Death is a sad fact of life. Though I find this story unintentionally hilarious I do have sympathy for Ms. Rivers’ late companion and his family. I have an equal amount of sympathy for Ms. Rivers for enduring what must be one of the worst dates ever. Having your date die is surely a blow to one’s self esteem.
Joan Rivers in an undated photo.
Joan Rivers date dropped dead during dinner at Le Cirque
ny.eater.com | Tuesday, March 2, 2010 | by Amanda
Today, on a particularly amusing episode of the Howard Stern show, Joan Rivers revealed that a man she had been dating for five weeks dropped dead during dinner at Le Cirque seven months ago. Rivers said her date suddenly went quiet, with his eyes wide open, sitting upright on the banquette, and he just died. Jokes that she made about the incident: 1) Her salmon dish was ruined as a result, 2) She paid for the meal by reaching into the dead man’s wallet and handing over his AMEX, 3) At least left a 20% tip even though he didn’t finish his meal, 4) He must’ve kicked the bucket after seeing her in the bright light.
Not the worst place to die right?
His death was not made public at the restaurant. Rivers, the management, and paramedics told patrons that he would be fine so as to not, you know, totally freak them out. Also it should be noted, her date was elderly, so the death was not, as far as she knows, food related.
There are worse places to drop dead. Readers, please put your best jokes about Le Cirque’s deadly prices, its dying breed of patrons, and the like in the comments.
Update: The official comment from Le Cirque: “No one has died at Le Cirque. The crème brulee’s to die for, but that’s about it.”
UPDATE No. 2: The good people at Sirius were kind enough to transcribe the show for us. And yes she eludes to Le Cirque, but is ambiguous about it:
JOAN RIVERS ON THE HOWARD STERN SHOW/SIRIUS XM/March 2, 2010
Condolences to Mary Josephine Ray’s family and friends.
Mary Josephine Ray, nation’s oldest
Mar. 9, 2010 | www.philly.com | Associated Press
WESTMORELAND, N.H. – Mary Josephine Ray, the New Hampshire woman who was certified as the oldest person living in the United States, died Sunday at age 114 years, 294 days.
Ms. Ray, who died at a nursing home in Westmoreland, was active until about two weeks before her death, her granddaughter Katherine Ray said.
“She just enjoyed life,” Ray said. “She never thought of dying at all. She was planning for her birthday party.”
Even with her recent decline, the granddaughter said, Ms. Ray managed an interview with a reporter last week.
Ms. Ray, born May 17, 1895, was the oldest person in the United States and the second-oldest in the world, according to the Gerontology Research Group. She was also recorded as the oldest person ever to live in New Hampshire.
Farewell Daisey Bailey, what amazing changes you must have seen in your life.
On the same day Mrs. Bailey passed, the world’s oldest living person passed on too. The article below had the following quote which is sorta wonderful, “like people who are good at sports, they’re good at living a long time.”
Daisey Bailey of Detroit, world’s oldest black, dies at 114
Nip of bourbon kept supercentenarian going, granddaughter says
Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News | March 09. 2010
Detroit — Throughout her 114 years of living, Daisy Bailey kept to more than a few habits.
Relatives marveled at her hard work; how she tended a garden and flower bed; and close ties she kept with loved ones.
“She had a beautiful personality,” said her granddaughter, Helen Arnold. “She would give someone her last dime.”
Bailey died of organ failure Sunday at Henry Ford Hospital. The Detroit resident was the fifth oldest person in the world and the oldest living black person as certified by the Gerontology Research Group, which tracks people who are 100 years and older.
She would have turned 115 March 30, said her granddaughter Helen Arnold.
Bailey was one of two supercentenarians, or those older than 110, who died Sunday. Mary Josephine Ray, who was certified as the oldest person living in the United States, died at age 114 years, 294 days, at a nursing home in Westmoreland, N.H.
Here’s a list of other animal trainer deaths and incidents that have happened at SEA WORLDs.
Random Seaworld Orlando show image
Killer whales: Other SeaWorld attacks
www.orlandosentinel.com | Feb. 25, 2010
Nov. 29, 2006: Kenneth Peters, SeaWorld San Diego’s most experienced trainer, was dragged to the bottom of a 36-foot-deep pool by a 7,000-pound killer whale named Kasatka during a show at Shamu Stadium. Peters escaped with puncture wounds and a broken foot after he calmed the whale by stroking it.
July 27, 2004: Ky, a killer whale at SeaWorld San Antonio, repeatedly slammed trainer Steve Aibel underwater during a show. Aibel, who was uninjured, had trained Ky for 10 years.
June 12, 1999: Kasatka, a dominant female whale, began acting strangely during a show, grabbed Peters’ leg and attempted to throw him out of the pool at SeaWorld San Diego. Peters was able to get out of the pool.
Nov. 21, 1987: John Sillick fractured his vertebrae, femur and pelvis while riding Corky the whale at SeaWorld San Diego when he was crushed between two whales during a show.
