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Tom Lehrer - although 97 is a fine age.

My dad saw him live many, many decades ago.

Was introduced to him through chemistry class. I'm very sorry he lived to see the U.S. turn into the current shithole of ignorance, especially when it comes to matters of science.

hearthesilence wrote: Sun Jul 27, 2025 8:15 pm Was introduced to him through chemistry class. I'm very sorry he lived to see the U.S. turn into the current shithole of ignorance, especially when it comes to matters of science.

Through his periodic table song? I grew up with Dr. Demento and found him to be one of the best comics/musicians from the show. Only found out more recently that he was actually a math professor here (UCSC) and never got to see him. I noticed Shout was unloading his hits/live in Oslo combo cd/dvd their last sale a few months ago and added it to my order. Will have to break open the seal & watch it tonight.

Ryne Sandberg, the Cubs' great second baseman, and certainly one of THE greats at that position. Again, I stopped following baseball a long time ago, but I do retain tremendous respect for Sandberg who always stood out, not just for his accomplishments but as someone who played the game with dignity and humility, especially compared to other high-profile players that I won't mention.

My favorite player as a kid. I was 11 during the playoff run in 1989 and I’ll never forget what an amazing summer that felt like. I was too young to remember 1984, so I just couldn’t believe that the Cubs were good after what seemed like an endless wait … all of the 4 years or so that I had been paying attention, haha.

I remember thinking, probably sometime around then, that Ryno would be old enough to retire someday, and it made me incredibly sad to think about him not playing for the Cubs anymore. But then I did the math and realized that was YEARS away, so I didn’t really have anything to worry about.

And now he’s dead. Just makes me feel very sad. But even in hindsight, he was a great player for a kid to have as his favorite.

I lived in Chicago for that surprise Cubs run jn '89. Suddenly the Cubs were good. I really liked that Sandberg-Mark Grace-Shawon Dunston infield. Andre Dawson was amazing his debut season in Chitown in 1987 (49 dingers, 137 RBI's, MVP) but had cooled considerably by the '89 run. Pitching: young Greg Maddux (how'd they ever let Maddux go?), Sutcliffe, Mike Bielecki had a career year out of nowhere.
With Sandberg the heart of the team. Best 2nd baseman of his Era.
Will Clark played exceptional for the Giants. Great series.

Probably the last time I followed baseball.

Odeh Hathalin, a Palestinian activist who consulted on the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, was shot and killed by an Israeli settler on the West Bank.

Re: Sandberg, he was also a rarity as someone who excelled at being a five-tool player, though what's interesting is how he shifted his emphasis on each of those areas throughout his career - from what I can tell scanning the remembrances and interviews, his accomplishments weren't just tied to talent, a lot was tied into hard work and planning, which really brings the game down to earth. He set a record for second basemen when he hit a league leading 40 home runs one season, but that wasn't just atypical for second basemen, it was atypical for him - his previous season high was 30. He also stole 54 bases another season, and again, it was an atypical peak - his previous season high was 37. There was no shortage of home runs and stolen bases outside of those seasons, he usually pulled off a good amount in any given year, but when he shifted focus in conjunction with the team's general game strategy, the numbers reflected that. 1984 remains his greatest year, understandably his MVP year, because it shows how stats don't tell the whole story. I once heard an announcer call a low RBI-to-home run ratio a bad sign of "empty calories," and it was tied to a different player whose otherwise stellar batting average wasn't so impressive when they needed him to drive in runs at crucial moments, a reversal to his breakout performance the previous year. Sandberg's MVP year didn't produce that many home runs - 19 is pretty good but it's much less than what a typical power hitter puts up - yet it says a lot that two of them were dramatic game-tying home runs off a Hall of Fame closer who was still in his prime. It says even more that they both came in the same game, and naturally it's the most famous game he ever played.

A lot of people seem to have the same remembrances of a guy who wasn't spoiled and acted pretty humble - he was openly gracious and thankful to someone who merely lended him a pen. On the one hand, he understood his stature and carried it with grace, welcoming new players by breaking the ice first and sitting down and talking with them in the locker room to make them feel comfortable and part of the team. More than anyone else in my lifetime, he personified what could be great about the Cubs, so even though I haven't been to a Cubs game in over 15 years, it's a very sad loss to Chicago.

Australian actor David Argue, aged 65.

Theater director Robert Wilson,

A restoration of Howard Brookner's documentary Robert Wilson and the Civil Wars was performed by Janus/Criterion and premiered at the Il Cinema Ritrovato Festival last month

GaryC wrote: Thu Jul 31, 2025 9:47 am Australian actor David Argue, aged 65.

One of my all-time favourite Australian character actors - his performance in Going Down was amazing. I also saw him performance in Hair on stage in the 1990s and he was great. Tremendously talented actor.

Adriana Asti, 94 (Rocco and His Brothers, Accattone, Before the Revolution, The Phantom of Liberty).

Robert Wilson, 83, theatre director, playwright, and production designer

(Sorry no links, but the articles I found were in Italian or paywalled, so I didn't know how helpful they'd be.)

Robert Wilson has been linked above.

And linking to foreign-language sources is fine, especially if they're in a widely-understood language like Italian although Adriana Asti's passing was noted by the English-language edition of Il Messaggero. Although I see that that's a machine translation, so people who can read Italian may prefer this.

Never thought I'd see the day. Good job America! You voted wisely!

Jonathan Kaplan, director of the great Over the Edge and (later) The Accused

Gregory wrote: Sun Aug 03, 2025 11:53 pm Jonathan Kaplan, director of the great Over the Edge and (later) The Accused

Hugely underrated and idiosyncratic filmmaker whose films consistently had feminist themes. The American Cinematheque had an in-person retrospective from him not too long ago, and he was a delight to listen to. Bad Girls (1994) is a really fun popcorn film that has some surprisingly interesting ideas that no other revisionist western from the 80’s or 90’s really explores

Him and George Armitage, who died just a few months ago, were part of the core Corman/New World group that was really able to transition to bid budget Hollywood and maintain their integrity. Joe Dante is the last one left (and maybe Allan Arkush)

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Fri Aug 01, 2025 7:20 pm The Corporation for Public Broadcasting

It was a premeditated mass murder, with lots of accomplices.

DeprongMori wrote: Mon Aug 04, 2025 12:45 am

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Fri Aug 01, 2025 7:20 pm The Corporation for Public Broadcasting

It was a premeditated mass murder, with lots of accomplices.

A kind of cultural suicide. It’s sickening how little government money is used to subsidize the arts and culture in America

Actress Loni Anderson, 79: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv ... 236336519/

beamish14 wrote: Mon Aug 04, 2025 1:03 am

DeprongMori wrote: Mon Aug 04, 2025 12:45 am

flyonthewall2983 wrote: Fri Aug 01, 2025 7:20 pm The Corporation for Public Broadcasting

It was a premeditated mass murder, with lots of accomplices.

A kind of cultural suicide. It’s sickening how little government money is used to subsidize the arts and culture in America

Gotta make sure the rich can buy private jets and super-yachts and islands so they can re-enact Salo.

It’s also worth noting that Jonathan Kaplan vouched for the services of editor Michael Kahn to Steven Spielberg after they worked together on the excellent Truck Turner

Georgian auteur and political figure Eldar Shengelaia (ელდარ შენგელაია), 92

Documentary filmmaker George Morrison known for Mise Éire (1959) and Saoirse? (1961), at the age of 102