Succes 2010: Benny Golson, jazz living legend

Benny Golson is an American bebop/hard bop jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, and arranger.

While in high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Golson played with several other promising young musicians, including John Coltrane, Red Garland, Jimmy Heath, Percy Heath, Philly Joe Jones, and Red Rodney. After graduating from Howard University Golson joined Bull Moose Jackson's rhythm and blues band; Tadd Dameron, whom Golson came to consider the most important influence on his writing, was Jackson's pianist at the time.
From 1953 to 1959 Golson played with Dameron's band and then with the bands of Lionel Hampton, Johnny Hodges, Earl Bostic, Dizzy Gillespie, and Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers.
Golson was working with the Lionel Hampton band at the Apollo Theater in Harlem in 1956 when he learned that Clifford Brown, a noted and well-liked jazz trumpeter who had done a stint with him in Hampton's band, had died in a car accident. Golson was so moved by the event that he composed the threnody "I Remember Clifford", as a tribute to a fellow musician and friend.
Golson has composed several other jazz standards, such as "Stablemates", "Killer Joe", "Whisper Not", "Along Came Betty" and "Are You Real?", that have gone on to be performed and recorded by many musicians.
From 1959 to 1962 Golson co-led the Jazztet with Art Farmer. Golson then left jazz to concentrate on studio and orchestral work for 12 years. During this time he composed music for such television shows as Ironside, Room 222, M*A*S*H, and Mission: Impossible. During the mid-1970s Golson returned to jazz playing and recording. In 1983 he re-organized the Jazztet.
In 1995 Golson received the NEA Jazz Masters Award of the National Endowment for the Arts.
Golson made a cameo appearance in the 2004 movie The Terminal, related to his appearance in the A Great Day in Harlem photo. As of 2007, he tours regularly.
In October 2007 Golson received the Mellon Living Legend Legacy Award presented by the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation at a ceremony at the Kennedy Center. Additionally, during the same month, he won the University of Pittsburgh International Academy of Jazz Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award at the university's 37th Annual Jazz Concert in the Carnegie Music Hall.
In November 2009, Benny was inducted into the International Academy of Jazz Hall of Fame during a performance at the University of Pittsburgh's annual jazz seminar and concert.

Succes 2010: Valdis Zatlers, un chirurg ortoped ajuns preşedinte al Letoniei

Chirurgul ortoped Valdis Zatlers a fost ales presedinte al Letoniei in 8 iulie 2007. Autograf solicitat prin email.

Succes 2010: Marcia Barett (Boney M)

Marcia Barrett este una dintre vocalistele din formula originala a legendarului grup R&B, Boney M. Autograf solicitat prin email.

Succes 2010: Dalai Lama

The Dalai Lama (Tibetan: ཏཱ་ལའི་བླ་མ་; Wylie: taa la’i bla ma; simplified Chinese: 达赖喇嘛; traditional Chinese: 達賴喇嘛; pinyin: Dálài Lǎmā) is a Buddhist leader of religious officials of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word Далай "Dalai" meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word བླ་མ ་"Blama" (with a silent b) meaning "chief" or "high priest. "Lama" is a general term referring to Tibetan Buddhist teachers. In religious terms, the Dalai Lama is believed by his devotees to be the rebirth of a long line of tulkus who descend from the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Traditionally, he is thought of as the latest reincarnation of a series of spiritual leaders who have chosen to be reborn in order to enlighten others. The Dalai Lama is often thought to be the director of the Gelug School, but this position belongs officially to the Ganden Tripa, which is a temporary position appointed by the Dalai Lama who, in practice, exerts much influence.

For certain periods of time between the 17th century and 1959, the Dalai Lamas sometimes directed the Tibetan Government, which administered portions of Tibet from Lhasa. From 1959 to 2001, the 14th Dalai Lama controlled the Central Tibetan Administration ("Tibetan government in exile"). He has indicated that the institution of the Dalai Lama may be abolished in the future, and also that the next Dalai Lama may be found outside Tibet and may be female.

The current Dalai Lama is often called "His Holiness" (HH) by Westerners (by analogy with the Pope), although this does not translate to a Tibetan title.

"Dalai" (Далай) means "Ocean" in Mongolian, and is a translation of the Tibetan name རྒྱ་མཚོ་ "Gyatso," while "Lama" is the Tibetan equivalent of the Sanskrit word "guru". Together, the terms literally translate as "Ocean Teacher," although there are several theories regarding the meaning of the title. One idea is that the title means a teacher who is spiritually as great as the ocean.[citation needed] The name is also often translated as "Ocean of Wisdom," as in the following extract.

