OHMY that sounds horrible
[quote=“Tempo Gain”]John Updike, how great was he
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090127/ts_nm/us_updike_7[/quote]
A great writer. I especially enjoyed his Rabbit series.
Dharma Master Sheng Yen dies at age 80
[quote]Buddhist master Sheng Yen passes away aged 79
FOUNDER FIGURE:: The man named as one of the 50 most influential people in the history of Taiwan was a confidant of politicians, business leaders and celebrities [/quote]
An actor in one of my favorite movies of all time, The Shawshank Redemption, has died. James Whitmore played Brooks Hatlen. Love that movie.
quote – Craggy-faced film, television and stage actor James Whitmore has died at 87, the Los Angeles County, California, Sheriff’s Department confirmed Saturday.
Movie fans may remember his subtle portrayal of aging prison inmate Brooks Hatlen in 1994’s “The Shawshank Redemption” with Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman.[/quote]
Lux Interior, lead vocalist for the legendary punk band The Cramps at the age of 62 (or 60).
Actually, this was a week or so ago. Not mentioned. He was awesome.
Damn. His “To Your Scattered Bodies Go” is a sci-fi favourite of mine.
One reviewer described his approach to storytelling as a “gargantuan lust to swallow down the whole cosmos, past, present and to come, and to spew it out again.” That sounds about right: A right bloody mess, but worth churning through.
[quote]An agnostic from the age of 14, Mr. Farmer was ambivalent about humanity’s hunger for life after death. “I can’t see any reason why such miserable, unhappy, vicious, stupid, conniving, greedy, narrow-minded, self-absorbed beings should have immortality," he said in Science Fiction Review in 1975.
But he added, “When considering individuals, then I feel, yes, this person, that person, certainly deserves another chance.” Life on this planet, he said “is too short, too crowded, too hurried, too beset."[/quote] 
I’d give him another chance.
I never liked listening to Paul Harvey when I was a kid, but after getting my start in radio delivering news and sports in western Canada, I learned to appreciate what a guy like Harvey means to the radio industry and its long history.
RIP.
Broadcasting legend Paul Harvey dies at 90
Colleen Howe, wife of hockey giant Gordie Howe, died of Pick’s disease, a neurological form of dementia, at age 76. Colleen spent much of her time managing her husband’s career and business interests. She also founded the Detriot Junior Red Wings and created the charitable foundation, the Howe foundation. As well, she once ran for US Congress as a Republican candidate from Connecticut.
I was really sad to read about her accident. To think that anything can happen so fast…I don’t know much about her mom’s personal life, but I had an image of her mom, husband, sons and her sister (from Nip and Tuck) switching off her machines. Must have been horrible, but also looked out of something out of a movie.
There was an article in the Taipei Times yesterday about an elderly Catholic priest who passed away on March 17. He was called Father Yeh, and according to the article, he worked with disabled people. His full Chinese name was Yeh You-ken (葉由根). He was from Hungary, and his Hungarian name was Istvan Jaschko.
Here’s the URL of the Taipei Times article:
taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/ … 2003439239
Here’s a China Post article:
chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/loca … aschko.htm
Here’s a Chinese-language Wikipedia article:
zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%91%89% … 1%E6%A0%B9
Shane McConkey (December 30, 1969 - March 26, 2009) died while on a ski-BASE jump in Corvara, Italy. His ski didn’t come off in time, and he couldn’t deploy his chute.
Shane was well known and respected throughout the North American skiing community, and this is tragic news for his family and friends.
Ironic seeing that such a short time after Natasha Richardson’s death on a beginner slope. Her death was so tragic and unexpected; his was so predictable.
Check him out here.
youtube.com/watch?v=KUfF-kyKdGU
Reminds me of this book I just bought from amazon.com – Where the Mountain Casts its Shadow; the Dark Side of Extreme Adventure – written by the former girlfriend of mountaineer Joe Tasker, who died on Everest. Here’s one review of the book:
And from the foreward to that book, by top mountaineer Tom Hornbein:
[quote]What compels a person to pursue a pastime in which a tiny miscalculation or the random toss of dice can snuff a life? A large and at times eloquent literature sings the pleasures and values of mountaineering adventure. . .
And what compels another to attempt to build an enduring relationship, based on classical concepts of love and family, with a serious climber. . .
Maria Coffey explores these issues with a direct yet gentle touch. She has resisted the urge to editorialize, to pass judgment, to declare right and wrong. She leaves it to us readers to make our own judgments.
The question this book quietly poses, at least to me, is: How does one reconcile the inevitable tension between such selfish and risky mountain play and the realities of that other life with its bonds and responsibilities?
For much of my mountaineering life, I dexterously ignored this question, but it has come to haunt me in recent years. . .[/quote]
Oh, and here’s Shane with his wife and daughter.
Ironic seeing that such a short time after Natasha Richardson’s death on a beginner slope. Her death was so tragic and unexpected; his was so predictable.
Check him out here.
youtube.com/watch?v=KUfF-kyKdGU
Reminds me of this book I just bought from amazon.com – Where the Mountain Casts its Shadow; the Dark Side of Extreme Adventure
Oh, and here’s Shane with his wife and daughter.
