Obituaries

[Johnnycomelately]

RIP semi-retired NASCAR great Greg Biffle, and his wife and their two kids, and the other two or three people in the plane. By all accounts, he was a respected and admired man, on and off the track.

Greg was a pilot, certified on this Citation jet, so I don’t think this incident was because his hired pilot had medical duress. Must have been a failure of the plane, something that made it difficult to control.

Greg was also a helicopter pilot, and gave lots of love to North Carolina after Hurricane Helene hit, flying supplies in with his chopper. AFAIK that was his home turf.

Juan Browne (YT chan Blancolirio) and Hoover (Pilot Debrief) both give a better technical view on it, but Dan Millican gave the best tribute imo. Even compared to Fox News’ longer good non tech tribute, Dan has spoke best I’ve heard/seen.

Greg Biffle and 6 Others Die in Plane Crash

Taking Off
205K subscribers

Dec 18, 2025

On December 18th, 2025, a Cessna Citation crashed just 8 minutes after takeoff, near the Statesville Airport runway. Sadly, all 7 on board passed away. The FAA and NTSB are investigating the crash to determine the cause, and we will provide an update tomorrow after the NTSB briefing. Stay tuned.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=dCyGpa6kQLc

Here’s the Fox vid. More resources means more available depth, this adds more about Greg.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=x1jWjFVvyvU

[Sue (Ayt)]

MICK ABRAHAMS 1943-2025 (founding member of Jethro Tull)

WRITTEN BY IAN ANDERSON
PUBLISHED ON DECEMBER 21, 2025

It is with great sadness that we learned yesterday of the passing of Jethro Tull founding member Mick Abrahams. Mick had endured worsening ill health for the last 15 years leaving him finally unable to perform or interact socially to any degree. I spoke to Clive Bunker from the Choir of Southwark Cathedral to get confirmation that the reports earlier in the day were, in fact, correct. And, yes – Clive had received a phone call from Mick’s family to communicate the sad news.

Mick was vitally important to the early Tull formation out of the ashes of The John Evan Band and McGregor’s Engine, the blues band he formed with Clive Bunker in the Luton/Dunstable area.

As a strong vocalist and experienced, powerful and lyrical guitarist, Mick commanded the stage in his rendition of Cat Squirrel at the Marquee Club and every show we did together – even when we supported Cream on one occasion! As his party piece, Mick continued to add to and develop those musical ideas into a tour de force display of his instrumental talents for the rest of his performing days.

Mick and I shared a tiny twin-bunk cabin on the overnight ferry from Esbjerg to Harwich in October 1968 where I annoyed Mick by trying to play the mandolin I had just purchased from a junk shop by the ferry terminal. That night I wrote the song “Fat Man” which Mick, having tried to sleep through my compositional efforts, supposed was about him (it wasn’t) – indeed, Mick was a trim good-looking guy at the time and in better shape than us skinny runts in the early Tull. We had 11 months of mutual benefit and learning experiences before the eventual falling-out – caused primarily by our different preferences as to future musical direction. I wanted to embrace broader musical influences while Mick – died-in-the-wool rocker and blues man – wanted to stay with the more traditional style of our first album, “This Was”.

But we played together and collaborated on a few things in the following years and the mutual respect we enjoyed was a lasting link to those formative Tull years. Mick is remembered as much for Blodwyn Pig and his own off-shoot bands as he is for the Tull days. In Blodwyn Pig, they even managed to get him on a plane to the USA (suitably tranquillised due to his terror of flying). Tull’s hectic schedule of US and World tours would not have suited Mick at all. He was a homebody who liked to gig around the home counties and sleep in his own bed most of the time. These days, I feel pretty much the same way…

We all offer our condolences to Mick’s family and close friends, who can feel justifiably proud of his achievements and musical legacy.

