Obit watch: December 29, 2022.

December 29th, 2022

Daniel Brush, who the NYT describes as a “boundary-defying artist”.

He had become an artist known — at first to a small group of cognoscenti, but gradually to a wider circle — for one-of-a-kind works defined by their detail and the devotion that went into them. His jewelry was often intended not so much to be worn as to be cherished. His small sculptures drew comparisons to Fabergé eggs for their delicacy and their small-scale artistry. He made works inspired by rituals of the Tendai Buddhist monks of Japan and works inspired by watching his son dip animal crackers into milk.

…

He had a morning ritual of sweeping the loft for several hours, “just as a Buddhist monk might sweep the temple ground in meditation,” The Times wrote in 2020. The loft held antique scissors, an 18th-century lathe and assorted other vintage objects and machines, a testament to Mr. Brush’s self-taught mastery of techniques like the aforementioned granulation — visitors who took a magnifying glass to some of his jewelry and other pieces saw that they were adorned with strings of grainlike bits of gold.
“What struck me in his work is his demanding nature and his ability to work gold, aluminum and steel with absolute precision,” Nicolas Bos, chief executive of Van Cleef & Arpels, the French jewelry company, wrote in the preface to the 2019 book “Daniel Brush: Jewels Sculpture.” “He claims to be a goldsmith, a jeweler and a metalworker, but I think, before everything, there’s a sort of magician within him.”

…

“I am available, and people can come and they can look, and every once in a while they come,” he said. “So what happened in the past 30 years is I became immensely famous to 10 people, and five died.”

I wasn’t familiar with Mr. Brush and his work until I read the obit. There are some photos in the obit, and I confess: his art impresses me.

Posted in Art, Obits | 1 Comment »

Quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore (#6 in a series).

December 28th, 2022

Here’s a fun little quickie: a thoughtful Christmas present from FotB RoadRich.

The 1981 Braniff annual report.

The significance of this: the 1981 annual report came out in April of 1982. Braniff’s original airline operations ceased May 12, 1982.

(“Two later airlines used the Braniff name: the Hyatt Hotels-backed Braniff, Inc. in 1983–89, and Braniff International Airlines, Inc. in 1991–92.” Also: “…continues today as a retailer, hotelier, travel service and branding and licensing company, administering the former airline’s employee pass program and other airline administrative duties.“)

Posted in Christmas, Planes | Comments Closed

Here’s a Christmas story for you.

December 27th, 2022

By way of my beloved and indulgent sister: a man and his wife are planning to celebrate the holiday holed up in their house. In Buffalo.

Then, on Friday at 2 p.m., with the storm already swirling and snow rapidly piling up, making roads impassable, there was a knock at the door. Two men, part of a group of nine tourists from South Korea that was traveling to Niagara Falls, asked for shovels to dig their passenger van out of a ditch.

Cutting to the chase, instead of digging the van out (these people weren’t going anywhere in that snow) they invited the travelers in.

The visitors — seven women and three men — filled the three-bedroom house, sleeping on couches, sleeping bags, an air mattress and in the home’s guest bedroom. The other travelers included parents with their daughter, an Indiana college student, and two college-age friends from Seoul. Three of them spoke English proficiently.
They spent the weekend swapping stories, watching the Buffalo Bills defeat the Chicago Bears on Christmas Eve and sharing delicious Korean home-cooked meals prepared by the guests, like jeyuk bokkeum, a spicy stir-fried pork dish, and dakdori tang, a chicken stew laced with fiery red pepper. To the surprise and glee of the Korean guests, Mr. Campagna and his wife, who are both fans of Korean food, had all the necessary condiments on hand: mirin, soy sauce, Korean red pepper paste, sesame oil and chili flakes. There was also kimchi and a rice cooker.

…

Had they been stranded for another night, they had been thinking bulgogi — Korean grilled beef — for Christmas dinner.

Really, the only downside to this story from my point of view is that the Buffalo Bills won. The rest of the tale warms the cockles of my heart.

Posted in Christmas, Clippings | 4 Comments »

Hoplobibilophilia updates.

December 27th, 2022

I got a little behind in doing these, for reasons. But I’ve been on vacation all last week, and will be on vacation all this week and next, so I’ve got some time to catch up.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Books, Guns, Hoplobibilophilia, Smith and Wesson | 2 Comments »

Obit watch: December 27, 2022.