Sept. 30, 1987: Chris Barlow of SeaWorld San Diego was rammed in the stomach by a whale during a show. He was hospitalized but survived.
– Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, Sentinel research
Pizzeria worker sees Jesus in sauce bucket on first Friday of Lent
thetimes-tribune.com | BY JEREMY G. BURTON, STAFF WRITER | February 25, 2010
When Mary Louise Salerno saw Jesus Christ in a bucket of pizza sauce, her instinct was not to alert the media or even to tell many friends.
She did not want people descending on her family’s West Scranton pizzeria, and she did not want to invite critics or doubters of what she felt was a clear sign.
“To us, it was something special,” Ms. Salerno, 65, of Old Forge said. “God smiled on us that day.”
Thanks to Adam W. for this story. He has a great blog, check it out here.
Not surprisingly tornadoes are being blamed for this unusual happening.
Residents stunned as hundreds of fish fall out of the sky over remote Australian desert town
www.dailymail.co.uk | By Richard Shears | Last updated at 11:41 AM on 02nd March 2010
Residents of a small outback Australian town have been left speechless after fish began falling from the sky.
Hundreds of spangled perch bombarded the 650 residents of Lajamanu, shocking local Christine Balmer, who was walking home when the strange ‘weather’ started.
She said: ‘These fish fell in their hundreds and hundreds all over the place. The locals were running around everywhere picking them up.
‘The fish were all alive when they hit the ground so they would have been alive when they were up there flying around the sky.
‘When I told my family, who live in another part of Australia, about the fish falling from the sky, they thought I’d lost the plot.
‘But no, I haven’t lost my marbles. All I can say is that I’m thankful that it didn’t rain crocodiles!’
Meterologists say the incident was probably caused by a tornado. It is common for tornados to suck up water and fish from rivers and drop them hundreds of miles away.
Mark Kersemakers from the Australian Bureau of Meterology said: ‘Once they get up into the weather system, they are pretty much frozen and, after some time, they are released.’
Lajamanu is located half-way between Darwin and Alice Springs, on the edge of the Tanami Desert.
This is not the first time residents of the small town have experienced fish falling out of the sky.
Resident Les Dillon, 48, said: ‘In the early 1980s I was at the Alice Springs Tavern Hotel and, when I walked out the door, I saw all these little fish, fallen out of the sky.
‘Yes, I had a couple of beers, so none of my friends believed me. I have rung heaps of people to let them know I wasn’t drunk back then. It had really happened!’
What happens when you gather the best male and female athletes from around the world to compete in sports? Apparently tons of fun! Thanks to the foresight and thoughtfulness of event organizers it’s safe fun.
For some reason a Catholic site covered this story with their own special slant which almost, but doesn’t quite, use the word “debauchery.”
Widespread revelry in the streets in addition to wild parties has left Vancouver in dire need of prophylactics. Image from catholic.org
More condoms shipped to Olympics
By Greg Goodsell | 3/1/2010 | Catholic Online
An emergency shipment of condoms was shipped to Vancouver in order to better serve a city in the throes of Olympic fervor.
LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) – Widespread revelry in the streets in addition to wild parties has left this western Canadian city in dire need of prophylactics.
Health officials in Vancouver have provided 100,000 free condoms to the roughly 7,000 athletes and officials at the Games, about 14 condoms per person. In the middle of last week, those supplies were running dangerously low. The Canadian Foundation for AIDS research rose to the occasion to make sure no one went without.
Three large boxes of about 8,500 condoms each were flown to the Olympic Village
Free condoms were first distributed at the athletic event at the Barcelona 1992 Games, and this appears to be the first time that a shortage has struck the Games.
According to a health Web site, lambskin condoms, or natural condoms do not protect the user from sexually transmitted diseases. The pores are seen as being too large to protect against the small particles that causes some STDs. In addition, latex condoms protect against only certain types of STDs
Wild animals are wild animals. It has been proven again and again that large, powerful, smart, male, wild animals are dangerous and should be respected. When these wild animals follow human commands, jump thru hoops, ride bicycles or wear polo shirts it’s easy to lose that respect.
This article discusses the life and possible motivation of “Tilly” who recently killed his highly skilled and caring trainer, Dawn Brancheau, in Seaworld Orlando.
The attack by Tilly follows recent trends with chimpanzee attacks. Large, strong, males are dangerous and have the potential to attack and kill humans.
Tilikum
Tilikum at work
Tilikum
Killer Whale Trainer Death Tied to Mating, Isolation
Boredom and raging hormones may have contributed to the tragic attack by a SeaWorld killer whale.
Discoverynews.com | By Jennifer Viegas | Thu Feb 25, 2010 02:24 AM ET
THE GIST:
* The male killer whale that killed a trainer at SeaWorld Orlando, was often used for breeding and, at other times, housed in isolation.
* Another male killer whale, named Ky, also attacked his trainer under similar circumstances.
* Experts believe Tilikum’s captivity, frequent breeding and the fact that he was captured in the wild could all have contributed to the fatality.