Ian Anderson. 21st of December 2025

Salutations
Ian Anderson
https://jethrotull.com/mick-abrahams-1943-2025/

[norman]

Chris Rea dies at 74



Chris Rea - The Road To Hell Part 1 & 2 (1989) HD

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=BP3qGp_5Y_w

[grapevine]

BRIDGET BARDOT
28 September 1934 - 28 December 2025



Brigitte Bardot, the iconic French actress and animal rights activist, has died at the age of 91 on December 28, 2025. She was known for her influential roles in films like "And God Created Woman" and her later dedication to animal welfare through the Brigitte Bardot Foundation.

[TrumanCash]

Erich Von Daniken Died Yesterday

Erich von Däniken, the Swiss author whose bestselling theories on the extraterrestrial origins of ancient civilisations brought him widespread fame among paranormal enthusiasts and considerable scorn from the scientific community, has died at 90.

His representatives announced on his website on Sunday that he passed away the previous day in a hospital in central Switzerland. His daughter, Cornelia, confirmed the news to the Swiss news agency SDA.

Von Däniken rose to prominence in 1968 with "Chariots of the Gods," his first book. In it, he controversially claimed that ancient civilisations like the Mayans and Egyptians were visited by alien astronauts who provided advanced technology, enabling them to build monumental structures such as the pyramids. The book ignited a growing public interest in unexplained phenomena, published at a time when conventional science was preparing for humanity's first steps on the Moon.

"Chariots of the Gods" was followed by more than two dozen similar books that sold 60 million copies in 32 languages, spawning a literary niche in which fact and fantasy were mixed together against all historical and scientific evidence.

While von Däniken managed to shrug off his many critics, the former hotel waiter had a troubled relationship with money throughout his life and frequently came close to financial ruin.

Born in 1935, the son of a clothing manufacturer in the northern Swiss town of Schaffhausen, von Däniken is said to have rebelled against his father's strict Catholicism and the priests who instructed him at boarding school by developing his own alternatives to the biblical account of the origins of life.

Read complete article: https://www.the-independent.com/arts...-b2898328.html

[Mark (Star Mariner)]

I was thinking about Von Daniken just yesterday when I caught him on an episode of Ancient Aliens, and I wondered if he'd live forever, still being alive and kicking at 90. Now this news. Very sad. With his tireless research and series of books, he made a huge contribution to ufology. He opened people's eyes to a greater reality than the mainstream one they'd been taught. I bought Chariots of the Gods when I was 16. It sits on my shelf to this day.

[Tintin]

Posted by grapevine (here)
BRIDGET BARDOT
28 September 1934 - 28 December 2025



Brigitte Bardot, the iconic French actress and animal rights activist, has died at the age of 91 on December 28, 2025. She was known for her influential roles in films like "And God Created Woman" and her later dedication to animal welfare through the Brigitte Bardot Foundation.

Mod response to report on missing image:Re the missing image grapevine: this long string doesn't contain .png, or .jpg, or an image file extension that the forum BBCode for image embedding recognises. Please can you source the same image from elsewhere? Tintin

[mountain_jim]

As one who saw Bob Weir perform in person about 100 times (With the Grateful Dead and various other projects), this one really affected me last evening and today.





Jan 10, 2026

Bobby

It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Bobby Weir. He transitioned peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, after courageously beating cancer as only Bobby could. Unfortunately, he succumbed to underlying lung issues.

For over sixty years, Bobby took to the road. A guitarist, vocalist, storyteller, and founding member of the Grateful Dead. Bobby will forever be a guiding force whose unique artistry reshaped American music. His work did more than fill rooms with music; it was warm sunlight that filled the soul, building a community, a language, and a feeling of family that generations of fans carry with them. Every chord he played, every word he sang was an integral part of the stories he wove. There was an invitation: to feel, to question, to wander, and to belong.

Bobby’s final months reflected the same spirit that defined his life. Diagnosed in July, he began treatment only weeks before returning to his hometown stage for a three-night celebration of 60 years of music at Golden Gate Park. Those performances, emotional, soulful, and full of light, were not farewells, but gifts. Another act of resilience. An artist choosing, even then, to keep going by his own design. As we remember Bobby, it’s hard not to feel the echo of the way he lived. A man driftin’ and dreamin’, never worrying if the road would lead him home. A child of countless trees. A child of boundless seas.

