Baron Dave Romm
Heartland Perverts 3
By Baron Dave Romm
Friend
me on Facebook
Mention Bartcop-E in the Friend
Request
Valentine's Day
An immature play-warrior with an arrow who doesn't always shoot straight. Yeah, that describes many sphincter conservatives. They preach we're a "Christian Nation" while wallowing in the most unChristian acts... and pointing fingers at anyone else.
Here are a few recent stories about love (or at least lust) that took a bad turn. The mainstream media briefly reported them, then forgot about as they let these same range of people spout the same talking points.
Having to hide love leads to another tragedy
Lovers' Quarrel May Have Sparked Murder-Suicide WKMG 8/23/07:ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A prominent Republican Party consultant is one of three men found dead in a Central Florida home Thursday in an apparent double murder-suicide possibly sparked by a lovers' quarrel, according to detectives.
A woman's out-of-state phone call requesting a well-being check on a friend led Orange County sheriff's deputies to the bodies of Ralph Gonzalez, David Abrami and Robert Drake Thursday.
When deputies arrived at the home after receiving the call at 9:13 a.m., the front door was open, and officers said they found the victims inside and signs of a struggle.
"We are working it as a homicide, but there is some early evidence to suggest that this may in fact be a murder-suicide," Orange County sheriff's Sgt. Allen Lee said.
Detectives said one of the victims was an ex-member of the military and was found wearing a backpack. Bomb squad members were called out to the scene after bags were found in his parked vehicle.
Investigators also found several weapons in the house.
The three men may have been dead since Tuesday.
The home's address is listed as the office of The Strategum Group, a firm founded by political strategist Ralph Gonzalez.
Gonzalez's clients have included U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney, State Rep. Dean Cannon and U.S. Rep Tom Price, according to the firm's Web site. Gonzalez is the former executive director of the Georgia Republican Party, the Web site stated.
This quickly became front page news.
Cops seek motive in deaths of 3 men Orlando Sentinel added some background 8/24/07:
Gonzalez is the former head of the Republican Party in Georgia and was president of Strategum Group, an Orlando political-consulting firm that represents Republican candidates. He managed U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney's 2002 campaign and the unsuccessful 2003 Orlando mayoral campaign of advertising executive Pete Barr.
Abrami, an attorney, previously worked as an assistant to Orlando political-consultant Doug Guetzloe. He was active with the Young Republicans at the University of Central Florida, and in 1992, he was among a group of Florida Republicans who made a 22-hour drive to New Hampshire to support candidate Pat Buchanan in his unsuccessful presidential bid.
Wonkette, quoting an emailer The Secret Life of Ralph Gonzalez:
As per the claims of a lover's quarrel, Ralph (aka Rob) has been a fixture of gay.com for a long while.
While I didn't know him personally, nor did I realize exactly who he was, I have chatted with him off-and-on for years. His intentionally kept a low-profile, using a picture obscured his look, saying only that he worked in government consulting, and using a pseudonym. The one huge tell, however, was his occasional bioline that listed some Republican talking point. This would inevitably roil the chat room he was in, leading him to eventually change his s/n, remove his picture, and stay much lower-key.
Its still unclear who shot who, but I do know that his own roommate didn't know he was gay. I just hope it wasn't Rob that did the killing but rather he was an unfortunate victim of either murderous intolerance or jealous rage. We shall see.
The homophobic stench from the far right kept a guy in the closet even as he supported their radical political agenda. Would this tragedy have occurred if Gonzalez was accepted for who he was? We can't say for sure. But it's clear that rage and violence were part of the secrets he kept.
There are a fair amount of Log Cabin Republicans, who support many right wing policies while ignoring the hate from their political cronies. I don't really understand how anyone can work for the exact opposite of their lifestyle. We see here one consequence of high emotions festering under the surface.
The Fall and Rise of Vito Fossella
Okay, so Vito Fossella, a Republican Congressman from New York, gets arrested for drunken driving in Virginia Washington Post 5/1/08. Embarrassing and a re-election problem for a public figure, but hardly a career-curdling, life-destroying event.
