Paul Bowles, noted expatriate and author of The Sheltering Sky, was born on this day 100 years ago.Fans have been celebrating all year.Paul Bowles lived to be nearly 89 and stayed in Morocco ’til the bitter end, as this 1998 interview shows.
Dr. J and Larry Bird (and Magic Johnson too!) love their Chuck Taylors. Not actually chewable, but definitely gumball-colored. Official shoe of the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, y’know.
She’s no longer 97 going on 98.Sorry, couldn’t resist. The sad truth is, Agathe von Trapp has died at age 97 in Baltimore, Maryland.
Philosopher Jeremy Bentham is a longtime star of our loop Oddly Preserved, thanks to his unusual demand that his body should be saved, dressed up, and displayed to friends and followers.Here Professor Philip Schofield of University College London tells the story, as Jeremy Bentham’s corpse looks on.
Enough! Enough of these endless headlines about a maybe-pardon for Billy the Kid. Since nobody has explained to my satisfaction why we’re even talking about it in 2010, I’ve done the research. Here are the answers to your eight burning questions about Billy the Kid and the Great Dopey Pardon Scandal of 2010.
Here’s our big list. It starts with feminist Mary Daly on January 3rd, and ends (so far) with JFK advisor Ted Sorensen on October 31st.Who was the most famous person to die in 2010? Tthere’s no real standout there. I give the nod either to Catcher in the Rye author J.D. Salinger, or to Hollywood icon Tony Curtis.
If Marlene Dietrich were still alive, she’d be 109 years old today.
My guess is we’d still be reading about her exploits in Hollywood — suggestive rumors about her “close” relationships with Jesse McCartney and, say, Lady GaGa.
And still making visits to the troops overseas, singing a dubstep version of “Falling in Love Again (Can’t Help It)” (remixed by Kanye and available on iTunes).
Over at HistoryNet.com this month, there’s a terrific piece by author William Secrest titled “The Calamities of Calamity Jane.”
Born Martha Jane Cannary in Missouri around 1852, she became a notorious resident of Deadwood in the Dakotas during the Gold Rush of the 1870s. By the 1880s, the legend of “Calamity Jane” had spread to the east coast in the form of dime novels, newspaper accounts and stage plays.
Kudos and thumbs up to True Grit, the 2010 reboot of the 1969 film that won John Wayne his first Oscar. It’s a great holiday flick.
[ Update, June 2011: Wait, the wedding is off! ]”When I gave Crystal the ring, she burst into tears. This is the happiest Christmas weekend in memory.”