There is no final curtain here, not really. Only the sense of someone setting off again. He often spoke of a three-hundred-year legacy, determined to ensure the songbook would endure long after him. May that dream live on through future generations of Dead Heads. And so we send him off the way he sent so many of us on our way: with a farewell that isn’t an ending, but a blessing. A reward for a life worth livin’.

His loving family, Natascha, Monet, and Chloe, request privacy during this difficult time and offer their gratitude for the outpouring of love, support, and remembrance. May we honor him not only in sorrow, but in how bravely we continue with open hearts, steady steps, and the music leading us home. Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.

📸: Photo by Chloe Weir


https://x.com/EmpireStateBldg/status...654883245?s=20

[Ravenlocke]

Disclose.tv

JUST IN - Scott Adams dies from cancer at 68, his final statement: "I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, and look forward to spending an eternity with Him."

https://x.com/disclosetv/status/2011101104642392484

[rgray222]

Scott Adams dies from cancer at 68

[Matthew]

Scott Adams was cynical to a fault; having a matrix of controversial opinions outside his cartoons which alienated him... but he never seemed to care. I resented him because of some of his opinions but my heart softened eventually, and I never stopped loving his cartoons.

Ravenlocke called it first, and the cartoon you posted rgray222 says it so well I stole it. But I wanted to give more of the quote because it's so (beautifully?) cynically Dilbert-esk, like how Dilbert might have framed it. But despite the cynicism Scott didn't have to say what he said, and he could have gone with any of the other ten million religions but he choose Jesus and decided to declare it in his closing statement over anything else he could have talked about.

"Many of my Christian friends have asked me to find Jesus before I go. I'm not a believer but I have to admit the risk reward calculation for doing so looks so attractive to me, so here we go: I accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and savior, and look forward to spending eternity with Him. ..."
Scott Adams

[Bluegreen]

[[ I copied Bluegreen's original post of Erich von Däniken's passing to here. -- ThePythonicCow ]]

ERICH VON DÄNIKEN R.I.P.



A PERSONAL TRIBUTE BY PAUL WALLIS

"It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of Erich von Däniken on January 10, 2026. Our thoughts are with his family. He is also mourned by friends around the world, the millions of readers of his books, and the many colleagues who had the privilege of working with him."

Published 12th January 2026 (18:34)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=0mss76yuyps

Bonus

2009 07 20 Project Camelot Meets Erich von Däniken



In this fascinating conversation, Project Camelot sits down with Erich von Däniken, the world-renowned author of Chariots of the Gods, to discuss ancient mysteries, extraterrestrial influences, and lost civilizations. Recorded on 20 July 2009, this interview delves into his decades of research on ancient astronaut theory and the evidence suggesting that humanity’s past may not be what we’ve been told.

Topics covered include:

✅ Ancient structures and their potential connection to advanced civilizations
✅ The role of extraterrestrial beings in shaping early human development
✅ Suppressed archaeological discoveries that challenge mainstream history
✅ What this means for the future of humanity

(18:35)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=KkGU15mpsAY

[Ravenlocke]

DD Geopolitics

Michael Parenti has died at 92, peacefully, surrounded by family. A giant of American political thought who was beaten, jailed, and blacklisted and spent the next fifty years teaching anyway. His clarity was a gift. His courage was rare.

Read our tribute in the link below.

https://x.com/DD_Geopolitics/status/2015131559880434156

[Ravenlocke]

Maine

Jan 23
Sad news out of Maine Lobstering community today.

The Lobster Lady, Ginny Oliver passed at the age of 105.

She started lobstering at 8 years old along with her father and brother. Ginny fished every year including last season. Her son Max, now in his 80s fishes as well!

