Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Jagannathan

Actor -- via The Hindu.


Eta Cohen

Violin teacher -- via the Telegraph.


Sammy Arena

Sammy and Andy Arenas.
Singer -- via the Tampa Bay Times.




Chen Wencong

Actor, writer, director, and producer -- via the Straits Times.

Kazbek Gekkiyev

Journalist -- via the New York Times.

Peter Kiesewetter

Composer -- via sueddeutsche.de.




Jeroen Willems

Actor and singer -- via nrc.nl.

Tom Hendry

Playwright -- via banffcentre.ca.

Decio Pignatari

Poet and translator -- via Folha de S.Paulo.

Jose Benazeraf

Erotic filmmaker -- via mondomacabrodvd.blogspot.com. WARNING: Not family-friendly or safe-for-work!



Friday, December 14, 2012

Maurice Herzog

Mountaineer -- via the Guardian. The first man to climb Annapurna; the first to ascend a peak over 8,000 meters above sea level.


Norman Joseph Woodland

Co-inventor of the bar code -- via the New York Times.


Kanzaburo Nakamura

Kabuki actor -- via the New York Times.

Frederick Neumann

Actor and director -- via the New York Times. Best known for his work with the Mabou Mimes and Samuel Beckett.

Marty Reisman

High-profile, flamboyant master of table tennis -- via the New York Times.



Robert Lescher

Editor and literary agent -- via the New York Times.

Pete Walsh

Programmer for the Irish Film Institute -- via the Irish Times.

Ammar El-Sherei

Composer and musician -- via Ahram Online.

Devendra Lal

Geophysicist -- via The Hindu.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Maria Santos Gorrostieta

Murdered mayor -- via the Telegraph. She stood up to drug lords, survived two assassination attempts, and the murder of her husband. When she was taken away to be killed, she successfully begged the gunmen to leave her daughter behind, saving her life.

She showed her wounds at a press conference in 2009, saying:

 "I wanted to show you my wounded, mutilated body because I'm not ashamed of it... I am a strong and righteous woman, and despite my wounds, I'm still on my feet."




Gordon Bennett

Photography collector and preservationist -- via the San Francisco Chronicle.

John Silva

Electrical engineer; invented the TV news helicopter -- via the New York Times.

Jon Kest

Community organizer -- via the New York Daily News.


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Ravi Shankar aka Robindra Shankar Chowdhury

Composer and sitarist -- via the New York Times. Not only a virtuoso, but an innovator who both opened the West up to the beauties of Indian classical music, and who experimented with form and collaborated with musicians from around the world. Through him, I began to see the diversity and depth ofthe the culture of the Indian subcontinent.