Except that a week later, the truth of his hidden life comes out.
New York Republican joins the sex-scandal club The Carpetbagger Report 5/8/08:
Fossella, a Republican congressman who represents Staten Island, got into a little trouble last week in Virginia, where he was arrested for DUI. He was caught with a blood alcohol level of 0.17 -- over twice the legal limit in the state.
If convicted, Fossella would have to serve up to five days in jail. As a rule, incarceration is generally a problem for members of Congress seeking re-election. "The prospect of jail time would make it very hard for him to run again," Cook Political Report House analyst David Wasserman said. "The difference between serving jail time and pleading down to a lesser charge makes a huge difference in Fossella's political future."
As it turns out, that's the least of Fossella's troubles.On Monday, the New York Daily News ran a front-page story about his relationship with a "mystery woman," Laura Fay, a retired Air Force officer who posted his bail even though Fossella's chief of staff lives nearby.Reporters in New York hinted in their stories that Fossella might be the father of Fay's toddler, but even the implication drew an angry denunciation from the lawmaker's spokesperson, who said the accusation did not even dignify a response.
That is, until this morning, when Fossella fessed up.
But it gets juicier. First, the disgraced Republican simply cries and whines... on the floor of the US House of Representatives.
Vito Fossella Cries On House Floor After Drunk Driving, Adultery Revelations Huffington Post 5/8/08:Disgraced New York Congressman Vito Fossella broke down in tears on the floor of the House of Representatives today, apparently under the emotional weight of his recent behavior.
Fossella acknowledged on Thursday that he had fathered a daughter, now three years old, with a woman who wasn't his wife. News of his adultery came just a week after the Staten Island Republican was arrested for drunk driving in suburban Virginia.
Appearing on the House floor today, Fossella broke down when talking with House Chaplain, Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, a Hill source who witnessed the event told The Huffington Post. The episode occurred shortly after the congressman voted against the Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008, a housing bill that passed through the House by a 239 to 188 vote.
Fossella's political and legal future is currently up in the air. He is expected to appear in court next week and could face jail time if convicted for his drunk driving charge.
So a Congressman who used to be a Democrat and switched to the GOP because he was very conservative by New York standards, turns out to have a secret life. Not just an affair, his "recent behavior" included fathering a three-year-old daughter by that affair. Shades of John Edwards! Did he quit? No. After crying on the House floor, the assessment of his political future was dim but not dead:
Staten Island Paper Says Fossella "Is Finished" NY1 5/8/09:ay after Congressman Vito Fossella admitted to having an affair that produced a child, his hometown newspaper called on Friday for the Republican to step down, saying he "is finished."
The Staten Island Advance said the Republican "forfeited the trust" of his supporters and "the right to represent the people of Staten Island in Congress."
The New York Post also published an editorial Friday calling for Fossella's resignation.
Fossella said he has no plans to resign after his drunk driving arrest and admission that he fathered the child with a mistress. Fossella is married with three children on Staten Island, but was forced to admit Thursday that he has a 3-year-old daughter with former Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Laura Fay, who lives in Virginia.
The congressman's double life came to light in the police report about Fossella's arrest. He told officers he was driving to see his daughter, which prompted questions.
Hmm... so Congressman Fossella had a long time secret affair. Check. He got caught driving drunk. Check. He was extremely drunk to see his three-year-old daughter. No, I can't deal with that.
Believe it or not, it gets worse. Vito Fossella lied to other woman; wife considers dumping him NY Daily News 5/10/08:
Vito Fossella's admission that he fathered a love child exposed another of his lies: He had told his girlfriend he was separated from his wife, the Daily News learned Friday.
Retired Air Force Col. Laura Fay told those around her recently that the Staten Island congressman had split with his wife, Mary Pat, one source said. "Fay thought - up until the release of the statement - that Fossella was separated," said the source, who is familiar with the relationship.
