2016 - annus horribilis

[BoSoxGal]

Carrie Fisher suffers massive heart attack on board airplane from London to L.A. Now in critical condition in hospital, but reports are she was without heartbeart for 15 minutes so I'm guessing prognosis is grim.

[RayThom]

I heard a TV news report earlier saying that Fisher was resting yet alert and talking in the ICU.

May the force be with her.

[BoSoxGal]

I couldn't find any such report online - most are consistently saying that she was not breathing for up to 15 minutes or more before the plane was met by paramedics, who then rushed her to the hospital while continuing to perform CPR. I've also found several reports mentioning that she's on a vent.

It would be terrific if she was 'alert and resting comfortably,' but it would also be pretty miraculous following such a lengthy time without a heartbeat. This is exactly how my aunt died a little less than a year ago, so please excuse my pessimism.

[Gob]

Rick Parfitt of Status Quo gone today


https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... es-aged-68

[RayThom]

Rick Parfitt of Status Quo gone today

Omnia mutata sunt, perhaps?

[dales]

It's not all doom and gloom.

Merry Christmas.

This story originally appeared on Esquire.com

2016 was a hard year, rocked by the deaths of beloved celebrities, senseless acts of terror, and political turmoil. But through all the tragedy that we saw in the headlines, there were little miracles that occurred that reminded us that the world is still, despite everything, a beautiful place filled with kind people who love one another. Here are just a few of our favorite moments:

http://www.sfgate.com/life/article/26-t ... 815841.php

[ex-khobar Andy]

Wham! - and there goes another.

[RayThom]

Wham! - and there goes another.

Good ol' Curious George, I'll forever remember him -- not for his music -- but for his public restroom antics. Dead at 53 due to cardiac arrest. I'm betting it was drug induced.

"I Want Your Sex" took on new meaning after his many arrests. Sad.

[Beer Sponge]

2016 can fuck right off.

[BoSoxGal]

It really has been a year of massive loss of talent - a reminder:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/22/entertain ... index.html


I've been feeling overwhelmed this year from what's happened to me personally, and also what's happening in the world around me. I can never recall having so little hope for the future to be positive as I do this year's end.

#enduring

[RayThom]

... I've been feeling overwhelmed this year from what's happened to me personally, and also what's happening in the world around me. I can never recall having so little hope for the future to be positive as I do this year's end.

Well, that doesn't sound good. Very few people have control of life events that surround them, or befall them. Simply put -- that's life. No guarantees, you just do what you gotta' do.

Me, on the other hand, find hope buoys my spirit. Without it I'm positive I'd be much worse off than I am now. My game plan is to hang in there until I can no longer do so.

Just in case, BSG, "HAPPY NEW YEAR." My 2017 is going to be the best ever. I suggest you give it a try.

[Lord Jim]

When you have kids, you have to be hopeful about the future...

My son isn't thinking about Donald Trump and how his election represents the greatest catastrophe to befall The Republic since the Civil War...

He's thinking about the cool bike Santa brought him, and how soon he can start riding it without training wheels...

My hippie dippy vegetarian commie daughter does give some thought to Trump and what he represents, but she's really more focused on her boyfriend, having alpha female fights with her mother, and going away to college next year...(BTW rube, there's a very good chance she's going to be going to UC Santa Cruz; maybe she can pop in and say hello )

Life goes on...

[dales]

Lord Jim, your daughter is college age?!?!

My how time flies!

UCSC?

WTF?

You have my condolences.

[Joe Guy]

...there's a very good chance she's going to be going to UC Santa Cruz...

Jim, after your daughter graduates college and chooses a career, make sure that she posts here to let us know in detail which charities she supports and how much money she donates.

[Lord Jim]

Lord Jim, your daughter is college age?!?!

My how time flies!

Tell me about it...

Jim, after your daughter graduates college and chooses a career, make sure that she posts here to let us know in detail which charities she supports and how much money she donates.

That wont happen...

She's been raised well enough to know better than to be that gauche...

[Jarlaxle]

Jim, I have bad news. A child in college means you are now OLD!

[Gob]

A Russian military Tu-154 plane taking the world-renowned Alexandrov Ensemble, the army’s official choir, to a concert at a Russian air base in Syria, crashed into the Black Sea on Sunday. All 92 passengers and crew on board are feared dead.

According to a list of passengers and crew published by the ministry, there were 64 members of the choir, and their conductor Valery Khalilov on board the crashed plane. “It takes years to create such an ensemble. It is not enough just to put together some gifted musicians. It is necessary to unite talents who can build a whole new world,” Yuri Stupak, a vocalist of the MVD Ensemble, the official academic ensemble of Russian Ministry of the Interior, told Sputnik France remembering his colleagues from the Alexandrov Ensemble.



Read more: https://sputniknews.com/russia/20161226 ... interview/

[RayThom]

This is surely a tragedy for all their families and friends. For me, however, I can't say that I'll miss the Alexandrov Ensemble. As I often say, when you hear one military show tune you've heard them all.

Duma Misérables was terrible.

[ex-khobar Andy]

Ray - report back after you have listened to them doing Verdi's Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves or Schubert's Ave Maria.

[Long Run]

there's a very good chance she's going to be going to UC Santa Cruz

You might win the award for the most scenic drive taking a kid to college, go to the ocean and take a left, stunning views all the way.