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[Büge]

Richard Griffiths

[Mongrel]

Iain M. Banks is not dead yet, but will be quite soon.

Well that's a damn shame.

[TA]

Roger Ebert.

[Mongrel]

Wow, just heard yesterday that he had taken ill again. That came a hell of a lot quicker than I thought it would.

[Sharkey]

Is there a word for the kind of sad you feel when someone you practically idolize but almost never agree with and are frequently furious at finally dies? I bet the Germans have one.

[A²]

Sad at the loss of a good opponent.

[Thad]

Jesus Christ, Sharkey, I didn't think you were actually going to DO it.

[Friday]

I kept telling everyone that one day everyone who thinks video games aren't art will be dead, but I was willing to give Ebert a pass.

Oh well.

[Thad]

Carmine Infantino, if Bleeding Cool is to be believed.

One of the most important editors in comics history. One of the most important creators, too -- the debut of Barry Allen is widely considered the beginning of the Silver Age.

[Mongrel]

http://www.theonion.com/articles/roger-ebert-hails-human-existence-as-a-triumph,31945/

[Büge]

Carmine Infantino, if Bleeding Cool is to be believed.

Also,

http://robot6.comicbookresources.com/2013/04/george-gladir-co-creator-of-archies-sabrina-passes-away/

[Royal☭]

And Jane Henson died yesterday

Sad days.

[Thad]

Maggie Thatcher and Annette Funicello.

[Healy]

Here are some responses to Thatcher's death:

I can't say I'm sad about this, she was a dickhead.

Best news in ages.

And people say the news only focuses on bad things.

My thoughts are with the family of the deceased, my cheers and hoorahs to everyone else.

I think she needs to be tossed into the ocean quietly. A grave site would just become a rallying point for her supporters.

But what will we piss on?

I went on a date with an Irish girl who worked as a promoter for the revival of Irish Gaelic, which was forcefully replaced and subdued by the English. She said that Thatcher is, in many ways, a huge part of why Irish Gaelic is still a dying language.

She had a lot of other choice words to say about the English, and while it was an ok date, I'll never forget the contempt she, and apparently many other Irish, held for Thatcher. I've never heard the word "cunt" said with such ferocity or repetition.

Death of a legend, RIP.

e: shit this isn't the MSN messenger thread

My office is full of little happy sighs and the occasional shriek of delight or cry of 'Oh frabjous day!' as people check the news.

People, apparently, don't hold this Thatcher person in high regard. I suppose I'm just gonna have to rent the movie and see what all the hubbub is about.

So who's up for putting together a flash-mob to dance Thriller on her grave?

And a minority opinion:

A part of me recognizes that an old woman with dementia died and that nothing has really improved as a result of what is ultimately a sad event for many people.

On the other hand, I grew up in Merseyside. Ding dong/the witch is dead

And a twofer:

Guys, we shouldn't be so happy. A great woman of immense historical significance has died. I'm going to miss Annette Funicello. :(

[Bal]

[Cait]

<@Squizzle> Today, we honor a fallen hero. A life of achievement as rich as Margaret Thatcher's defies summary. At the very least, we can honor her tireless work for progressive reform--few others have done so much to advance equal rights and equal dignity for all people, in all circumstances. Even fewer have fought as fiercely to provide for Britain's children, or for the needy, or indeed any person who in need of support from our civil society. Amidst all of this, Margaret somehow made the time to truly embody the punk spirit, displaying her virtuoso drumming talents as a member of the Sex Pistols. Margaret Thatcher transformed Britain, and all of us on Earth-3 mourn her passing.

[Mongrel]

I went on a date with an Irish girl who worked as a promoter for the revival of Irish Gaelic, which was forcefully replaced and subdued by the English. She said that Thatcher is, in many ways, a huge part of why Irish Gaelic is still a dying language.

She had a lot of other choice words to say about the English, and while it was an ok date, I'll never forget the contempt she, and apparently many other Irish, held for Thatcher. I've never heard the word "cunt" said with such ferocity or repetition.

This is especially interesting, given how heavily the Irish use 'cunt' as a swear word in the first place.

Also liked these quotes:

“For [the cost of a state funeral] you could give everyone in Scotland a shovel, and we could dig a hole so deep we could hand her over to Satan in person" - Frankie Boyle.

In keeping with the great lady's legacy, Margaret Thatcher's state funeral should be funded and managed by the private sector to offer the best value and choice for end users and other stakeholders.

The undersigned believe that the legacy of the former PM deserves nothing less and that offering this unique opportunity is an ideal way to cut government expense and further prove the merits of liberalised economics Baroness Thatcher spearheaded.

[Thad]

...I'm going to allow it given that there are some fairly clever and pointed policy criticisms amid all the sarcasm and grave-dancing.  But try and keep it that way, huh?

[Mongrel]

Oh I don't really have a dog in this particular fight.

My own opinion is that some form of pullback or rethink of the welfare state model was legitimately needed in the early 80's, but that the leaders who the US and the UK wound up with did so in a pretty disastrous and ideologically-driven way. Thatcher actually destroyed British heavy industry rather than reforming it (inadvertently, but still). In fifteen years the nation that drove the first Industrial Revolution was driven to a point where it now has no manufacturing sector to speak of.

In Canada we too had a nominally Conservative government, but he really was a RINO (or CINO, rather), so we didn't have the same experience as the US and UK did in the 80's (instead we had big tax increases without the cuts). Our real retrenchement was in the 90's, when our fiscal situation was far more dire than the US or the UK faced in 1979/1980. And yet our "conservative" reforms were handled by a nominal Liberal (but really a true centrist) and were done in an amazingly better way. Paul Martin managed to get most of the benefits that Thatcher and Reagan aimed for, without nearly so much pain or venom. It wasn't perfect, but by god our 90's was a dream world compared to what the US/UK faced a decade prior.

The fact that our experience was so much better gives me a bit of distance here.

[Büge]

Margaret Thatcher proved that women can be as ruthless as men in a position of power. Her election was a feminist victory, but her tenure was the opposite. She systematically dismantled labour, education, and housing.

But she did believe in socialized medicine, gun control, and climate change. So uh. At least she's not as bad as modern republicans?