While many people are looking back on pivotal
events of 2015 -- famous deaths, terrorism, and the horse and pony Republican
presidential debates -- a disturbing solar flare report is trending again.
Recently, the White House made preparations for
unpredictable andsevere space weatherevents. And much of the clamor focuses on the
possibility of a catastrophic coronal mass ejection striking Earth, citing anAOL latest news story.
According to avideo
report, an intense solar flare narrowly missed a direct hit with Earth by a
matter of days in 2012. NASA said an intense CME launched towards the planet at
speeds of over 6 million miles per hour.
At that speed, it would have taken the enormous flare
13 hours or so to reach our atmosphere. Consequently, the effects would have
been catastrophic. As the news journalist says, it would have thrown us back to
the Ice Age, so to speak, as many power grids would have been taken offline.
In October, the Obama Administration published
the National Space Weather Action Plan, under the auspices of the National
Science and Technology Council. The scope of the 44-page document is defined as
such:
"With the objectives of improving
understanding of, forecasting of, and preparedness for space-weather events
(both the phenomena and their effects), the National Space Weather Strategy
defines six strategic goals to prepare the Nation for near- and long-term
space-weather effects."
NASA describes solar flares or coronal mass
ejections as huge bursts of energy that launches materials from the sun. If the
Earth's orbit takes it into the path of the solar mass; the results can be
disastrous for a race highly dependent on electronic technologies.
One scientist painted an ominous picture of what
could have occurred had the planet suffered a direct hit from the solar flare
three years ago.
"If it had hit, we would still be picking up
the pieces."
Here's putting things in perspective: Space meteorologists
and teams of experts agree that the 2012 solar flare could have caused
widespread damage and psychological effects to the tune of $2 trillion.
Comparatively speaking, based on the sun's recent volatile activity, officials
fear a cataclysmic solar flare that is 1,000 times larger. The costs are
immeasurable.
Doomsday thinkers say the White House report
telegraphs a message that human life may be on borrowed time, that a space
storm capable of mass extinction is brewing. No credible sources are reporting
such extreme Earth events. However, one has to wonder why federal authorities
are mulling the idea.
If ever there was a pioneer in the new computer age who is blazing a trail for the future of the music industry it is Lindsey Stirling, whose story will become a legend. Following is her biography from her website, lindseystirling.com and a series of her videos you really must watch. Double click the videos for full screen and you will not regret it.
A Savior
is Born - Lindsey Stirling
About
Lindsey Stirling is one of the biggest artist development breakthrough
stories in recent years. A classically trained violinist from Gilbert, AZ,
Lindsey has entered a futurist world of electronic big beats and animation,
leaping through the music industry with over 675 million views on YouTube,
Billboard chart-topping hits and sold out tours worldwide.
Les
Misérables Medley - Lindsey Stirling
Lindsey’s self-titled debut album featured twelve original tracks; including
the viral smash “Crystallize,” which has racked up over 97 million YouTube
views. The album has sold over 350,000 copies in the US
without the backing of a major label, and has gone platinum in Germany and gold in Poland
and Switzerland.
The album reached number one on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Chart and the
Billboard Classical Album Chart and also peaked at #22 on the Billboard Top
200.
On April 29th, 2014 Lindsey released her new album Shatter Me, which debuted
at #2 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart, her highest charting album to date.
The album features 12 new songs written by Lindsey and includes collaborations
with lead singer Lzzy Hale from the Grammy winning band Halestorm and The Voice
runner-up Dia Frampton of Meg & Dia. “I really dug deep and poured my heart
into Shatter Me,” said Lindsey. “Everything from the artwork to the music
shares a cohesive message that I hope will inspire others to push their own
boundaries.”
