If Congress doesn’t change the law soon–and many experts think it won’t–the estate tax will come roaring back in 2011. On a $5 million estate, the tax consequence of dying a minute after midnight on Jan. 1, 2011 rather than two minutes earlier could be more than $2 million; on a $15 million estate, the difference could be about $8 million. — Too Rich to Live? – WSJ.com THANK GOD I DON’T HAVE 5 MILLION DOLLARS! I’d be sleeping with my eyes open from now till New Years, lest I meet my demise at the business end of a pillow stuffed in my face by a greedy heir. IT’S KILL OR BE KILLED NOW! Read more →
EppsNet Archive: Death
Twitter: 2010-06-30
RT @DanNaturman: Fake Book Excerpt: "The Nanny Diaries" – "I understand. But you should still pay me for the time the kid was alive." # RT @thesulk: In the guy from Your So Vain's defense, that song is about him. # Read more →
A Few Blocks from Home
Police received a call around 12:30 a.m. June 14 about a man hanging from a fence post in front of an apartment complex in the 800 block of South Baker Street in Santa Ana. Later identified as Hipolito Tapia Bravo, the 26-year-old Santa Ana landscaper was pronounced dead at the scene. He was just a few blocks from home. — OC Weekly They say most homicides happen within a few blocks of home. Especially if your home is in Santa Ana. Or is that traffic accidents? Read more →
Twitter: 2010-06-08
RT @capricecrane: Michael Keaton: "I'd do Beetlejuice 2 in a heartbeat." Adding: "Or Batman. Or your laundry. Can I get a ride?" # RT @DanNaturman: O.J. Simpson on Van der Sloot Confession – "Have I taught that boy nothing?" # Read more →
John Wooden, 1910-2010
I thought John Wooden was going to live forever. I grew up here in Southern California watching his UCLA Bruin teams dominate college basketball. The main thing I learned from that is that success is a result of preparation. Coach Wooden was a teacher. After he retired, he used to say that he didn’t miss the games and he didn’t miss the tournaments, but he did miss the practices. College basketball today is unwatchable, in my opinion. The coaches are all bug-eyed lunatics, screaming, waving their arms, tearing their hair out. I’m sickened by these college basketball coaches and their look-at-me theatrics. Does that help the team win? I watched UCLA win 10 championships and I don’t think Coach Wooden even got out of his chair the whole time. Draw your own conclusions. Read more →
Ouch!
Cops: Porn actor kills 1, hurts 2 in L.A. — msnbc.com This guy must be incredibly well-built — wait, what? Read more →
Gary Coleman, 1968-2010
Sad . . . now he’ll never know what Willis was talking about . . . Read more →
People I Thought Were Dead
Marty Allen – comedian Ed Ames – actor Lauren Bacall – actress Roger Bannister – runner Ben Bradlee – editor, The Washington Post George Kennedy – actor Ralph Kiner – Hall of Fame baseball player Jake LaMotta – boxer, middleweight champion Shirley Temple – actress Updates Marty Allen – died 2/12/2018, age 95 Ed Ames – died 5/21/2023, age 95 Lauren Bacall – died 8/12/2014, age 89 Roger Bannister – died 3/4/2018, age 88 Ben Bradlee – died 10/21/2014, age 93 George Kennedy – died 2/28/2016, age 91 Ralph Kiner – died 2/6/2014, age 91 Jake LaMotta – died 9/19/2017, age 95 Shirley Temple – died 2/10/2014, age 85 Read more →
Twitter: 2010-05-03
What's A Black Metal Band Gotta Do To Get Murdered By Religious Maniacs These Days? : Reason Magazine http://goo.gl/XWog # Read more →
Twitter: 2010-04-19
"Sorry to hear about President Kowalski … now watch this drive." http://bit.ly/azPYiM #obama #golf # RT @OnSluts: Monday Affirmation: "I didn't get sick today so that means I don't have to dish out a co-pay." # Read more →
Dixie Carter, 1939-2010
LOS ANGELES — Dixie Carter, the “Designing Women” star who used her Southern charm, quick wit and stately beauty in a host of roles on Broadway and television, died Saturday. She was 70. Publicist Steve Rohr, who represents Carter and her husband, actor Hal Holbrook, said Carter died Saturday morning. — The Associated Press I must say this comes as quite a shock — not that Dixie Carter died but that Hal Holbrook is still alive. Read more →
People I Thought Were Dead
Barbara Hale – actress Hal Holbrook – actor Celeste Holm – actress Carl Reiner – actor, writer, director Eli Wallach – actor Updates Barbara Hale – died 1/26/2017, age 94 Hal Holbrook – died 1/23/2021, age 95 Celeste Holm – died 7/15/2012, age 95 Carl Reiner – died 6/29/2020, age 98 Eli Wallach – died 6/24/2014, age 98 Read more →
The Erasers
The Erasers is a combination detective story and Greek tragedy, about a murder investigation in which the victim, unbeknownst to (almost) anyone, is not really dead. It’s also about multiple perceptions of the same events, all of them perfectly reasonable and all of them wrong. And it’s about the inevitablility of fate, which despite your best efforts can lead you to an unimaginable deed (cf. Oedipus). Highly recommended! Read more →
Mexican Vacation Bargains
My boss is vacationing in Cabo San Lucas next week. With all the Mexican killings in the news recently, I hope he got a good deal on the room. ¡Olé! Read more →
Bon Voyage, Captain!
‘Deadliest Catch’ captain Phil Harris dies at age 53 — USATODAY.com Never saw his TV show but he was great as the voice of Baloo in The Jungle Book! ♫ Look for the (clap) Bare Ne-cess-ities . . . ♫ Say hi to Bing Crosby in hell! Read more →
The Eternal Footman Held My Coat and Snickered
Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, a longtime fixture on the House subcommittee that oversees Pentagon spending, died after complications from gallbladder surgery, according to his office. He was 77. The Democratic congressman recently underwent scheduled laparoscopic surgery at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, to remove his gallbladder. The procedure was “routine minimally invasive surgery,” but doctors “hit his intestines,” a source close to the late congressman told CNN. — CNN.com OMG I HAD THAT SAME OPERATION I COULD HAVE DIED!!! On a lighter note, how ironic is it that the president loses a pro-ObamaCare vote due to medical error in a government-run hospital? Read more →
So Long, Thrillseeker!
Sharks kill man kite-surfing off south Florida — Reuters Some people say life is too short. I say if you’ve got time for inane activities like kite-surfing, your life has already gone on way too long . . . Read more →
Deterrent Effect
A Columbus man has been charged with killing a teen who was out with friends throwing eggs at cars on the Hilltop three years ago. — The Columbus Dispatch In other news, Columbus police report a significant decrease in the number of people throwing eggs at cars. Read more →
Out of the Turmoil
Which, I wonder, brother reader, is the better lot, to die prosperous and famous, or poor and disappointed? To have, and to be forced to yield; or to sink out of life, having played and lost the game? That must be a strange feeling, when a day of our life comes and we say, “To-morrow, success or failure won’t matter much, and the sun will rise, and all the myriads of mankind go to their work or their pleasure as usual, but I shall be out of the turmoil.” — William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair Read more →
Rory Markas, 1955-2010
“Fly ball, center field! Erstad says he’s got it! Erstad makes the catch! The Anaheim Angels are the champions of baseball!” Read more →