"The Institution of the Dalai Lama" by R. N. Rahul Sheel in The Tibet Journal, Vol. XIV No. 3. Autumn 1989, pp. 19-32 says on pp. 31-32, n. 1: "The word Dalai is Mongolian for "ocean", used mainly by the Chinese, the Mongols, and foreigners. Rgya mtsho, the corresponding Tibetan word, always has formed the last part of the religious name of the Dalai Lama since Dalai Lama II [sic – should read Dalai Lama III]. The expression Lama (བླ་མ; Bla ma) means the "superior one". Western usage has taken it to mean the "priest" of the Buddhism of Tibet. The term Dalai Lama, therefore, means "Ocean of Wisdom.

According to the current Dalai Lama, however, the title originated with the third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso; the Mongolian term "Dalai" was nothing more than a literal translation of the Tibetan name "Gyatso," implying that later interpretations used poetic license in applying oceanic qualities to the name.


Before the 20th century, European sources often referred to the Dalai Lama as the "Grand Lama". For example, in 1785 Benjamin Franklin Bache mocked George Washington by terming him the "Grand Lama of this Country". Some in the West believed the Dalai Lama to be worshipped by the Tibetans as the godhead.

The Sopranos

Clanul Soprano (în engleză The Sopranos) este un serial american creat și produs de David Chase. A avut premiera în Statele Unite la HBO pe 10 ianuarie 1999 iar ultimul episod, al 86-lea a rulat la data de 10 iunie 2007. A fost transmis și de postul A&E atât în State cât și internațional. Plasat în New Jersey, acolo unde a și fost produs, serialul îl are în centru pe mafiotul Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) urmărind dificultățile pe care acesta le întâmpină în încercarea de a face față atât în viața de familie cât și în cea pe care o duce în sânul Mafiei.

Fiind un mare succes critic și comercial, Clanul Soprano este serialul cu cele mai mari încasări din istoria televiziunii prin cablu. Seria a câștigat numeroase premii, printre care 21 de premii Emmy și cinci Globuri de Aur.

Fotografia poarta autografele a patru personaje pricipale ale serialului:

James Gandolfini - Tony Soprano (1999-2007)
Michael Imperioli - Christopher Moltisanti (1999-2007)
Vincent Pastore - Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero (1999-2000)
Tony Sirico - Paulie Gualtieri (1999-2007)
Steven Van Zandt - Silvio Dante (1999-2007)

Succes 2010: Vincent "Vinny" Pastore. Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero din The Sopranos

Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero (1945-2000), interpretat de Vincent Pastore a fost un personaj fictiv în seria HBO, Clanul Soprano. A nu fi confundat "Little Pussy" Malanga, alt mafiot din New Jersey, Big Pussy a fost unul din oamenii care a lucrat cu Tony Soprano cei doi fiind prieteni apropiați.

Bonpensiero a fost ucis de Tony Soprano, Silvio Dante și Paulie Gualtieri după ce s-a descoperit că era informator pentru FBI.
Impreuna cu fotografia semnata, Mr Pastore a trimis si un flyer - de asemenea cu autograf - al restaurantului al carui proprietar este.

Succes 2010: Valdis Dombrovskis, prim-ministrul leton

Succes 2010: Ray Thomas, flautist si vocalist la The Moody Blues

Ray Thomas is an english musician, best known as the flautist and as a singer and composer in the rock band, The Moody Blues.

Although he most commonly plays flute, Thomas is actually a multi-instrumentalist, playing various other woodwind instruments, such as the oboe on the album, In Search of the Lost Chord, and saxophone on Octave. The 1972 video for "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" features Thomas playing the baritone saxophone, although Pinder has stated on his website that this was just for effect in the video, and that Thomas was not the sax player on the actual recording. Although typically comfortable singing in the lower tenor register, Thomas was also responsible for the distinctive falsetto voice on many of the group's earlier recordings, before the arrival of Hayward and Lodge.

Thomas retired at the end of 2002. The Moody Blues - now consisting only of Hayward, Lodge and Edge plus four long-serving touring band members, including Norda Mullen who has taken over Thomas' flute parts - have released one studio album, December, since his departure from the band.

Succes 2010: Rochus Misch, bodyguardul lui Hitler. Ultimul supravieţuitor al Führerbunkerului

Rochus Misch a fost garda de corp a dictatorului nazist Adolf Hitler, din 1940 pâna în 1945. Misch l-a urmat pe Fürer pâna la sfârsitul celui de-al III-lea Reich, fiind martor la marirea si prabusirea conducatorilor nazisti.

Vreme de cinci ani, Rochus Misch a fost garda de corp, curierul şi operatorul telefonic al lui Adolf Hitler. "În anturajul lui Hitler eram gărzi de corp", a povestit Misch, într-un interviu pentru BBC. "Când Hitler călătorea îl însoţeam într-o altă maşină. Însă când ne aflam în apartamentul lui Hitler în Cancelarie aveam de asemenea şi alte îndatoriri. Doi dintre noi lucram mereu ca operatori de telefonie. Cu un şef ca Hitler, trebuia să răspundem întotdeauna la multe telefoane".