Elements -
Lindsey Stirling (Dubstep Violin Original
Song)
It is hard to believe that Piers Morgan told Lindsey Stirling the world had
no place for a dancing dubstep violinist. But being voted off 2010’s “America’s Got
Talent” at the quarterfinals turned out to be the best thing that’s ever
happened to her. Rejection simply strengthened Stirling’s
resolve to be herself. “The same reasons I was told I wouldn’t succeed are the
reasons people travel hundreds of miles to see me now,” she laughs. “Because
it’s different. Because it’s something you haven’t seen before…” Since the
show, Lindsey has flourished as an artist.
Raised in a Mormon community in Arizona,
Lindsey studied classical music rigorously as a teenager. Lindsey’s love for
the violin would not let go, and it became a comfort throughout her struggle
with an eating disorder during her early adulthood. Through this passion,
Lindsey has created a new music world where the romance of Celtic folk music and
modern classical meet the infectious energy of dance and electronica.
Master of
Tides - Lindsey Stirling
On stage, Stirling moves with the grace of
a ballerina but works the crowd into a frenzy, “dropping the beat” like a rave
fairy. Stirling is the model of a modern
independent recording artist, with a symbiotic relationship with her fans. She
is famed for taking “requests” and has recorded unique versions of the themes
from “Phantom Of The Opera” and “Game Of Thrones”, the computer games “Zelda,”
“Pokemon,” and “Skyrim,” as well as pop songs by Michael Jackson and Rihanna;
She uploads them all to Lindseystomp, a secondary YouTube channel packed with
music videos and short comedy films, many featuring her alter-ego – a
‘superfan’ named Phelba.
A motivational speaker in her spare time, Stirling
uses her own story to show teenagers that you’ve got to have confidence in the
very thing that makes you unique – then wait for the world to catch up.
For all of the world we offer hope for world peace and wish you happy holidays for (Christian) Christmas, (African) Kwanzaa, (Hispanic) Las Posadad-Noche Buena-Navidad, (Jewish) Hanukkah-Rosh Hashanah, (Persian) Yalda, (Islamic) Eid al-Adha-Muharram, (Buddhist) Rohatsu, (Hindu) Sankranti, (Celtic) Winter Solstice and (Chinese) New Year.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays
Feliz Navidad y Felices Fiestas
Joyeux Noël et joyeuses fêtes
Buon Natale e Buone Feste
Frohe Weihnachten und frohe Feiertage
Vrolijke Kerstmis en Gelukkige Vakantie
Καλα Χριστουγεννα και καλες διακοπες
Feliz Natal e Boas Festas
И Рождеством Христовым праздники
メリークリスマス休暇で幸せ
聖誕快樂，節日快樂
This is Rockefeller Center in NYC which could be seen from my office above it on 5th Avenue.
. From the Coltons Point Times -- have a great, safe and loving holidays....
The press, or news media, are protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.
Amendment
I
Congress shall make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of
grievances.
This is the Code of Ethics used to guide the news media in the exercise of their work. Do you think they are following their own Code of Ethics?
Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public
enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy.
Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is
accurate, fair and thorough. An ethical journalist acts with integrity.
The Society declares these four principles as the foundation of ethical
journalism and encourages their use in its practice by all people in all media.
Seek Truth and Report It
Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists
should
be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and
interpreting
information.
Journalists should:
Take responsibility for the accuracy of their work. Verify
information before
releasing it. Use original sources whenever possible.
Remember that neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy.
Provide context. Take special care not to misrepresent or
oversimplify in
promoting, previewing or summarizing a story.
Gather, update and correct information throughout the life
of a news story.
Be cautious when making promises, but keep the promises
they make.
Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much
information as possible
to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.
Consider sources’ motives before promising anonymity.
Reserve anonymity for
sources who may face danger, retribution or other harm, and
have information
that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Explain why anonymity
was granted.
Diligently seek subjects of news coverage to allow them to
respond to criticism
or allegations of wrongdoing.
Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of
gathering information
unless traditional, open methods will not yield information
vital to the public.
Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power
accountable.
Give voice to the voiceless.
Support the open and civil exchange of views, even views
they find repugnant.
