Was Today The Day The Music Really Died?

Thirty years ago today, John Lennon was shot and killed. I was 9 and don't think I even knew the name John Lennon. I knew Elvis and remember where I was when he died because my parents listened to Elvis, but I don't recall them listening to the Beatles.

So I can't tell you that I grew up loving the Beatles because I didn't. In fact, it's just been the last few years I have come to appreciate their music and the full impact they had on the world.

In honor of John Lennon's death, I give you my two favorite songs by John Lennon and the Beatles (there's one of each before someone emails and says "The group isn't 'John Lennon and the Beatles! It's just The Beatles.'")

If you read LMS via email, I encourage you to visit the blog and watch the videos. One of you especially. Watch the video. You'll know why. If you don't, you can call me and I'll tell you.

First, the breaking news story about John Lennon's murder by Mark David Chapman.


Imagine by John Lennon


Let it Be by The Beatles


Because I love each of my 23 readers (yes, readership has grown from 12!), I'm giving you a bonus video. Okay, so the truth is that I didn't realize this that this song that I really like was by John Lennon until my friend Des posted it on Facebook. My bad. But still, I do love my readers. So go with that reason. Really. And on a political note, maybe one day soon, all wars will truly be over. To quote John Lennon, "make love not war."

Happy Christmas (War is Over) by John Lennon

RIP Michael Jackson

Thanks to my cousin Anna for this blog post idea tonight. She posted a note on Facebook about Man in the Mirror and that inspired me. Thank you Anna!

When Dave graduated from junior high in 1988, his entire graduating class sang Man in the Mirror and I seem to recall hand motions that accompanied it. Mrs. Norman (my neighbor) and the music teacher led them and I remember sitting in the sweltering gymnasium thinking this was the cheesiest thing I'd ever seen. And then I listened to the words and was truly moved. To this day, Man in the Mirror still inspires me to be better and keep striving for more.

In spite of his eccentricities and his troubles in recent years, Michael Jackson was an icon and his genius will continue to inspire music for years to come.



"Man In The Mirror" Lyrics

I'm Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .

As I, Turn Up The Collar On My
Favourite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind
I See The Kids In The Street,
With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I, To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See Their Needs
A Summer's Disregard,
A Broken Bottle Top
And A One Man's Soul
They Follow Each Other On
The Wind Ya' Know
'Cause They Got Nowhere To Go
That's Why I Want You To Know

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself, And Then Make A Change)
(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na, Na Nah)

I've Been A Victim Of A Selfish Kind Of Love
It's Time That I Realize
That There Are Some With No
Home, Not A Nickel To Loan
Could It Be Really Me,
Pretending That They're Not Alone?

A Willow Deeply Scarred,
Somebody's Broken Heart
And A Washed-Out Dream
(Washed-Out Dream)
They Follow The Pattern Of
The Wind, Ya' See
Cause They Got No Place To Be
That's Why I'm Starting With Me
(Starting With Me!)

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
(Ooh!)
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
(Ooh!)
And No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change)

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror
(Ooh!)
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
(Change His Ways-Ooh!)
And No Message Could've Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make That . . .
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make That . . .)
Change!

I'm Starting With The Man In The Mirror,
(Man In The Mirror-Oh Yeah!)
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
(Better Change!)
No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make The Change)
(You Gotta Get It Right, While You Got The Time)
('Cause When You Close Your Heart)
You Can't Close Your . . .Your Mind!
(Then You Close Your . . . Mind!)
That Man, That Man, That Man, That Man
With That Man In The Mirror
(Man In The Mirror, Oh Yeah!)
That Man, That Man, That Man
I'm Asking Him To Change His Ways
(Better Change!)
You Know . . .That Man
No Message Could Have Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place
(If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place)
Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change
(Take A Look At Yourself And Then Make A Change)
Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!
Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na, Na Nah
(Oh Yeah!)
Gonna Feel Real Good Now!
Yeah Yeah! Yeah Yeah! Yeah Yeah!
Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na, Na Nah
(Ooooh . . .)
Oh No, No No . . .
I'm Gonna Make A Change
It's Gonna Feel Real Good!
Come On!
(Change . . .)
Just Lift Yourself You Know
You've Got To Stop It.
Yourself!
(Yeah!-Make That Change!)
I've Got To Make That Change, Today!
Hoo!
(Man In The Mirror)
You Got To
You Got To Not Let Yourself . . .
Brother . . .
Hoo!
(Yeah!-Make That Change!)
You Know-I've Got To Get
That Man, That Man . . .
(Man In The Mirror)
You've Got To
You've Got To Move! Come On! Come On!
You Got To . . .
Stand Up! Stand Up! Stand Up!
(Yeah-Make That Change)
Stand Up And Lift Yourself, Now!
(Man In The Mirror)
Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!
Aaow!
(Yeah-Make That Change)
Gonna Make That Change . . .
Come On!
(Man In The Mirror)
You Know It!
You Know It!
You Know It!
You Know . . .
(Change . . .)
Make That Change.

