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2019 Death Watch/Pool


Muda69

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  • 1 month later...

Author and Grand Master Gene Wolfe, 1931-2019: https://www.tor.com/2019/04/15/gene-wolfe-in-memoriam-1931-2019/

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The science fiction and fantasy community has lost a beloved icon. We are extremely sad to report that author and SFWA Grand Master Gene Wolfe passed away on Sunday, April 14, 2019 after his long battle with heart disease. He was 87.

Gene Wolfe was born in New York on May 7, 1931. He studied at Texas A&M for a few years before dropping out and fighting in the Korean War. After his return to the US he finished his degree at the University of Houston. He was an engineer, and worked as the editor of the professional journal Plant Engineering. He was also instrumental in inventing the machine that cooks Pringles potato chips. He pursued his own writing during his editorial tenure at Plant Engineering, but it took a few years before one of his books gained wider notice in the sci-fi community: the novella that eventually became The Fifth Head of Cerberus. The whole tale was finally released as three linked novellas in 1972, and this is the beautiful opening passage:

When I was a boy my brother and I had to go bed early whether we were sleepy or not. In summer particularly, bedtime often came before sunset; and because our dormitory was in the east wing of the house, with a broad window facing the central courtyard and thus looking west, the hard, pinkish light sometimes streamed in for hours while we lay staring out at my father’s crippled monkey perched on a flaking parapet, or telling stories, one bed to another, with soundless gestures.

 

Wolfe went on to write over 30 novels, with his best best-known work, The Book of The New Sun, spanning 1980-1983. The series is a tetralogy set in the Vancian Dying Earth subgenre, and follows the journey of Severian, a member of the Guild of Torturers, after he is exiled for the sin of mercy. Over the course of the series the books won British Science Fiction, World Fantasy, British Fantasy, Locus, Nebula, and Campbell Memorial Awards. In 1998 poll, the readers of Locus magazine considered the series as a single entry and ranked it third in a poll of fantasy novels published before 1990, following only The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Wolfe’s fans include Michael Swanwick, Neil Gaiman, Patrick O’Leary, Ursula K. Le Guin, and many, many more, and he was praised for his exciting prose and depth of character. Asked by editor Damon Knight to name his biggest influences, he replied: “G. K. Chesterton and Marks’ [Standard] Handbook for [Mechanical] Engineers.” In 2015 The New Yorker published this profile of Wolfe by Peter Bebergal, in which the two discussed his decades-long career—it’s well worth a read.

Wolfe won the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award in 1989, the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 1996, and was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2012, The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America named him its 29th SFWA Grand Master.

Wolfe is survived by his daughters Madeleine (Dan) Fellers, Mountain Home, Arkansas, Teri (Alan) Goulding, Woodridge, Illinois,  son, Matthew Wolfe, Atlanta, Georgia and 3 granddaughters, Rebecca (Spizzirri), Elizabeth (Goulding) and Alison (Goulding).

He leaves behind an impressive body of work, but nonetheless, he will be dearly missed.

The Book of The New Sun is an impressive work, and one of my favorites.    Mr. Wolfe was truly an American Icon.  He will be missed.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

R.I.P. Peter Mayhew, Star Wars' Chewbacca: https://news.avclub.com/r-i-p-peter-mayhew-star-wars-chewbacca-1834489871

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Peter Mayhew, the original actor who played Chewbacca, has died. The news was confirmed by Mayhew’s family, who announced it with a statement on Twitter, saying that he died on April 30 “with his family by his side.” A cause of death was not given, though he had undergone multiple surgeries in the last few years and had recently retired from playing Chewbacca for health reasons. Mayhew was 74.

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A sad day.  Truly an American icon, Mr. Mayhew will be missed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Legendary actress and singer Doris Day dead at 97: https://apnews.com/b9a04d9ab2ce4276b2f6bdb6b39af585

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Doris Day, the honey-voiced singer and actress whose film dramas, musicals and innocent sex comedies made her a top star in the 1950s and ’60s and among the most popular screen actresses in history, has died. She was 97.

The Doris Day Animal Foundation confirmed Day died early Monday at her Carmel Valley, California, home. The foundation said she was surrounded by close friends.