Recognize a special obligation to serve as watchdogs over
public affairs and
government. Seek to ensure that the public’s business is
conducted in the
open, and that public records are open to all.
Provide access to source material when it is relevant and
appropriate.
Boldly tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the
human experience.
Seek sources whose voices we seldom hear.
Avoid stereotyping. Journalists should examine the ways
their values and
experiences may shape their reporting.
Label advocacy and commentary.
Never deliberately distort facts or context, including
visual information.
Clearly label illustrations and re-enactments.
Never plagiarize. Always attribute.
Minimize Harm
Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and
members of
the public as human beings deserving of respect.
Journalists should:
Balance the public’s need for information against potential
harm or discomfort.
Pursuit of the news is not a
license for arrogance or undue intrusiveness.
Show compassion for those who may be affected by news
coverage. Use
heightened sensitivity when dealing with juveniles, victims
of sex crimes,
and sources or subjects who are inexperienced or unable to
give consent.
Consider cultural differences in approach and treatment.
Recognize that legal access to information differs from an
ethical justification
to publish or broadcast.
Realize that private people have a greater right to control
information about
themselves than public figures and others who seek power,
influence or
attention. Weigh the consequences of publishing or
broadcasting personal
information.
Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity, even if others do.
Balance a suspect’s right to a fair trial with the public’s
right to know. Consider
the implications of identifying criminal suspects before
they face legal charges.
Consider the long-term implications of the extended reach
and permanence of
publication. Provide updated and more complete information
as appropriate.
Act
Independently
The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is
to serve
the public.
Journalists should:
Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Disclose
unavoidable conflicts.
Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special
treatment, and avoid political
and other outside activities that may compromise integrity
or impartiality,
or may damage credibility.
Be wary of sources offering information for favors or
money; do not pay for
access to news. Identify content provided by outside
sources, whether paid
or not.
Deny favored treatment to advertisers, donors or any other
special interests,
and resist internal and external pressure to influence
coverage.
Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that
blur the lines
between the two. Prominently label sponsored content.
Be Accountable and
Transparent
Ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one's
work and
explaining one’s decisions to the public.
Journalists should:
Explain ethical choices and processes to audiences.
Encourage a civil
dialogue with the public about journalistic practices,
coverage and news
content.
Respond quickly to questions about accuracy, clarity and
fairness.
Acknowledge mistakes and correct them promptly and
prominently. Explain
corrections and clarifications carefully and clearly.
Expose unethical conduct in journalism, including within
their organizations.
Abide by the same high standards
they expect of others.
The SPJ Code of Ethics is a statement of abiding
principles supported by additional explanations and position papers (at
spj.org) that address changing journalistic practices.
It is not a set of rules, rather a guide that encourages
all who engage in journalism to take responsibility for the information they
provide, regardless of medium. The code should be read as a whole; individual
principles should not be taken out of context. It is not, nor can it be under
the First Amendment, legally enforceable.
I found this story to be fascinating.
It’s about what happened at an airline gate.
And it’s a reminder that even though we’re all different.
We're really all the same.
We’re all human.
It’s very easy to stereotype someone.
Based on how they are dressed.
How they talk.
Or how they look,
We’ve all done it.
(I know I sure have even though I hate to admit it)
But if you take a moment to move beyond that, it’s amazing what
can happen.
Here is a slightly condensed version of the story told by a
woman named Naomi Shihab Nye:
Photo by Manon Clavelier
After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the
announcement: If anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic,
please come to the gate immediately.
Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went
there.
An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress, just like
my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly.
Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her
problem?
We told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she did this.
I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly.
Shu dow-a, shu- biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick, sho bit
se-wee?
The minute she heard any words she knew she stopped crying.
She thought our flight had been canceled entirely.
She needed to be in El Paso
for some major medical treatment the
following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late,
Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him.
We called her son and I spoke with him in English.
I told him I would stay with his mother till we got on the plane and would ride
next to her—Southwest.
She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the
fun of it.
Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic
and found out of course they had ten shared friends.
She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life.
