Celebrity Grave: Beach Boy Carl Wilson 1946-1998 RIP

Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American rock and roll singer and guitarist, best known as a founding member, lead guitarist and sometime lead vocalist of The Beach Boys. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

Wilson played the Chuck Berry-esque guitar parts on many of the band's early hits. Because the band first became successful when he was in his teens, he was still developing as a musician and singer. His lead vocals in the band's first three years included "Summertime Blues" (duet with David Marks), "Louie, Louie" (splitting the lead with Mike Love), "Pom Pom Play Girl," "All Dressed Up for School", and "Girl Don't Tell Me."

When the band started being augmented or replaced by session musicians on many of their mid-'60s recordings (they contributed the majority of the instrumental work themselves on the early-'60s recordings), unlike the other members of the band Carl often played side by side in the studio with the session pros that Brian increasingly turned to from 1964 onward, or recorded his guitar leads during the Beach Boys vocal sessions, with his guitar plugged directly into the soundboard.

Following his performance of the lead vocal on "God Only Knows" in 1966, Carl was increasingly featured as lead vocalist for the band (a role previously dominated by Mike Love and Brian Wilson), singing many leads on the Smiley Smile and Wild Honey albums, including the hit singles "Good Vibrations," "Darlin'," and "Wild Honey," then on 1969's "I Can Hear Music," which served as Carl's first major studio production. After his elder brother Brian's retirement from the stage in 1965, Carl became the de facto leader of the band onstage (contracts at that time reading that promoters hired 'Carl Wilson plus four other musicians'), and shortly after became the band's in-studio leader, producing the bulk of the albums 20/20, Sunflower, Surf's Up, Carl and the Passions - "So Tough" (named in honour of his effective leadership of the band at this point) and Holland.

In 1967, Wilson also made headlines as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, at one point having to let the rest of the band tour the UK without him while he was up before the draft board.

Never a prolific songwriter, Wilson's first solo composing contributions to the band, other than a handful of early surf instrumentals, came with 1971's Surf's Up, on which he composed "Long Promised Road" and "Feel Flows" to lyrics by the band's then manager Jack Rieley. He had earlier been given cowriting credits on a few songs, but these appear to have been for arrangement ideas contributed to others' songs - he considered "Long Promised Road" his first real song. On the immediately following Beach Boys albums, he would average one or two songs, cowritten with various lyricists or other members of the band. Carl's leadership role in the band diminished somewhat in the late '70s, both due to Brian's brief reemergence as the band's producer and substance abuse problems. He nonetheless remained a prominent and recognizable voice in the band, taking lead vocals on many songs and serving as "mixdown producer" on the Brian-produced Love You album.

By the time of recording of 1979's L.A. (Light Album), Carl had overcome his drug problems and again found himself filling the vocal and songwriting gap left by a retreating Brian Wilson. A song he wrote with Brian in 1974 and sang lead on, "Good Timin'", was a Top 40 American hit from that album.

During the 1970s Wilson also produced records for several other artists, notably Ricci Martin (son of Dean Martin, not to be confused with the late-'90s pop star) and South African group The Flame (two members of which went later joined The Beach Boys for a couple of years). He also occasionally appeared on others' records as a backing vocalist, most notably appearing on Chicago's Wishing You Were Here (with Al Jardine and his brother Dennis Wilson.) His voice appears as a backing vocal on many recordings by groups and solo singers. Examples include Chicago's hit "Baby, What A Big Surprise", Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" (with Bruce Johnston) and David Lee Roth's hit cover of "California Girls."

By the early 1980s the Beach Boys were in disarray - the band had split into several camps. Frustrated with the band's sluggishness to record new material and reluctance to rehearse for live shows, Wilson took a leave of absence in 1981, rather than remain as part of what he saw increasingly becoming a nostalgia act.

He released a solo album, Carl Wilson, to little critical notice, in 1981, made up of songs co-written with Myrna Smith-Schilling (former backing vocalist for Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin and wife of Wilson's then-manager Jerry Schilling). He also undertook a solo tour to promote the album that same year, the first member of the band to do so (not counting Mike Love's various side projects in the late '70s).

