Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Dead Pool April Update

Another scoreless month, although we've had at least one that could be described as a gimme.

On the 5th we farewelled acting great Charlton Heston at the age of 84. From biblical epics in the 1950s to some dodgy disaster movies in the 1970s, Heston was always memorable, even in the most forgettable films.

He'll be missed by both cinephiles and redneck gun nuts alike. And there aren't many people you can say that about.

On the 8th the Hon. John Button passed away, also at 84. Button was purportedly the 'best prime minister Australia never had'.

On the 13th theoretical physicist John Archibald Wheeler, the man who coined both the terms 'black hole' and 'wormhole', passed away at the age of 96. We therefore have Mr Wheeler to thank for the film The Black Hole, the classic Red Dwarf episode "White Hole", and that cool wormhole effect in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

And apparently he wrote some books and stuff.

The 24th saw the death of Tristram Cary, a pioneer of electronic music, but not the composer of the original Doctor Who theme, as was reported in some newspapers.

On the 26th, Fairfax journalist Pamela Bone passed away after a long illness. Ms Bone was an outspoken and fearless commentator, which won her both a legion of fans and a phalanx of detractors. Not sure which side won in the end, although the beautiful obit in The Age suggests that she did.

And finally, Swiss scientist Albert Hofmann passed away on the 29th. He was famous (infamous?) for synthesising the first batch of lysergic acid diethylamide, or LSD.

May winged monkeys with the face of Camilla Parker Bowles carry him to his rest.

And he was 102, so even if anyone had picked him, there were no points in it.

And that's it for another month. Is it wrong to hope we see some scores soon?