This is a very sad story. Condolences to the Arnold family, especially the young children who must grow up without knowing their father.
From left to right: Shannon Arnold, Ryan Arnold, Chad Arnold. (July 29, 2010)
A Selfless Gift
www.keloland.com | By Erich Schaffhauser | August 13, 2010, 10:04 PM
WATERTOWN, SD – It was a selfless act for a Watertown dentist and may have been one that saved his brother’s life and cost him his own.
Thirty-four-year-old Ryan Arnold died after donating part of his liver to his brother whose liver was failing.
“Ryan was an amazing father, husband, brother, friend. He had uncommon character,” Ryan’s brother Rod said. “And the thing that Ryan did for his brother Chad in giving his liver to save his brother’s life made perfect sense if you know Ryan.”
It is a shame these creative, intelligent, young men fired shots at the police and then died in a shootout. Bank robbery is a crime, no matter if Santa Claus, a Leprechaun or Charles Manson is the perp. Shooting at the police is bad and will get you killed, on the spot or perhaps later after a stint on death row.
I stumbled onto the story of Cotton and Skinner while researching a leprechaun sighting. Ha ha ha Leprechaun robs bank! That tangent lead me to Santa robs bank and Darth Vader robs banks.
I was shocked to discover Cotton and Skinner were the Leprechaun AND Santa Claus bank robbers. The story got deeper and sadder as facts revealed that they fired shots while fleeing the Leprechaun heist and died after a chase and a shootout.
Below are links to video of their story, with comments from close friends as well as a horror film that Cotton helped make.
In this undated photo provided by Gallatin Police Department, David Christopher Cotton is shown. Police have linked a deadly St. Patrick's Day bank robbery by a man in a leprechaun costume with a Christmastime bank holdup by a man in a Santa suit. Police on Thursday, March 18, 2010 said the two suspects who died after a shootout with Gallatin police were Cotton of Brentwood and Jonathan Ryan Skinner, a Western Kentucky University student. Both were 20 years old. (AP Photo/Gallatin Police Department)
In this undated photo provided by Gallatin Police Department, Jonathan Ryan Skinner is shown. Police have linked a deadly St. Patrick's Day bank robbery by a man in a leprechaun costume with a Christmastime bank holdup by a man in a Santa suit. Police on Thursday, March 18, 2010 said the two suspects who died after a shootout with Gallatin police were David Christopher Cotton of Brentwood and Skinner, a Western Kentucky University student. Both were 20 years old. (AP Photo/Gallatin Police Department)
In this image made from surveillance video provided by Gallatin Police Department, David Christopher Cotton, dressed as a leprechaun, is seen during a robbery of First State Bank in Gallatin, Tenn., Wednesday, March 17, 2010. Police have linked a deadly St. Patrick's Day bank robbery by a man in a leprechaun costume with a Christmastime bank holdup by a man in a Santa suit. Police on Thursday, March 18, 2010 said the two suspects who died after a shootout with Gallatin police were David Christopher Cotton of Brentwood and Jonathan Ryan Skinner, a Western Kentucky University student. Both were 20 years old. (AP Photo/Gallatin Police Department)
Brentwood HS Grads Killed In Police Shootout
Families Remember Sons, Not Costumed Robbers
March 19, 2010 | www.wsmv.com
GALLATIN, Tenn. — The man who staged a St. Patrick’s Day bank robbery in a leprechaun costume and died during a police shootout also held up a bank three days before Christmas in a Santa suit, police said Thursday.
Investigators in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin said information from the FBI linked David Christopher Cotton, 20, of Brentwood to the December robbery.
The last footage of Cotton and Skinner is video from the dashboard camera of a Gallatin police vehicle. But that’s unlikely what friends and family will remember most.
The two men were both 20 years old and graduates of Brentwood High School. Skinner was a junior at Western Kentucky University, majoring in meteorology. He had an internship at a Nashville television station last year.
Farewell Boa Sr. Your passing is a reminder to us all of how large, diverse and fragile our world and our humanity is.
Boa Sr, the last speaker of the Bo language of the Andaman Islands, has died. Photograph: Alok Das/Survival/Survival
Ancient tribal language becomes extinct as last speaker dies
Death of Boa Sr, last person fluent in the Bo language of the Andaman Islands, breaks link with 65,000-year-old culture
Jonathan Watts | guardian.co.uk | 4 February 2010 16.28 GMT
The last speaker of an ancient tribal language has died in the Andaman Islands, breaking a 65,000-year link to one of the world’s oldest cultures.
Boa Sr, who lived through the 2004 tsunami, the Japanese occupation and diseases brought by British settlers, was the last native of the island chain who was fluent in Bo.
Emma Joan and Taylor Nalani Bailey were born conjoined from waist to sternum and sharing one heart. Their prognosis was so grim they spent their first 18 months in hospice. But they lived, so their parents took them home.
