egosoft.com

pjknibbs wrote: ↑

Thu, 14. Feb 19, 13:59

Few days late, missed this one at the time:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-47214103

John Haynes, the guy who came up with the concept for the car repair manuals used by many a Brit trying to save money, has died.

Yeah, I read about this today. I'm more familiar with "Chilton" in the U.S. But, no matter which publisher, these sorts of books were indispensable to me when I was younger. My first car was an "M.G. Midget." '69 I think? You could pick the darn thing up... Heck, my friends did that just to mess with me. (slid it around sideways in a parking spot or put it up on the lawn of a store) But, you could have put a hot-tub in the engine compartment. I remember looking at that over-hyped lawnmower engine and then trying to figure out how to fix it... "WTF IS METRIC? Is this a carbeurator? Why are there two carboreators? How do you spell carberator?"

If it wasn't for Chilton, and likely the same way Brits feel about Haynes, I would have never been able to enjoy some of the automobiles I have owned over the years.

Ya know, I guess we can consider Haynes and people like him to be some of the first really dedicated "fans" that made something accessible and "playable" by the fanbase... Kind of like the game modders, wiki writers, tutorial writers and Let's Players for their genre in their day, huh?

Godspeed, Haynes, and thanks for helping so many people.

PS - The wiki for Haynes is pretty interesting. Their workflow in creating a Haynes book must have been a wild ride, indeed!

Bruno Ganz, who portrayed Hitler so memorably in Downfall, has died: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47264709

If you haven't seen it, I'd encourage you to rectify that

berth wrote: ↑

Sat, 16. Feb 19, 18:13

Bruno Ganz, who portrayed Hitler so memorably in Downfall, has died: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-47264709

If you haven't seen it, I'd encourage you to rectify that

Logged in just to post this tribute. I think it's important: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1R4oUBj0L0

Ganz didn't understand or appreciate how his portrayal of Hitler was seized upon by the Internet. He didn't like that kind of notoriety, at least in the interview I watched. I'm no meme commander and not a connoisseur of the finest memes on the net, but there's something I don't think Ganz understood and I desperately wish he had...

I'm not a native German speaker. There's a pretty large portion of people in the world that aren't native German speakers. But, nobody needs to be able to speak German to understand Ganz's character. Nobody. "Downfall" memes aren't parodying Ganz, they're showcasing his ability to emote, to evoke, to draw emotion and empathy from an audience for a character no matter who that character is or what language that character is speaking. Most of the world can't understand what Ganz is saying in those re-subtitled memes. But, they don't need to - They can feel it.

There is nothing more powerful evident in a fine actor's performance as their ability to "evoke." Not their timing, not their makeup, not their booming classically trained stage-actor voice nor the way they sometimes seem to become anyone they wish with just a wardrobe change, practically unrecognizable and embodied in the character of the moment can be as magical as an actor who can demand empathy. A "believable" portrayal, a "fine performance"... These are nothing if the audience doesn't "feel." There is not one well regarded artist, actor, performer, musician or anyone else who purposefully creates a piece of art that can ever be regarded as successful, let alone a true Master, that does not also have the ability to "evoke." None. Without that, an artist is a hack, a perfunctory mechanism displayed to recite words or play notes or string letters together just to form words.

Every time I see a new "Downfall" meme vid, I get a bit... sad. I've often considered writing Ganz, just because I felt he didn't understand that his performance was so powerful, so meaningful, so very masterful that it immediately captivated millions of people that couldn't even speak the language he used in his performance. How so very masterful, so very talented, does an actor have to be to get to the apex of a performance in which the words don't matter? Rage, pain, betrayal, madness... Ganz didn't need ANY of these words to convey these emotions. None. The writer's were made irrelevant as a true master of the performing arts took the stage. All the "Downfall" memes, even the terrible ones, are all homages to his skill even if their creators don't quite understand why they are using clips from "Downfall" in the first place.

Godspeed, Bruno Ganz.

Bravo!

Well said. I wasn't aware of his reaction - hadn't occurred to me, tbh.

Meme-wise, the only one I know is to do with poor weather forecasting and travel disruption in my local area. I won't post a link as I don't believe it would be appropriate

I only got around to watching the movie recently and I was blown away.

EDIT: just watched your link Mork, very nice. He was in Wings of Desire too - another classic.

berth wrote: ↑

Sun, 17. Feb 19, 03:47

...I only got around to watching the movie recently and I was blown away.

EDIT: just watched your link Mork, very nice. He was in Wings of Desire too - another classic.

