Remembering the Roger I knew

Werner Herzog and Roger Ebert at Ebertfest, 2007. Photo by Jim Emerson

Roger Ebert's last review is on the screen in front of me and I can't quite bring myself to deal with it. I'd like to get it posted right away because I know that's what Roger would want under the circumstances. ("We'll be getting a lot of traffic!") Actually, he filed two or three other reviews before his condition took a sudden turn for the worse. But this final one -- sent March 16 and labeled "FOR USE as needed," is of Terence Malick's "To the Wonder," which (spoiler warning) he liked quite a lot. Publicists might object that it hasn't opened in Chicago yet, but Roger wasn't just a Chicago movie critic (though he certainly was that). I can imagine his email now: "Who's going to complain? It's three and a half stars!"

In his 46 years as film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger wrote more than his share of obits and posthumous appreciations on deadline -- hardly ever in advance, like the ones most newspapers have on file, ready to publish at a moment's notice, but off the top of his head on the day the news broke. For years, I did that for other papers and web sites, too. But this isn't just another obit; it's one of the hardest things I've ever had to write. Still, I know he'd want me to do it -- and to get it online ASAP so he could, as he said, "socialize" it -- tweet it and Facebook it.

I honestly expected Roger to outlive me. As Pablo Villaca, one of Roger's "Far-Flung Correspondents" (or FFCs as they are affectionately known), wrote this afternoon: "We are orphans now." And that's the way it feels. (Oddly, my own father died six years ago on this very day -- which Roger would acknowledge is a kind of apt coincidence, though not anything of "woo-woo" supernatural significance.) But I want to avoid anything maudlin or sentimental because he hated, hated HATED that sort of thing.

The bond between a writer and an editor can be a surprisingly intimate one, and for almost 10 years Roger and I ran RogerEbert.com as basically a two-man operation. His Chicago Sun-Times editor for 20-plus years, Laura Emerick, edited all of Roger's writing that appeared in the paper, and we always tried to use her expertly edited versions online, but sometimes he'd write other stuff exclusively for the site, or that would appear on the web first, and I would edit those myself. At first our site also had the support of the Sun-Times, including Catherine Lanucha, John Cary, Jack Barry and the company's webstaff, but budget cuts and layoffs at the paper eventually left us with no day-to-day resources but ourselves: the only two employees of RogerEbert.com, as we liked to joke. But it was true. (BTW, nobody edited Roger's blog; it was direct from him to you, which is what a blog should be.)

Mostly, I maintained the site, reading, formatting and publishing reviews and articles new and old -- forever correcting typos, import errors and formatting glitches in the thousands of reviews in the database that went back to when Roger started reviewing for the Sun-Times in 1967.

Above all, I read and responded to emails from Roger -- thousands and thousands of emails (all archived, because I would often need to reach back years to remind him of how and why we'd made certain decisions, or to clarify matters). They ran the gamut of subjects and varieties -- questions, ideas, notifications, requests, bug reports, jokes, philosophical musings. It wasn't unusual to get 10 or 20 in a 14-hour stretch. And they were sent, and replied to, at all hours of the day and night, 365 days a year -- Roger using his MacBook in Chicago (or Cannes or Toronto or Telluride or Park City or Mexico or Los Angeles or Pritikin or wherever he happened to be) and me working mostly from home in Seattle.

As his output amply demonstrated, Roger wasn't just a recovering alcoholic (one of his favorite topics, along with Darwinian evolution), but a workaholic. He would invariably insist on writing something that just had to be posted on July 4 or Christmas Day (even though it had nothing to do with American independence or Christmas and could just as well have waited). He was oblivious to the concept of weekends, holidays or any limitations on working hours. He really liked to write. But, if you read him, you know that. (One Oscar night I got mad at him because Laura and I were waiting for the final version of his Oscar story and I discovered he was tweeting about other things while we were on a tight deadline. That's when I found out he was using a Twitter-scheduling app, so he could load up his tweets in advance and it would post them automatically. Yes, he practically worked round the clock, anyway -- but even when he wasn't working, he got software to do the tweeting for him.)

Now, I hate those "In Memoriam" pieces in which the writers overstate their closeness to the deceased. I started working with Roger in 1994, when I was the editor of Microsoft Cinemania, then became his web editor when we founded RogerEbert.com in 2003, and have remained so ever since -- the longest time I've ever held a single job, although the job kept changing and I stayed put.

