Passages: Mike Shanahan fired as coach of the Washington Redskins.

Excellent idea.  He's joined by the Lions' Jim Schwartz, the Bucs' Greg Schiano and the Vikings' Leslie Frazier.  We wish them all the best.  With maybe the exception of Shanahan.

Christmas Editorial

Amazing the number of famous, interesting, or both, people who died through the years on Christmas Day.  They've been running promos on the local news saying that Christmas is one of the deadliest days of the year.  Not necessarily because people are getting drunk and wrecking their cars, but just because it is.  Maybe you're just holding on, and you make it to Christmas, and you think, "This is as good a time to go as any."  And you're gone.

Here's a list.  In case it isn't immediately obvious, I've attached the person's job or a key descriptor in parentheses:  Eartha Kitt, James Brown, Frank Calabrese, Jr (hitman), Anatoli Boukreev (mountaineer), Jon Benet Ramsey, Dean Martin, Nicholea Ceausescu, Billy Martin, Joan Miro (surrealist), Joan Blondell, Charlie Chaplin, W. C. Fields, Yoshihito (123rd Emperor of Japan) and Adrian I (Pope).

Edwin A. Shuman III, Navy Flyer Who Started Sunday Prayers in Hanoi Hilton, Dies December 3rd at 82

We're a little late on this, but to quote Willy Lohman's wife, "Attention must be paid."  And besides, it's a Christmas story you won't forget.

This quote from a brave man:

"I have often compared ocean racing in bad weather with being a prisoner of war, and environment which, unfortunately, I have some experience.  Harsh conditions, cramped quarters, bad food and diverse personalities.  Instead of the guards beating on you, mother nature takes over.  You can't get out, so you make the best of it.  It's a character builder."

No thank you.

Here's a photo of the entrance to the Hao Lo prison, which became commonly known as the Hanoi Hilton, the famous POW camp in North Vietnam ...

The Times has a truly fine obituary -- way better than I could manage -- here.  

Likewise The National Review Online here.

RESOURCES:

The Military Times Hall of Valor lists his medals here.

The POWNetwork.org recounts the details of the night his plane went down here.

A Lighter Take on Comrade Kalashnikov

DuffelBlog, which calls itself "The American Military's Most-Trusted News Source" weighs in here with a humorous take on the AK-47 and it's inventor.

Mikhail Kalashnikov, Creator of the AK-47, Dead at 94

This is a vintage model of what is certainly one of the most important weapons in history ...

Originally called the Avtomat Kalashnikov 1947, the name was quickly shortened to AK-47 and the rest is history.

This is Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the weapon, holding a new one ...

Mr. Kalashnikov died December 23rd in Izhevsk, the capital of the Udmurtia republic of Russia, after a long illness.  Born on December 10, 1919, he is probably survived by a bunch of grandchildren and certainly by about a gazillion of the original assault rifles and subsequent models that bear his name -- most notably being the AKM, which was designed in the 1950s as an upgrade to the AK-47 but which is still commonly referred to by the original name.

What made the AK-47 the most widely used weapon in history was its low cost to manufacture, its simplicity of use and maintenance, and its extraordinary durability under terrible conditions.  Manufactured with more generous tolerances than typical modern-era weapons, the AK-47 could function in conditions that rendered, for example, early versions of the American Vietnam-era AR-15 almost useless.  The slight loss of accuracy due to the looser construction was a generally accepted trade-off.

Kalashnikov, in his later years, had mixed feelings about the wide-spread use of his rifle, particularly by terrorists.  He once observed, "I would prefer to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work -- for example a lawnmower."

Later in his life he actually did invent one.  A lawnmower, that is.

If your security clearance is well-tuned, you can see Osama bin Laden's AK-47 at the CIA museum in Langley, Virginia.  The New York Daily News has a good story here.

A final quote from Kalashnikov: "My aim was to create armaments to protect the borders of my motherland.  It is not my fault that the Kalashnikov was used in so many troubled places.  I think the policies of these countries are to blame, not the designers."

RESOURCES

The BBC obituary is here.

Hundreds of books have been written about this famous weapon and its role in military and political history.  The top of the Amazon list is here.

This from The History Channel, if you have 45 or so minutes ...

This Day in History, 34 Years Ago: Peggy Guggenheim

Jackson Pollock once urinated in her fireplace at a party.  And she forgave him.