Answering
Questions.
She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered
sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—and was
offering them to all the women at the gate.
To my amazement, not a single woman declined one.
The traveler from Argentina,
the traveler from California,
the lovely woman from Laredo—we
were all covered with the same
powdered sugar. And smiling. There are no better cookies.
And (then) I looked around that gate and thought,
this is the world I want to live in. The shared world.
Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion
stopped—has seemed apprehensive about any other person.
After reading this story I looked at some of the comments.
And they were just as good.
Here’s one of them:
"I remember, my husband and I were traveling by train from Spain to France, and the train stopped for
hours in the mountain.
As the time passed, we fretted that our hotel wouldn't keep our room as our
cell phone wasn't connecting, and we spoke little French.
The lady behind us used her own phone to call our hotel.
Then everyone in the train car began sharing their food.
One couple had wine, another grapes and fruit.
We had cheese and bread and olives.
Everyone shared a bit of what they had, and we all had a picnic.
No one worried about language, or culture.
We were people, stuck on a train.
The world can be a place of hope, if we let it."
Another person said:
"This world would be perfect if we let go of fears and judgement.
And I refuse to give up on humanity because I know people like these
exists."
And finally there was this person:
"This is really all it takes for peace; to sit down and break bread with
your "enemy", to laugh together, look each other in the eye and
simply acknowlege- we are all sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and we all
bleed the same blood."
I couldn’t have said it any better myself.
And if you've ever had an experience like this please feel free to share it.
There is only one Chairman of the Board, golden voice, leader of the Rat Pack, king among celebrities, and legend, Frank Sinatra. The Jersey boy who was declared dead at birth in his parent's home when the doctor said he did not survive the birth complications, only to be revived by his grandmother and given a second chance at life, ranks second to none as an American icon.
Here is an excerpt of what Bob Pisani of CNBC said about Frank today.
Frank Sinatra's favorite toast was,
"May you live to be 100, and may the last voice you hear be mine."
He didn't make it to 100, but the
business of Frank Sinatra is still going strong.
Seventeen years after his death,
that voice can still be heard in restaurants, bars, airports and other public
spaces all over the world.
And why shouldn't business be good,
with a legacy like this: 1,400 recordings. Thirty-one gold, nine platinum, three
double-platinum and one triple platinum album. And he appeared in 60 films!
And the business keeps expanding.
The following are comments from around the world on Frank.
This Dec. 12,
Frank Sinatra would have turned 100 years old. James Kaplan’s two-part
biography of the legendary singer only seems that long.
Lady sings the blues
Sinatra said
Billie Holiday was the single biggest influence on his music.
Photo: AP; Redferns
Billie Holiday,
just eight months older than Sinatra, had been a success long before he was,
recording hits while Frank was scrounging for singing gigs in Hoboken.
He was in love with the ragged
texture of her voice and her incomparable laid-back phrasing, and in love, too,
with Billie herself: her sultry, wounded, distant presence both regal and
ravaged. “It is Billie Holiday who was,
and still remains, the greatest single musical influence on me,” he said. In July 1959, Holiday, a longtime
narcotics addict, lay dying in Harlem’s MetropolitanHospital.
According to Jacobs, he and Frank visited a gaunt and wasted Lady Day in her
hospital room, where three cops were stationed at the door. She was thrilled to
see Sinatra, who made happy talk about how he’d loved her latest album and how
much she’d influenced his phrasing. “I may have showed you how to
bend a note, Frankie, that’s all,” Holiday
said. Then she leaned over to him and whispered, so the police couldn’t hear,
“Will you cut the s–t, baby, and get me some dope?” Sinatra, despite his hatred of
drugs, tried to get heroin for Holiday as a
medical necessity. When that didn’t work, Frank bought it himself from a
dealer. With police outside Holiday’s door, though,
there was no way to get the drugs through. Billie’s liver failed, and she
went into a coma and died on July 17, 1959. Sinatra was disconsolate, holed up
in his apartment, drinking, weeping and playing her records over and over for
four days.