The source said Fay learned of the lie when a friend who saw a draft of Fossella's statement realized it didn't say he was separated.
Fossella, who has always stressed "family values," admitted Thursday in the statement that he fathered Fay's 3-year-old daughter during an illicit affair. The revelation came a week after he was charged with drunken driving in Alexandria, Va., and seemed to tear apart the family.
Asked if he could ever forgive Fossella, Mary Pat Fossella's father, Thomas Rowan, said, "I'm not going to say."
Fossella not only lied to his wife, he lied to his mistress. Doesn't she read the papers? Didn't she ever look at his website?
To the GOP, running a moral reprobate for Congress is politics as usual. Instead of dumping the perv, the RNCC simply designated him as vulnerable and therefore eligible for more funding.
On May 20th, the six-term Congressman dropped out of the race, replaced by Democratic candidate Michael McMahon.
But don't grieve for the drunken philanderer just yet. Former Staten Island Rep. Vito Fossella lands job at financial firm silive.com 4/20/09:
The "next chapter" of former Staten Island Rep. Vito Fossella's life is unfolding at a financial firm in Midtown Manhattan that offers hedge fund-style investments to ordinary Joes, run by a high-flying, globe-trotting college dropout and former Austrian cop who hobnobs with celebs like former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and "Desperate Housewives" star Teri Hatcher.
Fossella over the weekend served the first two days of a four-day jail sentence stemming from his drunken-driving conviction in Virginia. He is set to return to jail in the commonwealth this weekend to finish his stint.
Fossella's new company, Superfund Investment Group, has offices in 16 countries around the world, and manages $1.6 billion in assets for 50,000 customers.
The firm's Manhattan office, where Fossella works, is on Fifth Avenue, across from the main branch of the New York Public Library.
Not much is known about what Fossella does for Superfund, but sources told the Advance he has been seen on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, leading to speculation that he could be putting his political contacts to work on behalf of the firm.
Vito Fossella is liar, a cheater and a drunk driver. He destroyed two families, threw away the trust of everyone who voted for him, and is a danger on the highway. But gosh, he's close friends with a bunch of other Republicans who feel his pain.
A love story. Sort of.
Catholic school principal asked to resign after outdoor gay sex romp Pageoneq 7/16/08:
Gabriel DeJesus, who heads Sacred Heart School for the Arts in Mount Vernon, New York, has been asked by the New York Archdiocese to resign in the wake of his Sunday arrest, the New York Post reported Wednesday morning.
As PageOneQ previously reported, DeJesus, 41, met two other men on a vacant property Sunday night. The three proceeded to disrobe and engage in gay sex acts in the back yard, prompting neighborhood residents to call the police. DeJesus and 31-year-old Francesco Autera were arrested, while a third party, naked, fled on foot.
This was talked about in blogs more than in the news.
Their problem was that they choose to express their, er, love out in the open, where everyone could see. Why couldn't they stay in the closet or lie to their loved ones like real conservatives?
Vikings vs. Winter Olympics
The Brett Favre Watch has begun. Will he retire? Will anyone believe him if he does? Is this just another ploy to get out of training so he can join the team just before the season starts? *yawn*
For the next several weeks, we have the Winter Olympics to keep our mind off Favre. It may not be enough.
Baron Dave Romm is a conceptual artist and a noble of Ladonia who produces Shockwave Radio Theater, writes in a Live Journal demi-blog maintains a Facebook Page, plays with a very weird CD collection and an ever growing list of political links. Dave Romm reviews things at random for obscure web sites. You can read all his music recommendations from Bartcop-E. Podcasts of Shockwave Radio Theater. Permanent archive. More radio programs, interviews and science fiction humor plays can be accessed on the Shockwave Radio audio page.
Thanks to everyone who has sent me music to play on the air.
