The Swamp

bfj wrote:

rass wrote:

Bensell wrote:Chris Kelly of Kris Kross fame found dead in his Atlanta home.

Not the time for a joke, NBC Altanta.

I missed the joke, what was it?

On the initial article stub that evening, they had a generic "CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS" graphic up at the top of the page.

Ray Harryhausen, master of stop-motion special effects.

Master of what's rapidly becoming a lost art. People who've grown up entirely within the CGI age will probably never grasp how difficult it was to do what he did with the technology available at the time.

Here's a clip from what's probably his most famous scene, the skeleton warriors from Jason and the Argonauts (1963). It took four months to animate for a three-minute scene. It cuts off the beginning, but you should be able to find other clips online:

Didn't he do most of the effects for the 1980 Clash of the Titans movie?

brian wrote:Didn't he do most of the effects for the 1980 Clash of the Titans movie?

Yes. Contrary to popular belief, though, he wasn't responsible for Harry Hamlin.

Harryhausen practically deserves his own thread, though I admittedly thought he was already dead.

I grew up on his work. Sure it looks fake as shit now, but to my prepubescent eyes, it was cinema gold.

Eta: on second thought, that skelly scene looks awesome, and not so fake as shit. Point retracted.

What ZMan said.

I wasn't sure guys much younger than me would be aware of and enamored with his work. I missed Clash of the Titans, didn't realize he had done that film.

Harryhausen's is the name of the fancy restaurant where Mike Wizowski takes Celia in Monsters Incorporated. No doubt a nod to him.

I thought it looked really fake when I saw Clash of the Titans in the theater a million years ago. I still thought it was cool though.

And yeah, that skeleton scene was really well done though. Much better than Clash.

Former Jets WR George Sauer dies at 69
Possession receiver for the Jets. Caught eight balls on January 12, 1969, which was kind of a big deal.

Toni Linhart, former BALTIMORE Colt PK.. I remember imitating him as a kid while playing Nerf football in my basement.

rass wrote:Senator from NJ, Frank Lautenberg, at 89 years old.

Give the old man his own own thread FFS! He was a Senator (from the Greatest State, no less) and now Christie gets to appoint his replacement. BTW, I love the comments from the Party of Family Values: "The only good Democrat is a dead Democrat." "Enjoy the underworld while children suffer from your decisions." and all of the comments about how Christie is a pussy and will pander to bipartisanism and select a Dem., one idiot suggested "the fatman will cross the river and select Anthony Weiner." Man, Christie does the right thing and praises Obama for doing a good job handling Sandy and people can't let it go.

Charlie Coles, former CMU and Miami basketball coach. Winningest coach in Miami history. Just an awesome guy too.

Shirley wrote:I thought it looked really fake when I saw Clash of the Titans in the theater a million years ago. I still thought it was cool though.

And yeah, that skeleton scene was really well done though. Much better than Clash.

What's really interesting watching that clip is how far we've come in sound (foley). That's part of what makes that seen so dated is there's nothing distinguishing the clash of swords from a sword hitting the skeleton.

brian wrote:Charlie Coles, former CMU and Miami basketball coach. Winningest coach in Miami history. Just an awesome guy too.

I'm legit bummed to hear this. Even though Ohio and Miami are rivals, OU basketball fans loved Charlie Coles. From what I understand, he was incredibly gracious to anyone who met him, and he supposedly was a very funny guy. A friend of mine covered Miami basketball on occasion and said Coles had some of the most hysterical press conferences he's ever attended. Hell, even Grant Wahl (who covered college basketball for SI before switching to soccer) tweeted that Coles was the most entertaining coach he ever covered.

A sad day for all of college basketball.

ETA: Sporting News article about Coles' passing, including some of his press conferences.

Bobby "Blue" Bland...

Phil Woosnam. NASL Commish and first coach of the year.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer ... t=sc_t2_a6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

wlu_lax6 wrote:Phil Woosnam. NASL Commish and first coach of the year.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer ... t=sc_t2_a6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ahem.

Nadia Popova.

I've never heard of her, but her obit is a fantastic piece of writing.

Sabo wrote:

wlu_lax6 wrote:Phil Woosnam. NASL Commish and first coach of the year.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer ... t=sc_t2_a6" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Ahem.

have the dtp, lock me up and throw away the key

Ex-champ Emile Griffith dies at 75
A gentle, tortured soul. Beat a man to death in the ring. Was savagely beaten nearly to death because of his sexual preference.

howard wrote: Was savagely beaten nearly to death because of his sexual preference.

He tried to touch a white girl?

Most folks won't recognize this guy but James "T Model " Ford passed away a few days ago. T Model Ford was a delta blues man who recorded on Fat Possum Records. I got into him and some of the other Fat Possum Records after hearing R.L. Burnside when I was in Chicago in the fall of 2000.

Ford took up the guitar when his fifth wife left him and gave him a guitar as a leaving present.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/musi ... s/2521951/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Syb, that was genius.

I never heard of Ford, I'll check him out.

wlu_lax6 wrote:Most folks won't recognize this guy but James "T Model " Ford passed away a few days ago. T Model Ford was a delta blues man who recorded on Fat Possum Records. I got into him and some of the other Fat Possum Records after hearing R.L. Burnside when I was in Chicago in the fall of 2000.

Ford took up the guitar when his fifth wife left him and gave him a guitar as a leaving present.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/musi ... s/2521951/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Love me some T-Model Ford. Love me all of the late great Fat Possum roster.

J. J. Cale
Understated singer/songwriter of the 70s. His songs became hits for others, but not for him. Including Cocaine and After Midnight (Eric Clapton), and Call Me the Breeze (Lynyrd Skynyrd).

You know, I always assumed JJ Cale was some old, black bluesman.

I could've sworn I posted JJ Cale this morning. Made a crack about 'letting it all hang out' and everything. RIP; great great guitarist.

Some radio DJ from Texas.

Johnnie wrote:Some radio DJ from Texas.

I listened to him a couple of times during the month or so he was on in Houston, but my wife listened to him growing up and throughout college so she was fairly upset when I told her Saturday night. It sounds like he was an amazing guy who did some really great work for children with his charity and I believe he was at an event when he passed. SWA changed their Twitter photo to one of their planes that had a decal of his charity's name on it.

Last Thursday Dick Kazmaier.
* Last Heisman winner from the Ivy League (Princeton)
* Heisman and Maxwell winner
* * Never played in the NFL
* tailback in the single-wing
* Played at 5'11" 155lb
* Drafted by the Bears...but went to Harvard Business School instead
* Top female college hockey player award is named after his daughter
* Director of American Red Cross
* Director of LPGA
* Trustee of Princeton
* Director of Knight Foundation on Intercollegiate Athletics
* Chairman of President's Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition under Regan and G H.W. Bush
* Presidetn of National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame

'Five Easy Pieces,' 'Easy Rider' actress Karen Black dies at 74

She was great. And made it safe for cross-eyed sex symbols in the movies. Lucy Liu, say Thank You, Karen.

(Full LA TImes obit to follow)

Loved her in Nashville when I was going to my Altman phase in college.

howard wrote:'Blame It on the Bossa Nova' singer Eydie Gorme dies at 84

The dance of love.

Cowboy Jack Clement died on Thursday. One of the greatest hit makers of all time. Recorded everybody.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130 ... nt-dies-82" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Weatherfrog wrote:Cowboy Jack Clement died on Thursday. One of the greatest hit makers of all time. Recorded everybody.

http://www.tennessean.com/article/20130 ... nt-dies-82" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

He was a true original. I've heard him tell some interesting stories on Sirius channel 60, Outlaw Country.