GOODBYE SEAN LATHE... WE'LL MISS YOUR SMILE FOREVER!

My 6th sense told me NOT to open my email, because it said my childhood friend was gone from this Earth, his smile never to grace my doorstep again...  Though I thought I must be paranoid, simply scared because Sean was a Medi-vac, I couldn't open the email at first.  Then, I ripped it open, like a band-aid, and felt my chest freeze as I breathed in the icy truth:  SEAN IS GONE.

Sean died on Sunday.  I woke up on Sunday inexplicably ill, and couldn't get out of bed for the entire day.  My head pounded & I slept most of it, having no energy or desire to move, sweating in and out of nightmares.  Had some part of me known on Sunday that our world was in morning?  I'll never know...

I'm still in shock.  It's not real.  Acceptance will take years.  I'm sure I will still hope for a surprise visit, when he visits his family in Maine, as his visits were always one of my favorite Christmas gifts.  But, as reality awakens me, and the dawning drains the blood from my face, I'll cry silent tears for the realization that SEAN IS GONE.  I'm sure I will have to repeat that to myself on far too many occassions over the coming years.

How do I simply sum up my memories of someone so complicated & special.  Sean was SO many things to SO many people.  He was BRAVE, thinking Sky Diving from airplanes was "fun," as he parachuted dangerously to the ground.  Sean was a HERO, an Army Medi-vac Pilot in our US military who saved countless lives.  He was FUNNY... a real clown.  To the delite and lifetime memories of 1000's of children, Sean's charitable nature lead him to donate his time as a Shriner Clown.  He was ROMANTIC, and showered the lucky ladies in his life with flowers & handmade gifts.  He was a PASSIONATE FATHER, who built his world around his daughter, Valerie.  He was my HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND, who told me I was pretty when I needed to hear it most.  He was my PEN PAL, while he was in the military, eventually inviting me to PIN HIS WINGS.  I was SO HONORED to be asked & SO PROUD of my true friend.

Sean accomplished so much in such a short life.  What can I say that sums up Sean?  MY FRIEND... MY MEMORIES... MY LOSS... MY LOVE... MY EMPTINESS.  I truly wish I could be there, to hug & be hugged, to share stories, to not be alone right now.  But, I took a bad fall on stage, injuring many discs in my neck and back.  I've been recovering with physical therapy since 10/06, and am awaiting spinal surgery.  Please know the obvious:  Sean was an exceptional man, who will NEVER be forgotten.  I will carry his memory in my heart forever.

Thank you, Valerie & Dave Thib for contacting me.
It would have been very painful to find out accidentally.
I truly appreciate your courtesy in this stressful time.

This weekend, as I celebrate my independence, I also mourn the loss of my good friend, Sean, who helped protect & defend it.

--
Cookie Cutter Girl (aKa Lynn 'JULIAN')
"Nashville's Version of Fiona Apple" ROLLING STONE
MUSIC WEBSITE: www.CookieCutterGirl.com
PROMOTION COMPANY: www.PowerofPink.com
MYSPACE: www.MySpace.com/CookieCutterGirl3
JEWELRY WEBSITE: www.VelvetChokers.com

Happy Birthday John Cusack!


TOP 10 REASONS JOHN CUSACK
IS ONE OF MY PERSONAL HEROES

1.  He chooses intelligent films that make us THINK for ourselves.
(...and did a lot of "fun films" in his youth too. *smile*)

2. He shares the "love" by hiring his friends & family.
(His sister, Joan, co-stars with him often, as does his friend, Jeremy Piven, and he's hired several siblings for minor roles too.)

3.  His witty, dry humor...  This Pop Superhero just *loves* a dark, sarcastic man.
(Note that his characters often display the same sarcastic, smirky responses.)

4.  He's a devoted kick-boxing fan for 20+ years... and looks hot doing it!
(Check out his fight scene with his real life teacher in "Grosse Pointe Blank.")

5.  He's an avid reader of non-fiction, historical and biographical books.
(One might call him a "head-throb..." I just call him "Sexy.")