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Froma Harrop: Slobs and the American Civilization (creators.com)
Had George Washington joined me outside a Chili's at Chicago's O'Hare Airport recently, he would have shuddered at the sight. There, a nation of slobs paraded through the crossroads of America. Frayed denim hems swept the filthy floor. Cleavage poured out of T-shirts bearing vulgar messages. Big bellies flowed over the waists of jeans. Mature women waddled in stained sweat suits. Some passersby stuffed their mouths with pizza as they walked.
Froma Harrop: Age Discrimination for the Young (creators.com)
The age of adulthood - and the rights and responsibilities that come with it - is largely a matter of opinion. Age 18 traditionally separates minors from adults. But one can't legally buy a drink in America until age 21. Meanwhile, many states are now sending minors into the adult criminal justice system, even for nonviolent crimes.
Claire Gordon: How Much Is Virginity Worth? (doublex.com)
Last week, a 19-year-old New Zealand student, known only as Unigirl, sold her virginity to a stranger for $32,000.
Janice Turner: "David Sedaris: The unquiet American" (timesonline.co.uk)
The satirist David Sedaris has sold millions of books and filled Carnegie Hall but lives a low-profile life in London.
"In My Father's Shadow: a Daughter Remembers Orson Welles" by Chris Welles Feder: Review by Linda Christmas (telegraph.co.uk)
The opening of this book is haunting. It contains a description of Orson Welles's funeral. This was supposed to be a simple service for close family members, but when it was discovered that Welles left no money, it shrank to a dismal affair in a destitute part of LA.
John Rossi: George Orwell was as important to language as he was to ideas (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the death of perhaps the most influential English writer of the 20th century, Eric Arthur Blair, better known as George Orwell.
Eric Gutierrez: Megan Mullally: from 'Will & Grace' actress to West End singer (timesonline.co.uk)
She stole the show in 'Will & Grace.' Now the actress/singer is bringing her band and her musical chops to London
George Varga: Buck Howdy Joins the 'Big Guns' at the Grammys (creators.com)
"I get a kick out of the fact that we spent less producing this record than I spent to valet park my car last night at the Grammy nominees party, which cost $40," said Howdy, who noted that he may well be this year's only Grammy winner who still performs at schools and birthday parties. "I am truly blessed and this is the icing on the cake."
Jon Bream: Rosanne Cash makes to-do lists of everything, whether it's errands to run or songs to sing (Star Tribune)
These days, it seems like everyone wants a list from Rosanne Cash.
Roger Ebert: Review of "'STRANGE DAYS': Kathryn Bigelow's sci-fi cult noir: An immersive movie nightmare" (R; An Overlooked DVD)
We know we want it. We want to see through other people's eyes, have their experiences, stand in their shoes. That's the unspoken promise of the movies, and as the unsettling prospect of computer-generated virtual reality creeps closer, it is possible that millions now living will know exactly what it feels like to be somebody else.
Wendy Ide: Born of Hope (timesonline.co.uk)
This 'Lord of the Rings' prequel made by a fan with her life savings is an internet phenomenon - and justifiably so.
Kevin Maher: "Dame Helen Mirren: I'm an Essex girl" (timesonline.co.uk)
Nominated for an Academy Award, the actress is typically frank about marriage, fame, plastic surgery and posh accents.
The Weekly Poll
Current Question
The 'Putting The Man on the Spot' Edition...
If you were given the opportunity to sit down with President Obama and ask him
three questions, what would they be?
1.) _____________
2.) _____________
3.) _____________
Send your response to
wrote:
From The Creator of 'Avery Ant'
Link from RJ
Sunflowers
Hi there
More for you to take a look at, I am afraid!
Reader Comment/Warning
virus
i'm not sure but the teapot link i followed might have dumped a virus onto me.
I'M NOT POSITIVE ABOUT IT it wasnt on the original page but on one of the followup pages that i went to.... not complaining just passing on a fyi
it is a file called av.exe (xp antivirus pro 2010) and downloads a fake antivirus program that will not quit////
it lures people into giving credit card numbers DO NOT FOLLOW IT
what is bad about this partticular virus is that it shuts down your antivirus program and also any anti-spyware that you have installed then restricts access to the internet so that you cannot get info to remove it it also uses a microsoft imitation screen to con its victims been hours trying to beat it so far to no avail. next step is to reload windows.
if i can find a cure i'll pass it on to you maybe you can post it although all the freeware stuff i have found 'aint really free.
gary
Thanks, Gary!
