Thursday, June 25, 2009

Farrah Fawcett poster and thoughts

Farrah Fawcett has gone. Dead at 62 from a very public bout with cancer.

Here is the way I wish to remember her, from her famous poster when I was much younger. I used to consider myself special, but when it came to Farrah, I was just like all other other young men all over the world. I thought she was one of the most beautiful, glamorous and striking women I had ever seen.

I think the Farrah Fawcett poster here on the side was one of the trademarks of the 70's. It certainly represented a healthy American look, "what life could and should be" to use a phrase from Ayn Rand.

According to one report I read, this poster came out about 6 months before Charlie's Angels and sold millions and millions of copies for 3 bucks each.

And I am right now posting about her, so I guess I am a Farrah Fawcett poster. (Errrgh... Sorry, that was pretty lame, I know...)

Speaking of Ayn Rand, Farrah was one of her choices to play Dagny Taggart in the yet unmade film of Atlas Shrugged. Rand liked Charlie's Angels and I was into Rand (still am), but I never got into that show for some reason.

I did love looking at Farrah...



May she rest in peace. Serene deep peace... Her death means far more than a loss for those close to her like Ryan O'Neal. We all grieve with him.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's sidekick, passed away today

I just found out that Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson's sidekick, passed away at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. He was fighting cancer and had also suffered with pneumonia. I read that he would have had his 86th birthday today.

This makes me really, really sad. I feel like one of the purer, more innocent, parts of my past has just been taken from me.

I grew up watching Ed McMahon on the Johnny Carson Show. I used to mimic his phrase, "Heeeeeeeeere's Johnny!" as a kid all the time. God! What a fast-motion film of memories this terrible news is prompting to run inside my head!

I know that watching the people you grew up around die off is a part of living, but it brings so many odd feelings when it happens. Part of me tastelessly feels glad it was him and not me, but that same part knows it will be me one day. The better part of me grieves.

What control do we really have in our lives? Just the small goals we plan. For the big picture, we are basically on a train to nowhere and we can't stop it.

If you are reading this and have never seen an episode of The Tonight Show featuring Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon, take a look into a this small window of what you missed. This probably aired after I left the USA in 1973, but the spirit is perfect for what I remember.



(Photo by Alan Light.)

New idea and direction

I just came across a new idea I want to try out. I am going to try to make a daily post on a keyword coming from the top 100 in Google Trends.

Instead of trying to find out what people are saying about the word or phrase, which is often pretty difficult, I will simply post what I think and know and research about that issue.

Finally the idea of having a personal blog that does not involve my other pursuits has some kind of meaning for me.