Tilikum, the male killer whale that fatally injured trainer Dawn Brancheau in front of a stunned audience at SeaWorld in Orlando on Wednesday, was a breeding “stud” often housed in isolation.
Experts believe he did not kill for food, but may have been acting out due to stress and raging hormones.
While some reports have been portraying Tilikum as a particularly aggressive orca, a nearly identical incident involving another killer whale male named Ky occurred in July 2004 at the San Antonio SeaWorld.
Trainer Steve Aibel, like Brancheau, was pulled underwater by the whale, which also attempted to bite, but Aibel walked away uninjured. He later blamed Ky’s “adolescent hormones” for the episode.
Marine biologist Nancy Blake told Discovery News that Tilikum could have acted out for similar reasons.
“He was used a lot [by SeaWorld] for mating, and could have even been enacting a mating behavior during the incident,” explained Blake, a leading expert on killer whales who runs California’s Monterey Bay Whale Watch.
According to GREMM, a Quebec-based marine mammal research and education group, intense competition may take place between male whales before mating. Males and females may also challenge each other, with females sometimes changing their diving behavior during the process.
Captured near Iceland in November 1983, Tilikum “was housed in small tanks from the beginning,” said Blake. SeaWorld Orlando acquired the whale in January 1992, and put him in a breeding program shortly thereafter.
Over the years, Tilikum has sired at least 17 calves, 10 of which are still alive, making him the most successful orca father in captivity. He is also the only captive killer whale grandfather.
His captivity, frequent breeding and the fact that Tilikum was caught in the wild could all have contributed to Wednesday’s fatality, Blake believes.
Dawn Brancheau was very good at her job and enjoyed it very much.
Dawn Brancheau 40, was killed after the 30-year-old, 12,300-pound bull orca named Tilikum, jumped out of a tank, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her underwater. Ms. Brancheau was one of the most experienced trainers on staff and one of the few allowed to work with the powerful and dangerous animal. According to her sister, Ms. Brancheau was fulfilled and happy in her job.
People who have seen the 70’s movie, ORCA would not be surprised by these actions. The shocking thing is that this is the THIRD death caused by Tilikum. In 1991 Tilly along with 3 other whales killed a trainer who accidentally slipped and fell into the tank. In 1999 Tilly killed a man who sneaked into the park after hours.
Tillikum performing in a file photo.
Investigation Into SeaWorld Trainer’s Death Begins
Tilikum Blamed For Two Previous Deaths
WESH.com | February 25, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. — Investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be at SeaWorld on Thursday working to determine what led to the death of a trainer who was pulled into the water by a killer whale.
Officials with SeaWorld and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office will also participate in the investigation.
A park official confirmed Wednesday that the whale involved in the trainer’s death at the Orlando park actually pulled the victim into a tank.
Family dog keeps lost Ariz. tot safe on cold night
The Arizona Republic | by Weston Phippen and Brittany Williams | Feb. 20, 2010
Victoria was lost, lying amid the brush and rocks.
The 3-year-old’s feet were swollen, her body covered in dirt and scratches. The temperature had dipped into the mid-30s, and she was wearing little more than a T-shirt. She had been out all night.
With her in the cold was her best friend, one she had known her whole life. He was a Queensland heeler named Blue.
As the sun rose over the pair Friday morning, a Department of Public Safety helicopter hovered overhead. Searchers saw Victoria. The girl was lying on the ground. The dog was right next to her.
For nearly 15 hours, relatives and authorities had been looking for Victoria Bensch, a little girl who wandered away from her Cordes Lakes home north of the Valley. A massive ground search ran throughout the night.
In the morning, after the rescue, Victoria was taken by helicopter to Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She was treated for mild frostbite on her feet and was expected to stay overnight only so that doctors could make sure she was in good shape.
A circus zebra getting a little exercise broke loose from his handlers and toured down town Atlanta pursued by police cars, police on bicycles and police on foot. The excited animal was safely caught on an Interstate.
I look forward to more amateur photos coming forward of the zebra on the street downtown.
“All of a sudden, a freaking zebra comes running down the street like a car. Five or six police cars were in hot pursuit. And a bunch of officers on foot.”
Circus zebra leads police on wild chase
By Kristi E. Swartz and Ty Tagami | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution | February 18, 2010
A zebra from the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus escaped his handler and led police on a chase through downtown Atlanta on Thursday afternoon.
The black-and-white striped animal was spotted all over town — in the parking lot near the Richard B. Russell Federal Building, near Centennial Olympic Park, CNN and on the Downtown Connector. He was finally captured on the interstate near the Grady curve. According to witnesses, he was galloping between lanes of traffic on the Downtown Connector before his capture.
The 12-year-old zebra, named Lima, was exercising to prepare for Thursday night’s circus performance at Philips Arena when “something spooked him,” Ringling Brothers spokeswoman Crystal Drake told the Associated Press. The zebra broke away from his trainers and bumped up against a fence before wiggling through an opening and running off, she told the AP.
“We’re not sure what it was that startled him, but we’re looking into that,” Drake told the AP.
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