In Memoriam, 2015

Every year, the world loses out on a group of celebrities that succumbed to death in one form or another. It's inevitable for us all, but at least for these celebrities, they entertained us in some way while they were still alive. Over a one year period, there are too many too write about them all in one blog, so instead, I give you 10 celebrities that probably had the biggest impacts on me while they were still alive. Rest in peace...

1. Donna Douglas (8/26/32-1/1/15) 82 years old: Douglas landed appearances on shows such as The Perry Cuomo Show, The Steve Allen Show, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Twilight Zone, and Route 66 before landing her most famous role as Elly May Clampett on The Beverly Hillbillies. She ran into being type-casted as the sexy country girl after The Beverly Hillbillies went off the air after nine seasons. Eventually she moved on to singing gospel music. Douglas would pass away from pancreatic cancer at a Baton Rouge, Louisiana hospital on New Years Day.

2. Ernie Banks (1/31/31-1/23/15) 83 years old: Known as Mr. Cub, Banks is perhaps the most famous player to play for the famed Chicago Cubs. The Hall of Famer was once quoted as saying, "We've got the setting, sunshine, fresh air, the team behind us. So let's play two!" which became one of the most iconic quotes in baseball history. He was a two-time MVP who hit over 500 homers, and had over 2,500 hits. Some argue that he might be the best shortstop of all time, but he played more games at first base. He was the very first Cubs player to have his number retired and a statue stands in front of him stands in front of Wrigley Field. Banks died from a heart attack at a Chicago area hospital.

3. Leonard Nimoy (3/26/31-2/2715) 83 years old: Known for his iconic role as Mr. Spock in the Star Trek TV shows and movies, Nimoy's role is arguably one of the most famous in sci-fi history. As Spock, he was nominated for three Emmy's before moving on to another hit show, Mission Impossible. He also made appearances on other hits such as Dragnet, Perry Mason, The Twilight Zone, Wagon Train, Bonanza, Combat!, The Outer Limits and Get Smart before locking down the role of Spock. Nimoy also tried his hand in photography, music, writing, and directing movies including two of the Star Trek movies and Three Men and a Baby. Nimoy passed away in his home from complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease due to his years of smoking.

4. Grace Lee Whitney (4/1/30-5/1/15) 85 years old: Most famous for her role as Janice Rand in the original Star Trek series and films, Whitney only appeared on eight episodes during the first season before reprising her role in the films. She made many more appearances on other popular TV shows including Mannix, Batman, Bewitched, The Outer Limits, 77 Sunset Strip, Hawaiian Eye, and Gunsmoke. Whitney also was a singer who opened up at Chicago nightclubs for Billie Holiday and Buddy Rich. She died of natural causes at her home in California.

5. BB King (9/16/25-5/14/15) 89 years old: Ranked as the sixth greatest guitar player in the world by Rolling Stone, King has perhaps the greatest career of any blues artist in history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and is nicknamed "The King of Blues". King began his recording career in 1949 and performed up to the year of his death in 2015. During his career, BB won 15 Grammy Awards and was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom. His song "The Thrill is Gone" is considered by many the greatest blues song ever written and performed. In the 90's, he opened up the BB King Blues Clubs of which two are still open, with two more scheduled to open up soon. His guitar is also one of the most famous in history, nicknaming the Gibson ES-355's he prefers to use "Lucille". Unfortunately, at the end of King's life, he battled diabetes and would have to perform while sitting down on a stool. He eventually passed away while sleeping from multi-infarct dementia brought on by a series of small strokes caused by atherosclerotic vascular disease as a consequence of his diabetes.

6. Yvonne Craig (5/16/37-8/17/15) 78 years old: Craig began her career as a dancer before finding herself in television and movie roles. Finding herself in small roles in the movie version of Gidget, she would go on to play the love interest in two Elvis Presley movies (It Happened at the World's Fair and Kissin' Cousins) as well as finding herself appearing in various hit TV shows such as The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Wild Wild West, and McHale's Navy. It was then when she was cast in her most famous role as Batgirl in the Batman TV show alongside Adam West and Burt Ward. Not long afterward, she would also be cast in her second most famous role in Star Trek as Marta, the green skinned Orion slave girl. Craig would go on to more appearances in hit shows such as Starsky and Hutch, Fantasy Island, The Six Million Dollar Man, Kojak, and Love, American Style. She died at her home from metastatic breast cancer that spread to her liver.

