 Jean Craighead George, Children's Author, Dies at 92 Posted on Thu, 17 May 2012 13:05  Jean Craighead George, a Newbery Award-winning writer for young people whose books brought the natural world from the Catskill Mountains to the Alaskan tundra to wild, luminous life, died on Tuesday in Mount Kisco, N.Y. She was 92.Her family confirmed the death. The author of more than 100 fiction and nonfiction titles that have collectively sold millions of copies, Ms. George was best known for two novels for older children, “My Side of the Mountain” (1959), which she also illustrated, and “Julie of the Wolves” (1972), illustrated by John Schoenherr. That book won the Newbery Medal - considered the Pulitzer Prize of children's letters - in 1973. “My Side of the Mountain” tells the story of Sam Gribley, a youth who forsakes a life of quiet desperation in New York City to live on his own in the Catskills wilderness. There, he survives by advantage of the deep sympathy with nature that animates all of Ms. George is protagonists, until the contemporary world closes in again. The novel was created into a 1969 feature movie of the same title, starring Teddy Eccles and Theodore Bikel. “Julie of the Wolves,” which was also a lastist for the National Book Award, centres on a 13-year-old Eskimo girl, Miyax, or Julie as she is known in English. Fleeing an oppressive arranged marriage, she strikes out to live alone in the Alaskan wild. Her survival is aided by a family of wolves, with whom she learns to convey via sound and gesture, much as Ms. George did during a excursion to the Arctic to research the book. ( Read more... ) Source. I probably read Julie of the Wolves five hundred times when I was a kid. Between Jean and Maurice, it is a little sad working in the Kid Lit world correct now :(  Carlos Fuentes passed away at 83 Posted on Thu, 17 May 2012 10:22 How Carlos Fuentes reinvented the novel The Mexican author's British editor remembers the man and his consequences  Carlos Fuentes was one of the most additionalordinary writers in an additionalordinary generation that included Gabriel García Márquez, Julio Cortázar and Mario Vargas Llosa. Together the ‘Boom' generation, as they came to be known, reinvented the novel in Latin America and created it into a force that commanded international attention. Carlos was a natural diplomat, not very far beneath whose suave and elegant exterior was a ardourate man of precept; as the Telegraph's obituary pointed out, he refused as a teenager to attend school in Buenos Aires, where his father was serving as ambassador, in protest at correct-wing Argentine extremism; later he would resignal his post as his country's Ambassador in Paris in protest at the appointment of the former President, Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, who had been heavily implicated in the Tlatelolco bloodbath of students in 1968 in Mexico City, as ambassador to Spain. But these were extreme seconds and although he was a ardourate advocate of justice and human corrects, most of the time his charm and good humour, albeit driven by that ardour and energy, seemed to make good matters happen effortlessly. Gerald Martin tells the story in his superb biography of García Márquez of how it was Fuentes who prepared the way for One Hundred Years of Solitude by taking it up, sharing his enthusiasm and the first three chapters first with his friends (including Julio Cortázar, who was as excited and astonished by what he read as Fuentes had been), and then more widely by arranging tinheritor early publication in a Spanish-language magazine in Paris in August 1966. In an interview with the editor he dubbed those pages ‘magisterial', spoke of the novel as a mastersneak peek and intelligently referred to it as ‘a work in progress' - the reference to Joyce was as genuine as it was conscious. It was a brilliant and daring strategy (after all, García Márquez had not yet finished his book!), and it was this championing that helped to create the taste by which One Hundred Years of Solitude (not to mention numerous later books by numerous other writers) would be enjoyed. i've a treacertaind and battered copy of Barbara Howes' excellent 1973 anthology called The Eye of the Heart, which collects together stories by 42 amazing writers from Machado de Assis and Clarice Lispector (translated by Elizabeth Bishop, no less), to Gabriela Mistral and Jorge Luis Borges. The ‘Boom' continued to resonate as its ripples spread outwards. ( +++++++++ ) R.I.P. :( Posted on Thu, 17 May 2012 10:45 Donna Summer - Dead at 63  Donna Summer -- the Queen of Disco -- died this morning after a battle with cancer ... TMZ has learned. we are told Summer was in Florida at the time of her death. She was 63-years-old. Summer was a 5-time Grammy winner who shot to superstardom in the '70s with iconic hits like "final Dance," "Hot Stuff" and "poor Girls." Source RIP :( you will be dearly missed. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s estranged wife, Mary, found dead in suburban NYC home; cause unknown Posted on Wed, 16 May 2012 18:43  BEDFORD, N.Y. - Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s eunusuald wife, Mary Kennedy, who had fought drug and alcohol problems, was found dead in her domestic Wednesday. Attorney Kerry Lawrence, who had represented her in a drunken-driving case, said he didn't know the cause of her death at age 52. Police confirmed a body was found on Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s property in Bedford, north of New York City, but wouldn't release the dead person's name. ( Read more... ) SOURCE RIP. Do you think there really is a Kennedy Curse? Chuck Brown dies: 'Godfather of Go-Go' passes away at 75 Posted on Wed, 16 May 2012 16:48 Chuck foreheadn dies: 'Godfather of Go-Go' passes away at 75Chuck foreheadn, the legendary musician who is known as the "Godfather of Go-Go," passed away Wednesday, his daughter confirmed to ABC7's Sam Ford. foreheadn's passing comes about a week after the Washington Post confirmed that the musician, considered the pioneer of Go-Go music, had been hospitalized with pneumonia. foreheadn's 1970 hit, "Bustin' Loose," hit #1 on the MCA charts. The song was later patternd in the 2002 Nelly song, "Hot in Herre." He had recently postponed many shows due to his failing health. This