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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jan 1, 2020 16:39:01 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jan 10, 2020 22:28:52 GMT -5
Neil Peart, 67, drummer with the rock band Rush, of brain cancer.
Besides being a virtuoso drummer who played complex percussion sequences flawlessly, Peart was also the band's primary lyricist, writing lyrics for Rush's hits like "Tom Sawyer," "The Spirit of Radio," "Subdivisions," "Closer to the Heart."
The linked article notes that Peart received lyrical inspiration from sources like Ayn Rand and Mark Twain. That no doubt helped Rush gain its cult following. (the band stood out in my mind with its thoughtful lyrics). The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame in 2013.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jan 22, 2020 22:43:33 GMT -5
Terry Jones, 77, Monty Python Co-Founder, of a rare form of demtia.
Jones helped start the irreverent British comedy troupe Monty Python in 1969, and directed or co-directed several of their films, including Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life.
Of course, he also acted with the troupe. One memorable performance was the waitress in the "Spam" sketch, reading off all the menu items with the word "spam" in them (some multiple times).
Speaking of which:
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Jan 26, 2020 22:08:44 GMT -5
Kobe Bryant, 41, NBA superstar; and his daughter Gianna, 13, aspiring young middle school basketball player, perished today in a helicopter crash.
Bryant was a 20 year NBA player with the Los Angeles Lakers who among other accomplishments, scored 81 points in a single game. He retired in 2016 and took up coaching his daughter's team. They were reportedly enroute to a basketball game when their helicopter crashed in Calabasas, California.
Lebron James had just passed Kobe Bryant on the alltime NBA scoring list Saturday, and received a congratuatory tweet.
Besides Kobe and Gianna, 7 other people died, who were not immediately identified.
I never really followed the NBA much. But I was heartened to hear how much of a class act he was, especially as a family man. RIP.
(UPDATE 3/21/2020: Kobe Bryant was accused of rape in 2003, in a case where the victim dropped the charges under public pressure from Bryant's fans. Bryant settled with the victim out of court, then issued a public apology. While it sounds like he straightened himself out as a family man, and we generally should not speak ill of the dead, the record needs to be complete).
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Feb 5, 2020 23:21:37 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Feb 8, 2020 22:55:49 GMT -5
Orson Bean, 91, actor, struck and killed by a car in Venice, California.
Bean appeared in a number of movies including "Being John Malkovich" and "Miracle on 34th Street" and in TV shows like "Modern Family" and "The Bold and the Beautiful," and a recurring role in "Desperate Housewives" from 2009 to 2012.
I remember him as a panelist on 1960s game shows like "What's My Line". He was also father in law to Andrew Breitbart, who founded brietbart.com.
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Post by SUVFan on Feb 20, 2020 20:35:46 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Feb 25, 2020 8:56:19 GMT -5
Speaking of "computers," this one was one of many women who worked for NASA in the 1950s and 1960s, doing manual calculations with "a pencil a slide rule and one of the finest mathematical minds in the country," who helped Alan Shepard get to space, John Glenn to orbit the earth, and Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to walk on the moon.
And like more than a few women "computers" who worked for NASA, she happened to be black. Her story was featured in the 2016 movie, "Hidden Figures".
Katherine Johnson, 101, passed away in a Newport News, VA retirement home.
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Mar 2, 2020 8:46:01 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Mar 2, 2020 10:58:08 GMT -5
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Post by SUVFan on Mar 21, 2020 12:33:53 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Mar 21, 2020 21:52:32 GMT -5
"You gotta know when to hold 'em,
Know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away,
And know when to run.
You never count your money
When you're sittin' at the table.
There'll be time enough for countin'
When the dealin's done."
Thanks, Kenny Rogers, for The Gambler and many other memorable songs. RIP
(SUVFan, I have a minor quibble with your post. Like the old gambler in the song, Kenny "broke even.")
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Apr 4, 2020 21:14:23 GMT -5
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Apr 4, 2020 21:34:46 GMT -5
Bill Withers, 81, on March 30. According to his family, he died of heart failure.
Withers was known for a number of soul hits in the 1970s, most notably "Ain't no Sunshine," "Just the Two of Us," and "Lean on Me." I remember "Lean on Me" most of all. In this troubled time, we must all lean on each other (in a manner of speaking, with appropriate social distancing of course).
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Post by gth (Columbus OH) on Apr 8, 2020 19:38:23 GMT -5
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