7. Yogi Berra (5/12/25-9/22/15) 90 years old: Yogi Berra is considered one of the greatest catchers in Major League Baseball history, but despite this, he is almost as well known for his quotes to the press that would be known as "Yogi-isms". Some of them include, "It ain't over till it's over,", "The future ain't what it used to be,", "Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is physical,", "I really didn't say everything I said." Berra is one of only five players in history to have won the AL MVP three times and was a first ballot hall of famer in 1972. He was also one of only seven managers in history to lead an AL and NL team to the World Series. Yogi was an 18 time all-star who had his number 8 retired by the Yankees. He also holds the record for most World Series rings with 10 as a player and 3 more as a coach. He passed away from natural causes on the 69th anniversary of his debut game with the Yankees.

8. Maureen O'Hara (8/17/20-10/24/15) 95 years old: The fire-redheaded starlet was one of the biggest names in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Perhaps most famously known for her role as Doris Walker in Miracle on 34th Street, a Christmas favorite that is aired every December on a television near you, she had also starred in other hits. She had starred in Sinbad the Sailor with Morgan Fairbanks, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, How Green Was My Valley, and The Black Swan over her career as well. Acting during the rise of color films, she was dubbed "The Queen of Technicolor". She passed away in her sleep at her Boise, Idaho home.

9. George Barris (11/20/25-11/5/15) 89 years old: Not a name that some people may recognize, but Barris was one of the masters at creating iconic cars for television and movie shows. His two most notable creations were the Batmobile from the Batman '66 television show and the Munster Koach of The Munsters. During his time working on customized automobiles, he had also designed or customized other cars such as the Clampetts's truck from Beverly Hillbillies, the General Lee from Dukes of Hazzard, KITT from Knight Rider, and the tour vehicles in Jurassic Park. At the age of 89, Barris passed away in his sleep.

10. Scott Weiland (10/27/67-12/3/15) 48 years old: Lead singer to Stone Temple Pilots and later Velvet Revolver, Weiland battled through drug addiction while establishing himself as one of the greatest rock stars of the '90s and 2000's. With the initial release of Core in 1992 with Stone Temple Pilots, the band released a ton of hits including Plush, Creep, Big Empty, Vasoline, Interstate Love Song, Big Bang Baby, Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart, Lady Picture Show, Down, and Sour Girl which would be enough for a band to land in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Weiland then moved on to join members of Guns N' Roses to form Velvet Revolver and produced hits such as Slither, Fall to Pieces, and She Builds Quick Machines. Found dead on his tour bus with his current group, The Wildabouts, it was later determined that despite his claims to have recovered from previous drug and alcohol addictions, his death was caused by a lethal mixture of cocaine, ethanol, and Methylenedioxyamphetamine.

When is it okay to Spoil?

With the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, there have been a ton of posts on social media that have asked people to not spoil the plot and ending of the movie. Other blockbuster movies had posts requesting the same thing. This leaves the question...when is the acceptable time period okay to talk about a movie plot or ending?

Some examples of opinions online have stated that while a movie is still in the theaters, it should be off limits. If that is the case, some movie theaters exhibit movies far beyond their initial release date. The Dark Knight Rises lasted in some theaters for almost two years after it was released. On the flipside, if it is okay to talk about the movie after it has stopped being exhibited at movie theaters, then how is this fair for people waiting for it to be released for sale on DVD or Blu-Ray? People pay good money for a movie that is released for home viewing, so why would it be fair to spoil the movie for them?

From personal experience, I once got an earful from a person at my work when I talked about the plotline to the ending of Batman...during the week of the release of Batman Begins which was released 16 years later. The other person complained that they had planned on having a Batman themed movie weekend planned before they were going to see the new one in the theaters. Is this fair to complain about? In this particular case, the Tim Burton movie had nothing to do with the series starring Christian Bale.

