When we shared a platform, he would say ‘I’ll go first. If I speak after you they’ll all go to sleep.’ The never did, of course. They heard him in pin drop silence, except once we were speaking to a huge trade-union conference with simultaneous translation. Noam spoke first. After the event, sas we were walking off to dinner I said to him: ‘Your translator was very boring. Most of these workers went to sleep. Thank God I was there to wake them up.’ He laughed. In these last months he was greatly angered by the Israelis and the kicking fields and streets and beaches in Gaza. ‘Israel should not exist’ was an early reaction. Introducing him at a talk in Santa Fe many years ago I compared him to Bertrand Russell. Over supper he thanked me and said that was the nicest thing anyone could have said about him. ‘I loved Russell and his picture was ever-present in my office.’ Your picture, too, dear departed Noam will also be on many walls for a long time to come.
I don’t think it’s specifically stated, but in the DS9 episode “Far Beyond the Stars”, Michael Dorn played a baseball player in NYC playing for the Giants in the 1950s, who is clearly meant to be Willie Mays (thought I think the character’s name is Willie Hawkins)…
Although, it looks like the number isn’t right… not 24…
A lot of ballplayers from that era, including great ones like Mays and Mickey Mantle, relied on getting paid for the use of their name, image, and likeness after their playing days because they weren’t paid all that well. I bet Star Trek tried to get his permission to use his name and likeness in that episode, and Mays wanted to be paid for it.
While Dan’s final weeks and hours were spent surrounded by loved ones, there can be no sugarcoating the reality. He suffered during the 18 months after his diagnosis. The real tragedy lies in the abject indifference of the insurance companies and the medical professionals who are counted on to help patients in their time of need. Phone calls were left unreturned, procedures cancelled, and doctor’s orders criminally delayed, giving his cancer the upper hand and expediting his end. Dan’s fate, like many patients in the US, was dictated by profit margins. The only solace was provided by his loving sons and by the compassionate team of nurses and volunteers from Home Health and Hospice Care of Merrimack. Sadly, Dan was only one of millions of Americans who find themselves a mere number, fighting for a higher standard of care that should be granted to everyone. We all need to speak up and demand more of our woefully inadequate medical system.
Maybe not a generally-recognized “celebrity”, but a major contributor to Computer Science:
I first encountered his work when studying Dataflow languages as a grad student. I still use his material when I teach our programming language design class.
Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?