Broken Marilyn
Sinatra had
thought about marrying Marilyn, just to save her.
Photo: Getty Images
Frank was fond of
Marilyn Monroe, even buying her a poodle she named Maf — short for “Mafia.” But
Jacobs said that his boss was disgusted by Marilyn’s slovenliness and
disdainful of her intellect.
Still, Sinatra had considered
marrying Marilyn, just to save her.
“He felt if she were his wife,
everyone else would back off, give her some space and allow her to get herself
together,” a friend recalled. “ ‘No one will mess with her if she’s Mrs. Frank
Sinatra,’ he said. ‘No one would dare.’ ” When Marilyn died, Frank was
“devastated,” his valet recalled. Joe DiMaggio was devastated, too, and
furious. He blamed the Kennedys — “she was a toy for them,” he said — as well as
Sinatra. DiMaggio organized Marilyn’s
funeral and would not invite a single movie star. Frank arrived at the cemetery
with bodyguards and tried to force, then bribe, his way in. He was turned away.
Yesterday Marilyn
Marilyn Monroe rejected Frank Sinatra's marriage proposal a
year before her death, new book claims
18 OCT 2015
By Christopher Bucktin
A new biography of the singer claims the Hollywood
beauty turned him down because she was secretly back with estranged husband Joe
DiMaggio
Marriage proposal: Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe look at a
photo from fellow actor Peter Lawford's new polaroid camera
Sinatra thought he alone could stop Monroe’s downward spiral
that would lead to her death from a drugs overdose, aged 36, in 1962.
But he
was rebuffed because the Hollywood icon was
secretly back with her former husband, baseball playerJoe DiMaggio.
In his book The Chairman, James Kaplan says
Sinatra once took Monroe to his Cal-Neva resort
in Lake Tahoe and looked after her when she
was ill.
Sinatra supposedly
believed he could save Monroe
from the vultures he saw as leading her towards her doom.
By that time Sinatra
had divorced second wife Ava Gardner but had not yet married his third wife Mia
Farrow - while Monroe
had divorced her third and final husband Arthur Miller.
Jilly Rizzo, Sinatra’s
closest aide, told the author: “Yeah, Frank wanted to marry the broad.
"He asked her and
she said no.”
Rat Pack
The one song Sinatra hated? My Way... and other odd facts
about Ol' Blue Eyes on the eve of his 100th birthday
Published: 21:02 EST, 9
December 2015 | Updated: 04:31 EST, 10 December 2015
Rumours and truths: This week
marks the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s birth
This week marks the 100th anniversary of Frank Sinatra’s
birth.
To celebrate the life of one of the world’s greatest entertainers,
here are some facts you probably didn’t know about Ol’ Blue Eyes — from his
strange backstage demands to his links with Scooby Doo.
SINATRA WAS GIVEN UP FOR DEAD AT BIRTH
The delivery of the
13lb baby in his parents’ New Jersey
kitchen on December 12, 1915, was traumatic. When he finally emerged, there
were no signs of life. So the doctor put him to one side to attend to his
mother, Dolly.
It was only when the
child’s grandmother picked up the baby, ran cold water over him and slapped his
back that he started breathing.
HE WAS CALLED FRANK AFTER A MIX-UP
He was supposed to
be called Martin after his father, but the priest who conducted his baptism
accidentally named him after Frank Garrick, the family friend who was there as
the baby’s godfather.
Sinatra’s mother
chose to stick with the name, believing the mistake must be a good omen.
HIS TEEN NICKNAME WAS SCARFACE
The forceps used
during his birth had left scars on the side of his face, and adolescent acne
added further marks. Throughout his life, Sinatra wore make-up to hide the
scars — and even then hated being photographed on his left side. (The forceps
also punctured his eardrum — during World War II this was the reason he was
ruled unfit for military service.)
