[Yossarian]

C’est magnifique...

[Falling Down]

💪💪💪

[UnkArl]

Eddie Van Halen

[Oldmanmatt]

Eddie Van Halen.

Balls.

My days screaming around San Jose on bike or board and  surf trips and climbing in Yosemite; aka some of my most cherished teenage memories, were accompanied by Van Halen.

[SA Chris]

I remember the video from before I even knew what rock climbing was. RIP.

[Andy F]

In 1984, as a 13 year old I was off school for 2 weeks with severe laryngitis. Every day I listened to the Steve Wright show in the afternoon. Amongst the 80s pop was a song that stood out from all the rest. Jump. The searing riff, the stunning solo, the almost arrogant lyrics seemed otherworldly.

Buying 1984 was a game changer. To my innocent ears, the guitar playing of Eddie Van Halen was evolutionary and moulded my musical taste for the rest of my life.

RIP Eddie, the Mozart of guitar.

[GCW]

Huge influence on my music.

I like the anecdote that when he did the Beat It solo for Jacko, the team had to then moderate the solo to reduce the level of distortion/ aggression.

Sad day.

[cheque]

I remember the video from before I even knew what rock climbing was. RIP.

Eddie Van Halen’s not on that track or in that video though.

[gollum]

Johnny Nash too. RIP

[SA Chris]

Eddie Van Halen’s not on that track or in that video though.

Yeah I realised that later just after posted. Had it in my head it was a VH song, not a DLR one.

[Oldmanmatt]

The arch skeptic, James Randi.

92 and having none of it with charlatans and tricksters to the end.

Sorry for the FB link, not made the media yet:

https://www.facebook.com/340406508527/posts/10157886189373528/

[GraemeA]

Falling Down’s anecdote about beating Kurt Albert in an arm-wrestling contest remains unbeaten IMHO, unless anyone wants to raise it with an account of going fly-fishing with George Mallory, snogging Isabelle Patissier, or working at the greengrocer where Malc used to buy his broccoli...

Will Isabelle Patissier being stripped down to her underwear along with the rest of the French team (men and women) at the post comp party after one of the Birmingham World Cups do? 1992 I think. Streaky bust a rib at that party and the French were nearly arrested for climbing drainpipes at 4am.

[andy popp]

Sean Connery, apparently (haven't yet seen a definitive report).

[Oldmanmatt]

Sean Connery, apparently (haven't yet seen a definitive report).

It’s true.

Sadly.

[cowboyhat]

Yeah its everywhere.

Will have to bust out a classic movie to watch with the lad this evening. I’m thinking the man who would be king

[cheque]

Nobby Stiles yesterday.

[cowboyhat]

He wants to watch the untouchables, fair enough I loved it at his age.

[danm]

Robert Fisk. A great reporter, and his book The Great War for Civilisation is enlightening and rather sickening in equal measure.

[andy popp]

Robert Fisk. A great reporter, and his book The Great War for Civilisation is enlightening and rather sickening in equal measure.

He was a great journalist. I avidly read his Middle East coverage in the Independent for many years.

[Mike Highbury]

He was a great journalist. I avidly read his Middle East coverage in the Independent for many years.

And yet, and yet, Oz Kateji and his liberal journalist pals in the Middle East are absolutely howling about Fisk's cover up of war crimes in Syria, for instance, https://twitter.com/N_Waters89/status/1323018622214823936,

[andy popp]

He was a great journalist. I avidly read his Middle East coverage in the Independent for many years.

And yet, and yet, Oz Kateji and his liberal journalist pals in the Middle East are absolutely howling about Fisk's cover up of war crimes in Syria, for instance, https://twitter.com/N_Waters89/status/1323018622214823936,

Fair enough. I was reading him in the 90s and have followed his career in more recent years. Back then he seemed pretty fearless in sparing no side from criticism.

[spidermonkey09]

Oz Kateji and his liberal journalist pals in the Middle East

Is this a criticism? I thought Katerji seemed quite a sound judge in most things but again, maybe I'm wrong. My impression of Fisk was that he was once a phenomenal journalist but more recently became something of a crank. Not dissimilar to John Pilger in that respect. In Fisk's respect he still leaves a great body of work as far as I can see.

[andy popp]

I just realised I meant to say haven't (not have) followed him in recent years. I didn't know he'd followed a kind of Pilger route?

[spidermonkey09]

To be fair, I've only drawn this view from a few articles here and there I've seen over the years. I just googled and picked one out where he questions the established 9/11 story, for example. I think this is probably a condition that affects most brilliant investigative journalists to be honest. When you've spent your whole career finding out the extent and cost of peoples lies and their human cost it must be very easy to tip over into crank territory from time to time, especially as they get older. You can see the same thing in Carole Cadwalladr already, and shes not even old yet!

[andy popp]

I am not an unequivocal supporter of Fisk, it is far too long since I've read his journalism, but this is one of the nastiest, most unpleasant obituaries I've ever read:

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2020/nov/03/robert-fisk-obituary