He recorded a second solo album, Youngblood, in a similar vein, but by the time it was released in 1983 he had already rejoined The Beach Boys. Although Youngblood did not chart, a single, the John Hall-penned "What You Do To Me," did, making Carl only the second Beach Boy to land a solo single on the Billboard chart. Carl frequently performed that song and "Heaven" from the 1981 album at Beach Boys concerts in the '80s, the latter being cast as a tribute to brother Dennis after his death in December 1983.

He still remained an important part of the band as a performer, singing lead on the chorus of the band's last big success, 1988's US number one "Kokomo". However, except for his vocal and songwriting contributions to the band's 1985 eponymous comeback album, Wilson saved his songwriting and production for home recordings. He carried on touring with the band until the last months of his life.

Wilson was diagnosed with brain and lung cancer in early 1997. Despite his illness and chemotherapy treatments, Carl continued to perform after diagnosis. Carl played through the Beach Boys' entire summer tour which ended in the fall of 1997. He sat down most of the time and needed oxygen after every song, but he still had his unique voice. The only time he stood during concerts was when he sang "God Only Knows" to his fans.

Carl Wilson lost his battle with cancer on February 6, 1998, just two months after the death of his mother, Audree Wilson. He was survived by his brother Brian, wife Gina (daughter of Dean Martin), and two sons by his first marriage, Justyn and Jonah.

A handful of recordings of Wilson have been released - notably the album Like a Brother, by a "supergroup" Wilson formed with Gerry Beckley of America and Robert Lamm of Chicago. He also appeared posthumously on his brother Brian's album Gettin' in Over My Head, which used his vocal from the unreleased Beach Boys song "Soul Searchin'" put to a new backing track. He also appears on the many Beach Boys archival releases that have come out since his death.

Celebrity Grave: Actor Guy Madison 1922-1996 RIP

 

Guy Madison (January 19, 1922 – February 6, 1996) was an American film and television actor.

 

Early life

Born Robert Ozell Moseley in Bakersfield, California, Madison attended Bakersfield College, a junior college, for two years and then worked briefly as a telephone lineman before joining the United States Coast Guard in 1942.

 

Career

In 1944, while visiting Hollywood on leave from the Coast Guard, Madison's boyish good looks and physique caught the eye of Henry Willson, the head of talent at David O. Selznick's newly formed Vanguard Pictures. Willson was widely known for his stable of good-looking, marginally talented actors with unusual names he bestowed upon them, and he immediately cast the rechristened Madison in a bit part in Selznick's Since You Went Away. Following the film's release in 1944, the studio received thousands of letters from fans wanting to know more about him.

Madison was signed by RKO Pictures in 1946 and began appearing in romantic comedies and dramas, but his wooden acting style hurt his chances of advancing in films. In 1951, television came to the rescue of his faltering career when he was cast in The Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok, which ran for six years. Following his television series, he appeared in several more films before leaving for Europe, where he found greater success in spaghetti westerns.

 

Personal life and death

Madison was married to actresses Gail Russell (1949-1954) and Sheila Connolly (1954-1964). Both marriages ended in divorce. He has three daughters. Bridget Catherine (born April 26, 1955), Erin Patricia (born July 21, 1956), Dolly Ann (born September 10, 1957).

 

Madison died from emphysema at the age of 74 and was buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Cathedral City, California. For his contribution to the television industry, Guy Madison has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6331 Hollywood Boulevard.

-- wiki

 

How to solve the DTES Housing Problems?

With the arrival of the world media, much attention is being given to our city and the problems of the DTES. Frances Bula recently posted some excellent comments addressing some of the myths related to the current situation. The following are some observations I posted today on her website.

It is impossible to succinctly summarize the reasons we have not successfully addressed the housing problems in the DTES over the past decades. However, here are a few ideas for consideration.

1. The city has not enforced its maintenance and occupancy by-laws, thus allowing the deterioration of much of the housing stock. The reasons are two-fold…there was a fear that some landlords would simply close up, further reducing the stock; and the one time the city did go in and repair, it was accused of ‘gold-plating’ the repairs and sued. The result, the province decided to go in and buy up some properties, often at a high price. This is not the long term answer.

2. The shelter component of welfare is too low. It remained at $325 a month for more than 10 years, before increasing to $375. But this is not enough to pay for a well maintained unit, even an SRO unit. Some local housing activists did not demand higher shelter allowance rates since “it would be putting money in the landlords’ pockets”. To my mind, this is precisely why they should be increased, and then the M&O by-laws can be more effectively used if properties are not maintained.