6.  He's hometown proud, keeping up his dual residency between Los Angeles, for his work, and Chicago, his original "home."  (Everyone loves a guy with strong roots, right?)

7.  A natural born activist and environmentalist, his "TURN-ON" is ENERGY and his "TURN-OFF" is PASSIVITY.

8.  He's politically ACTIVE & BRAVE enough to openly voice his opinions.
(Check out his video on McCain & Bush in my "John Cusack Tribute TV" Yahoo Playlist.)

9.  The music in his films is often as memorable as the films themselves.
(The Clash, Fishbone, The Ramones and The Specials are fave bands of his.  This girl *had* to have the soundtrack to his movie, "Grosse Pointe Blank," immediately.)

10.  What would he be, if he weren't an actor (and activist?)... A MUSICIAN, LIKE ME!

BONUS:  "JOHN CUSACK TRIBUTE TV"
Watch movie clips, live interviews & more in my YouTube Playlist below.  Bookmark it now, as it is updated often, and I *know* you don't want to miss out!

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AEB678A557184771



Name: John Paul Cusack
Birthday: June 28, 1966
Sign: Sun in Cancer, Moon in Scorpio
Birthplace: Evanston, Illinois
Height: 6'2"
Hair: Black
Eyes: Brown
Parents: Father: Richard (Actor, documentary filmmaker) Mother: Nancy ( teacher)
Siblings: Joan (actress), Susan (actress), Ann (singer), Bill (actor).
Occupation: Actor, Writer, Producer, Stage Director
Blog: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-cusack

 

Actor filmography

2012

Actors: John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt

Synopsis: Roland Emmerich delivers another large-scale disaster picture with 2012, a Sony Pictures Entertainment production detailing the year when many ancient scribes predicted that the world would end, with John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, and Oliver Platt filling Read More 7/10/09

The Factory

Actors: John Cusack

Synopsis: John Cusack stars as cop whose obsession for catching a serial killer is pushed over the edge when his daughter goes missing in the Dark Castle picture The Factory for Warner Bros. Pictures. Australia's Project Greenlight winner Morgan O'Neill helms the production from a script he co-wrote with Paul Leyden Read More 1/1/09

Stopping Power

Actors: John Cusack

Synopsis: Jan de Bont directs John Cusack in Stopping Power, an action thriller that pits a test pilot against a hijacker who takes the pilot's daughter and girlfriend hostage in their RV at a gas stop. The original script was written by Eric Red (Near Dark), with a rewrite from Richard Shepard (The Read More 1/1/09

Shanghai

Actors: John Cusack, Gong Li, Ken Watanabe

Synopsis: The Weinstein Company presents this story of an American (John Cusack) in Shanghai who, through the investigation of the death of a friend, ends up falling in love while stumbling upon a political conspiracy in this period drama from 1408 helmer Mikael Håfström. Gong Li and Ken Watanabe co-star in Read More 12/25/08

Igor

Actors: John Cusack, Steve Buscemi, John Cleese, Eddie Izzard, Arsenio Hall, Sean Hayes

Synopsis: John Cusack leads an all-star voice cast featuring Jay Leno, Molly Shannon, John Cleese, Jeremy Piven, Steve Buscemi, and Jennifer Coolidge in this computer-animated comedy about a gifted scientist who happens to have been born with a most unfortunate deformity. Igor (voice of Cusack) may have Read More 9/19/08

War, Inc.

