sesame Street" theme.) Feb 21.

Anthony Burger, 44. Gospel music pianist. Feb. 22. Suspected heart attack.

Dennis Weaver, 81. Chester on "Gunsmoke"; the cop hero in "McCloud." Feb. 24.

Don Knotts, 81. Won five Emmys for "The Andy Griffith Show." Feb. 24.

Octavia E. Butler, 58. First black woman to gain prominence as science fiction writer ("Kindred.") Feb. 24.

Darren McGavin, 83. Tough-talking actor; grouchy dad in "A Christmas Story." Feb. 25.

Bill Cardoso, 68. Writer who coined "gonzo" to describe Hunter Thompson's journalism. Feb. 26.

Retired Brig. Gen. Robert L. Scott, 97. Wrote "God Is My Co-Pilot" about his war exploits. Feb. 27.

MARCH:

Jack Wild, 53. Oscar-nominated for "Oliver!"; hero of TV series "H.R. Pufnstuf." March 1. Cancer.

Dana Reeve, 44. Actress-singer; devoted herself to husband Christopher Reeve after he was paralyzed. March 6. Lung cancer.

Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, 80. Comic actor in John Wayne films. Feb. 6.

Akira Ifukube, 91. Japanese composer; added menacing music to Godzilla films. Feb. 8.

Phil Brown, 89. Luke Skywalker's loving, doomed Uncle Owen in "Star Wars." Feb. 9.

J Dilla, 32. Hip-hop producer for such artists as A Tribe Called Quest. Feb. 10. Complications of lupus.

Juan Soriano, 85. Mexican painter and sculptor. Feb. 10.

Ali Farka Toure, about 66. Famed African musician; two-time Grammy winner. March 7.

Gordon Parks, 93. Life photographer, then Hollywood's first major black director ("Shaft," "The Learning Tree.") March 7.

Anna Moffo, 73. Opera soprano hailed for her glamorous looks as much as her singing. March 10.

Peter Tomarken, 63. Host of 1980s game show "Press Your Luck." March 13.

Maureen Stapleton, 80. Oscar-winning actress who excelled on stage, screen, and television. March 13.

Ann Calvello, 76. "Roller Derby Queen" known for intimidating rivals, teammates. March 14.

David Blume, 74. Record producer, songwriter ("Turn Down Day.") March 15.

Narvin Kimball, 97. Last founding member of New Orleans' Preservation Hall Jazz Band. March 17.

Oleg Cassini, 92. His designs helped make Jacqueline Kennedy the most glamorous first lady in history. March 17.

Philip B. Kunhardt Jr., 78. Producer of television documentaries on freedom, American presidency. March 21.

Sarah Caldwell, 82. Hailed as first lady of opera for her adventurous productions. March 23.

Buck Owens, 76. Flashy rhinestone cowboy who shaped country music with hits like "Act Naturally." March 25.

Richard Fleischer, 89. Film director ("20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.") March 25.

Nikki Sudden, 49. British musician, a cult favorite. March 26.

Dan Curtis, 78. TV producer, director ("The Winds of War.") March 27.

Britt Lomond, 80. Played dastardly Capitan Monastario in 1950s TV series "Zorro." March 22.

Henry Farrell, 85. Wrote "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", spurring a horror genre. March 29.

John McGahern, 71. Irish novelist ("That They May Face the Rising Sun.") March 30.

Gloria Monty, 84. Producer who turned "General Hospital" into a pop sensation. March 30.

Jackie McLean, 73. Jazz saxophonist ("Jackie's Bag.") March 31.

Gene Pitney, 66. Singer with a string of hits ("Town Without Pity.") April 5.

Allan Kaprow, 78. Artist who pioneered the unrehearsed form of theater called a "happening." April 5.

Vilgot Sjoman, 81. Swedish director; explicit films such as "I Am Curious (Yellow)" stirred controversy. April 9.

June Pointer, 52. Youngest of hitmaking Pointer Sisters ("I'm So Excited.") April 11. Cancer.

Raj Kumar, 77. One of India's most beloved movie stars. April 12.

Dame Muriel Spark, 88. British novelist ("The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.") April 13.

Morton Freedgood, 93. Best-selling author ("The Taking of Pelham One Two Three") under pen name John Godey. April 16.

Scott Brazil, 50. Emmy-winning producer-director ("Hill Street Blues.") April 17. Lou Gehrig's, Lyme disease complications.

Henderson Forsythe, 88. Won Tony for role as sheriff in "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas." April 17.