3. The replacement housing is too expensive. Housing officials and politicians don’t like to talk about it, but the replacement units (the Pennsylvania Hotel) is a good example are too expensive and not value for money. The Pennsylvania Hotel cost in the order of $300,000 for a 325 sq.ft. self contained suite…you do the math.

Similarly the new ‘12 projects’ are costing far too much on a per suite basis. There should be an enquiry into why these units are costing so much. The answer? build more cost effective projects and also buy or rent existing stock away from the DTES.

4. Another thing people don’t like to talk about….the homeless keep coming here. The more people we house, the more that come. Yes many on the streets have been around for quite a while, but I have met quite a few who have arrived in the past two years….why? because the climate is better, and there’s a chance they’ll get free housing, along with easier access to cheaper drugs.

5. So what’s the answer? We need to do some lateral thinking…not just increase the number of shelter beds and units…we also need to address the roots of the problem…some of the homeless could work, if they were offered more opportunities and guidance. Let’s help them get jobs. If they need a shave and haircut, let’s have free barbershops open up. If they need clean clothes, just tell us where to bring them.

Let’s increase the drug rehab facilities. Yes, it is important to have a home, but we are in desperate need of more drug rehab for those who want to return to more normal lives.

We also need to open up more facilities for the mentally ill. I often joke that I blame Jack Nicholson for many of our problems. Why Jack Nicholson? Because he made such a mockery of mental institutions, governments closed them down without adequate replacement facilities.

We also need to help some people re-unite with families and friends…I know many don’t have families, or want to escape them. But not all.

6. We need to better coordinate our efforts. I agree with Ric Matthews…we need a coordinating body to manage our efforts. I call it the DTES Community Trust. What we are doing now is not working. Too much money is being spent with inadequate coordination.

7. And finally, we need to stop fighting. The more some housing activists try to embarrass the governments, the more some government officials and politicians will say, let’s go where our efforts will be appreciated. I don’t think the rent tent campaign, or Wendy’s public protests will help. How can I prove this?..I can’t, other than to share my perspective as a former federal official who built a lot of housing in the DTES.

I would conclude by noting all the noisy, clever and creative protests haven’t really helped over the past 7 years when there was a real potential to address the problem in advance of the Olympics.

Now that the Olympics will soon be over, I think it is time to rethink how best to proceed.

A design charrette?

One way to start might be a community design charrette. While I know that there are different opinions on the value of charrettes, I think there would be merit in a weekend 'design charrette' for the DTES that brought together community representatives, architects, planners and civic minded people and city hall officials and politicians.

We would start with large plans of the area, with an indication of which buildings are 'heritage', and which are not heritage but likely to remain for the next 10 years or more; vacant sites, commercial areas, community amenities...we would identify all the social housing projects, SRO's etc...with an the numbers...as well as the market housing projects....rental, ownership,etc;

The goal would be to undertake a first cut as to where additional housing might be located, and at what heights....where additional park and amenity space would be located, as well as commercial and employment areas. This might help us understand options in terms of mix of market and non-market housing, etc.

This is not necessarily going to result in a refined plan, but what it might do is give us all a better idea of what the area might look like in 10to 20 years, given the recently approved height limits, market demand, etc.

We could test out a variety of approaches...lower forms of development; taller buildings, as recently approved...a more mid-rise model which is what I prefer.

I believe a lot of people who care about the DTES and nearby areas would participate in such an event...we'd need some funding, but not much...hey, many of us would happily contribute to the cost of food, drink, venue rental and materials.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Celebrity Grave: Dolores Moran 1926-1982 RIP

Dolores Moran (January 27, 1924 – February 5, 1982) was an American film actress and model.

Moran's brief career as a film actress began in 1942 with some uncredited roles in such films as Yankee Doodle Dandy. By 1943 she had become a popular pin-up girl and appeared on the cover of such magazines as Yank. She was given supporting roles in films such as Old Acquaintance (1943) with Bette Davis and Warner Bros. attempted to increase interest in her, promoting her along with Lauren Bacall as a new screen personality when they co-starred with Humphrey Bogart in To Have and Have Not (1944). The film made a star of Bacall, but Moran languished and her subsequent films did little to further her career.