[/quote]
Nice video, well spotted
He was a legend and did a lot for the ski industry, and was certainly living on luck through his skill and ability. It is tragic for his family and friends, for them maybe he should have stopped when his wife became pregnant 4 years ago or so. But there are many sports people and workers who undertake dangerous activities at a high level while having families. I’m not going to judge them, because it’s their choice to keep pushing themselves to the limit. And I won’t judge Shane for his choice. He lived a good life.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Thin_Air
Rob Hall left a family
Chewycorns: Tell us why your post is not trolling? People posted about Natasha Richardson’s tragic death, and you go off topic to post about her mother’s political activity (gee, she’s anti-war, that is such a sin)-and you say that her death goes some way to atone for the mother’s actions. Pathetic post.
Ex-Springbok centre, Ryk Van Schoor died last Sunday aged 87
[quote]FORMER Springbok rugby outside centre Ryk van Schoor died at a Parow, Western Cape Nursing Home late on Sunday night at the age of 87.
Solidly built, he had a fearsome reputation of being a fearless crash-tackler and was one of the big successes of the Springbok touring team in Great Britain and France in 1951/52. He and Tjol Lategan set up a wonderful partnership as centres on the tour.
Van Schoor was born on December 3, 1921 and while playing for Rhodesia he was selected for the second Test against the touring New Zealand team in 1949.
He was part of the Springbok team that routed Scotland 44-0 in late 1951 at Murrayfield, scoring a try, one of two he scored at Test level. Altogether he played in 12 Tests, his last being against Australia in the fourth Test at Port Elizabeth in 1953.
On Monday his son, Ryk junior, stated that his father had been ill for the past two or three months.
Van Schoor is survived by two sons, Ryk and Theuns and a daughter, Wilna, and seven grandchildren.[/quote]
RIP, oom.
This isn’t actually a death notice, but it’s in relation to this post from The Morgue 2007.
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]Wow, that’s a terrible one.
[quote]A team of gunmen shot and killed Lucky Dube, an international reggae star and one of the nation’s best-known musicians, in an apparent carjacking attempt late Thursday that underscored the continuing peril of violent crime here.
As the provincial police commissioner appointed seven veteran investigators to chase down the attackers, President Thabo Mbeki called on the nation “to confront this terrible scourge of crime, which has taken the lives of too many of our people, and does so every day.”
The police said that Mr. Dube, 43, was shot by three hijackers in Rosettenville, just south of downtown Johannesburg, as he dropped off his 15-year-old son at his brother’s house. Mr. Dube’s son was in the car at the time, they said.
The hijackers fled after Mr. Dube crashed his Chrysler into a tree. He died at the scene. . .[/quote]
nytimes.com/2007/10/20/world … ref=slogin
I’ve got his House of Exile CD and I love it. Any other recommendations?[/quote]
The hijackers have been caught and convicted.
Here’s the full story:
Dube family cheers guilty verdict
Good to know justice was done in the end.
Edit: They’ve sentenced Dube’s murderers.
[quote]Judge Seun Moshidi earlier [color=#FF0000]sentenced[/color] Sifiso Mhlanga, Julius Gxowa and Mbuti Mabe [color=#FF0000]to life for killing the reggae star[/color].
The trio, who shot and killed Dube during a botched hijacking in Rosettenville in October 2007, were [color=#FF0000]also sentenced to 15 years each for the attempted hijacking[/color]
of Dube’s car.
They were also sentenced to [color=#FF0000]an additional 43 years each for the hijacking of two vehicles[/color], one of which was used as a getaway car following Dube’s murder.[/quote]
Fucking drunk drivers…this is just so sad.
Angels pitcher killed in crash
[quote]ANAHEIM, Calif. – Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart and two others were killed by a suspected drunk driver Thursday, a shocking end to the life of a rookie who had overcome major elbow surgery to realize his big league dreams.
The accident in neighboring Fullerton occurred hours after the 22-year-old pitcher made his season debut with his father in the stands, throwing six scoreless innings against the Oakland Athletics.[/quote]
Here’s the kicker:
The driver of the minivan that struck Adenhart fled the crash on foot and was captured about 30 minutes later. Police identified him as Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, of Riverside, and said he had a suspended license because of a previous drunken driving conviction.
Edit: Preliminary results indicated Gallo’s blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit of .08 percent, police Lt. Kevin Hamilton said.
[quote=“Mer”]
Here’s the kicker:
The driver of the minivan that struck Adenhart fled the crash on foot and was captured about 30 minutes later. Police identified him as Andrew Thomas Gallo, 22, of Riverside, and said he had a suspended license because of a previous drunken driving conviction.[/quote]
It seems like these days the number one killer in the States is DUI and guns. 
Seems no one has mentioned it yet, so…
ACT Brumbies and Australian Sevens player Shawn Mackay died in a Durban hospital on 5 April from a heart attack a week after suffering critical injuries when he was hit by a car. Mackay, 26, had been in hospital with multiple injuries since the early hours of March 29.
Very sad for anyone involved with or a fan of rugby, especially in the Southern Hemisphere (SANZAR).
RIP, mate. I hope heaven has a big green paddock and fair weather. You’ll be missed.
Full article here.