r.i.p. Eartha Kitt, who Orson Welles described as "the most exciting woman in the world".

Mer says, "Just a quick goodbye air kiss to glamourpuss Eartha Kitt, who passed away today [Dec 25th] at the age of 81. It’s nice to picture her sitting on some sparkling, inter-dimensional yacht this evening, having scintillating conversation over moon martinis with [the also, sadly, recently deceased] Harold Pinter."

Also recently lost to us is Gene Rodenberry's widow, Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, "the First Lady of Star Trek", who died in her home of leukemia December 18.