Odată cu înaintarea Aliaţilor, Hitler s-a retras în buncărul său din Berlin. Rochus Misch îndeplinea funcţia de operator telefonic.

"Lucram într-o cameră mică unde era un telefon şi o maşină de scris", îşi aminteşte el. "În acea cămăruţă se mai putea adăposti doar o singură persoană în cazul unui raid aerian. Buncărul nu era chiar atât de mare. Era alcătuit din cămăruţe de 10 sau 12 metri pătraţi", a mai povestit Misch.

Rochus Misch este ultimul martor al dramei de la 30 aprilie 1945, când Adolf Hitler şi Eva Braun s-au sinucis.

"Deodată, am auzit pe cineva strigând la adjutantul lui Hitler: 'Linge, Linge, cred că s-a întâmplat!' Auziseră o împuşcătură, dar eu nu am auzit nimic. În acel moment, Martin Bormann, secretarul lui Hitler, le-a spus tuturor să facă linişte. Toţi din încăpere au început să şuşotească. Eu vorbeam la telefon şi ridicasem tonul intenţionat pentru a face gălăgie, nu voiam să pară că suntem într-un buncăr al morţii", a declarat Misch.

"Bormann a ordonat ca uşa de la camera lui Hitler să fie deschisă. L-am văzut pe Hitler prăbuşit cu capul pe masă. Eva Braun zăcea pe canapea, cu capul îndreptat spre el. Genunchii îi erau aduşi către piept. Purta o rochie bleumarin cu volane albe. Nu o să uit niciodată acea imagine".

Misch a părăsit buncărul lui Hitler ultimul, cu câteva ore înainte să fie invadat de Armata Roşie, dar a fost capturat rapid şi şi-a petrecut următorii nouă ani în lagărele de muncă sovietice. Capturarea buncărului a devenit un simbol al victoriei Aliaţilor în al Doilea Război Mondial.

Misch s-a stabilit la Berlin, dupa noua ani de captivitate petrecuti în URSS. Astazi traieste singur, la acceasi adresa din apropierea bunkerului, in casa in care s-a mutat dupa ce l-au eliberat rusii. Si-a povestit viata in cartea "Am fost garda de corp a lui Hitler", carte publicata si in Romania, la editura Meteor Press, in 2007.

Rochus Misch (born 29 July 1917) is a former Oberscharführer in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler who worked as a courier, bodyguard and telephone operator for Adolf Hitler from 1940 to 1945. As of 2011 aged 93, he is the last living survivor of the final days in the Führerbunker.
Misch was born in Alt-Schalkowitz near Oppeln in the Province of Silesia (now Popielów, Poland). He became an orphan at the age of two and grew up with his grandparents. He worked as a painter. He has a daughter named Brigitta Jacob-Engelken.


In 1937, Misch joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), the predecessor to the Waffen-SS. The SS-VT trained alongside Hitler’s personal bodyguard, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH) that continued to serve exclusively as his personal protection unit. Misch was badly wounded in Poland when negotiating the surrender of Polish troops. As the last living member of a Lower Silesian family, his company leader recommended him for the Führerbegleitkommando rather than front service.

Misch was transferred to the LSSAH. As a junior member of Hitler's permanent bodyguard, Misch travelled with Hitler throughout World War II. When not serving as a bodyguard, Misch and others in the unit served as telephone operators or couriers. On January 16, 1945, following the German defeat in the Battle of the Bulge, Misch and the rest of Hitler's personal staff moved into the Führerbunker in Berlin. He did not leave it for any significant period of time until the end of the war. Misch handled all of the direct communication from the bunker.

Following the suicides of Hitler and Joseph Goebbels on 30 April and 1 May 1945 respectively, Misch and mechanic Johannes Hentschel, two of the last people remaining in the bunker, exchanged letters to their wives if anything were to happen to one of them. Misch had witnessed the discovery of the bodies of Eva Braun and Hitler after their suicide, and was present (in the bunker complex) during the time the Goebbels' poisoned their children.[2] Misch fled the bunker on 2 May only hours before the Red Army seized it.[2] He was captured shortly thereafter by Soviet forces. Misch was then tortured as they tried to extract information regarding Hitler's exact fate. Misch spent nine years in Soviet labor camps.
After his release from captivity in 1954, Misch returned to Berlin where he lived two miles from the Führerbunker. Following the rediscovery of the bunker in the 1990s, Misch stated publicly that the bunker should not be completely destroyed, being an important part of world history.