Pixar Grants Dying Girl's Wish to See 'Up'

I love reading stories about big companies that have a heart. It seems that more often than not all we hear about are how these Goliath-like companies step all over David.

What's sad is that the girl in the following story has passed away. But at least Pixar made her final hours great and she got her dying wish. Nice job Pixar.

I also now want to see Up.

Thanks to ChicagoNow's Jimmy Greenfield tweet from last night for bringing this to my attention.

Pixar grants dying girl's wish to see 'Up'
Company send DVD so Huntington Beach girl, 10, could watch it.

By Anne Burris
The Orange County Register, June 18, 2009

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Colby Curtin, a 10-year-old with a rare form of cancer, was staying alive for one thing – a movie.

From the minute Colby saw the previews to the Disney-Pixar movie Up, she was desperate to see it. Colby had been diagnosed with vascular cancer about three years ago, said her mother, Lisa Curtin, and at the beginning of this month it became apparent that she would die soon and was too ill to be moved to a theater to see the film.

After a family friend made frantic calls to Pixar to help grant Colby her dying wish, Pixar came to the rescue.

The company flew an employee with a DVD of Up, which is only in theaters, to the Curtins’ Huntington Beach home on June 10 for a private viewing of the movie.

The animated movie begins with scenes showing the evolution of a relationship between a husband and wife. After losing his wife in old age, the now grumpy man deals with his loss by attaching thousands of balloons to his house, flying into the sky, and going on an adventure with a little boy.

Colby died about seven hours after seeing the film.

With her daughter’s vigil planned for Friday, Lisa Curtin reflected about how grateful she is that Pixar – and "Up" – were a part of her only child’s last day.

“When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie,” said Curtin, 46. “I just know that word ‘Up’ and all of the balloons and I swear to you, for me it meant that (Colby) was going to go up. Up to heaven.”

Pixar officials declined to comment on the story or name the employees involved.

THE PREVIEWS

Colby was diagnosed with vascular cancer on Dec. 23, 2005 after doctors found a tumor in her liver. At the time of her death, her stomach was about 94 inches around, swollen with fluids the cancer wouldn’t let her body properly digest. The rest of her body probably weighed about 45 pounds, family friend Carole Lynch said.

Colby had gone to Newport Elementary School and was known for making others laugh, family friend Terrell Orum said. Colby loved to dance, sing, swim and seemed to have a more mature understanding of the world than other children her age, Orum said.

On April 28, Colby went to see the Dream Works 3-D movie "Monsters Vs. Aliens" but was impressed by the previews to "Up."

“It was from then on, she said, ‘I have to see that movie. It is so cool,’” Lynch said.

Colby was a movie fan, Lisa Curtin said, and she latched onto Pixar’s movies because she loved animals.

Two days later Colby’s health began to worsen. On June 4 her mother asked a hospice company to bring a wheelchair for Colby so she could visit a theater to see "Up." However, the weekend went by and the wheelchair was not delivered, Lisa Curtin said.

By June 9, Colby could no longer be transported to a theater and her family feared she would die without having seen the movie.

At that point, Orum, who desperately wanted Colby to get her last wish, began to cold-call Pixar and Disney to see if someone could help.

Pixar has an automated telephone answering system, Orum said, and unless she had a name of a specific person she wanted to speak to, she could not get through. Orum guessed a name and the computer system transferred her to someone who could help, she said.

Pixar officials listened to Colby’s story and agreed to send someone to Colby’s house the next day with a DVD of "Up," Orum recalled.

She immediately called Lisa Curtin, who told Colby.

“Do you think you can hang on?” Colby’s mother said.

“I’m ready (to die), but I’m going to wait for the movie,” the girl replied.

THE MOVIE

At about 12:30 p.m. the Pixar employee came to the Curtins’ home with the DVD.

He had a bag of stuffed animals of characters in the movie and a movie poster. He shared some quirky background details of the movie and the group settled in to watch Up.

Colby couldn't see the screen because the pain kept her eyes closed so her mother gave her a play-by-play of the film.

At the end of the film, the mother asked if her daughter enjoyed the movie and Colby nodded yes, Lisa Curtin said.

The employee left after the movie, taking the DVD with him, Lynch said.

“He couldn’t have been nicer,” said Lynch who watched the movie with the family. “His eyes were just welled up.”