THE FIRST GIRL FANS WERE PAID TO SCREAM
The young singer
certainly had appeal — but George Evans, his publicist, wasn’t taking any
chances. He auditioned girls to find those who could scream the loudest, then
paid them $5 to sit at carefully chosen points in the audience, so creating
even more of a frenzy.
HE MADE SEVERAL SUICIDE ATTEMPTS
Frank's stormy
relationship with actress Ava Gardner upset him so much that on more than one
occasion he tried to kill himself.
Gardner once walked into the bedroom to find
him holding a gun to his head. As she struggled to take the weapon from him it
went off, but the bullet missed them both.
Another attempt came
during Sinatra’s dip in popularity in the Fifties. Walking through New York’s Times Square,
he saw a crowd of girls waiting to see new showbiz sensation Eddie Fisher.
He went back to his
apartment, turned on the gas stove and waited to die. Fortunately, he was found
by a friend.
Band of brothers: The 'Rat Pack' aka
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop
always preferred to call themselves ‘The Summit’
HE LOATHED HIS CLASSIC HIT MY WAY
It became one of his
most famous songs, but according to his daughter Tina, he ‘always thought that
song was self-serving and self-indulgent’. But it ‘stuck and he couldn’t get it
off his shoe’.
IT'S THE NEW
YORK, NEW YORK
YANKEES
The New York Yankees
baseball team play his signature song New York, New York after every home game in the Bronx.
For a while they
played Sinatra’s version only after victories — following a defeat they would
play Liza Minelli’s rendition. But when Minelli complained bitterly they
stopped the practice.
AT 5ft 7in, HE WORE LIFTS IN HIS SHOES
Sensitive about his
modest height of 5ft 7in, the singer used what Americans call ‘elevator shoes’,
some of them the work of celebrity Los Angeles shoemaker Pasquale di Fabrizio.
HE INSPIRED THE NAME SCOOBY DOO . . .
Scooby Doo was
originally going to be called Too Much. But during a flight to a development
meeting, CBS executive Fred Silverman heard Sinatra’s recording of Strangers In
The Night.
The ‘dooby do’
lyrics at the end gave him the idea for the cartoon hound’s new name.
... AND A SUCCESSFUL BRITISH POP GROUP
In 1972, Belgian
artist Guy Peellaert (who designed album covers for David Bowie and the Rolling
Stones) published a book called Rock Dreams.
It told the story of
popular music in 125 paintings. One depicted Sinatra’s move from singing into
acting as a newspaper article headlined Frankie Goes Hollywood.
The Liverpool band added the extra word ‘to’ to form their
name Frankie Goes To Hollywood and had a string of hits including Relax and Two
Tribes.
Tragic: Frank's relationship with Ava
Gardner upset him so much that he attempted suicide
J.F.K. DIED AS HE FILMED A FUNERAL
The movie Robin And
The 7 Hoods was a re-telling of the Robin Hood myth featuring Chicago gangsters. While shooting a scene at
a funeral in 1963, the cast and crew received news that John F. Kennedy had
been shot and killed. Sinatra, who had been friends with the President, was
traumatised.
HE WAS ALWAYS READY FOR A KIDNAP
As if the JFK
coincidence wasn’t spooky enough, Sinatra learned during the filming of a
kidnap scene in Robin And The 7 Hoods that his own son, Frank Jnr, had been
kidnapped. (The scene was cut from the final version of the movie.)
Following the
abduction on December 8, 1963, Sinatra received a ransom demand of $240,000,
together with the instruction that he must only call the kidnappers from pay
phones. In the middle of one call, he ran out of money, and panicked that the
error had cost his son’s life.
But after payment of the ransom, Frank Jr was
released. His father vowed he would never be caught without coins again and
always carried a roll of 10 cent coins.
THE RAT PACK DIDN'T USE THAT NAME
Sinatra’s famous
gang of friends — which included singers Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr, comic
Joey Bishop and actor Peter Lawford — were given their famous nickname by Hollywood
star Lauren Bacall. But they always preferred to call themselves ‘The Summit’,
after a 1960 meeting of world leaders in Paris.
