First my mother, then David Bowie, now Alan Rickman. What is it about 69 that makes people die of cancer?
I'm so sorry. Giant hugs from me, internet stranger.
Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard Actor, Dies Aged 69
171–180 of 189 posts
Re: Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard Actor, Dies Aged 69
#172Another great dies at 69 of cancer, days apart. Imagine all of the unknowns who die too early. I really hope we figure this out.
Well, apparently Joe Biden is going to jump-start our Apollo Program equivalent for cancer research. But as I know from my work on electronic medical records 2005-2007, most medical software is a godawful clusterfoo if you so much as scratch the gilding on the GUI with your fingernail. So if you have a bit of runway in front of you, there's a lot of money to be made in medical software that even does as little as kee…
If anyone does do this, please don't enforce uniqueness. My dad is a doctor and he complains about medical software that assumes previously input data is correct and does things like preventing inputting a new patient just because their ss id is supposedly already registered to someone else. Then there are the classic data validation mistakes like assuming everyone has a first name and last name (some foreign nationals don't), assuming everyone has a birth date (some people don't know this), assuming addresses have streets, etc... Doctors see patients from all over the world, and the world is a pretty diverse place.
Re: Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard Actor, Dies Aged 69
#173Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Patrick Stewart and Alec Guinness No, it's Leonard Nimoy. This is a Trek TOS satire, and he's the alien sidekick who hates his catchphrase "Live Long and Prosper" or, in this case, "By Grabthar's Hammer, you shall be avenged". Nimoy had a reputation for being quite sick of being Spock. It was even the title of his biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Not_Spock
It's possibly worth pointing out in later life he seemed happier about it -his second autobiography was called "I am Spock" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Spock
This reminds me of how I learned recently how much Harrison Ford disliked Han Solo as a character. :-/
Re: Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard Actor, Dies Aged 69
#174Earlier quoted context omitted.
How is 69 "midlife?" 40's is midlife. These guys hit their midlife in the 1980's. Bowie's midlife was 'Let's Dance' not 'Blackstar.' Rickman's midlife was 'Die Hard' not 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.' I suspect we're looking at these guys with their dyed hair, fit bodies, plastic surgeries, etc and thinking they're much younger than they truly are. These are 70 year old. They're old, old men. They died only…
Umm, my father wasn't an old man at 70. Neither was Bowie or Rickman. My father is old at 92.
My grandfather is very old at 74. There's a 75-year old man in my morning yoga class I had always assumed was in his early 50s.
Age manifests very differently in people.
Re: Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard Actor, Dies Aged 69
#175"Due to the Nakatomi Corporation's legacy of greed around the globe, they are about to be taught a lesson in the real use of power. You will be witnesses."
"When Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept, for there were no more worlds to conquer."
Re: Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard Actor, Dies Aged 69
#176Eight movies of "so much like your father" just so he could deliver the "you have your mother's eyes" line, that one time; and undo all Harry's doubts and fears in that one moment.
Honestly, I don't think that plot device worked at all in either the book or the movie, and no amount of good acting could make it convincing. Roald-Dahl-style crazy dystopias don't stretch out to longer works very well. (They're not that good in shorter works, either.)
I thought it worked alright in the books. Rowling dropped enough hints about Snape and so the ending made me happy. But I admit it wasn't really executed all that well, it really just depended on the reader wanting things to turn out that way.
But in the movies, I thought it worked extremely well. And that's entirely due to Alan Rickman. Usually the movie is worse than the book, right? Alan Rickman's Snape was so perfect, and he managed to convey everything about Snape that the books wished they could.
Now I'm tempted to go back and rewatch all the movies in a row just so I can pay extra attention to Snape.
Re: Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard Actor, Dies Aged 69
#177Earlier quoted context omitted.
Honestly, I don't think that plot device worked at all in either the book or the movie, and no amount of good acting could make it convincing. Roald-Dahl-style crazy dystopias don't stretch out to longer works very well. (They're not that good in shorter works, either.)
I didn't read the books, so all my knowledge is from the movies. I am probably not alone in this regards. And I am married to a children's librarian who has read them all, so I've already heard the criticism, to which I answer I don't read much fiction, but I enjoy watching it. I like to condense my make-believe. That aside, I think if you hadn't read the books, you might consider it more convincing since you weren't…
> I've read that Rowlings let Rickman in on it fairly early so he could understand the motivation and avoid just being a rock-monster.
I read that too. I just went and found a source for it too: http://herocomplex.latimes.com/movies/harry-potter-alan-rick.... It contains this amusing tidbit:
> “It was quite amusing, too, because there were times when a director would tell Alan what to do in a scene and he would say something like, ‘No I can’t do that – I know what is going to happen and you don’t,’” said “Potter” producer David Heyman. “He had a real understanding of the character and now looking back, you can see there was always more going on there – a look, an expression, a sentiment — that hint at what is to come … the shadow that he casts in these films is a huge one and the emotion he conveys is immeasurable.”
Re: Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard Actor, Dies Aged 69
#178Earlier quoted context omitted.
It's possibly worth pointing out in later life he seemed happier about it -his second autobiography was called "I am Spock" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Spock
This reminds me of how I learned recently how much Harrison Ford disliked Han Solo as a character. :-/
It actually kinda shows in the new movie. I mean, I was happy to see the old cast back, but Ford didn't really seem to be feeling it a lot of the time.
But on the other hand, that might just be an oldish man not really feeling comfortable playing an immature character (that's part of Han's charm, really).
I'd wager his dislike of the Han Solo character had more to do with working with George Lucas.
Re: Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard Actor, Dies Aged 69
#179Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, apparently Joe Biden is going to jump-start our Apollo Program equivalent for cancer research. But as I know from my work on electronic medical records 2005-2007, most medical software is a godawful clusterfoo if you so much as scratch the gilding on the GUI with your fingernail. So if you have a bit of runway in front of you, there's a lot of money to be made in medical software that even does as little as kee…
If anyone does do this, please don't enforce uniqueness. My dad is a doctor and he complains about medical software that assumes previously input data is correct and does things like preventing inputting a new patient just because their ss id is supposedly already registered to someone else. Then there are the classic data validation mistakes like assuming everyone has a first name and last name (some foreign nationa…
If anyone links the social security number to this, I will kill them myself, not only with just my bare hands and ten gallons of boiling rage, but using only the ring fingers. Ever try doing something with just your ring fingers? It's gonna be slow and clumsy.
I was thinking more along the lines of just keeping a list of hundreds of millions of unique integers, and linking as many identifiers to them as are necessary. If you have a keyed database, it is essential to have unique keys for indexing.
Identity records all over have all kinds of problems, mostly due to stupid assumptions--like assuming that a SSN always uniquely identifies one individual.
Re: Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard Actor, Dies Aged 69
#180I am very sad for this (I am a huge Harry Potter fan), but I can not let pass a curiosity of which this event is part of. Aaron Ramsey (Footballer player for Arsenal, UK) has a reputation for apparently killing off famous people when he scores. Whenever he scores someone famous tends to pass away, of course it is a big coincidence, but he did score yesterday too. Also scored last week, and David Bowie passed away. If…
You know what is the funniest fact? There is Ramsey Theory stating chaos is impossible and you'll always find patterns even in the most unpredictable things. Now the footballer is called Ramsey as well... Another Ramsey Theory coincidence?