A Scientist& Violinist Spends His Last Days with a 10-time AWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion

Pallas et le Centaure: C'est un sensuel, un brutal, un débauché, un violent ...
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In the newspaper today:

HEADS UP when you're on the Internet.

90,000 registered sex offenders were found to have MySpace profiles, and the site removed their profiles.

5,585 convicted sex offenders were voluntarily removed by Facebook.

This gives you an idea of the size and nature of the two sites. It is also a cautionary tale for those who play on the Internet.
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BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (under investigation and "alleged" at this point)

In a story that almost could have been from a movie, by some cruel twist of fate, a research scientist and symphony violinist who fled Nazi Germany, ends up rooming at a place called Friendship Village with a former 10-time AWA World Heavyweight wrestling champion who had also been drafted by a pro football team and inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

The two do not get along, they fight, and the scientist/musician ends up dead.

While the investigation centers around Gagne, as contributing, it is doubtful he would be charged because of his "mental state." He has, however, been dismissed from the living facility.

What seems to have been missed here, is that someone allowed these two men to be roommates, when it was known that they didn't get along, and that the younger man (by 15 years) had been a professional athlete, while the older man was a cultured intellectual; a man of Arts and Science. In fact, Gutmann did not retire from his job as a cancer research scientist until he was already in his 80s. He played violin for 12 years with the Bloomington Symphone Orchestra.

Wikipedia says it is also speculated that Gagne, in addition to dementia, might had had chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) caused by a lifetime of head injuries. His claim to fame was the sleeper hold.

R.I.P., Herr Doctor Gutmann. I cannot think but that his last days were filled with fear and anxiety.

And our hearts go out to both familes, for a misfortune which never should have happened.

Dance ... for Your Health and Lower Your Risk of Dementia

The Dance

I was in a store today and over the loudspeaker came the strains of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker.

I saw a young man about 20, with pants dragging and a ring in his nose start humming right along with it.

"You know that song?" I asked.

He paused for a moment, shrugged and said, "It's Christmas!"

Could Tchaikovsky ever have known how famous his ballet would become, especially among those who would never go to a ballet?

But we're here to talk about The Dance.

According to an article "Dance Even if Nobody is Watching:"

A telling 2003 New England Journal of Medicine report showed a lower risk for dementia among people over 75 who regularly danced during leisure time. But what was so surprising about the report is that other types of physical exercise didn’t affect dementia risk — dancing was the only physical activity that made a difference.

Other studies have shown music plays an important role in depression. Dance therapy has been used to relieve anxiety about taking tests, and researchers are studying the tango to help patients with Parkinson’s. Dance therapy has been shown to improve the quality of life for breast cancer patients as well.

For more about music and emotion, see Club Vivo Per Lei.

Anyway, the article mentioned Matt Harding and his dancing. Take a look - and then, whatever your age, DANCE!