When talking about a movie, should a pre-question be posed to the group of people who might participate in talking about the movie, whether or not they have seen the movie or at least not mind hearing about it? Does this conversation have to stop or be paused if someone enters the room? This seems like it would take the fun out of talking about movies if you have to worry about talking about them in front of groups of people. It can be understandable if the movie had been just released, but if it has been out for a while, it seems like the movie should be fair game.

Another question that can be posed...does the popularity of the movie play a difference on when it can be "spoiled"? A blockbuster hit like a Star Wars movie has more people who want to see it than say a movie such as a sequel to Joe Dirt. Does this make it more okay to talk about the smaller anticipated movie within a shorter amount of time after the movies release date? If a Star Wars movie has a six month "no spoil" limit, does a Joe Dirt movie have two months? On the flipside of this question, shouldn't a blockbuster have a shorter spoil limit since it presumably has a higher demand to see it as soon as possible?

I feel that on average, a three to four month limit on spoilers should be placed on a movie. A person should be self aware of friends or coworkers that have been wanting to see a movie, but have yet to see it, but in the situation of casual conversation, one hundred days sounds about right. Yes, it might not be for sale in home video form yet, but this isn't exactly fair to those who have seen the movie and want to share their experience with friends and family.

Photo Credit: Storyboard from Dark Knight Rises

Celebs You Didn't Know Were Related

Screencaps taken from Groundhog Day (Bill Murray left, Brian Doyle-Murray right)

Everyone seems to know of someone that they grew up with that ended up being famous. Even less often, you might actually be related to someone famous or at least ended up with their fair share of fifteen minutes of fame. But on occasion, families have multiple celebrities within their ancestral lineage. Today, it doesn't seem too uncommon when a power A-list couple has a kid that ends up being famous on their own, but there are also occasions when a family may have a couple of famous people within the same bloodline that people have no idea are related. Everyone knows of famous relatives such as the Baldwin brothers, the Arquettes, and the Copola family, but here is a small sampling of celebrities you might not know are related....

1. Jason Sudeikis and George Wendt: Most famous for being Norm on Cheers, George Wendt earned some time on Saturday Night Live as one of the Bears Superfans who debated how awesome former Bears coach Mike Ditka was. Later on Jason Sudeikis, Wendt's nephew, would try out for the show, earning a spot as a writer before eventually becoming a full-time cast member who would eventually be the show's prominent male cast member. Sudeikis moved onto movies, starring in comedic hits such as Horrible Bosses while his uncle makes guest appearances on shows such as Portlandia.

2. Jenny McCarthy and Melissa McCarthy: While the name may be a give away, the two of them peaked at different times and for different reasons. Jenny McCarthy originally famous for being a Playboy model in the early nineties, moved on to MTV and shows such as Singled Out. She branched out into playing small comedic roles, but was eventually outshined by her cousin. Melissa didn't quite catch on until she earned a role on Gilmore Girls. From there she moved on to her own show Mike and Mike before climbing up the fame ladder into feature movies while her cousin Jenny is now more known for her advocacy against vaccinations.

3. Mary-Kate, Ashley, and Elizabeth Olsen: Just about everyone alive since the eighties is aware of the power twins that got their start as Michelle Tanner on Full House, but not everyone is aware that they have a younger sister that has climbed the ladder of fame too. Learning her craft through NYU and through the Moscow Art Theatre School, it took a little more time for the younger Olsen to earn fame. She solidified herself in the Marvel movie universe, starring as the Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron and will play an integral part as Scarlet Witch in Captain America: Civil War.

4. Mariska Hargitay and Jayne Mansfield: Known as the "working man's Marilyn Monroe", the Hollywood sex symbol of the fifties and early sixties died at the young age of 34. Her public life was highly publicized and if she were alive today, probably would have had her own reality show. The blonde bombshell is said to have been the inspiration of the Ginger Grant character in Gilligan's Island, but what a lot of people didn't know about the early Playboy model was that she had a daughter with her then second husband, actor and former Mr. Universe, Mickey Hargitay. Mariska grew up, working her way through sexy roles in Baywatch, Seinfeld, and as a hooker in Leaving Las Vegas before landing the role of a lifetime as Olivia Benson on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.