Ellen Kuzwayo, 91. South African author ("Call Me Woman.") April 19.

Elaine Young, 71. Real estate agent to Hollywood stars. April 20.

Alida Valli, 84. Italian actress; co-starred in 1949 classic "The Third Man." April 22.

William P. Gottlieb, 89. Took well-known photos of jazz greats. April 23.

Phil Walden, 66. Capricorn Records co-founder; launched careers of Otis Redding, Allman Brothers. April 23.

Jane Jacobs, 89. Author; greatly influenced urban planning. April 25.

"Pem" Farnsworth, 98. She helped husband Philo invent television. April 27.

Jay Bernstein, 69. Hollywood publicist, manager; helped turn Farrah Fawcett into household name. April 30.

Pramoedya Ananta Toer, 81. Indonesian author, democracy advocate. April 30.

MAY:

Jay Presson Allen, 84. Adapted "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie" for stage, screen. May 1.

Johnny Paris, 65. Had hits ("Red River Rock") with Johnny & the Hurricanes. May 1.

Louis Rukeyser 73. Public TV host known for commonsense commentary on business. May 2.

Karel Appel, 85. A founder of influential COBRA art group. May 3.

Soraya, 37. Grammy-winning Colombian-American singer ("Solo Por Ti.") May 10. Breast cancer.

Val Guest, 94. British director, screenwriter ("The Quatermass Xperiment.") May 10.

Frankie Thomas, 85. Hero of 1950s TV show "Tom Corbett, Space Cadet." May 11.

Ted Berkman, 92. Author, screenwriter ("Bedtime for Bonzo.") May 12.

Johnnie Wilder Jr., 56. Soulful lead singer of R&B band Heatwave ("Always and Forever.") May 13.

Lew Anderson, 84. Gave "Howdy Doody Show" viewers a tearful goodbye as final Clarabell the Clown. May 14.

Stanley Kunitz, 100. Former U.S. poet laureate, Pulitzer winner. May 14.

Mary Ritts, 95. With husband, created the Ritts Puppets act seen on children's TV shows. May 14.

Cheikha Rimitti, 83. Algerian singer who works dealt boldly with sexuality and oppression; admired by fans of world music. May 15.

Dan Q. Kennis, 86. Producer of oddball films. ("I Spit on Your Corpse!") May 17.

Cy Feuer, 95. Co-producer of Broadway smashes ("Guys and Dolls.") May 17.

Freddie Garrity, 69. Lead singer of 1960s British band Freddie and the Dreamers ("I'm Telling You Now.") May 19.

Katherine Dunham, 96. Choreographer who brought African influences to U.S. dance. May 21.

Billy Walker, 77. Grand Ole Opry star ("Charlie's Shoes.") May 21.

Marshall Fishwick, 82. Pioneer in the study of popular culture. May 22.

Ian Copeland, 57. Rock entrepreneur who represented The Police, Go-Go's. May 23. Melanoma.

Robert Giaimo, 86. Connecticut congressman who helped create national endowment for the arts. May 24.

Henry Bumstead, 91. Oscar-winning production designer ("To Kill a Mockingbird.") May 24.

Desmond Dekker, 64. Brought Jamaican ska music to wide audience ("Israelites.") May 25.

Paul Gleason, 67. Actor; the bad guy in "Trading Places." May 27.

Alex Toth, 77. Comic and cartoon artist ("Space Ghost.") May 27.

Arthur Widmer, 92. Won Academy Award for developing technology for special effects. May 28.

Robert Sterling, 88. Actor; appeared in the ghostly 1950s comedy series "Topper." May 30.

Shohei Imamura, 79. Japanese director twice honored with the top prize at Cannes ("The Ballad of Narayama.") May 30.

Ralph Epperson, 85. North Carolina radio station owner who championed mountain music. May 31.

JUNE:

Rocio Jurado, 61. Powerful-voiced singer-actress; beloved figure in Spain and Latin America. June 1.

Vince Welnick, 55. Grateful Dead keyboard player in the 1990s; also with the Tubes ("White Punks on Dope.") June 2. Suicide.

Johnny Grande, 76. An original member of Bill Haley and His Comets ("Rock Around the Clock.") June 3.

Billy Preston, 59. Exuberant keyboardist and singer ("Nothing From Nothing"); played with the Beatles and Rolling Stones. June 6. Heart infection; kidney failure.

