William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 – 14 May 1219)
Wikipedia: 'William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1146 – 14 May 12190, also called William the Marshal (Guillaume le Maréchal), was an English soldier and statesman. He has been described as the 'greatest knight that ever lived' (Stephen Langton). He served five kings — Henry the Young King, Henry II, Richard the Lionheart, John and Henry III — and rose from obscurity to become one of the most powerful men in Europe. Before him, the hereditary title of 'Lord Marshal' designated a sort of head of household security for the king of England; by the time he died, when people in Europe (not just England) said, 'the Marshal,' they meant William."
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...am_Marshal.jpg
William Marshal at a joust unhorses Baldwin Guisnes. From the Historia Major of Matthew Paris,
Cambridge, Corpus Christi College Library, vol 2, p. 85.
It seems Marshal rose to prominence as a kind of international sports super star, a popular favourite with the crowds. He was the champion of mêlée tournaments, which were martial-arts (no pun intended) free-for-alls in which one took prisoners, seizing their weapons and armor and holding them for ransom. There was much money to be made by this kidnapping, and Marshal was patronized/sponsored by Kings.
The Beeb has a special tomorrow evening on the mêlée tournament. Their promo blurb:
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...figybbc203.jpg
BBC: Brutal reality of the tournament
(The face above is Marshal's funeral effigy.)
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!
Blaise Pascal - June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ise_pascal.jpg
Pascal at Wikipedia
"Blaise Pascal (pronounced [blɛːz paskal]), (June 19, 1623 – August 19, 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father. Pascal's earliest work was in the natural and applied sciences where he made important contributions to the construction of mechanical calculators, the study of fluids, and clarified the concepts of pressure and vacuum by generalizing the work of Evangelista Torricelli. Pascal also wrote in defense of the scientific method.
Pascal was a mathematician of the first order. He helped create two major new areas of research. He wrote a significant treatise on the subject of projective geometry at the age of sixteen, and later corresponded with Pierre de Fermat on probability theory, strongly influencing the development of modern economics and social science.
Following a mystical experience in late 1654, he abandoned his scientific work and devoted himself to philosophy and theology. His two most famous works date from this period: the Lettres provinciales and the Pensées. Pascal suffered from ill health throughout his life and died two months after his 39th birthday."
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosphy: "'Pascal's Wager' is the name given to an argument due to Blaise Pascal for believing, or for at least taking steps to believe, in God."
Or for that matter in:
http://www.venganza.org/wp-content/u.../10/fsmrof.jpg
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!
Indian guru Maharishi YogMaharishi Yogi dies
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...2006ap203b.jpg
BBC: Indian guru Maharishi Yogi dies
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...375_colour.jpg
BBC Obituary: Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Wikipedia: Maharishi Yogi
Wikipedia: Sexy Sadie
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!
Tara Singh Hayer, November 15, 1936–November 18, 1998
Tara Singh Hayer, O.B.C. (November 15, 1936–November 18, 1998) was a Sikh Canadian newspaper publisher and a murder victim.
Hayer was perhaps at one time a Sikh militant extremist. It can be documented that he supported the Punjabi separatist movement which seeks to create the independent state of Khalistan. It can also be demonstrated that he at one time ridiculed moderate voices against extremism. His past is complex.
However, it can be further documented that he became disillusioned with extremism and violence and that he chose to become a spokesperson for moderation and reason, a courageous choice that eventually cost him his life. He was threatened, and despite an assassination attempt that left him confined to a wheelchair, Hayer persisted in his opposition to the tyranny of violent extremism. He was eventually shot while trying to get out of his car and into his wheelchair.
There is now a Canadian journalism award named in his honour.
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tara_Singh_Hayer
http://www.protocol.gov.bc.ca/protoc...995_THayer.jpg
Province of British Columbia
Other reading -- some tributes, some criticism:
http://www.globaljournalist.org/arch...er-20002q.html
http://www.flonnet.com/fl1525/15250430.htm
http://www.omnivore.org/jon/orwell/tara_singh_hayer.htm
http://www.straight.com/article/haye...-not-so-simple
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It is my pure and virtuous heart that
gives me the strength of ten!
Norman Jeffrey Healey -- March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008
Bo Diddley (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008)
Richard William Wright - 28 July 1943 - 15 September 2008
Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008)