“Day had been in excellent physical health for her age, until recently contracting a serious case of pneumonia, resulting in her death,” the foundation said in an emailed statement.

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Truly an American Icon. She will be missed.

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

Former Red Sox First Baseman Bill Buckner Dies At 69: https://www.npr.org/2019/05/27/727355557/former-red-sox-first-baseman-bill-buckner-dies-at-69

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Being remembered for a mistake is hard. Being the living symbol of 86 years of futility is just about impossible. 

But that's exactly what Bill Buckner was to Boston Red Sox fans for nearly 20 years.

Buckner, an All-Star and Gold Glove baseball player who played in the major leagues for 22 years, died Monday. He was 69.

"After battling the disease of Lewy Body Dementia, Bill Buckner passed away early the morning of May 27th surrounded by his family," according to a statement from his family shared by the Red Sox. "Bill fought with courage and grit as he did all things in life. Our hearts are broken but we are at peace knowing he is in the arms of his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

Buckner built up an impressive record as a player, with more than 1,000 runs scored during his career. He was an All-Star in 1981 while playing for the Chicago Cubs. But Buckner found it hard to shake a mistake he made during game six of the 1986 World Series against the New York Mets.

The Sox had a two-run lead, and were one strike away from winning their first World Series championship since 1918. But the Mets clawed back from the brink to tie the game in the 10th inning. With a runner on second base, a base hit would give the Mets the win and force a game seven.

It turns out they only needed the most famous error in baseball history.

Mets player Mookie Wilson hit a grounder toward first base — as the announcer called it, "a little roller up along first." Buckner ran toward the ball, took a wide stance, reached down to scoop it up — and the ball rolled right between his legs.

"It gets through Buckner!" the announcer says, shocked, as a Met crosses home plate. "The Mets win it!"

The error forced a game seven, which the Mets won. And the error turned Bill Buckner into New England's scapegoat.

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I remember watching that game,  felt really bad for Mr. Buckner.   Now he can truly rest in peace.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Lee Iacocca, who gave us the Minivan and the Mustang, dies at 94: https://arstechnica.com/cars/2019/07/lee-iaccoca-who-gave-us-the-minivan-and-the-mustang-dies-at-94/

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On Tuesday, former US auto executive Lee Iacocca died at the age of 94 from Parkinson's disease. He was an iconic figure in the business world, at separate times running the Ford Motor Company and later the Chrysler Corporation. His autobiography was required reading for men in suits in the 1980s, and he was even mooted for President. And along the way, he was responsible for some legendary cars, including the Ford Mustang and Chrysler Minivan.

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During his time at Ford, Iacocca was instrumental in bringing a number of vehicles to market, including the Mustang. Clever use of the corporate parts bin meant this sporty looking car was actually highly affordable in 1964, costing $2,400 at the time. It was an outrageous sales success, prompting rivals General Motors and Chrysler to create "pony cars" of their own.

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Ford fired Iacocca in 1978, whereupon he moved to the top job at Chrysler. The company was struggling and had already begun selling foreign operations in an effort to keep the lights on in the North American market. Here, Iacocca engineered a turnaround. There was the K Car platform, which allowed multiple disparate models across the Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler brands to be built from common parts. The practice was already commonplace in Europe and Japan, and it's now standard practice in the industry.

If the Mustang is Iacocca's best-known Ford, the Minivan is probably his best-known Chrysler. Like the Mustang, the Minivan also created its own market segment. But his longer-lasting contribution to Chrysler was almost certainly the purchase of AMC in 1987. This brought Jeep under Chrysler's corporate umbrella; today Jeep is responsible for much of the corporation's profit.

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Truly an American Icon.  He will be missed.

My father worked 30+ years at the Kokomo Chrysler Transmission plant.  I remember those late 1970's and early 1980's as being grim times.  He and his coworkers accepted a pay cut to keep the plant open,  and there were days where he said he would go to work not knowing if he would still have a job at the end of this shift.