Of course he'd just painted this ...

... for her foyer.  So I'd be in a forgiving mood too.

There's some thought they had an affair as well.  The Times ran a great piece by Grace Gleuk back in 1987 titled "Paying Tribute to the Daring of Peggy Guggenheim."  Required reading, if you're interested, here.

Detective Joss Carter, fictitious character on CBS' Person of Interest

Do you watch Person of Interest?

I'm a big fan, although stuff like omniscient computers isn't typically my kettle of television fish.  But who doesn't like Taraji P. Henson?  Kind of the thinking man's hottie.  So imagine my dismay, after she finally kisses Reese, when she buys it a couple of minutes later.

Goodbye Detective Carter.

Edgar M. Bronfman, Seagrams Visionary, Dead at 84

[Disclaimer:  I've spent a lot of time in bars and I've never been much of a Seven and Seven guy. Who is?  But a Crown Royal on the rocks with a twist is okay in a limited way for an off night.]

There are three Bronfmans you need to be aware of.

The first one, Samuel, founded the Seagrams empire. He started distilling spirits in Canada in the 1920s, building and accumulating a number of distilleries along the US/Canada border.  By the end of Prohibition in 1933, he was well positioned to take advantage of the exploding US market.  Well-positioned would be an understatement here.  The Times obit, which is excellent, noted ...

At its zenith, in 1956, Seagram’s products accounted for one of every three distilled-alcohol drinks in the United States. 

Which isn't chopped liver.

The second one, Samuel's son Edgar, died December 21st at his home in New York City of natural causes.  Edgar, upon seeing the beginning of a slide in the liquor business, expanded Seagrams aggressively, diversifying into petroleum, gas and chemicals businesses and, to a degree, Hollywood.  At one time, Seagrams was the largest minority shareholder of DuPont.  

The third one, Edgar's son Edgar Jr., also had the diversification bug.  In 1995 he sold all the DuPont stock back to the company and went into the entertainment business.  Some would say this was a disaster.  Many, in fact.  Me?  I admire the man's pluck.  But you could argue the less said about Edgar Jr. the better.  Certainly if you owned Seagrams stock.

So back to Dad.

Above and beyond being a tremendously successful businessman, Bronfman's role as president of the World Jewish Congress from 1981 to 2007 merits some space on the tombstone.  As head of the WJC he rattled plenty of cages, including exposing the Nazi history of UN Secretary General Kurt Waldheim; pressuring Swiss banks to offer financial restitution to European Jews whose fortunes had been confiscated by the Nazis; and lobbying for basic rights for Jews in the USSR.

Is there such a term as an Oxford semicolon?

No.

Anyway, God bless the man.  

Here he is in his role as President of the WJC ...

If you want to pay $2.99 and watch "The Untouchables" in its entirety, you can here ...

Which is like a little internet miracle, isn't it?  Best late-career Sean Connory role, one could argue.

RESOURCES:

The Times Obit is here.

The Toronto Star Obit is here, which, disappointingly, is just an AP story.  You'd think they'd have come up with something more extensive, given Seagrams Canadian roots.

Finally, if you're bookish, you can go to Amazon and buy Bronfman's memoir, "Good Spirits, The Making of a Businessman."  One review, three stars.  I've not read it so I can't really vouch.

Al Goldstein, Publisher of Screw Magazine, Dead December 19, 2013

I thought Al Goldstein, even though he died several days ago, would be a good first obituary.  Here's a photo of Al Goldstein, founder and editor of Screw Magazine, in his office ...

Alan Dershowitz, his sometimes lawyer, had this to say about the man ...

“He clearly coarsened American sensibilities.  Hefner did it with taste.  Goldstein’s contribution is to be utterly tasteless.”

Here are two sample covers.  You be the judge ...

The Times has both a full obituary and a piece titled A Pornographer's Farewell, from their City Room section, which is kind of fun too.  The WSJournal has this.

The National Obituary, Born December 21, 2013

I spent years writing a blog called The Year of Magical Painting.  Today I stopped doing that and started doing this.

Do you read the obituaries?  Millions do, that's for certain.  And it strikes me as odd that something as widely consumed as obituaries should be so boring.  So the idea behind The National Obituary is to perk things up.  Add some zip.  Pay attention where attention should be paid.  And call a spade a spade, if that's what needs to be done.

Thank you for reading.