Daughter of Isis dies

Elizabeth Taylor, one of the last Hollywood icons, died today.

Keep Looking Up

RIP, Mr. Jack Horkheimer. I really enjoyed your "Star Hustler" shorts.

Philip Jose Farmer on his way to Riverworld

Philip José Farmer, Daring Science Fiction Writer, Dies at 91

One of the Greats has died:

...Philip José Farmer, a prolific and popular science fiction writer who shocked readers in the 1950s by depicting sex with aliens and challenged conventional pieties of the genre with caustic fables set on bizarre worlds of his own devising, died Wednesday. He was 91 and lived in Peoria, Ill...His official Web site, pjfarmer.com, announced his death, saying he had “passed away peacefully in his sleep.” ...Mr. Farmer’s blend of intellectual daring and pulp-fiction prose found a worldwide audience. His more than 75 books have been translated into 22 languages and published in more than 40 countries. Though he wrote many short stories, he was best known for his many series of multiple novels. These sprawling, episodic works gave him room to explore the nuances of a provocative premise while indulging his taste for lurid, violent action...

Along with many short stories, his Riverworld series is the most famous.

Zeus, where were you when we needed you!

Charles H. Schneer, Sci-Fi Film Producer, Dies at 88

My favorite film director, Charles H. Schneer, has passed to SummerIsle:

...Charles H. Schneer, a noted film producer who for a quarter-century helped the Oscar-winning special-effects wizard Ray Harryhausen lay waste to Washington, San Francisco, Rome and many other places, died on Wednesday in Boca Raton, Fla. He was 88...

With Schneer directing the live action, in close consultaion with Harryhausen animation work, we have some of the best Cult/Psychtronic/Mythic classics of all time, such as:

...“Earth vs. the Flying Saucers” (1956); the Sinbad trilogy, comprising “The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad” (1958), “The Golden Voyage of Sinbad” (1974) and “Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger” (1977); and “The Three Worlds of Gulliver” (1960). Their last film together was “Clash of the Titans” (1981), which, despite a cast of titans including Laurence Olivier, Claire Bloom, Maggie Smith and Ursula Andress, had a lukewarm reception...

Yes, perhaps 'lukewarm' reception, but to this day people come up to me relating their warm fuzzy feelings for "Clash of the Titans". Yet, for me the best film was "Jason and the Argonauts":

...Their most famous collaboration was “Jason and the Argonauts” (1963), a retelling of the Greek myth that featured an army of walking, swashbuckling skeletons, memorably animated by Mr. Harryhausen...

This part from the obit was pretty funny and interesting:

...A hands-on producer, Mr. Schneer contributed enthusiastically to the story lines of his films, Mr. Harryhausen said on Monday. He scoured the papers for accounts of the paranormal, of which there was no shortage in the 1950s. He accompanied his crews on location, and at least once helped stave off an embarrassing anachronism...The film was “Jason and the Argonauts,” shot on the Italian coast. In one scene, the script called for Jason’s ship, the Argo, to sail around a bluff and into view. But as the cameras rolled, to everyone’s astonishment, Sir Francis Drake’s galleon the Golden Hind sailed by instead. It had been launched by a British film crew also shooting in the area. As Mr. Harryhausen recalled in an article he wrote for The Guardian in 2003, Mr. Schneer rose to the occasion at once. “Get that ship out of here!” he cried. “You’re in the wrong century.”

This does not compute!

Damn, the fellow who played the Robot in Lost in Space has crossed over to SummerIsle.

LOS ANGELES — Bob May, who donned The Robot's suit in the hit 1960s television show "Lost in Space," has died. He was 69....May's robot was the Robinson family's loyal sidekick, warning them of approaching disaster at every turn. His line to one of the children, "Danger, Will Robinson," became a national catch phrase.

Keep a friendly eye on Dr. Smith, loyal Robot.
(Thanx, Green Ghost, for telling me about this.)

George Carlin dies...