5. Bill Murray and Brian Doyle-Murray: Looking at them today, they don't resemble each other, but the two actors are brothers. Brian, the older brother started his career as a member of Second City in the early seventies before inviting his younger brother, Bill, to join him. Bill eventually moved on and joined John Belushi in the National Lampoon Radio Hour. This led to Bill landing a spot on the burgeoning comedy hit, Saturday Night Live. Through his success, Brian landed a role as a featured player for SNL for several seasons. Brian moved on to roles in movies such as JFK and as a famous voice actor for SpongeBob SquarePants. He became known for his roles as a cranky old man while Bill rose to A-list fame with hit movie roles such as Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, and Lost in Translation.

6. Roxie Roker, Al Roker, Zoe Kravits, Jason Mamoa, and Lenny Kravitz: Famous for small roles in Punky Brewster, Roots, and A Different World. Roxie Roker was most famous for playing Helen Willis on The Jeffersons. She was one half of the first interracial couple on primetime television. Her son would go on to become one of the most famous rock stars of his generation, Lenny Kravitz. Hits of his include Are You Gonna Go My Way, Fly Away, and his cover of American Woman. Tangling the family celebrity web up more, he married Lisa Bonet of The Cosby Show and had a daughter, Zoe, before they divorced. Zoe would go on to be an actress herself, starring in movies such as X-Men: First Class, Mad Max: Fury Road and in a notable television role as Pearl on the hit show Californication. To complicate the family tree even more, Roxie's cousin is Al Roker of NBC's Today show, who is a news personality/weatherman who has wrote several famous books. In 2009, Al Roker conducted a cast interview with those who starred in The Cosby Show minus one star...Lisa Bonet whom by then had divorced Al Roker's cousin, Lenny Kravitz. One more minor celebrity attachment to the Roker/Kravitz family is through Bonet. After her marriage to Kravitz, she remarried actor Jason Mamoa of Batman V. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Game of Thrones, and Stargate Atlantis. This makes Mamoa the stepfather of Zoe Kravitz.

7. Archie Manning, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Kellin Manning, and Taryn Manning: Just about every sports fan is aware of the famous football family that has breed several quarterbacks, but not many people are aware that their cousin is Taryn Manning of 8 Mile and Orange is the New Black fame. The actress also pairs up with her brother Kellin to form the pop duo Boomkat known for their first single, The Wreckoning.

8. Snoop Dogg, Nate Dogg, Ray J, and Brandy Norwood: Bursting into the music scene in the nineties, Snoop is first cousins with R&B star Brandy and her brother Ray J who may be most famous for his celebrity sex tape with Kim Kardashian. The cousins never made a big deal about their family ties when starting out in the music industry as Snoop gained fame originally for gansta rap and Brandy gained fame through her pop music. Also hitting success in rap music, Nate Dogg first burst into mainstream rap with Warren G on the song Regulate and later would pair up with Snoop, Eminem, Ludacris, Dr. Dre, and many others.

9. Tippi Hedren, Melanie Griffith, Taylor Griffith, Don Johnson, and Dakota Johnson: Tippoe Hedren, famous for her leading role in Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds married former child actor Peter Griffith. The two of them had Melanie Griffith before they divorced. Peter later married another actress Nanita Greene and had Taylor Griffith, one of the stars of All Tied Up and now a chef/host for the D.I.Y. Network. Melanie would go on to her own fame, winning an Academy Award for Working Girl and Golden Globes for Body Double and Something Wild. At 19, Melanie married her mother's costar, Don Johnson who would go on to star in the eighties hit show, Miami Vice and the nineties hit show Nash Bridges. Melanie and Don split up, but before the did, they had Dakota Johnson. She played small parts in hit movies such as The Social Network before starring in her biggest role as Anastasia Steele in Fifty Shades of Grey. On a side note, Melanie would later go on to marry Antonio Banderas, making him Dakota's stepfather.

Moon Base Logical Next Step in Space Exploration

Launching a rocket from Earth to space requires a large amount of fuel to overcome gravity and to get out of Earth's atmosphere. The extra weight of the spacecraft and the expensive cost of fuel make launching from the moon instead of Earth a possibly cheaper idea when talking about sending out satellites and astronauts to farther and farther reaches of our galaxy.