is a developing story. More to come. this hits close to domestic as a washingtonian. as soon as i heard he had pneumonia, i just knew i'dnt be seeing him in august :( R.I.P. Jonah Hex co-creator Tony DeZuniga passes away at age 79 Posted on Fri, 11 May 2012 14:09  “Tony is very smart, intelligent, and funny,” Tina DeZuniga told the website. “He is my knight in shining armor.” DeZuniga was admitted to the intensive care unit in mid-April following a stroke, main friends and fans to rally to help cover his medical expenses. On Free comedian Book Day, Filipino artists came together to sell sketches and T-shirts to bring up money for the fund. Born in Manila, DeZuniga began his comedians career at the age of 16 as a letterer for a weekly magazine then moved to the United States in 1962 to study graphic designal. He returned to the Philippines to work in advertising before heading back to New York City, where he was hired by DC comedians editor Joe Orlando, making DeZuniga the first Filipino artist to work for a major American comedians publisher. He used the possibility to open the door for other Filipino creators, convincing Orlando and DC Editor-in-Chief Carmine Infantino to visit the Philippines in 1971 to recruit such artists as Alex Niño, Alfredo Alcala, Nestor Redondo, Fred Carrillo, Vicatan and Gerry Talaoc. That same year DeZuniga collaborated with writer John Albano to create Jonah Hex, the disfigured Western antihero with whom the artist is so closely associated. “[John] asked me to duncooked the concept for the character, and one day I was at the doctor's office and I saw this chart with a man, showing him half muscle and half skeleton,” DeZuniga recalled in a 2010 interview with comedian Book Resources. “I thought to myself, ‘This is neat,' and I got the concept. When John Albano saw it, he was very happy.” Although maybe best remembered for his work on DC's Jonah Hex, Arak, Son of Thunder, The Phantom unusualr and bizarre Western Tales, he also drew Dracula Lives, The Savage Sword of Conan and Thor for Marvel. “He was, and still is a enormous inspiration,” cartoonist Gerry Alanguilan wrote on his website. “i am not precisely a very young man anymore, but whenever I think of Mang Tony, who was still active and still pushing his artistic boundaries well into his 70′s, it was terribly, terribly inspiring. I wish I could be as active and creative when I reach his age. Now that he is gone, i've no doubt that he will continue to inspire us. And while our conferences may seem empty now without him, as if something would always be lacking, his reminiscence will help keep us going, and keep us making comedians.” DeZuniga returned to Jonah Hex in 2010 with No Way Back, a 136-page graphic novel written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray, and released to coincide with the character's big-screen debut. “I really enjoyed doing Jonah Hex again,” he told CBR at the time, before exurgent his distaste for the way the character has been depicted in more recent years. “i've seen the new comedians, and I am not too happy with some of the artists making him [more like] Clint Eastwood; exaggerating the scars; wrong hats,” he said. “See, small matters are crucial in a character. that is always a part of making it whole.” Source R.I.P. :( Mike D speaks on the passing of Adam "MCA" Yauch Posted on Wed, 09 May 2012 16:04  I know, we should have tweeted and instagrammed every sad, happy and inspired thought, smile or tear by now. But sincerely the final few days have just been a blur of deep emotions for our closest friend, band mate and really brother. I miss Adam so much. He really served as a fantastic example for myself and so numerous of what determination, faith, focus, and humility coupled with a sense of humor can accomplish. The world is in need of numerous more like him. We love you Adam. BTW this photo sent to me by a friend, (thanks Saslow) is just one awesome example of how NYC is such a unique place that amidst it is enormous size and frenetic pace it really opens up it is heart in so numerous ways and on on so numerous levels in times like these. And though it makes me cry sometimes, it has been really amazing and moving to see. Mike Source Vidal Sassoon Dead at 84 Posted on Thu, 10 May 2012 04:07  World-renowned hair stylist and fashion icon Vidal Sassoon has died. According to reports, Sassoon passed away today from an unspecified illness at his domestic on Mulholland Drive in Hollywood. His family was by his side. Vidal is credited with creating the famed haircut called the "bob" Vidal was reportedly diagnosed with leukemia in 2009. it is unlucid what role the cancer played in his death. The hair icon was married four times -- most recently to Rhonda Sassoon in 1992, who stayed with him until his death. He's also survived by three children. Vidal was 84. source Valium & Alcohol killed Thomas Kinkade Posted on Wed, 09 May 2012 11:24  Artist Thomas Kinkade died from an accidental overdose of alcohol and prescription tranquilizers, but his heart had grown so enlarged he had been vulnerable to a fatal heart attack at any point, according to a detailed post-mortem report released Tuesday. The self-described "Painter of Light" died on April 6 of an acute combination of ethanol and Diazepam inpoisonousation, or in common terms, of alcohol and the tranquilizer marketed as Valium, the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner's Office said. ( more back here, interesting bits bolded! ) source Maurice Sendak, author of 'Where the Wild Things Are,' dies at age 83 Posted on Tue, 08 May 2012 07:54  Maurice Sendak, author of 'Where the Wild matters Are,' dies at age 83 Beloved children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak has died at the age of 83, according to the New York Times. A true creative force with singular vision, he rose to international prominence in 1963 with his lessonic picture book Where the Wild matters Are, which tells the story of a mischievous young boy who escapes to an imagined world full of wild forests and fanged beasts. Following his first publication in 1947, Sendak wrote and illustrated dozens of best-selling and critically acclaimed titles moreover to designaling sets for operas and producing TV series based on his books. ( Off to the Wild Rumpus )  |