December 27th, 2022

Stephen Greif, British actor.

Other credits include some “Doctor Who” related shows, some “Judge Dredd” related work, “EastEnders”, “Drop the Dead Donkey”, and “The Last Days of Pompeii”.

Lawrence sent over an obit for Michael Reed, noted director of photography. Other credits include “The Groundstar Conspiracy”, “Rasputin: The Mad Monk”, and “God’s Outlaw“.

Posted in Movies, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Merry Christmas!

December 26th, 2022

I know, it is December 26th, but as I always say: all people of goodwill know the Christmas season runs through January 6th.

Today’s Christmas present: Nathaniel Hackett out as head coach of the Denver Broncos, less than a year after being hired.

The Broncos are 4-11 this season (and in Hackett’s tenure) and lost 51-14 to the (5-10) Rams on Sunday. But they did beat the Texans in week 2, so they’re not quite the most pathetic team in the NFL this season.

Posted in Firings, NFL, Sports | Comments Closed

Merry Christmas, everyone!

December 25th, 2022

Not exactly traditional, or musical, but why not?

Not a video, but I kind of liked this. One line in particular got me in the feels:

In January 1947, Sewell Avery, the CEO of Montgomery Ward, returned the exclusive rights to May because it was the right thing to do.

…”because it was the right thing to do.”

(Since I’ve already linked Paul Harvey, here’s the rest of the story: Bob May left Montgomery Ward to manage Rudolph, but returned seven years later. Yes, he made a ton of money, but sales declined over time, and the federal tax rates were usurius. He worked for Ward’s until his retirement in 1970, and died in 1976. He converted to Catholicism in 1972, after his second wife died, and married her sister the same year.)

Here’s a brief historical note, suitable for use in schools, from the Imperial War Museum:

And now a musical interlude from our interlude.

One more, I think, just for fun:

Merry Christmas to one and all. May those of you on the watch have a quiet shift. May those of you who are suffering find comfort.

Posted in Christmas, History, Religion | Comments Closed

Obit watch: December 23, 2022.

December 23rd, 2022

Ali Ahmed Aslam.

He is frequently credited with inventing chicken tikka masala.

In Aslam family lore, it was a local bus driver who popped in for dinner and suggested that plain chicken tikka was too spicy for him, and too dry — and also he wasn’t feeling well, so wasn’t there something sweeter and saucier that he could have instead? Sure, why not. Mr. Aslam, who was known as Mr. Ali, tipped the tandoor-grilled pieces of meat into a pan with a quick tomato sauce and returned them to the table.

…

Chicken tikka masala boomed in the curry houses of 1970s Britain. Soon it was more than just a dish you could order off the menu at every curry house, or buy packaged at the supermarket; it was a powerful political symbol.

…

As the curry house established itself as a British institution, more flourished around Shish Mahal. In 1979, when Mr. Aslam renovated the place, he reopened with a clever gimmick: all of the original 1964 prices, for a limited time. This led to long, frenzied lines down the block. In photos taken around this time, Mr. Aslam is handsome and beaming, in a tuxedo jacket and bow tie, with the thick, floppy hair of a movie star.

…

Though two of his sons took over ownership of Shish Mahal in 1994, Mr. Aslam never officially retired, and he continued to drive his white Jaguar to work and to wear the exquisite suits he had tailored on Savile Row. Known for his relentless work ethic, he considered himself a proud Glaswegian, a Scotsman through and through.

Maggie Thrett, actress. Credits other than that minor SF TV show from the 1960s include “Run, Joe, Run”, “I Dream of Jeannie”, and ‘The Wild Wild West”.

Posted in 1970s, Food, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Obit watch: December 22, 2022.

December 22nd, 2022

Diane McBain, actress.

Other credits include “Airwolf”, the good “Hawaii 5-0”, “Barbary Coast”…

…and “Mannix”. (“Blind Mirror”, season 3, episode 17. She was “Stella Diamond”.)

Posted in Mannix, Movies, Obits, TV | Comments Closed

Noted.

December 22nd, 2022

This story is a couple of days old, but I only got around to reading it this morning. When Rod Dreher says the NYT got a story about religion right, you should probably pay attention.

“The Miraculous Life and Afterlife of Charlene Richard“, about a Cajun farm girl who died in 1959 and the lengthy effort to make her a saint.