The Horn Blows at Midnight gave her a leading role with Jack Benny and Alexis Smith but her film appearances after this were sporadic, and she suffered ill health that reduced her ability to work. Her film career ended in 1954 with a featured role in the John Payne and Lizabeth Scott western film Silver Lode.

She was married to the film producer Benedict E. Bogeaus in Salome, Arizona in 1946. Their son, Brett Benedict, born 30 August 1948 in Hollywood, later became a successful businessman. They divorced in 1962, he died of a heart attack in 1968.

Dolores Moran was survived by her son, sister and her mother.

-- wiki

Dolores Moran is buried at Westwood Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.

Fearing the Worst, An Idea for Sandra Bullock

Though I’m generally apathetic to the Academy Awards, there have certainly been moments over the years that have stirred some shred of emotion out of me. On occasion, I’ve actually found myself excited (particularly when Tilda Swinton, Penélope Cruz and Marion Cotillard’s names were announced, or Adrien Brody’s win which may be one of the few legitimately surprises in recent history), but more often than those uncommon occurrences, the Oscars make me angry. A few years back, my blood nearly reached its boiling point. That particular instance, when Jack Nicholson read off the Best Picture winner in 2006, made the idea of driving onto the sidewalk on the way home and plowing down whatever pedestrian might be on it sound like the appropriate response. I guess I recreated the scene from Happiness when Louise Lasser almost swerves her car into Elizabeth Ashley, but that action had a specific victim in mind… I was willing to take out innocent civilians. I’m recalling that sensation because I fear the Academy might pull another load of bullshit on us next month. Though it’s possible Sandra Bullock might be more deserving of an Oscar for her acting than Paul Haggis is for his screenwriting, having to see and hear “Academy Award winner” before Bullock’s name for the rest of time is alarming. However—and this is a big “however”—if Sandy decides to pull a Marlon Brando and send Karin Dreijer Andersson (of Fever Ray and The Knife) as her own Sacheen Littlefeather to accept the award, all will be right with the world (and no pedestrians will be harmed). Karin’s acceptance speech at the P3 Gold Awards (the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy's) was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen (weird, defiant, unsettling and highly amusing), as well as the best acceptance speech anyone has ever given (just above Brando and Fiona Apple). If Sandra Bullock knows what’s best for all of us, she’ll be phoning Karin… just in case.

10 Craziest Hotels in the World

Capsule Hotel, Netherlands: a hotel made out of a survival pod

Your own survival pod! Escape pod hotel in a city centre dock location. Moored in The Hague , your room is a bright orange survival pod which once saw service on an oil rig platform. Originally built in 1972 they are 4.25 metres in diameter and unaltered apart from the addition of a lock on the outside and an ‘emergency' chemical toilet inside. While not everyone's luxury choice, each pod provides cosy protection from the elements for up to three occupants.

First created for accommodation as an art project in 2004, owner Denis Oudendijk has 8 different models ready for use and is currently working on additional locations in central Amsterdam and Nantes , France .

Everland, Paris: a hotel which parks in unusual places with amazing views

Everland is a hotel with only one room including a bathroom, a king-size bed and a lounge. What makes it so different is that - because it is also an art installation - this hotel travels! The Everland has been ‘parked' in the most unsual places, like the roof-deck of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Leipzig, Germany, or the roof of Palais de Tokyo (with a spectacular view on the Eiffel Tower) in Paris.

Considering how unique a night in this hotel is, the price is not so crazy: you can get the only room and the unique view for 333 Euros during the week, 444 Euros during the weekends.

Hôtel de Glace, Canada – an ice hotel opened only during winter

Made entirely of ice and snow, this unique one-story structure has been rebuilt each year since 2000. The 9th season of the Ice Hotel lasted from January 4th through March 29th 2009. The Ice Hotel has become an unparalleled and world-famous winter experience. It takes 5 weeks, 500 tons of ice, and 15,000 tons of snow to craft the Ice Hotel with its ceilings as high as 18 feet, walls covered with original artwork and furniture carved from ice blocks.

Waterworld Hotel, China – an amazing aquatic themed hotel

Atkin's Architecture Group won first prize for an international design competition with this stunning entry. Set in a spectacular water filled quarry in Songjiang , China , the 400 bed resort hotel is uniquely constructed within the natural elements of the quarry. Underwater public areas and guest rooms add to the uniqueness, but the resort also boasts cafes, restaurants and sporting facilities.

