MetaFilter posts tagged with dead

William Safire dead at 79

Mo Nickels — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:11:19 -0800

RIP the master maven: William Safire dead at 79 of cancer. As someone who worked with him behind the scenes to help him with research for his language columns, I'm thankful for his attempts to bring discussions of language into popular discourse, or as he called it, his work in "the language dodge." He didn't always get his language data right, but he gave a lot of other people in the language dodge a boost by talking about their books, by mentioning their names and projects, and being unstinting with blurbs. I'll leave comments about his politics to others who knew him in that realm.

Remembering the dead

MuffinMan — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:16:20 -0800

Every evening since July 2nd 1928*, at precisely eight o'clock, the Last Post has been played under the Menin Gate in Ieper (Ypres, "Wipers" as it was known to British tommies), Belgium. The ritual - performed by buglers from the local fire brigade - honours British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in the five battles at Ypres in the First World War. Today is the 27,888th day of the Last Post ceremony. Completed in 1927, the Menin gate is a memorial to the 54,896 Commonwealth soldiers who died without graves - the missing in action. The town itself has over 100 military cemeteries. Winston Churchill said of the town, "I should like to acquire the whole of the ruins of Ypres... a more sacred place for the British race does not exist in the world." *In fact, during the Second World War the Germans banned the ceremony, and the bugles were hidden away. On the day the Polish entered the town and retook it in 1945, the ceremony started again.

Company Denies its Robots Feed on the Dead

dejah420 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:28:48 -0800

Cyclone Power Technologies Inc. and Robotic Technology Inc. have sent out a press release denying that their new robot will feed on the dead. "It's a vegetarian!", they claim. Desecration of the dead is a war crime under Article 15 of the Geneva Conventions, and is certainly not something sanctioned by DARPA, Cyclone or RTI. “We completely understand the public’s concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population, but that is not our mission,” stated Harry Schoell, Cyclone’s CEO.

Walter Cronkite, RIP

the dief — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:34:27 -0800

Walter Cronkite is dead.

Fallen Star

tim_in_oz — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:19:36 -0800

Free Solo climbing - climbing without a rope, partner or protection - is clearly the most dangerous form of rock climbing. When practiced at the highest level it demands peerless physical skill and stamina and unshakable nerves. Few climbers have ever taken soloing to the extremes that John Bachar did. His exploits in Yosemite Valley and Joshua Tree have become campfire legends in the climbing world. His climbs captured media attention like few others. He died on the 5th of July in a climbing fall.

Billy Mays dead at 50

majikstreet — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:24:11 -0800

Billy Mays dead at 50 But wait, there's no more! Billy Mays dead at 50

Dead people having sex

halekon — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:00:03 -0800

Dead people having sex Immoral? Illegal? Shocking? Gunther von Hagens latest exhibit in London is again not without controversy. His website is here

Which is your favorite Dead show? Can you even remember? These folks can.

mnb64 — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:29:58 -0800

NYT article 4/12/09 Interesting article about the Dead on the eve of their tour. Bonus: link on the sidebar that shows reader photos. Find your friends. Or not.

He does it for the wood?

will wait 4 tanjents — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:31:31 -0800

Wonder how many of the original Woodstock performers are still alive? The Woodstock Death Count reveals that the percentage is not as low as one might imagine after Jeff Kay steps up to the plate and crunches the numbers, again. FYI: He is also responsible for counting the number of f-words in the HBO series Deadwood (which Drudge Report linked to) and this (previously mentioned) internet sensation.)

Billy Powell has died.

VicNebulous — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:08:19 -0800

Lynyrd Skynyrd keyboardist Billy Powell, dead of an apparent heart attack, was 56.

Tiny Zombie Flashlight Fun

Happy Dave — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 06:47:27 -0800

Left 4K Dead. Just you, in a dark corridor, with a torch, and a gun. And zombies. So many zombies.

Merl Saunders, RIP

fixedgear — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:37:36 -0800

Keyboard wizzard and Jerry Garcia Band collaborator Merl Saunders dead. More in the Wiki entry.

First Bangalore, now Ahmedabad

hadjiboy — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 11:20:15 -0800

Two cities in two days. Multiple injuries and several fatalities. The BJP has of course come out strong against the [ruling] Congress party for not trying to do enough to stop the menace of "terrorism" in the country, after having lost its fight to overthrow the government. Now, it is up to the Prime Minister to pick up the pieces and move on. However, the Congress has denied the charge of being soft on Terrorism, and believes that this is a ploy to bring down the government. The Police on the other hand are continuing with their investigation, and believes the members of the So Called Extremist Islamic Organization "SIMI" might have had something to do with this. Meanwhile Delhi, the capital, remains on high alert, while cities like Hyderabad, which had been the target of such attacks in the past are also on the radar. An eye witness account of the incident in Ahmedabad (with pictures) and the US's response as usual.