Arnold Newman, 88. Photographer who revealed the souls of artists and politicians. June 6.

Hilton Ruiz, 54. Jazz pianist, composer. June 6. Injured in a fall.

Ingo Preminger, 95. Producer of "M-A-S-H"; Otto's brother. June 7.

Barbara Epstein, 76. She edited the original U.S. version of "The Diary of Anne Frank." June 16.

Vincent Sherman, 99. Hollywood filmmaker ("The Adventures of Don Juan.") June 18.

Claydes Charles Smith, 57. Lead guitarist for Kool & the Gang ("Joanna," "Celebration.") June 20.

Aaron Spelling, 83. TV impresario whose stylish shows ("Beverly Hills 90210") were wildly popular. June 23.

Lyle Stuart, 83. Publisher of such oddities as "The Anarchist Cookbook." June 24.

Arif Mardin, 72. Grammy Award-winning producer; worked with Aretha Franklin. June 25.

Lennie Weinrib, 71. Actor, writer ("H.R. Pufnstuf.") June 28.

George Page, 71. Creator, host of PBS series "Nature." June 28.

Lloyd Richards, 87. Theater director ("A Raisin in the Sun"). June 29.

JULY:

Irving Green, 90. Co-founder of Mercury Records; promoted Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington. July 1.

Jan Murray, 89. Comic who tickled fans of 1950s game show "Treasure Hunt." July 2.

Benjamin Hendrickson, 55. Daytime Emmy winner for "As the World Turns." July 3. Suicide.

Hugh Stubbins Jr., 94. Architect; his skyscraper Citigroup Center is a New York icon. July 5.

Kasey Rogers, 80. Actress ("Strangers on a Train.") July 6.

Syd Barrett, 60. Co-founder of Pink Floyd ("The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.") July 7.

June Allyson, 88. Hollywood movies' "perfect wife." July 8.

Milan B. Williams, 58. One of the original members of the Commodores ("Three Times a Lady.") July 9. Cancer.

Bill Miller, 91. Frank Sinatra's longtime pianist. July 11.

Barnard Hughes, 90. Actor who won Tony for "Da." July 11.

Red Buttons, 87. Actor-comedian; won Oscar with a dramatic turn in "Sayonara." July 13.

Carrie Nye, 69. Stage actress ("Half a Sixpence.") July 14.

Harold R. Scott Jr., 70. Stage actor and director ("Paul Robeson.") July 16.

Mickey Spillane, 88. Macho mystery writer who wowed millions of readers. July 17.

Jack Warden, 85. Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated actor who played gruff characters. ("Heaven Can Wait.") July 19.

Mako, 72. Japan-born actor nominated for Oscar ("The Sand Pebbles") and Tony ("Pacific Overtures.") July 21.

Jessie Mae Hemphill, 71. Blues musician; won several W.C. Handy Awards. July 22.

AUGUST

Bob Thaves, 81. Created quirky comic strip "Frank & Ernest." Aug. 1.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, 90. Soprano who won global acclaim. Aug. 3.

Arthur Lee, 61. Singer, songwriter for the 1960s band Love ("Forever Changes.") Aug. 3. Leukemia.

Mike Douglas, 81. Affable TV talk show host and singer ("The Men in My Little Girl's Life.") Aug. 11.

Mazisi Kunene, 76. First poet laureate of a democratic South Africa. Aug. 11.

Bruno Kirby, 57. Character actor ("When Harry Met Sally," "City Slickers.") Aug. 14.

Johnny Duncan, 67. Country singer ("She Can Put Her Shoes Under My Bed Anytime.") Aug. 14.

Walter Sullivan, 82. Novelist ("A Time to Dance"), authority on Southern literature. Aug. 15.

Walter E. Jagiello, 76. Singer known as "Lil' Wally the Polka King." Aug. 17.

Joseph Hill, 57. Vocalist, songwriter for reggae group Culture ("Natty Never Get Weary.") Aug. 19.

Joe Rosenthal, 94. Associated Press photojournalist who took picture of flag-raising on Iwo Jima. Aug. 20.

Bruce Gary, 55. Rock drummer with The Knack ("My Sharona"), session man. Aug. 22. Lymphoma.

Maynard Ferguson, 78. Jazz trumpeter known for his soaring high notes. Aug. 23.

Joseph Stefano, 84. Writer of "Psycho" screenplay. Aug. 25.

Ed Benedict, 94. Animator who put life into Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear. Aug. 28.