💔 🦞
https://x.com/TheMaineWonk/status/2014774757334397339

[Ravenlocke]

Max Blumenthal

Michael Parenti, the path-breaking Marxist scholar, historian and political scientist, passed today at age 92

He went peacefully this morning, surrounded by his family

“Now he is in what he used to refer to as ‘the great lecture hall in the sky,’” his son, Christian, reflected

https://x.com/MaxBlumenthal/status/2015101898878021873

[Ravenlocke]

BNO News


https://x.com/BNONews/status/2017303531724669388

Official statement confirming the death of Catherine O'Hara.

She died at her home after "a brief illness," her rep says.

https://x.com/BNONews/status/2017315456407720118

[Sue (Ayt)]

Such a happy song he gifted the world! RIP

Chuck Negron, ‘Joy to the World’ singer for Three Dog Night, dies at 83

According to Zach Farnum, the singer’s publicist, Negron died peacefully at his home in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles and was surrounded by family members, Variety reported.

No cause of death was provided, but Farnum said that Negron was battling heart failure over the past year. He also suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to Deadline.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=M9uoq9gfeL0

[Mike Gorman]

Posted by Sue (Ayt) (here)
MICK ABRAHAMS 1943-2025 (founding member of Jethro Tull)

WRITTEN BY IAN ANDERSON
PUBLISHED ON DECEMBER 21, 2025

It is with great sadness that we learned yesterday of the passing of Jethro Tull founding member Mick Abrahams. Mick had endured worsening ill health for the last 15 years leaving him finally unable to perform or interact socially to any degree. I spoke to Clive Bunker from the Choir of Southwark Cathedral to get confirmation that the reports earlier in the day were, in fact, correct. And, yes – Clive had received a phone call from Mick’s family to communicate the sad news.

Mick was vitally important to the early Tull formation out of the ashes of The John Evan Band and McGregor’s Engine, the blues band he formed with Clive Bunker in the Luton/Dunstable area.

As a strong vocalist and experienced, powerful and lyrical guitarist, Mick commanded the stage in his rendition of Cat Squirrel at the Marquee Club and every show we did together – even when we supported Cream on one occasion! As his party piece, Mick continued to add to and develop those musical ideas into a tour de force display of his instrumental talents for the rest of his performing days.

Mick and I shared a tiny twin-bunk cabin on the overnight ferry from Esbjerg to Harwich in October 1968 where I annoyed Mick by trying to play the mandolin I had just purchased from a junk shop by the ferry terminal. That night I wrote the song “Fat Man” which Mick, having tried to sleep through my compositional efforts, supposed was about him (it wasn’t) – indeed, Mick was a trim good-looking guy at the time and in better shape than us skinny runts in the early Tull. We had 11 months of mutual benefit and learning experiences before the eventual falling-out – caused primarily by our different preferences as to future musical direction. I wanted to embrace broader musical influences while Mick – died-in-the-wool rocker and blues man – wanted to stay with the more traditional style of our first album, “This Was”.

But we played together and collaborated on a few things in the following years and the mutual respect we enjoyed was a lasting link to those formative Tull years. Mick is remembered as much for Blodwyn Pig and his own off-shoot bands as he is for the Tull days. In Blodwyn Pig, they even managed to get him on a plane to the USA (suitably tranquillised due to his terror of flying). Tull’s hectic schedule of US and World tours would not have suited Mick at all. He was a homebody who liked to gig around the home counties and sleep in his own bed most of the time. These days, I feel pretty much the same way…

We all offer our condolences to Mick’s family and close friends, who can feel justifiably proud of his achievements and musical legacy.

Ian Anderson. 21st of December 2025

Salutations
Ian Anderson
https://jethrotull.com/mick-abrahams-1943-2025

I was introduced to the music of Jethro Tull way back in 1969, I was a lad of 11 summers but still I had a precocious grasp of music & my older brother was home for the Christmas break from Keele University with a few albums in his case, one of which was "Stand Up", this made a strong impression me & Ian Anderson's story of writing 'Fat Man' reminds me of this, because of course this track appears on this album - while I was a slightly younger baby boomer than my 9 years senior brother I was exposed to all of the 60's music as a result of both him & my older sister (5 years older). Later on I learned of Mick Abrahams & his strong influence on the emerging Jethro Tull, I am sorry to hear of his illness, passing: thank you for your post.