George Carlin Dies at 71

One of the greatest comedians of all times has left us. George Carlin was a major influence on my life when growing up. Through his comedy, major truths were laid bare. I really don't know what pearl of shining clear wisdom I could pick to post here, as he uttered thousands of them. But from the above article, in reference to his iconic "Seven Dirty Words You Can't Say on Television" routine:

"...The whole problem with this idea of obscenity and indecency, and all of these things _ bad language and whatever _ it's all caused by one basic thing, and that is: religious superstition," Carlin told the AP in a 2004 interview. "There's an idea that the human body is somehow evil and bad and there are parts of it that are especially evil and bad, and we should be ashamed. Fear, guilt and shame are built into the attitude toward sex and the body. ... It's reflected in these prohibitions and these taboos that we have..."

Goodnight, Pumpkinhead

Stan Winston, 62, Special-Effects Artist, Dies

The special effects genius Stan Winston has passed into SummerIsle. Winston is responsible for many memorable film monsters, such as the dinosaurs in "Jurassic Park" the alien in "Predator", and the egg-laying 'queen' in "Aliens". His first big break came when he designed the reptilian makeup for the TV movie "Gargoyles", now a cult classic. He directed--and designed the creature in--one of my favorite films, "Pumpkinhead".

I really loved Winston's creations. Like the stop motion creatures of Ray Harryhausen, Winston's creations seem to have personalities or souls--qualities lacking in todays CGI dominated films.

According to Winston, the film "Pumpkinhead" was inspired by a poem by Ed Justin:

Keep away from Pumpkinhead,
Unless you're tired of living,
His enemies are mostly dead,
He's mean and unforgiving,
Laugh at him and you're undone,
But in some dreadful fashion,
Vengeance, he considers fun,
And plans it with a passion,
Time will not erase or blot,
A plot that he has brewing,
It's when you think that he's forgot,
He'll conjure your undoing,
Bolted doors and windows barred,
Guard dogs prowling in the yard,
Won't protect you in your bed,
Nothing will, from Pumpkinhead.



(Note: Over at the IMDB, there's some interesting posts about this film from people with roots in Appalachia, who heard legends of such a creature.)

Egyptologist Cathleen Keller dies at age 62

Cathleen Keller was the co-creatrix of one of the best museum exhibits I have ever seen, "Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh.":

...Keller was one of three editors of "Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh." Published in 2005 in association with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the book offers an in-depth treatment of the controversial Hatshepsut, a female pharaoh who sometimes was depicted as male...When the M.H. de Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park reopened in October 2005, it featured a crowd-pleasing exhibit on Hatshepsut. Keller developed the concept for "Hatshepsut: From Queen to Pharaoh" and was its co-curator. The exhibit also was featured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Kimball Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas...

The book is still available (for a very reasonable price)from the Met.

Cathleen, may you become a star on the sky-dress of the Goddess Mut, where Hatshepsut awaits you.

Bebe Barron, dead at 82

Bebe Barron, 82, Pioneer of Electronic Scores, Is Dead

Bebe Barron, the female half of the musical team that composed the groundbreaking music score for the classic Science Fiction film "Forbidden Planet", has died:

...Bebe Barron, who with her husband Louis composed the first electronic score for a feature film — the eerie gulps and burbles, echoes and weeeoooos that accentuated invisible monsters and robotic creatures in the 1956 science-fiction classic “Forbidden Planet” — died Sunday in Los Angeles...


Yes, and this was long before digital FX. In other words, they did it all with "vacuum tubes and tape recorders".

(Image: RobotPorn)

"Black Hole" namer dies

John A. Wheeler, Physicist Who Coined the Term ‘Black Hole,’ Is Dead at 96

An amazing obit about the scientist John A Wheeler. Please take the time to read about this fascinating fellow, but here are some highlights:

...Among Dr. Wheeler’s students was Richard Feynman of the California Institute of Technology...Another was Hugh Everett, whose Ph.D. thesis under Dr. Wheeler on quantum mechanics envisioned parallel alternate universes endlessly branching and splitting apart — a notion that Dr. Wheeler called “Many Worlds” and which has become a favorite of many cosmologists as well as science fiction writers...

...At a conference in New York in 1967, Dr. Wheeler, seizing on a suggestion shouted from the audience, hit on the name “black hole” to dramatize this dire possibility for a star and for physics...The black hole “teaches us that space can be crumpled like a piece of paper into an infinitesimal dot, that time can be extinguished like a blown-out flame, and that the laws of physics that we regard as ‘sacred,’ as immutable, are anything but...”