HIS HOTEL SPANNED TWO U.S. STATES
At one time, Sinatra
was part-owner of the Cal Neva Lodge resort and casino in Lake
Tahoe. The resort was so-called because half of it was in California and half in neighbouring Nevada.
SINATRA HATED THE GODFATHER
In the classic Mafia
novel The Godfather, later made into an Oscar-winning series of films, the
entertainer Johnny Fontane receives help with his career from organised crime
figures.
Although the book’s
author, Mario Puzo, denied that the character was inspired by Sinatra, the
singer — always surrounded by rumours of Mafia links — took it as an insult.
When the two met in
Los Angeles restaurant Chasen’s in 1970, Sinatra screamed: ‘I ought to break
your legs!’
HE WAS A FUSSPOT ABOUT RED CARPETS
HIS contracts always
specified that the red carpet leading from his dressing room to the stage must
be anchored by tacks no more than 18in apart.
Broadcaster Clive
James introduced Sinatra at a 1988 concert to mark the opening of the Sanctuary
Cove resort in Queensland, Australia. He
witnessed the singer’s lawyer bending down with a tape measure to ensure that
the clause had been complied with.
HIS TIPPLE WAS JACK DANIEL'S
‘This is a
gentleman’s drink,’ he said of the his favourite drink, Jack Daniel’s. He
always had two fingers of whiskey, four ice cubes and a splash of water.
For some reason,
Sinatra would never touch the rim of the glass — he cupped it in his hand,
protected by a cocktail napkin.
HE NEVER LEARNED TO READ MUSIC
Though he began
performing professionally as a teenager in the late Thirties — as a singing
waiter at the Rustic Cabin club in Englewood,
New Jersey — he never learned formally
to read music, instead relying on a good ear to help him hold a tune.
HIS LAST WORDS WERE ‘I'M LOSING’
Ol’ Blue Eyes
suffered a heart attack on May 14, 1998. His journey to hospital was through
empty streets because most people were at home watching the final episode of
the TV comedy Seinfeld.
Sinatra’s life
couldn’t be saved. His last words were: ‘I’m losing.’ The EmpireStateBuilding was lit up in
blue in tribute.
BURIED WITH BOOZE AND CIGARETTES
His friends placed a
bottle of Jack Daniel’s in his pocket when he was buried and put a pack of
Camel cigarettes and a Zippo cigarette lighter in his coffin. His gravestone
reads: ‘The best is yet to come.’
When he died his funeral was larger than the funeral for President Kennedy. Here is a news account of the event.
That's Life
New Jersey
Online
Family, Stars bid Sinatra Farewell
May 21, 1998
By JEFF WILSON
Associated Press Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- It was the passing of a legend, another time
marker for the century, and Hollywood's royalty bid farewell to Frank Sinatra
with touches of kindness, doses of laughter and moments of reflection.
``Barbara, Frank loved you very much,'' Kirk Douglas, his speech still
showing the effect of a stroke, told Sinatra's widow. ``We all know that, so
don't cry too much. Think of Frank up there with Dean Martin, up with there
with Sammy Davis Jr.
``Boy, heaven will never be the same!''
There was hearty applause from the 400 mourners packed inside Good Shepherd
Catholic Church for Wednesday afternoon's two-hour service, which included a
funeral Mass officiated by Cardinal Roger Mahony, the archbishop of Los
Angeles.
It was uplifting, as Mrs. Sinatra asked, but there was no escaping reality:
As speakers paraded to the microphone and Communion was served, eyes were
focused on the metal casket in front with the body of Ol' Blue Eyes.
Sinatra died of a heart attack last Thursday at 82.
Just before the funeral began, Nancy Sinatra placed her head on her father's
casket and prayed. Nearby, Liza Minnelli hugged Mia Farrow, who was briefly
married to Sinatra in the 1960s. Another touching moment came when ``Put Your
Dreams Away'' by the man known as The Voice boomed from speakers.