"Downfall" is an outstanding movie. It is wonderfully done. Hitler's portrayal is a bit overdone, but that's clearly purposeful in an artistic and practical sense - There's a limited amount of time to present his evolution as a character that is appropriate for what is historically known. But, the emotional energy that oozes out of his performance is everything that such a story needed. It's masterful and it's why I really like "Downfall." It's not the subject matter, it's his performance and the story that allows him such liberty.

The vid was very nice and it's intentionally respectful. There is an opening subtitle and then the obvious absence of them throughout the rest of the video. Respect and honor for him as an actor is clearly evident.

The space exploration community suffered another passing of one of it's stars. Dust to dust, if you will.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7334

Very much a missed Opportunity.

Hank001 wrote: ↑

Mon, 18. Feb 19, 00:50

The space exploration community suffered another passing of one of it's stars. Dust to dust, if you will.

https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=7334

Very much a missed Opportunity.

Yeah, I've been a bit down-in-the-dumps about the rovers since reading about this. But, I remembered how the little guy was only supposed to last 90 days to begin with and then I get a bit happier.

One day, we're going to go there and find him. (Maybe we'll send Matt Damon?) We'll leave him where he's at and construct a shrine around him.

"My battery is low and it's getting dark..."

Sure, it's a bit of a poetic interpretation. But, how else are we to understand why we're out there if not for poets?

WP:Peter Tork, bassist and singer in The Monkees has passed away

So sad. Though they were one of the first popular, artificially constructed, "Boy Bands," they were a pretty big hit. Lots of controversy, to be sure, but they performed some great songs, had a hit television show, and guest appearances on many other hit series. I loved their wacky show, the songs/music, when I was growing up. And, still do.

Godspeed, Peter.

Last train to Clarkesville

Morkonan wrote: ↑

Tue, 19. Feb 19, 21:41

Yeah, I've been a bit down-in-the-dumps about the rovers since reading about this. But, I remembered how the little guy was only supposed to last 90 days to begin with and then I get a bit happier.

One day, we're going to go there and find him. (Maybe we'll send Matt Damon?) We'll leave him where he's at and construct a shrine around him.

Nah, we know what's going to happen there. Watney will consider going to get him, but decide against it so as to get to Ares 4 quicker.

Mark Hollis has passed away - RIP Mark..
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/ ... eports-say

wonderfully gifted musician..

Keith Flint, front man of the Prodigy reportedly found dead.
49. . . . damn

https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-ente ... 06456.html

This one feels really significant to me, the Prodigy were pretty formative to me as a teenager in the 90's.
As sad as I was about the loss of Bowie, Prince, MJ, George Michael etc this is the first one that I've felt belonged to MY generation rather than the preceding one.

Edit: Interesting point here. . . . The Prodigy were a band that seems especially important to a fairly narrow age range. Specifically born in the early 80's, teenagers in the 90's and slap bang on the dividing line between GenX and Millennial (technically I'm the latter).
I'm therefore going to officially declare anyone born between 1979-1983 as the "Jilted Generation"

I wasn't a big fan of their music (apart from Firestarter, which is OK) but 49 is no age at all...RIP, Mr. Flint.

[EDIT] Bandmate Liam has confirmed on the band's official Instagram that Keith committed suicide. No confirmation of that yet, but shocking news if so.

argh, I saw this thread update and I knew who that was about.


RIP indeed

Luke Perry from Beverly Hills 90210 has died at 52. I liked him in some of the movies he played in. R.I.P.
stu

Stu Austin wrote: ↑

Mon, 4. Mar 19, 20:09

Luke Perry from Beverly Hills 90210 has died at 52. I liked him in some of the movies he played in. R.I.P.
stu

very sad news i was a big fan of 90210 very sad and i just seen on the news last week that there was plans for a new show with all the old 90210 cast members RIP

Jan-Michael Vincent has passed away aged 74 after suffering cardiac arrest, it's a little bit late as this happened on Feb 10th and it looks like it slipped past most people us included, as I can't find any reference to his passing here.

I used to love airwolf all those years ago, I don't really know much more that the guy did but he will always be remembered as Stringfellow Hawke.

R.I.P. Jan.

I loved Airwolf. R.I.P. Jan Michael Vincent.
stu

I also remember him playing a stuntman opposite Burt Reynolds in "Hooper", but not sure what else he's been in. RIP.

Shane Rimmer, the voice of Scott Tracy in Thunderbirds, has died. Very sad. I remember hearing his distinctive voice in the early James Bond films too.
R.I.P.

Here and here.

Peter Mayhew, the actor who played Chewbacca in the first Star Wars Movies has passed:

BBC News - Chewbacca actor Peter Mayhew ... s-48142765

No it wasn't mouth cancer.