RIP, Tim Cuprisin

by folkbum

When I saw this flash across the twitter at lunchtime this afternoon, I felt a literal pang of hurt. Tim was one of those old media types you really got the new media; he always engaged his audience and embraced what he could do with social media. For that, I always appreciated him. Plus, he knew his TV.

I hate adding to the continuing theme of Cancer Sucks, but here it is.

RIP, Dick Wheeler

by folkbum

Though I never met him personally, Dick Wheeler and the Wheeler Report couldn't help but influence and shape this blog's coverage of and commentary on state politics. He will be missed.

RIP Andy Rooney, Joe Frazier, and Heavy D

by folkbum

These things always come in threes, and this was a pretty non-obvious set. Well played, Reaper. Well played.

RIP, Art Langlas

by folkbum

The Channel 10 TV Auction is among my household's most important annual traditions. It won't be the same without Art.

RIP, Steve Jobs

by folkbum

You all know I am an Apple user--not quite the fanboy, but loyal to a brand that has never disappointed me and often impressed me with its ingenuity and customer service.

So this is a bit depressing, and, speaking as one who remembers The Lost Years when Jobs was out of the company and the people left behind ran Apple like any other PC maker, a bit concerning. But I do like to think that at this point Apple has established itself more clearly, with not just fanboys anymore but flat-out ubiquity and product lines that are strong and plainly defined. Jobs's ethos is more thoroughly integrated into what Apple does anymore, and that I hope speaks well for the future of the company.

Thanks, Steve.

RIP, Peter Falk

by folkbum

One more thing:

RIP, Clarence Clemons

by folkbum

If I believed in Heaven, I would have a hard time reconciling two Big Men in one place.

RIP, Ben Masel

by folkbum

Activist and former contributor to this blog, Ben Masel, has died. Cancer still sucks.

UPDATE: Local story here.

RIP, Geraldine Ferraro

by folkbum

We would be remiss here at the blog if we did not note the passing of icon Ferraro. While there is a lot to be said for the grumpiness of critics like John Cole, Ferraro was an honest-by-gum trailblazer in a time, according to what I can glean from the front page of jsonline.com, before color photography was invented. She inspired many women I know personally to go forward into public life or to take on challenges in male-dominated fields. So good for her.

I have lamented before in these pages the paucity of women in American political life. That no woman has, in this country's 220-odd years of democratic republicanism reached a higher position than Speaker of the House or Secretary of State is a damned shame. That this state, which, recent events notwithstanding, is a leader in progressive politics, has never elected a woman to meaningful state-wide office (Dawn Marie Sass joke here) is also a damned shame.

He just needs the jumpsuit

by folkbum

Jack LaLanne may be, finally at 96, dead, but let us all thank jeebus that there's this guy who will save us all from, what? an asteroid? Tojo? something.

FriTunes: Go see John Stano, plus RIP Don Kirshner

by folkbum

My friend John Stano is playing Saturday night (1/22) at the Coffee House in here Milwaukee. A great venue for a great performance, and totally worth braving the cold:



And RIP Don Kirshner. We can debate the merits of the Monkees, but--look over there! Bobby Sherman!

RIP Richard Holbrooke

by folkbum

There are only a handful of people in the world who have done as much to stop genocides and make the world a better place as Amb. Holbrooke. He leaves a huge vacuum.

RIP Leslie Nielsen

by folkbum

He's exploring some other forbidden planet now.

How you can tell that I'm not from here originally

by folkbum

The death of L. Bembenek doesn't seem like a front-page story to me.

RIP Kathy Carpenter

by folkbum

The Cheddarsphere has lost a long-time voice.

RIP Jack Horkheimer

by folkbum

We need to name a constellation after him. "See that goofy face over there, son? That's the Horkheimer."

RIP, Daniel Schorr

by folkbum

I only knew him from NPR, but his was one of the last great news voices of his generation.

Best of wishes to Sen. Byrd and his family

by folkbum

Robert Byrd has been in the United States Senate for nearly a quarter of that body's existence. He should be allowed to leave on his own terms, not those of any illness.

Update: And he has passed, overnight.

RIP, Touchdown Jesus

by folkbum

From the AP:

Police say a six-story-tall statue of Jesus Christ with his arms raised along a southwest Ohio highway has been struck by lightning in a thunderstorm and has burned to the ground.

The "King of Kings" statue had stood since 2004 at the evangelical Solid Rock Church along Interstate 75 in Monroe, just north of Cincinnati.

The Touchdown Jesus plays an important role in the opening lines of one of my better songs, as a geographical marker; I'll have to decide now to keep it or find some other reference.

For now, though, let us all just take a moment of silence to reflect on what Touchdown Jesus has meant to our lives.

RIP, Frank Frazetta

by folkbum

When I was 10, I knew one "real" artist's name. It was Frazetta's.