After the movie, Colby’s dad, Michael Curtin, who is divorced from Lisa Curtin, came to visit.

Colby died with her mom and dad nearby at 9:20 p.m.

Among the Up memorabilia the employee gave Colby was an “adventure book” – a scrap book the main character’s wife used to chronicle her journeys.

“I’ll have to fill those adventures in for her,” Lisa Curtin said.

RIP Toot

CNN just reported that Barack Obama's grandmother died this afternoon.

Rest In Peace Toot.

Thank you for the lasting legacy you left in your grandson. Thank you for raising him with the values that make him the Man he is today. Thank you for teaching him that everyone matters and that we are all more than color of our skin or our economic circumstances. I promise we'll make you proud tommorrow when we elect him the first African American President of the United States.

It's Been A Year and I Still Miss Joan

Our dear family friend Joan died a year ago yesterday after fighting a long and brave fight with multiple bouts of breast cancer.

Truthfully, Joan was more family than friend. She was a second mom to Dave and me. Joan took us to the Cubs first night game in 1988 with her son. When our mom tried to kill herself and Dave was sitting in the hospital all alone until the wee hours of the morning without ever being spoken to by a doctor, Joan noticed his car wasn't home yet and went to the hospital after midnight and made the doctors talk to him and let him see our mom. Growing up, we shared countless dinners with Joan and her family. I always knew I could go to Joan about anything.

My street feels empty without her. She was the glue that kept everyone together. She knew all the news, not in a gossipy way, but in a caring and concerned neighbor kind of way. For many years, Joan organized the block party. I heard we were having one this year, but saw no evidence that it came to fruition. I was at my college reunion the weekend it was scheduled, but I don't think I could have gone if I'd been in town.

I remember at her wake last year, over 1000 people came. The church was overflowing for her funeral. I remember seeing people I knew, but had no idea knew Joan until I saw them crying at her funeral. Joan was loved. And she loved everyone.

To read her obituary, click here.

A Friend Died

I'm headed to Watervale in the morning. I was supposed to be there today, but I spent the day following up on all the leads I got at The Mane Event last night. Although I hated missing a day of vacation, I will benefit from the work I did today for years to come.

Watervale is a place where time has stood still. There is one phone in the entire resort. No internet access. No tv. Cell phone service is sketchy. Heck, the rooms don't even have keys to the doors. There is nothing to do, unless you can entertain yourself and survive without all the modern conveniences. Families spend time hiking, biking, canoeing, playing tennis, fishing, and hanging out on the beach during the day. Nights are filled with board games, cards, reading, the drive-in, beach fires, staying up late hoping to see the Northern Lights and watching the Perseids Meteor Showers. The only air conditioning is provided by Mother Nature.

The thing about this trip is that I spend the week with the same families I've been seeing this week for as long as I can remember and although we are vacation friends I keep in touch with some of them all year long.

My dad called an hour ago to find out my estimated time of departure and in the course of our conversation told me that my friend Julia died. I was stopped in my tracks. She was 24 or 25 and I've known her most of her life. Her family is one of my favorites and and she was a newlywed, having gotten married last year in Israel. She was a shining light of a young woman.

I don't know all the details, but my dad said she went to the hospital with a non-life threatening illness, developed an infection that spread to her lungs and she died.

Watervale won't be the same without her and I will miss her.

RIP Randall Pausch: 1961-2008

If the name Randall Pausch doesn't mean anything to you, well, read on, it will.

I first discovered Randy Pausch last fall when I happened to stumble upon Oprah being replayed at 11:00pm in Chicago. I was fixated and could not change the channel. He was an amazing man, who despite significant health challenges and knowing with certainty he was dying, lived his life to the fullest every moment. He never dwelled on the negative and the "what ifs" or "why me's". Instead, he took his challenges and shared his lessons with the world to help make us all just a little bit better.

I previously wrote about him here and here. You can also find Life lessons with Randy Pausch on Oprah.com.

He is famous for The Last Lecture aka "Really Living Your Childhood Dreams."



Trust me, it's worth watching. It will speak to you in many ways.

Randall Pausch died this morning.

'Last Lecture' professor dies at 47

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AP) -- Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose "last lecture" about facing terminal cancer became an Internet sensation and a best-selling book, died Friday. He was 47.

Randy Pausch emphasized the joy of life in his "last lecture," originally given in September 2007.
Pausch died at his home in Virginia, university spokeswoman Anne Watzman said. Pausch and his family moved there last fall to be closer to his wife's relatives.

Pausch was diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer in September 2006. His popular last lecture at Carnegie Mellon in September 2007 garnered international attention and was viewed by millions on the Internet.

In it, Pausch celebrated living the life he had always dreamed of instead of concentrating on impending death.