He struggled for several years with what to do with his life post captivity. He was offered various odd jobs among others as a bodyguard and as a driver. While he entertained these offers, which for the most part were through his war veteran contacts, all early offers would entail moving away from Berlin which his wife refused unconditionally. He finally obtained credit backed by wealthy German philanthropists to buy out a painting business from a retiree in Berlin. He ran this modest business successfully, and during the early Allied occupation of Berlin also became involved in the making of peanut butter destined for American troops. This sideline became so successful that he considered exiting painting. His wife, again, intervened and he remained in the painting business until retirement. He wrote his memoirs in German, Der Letzte Zeuge (The Last Witness) which was published in 2008.

In May 2005, Misch appeared in the news when he was accused of taunting the sensibilities of Holocaust victims after calling for a plaque in memory of the Goebbels children, who were murdered by Magda Goebbels, shortly before her own suicide on 1 May 1945.


Since the deaths of Bernd von Freytag-Loringhoven on 27 February 2007, and Armin Lehmann on 10 October 2008, Rochus Misch is now the last survivor of the Führerbunker.

On the occasion of the release of the 2004 German film Downfall (Der Untergang) in France, a French journalist (Nicolas Bourcier) interviewed Misch on multiple occasions during the second half of 2005.[clarification needed] The resulting biography was published in French as J'étais garde du corps d'Hitler 1940–1945 (I was Hitler's bodyguard 1940-1945) in March 2006 (ISBN 2253121541). Translations were released in South America, Japan, Spain, Poland, Turkey and Germany in 2006 and 2007.

Misch served as consultant to writer Christopher McQuarrie on the 2008 film Valkyrie, a depiction of the 20 July plot.


As of January 2010, Misch still lives in Berlin in the same house he moved into when he was released from prison by the Russians. The house is located in the district of Rudow in South Berlin. Misch regularly receives visitors from the public who wish to speak to or interview him.

Succes 2010: Steve MacLean, astronaut

Steven Glenwood MacLean (born December 14, 1954) is a Canadian astronaut. He is the current President of the Canadian Space Agency, appointed on September 2, 2008.
In December 1983, MacLean was one of six astronauts selected by the National Research Council of Canada. He began astronaut training in February 1984 and, in December 1985, was designated as the Canadian Payload Specialist to fly with the CANEX-2 set of Canadian experiments in space. MacLean was assigned to mission STS-71-F that scheduled for launch in 1987, but was canceled after Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. His mission, STS-52, took place October 22 to November 1, 1992.

From 1988 to 1991, he was astronaut adviser to the Strategic Technologies in Automation & Robotics Program (STEAR).

From 1987 to 1993, he was program manager of the Advanced Space Vision System (SVS). In July 1992, NASA agreed to outfit the shuttle fleet with an operational version of the Orbiter Space Vision System (OSVS) which will give eyes to the Canadarm on board the space shuttle, and the Advanced Vision Unit (AVU) which will be used with the Mobile Servicing System (MSS). The MSS is Canada’s contribution to the International Space Station. MacLean was Program Manager for the OSVS until his interim assignment, in July 1993, to a collateral duty as Science Advisor for the International Space Station.

In 1993, he became an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies.

In April 1994, he was appointed acting director-general of the Canadian astronaut program. In July 1996 he was selected to attend NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Training at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Having completed two years of training and evaluation, he is qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. MacLean was initially assigned technical duties in the astronaut office robotics branch. More recently, he served as a CAPCOM (spacecraft communicator) in the JSC Mission Control Center.

MacLean served as a Mission Specialist on STS-115, which launched on September 9, 2006 and returned on September 21, 2006. He became the first Canadian to operate the robotic arm Canadarm2. On September 13, he performed his first spacewalk, a 7 hour EVA to activate the solar panels on the P3/4 truss — the second Canadian to do so, after Chris Hadfield.

Succes 2010: James Leavelle

James R. Leavelle (born August 23, 1920) is the former Dallas, Texas homicide detective who was escorting Lee Harvey Oswald through the basement of Dallas Police headquarters when Oswald was shot by Jack Ruby.
Another view of Ruby's shooting of Oswald, from the Warren Commission report.

In a 2006 interview Leavelle, who was the first to interrogate Oswald after his arrest, recalled joking to Oswald before the transfer, " 'Lee, if anybody shoots at you, I hope they're as good a shot as you are.' He kind of smiled and said, ‘Nobody’s going to shoot at me.’ ”

He personally believes that Oswald acted alone in killing Kennedy, and says[citation needed] that in a 2006 discussion, he was told by Oswald's brother Robert that he believes the same thing, "because I knew my brother."

Leavelle was a sailor on board the USS Whitney during the December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Succes 2010: Robert Curl, laureat al Premiului Nobel pentru Chimie (1996)

Robert Floyd Curl, Jr. este un chimist american, laureat al Premiului Nobel pentru chimie (1996).