Naguib Mahfouz, 94. First Arab writer to win Nobel Prize in literature; a symbol of liberalism in the face of Islamic extremism. Aug. 30.

Glenn Ford, 90. Actor who played strong, thoughtful protagonists ("The Blackboard Jungle," "Gilda.") Aug. 30.

SEPTEMBER:

Gyorgy Faludy, 95. Poet, translator considered one of Hungary's greatest literary figures. Sept. 1.

Willi Ninja, 45. Dancer immortalized in "Paris Is Burning." Sept. 2. AIDS complications.

John Conte, 90. Actor ("The Man With the Golden Arm.") Sept. 4.

Steve Irwin, 44. Television's irrepressible "Crocodile Hunter." Sept 4. Sting ray attack.

Robert Earl Jones, 96. Actor; father of James Earl Jones. Sept. 7.

Daniel Smith, 20. Anna Nicole Smith's son whose sudden passing made headlines worldwide. Sept 10. Lethal combination of drugs.

Bennie Smith, 72. St. Louis guitarist, played with stars like Chuck Berry. Sept. 10.

Pat Corley, 76. Actor; Phil the barkeep on "Murphy Brown." Sept. 11.

Joseph Hayes, 88. Author of the novel "The Desperate Hours," also wrote Tony-winning play, Hollywood screenplay based on it. Sept. 11.

Mickey Hargitay, 80. Actor, bodybuilder; husband of Jayne Mansfield, father of actress Mariska Hargitay. Sept 14.

Oriana Fallaci, 76. Italian journalist noted for probing interviews with powerful people. Sept. 15.

Patricia Kennedy Lawford, 84. Her marriage to Peter Lawford lent Hollywood glamour to the Kennedy dynasty. Sept. 17.

Danny Flores, 77. Played saxophone and shouted "tequila!" on 1950s hit "Tequila!" Sept. 19.

Joe Glazer, 88. Singer-songwriter who rallied union loyalists ("The Mills Weren't Made of Marble.") Sept. 19.

Elizabeth Allen, 77. Actress; nominated for Tony for "Do I Hear a Waltz?" Sept. 19.

Sven Nykvist, 83. Oscar-winning Swedish cinematographer; worked with Ingmar Bergman, Woody Allen. Sept. 20.

Edward Albert, 55. Actor ("Butterflies Are Free.") Sept. 22. Lung cancer.

Sir Malcolm Arnold, 84. British composer; won Oscar for "Bridge on the River Kwai." Sept. 23.

Etta Baker, 93. Influential blues guitarist; recorded with Taj Mahal. Sept. 23.

Maureen Daly, 85. Noted for 1942 coming-of-age novel "Seventeenth Summer." Sept. 25.

Ralph Story, 86. Host of 1950s quiz show "The $64,000 Challenge." Sept. 26.

"Uncle Josh" Graves, 79. His bluesy playing adorned hundreds of bluegrass, country records. Sept. 30.

Prentiss Barnes, 81. Singer with the Moonglows ("Ten Commandments of Love.") Sept. 30.

Isabel Bigley, 80. Won Tony for role in "Guys and Dolls." Sept. 30.

OCTOBER:

Tamara Dobson, 59. Actress; played Cleopatra Jones in two blaxploitation films. Oct. 2. Multiple sclerosis, pneumonia.

Heinz Sielmann, 89. Zoologist, documentary filmmaker ("Vanishing Wilderness.") Oct. 6.

Jerry Belson, 68. Emmy-winning comedy writer ("The Tracey Ullman Show.") Oct. 10.

Gillo Pontecorvo, 86. Directed "The Battle of Algiers," 1966 epic on Algerian uprising against the French. Oct. 12.

Freddy Fender, 69. Texas' "Bebop Kid"; sang the smash country ballad "Before the Next Teardrop Falls." Oct. 14.

Herbert B. Leonard, 84. TV producer ("Naked City.") Oct. 14.

Sid Davis, 90. Produced quirky educational films warning youngsters of the dangers of drugs, running with scissors. Oct. 16.

Lister Sinclair, 85. Broadcaster and playwright, considered one of Canada's renaissance men. Oct. 16.

Christopher Glenn, 68. CBS correspondent, announcer; voice of children's program "In the News." Oct. 17.

Miriam Engelberg, 48. Graphic author; found improbable humor in her fight with cancer ("Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person.") Oct. 17.

Spoony Singh, 83. His Hollywood Wax Museum gave tourists the next best thing to a real celebrity. Oct. 18.