"The lecture was for my kids, but if others are finding value in it, that is wonderful," Pausch wrote on his Web site. "But rest assured; I'm hardly unique."

The book "The Last Lecture," written with Jeffrey Zaslow, leaped to the top of the nonfiction best-seller lists after its publication in April and remains there this week. Pausch said he dictated the book to Zaslow, a Wall Street Journal writer, by cell phone. The book deal was reported to be worth more than $6 million.

At Carnegie Mellon, he was a professor of computer science, human-computer interaction and design, and was recognized as a pioneer of virtual reality research. On campus, he became known for his flamboyance and showmanship as a teacher and mentor.

The speech last fall was part of a series Carnegie Mellon called "The Last Lecture," where professors were asked to think about what matters to them most and give a hypothetical final talk. The name of the lecture series was changed to "Journeys" before Pausch spoke, something he joked about in his lecture.

"I thought, damn, I finally nailed the venue and they renamed it," he said.

He told the packed auditorium he fulfilled almost all his childhood dreams -- being in zero gravity, writing an article in the World Book Encyclopedia and working with the Walt Disney Co.

The one that eluded him? Playing in the National Football League.

"If I don't seem as depressed or morose as I should be, sorry to disappoint you," Pausch said.
He then joked about his quirky hobby of winning stuffed animals at amusement parks -- another of his childhood dreams -- and how his mother introduced him to people to keep him humble: "This is my son, he's a doctor, but not the kind that helps people."

Pausch said he was embarrassed and flattered by the popularity of his message. Millions viewed the complete or abridged version of the lecture, titled "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," online.

Pausch lobbied Congress for more federal funding for pancreatic cancer research and appeared on "Oprah" and other TV shows. In what he called "a truly magical experience," he was even invited to appear as an extra in the new "Star Trek" movie.

He had one line of dialogue, got to keep his costume and donated his $217.06 paycheck to charity.

Pausch blogged regularly about his medical treatment. On Feb. 15, exactly six months after he was told he had three to six months of healthy living left, Pausch posted a photo of himself to show he was "still alive & healthy."

"I rode my bike today; the cumulative effects of the chemotherapy are hurting my stamina some, but I bet I can still run a quarter mile faster than most Americans," he wrote.

Pausch gave one more lecture after his Carnegie Mellon appearance -- in November at the University of Virginia, where he had taught from 1988 to 1997.

Pausch often emphasized the need to have fun.

"I mean I don't know how to not have fun. I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there's no other way to play it," he said in his Carnegie Mellon lecture. "You just have to decide if you're a Tigger or an Eeyore. I think I'm clear where I stand on the great Tigger/Eeyore debate. Never lose the childlike wonder. It's just too important. It's what drives us."

Born in 1960, Pausch received his bachelor's degree in computer science from Brown University and his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon.

He co-founded Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology Center, a master's program for bringing artists and engineers together. The university named a footbridge in his honor. He also created an animation-based teaching program for high school and college students to have fun while learning computer programming.

In February, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences in California announced the creation of the Dr. Randy Pausch Scholarship Fund for university students who pursue careers in game design, development and production.

He and his wife, Jai, had three children, Dylan, Logan and Chloe.

Here's more on Randy Pausch: Time Magazine and Time's 10 Questions.

Tim Russert, 1950-2008

By now, you've heard the sad news about Tim Russert who died yesterday, doing what he loved - prepping for Sunday's Meet The Press.

I never knew Tim Russert personally, although we have spent almost every Sunday morning together for the last 17 years. For a political and news junkie like me, Meet the Press is required viewing. When I lived in DC, I survived working Sundays at Hogan because starting at noon, the local NPR station replayed all the Sunday morning political shows (Meet the Press, This Week with David Brinkley, Face the Nation, and the rest).
Tim Russert was the best of the best as far as political journalists go. His research on each guest was impeccable. Although he asked tough questions, he never entered the arena of "gotcha" questions. And he listened to the answers. Whatever his own personal political beliefs, you didn't know it when watching MTP.

And certainly, Election Nights were nothing without Tim. In fact, Tim Russert is credited with coining the phrases "Red State" and "Blue State." His goal was to explain complicated electoral politics to the Average Joe. We all remember his famous white board from the 2000 Election Night.

Of course, Tim is also known for what he's done for Father's Day. His love for his dad and his son were evident everyday of his life. And his book "Big Russ and Me" probably brought many fathers and sons closer.

I will miss Tim Russert deeply. No one holds a candle to him. And the 2008 Presidential Election will be poorer for his untimely death.

I have no idea how his shoes will be filled, although at least for tomorrow, Tom Brokaw will attempt to fill the void on Meet the Press.