Keith Whamond

I saw this ad during my travels along the Internet:

The president sure seems annoyed there. I guess he hates voting?

Just heard from a friend that David W. Harple, who has been taking pictures for The News-Times for decades, passed away today after his long battle with cancer. David served many roles for the paper over the years, but most recently he was he chief photographer and coordinated the photo staff.

I don’t know any specifics, but friends of Dave know all too well how hard he had fought his awful disease for the past several years.

Dave was one of the most personable, friendly people I’ve met. He was always looking to spark a conversation.

Check back soon for more details about services for Dave. In the meantime, please visit the Web site dedicated to raising money for him and his family. They need our support now more than ever.

It’s old news by now, and I know that most people say the media has covered Michael Jackson’s death too much (then why are the ratings still through the roof?), but I thought this was worth passing along.

I found John Mayer’s cover of Human Nature to be a surprisingly classy moment in an otherwise mess of a memorial service. It’s always remarkable to think that just a few years ago he was a kid going to high school in Fairfield.

Even if you’ve seen it, it’s worth watching again.

Dr. John Orman

As an alumnus of Fairfield University, as a former student and as a local politics nut, I was really dazed by the news yesterday of the death of Dr. John Orman at 60.

I think I’m still at a bit of a loss about it.

I graduated Fairfield in 2004 and I only had Dr. Orman as a professor for one class. I can’t even remember the name of it, but it had something to do with politics and pop culture in the 20th century.

To be totally honest, it wasn’t all that difficult of a class. If it wasn’t for the man teaching it, I doubt I would remember anything about it.

But I do remember it. I remember a lot about it.

I remember Dr. Orman’s passion and enthusasiam for politics, his almost child-like excitement for teaching how our government works. I remember him stressing the importance that we participate in the political process. I remember his impromptu rap battles in class, and seeing the reaction of students watching a 50-something white guy rap about Osama Bin Laden and Henry Kissinger.

To say his teaching style was unorthodox is being generous. A quick example: Instead of taking a written final for his class, a classmate and I were allowed to perform a cover of John Lennon’s classic “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”. I can’t sing all that well, but he gave me a B+ anyway because he felt we understood the political relevance behind it.

And when Dr. Orman would grace us with a few minutes of his stand-up routine, it honestly wasn’t half bad.

Even after I graduated from Fairfield, I enjoyed reading about Dr. Orman’s political hijinks — trying to run for senate and then, after dropping out, managing to swipe the chairmanship of the Connecticut for Liberman party away from the state’s junior senator.

Everyone says this when someone passes away, but Dr. Orman really was in a class unto himself.

The state has lost a real advocate for its political process and a fantastic human being. I’m glad I had the chance to get to know him.

He’ll be missed.

Addendum: Brian Lockhart has a good post on Orman’s passing as well, as does the Blogster himself, Ken Dixon. As Lockhart said, state politics just got a lot less interesting.

Here’s a rundown of other reports on his death:

• The Hartford Courant
• My Left Nutmeg
• Connecticut Bob
• Daily Kos (includes a great video that really captures Dr. Orman)