I'm not so presumptuous as to say I knew All About Roger -- but I knew certain aspects of the guy probably as well as anybody, particularly when it came to his thoughts and feelings about various things that were dear to him, like the newspaper business, movie criticism and various ethical and philosophical issues. You don't read and correspond with somebody (particularly a writer) every day for 10 years without learning something about their tastes and sensibilities, their use of language, the principles they believe in, and how they prefer to conduct themselves in the world. But he had many, many different sides to him -- some of which he shared, some he didn't. I often learned personal details, particularly about his health, when he'd write something on his blog months or years after the fact.

I'm most grateful for Roger's friendship, trust, and generosity. As much as he lived his life in public, he was also intensely private. But he loved to gather people around him. In 1997 he extended the invitation for me to join the Floating Film Festival as one of its critic/programmers. It was helmed by Dusty and Joan Cohl, who quickly became two of my favorite people. He introduced me to the Conference on World Affairs in Boulder, CO, where he conducted the week-long Cinema Interruptus (now the Ebert Cinema Interruptus) program for more than 30 years and asked me to join him in the process. A few years later, after he lost his ability to talk, I was able to step in and continue the tradition he had started.

And, of course, there was Ebertfest, where I instantly bonded with film scholars David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson, now good pals, and befriended Roger's Far-Flung Correspondents (the formation of which was an urgent inspiration he had one Thanksgiving weekend when I was in Oregon trying to have dinner with friends) and The Demanders.

For Roger, the ideal life was a moveable party, with him as the host, seated at a big table with a circle of friends and colorful characters. That's basically what Ebertfest was, but I sat at that table many other times in many other places, from the Red Lion, a lodge in the hills above Boulder, to ships cruising the Caribbean or the Panama Canal during the FFF. As much as he would sometimes complain about being a "celebrity," or being noticed because of "that damn TV show," nobody thrived in the spotlight more than Roger (with the possible exception of Quentin Tarantino).

I'm tempted to say that if Roger had never written a word, he'd be known for bringing people together. But the writing was what made Roger Roger. He wasn't just generous with those close to him. He told everyone a lot about himself -- sometimes, I think, more than he knew -- in the words he published: his reviews, his op-ed pieces, his interviews, his blog, his memoir -- even his tweets.

At this moment, I know that thousands of others all over the world are collecting their thoughts and memories of Roger. I often felt awkward and out of place, like I was just in the way, when I tagged along with him in public and he was surrounded by fans, well-wishers and gawkers -- and I feel that way now. I'm overwhelmed -- with affection, gratitude, regret, sadness. So I'm getting back to work.

In one of Roger's last emails, responding to my concerns that he was firing off messages that were garbled or didn't make sense, he said he sometimes felt that way himself, but wanted to assure me that he was still in possesion of all his marbles.

"JIm, old friend, I'm in bad shape. I type on my lap in a hospital bed. I'm on pain meds.  Did the review of 'To the Wonder" make sense e to you? Such a strange movie.

"I need your help."

You've got it, R.

- - - - -

P.S. Last night, when I was publishing the new reviews for the week as usual (I haven't had a Wednesday off in years!), I wrote a headline for my review of "Room 237": "A whole world lies waiting behind door No. 237." I was going to call it to R's attention because he'd recognize the reference. It's from a song written by Jimmy Buffett and Steve Goodman, and Roger was a big fan of the latter. I think it would have made him smile.

Read More

This Lottery Winner Blew Through $10 Million in Less Than 10 Years

With a $338 million Powerball ticket having been sold in New Jersey -- the fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history -- it's a good time to remember that the sudden gains of a lottery windfall can be fleeting.

Imagine, for instance, winning $10 million and having almost none of it left less than a decade later.

It happened to Sharon Tirabassi, a 35 year-old resident of Hamilton, Ontario. Nine years ago, The Hamilton Spectator reports, Tirabassi cashed a check from the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. for $10,569,00.10 (Canadian). Today, after spending almost all her winnings -- "big house, fancy cars, designer clothes, lavish parties exotic trips, handouts to family, loans to friends" -- she's back in the working class: riding the bus, working part-time, living in a rented house.

What remains of her windfall is in trust for her six children; the money will become available when they turn 26.

"The moment I got it, I divided it among my family," Tirabassi told The Spec: $1 million to her parents, and $1.75 million among her four siblings. She was generous with others, too, buying houses and renting them out at low rates, paying people's rent, offering loans for bail and business ventures.

"All of that other stuff was fun in the beginning, now it's like ... back to life."