``Our world is a better place because Frank Sinatra passed through it,'' Douglas said.
Mourners spanned the generations: James Darren, Bruce Springsteen, Vic Damone,
Sidney Poitier, Jerry Vale, Tony Bennett, Debbie Reynolds, Tom Selleck, Dionne
Warwick, Angie Dickinson, Wayne Newton, Quincy Jones, Milton Berle, Ernest
Borgnine, Gregory Peck, Joey Bishop, Tony Curtis, Paul Anka, Red Buttons, Nancy
Reagan, Bob Newhart.
During his remembrance, Frank Sinatra Jr. noted his father had the mystic
romance of Rudolph Valentino, the aloofness of James Dean, sexiness of Marilyn
Monroe and the appeal of Elvis Presley.
``Unlike the others, he lived to a ripe old age,'' his son noted.
Looking down at the casket 10 feet away, he concluded: ``So long buddy, and
take care of yourself.''
The church was a floor-to-ceiling ocean of white flowers -- orchids, roses,
mums and Sinatra's favorite, gardenias. Pallbearers, including Don Rickles,
Steve Lawrence, Tom Dreesen and Sinatra Jr., wore gardenia boutineers.
Mrs. Sinatra, wearing black, sat in the front row with her son, Robert Marx,
who delivered one of the brief eulogies. ``He made her feel like a little girl.
She called him her knight in shining armor. And he was,'' said Marx, whom
Sinatra considered a son.
The tributes were by turns touching and racy, reflecting the personality of
a man whom Peck described as a ``reckless rogue, sentimental fella.''
Producer George Schlatter offered a slightly off-color remembrance: ``His
favorite words were `Jack' and `Daniel's.' His least favorite: `Take two.'''
Following the tributes, Sinatra's casket was carried out of the church to a
hearse, amid the din of four media helicopters hovering overhead and dozens of
reporters and camera operators behind police lines across the street.
As news helicopters followed, the hearse drove to Van Nuys airport, where
the casket was loaded on a private jet that flew with the immediate family to
the desert town of Palm Springs
some 110 miles east.
In a simple ceremony at modest DesertMemorial Park in nearby CathedralCity, Sinatra was buried next to his
parents and his best friend, Jilly Rizzo, in a plot near the road.
Sinatra fan Earl Timko, 80, drove up to the cemetery in his golf cart and
recalled that he had seen the Chairman of the Board when he was alive.
``He and his friends, they knew how to live it up.'' Pallbearers at Sinatra Funeral
Pallbearers and some of the other notables who joined Frank Sinatra's family
in mourning at Wednesday's funeral:
PALLBEARERS
Tom Dreesen, Mason Golden, Steve Lawrence, Robert Marx, Tony Oppedisano, Don
Rickles, Frank Sinatra Jr., Eliot Weisman.
HONORARY PALLBEARERS
Tony Bennett, Milton Berle, Ernest Borgnine, Hank Cattaneo, Kirk Douglas,
Quincy Jones, Billy May, Wayne Newton, Gregory Peck, Susan Reynolds, George
Schlatter, Danny Schwartz, Jerry Vale, Jerry Weintraub.
MOURNERS
Paul Anka, Joey Bishop, Red Buttons, Diahann Carroll, Rosemary Clooney, Tim
Conway, Tony Curtis, Vic Damone, Marvin Davis, Tony Danza, James Darren, Angie
Dickinson, Phil Donahue, Mia Farrow, Lee Iaccoca, Alan King, Larry King, Steve
Lawrence, Jack Lemmon, Sophia Loren, Larry Manetti, Ed McMahon, Liza Minnelli,
Bob Newhart, Sidney Poitier, Nancy Reagan, Debbie Reynolds, Carol Bayer Sager,
Tom Selleck, Suzanne Somers, Bruce Springsteen, Robert Stack, Marlo Thomas,
Robert Wagner, Dionne Warwick, Lew Wasserman. .
