Celebrity Death Thread

[Tony G]

Malto's got a new one too. (What is that?) Dean I was going to comment earlier how classy yours is, Monica is timeless in that pic

[DanO]

"Their pasties are good (but I still favor the ones I get up around Mackinaw Island) but their steak pies are out of this world!"
------------------------Damn, I thought you were going to say you favor the ones you get from me.

Never had a steak bake but they look really good. Marko, send me a box.

[Malto Marko]

Malto's got a new one too. (What is that?) Dean I was going to comment earlier how classy yours is, Monica is timeless in that pic

Heh, heh.

I was waiting for someone to ask.

I stumbled across this while doing a bit of research on Knights Templar.

My mother was Scottish, English and Irish. My father is full blooded Maltese.

Because I had a boss that was Irish and somewhat of a typical one, he used to rag on me about being Maltese so I never owned up to my Irish heritage.

It seems that my family name comes from noble royalty from Malta and Sicily.

The picture is of my family crest that is in the Palazzo Parisio, village of Naxxar, purchased by Marquis Giuseppe Scicluna in the middle of the 19th century. (BTW, my grandfathers name was Giuseppe also. I wanted to name one of my kids Giuseppe but their mother was dead set against it)

The reason I was researching Knights Templar is because in late August through September we have a Renaissance Festival. It is a wonderful time with people walking around in all kinds of garb from that period in time.

The Knights of Malta are one of the oldest mercenary groups known to mankind. I am doing research and have found artists renditions of the authentic garb worn by the Knights of Malta and with the help of the wife, plan on attending next year as one.

[DanO]

Very Cool, Mark.

[Marko69]

What are you talking about Dean......, Septems cartoon lad changed every week!

[DeanUK]

What are you talking about Dean......, Septems cartoon lad changed every week!

True, although it took me a while to even notice that! Who's in your pic Daughter and Grandaughter?

[Marko69]

Yes, that's daughter and granddaughter....., she will be one on the 22nd September. She's a wee beauty. And my daughter is a great mother too....., which has surprised us all as prior to the wee one, she liked her nightlife and holidays in Ibiza etc. Thankfully she has been with her partner since they were 14 years old (21 now) ...., which I think is every father of a daughters wish....., pick one nice guy, and stay with him! Lol. And her partner is great, recently qualified car mechanic....., very useful,

[DanO]

Very pretty, Marko. Obviously she looks like her mother.

[DeanUK]

I'd have thought you'd be introducing her to a Greggs baker.

[DeanUK]

Prof Sid Watkins - F1 Safety Pioneer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/motorsport/19578977

[Islair]

Snowboarders lose a godfather with the passing of Tom Sims
By: Chris Mauro, GrindTV.com

Tom Sims, 61, a pioneering force in the world of skateboarding and snowboarding, passed away Wednesday night from cardiac arrest at a hospital near his Santa Barbara home. Beyond reaching world championship status in both skating and snowboarding, Sims is best known for his innovations that paved the way for both popular board sports to flourish into multi-billion dollar industries. His SIMS lines of skateboards, wheels, and snowboards, all became industry juggernauts.



While accomplished in all the board sport disciplines, his pioneering role in snowboarding looms largest in his legacy. Sims is widely credited with making the first "skiboard" when he was in seventh grade, in 1963, though he admits it didn't work. But his later refinements included the first metal-edged snowboards.

Sims grew up a surfer, but his legacy is taking the surfing style of riding inland, first with his line of skateboards and wheels that allowed for higher speeds and performance, and later by perfecting his earlier attempt at the snowboard. Thanks to his contributions snowboarding has taken over mountain communities the world over.

"Without Tom Sims it is arguable that these sports that so many of us live and breathe wouldn't have been possible," says Pat Bridges, editor of Snowboarder magazine. "More than simply a pioneer or visionary, he was a new age ambassador of a lifestyle rooted in skate, surf, and snow."

Pro snowboarders, skateboarders, and surfers have all taken to Twitter to pay tribute, including Olympic half pipe medalist Louie Vito, who tweeted: "RIP TOM SIMS!!!! #Legend #SnowboardingGodfather #Neverforgotten."



Sims' love for board sports blossomed in Southern California, where he would travel to visit family regularly until he moved there for good in 1971. He'd already fallen in love with surfing and skating on previous visits, which prompted his early attempt at bringing those sports to the icy mountains of his winter home.

Within months of moving to California Sims was making state-of-the-art skateboards that allowed for much higher speeds and performance in streets and pools, simulating the surfing experience.

He made a point of validating his equipment himself, becoming world skating champion in 1975. Future skating stars like Stacy Peralta and Tony Hawk were some of his earliest team riders.

SIMS Skateboards became the largest skate company in the world by the mid-'70s, but after several of his early team riders launched competing brands, he licensed his skateboard business out so he could focus on his growing love for snowboarding, a fledgling little niche that he'd been experimenting with throughout the '70s. Proceeds from his skateboard business allowed him to refine the complex snowboards, bindings, and boots that would eventually take over the world.

While Jake Burton of Burton Snowboards was making his own inroads back east, Sims, through his riding, inventing, and charismatic wheeling and dealing, was the undisputed leader of the movement in the west, which was home to the majority of high-profile surfers and skaters who became snowboarding disciples.



Of course, in the early '80s, ski resorts were hardly welcoming snowboarders with open arms. As the resorts saw it, letting unwashed surf and skate units run roughshod all over their mountains would offend their high-end, high-brow clientele. But as mountains struggled to compete for family business during lean years, resorts that opened their doors to snowboarders first reaped enormous and immediate benefits. That forced the hand of the rest, and transformed the resort experience forever.

Today, skaters like Tony Hawk and snowboarders like Shaun White are some of the most recognized athletes in the world, making millions in endorsements and sporting gold medals from the X and Olympic Games. Look closely and you'll find Sims' fingerprints all over those medals.

[bimmer84]

Thanks for posting Islair. I have a Sims board, but I wasn't aware of the historical significance of the Sims name. RIP.

There are still resorts out west that won't take snowboarders. Alta is one. We are still the unwashed masses to them.

[Tony G]

That's an economic thing. They must be doing well enough to be able to turn the younger money away. I'm sure at some point it might be a selling point to go skiing with none of those kids and their big hair (What? you mean that's supposed to be big air? are you sure? oops, oh well) around to mess up your enjoymentof the blissfull mountains.

[bimmer84]

Might be right Tony. In general, it IS a youth driven sport, but I am neither young, nor capable of having big hair! I see others out there like me. We are just happy to make it out alive.

[DanO]

RIP Tom.