Phyllis Kirk, 79. Actress who was stalked by Vincent Price in the horror film "House of Wax." Oct. 19.

Jane Wyatt, 96. Actress who for six years on "Father Knows Best" was one of TV's favorite moms. Oct. 20.

Sandy West, 47. Her drumming fueled the influential '70s rock band the Runaways ("Cherry Bomb.") Oct. 21. Lung cancer.

Arthur Hill, 84. Character actor; had title role in the early 1970s series "Owen Marshall, Counselor at Law." Oct. 22.

Lawrence W. Levine, 73. Cultural historian ("Black Culture and Black Consciousness.") Oct. 23.

Marijohn Wilkin, 86. Country songwriter ("The Long Black Veil.") Oct. 28.

NOVEMBER:

Buddy Killen, 73. Nashville songwriter ("I May Never Get to Heaven") and producer; helped launch Dolly Parton's career. Nov. 1.

William Styron, 81. Pulitzer-winning novelist ("The Confessions of Nat Turner.") Nov. 1.

Florence Klotz, 86. Tony-winning costume designer ("Follies.") Nov. 1.

Paul Mauriat, 81. Conductor whose "Love Is Blue" topped U.S. charts in 1968. Nov. 3.

Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, 98. Her memoir on life with 11 siblings, "Cheaper by the Dozen," inspired several films. Nov. 4.

Ed Bradley, 65. The TV journalist who created a distinctive, powerful body of work on "60 Minutes." Nov. 9.

Ellen Willis, 64. Feminist author; New Yorker's first rock critic. Nov. 9. Lung cancer.

Marian Marsh, 93. Doll-faced actress; the milkmaid mesmerized by John Barrymore in "Svengali." Nov. 9.

Jack Palance, 87. Hollywood heavy ("Shane") who turned successfully to comedy, winning Oscar for "City Slickers." Nov. 10.

Gerald Levert, 40. Fiery R&B singer ("Casanova"); son of O'Jays singer Eddie Levert. Nov. 10.

Ruth Brown, 78. Grammy and Tony-award-winning singer ("Teardrops in My Eyes.") Nov. 17.

Jeremy Slate, 80. Actor ("Hell's Angels '69." Nov. 19.

Robert Altman, 81. Caustic Hollywood director ("Nashville.") Nov. 20.

Robert Lockwood Jr., 91. Mississippi Delta blues guitarist ("I Got to Find Me a Woman.") Nov. 21.

Philippe Noiret, 76. French actor "Il Postino" ("The Postman"). Nov. 23.

Betty Comden, 89. Her collaboration with Adolph Green produced "On the Town," "Singin' in the Rain." Nov. 23.

Anita O'Day, 87. One of the most respected jazz vocalists of the 1940s. Nov. 23.

William Diehl, 81. Best-selling novelist ("Primal Fear.") Nov. 24.

Robert McFerrin Sr., 85. First black man to sing solo at the Metropolitan Opera; father of Bobby McFerrin. Nov. 24.

Dave Cockrum, 63. Comic book illustrator who in the 1970s overhauled the X-Men. Nov. 26.

Robert "H-Bomb" Ferguson, 77. A bluesman and pianist who urged listeners to "rock baby rock." Nov. 26.

Bebe Moore Campbell, 56. Best-selling author ("Brothers and Sisters.") Nov. 27. Brain cancer.

Don Butterfield, 83. Tuba player who performed with such stars as Dizzy Gillespie and Frank Sinatra. Nov. 27.

Leon Niemczyk, 82. Polish actor (Roman Polanski's "Knife in the Water.") Nov. 29.

Perry Henzell, 70. Filmmaker whose "The Harder They Come" introduced Jamaican pop culture to global audience. Nov. 30.

DECEMBER:

Claude Jade, 58. French actress. ("Topaz," "Stolen Kisses."). Dec. 1. Cancer.

Jay "Hootie" McShann, 90. Jazz pianist and bandleader who helped refine the blues-tinged Kansas City sound. Dec. 7.

Martha Tilton, 91. Big band singer ("And the Angels Sing," "I'll Walk Alone.") Dec. 8.

Georgia Gibbs, 87. Hitmaking 1950s singer ("Kiss of Fire," "Dance With Me, Henry.") Dec. 9.

Martin Nodell, 91. Created the comic book superhero Green Lantern. Dec. 9.

Peter Boyle, 71. The curmudgeonly father on "Everybody Loves Raymond." Dec. 12.