[rgray222]

James Van Der Beek obituary

American actor best known for his role in the television drama Dawson’s Creek


He leaves behind his wife and six children.

For a worldwide generation of young television viewers in the 1990s, James Van Der Beek, who has died aged 48 after suffering from cancer (colorectal), provided the role model of a sensitive male teenager. As the fresh-faced Dawson Leery in the American drama Dawson’s Creek (1998-2003) – shown in the UK on Channel 4 and then on Channel 5 – he starred in a series portraying friendship, first love and the trials and tribulations of adolescence in the fictional coastal town of Capeside, Massachusetts.

The nerdy Dawson’s idealism and habit of over-analysing often give him unrealistic expectations and a tendency to make long emotional speeches. “It’s not about the kiss – it’s about the journey and creating a sustaining magic,” he reflects in an early episode.

With the ambition to be a film director, Dawson has posters from Steven Spielberg’s blockbusters on his bedroom wall and sees life in terms of movie moments.

Van Der Beek was 20 and studying at college in New Jersey when he landed the role of the 15-year-old high-school student.

“My concern was basically getting my school work done and commuting three hours to do a show eight times a week,” he said, after making the first series in North Carolina. “In that respect, I really kind of identify with Dawson, that he is very driven, almost to the point of – not obsession, but just really occupied with his passion.”

Dawson’s Creek was created by Kevin Williamson, who previously wrote the films Scream (1996) and I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), both also focusing on groups of young friends. When Williamson auditioned Van Der Beek, he recognised in him “that nervousness that made it seem like he was pre-thinking and over-thinking and over-compensating constantly like he was insecure” – and he cast him as Dawson.

The programme followed its characters from adolescence to adulthood and brought worldwide fame to Van Der Beek, as well as to Katie Holmes, who played the headstrong Joey Potter, Dawson’s childhood best friend and later his girlfriend, Michelle Williams as Jen Lindley, his next-door neighbour and first date, and Joshua Jackson, as his sarcastic mate Pacey Witter.

Fully story:https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-r...-beek-obituary

[Vicus]

Kurt Cobain's death was 'homicide': Shocking new forensic investigation questions suicide ruling

Well, he is long ago tragic history, but I dint knew where to post this ...




His death shocked fans and sent ripples through the music world, but decades later, Kurt Cobain's final moments are under renewed scrutiny.

The Nirvana lead singer died on April 5, 1994, at age 27, from a self-inflicted shotgun wound at his Seattle home.

At the time, the King County Medical Examiner ruled his death a suicide by a Remington Model 11 20-gauge shotgun.

Now, an unofficial private sector team of forensic scientists has put fresh eyes on Cobain's autopsy and crime scene materials, bringing in Brian Burnett, a specialist who previously worked on cases involving overdoses followed by gunshot trauma.

Independent researcher Michelle Wilkins, who worked with the team, told the Daily Mail that after just three days looking into the evidence with fresh eyes, Burnett said: 'This is a homicide. We've got to do something about this.'

She said the conclusion followed an exhaustive review of the autopsy findings, which revealed signs inconsistent with an instantaneous gunshot death.

The peer-reviewed paper presented ten points of evidence suggesting Cobain was confronted by one or more assailants who forced a heroin overdose to incapacitate him, before one of them shot him in the head, placed the gun in his arms and left behind a forged suicide note.

'There are things in the autopsy that go, well, wait, this person didn't die very quickly of a gunshot blast,' Wilkins said, pointing to organ damage associated with oxygen deprivation. 'The necrosis of the brain and liver happens in an overdose. It doesn't happen in a shotgun death.'

Burnett has decades of experience analyzing crime scenes and interpreting complex evidence.

He has earned national recognition for his expert analysis in controversial cases like Marine Colonel James Sabow's death and the investigation into Billey Joe Johnson Jr, where his meticulous forensic reconstructions challenged official findings.

continue: https://www.sott.net/article/504587-...suicide-ruling