Peculiar corpses

nthdegx — Fri, 30 May 2008 04:25:40 -0800

Peculiar corpses: "Incorruptibles remaining free of decomposition have baffled scientists to this day. These bodies are discovered in many different environments, including environments that would typically cause an accidental or deliberately preserved corpse to decompose rapidly." The photographed examples seem to all be associated with Christian faith. Hmm. "[At Oratorio di San Lorenzo] in Palermo, however, corpses are treated as characters in a play": The Museum of the Dead, reassuringly less preserved.

Four Thousand U.S. soldiers dead in Iraq

XQUZYPHYR — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 20:25:50 -0800

Four Thousand.

Frozen Dead Guys On Parade

amyms — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 22:23:27 -0800

Frozen Dead Guy Days. Thousands of waving spectators line the streets of Nederland, Colo. (pop. 1,394), as a parade filled with skeletons, helmeted Vikings, pompadoured Elvises and antique hearses makes its way down First Street to mark the beginning of Frozen Dead Guy Days—a celebration that’s part Mardi Gras, part county fair, and all tongue-in-cheek. The 2008 celebration will be held March 7-9.

Waiting for Mary

klangklangston — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:48:36 -0800

Pere Ubu guitarist Jim Jones dead. Jones also played in The electric eels. Tangential, insane electric eels site here.

"You just heard the drums. It seemed like he kept them going forever."

Len — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:38:16 -0800

Mixed With Love: The Musical World Of Walter Gibbons: "This tale begins with a skinny white DJ mixing between the breaks of obscure Motown records with the ambidextrous intensity of an octopus on speed. It closes with the same man, sick with Aids and all but blind, fumbling for gospel records as he spins up eternal hope in a fading dusk. In between, Walter Gibbons transformed the art of DJing and marked out the future co-ordinates of remixology." Like fellow disco oddball Arthur Russell (mentioned previously on MeFi), Walter Gibbons stood out on his own, his inventive genius – he was the first DJ to bring reel-to-reel mixing into the booth – and his dogged determination often going unsung. I thought about posting this in flapjax at midnite's (excellent) disco thread the other day, but Gibbons has gone long enough playing support to other artists, and Tim Lawrence's essay – orginallly written for the liner notes of this compilation – is a beautiful tribute. Walter Gibbons discography Walter Gibbons on Youtube: Luv You Madly Orchestra: Moon Maiden (1978) Strafe: Set It Off (1984)

Thriving Necropolis

honeyx — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:20:54 -0800

A "thriving necropolis" - The North Cemetery in Manila is populated by thousands of families - many living in mausoleums and even making their livings in the service of the dead. More Photos...and Manila isn't the only place to have seen this phenomenon.

A Weekend At Virgilio's

Dave Faris — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 07:28:23 -0800

Hell’s Kitchen duo wheel friend’s corpse around midtown Manhattan to cash his Social Security check.

2.2 Square Miles, Most of It 6 Feet Deep.

rollbiz — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 14:39:56 -0800

Colma, CA is a necropolis created when San Francisco banned burials within the city limits in the late 1800's because of space and public health concerns. A town of 2.2 square miles, 73% is devoted to cemetaries and the dead outnumber the living thousands to one. Buckethead named an album after it. There's a musical about it (sort of). Other necropolises around the world.

It's a dog, and it's stuffed, and it's for you!

parmanparman — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 12:11:41 -0800

Taxidermia! Animal furniture! Via tanned hides!

Iraq milestone

bobbyelliott — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 07:39:29 -0800

A milestone in the Iraq conflict.

Irish-American 101: Tommy Makem

bigskyguy — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:45:09 -0800

Tommy Makem has passed. May a craic wake follow. Tommy Makem, he of the Clancy Brothers, and solo fame, has died of lung cancer. He will be missed. Raise a pint and sing a wee bit in his honor.

"He has a history of heart challenges ..."

scblackman — Tue, 15 May 2007 10:45:33 -0800

[NewsFilter] Jerry Falwell was found unconscious in his office today and has since died. Exactly what did they mean by "heart challenges" ?