 

 

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Not a human being, I know.  But it stings nonetheless:

Mad Magazine Is Dead: https://reason.com/2019/07/04/mad-magazine-is-dead/

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The comics community is abuzz with the news that Mad magazine will, after two more issues, cease publication of original material and abandon newsstand distribution, becoming a reprint title available only in comic book shops (with the exception, Hollywood Reporter reports, of one special issue a year of new content).

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If you were ever a fan, your golden age was usually the first year or so you read it, likely between the ages of 10–13. Mad was diligent about regurgitating its legacy in reprint special issues and paperback books, so if you wanted to check out its past you could. I've been re-reading a lot of old Mad myself lately, and while one cannot say that it "holds up" to an aging mind in 2019—it's more a magazine to absorb and leave behind in adolescene than a lifelong companion—it still manages to provide both interesting insights into old culture and the occasional laugh.

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But Mad's meta-point—that entertainment, marketing, business, politics, middle-class mores, often failed to live up to their own standards or pretentions—was eternal. Even if new issues with new content are no longer being published regularly, the Madmentality has sunk its roots everywhere in our culture and can never be extirpated, thank Newman. It's as true a case as any of "Mad is dead, long live Mad."

Like most old fans, I stopped picking up new issues a long time ago. But I'll miss it for the world it represented, when a well-conceived periodical package of words and cartooning on paper could not only be supported by an enthusiastic audience but shape the culture in a funnier, zestier, freer direction.

 

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  • 1 month later...

David Koch, Billionaire Conservative Philanthropist Dies: https://www.nationalreview.com/news/david-koch-billionaire-conservative-philanthropist-dies/

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David Koch, the billionaire libertarian who chaired Koch Industries and is known for his profound influence on American politics, has died at 79, his family has confirmed.

“It is with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of my brother David. Anyone who worked with David surely experienced his giant personality and passion for life,” his older brother, Charles Koch, said in a statement.

“While we mourn the loss of our hero, we remember his iconic laughter, insatiable curiosity, and gentle heart,” his family said.

Koch had been battling prostate cancer for the past 27 years, his brother said.

“David liked to say that a combination of brilliant doctors, state-of-the-art medications and his own stubbornness kept the cancer at bay. We can all be grateful that it did, because he was able to touch so many more lives as a result,” his family’s statement said.

While Koch came down on the liberal side of social issues including same-sex marriage and abortion, he was one of the largest Republican donors in the party’s history and lobbied for conservative causes, free trade, lower taxes, and deregulation.

With a net worth of about $50.5 billion, Koch was neck-and-neck with his brother as 11th-richest person, according to Forbes magazine.

Koch remained executive vice president of Koch Industries until retiring in June of last year.

Methinks some here on the GID will be overjoyed by this news.

 

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15 minutes ago, Muda69 said:

Koch had been battling prostate cancer for the past 27 years, his brother said.

The ultimate lesson in life- no amount of money will beat Death. It’s also quite pathetic that even with his billions, and all the money spent fighting cancer, he still didn’t get past 80. My grandmother had cancer, didn’t fight it, and still lived to be 88- in large part because she had nowhere near the sins of David Koch.

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12 minutes ago, DanteEstonia said:

The ultimate lesson in life- no amount of money will beat Death. It’s also quite pathetic that even with his billions, and all the money spent fighting cancer, he still didn’t get past 80. My grandmother had cancer, didn’t fight it, and still lived to be 88- in large part because she had nowhere near the sins of David Koch.

By all means please provide a comprehension list of these "sins", as defined by the Christian Holy Bible.

 

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While I am not a supporter of anything the Kochs do or have done, I will never celebrate when someone passes. Any celebration will be reserved for a celebration of the life that has been lost, like family or close friends. But the celebration is toasting the great memories and stories to be told. 

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19 minutes ago, Irishman said:

While I am not a supporter of anything the Kochs do or have done, I will never celebrate when someone passes. Any celebration will be reserved for a celebration of the life that has been lost, like family or close friends. But the celebration is toasting the great memories and stories to be told. 

When my wife and I left the funeral home after my father's viewing, I made the comment "you know there were a lot more stories told, and laughs shared, than there were tears shed". At the end of the day, that's what it's all about. 

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