Sala Silvergruva, Sweden: a single room hotel inside a silver mine

Picture this A single suite, 155m underground in historic Sala Silvermine, one of the world's best preserved mine settings. (During its heyday, production amounted to more than 3 tons of silver a year and a total of more than 400 tons of silver and about 40,000 tons of lead were extracted - completely by hand!) If you wake up in the middle of the night and have to use the bathroom, make sure you turn right or else you'll end up exploring dark winding galleries, vast caverns and magic lakes.

Das Park Hotel, Austria: a hotel where rooms are made of concrete pipes

A hotel with rooms made of giant concrete sewage pipes might sound a little odd, but this artistic creation can be recreated to provide cheap lodging anywhere. These 9,5 tonne concrete sections are a standard item in near all concrete factories and the oden floors, a really comfortable double bed, minibar and room service through to 1am. For night owls, the reception is open 24hrs. With the amazing view below there is little else needed, except if you're staying in bed past 10am, when pajamas would be a wise thing to wear, as although you can look out - tourists can look in

The De Vrouwe van Stavoren Hotel , Netherlands : a hotel made from recycled wine barrels

The De Vrouwe van Stavoren Hotel in the Netherlands salvaged four wine casks from Switzerland and converted them into rooms. Formerly filled with 14,500 liters of Beaujolais wine from the French chateau, each now holds a modest two-person room with standard amenities and even an attached bathroom and a sitting room.

The one thing that might bother you, if you're not a wine enthusiast, is the smell of wine that the barrels still maintain. All in all the Barrel Hotel, in Stavoren, northern Netherlands , makes for a very pleasurable experience. General rates for a cask room are from 74-119 Euros a night with discounts of up to 75% off depending on season. If you go in the wintertime, a wine cask room can be as low as 18 Euros a night, cheaper than most hostels.

Giraffe Manor , Kenya : a hotel where you dine with a friendly giraffe

This small and exclusive hotel -- surrounded by 140 acres of indigenous forest just outside Nairobi -- is famous for its resident herd of giraffe. It's the only place in the world where you can enjoy the experience of feeding and photographing the giraffe over the breakfast table, at the front door or while you dine, and the giraffes poke their heads through the window.
As well as the giraffe, the property is also home to many species of birds, large families of warthogs and the elusive Bush Buck.

Hotel Im Wasserturm , Germany : a hotel inside a water tower

Rising high above Cologne , this international luxury hotel was once the largest water tower in 19th century Europe . In 1990, French designer Andrée Putman transformed it into an elegant 78-room hotel.

Classified as a heritage site, the timeless modern design still manages to preserve the water-tower architecture and a sense of refuge and protection.

Jumbo Hostel ( Stockholm ): World's First Aircraft Inn

Stockholm is the house of this wacky hotel, the first aircraft inn. An abandoned Boeing 747 jumbo jet has been saved from being trashed metal to become a 25-room hotel sited in Stockholm-Arlanda airport. Each room is bare 65 square ft big and furnished with bunk beds, overhead luggage storage and flat-screen TVs. There is a reception area and a cafe with toilets and showers at the rear of the aircraft, which means that you will have to share! The upper deck is a conference room and the best of all, the cockpit, is where the wedding suite is housed. Not a very comfy hotel I would think, but staying there just to get a feel of it might be cool.

Making a toilet a special experience!

Awesome
Toilet
THE LADY IS GETTING READY TO ENTER!!
This is a picture of a public toilet in Houston
:



Now that you've seen the outsideview,
take a look at the inside view....







It's made entirely of one-way glass!

No one can see you from the outside, but when
you are inside it's like sitting in a clear
glass box!

Now would you... COULD YOU....???

BATHROOM
PAINTED FLOOR!!!

IMAGINE YOU ARE AT A PARTY .

Tenth floor of a hi-rise building......

AND THEN YOU HAVE TO VISIT THE BATHROOM....

You open the door...
NOW, REMEMBER THE FLOOR IS JUST A PAINTED FLOOR !

KINDA TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY......
DOESN'T IT?

Scroll sloooooooowly.
......



Would this mess up your mind??? Would you
be able to walk in To this bathroom???


THIS IS A CEILING MURAL IN A SMOKER'S LOUNGE.