...he sailed to Copenhagen to work with Bohr, the godfather of the quantum revolution, which had shaken modern science with paradoxical statements about the nature of reality. “...You can talk about people like Buddha, Jesus, Moses, Confucius, but the thing that convinced me that such people existed were the conversations with Bohr,” Dr. Wheeler said...

Goodnight, Arthur C. Clarke

Science fiction author Arthur C Clarke dies aged 90
...Science fiction writer Sir Arthur C Clarke has died aged 90 in his adopted home of Sri Lanka, it was confirmed tonight...

Didge virtuoso Alan Dargin dies

Singing home soul of the didgeridoo

If you play (or even just love) the didge, you've heard of Alan Dargin. Alan died Sunday in hospital from complications of a stroke. He was only 40:

...For more than 20 years, Dargin and his stick, as he called his yirdaki or didgeridoo, were fixtures at Circular Quay, where he was one of Sydney's best-known buskers. But his fame, and the rock'n'roll sensibility he brought to the most ancient of Aboriginal musical instruments, spread much further. Over the years, Dargin had played at festivals, clubs and concert halls around the world, from London's Royal Albert Hall to New York, Paris and outback stations...Hours later, a symphony of didgeridoo players "sang" Dargin's spirit back to his tribal homeland in Arnhem Land, a tearful crowd clapping in time to the clapsticks.

Above is a pic of my didge, "Taproot Dreaming". Every player knows you have to play your didge often often to give life to the spirit that lives inside it. Here's a few of my meager toots for you, Alan...

Maila Murni (aka: Vampira) RIP

Oh Dammit! The great Maila Murni, known to many as Vampira, has died. From VampirasAttic:

...In the early morning hours of January 10th, 2008, while sleeping peacefully, Maila Nurmi suffered a cardiac arrest and passed away. Maila had recently turned 86 and was in seemingly good health and spirits...

Who can forget her in Ed Wood's "Plan 9 From Outer Space"? She could really sport a mean corset! Fetishists and Cult movie fans are really mourning the passing of this fine lady.

This Mabon, keep Esmeralda in your thoughts

'Bewitched' actress Alice Ghostley dies at 81

...From 1969 to 1972, she played the good witch and ditzy housekeeper Esmeralda on TV's "Bewitched." She played Bernice Clifton on "Designing Women" from 1987 to 1993, for which she earned an Emmy nomination in 1992...Ghostley's film credits include "To Kill a Mockingbird," "The Graduate," "Gator" and "Grease."

Goodnight, wise Beerhunter

The great Micheal Jackson (aka: The Beerhunter) has passed on to SummerIsle. Most people came to know Mr. Jackson through his excellent "The Beer Hunter" series, aired on PBS. Through him, we learned about Belgium Lambic beer, created by brewers who practically worship spiders as gods. What could be cooler than that!!! :)

The link above is from a beer site. Lots of people are commenting on the passing of this great fellow. If you wish to find out about the man, you'll get a much better idea there, than from any MSM news outlet.

I was fortunate enough to actually attend a beer tasting with Mr. Jackson. During the tasting (we sampled and rated about 10 beers..burp!), he captivated us with his encyclopedic knowledge of beer, brewing and history. Near the end of the tasting, when all of us were well in the embrace of Bacchus (heh), he started to spin a rather long story. Eventually, he got so off topic, his main point seemed to escape him. "Well, I digress," He said, "But digression is one of the finer points of beer tasting." The entire audience erupted in laughter and applause.

Goodnight, sweet bellydancer

Love and Hugs for Reema's Loss
I tried my best not to post anything about this. But I'm compelled to acknowledge it, by recognizing a victim of the horrible Virgina Tech tragedy. Check out the link above and read some of the heart-felt comments there. Enrich yourself and honor the remarkable dancer, Reema Joseph Samaha.

Blessed be, Reema. Goddess and God thank you. Seeing you dance is something we all look forward to when we cross over to SummerIsle.

(For more info: CNN Reema Samaha bio)

UPDATE I: Article and VIDEOS of Reema's last dance at bottom of page. She's in the green dress.