They had 3 brothers and a sister and lived a life that was normal to them. Wanting the best for their daughters their parents consulted with medical specialist all over the world on the girls unique condition and surgical options.
Unlike the original “Siamese twins” Chang an Eng, who merely shared some tough fibrous tissue and a small part of their liver and could have been easily separated, the Bailey sisters had a shared heart and would have been difficult to separate. The enormous strain of one heart working for two people made heart troubles seem inevitable so preparatory surgeries were made for an eventual separation. During the surgery for separation each girl was to get her own heart from a donor.
Alas, there were complications during one of the preparatory surgeries which was performed on Friday August 13. The girls passed away. You may visit their blog at Emma Joan and Taylor Nalani Bailey to see pictures of the girls and their family. Condolences to the Bailey family and their friends and community who have supported them thru the sister’s short life.
Dad: Tor (old) Mom: Mandy (not as old) Paige: age 11 Drew: age 9 Cole: age 8 Emma: age 3 Taylor: age 3 Blake: age 2
Rare conjoined twins die at Seattle hospital
By TIM HAECK | Aug 13, 2010 | KIRO Radio | www.mynorthwest.com
When Emma and Taylor Bailey were born almost four years ago, doctors didn’t give them much of a chance. “We were told when they were born they’d live a few minutes, maybe a few hours,” says their grandfather Don Lybbert of Lynnwood.
The conjoined twins were linked from waist to sternum and shared a heart. The girls survived in hospice for 18 months so their parents had to decide what to do. They consulted with specialists. “Their file literally went to doctors all over the world,” says Libbert. He says there was no consensus on the best treatment for the conjoined twins.
The twins grew up and Lybbert says the almost four year old girls had unique personalities but were definitely in tune. “On the way to the hospital the other morning, they were humming a song in unison in perfect pitch, it was just amazing,” says Lybbert.
Manute Bol was one of the greatest human beings who ever lived. I had no inkling how wonderful he was and what he did for the Sudan until it was too late. It fills one with sadness to see someone who gave so much to the world, die so young and in so much pain.
SHOT BLOCKER—In this Jan. 26, 1993 photo, New York Knicks’ Patrick Ewing, right, is blocked by Philadelphia 76ers’ Manute Bol during a game at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
A Manute Bol getting pranked by Charles Barkley
Somber video about Manute and his work for Sudan.
MANUTE BOL…NBA player-humanitarian, dies at 47
Written by Associated Press | Wednesday, 23 June 2010 08:29
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)—Manute Bol, a lithe 7-7 shot-blocker from Sudan who spent 10 seasons in the NBA and was dedicated to humanitarian work in Africa, died June 19. He was 47.
Bol died at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville, where he was being treated for severe kidney trouble and a painful skin condition, Tom Prichard, executive director of the group Sudan Sunrise, said in an e-mail.
Sudan and the world have lost a hero and an example for all of us,” Prichard said. “Manute, we’ll miss you. Our prayers and best wishes go out to all his family, and all who mourn his loss.”
David Waters holds the baby sister of his heart donor, inset Kaden Delaney.
Donor’s heart goes on with Burger Rings craving
Richard Noone | The Daily Telegraph | December 23, 2009 | www.news.com.au
IT seemed too real to be mere coincidence – and it brought joy to Kaden Delaney’s family.
Kaden’s parents Greg and Shelley spent two years finding David Waters, whose life was saved when he received their son’s heart after he died in a car crash. But in an exchange of emails they learned Mr Waters amazingly had developed a taste for Burger Rings – which was Kaden’s favourite snack treat.
The Delaney’s second eldest son was left brain dead after rolling his brother’s car into an embankment near their home in Orange, in central west NSW, in April 2006. In line with his wishes, they donated the 17-year-old’s heart, lungs, liver, pancreas and kidneys.
Upon hearing of his passing I was immediately comforted by the thought he died with some money in the bank. Upon learning the details. I’m glad he died in his sleep. Farewell Harvey.
If you have no idea who he is, do some research. He’s worth checking out.
The happiest, most cheerful Harvey Pekar picture I've ever seen.
Harvey Pekar dies at 70; comic book author known for ‘American Splendor’ series
www.latimes.com | By Reed Johnson, Los Angeles Times | July 13, 2010
The curmudgeonly writer, who often collaborated with such artists as Frank Stack and R. Crumb, focused on the mundane realities of middle American life and railed against the power elite.
Harvey Pekar, the Cleveland comic book author who made prickly honesty about everyday life into an artistic credo and whose outward aspect of dour dishevelment masked a passionate, elegant intellect, has died. He was 70.
Obituary: Doris Eaton Travis, 106, was a chorus girl in the Ziegfeld Follies
By Adam Bernstein | Washington Post Staff Writer | Thursday, May 13, 2010
Doris Eaton Travis, who died May 11 at age 106, traversed one of the longest and more inspiring careers in show business. On stage since childhood, she was the youngest chorus girl ever hired in the Ziegfeld Follies, a popular theatrical spectacle of the early 20th century designed to “glorify the American girl.”