That other stuff included vacations in Cancun, Florida, Las Vegas, California, and the Caribbean, as well as four cars: a Hummer, a Mustang, a Dodge Charger and a custom Cadillac Escalade.

Tirabassi was a single mother, recently off welfare and newly employed as a personal care provider, when she struck it rich on Easter Weekend in 2004. As a teenager, she had lived in shelters, and all that money didn't come with instructions. Tirabassi didn't hire a financial adviser; she didn't even keep close track of her account balance. Suddenly, with just $750,000 left, Tirabassi woke up: "that was just time for fun to stop and to just go back to life."

Tirabassi's husband, Vinny, who brought three kids of his own to the marriage, shares her stoicism about the couple's lost fortune. He says he lived simply his whole life and is used to not being rich. Recalling the post-winning entreaties of suddenly interested friends, some of whom came asking for favors and then disappeared, Vinny says, "Money doesn't buy you happiness. It caused her a lot of headaches." His wife had a hard time saying no to those she thought of as in need: "That's the way I was brought up," she says. "Help those who can't help themselves."

For the complete story of the couple's financial descent, head over to The Spec.com, and check out the paper's 2007 interview with Tirabassi, when she had already spent half of her winnings.

Tirabassi's experience stands in contrast to that of Sandra Hayes, who pocketed around $6 million when she and a dozen coworkers split a $224 million Powerball jackpot in 2006. (Watch Hayes tell her story in the video below.)

Like Tirabassi, Hayes went on a spending spree -- including a boat, an Escalade and a Mercedes -- but she also paid off her mortgage and student loans, and was leery about handouts to friends and relatives. Today, Hayes lives comfortably but not extravagantly.

"I love a good deal, I'm on a budget, I save my money," she says. "I try not to live above my means." Her warning to the newly rich: "If you're not disciplined, you'll go broke. I don't care how much money you have."

Hayes sounds as though she might have taken lessons from Six Tips on How to Avoid Squandering a Financial Windfall. For more advice, check out these Powerball winners' lessons on how to hang on to your cash, whether you're a millionaire or just trying to make ends meet.

SEE ALSO: 17 lottery winners who blew it all >

Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Read More

The Complete History Of False Threats From North Korea

North Korea is threatening Seoul again, this time over a jointly controlled factory.

The Democratic People's Republic also says it is restarting its nuclear reactor, five years after shutting it down.

But a survey of 50 years of North Korean bellicosity shows nothing major is likely to happen.

We went back and pulled all the major headlines created by North Korean bluster against the South since the end of the Korean War.

As you'll say, there are exactly zero violent outbreaks of any consequence.

In some ways we shouldn't be surprised by all the threats: the conflict never officially ended. Instead, an armistice was signed when the U.N. withdrew troops in 1953.

And there is a new dimension this time around i n the form of the North's brand-new leader, Kim Jong-un

But after five decades, it seems safe to say that we'll get through this one — and the next — in one piece.

Hostilities had ended by 1954. But just four years later it seemed like there'd barely been any progress.

And by '66, skirmishes had begun breaking out again.

Kim Il Sung, who ran the country during this time, can be credited with starting the trend of periodic bluster, which was mostly came from frustration over American forces' ongoing presence in the South. He ended up ruling until his death in 1994.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Please follow Military & Defense on Twitter and Facebook.

Read More

Climate Scientist Quits NASA To Testify Against The Government

Now that NASA scientist James E. Hansen is retiring, he will finally be able to pursue a longtime passion: helping climate activists suing the U.S. government.  

For 46 years Hansen was a pioneering climate researcher for the government and one of the first scientists to warn the world about the causes and effects of a warming planet.

Hansen has tilted further toward activist in recent years, earning him both the ire of opponents and the concern of colleagues who think his protests undermine the value of scientific neutrality. As you can see in the picture in this post, he's been arrested a few times at protests.

Being a NASA scientist for 46 years, though, has prevented him from doing what he has felt his research has compelled him to do: Force the government to adopt stricter controls on greenhouse gas emissions.  

"As a government employee, you can’t testify against the government,” he said in an interview with Justin Gillis of The New York Times.

"If we burn even a substantial fraction of the fossil fuels, we guarantee there’s going to be unstoppable changes" in the climate of the earth, he said. "We’re going to leave a situation for young people and future generations that they may have no way to deal with."

Even when he couldn't accuse the government of crimes against the climate, Hansen has been arrested for protesting mountaintop mining, and the Keystone XL Pipeline.

"At my age," which is 72, "I am not worried about having an arrest record."