Crew: Producer, Screenwriter

Actors: John Cusack, Hilary Duff, Marisa Tomei, Joan Cusack, Dan Aykroyd

Synopsis: An assassin posing as a trade-show producer fixes his crosshairs on a Middle Eastern oil minister while maintaining his cover by organizing a high-profile wedding in this satirical action comedy starring John Cusack, Hilary Duff, and Marisa Tomei. A private American corporation run by a former Read More 5/23/08

Summerhood

Actors: Lucien Maisel, Christopher McDonald, Raquel Alessi, Jacob Medjuck, Joe Flaherty

Synopsis: Director/screenwriter Jacob Medjuck crafts this incisive tale of childhood friendships revolving around four longtime friends who just so happen to hate each other. Summertime has finally arrived, and a neurotic young boy named Fetus is determined to establish himself in his small social circle. Read More 2008

Martian Child

Actors: John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Sophie Okonedo, Oliver Platt, Bobby Coleman

Synopsis: Adapted from a Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novelette by author David Gerrold, Menno Meyjes's Martian Child stars John Cusack as a widowed science fiction writer who adopts a boy (Bobby Coleman) who claims to be from the Red Planet. The writer believes the child acts strangely in order to process Read More 11/2/07

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten

Actors: Mick Jones, Nicky "Topper" Headon, Terry Chimes, Iain Gillies, Joe Strummer

Synopsis: Filmmaker Julien Temple takes a look beyond the guise of the late, anti-establishment icon Joe Strummer to offer a warm portrait of the self-described "mouthy little git" who was born John Mellor and was destined to become the frontman for one of the most influential punk bands ever. A complex Read More 11/2/07

Grace Is Gone

Crew: Producer

Actors: John Cusack, Shélan O'Keefe, Gracie Bednarczyk, Alessandro Nivola

Synopsis: The contemplative, understated tearjerker Grace is Gone dramatizes the quiet crisis that befalls Stanley (John Cusack), a young Midwestern husband of a female marine stationed in Iraq, and a father of two girls. Suddenly and unexpectedly widowed when his wife, Grace, is murdered on the Read More 10/5/07

1408

Actors: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Mary McCormack, Jasmine Jessica Anthony, Tony Shalhoub

Synopsis: A writer renowned for debunking infamous paranormal events is confronted by a force that he cannot explain upon checking into room 1408 of the notoriously haunted Dolphin Hotel. Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is an author who specializes in horror, but who only believes in what he can see with his eyes Read More 6/22/07

The Contract

Actors: Morgan Freeman, John Cusack, Jamie Anderson, Alice Krige, Megan Dodds

Synopsis: Attempting to recover from a recent family trauma by escaping into the woods for a peaceful hiking trip, an ex-lawman and his young son stumble across a dangerous contract killer in director Bruce Beresford's forest-bound thriller. Ray Keene (John Cusack) has lost his wife, and now the grieving Read More 2007

Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride: Hunter S. Thompson on Film

Synopsis: Actor Nick Nolte narrates this detailed look at the life and career of Hunter S. Thompson - the late, great Gonzo journalist whose outrageous exploits inspired such films as Where the Buffalo Roam, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and The Rum Diaries. A true American original, Thompson was a writer Read More 2006

The Ice Harvest

Actors: John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Platt, Randy Quaid

Synopsis: Two men on the run from the mob end up negotiating more than their share of obstacles along the way in this comedy drama from director Harold Ramis. Vic Cavanaugh (Billy Bob Thornton) and Charlie Arglist (John Cusack) are a pair of friends who work for Bill Gerard (Randy Quaid), a mobster with his Read More 11/23/05

Must Love Dogs

Actors: Diane Lane, John Cusack, Elizabeth Perkins, Christopher Plummer, Dermot Mulroney

Synopsis: A woman finds herself drafted into the battle of finding the perfect man in this romantic comedy. Sarah Nolan (Diane Lane) is a kindergarten teacher in her mid-thirties who is still dealing with the emotional aftermath of her divorce eight months ago. While her sisters, Christine (Ali Hillis) and Read More 7/29/05

Runaway Jury

Actors: John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman, Rachel Weisz, Bruce Davison, Jeremy Piven

Synopsis: Three people attempt to bend justice for their own purposes in this drama based on the best-selling novel by John Grisham. After a man dies in a shooting incident, his wife files a lawsuit against the company that manufactured the gun, with her lawyer, Wendell Rohr (Dustin Hoffman), arguing that Read More  10/17/03

