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Wragg said:
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Stephen Hawking, a man given two years to live in 1963, has died at the age of 76.

One of the ten million copies of A Brief History of Time that he sold is on my bookshelf. I must get it down and read it again. I might understand it this time. :confused:
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This is the best obit I've seen so far (it includes a very short idiot's guide video which even I could understand, and physics is for me a black hole into which all information disappears completely): https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/14/stephen-hawking-professor-dies-aged-76
 
Linda Brown 1943-2018

She was the subject of one of the most important legal cases in US history, Brown v. Board of Education. She grew up in Topeka, Kansas in an integrated neighborhood. When she reached school age, her father tried to enroll her in the neighborhood school, but was told that school was for whites only and she would have to go to a black school on the other side of town. He sued (he was the actual named plaintiff) and it reached the Supreme Court in 1953, where it was argued for the plaintiffs by Thurgood Marshall, later a Supreme Court Justice himself. In 1954, the Court ruled unanimously for the plaintiffs. That did not end the battle, as many Southern states resisted applying the decision, which had to be enforced by the Army and National Guard in a number of instances.
 
Tom Wolfe is dead at the age of 88. Few, if any, writers captured the spirit of the times they lived in, in both non-fiction and fiction. Among his memorable works were "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" about his LSD-fueled travels with Ken Kesey and "The Bonfire of the Vanities" about a Wall Street bond trader who accidentally exits an expressway in the Bronx and ends up running over a black teenager and descending into the maelstrom of press-fueled insanity of thecriminal justice system. He was famous for wearing white suits regardless of the season. He will be missed.
 
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windar said:
Tom Wolfe is dead at the age of 88. Few, if any, writers captured the spiriit of the times they lived in, in both non-fiction and fiction. Among his memorable works were "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" about his LSD-fueled travels with Ken Kesey and "The Bonfire of the Vanities" about a Wall Street bond trader who accidentally exits an expressway in the Bronx and ends up running over a black teenager and descending into the maelstrom of press-fueled insanity of thecriminal justice system. He was famous for wearing white suits regardless of the season. He will be missed.
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That is sad news. I had not heard any mention of him recently and I guess it is natural to remember someone by the image you carry in your mind, which, in this case, was a photo of him smiling in his dapper white suit and tie. That was no doubt a publicity photo from years ago, but it surprised me then to learn that he was 88. I read his book that was set in Miami a few years ago and it is impressive that a guy already in his 80s at the time was able to write such a book. I once lived in Miami and his book presented a somewhat extravagant, cartoon version of the city. But Miami is, in many ways, an extravagant cartoon of a city.
 
windar said:
Tom Wolfe is dead at the age of 88. Few, if any, writers captured the spirit of the times they lived in, in both non-fiction and fiction. Among his memorable works were "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" about his LSD-fueled travels with Ken Kesey and "The Bonfire of the Vanities" about a Wall Street bond trader who accidentally exits an expressway in the Bronx and ends up running over a black teenager and descending into the maelstrom of press-fueled insanity of thecriminal justice system. He was famous for wearing white suits regardless of the season. He will be missed.
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Author of 'The Right Stuff' too, I recall.

Meanwhile, a little tribute to Margot Kidder, unforgetable as Lois Lane.

mk1.jpgmk2.jpgmk3.jpgmk4.jpgmk5.jpg
 
In 1970 Margot Kidder costarred with Gene Wilder in "Quackser Fortune Has a Cousin in the Bronx." I think I was one of 14 sentients in the sector of the galaxy who saw it, and I enjoyed the hell out of it.

I think it was Ms. Kidder's first starring role in a film. And coarse, degraded fellow that I am, I vividly remember her brief nude scene.

Update: try that link with caution. It doesn’t seem to have malware, but clicking the start arrow keeps bringing up porn ads for the first three or four tries.


https://www.aznude.com/mrskin/margotkidder/quackserfortunehasacousininthebronx/quack-kidder2-hi.html
 
windar said:
Tom Wolfe is dead at the age of 88. Few, if any, writers captured the spirit of the times they lived in, in both non-fiction and fiction. Among his memorable works were "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test" about his LSD-fueled travels with Ken Kesey and "The Bonfire of the Vanities" about a Wall Street bond trader who accidentally exits an expressway in the Bronx and ends up running over a black teenager and descending into the maelstrom of press-fueled insanity of thecriminal justice system. He was famous for wearing white suits regardless of the season. He will be missed.
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We have a serious three-hour current-affairs program on BBC Radio4 called Today.

This morning's episode, besides talking about Israel/Palestine, North Korea, Brexit, and whether Thomas Markle will get to a wedding this weekend, there were two lengthy pieces about Tom Wolfe and his works. Clearly a man who's influence was significant.
 
old slave said:
talking about Israel/Palestine, North Korea, Brexit, and whether Thomas Markle will get to a wedding this weekend,
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this evening's hot topic - was it offensive for the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England to say the UK economy is in a 'menopausal' condition?
It seems to me a good enough metaphor, but he's had to apologise for his 'inappropriate choice of words'.
 
Alan Bean (1932-2018)

Fourth man to have walked on the Moon, with Apollo 12 (19-20 november 1969). He later flew Skylab 3 in 1973. Bean was the last surviving member of the crew of Apollo 12.

About 37 seconds after lift off, Apollo 12 was hit by lightning, knocking off the electric systems and activating all possible warning lights and sounds in the command module. The mission faced an abort, but mission control came up with a solution : switch ACE to AUX. Bean got famous for immediately locating that ACE-switch, in the immense array of buttons and switches on the control panel, so the problem was solved.
 
Of the 12 men who walked on the Moon, only 4 are still with us now.
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11, age 88
David Scott, Apollo 15, age 85
Charles Duke, Apollo 16, age 82
Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17, age 82
men-walked-moon-bean-mn-05_9f25393fbc21522360f76a67f42aa0d5.fit-880w.jpg
Photo of Alan Bean on the Moon with Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr, who took the picture, reflected in his visor.
 
Naraku said:
Of the 12 men who walked on the Moon, only 4 are still with us now.
Buzz Aldrin, Apollo 11, age 88
David Scott, Apollo 15, age 85
Charles Duke, Apollo 16, age 82
Harrison Schmitt, Apollo 17, age 82
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Photo of Alan Bean on the Moon with Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr, who took the picture, reflected in his visor.
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Many more of us 'shot the moon'... I have no pride...
 
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