Isaac Hayes Interesting Links

The death of Isaac Hayes has been the top Scientology-related news of the last couple of days, now superseded with the opening of "Tropic Thunder", the new Tom Cruise sensation.

Here are for the record a few interesting Hayes-related links:

Isaac Hayes official web site

Isaac Hayes makes the Scientology booklet "The Way to Happiness" free

Isaac Hayes history with Scientology - from Fox News. This is a rather disturbing and moving article in which the author, claiming to be a personal friend of Hayes, says that Hayes never really recovered from the stroke he had in 2006. I am a bit skeptical about this article because the author also claims that Scientology forced him to resign from South Park and that he needed a lot of money to get up the bridge - which claims seem a bit exaggerated. Nevertheless, the information he brings forth and the question he asks, such as "Why was a stroke survivor on a treadmill by himself?" seem quite pertinent. A good article overall and, as I said, quite moving.

A compilation of Isaac Hayes "Treadmill" death report - from ARS

Everyone Interesting Died This Weekend - In addition to Isaac Hayes: Bernie Mac, Lester Young's little brother: Lee Young, American hero Anthony Russo. Which reminds me of the short distance between the death of L. Ron Hubbard (24 January 1986) and Jiddu Krishnamurti (February 17, 1986), two major influences in my spiritual life.

The Afterlife for Scientologists - This article attempts to trace what will be the fate of Isaac Hayes' soul in the after life, according to Scientology beliefs. It is not too bad but obviously the author got her information from second hand sources and most notably from some critics, which she acknowledges at the end of the article. Not surprisingly, some statements contained in this article are frankly false. For example: "When a body dies, its thetan forgets the details of the former life". Otherwise, as I said, it is not too bad.

Isaac Hayes's Death Is Attributed to Stroke - "The soul singer and songwriter Isaac Hayes died of a stroke, according to authorities in Memphis, The Associated Press reported. ... A spokesman for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said that paperwork filed by Dr. David Kraus, Mr. Hayes’s doctor, listed stroke as the cause of death. The spokesman also said that no autopsy had been performed."