 Identity

Actors: John Cusack, Ray Liotta, Amanda Peet, John Hawkes, Alfred Molina, Clea Duvall

Synopsis: Ten strangers are brought together during a weather emergency, only to discover a far greater danger awaits them in this suspense-drama. A sudden rainstorm in a remote desert town strands a disparate variety of people at a rundown motel. A convict sentenced to death, Malcolm Rivers (Pruitt Taylor Vince Read More 4/25/03


Breakfast with Hunter (2003) .... Himself
Adaptation. (2002) (uncredited) .... Himself
Max (2002) .... Max Rothman
Serendipity (2001) .... Jonathan Trager
America's Sweethearts (2001) .... Eddie Thomas
High Fidelity (2000) .... Rob Gordon
Arigo (2000)
Being John Malkovich (1999) .... Craig Schwartz
Cradle Will Rock (1999) .... Nelson Rockefeller
Pushing Tin (1999) .... Nick Falzone
Jack Bull, The (1999) (TV) .... Myrl Redding
Chicago Cab (199
Thin Red Line, The (199
This Is My Father (199
Anastasia (1997) (voice) .... Dimitri
Con Air (1997) .... US Marshal Vince Larkin
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) .... Martin Q. Blank
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997) .... John Kelso
Eastwood on Eastwood (1997) (TV).... Narrator
City Hall (1996) .... Kevin Calhoun
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
Road to Wellville, The (1994) .... Charles Ossining
"Baseball" (1994) (mini) TV Series (voice)
Bullets Over Broadway (1994) .... David Shayne
Floundering (1994) .... JC
Money for Nothing (1993) .... Joey Coyle
"Frasier" (1993) ..."guest caller" in episode: "Our Father Whose Art Ain't Heaven" 12/10/1996
Bob Roberts (1992) (special appearance) .... Cutting Edge Host
Roadside Prophets (1992) .... Casper
Player, The (1992) .... Himself
Shadows and Fog (1992) .... Student Jack
Map of the Human Heart (1992) .... The Mapmaker
True Colors (1991) .... Peter Burton
Grifters, The (1990) .... Roy Dillon
Say Anything... (1989) .... Lloyd Dobler
Elvis Stories (1989)
Fat Man and Little Boy (1989) .... Michael Merriman ... aka Shadowmakers (1989)
Eight Men Out (198 .... Buck Weaver
Married to the Mob (198
Stars and Bars (198
Tapeheads (198 .... Ivan Alexeev
Broadcast News (1987) .... Angry Messenger
Hot Pursuit (1987) .... Dan Bartlett
One Crazy Summer (1986) .... Hoops McCann
Stand by Me (1986) .... Denny Lachance
Better Off Dead (1985) .... Lane Myer
Heaven Help Us (1985)
Journey of Natty Gann, The (1985) .... Harry
Sure Thing, The (1985) .... Walter (Gib) Gibson
Sixteen Candles (1984) .... Bryce
Grandview, U.S.A. (1984) .... Johnny Maine
Class (1983) .... Roscoe

Producer filmography
2.2 (2002) (producer)
Max (2002/I) (associate producer)
Never Get Outta the Boat (2002) (executive producer)
High Fidelity (2000) (co-producer)
Jack Bull, The (1999) (TV) (executive producer)
Chicago Cab (199 (executive producer)
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) (co-producer)

Writer filmography

High Fidelity (2000)
Grosse Pointe Blank (1997)

###

Who of us does not know of George Carlin?  I remember seeing him live, as a teen, with my Father and brother.  I was immediately struck by his confidence, ease and intelligence, reciting his humorous commentary on food for all my friends.  Yet, I could never come close to capturing his delivery.  He has paved the way for so many comedians today, who owe the freedom of expression they enjoy on stage to artists like Lenny Bruce & George Carlin.  This Pop Superhero will keep him alive in spirit through his words,  hoping those listening can still hear his delivery, and see his expressions, in their minds & hearts...

Legendary Comedian George Carlin Dies