By the time of her death from an aneurysm at a hospital in Commerce, Mich., Mrs. Travis was the last surviving chorus girl from the Follies, according to Ziegfeld archivist Nils Hanson. He said Mrs. Travis’s death “marks the end of the Ziegfeld golden era of Broadway.”
An American counterpart to the Folies Bergre in Paris, the original Ziegfeld Follies ran from 1907 to 1931 and featured some of the top entertainers of the day, including W.C. Fields and Will Rogers. It introduced songs by Irving Berlin and other leading pop composers.
Most people don’t live in NYC and have only seen this coffee cup on tv and stuff. He sounds like a real nice guy though.
The original ANTHORA cup
Anthora homages
A ceramic version of Anthora
Leslie Buck, Designer of Iconic Coffee Cup, Dies at 87
By MARGALIT FOX | April 29, 2010 | www.nytimes.com
It was for decades the most enduring piece of ephemera in New York City and is still among the most recognizable. Trim, blue and white, it fits neatly in the hand, sized so its contents can be downed in a New York minute. It is as vivid an emblem of the city as the Statue of Liberty, beloved of property masters who need to evoke Gotham at a glance in films and on television.
Even if you did not know his name, you knew his work.
He was a manly man who left a legacy of art for the world to enjoy. Arguably one of the most recognizable if not successful illustrators of his generationFrazetta had a wonderful way of rendering the human form and his work was often used for album covers, book covers and movie posters.
Farewell Frank.
Click on an image to see it larger
Fantasy artist Frazetta, 82, dies in Fla.
By MARYCLAIRE DALE | AP | May, 11, 2010
PHILADELPHIA — Pioneering fantasy artist Frank Frazetta died Monday in a Fort Myers, Fla., hospital, a manager said. He was 82.
Frazetta had been out to dinner with his daughters Sunday but suffered a stroke at his Boca Grande home later that night and was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital, manager Rob Pistella said. A hospital spokeswoman confirmed the death, as did his daughter Heidi Frazetta Grabin.
“He’s going to be remembered as the most renowned fantasy illustrator of the 20th Century,” Pistella said.
Frazetta created covers and illustrations for more than 150 books and comic books, along with album covers, movie posters and original paintings. His illustrations of Conan the Barbarian, Tarzan, Vampirella and other characters influenced many later artists.
Hell of a guy. He really worked to make the world a better place. At least his passing seems as if it was swift. The world just got a lot more boring.
The late gay/AIDS activist Keith Cylar, on the left, and Harry Wieder, right, peeking at his meat-and-potatoes. This fab photo ran in Outweek's 1991 swimsuit issue. Photo credit: Michael Wakefield.)
Well known activist and community board member – Harry Weider – dead at 57 Thursday, April 29, 2010 | www.jewishjournal.com
Harry Wieder, an LGBT rights, transportation, and disabilities advocate, was run down and killed by a taxi last night in the LES. Weider, 57, described himself on his Facebook page as a “disabled, gay, Jewish, leftist, middle aged dwarf who ambulates with crutches.” He was crossing Essex Street after leaving a Community Board 3 monthly meeting at P.S. 20 when he was struck by the cab. Many colleagues witnessed the accident and accompanied him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Modern medicine allows for more and more conjoined twins to be separated. When they can’t be, it’s a reminder of how special those children are and how difficult those surgeries are. One can’t help but wonder if living in the troubled Gaza, and their impoverished start has anything to do with their loss of life. Condolences to the family.
Rital and Ritaj
Inseparable … even in death: Gaza twins lose battle for life
By ARAB NEWS | Apr 11, 2010
RIYADH: A pair of conjoined Palestinian twins who came to the Kingdom from the Gaza Strip to undergo separation surgery died in Riyadh on Saturday, said Saudi Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah.
Al-Rabeeah, who is also head of the medical team that was to perform the operation, said Rital and Ritaj died at 4 p.m. in King Abdul Aziz National Guard Medical City. “Their situation worsened as the medical team had expected,” he said. He said the two could not be separated surgically because they had a bacterial infection in their chests and because their hearts, livers and digestive systems were intertwined.
The two girls were born on March 27 — the first ever in the impoverished Gaza Strip where doctors lacked the resources to treat them. They requested help from Saudi Arabia, which has world-renowned facilities for separating conjoined twins.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah heard about the twins through the media and ordered they be brought to the Kingdom for surgery. King Abdullah has funded such surgeries in the Kingdom from other parts of the world.
The twins ran into obstacles in getting there. They had to obtain passports from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, permission from Israel and approval from the Egyptian government to open the border out of Gaza.
“Tests confirmed that the condition of the twins Rital and Ritaj is very critical and their health is not stable,” said hospital spokesman Sami Al-Shalan in a previous statement. They were examined on arrival in Riyadh by a medical team headed by Al-Rabeeah, who has personally carried out many separation surgeries.
