VSBfromH

It's good to see that amidst all the namby-pamby Westernisation of Russian culture, there are still those who adhere to the old traditions: "Drunk man accidentally kills himself with grenade" http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=284806 I can't say that whenever Mrs H and I have been for a romantic meal at a local restaurant, I have ever been on the way out of the door and suddenly thought, "hang on, hadn't I better take a grenade, just in case..."

Can't recall who our resident Reading supporter is, but just spotted this: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id...967&cc=5739 "Boss Steve Coppell told the Evening Post: 'Leroy [Lita] is in a great deal of pain. He woke up and stretched while in bed and he has done something to his leg. It is not an injury that should be ridiculed or made light of." Do you hear the man? No tittering at the back!

"His final album, Cake or Death (2006), was as oddball as ever" He has obviously made the choice. Can I bagsy the cake then?

Former Labour MP Ron Brown has died aged 69 "one of the most controversial characters ever to grace the House of Commons ... He was rebuked in the Commons in 1992 for describing members of the royal family as "deadbeats".

Already posted 6 days ago!

William J Tuttle, who was one of the pioneers of the art of film make up, has died aged 95: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/c...s-pe-california His work "prompted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to officially recognize his craft for the first time by giving him an honorary Academy Award in 1965". He was head of the make up department at MGM for more than 20 years. He was also the first husband (1943 - 45) of Donna Reed.

I'll wager that it's not his windpipe he puts candles in. Lard, this thought did occur to me as I formulated my post, but I thought I would leave it to someone with a more depraved mind than myself to post it!

I predict he will die a bizzare death which involves a candle in the windpipe, though I won't venture when (I'm not iain!)

Did he die wanking too? "Cark"?, "Wanking"? Ah, Handrejka, these are obviously Manx words which you have picked up! What a truly beautiful tongue!

Get your posts in quick guys, Elton's gonna have us all shut down!: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007350453,00.html "I do think it would be an incredible experiment to shut down the whole internet for five years and see what sort of art is produced over that span." Yeah, like that's gonna happen, Reg! Will we see: Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage cos Elton John's had it shut down "I am such a Luddite when it comes to making music. All I can do is write at the piano"

I have just stumbled on the Sea Slug Forum: http://www.seaslugforum.net/ "On the Sea Slug Forum you can ask questions, post information and find out more about nudibranchs, bubble-shells, sea hares and other sea slugs. This site aims to generate more interest in these fascinating animals by sharing information with a worldwide audience. The Forum is a useful tool for anyone with an interest in sea slugs from scientists and students to divers and aquarists"

Ryan Cox, who represented South African in 2005 Commonwealth Games, has died aged 28 while undergoing emergency surgery to repair a bleeding artery: http://www.sabcnews.com/sport/other/0,2172,153410,00.html

Please reveal your sources!

One of my favourites from the Darwin Awards (probably already featured on our pages, but worth repeating): "Some men will got to extraordinary lengths to prove how macho they are. Frenchman Pierre Pumpille recently shunted a stationary car two feet by headbutting it. "Women thought I was a god," he explained from his hospital bed. Deity or not, however, Pumpille is a veritable girl's blouse compared to Polish farmer Krystof Azninski, who staked a strong claim to being Europe's most macho man by cutting off his own head in 1995. Azninski, 30, had been drinking with friends when it was suggested they strip naked and play some "men's games". Initially they hit each other over the head with frozen turnips, but then one man upped the ante by seizing a chainsaw and cutting off the end of his foot. Not to be outdone, Azninski grabbed the saw and, shouting "Watch this then," he swung at his own head and chopped it off. "It's funny," said one companion, "when he was young he put on his sister's underwear. But he died like a man." " ( From http://www.darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1996-07.html )

The composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk was a fascinating character. He was born in New Orleans, the son of a Jewish businessman from London and a white Creole Haitian. He was a supporter of the Union cause in the American Civil War, and was reputed to have played his piano on the battlefields! He spent a lot of time in South America. In 1869 in Rio de Janeiro, having recently contracted malaria, he collapsed during a performance, having just played one of his own compositions called "Morte!!" (Death), and died 3 weeks later. Another composer who died a slightly less spectacular was Charles-Valentin Alkan, who "died following being trapped beneath a falling port-parapluie (a heavy coat/umbrella rack)". A popular myth was that it was a bookcase and he had been reaching to get a copy of the "Talmud", which would have been a little more noteworthy!

Appear on a Reality TV show, get eliminated, complain about the experience on your MySpace page, then top yourself: http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/story/0...605-912,00.html

Although we all like to poke fun at Rod for his unfortunate "choice" of demise, let's not forget he was actually a great entertainer. I'd sooner have my kids watch EMU-TV than the majority of the cr*p that's dished out these days. It really was funny stuff, despite (or because of?) its lack of sophistication, as opposed to this phony unsophistication that we get nowadays, as in "we've spent millions of quid of the licence payers' / advertisers' money on this Saturday morning show, but we're going to deliberately pretend to be amateurs, just so we can get cheap laughs".

Goodness me! I was just watching him in "Midsomer Murders" this weekend and trying to recall what I had seen him in previously. I think it was his performance in an episode of "Yes, Prime Minister", as I remember noting that John Nettleton was in that also. That's John Nettleton, born 1929 by the way, just in case anyone's interested (although he still appears to be quite active).

I have posted it in the "Phil Drabble" thread also, but Phil Drabble has died aged 93: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/6922526.stm

Phil Drabble Dead: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/6922526.stm P.S. Tickets are now available to see DDT eat his tractor!

Ironically, the last film he was working on was to star none other than Mike Reid! Sadly, we will never see the result of this collaboration between two giants of stage and screen. One can only wonder at the masterpiece that would no doubt have ensued. Apparently, Bergman had made a point of creating a character called "Pat" just so that Mike could utter the immortal "Pat, Pat, Pat!" in a Bergmanesque style! P.S. Still awaiting Frank "rent-a-quote" Carson's take on Bergman's demise...

David Shaw, TV and film writer whose biggest hit was "If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium", has died aged 90: http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/c...2&cset=true He was the younger brother of the playwright Irwin Shaw.

Lucky Grills, Aussie comedian and actor who played the title role in the 70s detective series "Bluey" has died aged 79. "He did two gigs back to back yesterday, not bad for a 79-year-old. But he went to bed and just didn't wake up"

God said no. Bullocks! Pardon my ignorance, but I have never heard of the "National Secular Society" mentioned in the above article. More here: http://www.secularism.org.uk/about.html They sound like an interesting bunch! I see DL favourites Michael Foot, Harold Pinter, Ludovic Kennedy and Claire Rayner are amongst their number

Speaking of which... Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Wylie has died aged 86