UPDATE II: Info coming about dance charity in her honor.

Ripple in the Chrono-Synclastic-Infindibulum

As has been widely covered, the great author Kurt Vonnegut died Wednesday. The MSM coverage has been generally good, although some seem to glance over the fact that he was primarily a science fiction writer. He wrote his own epitaph:

If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:

THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC

Heh!

I first heard of him when I was a child, staring slack-jawed in amazement, watching a PBS movie based on some of his stories called "Between Time and Timbuktu". Soon I was to read Slaughter House 5, Mother Night, Cat's Cradle, Breakfast of Champions, and Venus on the Half Shell.

Tralfamadorians, where were you when we needed you?

A keg is tapped in SummerIsle

Alan D. Eames, 59, Scholar of Beers Around the World, Dies

...Alan D. Eames, who cultivated his reputation as “the Indiana Jones of beer” by crawling into Egyptian tombs to read hieroglyphics about beer and voyaging along the Amazon in search of a mysterious lost black brew, died on Feb. 10 at his home in Dummerston, Vt. He was 59...

Eames was a textbook of beer information, fashioning himself as a "beer anthropologist". He claimed the discovery of what he called the first beer advertisement, a 6000 year old stone tablet with the picture of a large breasted, headless woman, holding two goblets of beer in each hand, which states “Drink Elba, the beer with the heart of a lion.” One of his most important claims was that beer in the ancient past was considered a feminine drink, almost always being considered the gift of 'The Goddess' (and not 'The God'). The last article he wrote was about beer and Witchcraft.

The pic above is Ninkasi, the ancient Sumerian Goddess of Brewing. For an interesting account of modern brewers trying to duplicate the ancient beverage dictated by the 'Hymn to Ninkasi', which is basically a recipe, check out Anchor Steams attempt:

...From this moment, we began to feel a thrilling link with brewers of ages past. There was a sense of awe as we began to use the ancient words of the Goddess Ninkasi familiarly. After many thousands of years, bappir, munu, lal, gestin and sim were discussed again in a brewhouse...

I'm sure Ninkasi welcomes Alan to SummerIsle with open arms.

Cult film star Liz Renay

Psychotronic & Sexploitation film star Liz Renay crossed the Rainbow bridge to SummerIsle. What a great epitaph: Cult film star...Stripper...mob connections:

...But she is perhaps best known for her starring role in the 1977 John Waters fairy-tale melodrama “Desperate Living,”...Ms. Renay played Muffy St. Jacques, who kills her drug-tripping babysitter by smothering her in a bowl of dog food...

Here's the kicker:

...Her parents, William and Ada Philips Dobbins, were strict evangelical Christians. As a teenager, Ms. Renay ran away from home to Las Vegas, where she found work as a showgirl...

Woowhoo!

She worked and did appearances nearly till the time she died.

Helmut Wimmer, who's artwork inspired thousands at the Hayden Planetarium in NYC before the digital days, has crossed over into SummerIsle:

“...Without his art,” said Neil deGrasse Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium and an astrophysicist with the museum, “your planetarium experience would be limited to pointing out the stars of the night sky. His artwork allowed generations of visitors to transport themselves from Earth to the surface of a star, the lunar landscape, the vicinity of a black hole.” Dr. Tyson called Mr. Wimmer, who never went to college, “a scientifically literate artist.”

Helmut Wimmer led a remarkable life. He was born in Munich in 1925, apprenticing as a sculptor at 14. He was drafted into the German army, captured by Czech partisans, then turned over to the Russians. He spent 4 year in a labor camp. Returning to Munich, he married his childhood sweetheart. In 1954, they moved to the US.

...In 1974, Mr. Wimmer painted an early image of a black hole. It was used as a cover for The New York Times Magazine and in numerous scientific publications. The work was based on calculations of what a black hole would do to its environment, showing the curvature of space and material being pulled in from a nearby giant red star...

That's the pic, above. Lot's of things made impressions of the minds of visitors to the Hayden Planetarium in the 70's and 80's, especially if your consciousness was artificialy expanded. Besides the planetarium projector, which looked like an HG Wells Martian war machine, you had Laserium, and Mr. Wimmers wonderful artwork.