Culture Icons... R.I.P

An icon in his particular world was Prof. Richard Fortey, of the London Natural History Museum, who died earlier this month aged 79. He was a world expert on trilobites and a very engaging writer. I have read three of his books, "Trilobite!", "Life, An Unauthorised Biography" and "Dry Store Room No 1", the last being a very entertaining account of goings on in the museum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Fortey

This included an unforgettable tale of an eccentric who wanted to go diving, to look at some form of sea life he was studying, and decided to try out the diving suit he had obtained, complete with metal helmet and lead boots, after everyone had gone home for the day- and then found he could not get the helmet off again. As there was no one in the museum to help, there was nothing for it but to laboriously clunk his way, in the heavy boots, out of the main entrance, down the steps and off along the Cromwell Road in Kensington, looking for a passer by to help him get out of ths bloody thing, ker-lunk, ker-lunk, ker-lunk, like an extra from a sci-fi movie or an episode of Dr Who. Of course everyone thought it was student prank, or else a nutter, so it was a while before he got anyone to help him get out of it.

Fortey was a good bloke and both the world of palaeontology and the scientifically curious public will miss him.
 
Jeff Beck A great guitarist passed away about a year ago .

I have the album( CD ) , Wired . 1976 . Its instrumental . Guitar and Keyboards .

Listen to it .
 
river said:
Jeff Beck A great guitarist passed away about a year ago .

I have the album( CD ) , Wired . 1976 . Its instrumental . Guitar and Keyboards .

Listen to it .
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Blow by Blow 1975.
 
Pope Francis, one of the more enlightened and compassionate and truly Christian pontiffs. Made it through Easter. I'm sorry his last politician visitor had to be JD Vance. I admired his advocacy for the poor and striving to follow his namesake St Francis of Assisi. (I was born in a hospital named for the saint, and remember from very early, maybe two or three, when we walked past it and I saw the statue of him holding out his arm and birds landing there) My wife, a Catholic, hopes the church can retain his reforms and emphasis on tolerance and inclusiveness. He made defense of the planet, the plight of migrants and building peace through dialogue the pillars of his papacy - nice work, your Holiness!
 
TheVat said:
Pope Francis, one of the more enlightened and compassionate and truly Christian pontiffs. Made it through Easter. I'm sorry his last politician visitor had to be JD Vance. I admired his advocacy for the poor and striving to follow his namesake St Francis of Assisi. (I was born in a hospital named for the saint, and remember from very early, maybe two or three, when we walked past it and I saw the statue of him holding out his arm and birds landing there) My wife, a Catholic, hopes the church can retain his reforms and emphasis on tolerance and inclusiveness. He made defense of the planet, the plight of migrants and building peace through dialogue the pillars of his papacy - nice work, your Holiness!
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Говорят, что тот, кто умирает на Пасху, попадает сразу в Рай. Эта неделя вся праздничная, пасхальная. Наверное, папа Франциск очень просил Бога дожить до светлого праздника Пасхи, чтобы в последний раз благословить свою паству. Тем более, это тот редкий случай, когда Пасха совпала у разных конфессий. Вчера её кроме католиков также отмечали православные и армяне григорианцы. Наверное, действительно светлый был человек.
 
TheVat said:
building peace through dialogue the pillars of his papacy - nice work, your Holiness
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Certainly one of the better ones. I hope he told Vance he is going to hell regarding his very unchristian polices, what would Jesus say? What would he do? Kick out lots of immigrants? Women and children? "Whatever you did to the least of your brethren you did to me." Matthew 25
 
ольга said:
Говорят, что тот, кто умирает на Пасху, попадает сразу в Рай. Эта неделя вся праздничная, пасхальная. Наверное, папа Франциск очень просил Бога дожить до светлого праздника Пасхи, чтобы в последний раз благословить свою паству. Тем более, это тот редкий случай, когда Пасха совпала у разных конфессий. Вчера её кроме католиков также отмечали православные и армяне григорианцы. Наверное, действительно светлый был человек.
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His attitude towards women and the LGBTQ community was certainly progressive.
 
Frederick Forsyth 1938-2025

Sold 70m copies, across 30 countries, although I only really know his work through the TV/movies adaptations, such as "The Odessa File", and "The Day of the Jackal".

www.bbc.co.uk

The Day of the Jackal author Frederick Forsyth dies

Forsyth, who sold 75 million books, is remembered as "one of the world's greatest thriller writers".
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk
 
Sarkus said:
Troubled genius Brian Wilson 1942 - 2025
www.bbc.co.uk

Brian Wilson, co-creator of iconic 1960s band the Beach Boys, dies aged 82

"We are heartbroken to announce that our beloved father Brian Wilson has passed away," his family said in a statement.
www.bbc.co.uk www.bbc.co.uk

I don't know much of The Beach Boys' other work, or his own other stuff, but Pet Sounds is a regular listen for me.
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Oh man, he was a hero of mine.
"God only knows," is the most beautiful heavenly thing I have ever heard in a pop song.
RIP
 
Brilliant artist. I was age 9-12 when most of the big hits were first getting airplay so those harmonies and innovative instrumentals lodged deep in the impressionable brain. I had a problem with some consonants so it was years sometimes before I got all the lyrics. Baba Ran one such ( who was this Baba, and why was she running?). (but that was a Regents cover, wasn't it). Still not sure I've got all of Help Me Ronda nailed down. I mean, is that really: Well, since she put me down I've been out doin' in my head....? Not sure the lyrics mattered so much on some of those songs - it was the sound. God Only Knows was heavenly, agreed.
 
Pinball1970 said:
Oh man, he was a hero of mine.
"God only knows," is the most beautiful heavenly thing I have ever heard in a pop song.
RIP
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Someone just released an excellent video about this song. Musicians may say "yeah, we know all this, blah blah blah," but to me, as a non-musician, it is great when someone who clearly knows his stuff can still effuse about it from a purely technical pov.


And then in an interview with Rick Beato, Hans Zimmer called it a "perfect song".
 
Sarkus said:
Someone just released an excellent video about this song. Musicians may say "yeah, we know all this, blah blah blah," but to me, as a non-musician, it is great when someone who clearly knows his stuff can still effuse about it from a purely technical pov.


And then in an interview with Rick Beato, Hans Zimmer called it a "perfect song".
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That was brilliant. I am not classically trained but I knew there was a lot of strange stuff going on in that track!
I know chords, keys but not enough to dissect that track.

The beginning is so sad and beautiful it sounds like it's in a minor key and it's just A and E and 3 notes!

The tune is just bonkers, if you play that with nothing else it actually sounds out of key, you need all that scaffolding to guide you and even that is shaky.

It's McCartney's favourite track I think.

"Darlin" and "Wouldn't it be nice" have a few Brianisms too.

Genius, it's as simple as that.
 
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