Prince, David Bowie, Lemmy.. We have lost many unique, incredibly influential musicians recently. It is events like these that make us realise that nothing lasts forever. If you were sad to lose one of your favourite artists then why not write a tribute on Tributize? and why stop there. You can honour your favourite musician and your friends and family as well. But don't wait too long - there is no time like the present.
At the end of the 80's (shows how old I am) I used to train at Bill Stevens Gym in Stratford, East London. Bill's gym was a really hardcore bodybuilding gym, and some incredibly strong men (and women) used to train there. Bill was one of Britain's strongest men. If I remember he was the British record holder for one arm overhead lift at one point. Bill was a very big guy, and also had a big heart. He had one customer who was 83 years old who used to workout there. Bill had stopped charging him once he got to 65 so he trained there free of charge, and acted as an unofficial trainer.
Bill had a sign behind the counter at his gym which said 'It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice'. I will never forget Bill or that sign.
The point is that it IS really important to be nice, and that is really the motivation behind Tributize. A platform where you can write nice things about people who you know, respect and admire. Why not try it?
Stephen Hawking is an exceptional person - there is no doubt about that. So it was especially nice to hear him pay tribute to one of his former teachers this week, Dikran Tahta at St Albans School
"Thanks to Mr Tahta, I became a professor of mathematics at Cambridge, a position once held by Isaac Newton." he said.
Prof Hawking also said that "behind every exceptional person, there is an exceptional teacher".
We all have someone in our lives who has motivated us and inspired us to become what we are. Maybe a parent or other family member, maybe a friend. A teacher, a religious leader or perhaps a famous person.
Whoever it is, it can be very satisfying to publicly acknowledge their part in our success - as Stephen Hawking has done.
That is one of the reasons that I created Tributize, a platform for saying nice things about other people.
Why not create your tribute page now on Tributize?
A philosophical start to my blog poses the question - What is important to you?
To quote from the James Bond film;
"Every man has his passion. Mine is fishing. What is yours, Mr Bond?"
If I asked you the same question then what would you answer?
George Michael was an incredibly talented musician as well as a very generous person.
From huge success with Wham! while still a teenager, he went on to enormous success as a solo artist.Can you believe that his musical career spanned 4 decades!
Club Tropicana, Young Guns, Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, Freedom, Careless Whisper, Faith, Jesus to a Child.. the list goes on and on.
I was particularly impressed by how articulate, and intelligent George Michael was when he gave interviews. Truly an incredible talent, and such a pity that he did not live longer. He would have been a great singer and entertainer for the next 20 or 30 years if he had wanted.
Leonard Cohen was a legend.
Even if you hadn't really listened to all his music, you would probably know him as a singer songwriter, famous for a slightly melancholy approach.
What was your favourite Cohen song?
Pamela Denise Anderson was born to young newlyweds Barry and Carol Anderson in Ladysmith (Vancouver Island), BC, Canada - They are still together after 48yrs. Madly in love.
One younger brother Gerry, born 1971. (Niece Kylie Rose) A modest beginning. An acrobat and gymnast ages 7-12. An athlete throughout school.
Regrettably only a high school education. (art, English, philosophy, psychology, poetry, music). Waitressed from 16-19 Moved to Vancouver at 19
Spotted at BC Lion's football game by the Jumbo-tron camera man. Quickly became known as "The Blue Zone girl" commercial campaign, face of trendsetters Gym.
Playboy called (said no- too shy). Phone rang at home during a fight with ex-fiancé, she decided to spontaneously accept an offer to shoot a cover only- Asked mom... She agreed ... The family agreed after speaking with Mr. Hefner.
14 American Playboy covers. Worked with many photographers and artists worldwide. Home Improvement (3 seasons). Baywatch (5 seasons). VIP (5 seasons).
Barb Wire, Borat. Theater - Aladdin (Panto) (Wimbledon and Liverpool). 2 children (boys Brandon and Dylan) to Tommy Lee.
PETA supporter (lifelong animal rights advocate). Founded the Pamela Anderson Foundation. Activist for Animal and Human Rights, NDVH and Environmental Issues.
On the board of the Sea Shepherd. Loves architecture and is designing Eco-friendly prefab small dwellings. A collection of linens.
Sharing time between the beaches of California and Vancouver Island equally. 2013 New York City Marathon runner.
Connected directed by Luke Gilford. The People Garden directed by Nadia Litz. In production and development; Vegan Boots.
That is a short history of Pamela Anderson's life.
This is a tribute to a fabulous lady.
Ronaldo! Ronaldo! The man is a football hero, and a living legend.
He has over 100 million fans on Facebook! can you believe that?
So he is not only an incredible sportsman, but also an international celebrity. A brand. An icon.
The list of awards goes on and on. Award after award since the start of his career - and it continues - World's top goal scorer 2013, UEFA best player in Europe 2015.
Cristiano Ronaldo we salute you as an incredible player.
This is a tribute to Ronaldo!
Gerald Grosvenor was a very wealthy man, but by all accounts also a very nice man. A friend of mine had the pleasure to meet him on a number of occasions (as an employee) and spoke very highly of him. Sad that he has died at the relatively young age of 64.
When you read about the Duke of Westminster's life you are struck by the fact that despite being fabulously wealthy, he was not very happy. Although he has often been described as Britain's richest man, actually he was the third richest British citizen with a $13 billion fortune, although he was Britain's wealthiest landowner.
Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor was born in Northern Ireland in 1951 and was educated at Harrow School, where he did not shine academically and left with very basic qualifications.
In 1979, when his father died, he became the sixth Duke of Westminster with responsibliity for administering the family fortune. He is quoted as saying "“Given the choice, I would rather not have been born wealthy, but I never think of giving it up, I can’t sell. It doesn’t belong to me.”
Sadly he suffered from depression for much of his life and in 1998 the pressure of work and life in the public eye led to a nervous breakdown.
He would have liked to be a full-time soldier and make a career in the military but that was not possible as he was responsible for managing the family's enormous property portfolio. Nevertheless, he joined the Territorial Army where he rose to become Major-General.
A minor scandal broke in 2007 when Gerald Grosvenor was caught up in a high-class call girl scandal in New York, but it did not cost him his marriage and was soon forgotten.
It was typical of the man that he sent all his children to the local primary school, rather than a private school as both him and his wife had disliked their time at boarding school.
Despite the fact that he was not comfortable with his enormous wealth, and probably would have been happier without it, the reality is that he did a splendid job of managing the family money. Gerald Grosvenor made many shrewd decisions in deciding how to manage the property portfolio which helped to maintain and grow the family fortune.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! Who could ever forget Muhammad Ali.
One of the greatest sportsmen of the 20th century, In Kentucky they still remember the jovial, skinny kid who used to tell people he’d one day be the heavyweight champion of the world.
Ali remains the only three-time lineal world heavyweight champion; he won the title in 1964, 1974, and 1978. Between February 25, 1964, and September 19, 1964, Ali reigned as the heavyweight boxing champion.
Nicknamed "The Greatest", he was involved in several historic boxing matches. Notable among these were the "Fight of the Century", "Super Fight II" and the "Thrilla in Manila" versus his rival Joe Frazier, the first Liston fight, and "The Rumble in the Jungle" versus George Foreman.
Ali retired from boxing in 1981.