Holy crap!
FWIW, I've visited the teapot link several times, but didn't 'pick up' anything.
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
Pepper Spray Blowback
Whalers
Japanese whalers who complained of injuries from rancid butter thrown at them by an anti-whaling group were actually suffering from their own pepper spray attack, the protesters said Saturday.
Paul Watson, captain of the Sea Shepherd protest vessel Steve Irwin, said in a statement that video of Thursday's incident showed wind blowing the spray into the faces of the Japanese crew who were aiming it at the activists.
Watson said the Sea Shepherd video showed two of the Japanese crew on the deck of the Shonan Maru 2 wearing metal tanks on their backs. He said they aimed their nozzles and sprayed at the Sea Shepherd crew in an inflatable boat.
"However, the wind was not in favor of this Japanese tactic and the pepper spray is blown back into the faces of the three crew, who can be clearly seen rubbing their eyes. They appear to be suffering irritation to their eyes," the statement said. "I think this video absolves Sea Shepherd of any wrongdoing and demonstrates that the Japanese whalers routinely spin their stories to demonize our efforts to defend the whales from their illegal activities."
Whalers
London Acting Prizes
Whatsonstage Awards
Jude Law and Rachel Weisz got the thumbs up from London theatergoers Sunday, winning top acting honors at the city's only stage awards decided by the public.
Law's "Hamlet" won him the best actor prize at the Whatsonstage awards, run by a major theater Web site. Weisz was named best actress for playing faded southern belle Blanche Dubois in "A Streetcar Named Desire."
A sellout production of "Waiting for Godot" starring theatrical knights - and "X-Men" co-stars - Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart was voted theater event of the year.
Rowan Atkinson was named best actor in a musical for playing Fagin in "Oliver!" which also was voted best musical revival. The best actress in a musical prize went to Patina Miller for singing-nun show "Sister Act."
Whatsonstage Awards
Performs In Cuba
Bolshoi
Members of Russia's Bolshoi Ballet danced in Cuba for the first time in 30 years on Saturday in a joint performance with the Cuban National Ballet at Havana's Karl Marx theater.
The show coincided with a visit to Cuba by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as the two Cold War allies strengthen ties that frayed after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
To the applause of an appreciative audience in dance-crazy Cuba, six Bolshoi dancers performed some of the famous company's classic numbers from ballets such as "Swan Lake" and "Giselle."
Bolshoi
Paging Mr. Miyagi
Banksy
Banksy, the secretive British artist whose work has appeared on city streets around the world, said on Sunday he hoped his documentary film "Exit Through The Gift Shop" will raise the standing of urban art.
But the anonymous graffiti artist with a cult following said in a shadowy video message to audiences at the Berlin Film Festival on Sunday before the screening of his film that it was possible it could have the complete opposite effect.
"I guess my ambition was to make a film that would do for graffiti art what 'The Karate Kid' did for martial arts -- a film that would get every schoolkid in the world picking up a spray can and having a go," Banksy said of his first film.
"As it turns out, I think we might have a film that does for street art what 'Jaws' did for waterskiing."
Banksy
Booted Off Southwest Flight
Kevin Smith
Director Kevin Smith was ejected from a plane after being deemed "too fat to fly," he says on his Twitter account.
After delivering a speech in San Francisco, he boarded a Southwest Airlines flight to Burbank and was seated on the plane, but then was thrown off the flight Saturday evening.
The director of "Clerks" and other movies, who is also known for playing the movie character Silent Bob in many films, fired off a round of Twitter messages aimed at Southwest.
A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines wrote an apology on the company's Twitter account. The message, from an unnamed representative, says "Hey Kevin! I'm so sorry for your experience tonight! Hopefully we can make things right."