This is long, but I think it repays the effort. There’s a lot of discussion in the article about the specifics of the canonization process (including the relatively recent changes) and the internal Church politics involved in making someone a saint. If this isn’t the kind of thing that makes your eyes glaze over, I commend this article to your attention.

Posted in Clippings, Religion | Comments Closed

Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho.

December 22nd, 2022

According to the NYT, Adair, Iowa has a population of about 800 people.

The chief of police has been using his law enforcement credentials to buy machine guns.

Lots of machine guns.

Between 2018 and 2022, Mr. Wendt requested 90 machine guns, either to demonstrate their use or to buy them for the Adair Police Department, according to the Justice Department. But prosecutors concluded that he had other purposes in mind.

…

According to the indictment, Mr. Wendt, 46, used his title as police chief to “obtain and possess machine guns not lawfully available to the public,” including military-grade weapons and machine guns of a type used in guarding high-risk prisoners as they are moved from place to place.

…

In all, Mr. Wendt bought 10 machine guns for the police department, tried to buy 15 additional guns and requested the demonstration of 65 guns, according to the indictment. But in reality, he sold six machine guns registered to the Adair Police Department for personal profit, making thousands of dollars; rented out machine guns in exchange for money; and intended to stockpile guns to sell at a later date, the indictment said.

Extra bonus points:

According to the indictment, Mr. Wendt contacted a machine gun manufacturer in January 2021 and inquired about buying a weapon known as a minigun, which prosecutors described as “an electric motor driven Gatling gun designed for speed and accuracy” that has a magazine capacity of 4,000 rounds and a fixed firing rate of 50 rounds per second. This type of machine gun is used by the U.S. military and is typically mounted on helicopters; the Adair Police Department does not own a helicopter. Mr. Wendt put down a $40,000 deposit for the $80,000 gun. In his law letter, Mr. Wendt said the gun was “suitable for engagements and suppressive fire.”
The A.T.F. rejected the purchase because the minigun was “not suitable for law enforcement use.”

More extra bonus points: he also hosted a machine gun shoot.

In April 2022, Mr. Wendt and Mr. Williams hosted a public machine gun shooting event in Woodbine, Iowa, allowing patrons to fire a number of the machine guns in exchange for money.
Among the guns was a .50-caliber belt-fed machine gun that Mr. Wendt had claimed was needed for demonstration to the police department. In his law letter, Mr. Wendt said the gun was “ideal” for the department “based on its price and availability.” Mr. Wendt paid $17,896 for the gun. He mounted it to his armored Humvee and charged participants $5 per round.

Posted in Guns, Law | Comments Closed

Obit watch: December 21, 2022.

December 21st, 2022

Franco Harris, one of the great Steelers. Archive version, but the NYT keeps saying “This is a developing story. A full obituary will be published soon.”

The 6-foot-2 running back won four Super Bowls with the Steelers as they established themselves as the N.F.L.’s dominant team of the 1970s, and he was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his first nine seasons. But it was a single, heads-up play that more than anything defined his career.
On Dec. 23, 1972, the Steelers were trailing, 7-6, in a divisional round playoff game against the Oakland Raiders. With less than 30 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, the Steelers quarterback, Terry Bradshaw, lofted a desperation pass to John “Frenchy” Fuqua, only to see the ball deflect toward the ground. But Harris scooped the ball out of the air just inches from the turf and ran untouched for the game-winning touchdown, a miraculous finish that has been replayed thousands of times since.
Five decades later, Harris, who played college football at Penn State, remained one of the most beloved Steelers players, an instantly recognizable face in Pittsburgh. He rushed for 12,120 yards over 13 seasons, 12 of which were with Pittsburgh, and was a linchpin of the Steelers’ most successful era, winning Super Bowls in the 1974, 1975, 1978 and 1979 seasons.

I want to mention pigpen51’s obit for Les Lowery, leather and saddle maker. I was unfamiliar with him until pigpen posted, but he sounds like a really good guy: anybody who helps people walk is doing a mitzvah in my book. I spent some time trying to find more about Mr. Lowery online, but everything I did find was paywalled.

Mike Hodges, director. Other credits include “The Terminal Man”, “Morons From Outer Space”, and “A Prayer For the Dying”.

Frank “Cadillac Frank” Salemme, notorious New England mobster.

Posted in Law, Movies, NFL, Obits, Sports | 3 Comments »

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