The moon would be the best first step in creating a launching point for deep space exploration. The initial cost to set up a moon base would be costly, but in the long run, a cheaper investment overall if we expect to eventually reach destinations such as Mars or even asteroids to mine for materials.

There has been speculation that a rocket can achieve a higher speed if launched from a lower gravity location. Earth's atmosphere and gravity slow rockets down at the initial launch. If humanity were to build a base on the moon, the peak speed reached by a rocket could be higher.

Eventually humanity needs to get off Earth as it is. In the short term, we may have to escape Earth because of the damage we have created through climate change. In the long term, the sun is a growing star that is ever expanding and eventually life on Earth will have to adapt and most likely leave the planet to avoid extinction (if we aren't extinct already).

There are resources elsewhere in our galaxy if we intend to explore our solar system and beyond. Asteroids have various elements that we can use to explore even farther. Moons of several planets are believed to possible have water as well. NASA is also finding exo-planets which could contain useful materials.

Space is our final frontier and if we expect to expand the lifespan of our species, we need to start with space bases. Starting with the moon seems to be easiest and most logical place to start.

Reading Teaches Empathy to Children

Everywhere you go today, we're surrounded by new avenues of entertainment. After a school day is done, a kid is surrounded by movies, television, the internet, video games, cellphones, and more. The problem is that with all this stimuli, children are exposed less and less often to the single form of entertainment that is most educational and opens their eyes to the broad world around them...books.

Books, unlike many other forms of media, can help a child build empathy for those that are different from them. A great example is Uncle Tom's Cabin which was released in 1852. Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel opened the eyes of Americans by exposing readers to its anti-slavery themes. There is even a story that is told that Abraham Lincoln said, "So this is the little lady who started this great war," when he met Stowe at the start of the Civil War. It inspired people to stand up against the slavery practices of the south because they were able to empathize with the plight of Uncle Tom and Eliza.

When reading a book, the reader dives deeper into the world of the characters because they create a visualization in their heads of that world created by the book. It creates a more personal experience than a movie can because it forces the reader to be more emotionally invested in the storyline. Movies, TV shows, video games, and plays are more passive because the visual stimuli and imagination is placed on hold because the world is already created for them. While it is true that the author has constructed a world for their reader through words, the reader has to mentally participate in that world's creation through their own personal visualizations.

Once this world has been constructed in the readers head and they can visualize how the characters look, act, and talk, the reader becomes more attached to these characters because they have invested in them. If the character is faced with challenges or injustices, the reader is also brought along on the journey that that particular character has to take, teaching that child to be more empathetic toward someone else.

Empathy is an important part of adult society and is something that is often lacking in present times. Without empathy, it is easier to be prejudiced against those that are different from you. It is easier for lawmakers to skew laws that are unfair to particular social classes and races. With empathy, diplomacy can be achieved on a local level as well as at an international level.

The world is short on empathy and children reading books for entertainment rather than assigned reading has gone down. If parents can sway their children to read more and turn off the TV or put down their magazines, the world could grow to be a better place.

Millhouse 2016 Hall of Fame Ballot

Photo from Getty Images

We're only about a month away before the announcement of the 2016 class of the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame, most of the writers of the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) have already turned in their ballots. A writer is able to select up to ten players for their choices for the Hall of Fame and with the number of players that are arguably Hall worthy, that is probably not enough. Still, here are the picks brought to you by this writer in no particular preference order (who has no official vote with the BBWAA) on who he would select if he were a BBWAA writer).

1. Ken Griffey Jr.: Once known as "The Kid", he ended his career with 630 homers which placed him sixth on the all-time home run list. He was a 10 time gold glove winner who won the MVP in 1997 while a member of the Seattle Mariners organization. During an era where just about every home run hitter has been suspected of steroid use, Griffey Jr. escaped most of that talk until the last year when several sports talk radio jockeys threw his name in the steroids hat. It should be noted that one of these jockeys also debated whether Greg Maddux did steroids.