Kevin Smith
Charity Blasts Land Dispute Reports
Madonna
Phillip Van den Bosche, the director of Madonna's Raising Malawi foundation is denying that there is a land dispute over the charity's planned $15 million girls academy, calling reports that some villagers feel the project is displacing them "erroneous."
The Associated Press has reported that the village headman took the villagers' complaints to the local government, and that local officials have visited the area several times.
Raising Malawi is building the school for girls on approximately a 117-acre plot of government land near the capital, Lilongwe. The land had been used by villagers for farming when it was not utilized by the government, but Malawi reclaimed the land when the educational project emerged.
It worked out a deal in which about 200 villagers would be paid 16 million kwacha (about $115,000) in total by Raising Malawi to compensate them for their houses - mostly mud-and-thatch structures - and improvements such as gardens and trees.
Van Den Bosche said the deal - which was worked out by the government but paid for by Raising Malawi - was more than generous.
Madonna
Move To Muggings
Burglars
An influx of cheap electronic goods from China and the Far East has prompted British burglars to turn to other crimes such as robberies and muggings, according to research published on Wednesday.
Criminology lecturer James Treadwell from the University of Leicester in central England said the fall in the cost of traditional household goods had made burglars "redundant."
In the last decade, domestic burglaries have fallen by more than 50 percent according to the British Crime Survey, which estimates the number of offences based on interviews with the public.
He explained that in the 1980s and 90s, criminals could make a profit by breaking into homes to steal video recorders. But cheap Labor in China had changed all that.
Burglars
Crying Poor Mouth
NBA
The NBA could lose around $400 million this year because of the flagging economy and a crippling labor agreement, according to commissioner David Stern.
Stern told a news conference Saturday that players' union representatives negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement had been shown figures outlining the NBA's current economic circumstances.
The current collective bargaining agreement is supposed to pay 57 percent of total revenue, but some league officials believe the figure is higher because of salaries paid out by the 13 franchises that have surpassed the luxury-tax threshold this season, Sports Illustrated reported on its website.
Stern wants to change that percentage and hopes to begin discussions with the players' union before the current agreement expires on July 1 next year.
NBA
Divide & Conquer
Billboards
The message on dozens of billboards across the city is provocative: Black children are an "endangered species."
The eyebrow-raising ads featuring a young black child are an effort by the anti-abortion movement to use race to rally support within the black community. The reaction from black leaders has been mixed, but the "Too Many Aborted" campaign, which so far is unique to only Georgia, is drawing support from other anti-abortion groups across the country.
The billboards went up last week in Atlanta and urge black women to "get outraged."
The effort is sponsored by Georgia Right to Life, which also is pushing legislation that aims to ban abortions based on race.
Billboards
Record Set In Vegas
Hugs
A 51-year-old Ohio man has embraced the Valentine's Day spirit faster than anyone before, giving 7,777 hugs in 24 hours for a new world record.
Jeff Ondash, who sought the squeezes under the costumed alter ego Teddy McHuggin, broke the record Saturday night outside the Paris Las Vegas hotel-casino on the Las Vegas Strip.
Ondash said he wanted to become the world's hugging champion to raise money for the American Heart Association during American Heart month.
His daughter Carlie, who tallied her father's hugs with a manual counter at the start of his attempt on Friday, came up with his pseudonym to make his spectacle a bit more fun. As Teddy McHuggin, Ondash sports a red NASCAR-style driver's suit with hugging logos and a wrestling-style championship belt.
Hugs
Weekend Box Office
'Valentine's Day'
The star-studded romance "Valentine's Day" wooed audiences with a $52.4 million opening weekend, easily grabbing the No. 1 spot over the holiday that shares its name, according to studio estimates Sunday.
"Valentine's Day" distributor Warner Bros. estimated its love story will be in the $60 million range after Presidents Day on Monday. That would break the Presidents Day weekend record of $52 million set by "Ghost Rider" over the four-day holiday weekend in 2007.