Please follow Science on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Read More

The 'Future' Of Modern Warfare Was Actually Developed 70 Years Ago

This future for heliborne Marine Corps assaults is actually 70 years old, and it's called "Vertical Envelopment."

The idea is to replace clunky amphibious landings, like that of Normandy in World War II, with quickly deployable squadrons of helicopters.

The helos shoot into enemy territory, drop off their troops, and zip back to base.

John Reed of Foreign Policy was with a group of journalists when Maj. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie — the Corps' representative to the Quadrennial Defense Review — laid out his plans for the future.

"I think the best example of what being amphibious means to the Marine Corps is Task Force 58. I think it's Brigadier General Jim Mattis launching off the Pakistan coast, striking deep into southern Afghanistan. No amphibious vehicles crossed a beach in that operation," said McKenzie to reporters.

Kudos for the killer reference to General James N. Mattis. Nonetheless, the idea of using amphibious vehicles to secure the beachhead of a modern country became obsolete decades ago, at the birth of the Atomic Age.

Here's an excerpt from a decent post about the history:

In the years immediately following World War II, the Marine Corps pioneered and developed a new concept in the mobility of assault troops and logistical resupply with the advent of the helicopter. Vertical envelopment was conceived at the Marine Corps Base, in Quantico and proven during the Korean War.

The doctrine followed into Vietnam, where the Army employed the idea of quickly dropping off well dispersed troops all over the jungle.

(It wasn't the first time the Army employed Marine Corps doctrine .. ahem, D-Day.)

At the time, the Army had the resources to rapidly acquire "off-the-shelf" technology. Though the Marine Corps certainly participated in the tactic, the Army perfected heliborne transport in Vietnam.

Notably, the very first squadron to be commissioned in the Marine Corps "Vertical Envelopment" program was the HMX-1, the same squadron the which now transports the president ("Marine 1" — though obviously more up-to-date helicopters).

Now Reed pointed out that the Marine Corps has yet to abandon its truly amphibious tactics, nor has it discontinued its fleet of amphibious vehicles, namely the costly Enhanced Fighting Vehicle.

Reed also noted that McKenzie referenced the Osprey's cutting edge technology as even more capable to fill the roles "Vertical Envelopment" demands:

[The MV-22] expands the service's ability to perform long-distance raids. "With the V-22 those capabilities would be even more pronounced," said McKenzie.

Please follow Military & Defense on Twitter and Facebook.

Join the conversation about this story »

Read More

Chinese National Given 5 Years In Jail For Stealing Secret Missile Guidance Data

A federal court has sentenced a Chinese citizen to more than five years in prison for taking thousands of files about a secret military project to China, Peter Finn of The Washington Post reports. The project involves an advanced version of a tiny device that is "designed to allow drones, missiles and rockets to hit targets without satellite guidance." The device, called a disk resonator gyroscope, was being secretly developed for the U.S. military by a small company and L-3 Communications. It "can navigate, control and position missiles, aircraft, drones, bombs, lasers and targets very accurately,” David Smukowski, president of Sensors in Motion, the small company in Bellvue, Wash., told the Post. On Monday a court sentenced Sixing Liu, who worked at L-3’s space and navigation division, to five years and 10 months for exporting defense data without permission plus separate counts of possessing stolen trade secrets and lying to authorities. Prosecutors said Liu, 50, twice told his supervisor he was going on vacation to Chicago when he actually went to China to speak at a technology conference organized by the Chinese government and Chinese universities. “We believe Sixing Liu was a serial thief,” Assistant U.S. Attorney L. Judson Welle said, noting that Liu also took information on other defense systems. Finn notes that military data theft by China is a huge problem as unsealed court documents indicate that "nearly 100 individual or corporate defendants have been charged by the Justice Department with stealing trade secrets or classified information for Chinese entities or exporting military or dual-use technology to China" in the past four years. “These schemes represent a threat to our national security," John Carlin, acting assistant attorney general for national security, told the Post. "The intelligence community has assessed China to be among the most aggressive collectors of sensitive U.S. information and technologies and our criminal prosecutions across the country reflect that assessment.” Last week a U.S. defense contractor in Hawaii was charged with passing classified information about nuclear weapons and ballistic missile systems to his Chinese girlfriend.SEE ALSO:&US Contractor Charged With Passing Nuclear Secrets To A Chinese Woman SEE ALSO:&The Military & Defense Facebook page Please follow Military & Defense on Twitter and Facebook.Join the conversation about this story »

Read More