2. Billy Wagner: Fifth in all-time saves, Wagner is arguably the best lefty closer to have ever played. His strikeouts per 9 innings average was 11.9, more than any lefty in baseball history with a minimum of 900 innings. He also has the lowest batting average allowed by a lefty pitcher with over 900 innings and has a career ERA of 2.31. The seven time all-star also won the Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year in 1997.

3. Trevor Hoffman: Hoffman retired as the all-time saves leader in baseball before Mariano Rivera passed him by. The seven time all-star won the Rolaids Relief Pitcher of the Year in 1998 and 2006.

4. Jeff Bagwell: Overshadowed in a decade full of great first basemen, Bagwell was consistently one of the best for a decade. He won the NL Rookie of the Year in 1991, the NL MVP in 1994, and the Major League Baseball Player of the Year in 1994. The three time Silver Slugger winner was also underrated in his fielding abilities, winning a Gold Glove in 1994. Unfortunately for him during his time as the one of the "Killer B's" of the Houston Astros, he was overshadowed by Mark McGwire as the premier homerun hitter in the National League.

5. Fred McGriff: Another overshadowed first baseman, McGriff hit a total of 493 homeruns and had a career batting average of .284. He'd won the Silver Slugger Award three times despite competing against other first basemen in both leagues such as Bagwell, McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Andres Galarraga, Eric Karros, and Mark Grace.

6. Mike Mussina: Mussina received Cy Young Award votes in nine separate seasons including his last, ending his career with 270, and 7 Gold Gloves. His 2,813 strikeouts are the 19th most of all-time. During his years he was a workhorse for both the Orioles and the Yankees, who has been passed over by the BBWAA for the last two years.

7. Tim Raines: Someone I had overlooked myself for several years as a Hall of Fame Candidate, listening to arguments made by others have swayed my opinion. During the '80s, Rock Raines was the premier stolen base leader, only behind Rickey Henderson and fifth (fourth in the modern era) all-time with 808. For the majority of his career, he was a .300 hitter who ended his career with a .294 batting average. The seven time all-star had also received MVP votes seven times in his career. He won the batting title in 1986 and had 2,605 hits.

8. Barry Bonds: The all-time home run leader in Major League Baseball has spent the past three years trying to get into the Hall. He won seven NL MVP's, was in 14 all-star games, was a 12 time Silver Slugger, had a career .298 batting average, had 2,227 runs scored (third all-time), had 1,996 career RBI's (fifth all-time), 2,558 walks (all-time leader), 514 stolen bases, and 2,935 hits. Despite being known for his hitting, he was also an eight time gold glover. Unfortunately during his career he had a horrible relationship with the press. Was he standoffish? Of course, but so have been so many players already in the Hall of Fame such as Ty Cobb. He's also been accused of steroids, but had never been proven to take them. Some use his size difference between his rookie year and his final year, such as several reporters on the MLB Network, but these same reporters will stand-up for Ken Griffey Jr. who also had gained a noticeable amount of size in his career. It's just part of getting old.

9. Roger Clemens: Possibly the best pitcher of all-time, Clemens was also a name thrown into the steroids accusations. Another player never proven to have taken steroids, he is still judged as one because a disgruntled former trainer of his made claims without proof against Clemens. Brian McNamara testified against Clemens, but it leaked out that he had worked out a book deal worth over a million dollars for throwing several players under the "steroids" bus. McNamara's only supposed evidence was that he had cotton swabs that soaked up the steroids shots he claimed to have gave Clemens and stored them for several years in an empty beer can under his kitchen sink. In the worst of scenarios in court, this would not be admissible evidence. Clemens even drug tested for the Olympics competition and passed. In front of a Congressional Hearing, his only testimony that was proven to be false was a question John McCain had asked him concerning or not if he had ever cheated on his wife. Clemens said no, but was found later to having a relationship with country music star, Mindy McCready, which has nothing to do with steroids use.

Back to his play on the field, Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, an MVP, 11 time all-star, had 354 career wins (ninth all-time), 4,672 strikeouts (third all-time), a career ERA of 3.12, but has been passed up three times so far for the Hall. This student of Nolan Ryan was the scariest pitcher in Major League Baseball and that was before he learned to throw a splitter.