Opening in a tight race for No. 2 were 20th Century Fox's action fantasy "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief" with $31.1 million over three days and Universal's werewolf tale "The Wolfman" with $30.6 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Tuesday.
1. "Valentine's Day," $52.4 million.
2. "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief," $31.1 million.
3. "The Wolfman," $30.6 million.
4. "Avatar," $22 million.
5. "Dear John," $15.3 million.
6. "The Tooth Fairy," $5.6 million.
7. "From Paris With Love," $4.7 million.
8. "Edge of Darkness," $4.6 million.
9. "Crazy Heart," $4 million.
10. "When in Rome," $3.4 million.
'Valentine's Day'
In Memory
Dick Francis
Dick Francis, the best-selling British thriller writer and former champion jockey, died on Sunday in his home in the Cayman Islands. He was 89.
A successful steeplechase jockey, Francis turned to writing after he retired from racing in 1957. He penned 42 novels, many of which featured racing as a theme. His books were translated into more than 20 languages, and in 2000 Queen Elizabeth II - whose mother was among his many readers - honored Francis by making him a Commander of the British Empire.
His son Felix said he and his brother, Merrick, were "devastated" by their father's death, but "rejoice in having been the sons of such an extraordinary man."
During his writing career, Francis won three Edgar Allen Poe awards given by The Mystery Writers of America for his novels "Forfeit" (1968), "Whip Hand" (1979) and "Come to Grief" (1995).
He also was awarded a Cartier Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers' Association for his outstanding contribution to the genre. The association made him a Grand Master in 1996 for a lifetime's achievement.
Richard Francis was born Oct. 31, 1920, as the younger son of a horse breeder in Tenby, South Wales. During World War II he joined the Royal Air Force in 1940 and was stationed in the Egyptian desert before being commissioned as a bomber pilot in 1943, flying Spitfires, Wellingtons and Lancasters.
A few years later he returned to his father's stables and became a steeplechase trainer's assistant. Later, as a professional jockey, he won 345 of the more than 2,300 races he rode in between 1948 and 1957, taking the title of Champion Jockey for the 1953-54 season.
Francis' first book, published in 1957, was his autobiography, titled "The Sport of Queens." His first novel, "Dead Cert," came out in 1962 and was followed by a new title every year since.
Francis is survived by his two sons as well as five grandchildren and one great-grandson, Cairns said. A small funeral will be held at Francis' home on Grand Cayman, followed by a memorial service in London, she said, but could not say when they would be held.
Dick Francis
In Memory
Doug Fieger
Doug Fieger, leader of the power pop band The Knack who sang on the 1979 hit "My Sharona," died Sunday. He was 57.
Fieger, a Detroit-area native, died at his home in Woodland Hills near Los Angeles after battling cancer, according to The Knack's manager, Jake Hooker.
Fieger formed The Knack in Los Angeles 1978, and the group quickly became a staple of Sunset Strip rock clubs. A year later he co-wrote and sang lead vocals on "My Sharona."
"My Sharona," an unapologetically anthemic rock song, emerged during disco's heyday and held the No. 1 spot on the Billboard pop chart for six weeks, becoming an FM radio standard.
It became a pop culture phenomenon, parodied by Weird Al Yankovic and others and sampled by rap group Run DMC.
In 1994, "My Sharona" re-entered the Billboard chart when it was released as a single from the soundtrack of the Ben Stiller film "Reality Bites."
The Knack continued to release albums and tour through the mid-2000s but they never replicated the success they enjoyed with their first two albums, "Get the Knack" and "... But the Little Girls Understand."
Fieger battled cancer for six years. In 2006 he underwent surgery to remove two tumors from his brain.
He is survived by a sister, Beth Falkenstein, and a brother, attorney Geoffrey Fieger of Southfield, Mich., who is best known for representing assisted suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian.
Doug Fieger
| CURRENT MOON lunar phases |
