Harold Pinter is Dead

This post is a late tidbit of news, and the fact that I just saw it is kind of embarrassing. Harold Pinter died on Wednesday.

It seems that more and more posts on my blog are about deaths, which is a shame, because I only post about the deaths of people I admire or care about.

Pinter has a list of accomplishments longer than pretty much any writer of the last century. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature. He wrote over a couple dozen plays, as well as numerous screenplays. A lot of his work was great. I studied his play 'The Birthday Party' during college and had never been more confused, yet at the same time, desperate to conquer the material. You guys should read it so we can talk about it.

So it goes.

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Don LaFontaine Dead at 68

/Film reports that Don LaFontaine has died. This is a real big deal. Let's think about how much this man has done.

Thousands and thousands of movie trailers have used Don as their voice. He's been doing voice work for years and years, meaning his effort has shaped the movie-going experience significantly. He started work in the late-60s/early-70s, which brings him to and through a revolution of the movie promoting industry. Imagine how different trailers would have been over the years without him, and perhaps how many studios would have made millions and millions less dollars. Think of all the trailers that will now come out and have the voice-over done by someone else.

Movie trailers were his forte it seemed, but Don also did thousands of commercials, among other things. I feel like his death will have a more significant impact on the film industry than most think. Maybe it will be more subtle, but it will be there.

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I heard this second-hand, but it's true and here's a source: http://www.wdtn.com/Global/story.asp?S=6696215

Basically on a Superman ride at Six Flags, something went wrong and ripped off this teen girl's feet. If I had to pin down the top three thing I'd think would be the most painful, that would be one of them.

And of course this is another reason why Superman sucks. Batman for life.

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Today at about 10:00 in the morning my Dad called, and I was sleeping so I didn't answer, but he left a very serious voicemail about being safe this 4th of July weekend (well, "weekend"). It was a bit odd. My Mom called around 11:30 and told me some tragic news.

Friday night Allison Angerman died in a driving accident to a drunk driver. I'm not very religious anymore, but her father, Ray, was one of the head Pastors at the church I went to. He helped me in lots of ways, both in and out of church. Allison was his daughter, same age as me, and we went to school together.

Apparently Allison was just sitting at a red light at 11:00 at night and some drunk 44 year-old was trying to evade the cops, driving about 70 MPH, and after hitting another car, ran into Allison's stopped vehicle.

She was very intelligent, always caring, and certainly had a great future ahead of her. I can't imagine how her family feels. My heart goes out to them, and I'll be doing everything I can to be at her ceremony.

Obituary

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