Celebrity Death Pool!

[anarky]

Having seen more than one person succumb to Alzheimer's, I can't say I would blame him if that were the case.

[Jargo]

I kinda meant I hope he didn't have to put himself through that and nature stepped in. I've bought every Discworld title but haven't read the last four yet. There's an anger in his writing in the last books that I find hard to see past. As a writer he's probably as close to Charles Dickens as we've had in recent decades. Holding a mirror up to society. Dickens must have been a difficult read back in the day and similarly campaigned on social issues. Dickens was listened to though. Had an impact. It remains to be seen what impact Terry will have.

[jjreason]

I haven't read any Terry Pratchet (here's my nerd card). Where would/should I start? Fatty Fuckface isn't going to get anything done soon and I could use a break from comic books.

[anarky]

I'd start with Good Omens (cowritten with Neil Gaiman).

[Ran]

A.J. Pero, Twisted Sister's drummer, died of a heart attack on the tour bus.

[Jargo]

Cynthia Lennon croaked.

[Jargo]

Percy Sledge has warbled his last.

[Jargo]

Ben E King will no longer be requiring you to stand by him. Dead at 76.

[Jargo]

BB King is dead at 89.

[anarky]

However, on a lighter note, a FB acquaintance who's simultaneously a huge know-it-all and disturbingly ignorant posted: "Such a sad day. RIP BB."

With a video of "Stand By Me."



Which is so, so much worse because Ben E. King died like a week ago.

[Slicker]

Damn I don't think I saw that Ben E. King died. My favorite song by him is Spanish Harlem.

[anarky]

My favorite song by Ben E. King could be the fucking phone book. The man had an amazing voice.

Sadly, though B. B. King did a shit ton of duets (and is one of the few people to do them well rather than just lazily swapping verses), I can find no evidence he ever collaborated with Ben E.

[Jargo]

George Lucas just turned 71. The years creep up stealthily. Some of those big name directors who broke through late '60's and early '70's are hitting the age where a good diet and less active lifestyle might prolong their time among us. Someone should give George a smaller fork.

[Tom Foolery]

I was shocked to learn Danny Trejo is also 71. He does not look it.

I mean he does look it, but he's always looked rugged as hell so he looks as if he hasn't aged in 30 years.

[anarky]

If Lucas is 71, how old is Woody Allen? Shit. 80. He's a creep and a weirdo (what the hell is he doing here?), but made some of the funniest movies ever.

With BB gone, unless I'm missing someone, Buddy Guy is the last of the "major" old school bluesmen. And Taj Mahal, but he flirts with other genres so much it's tough to think of him as such. If both of them (and no one else) go, the "elder statesmen" would all be white and skewing toward rock: Mayall, Clapton, Page, Gibbons, Allman. We could soon be in a world where Robert Cray and Keb' Mo' are the old men of the blues.