Our Daily Dead

From the Left Coast, Dan at Infospigot and SFGate.com comes word that Jack Kirk, aka The ‘Dipsea Demon’, was a renowned runner, curmudgeon died recently.

The legend of Jack Kirk began one day in 1933 or 1934 on a steep slope called Steep Ravine in Marin County during the famous Dipsea Trail race.

The runners were tired as they headed toward Stinson Beach when suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere tearing down the slope, sliding and leaping over brush, passing other runners like they were standing still.

“Boy,” one runner said, “that guy runs like a demon.”

From that day forth, Jack Kirk was known as the “Dipsea Demon,” and he lived up to the nickname, running the arduous 7.1-mile trail race out of Mill Valley 67 consecutive times. He didn’t quit until he collapsed at the top of the grueling 1,362-foot elevation Cardiac Hill — at age 96.

This summer, the upper flight of the Dipsea stairs will be totally rebuilt. Engraved bronze plaques installed in the risers will carry the names and messages of supporters who donate $1,000 or more to finance the construction. And the bronze medallion on the very top step will read: “Jack Kirk/The Dipsea Demon.” See a picture of the stairs about half way down the main Dipsea.org page.

~~The ODDones for OurDailyDead.com

Technorati tags: Left Coast, Jack Kirk, Dipsea Demon, curmudgeon, Marin County, Dipsea Trail, Stinson Beach, Mill Valley

Over at the Blog Critics Magazine music section and Sterfish we read that Hip-Hop Is Dead. Or at least according to the hip-hop artist Nas and his new album titled “Hip-Hop Is Dead”.

Sterfish writes:

“Driven by a James Brown sample, ‘Where Are They Now’ name checks virtually every notable rapper of the late 1980s and early 1990s. [Nas] bemoans the fact that many of these artists have been forgotten by newer generations: ‘Rap is like a ghost town / Real mystic / Like these folks never existed…’ He also gives them praise, calling them ‘the reason that rap became addictive’ and any artists he doesn’t mention in the verses, he shouts out at the end of the song.”

“The theme of disappointment with some of the current generation of hip-hop appears more prominently on ‘Carry On Tradition.’ The song is all about continuing the traditions of previous generations and Nas uses the opportunity to talk about the way some newer artists (who remain nameless) don’t do that. He chides them on their ignorance of early hip-hop (’Let’s see who can quote a Daddy Kane line the fastest?’) and the way they use acclaim for their ‘bricks’ to hate on bigger, more established names.”

“‘Black Republican’ is the long-awaited collaboration between Nas and former rival Jay-Z. The end result is pretty good with the two of them showing off their contrasting styles from the hook (where Nas calls himself a ‘black militant’ as opposed to the title) to their verses. The dramatic classical music sample adds to the spectacle.”

“Even though Nas titled his album Hip Hop Is Dead, the album serves to prove that hip-hop is far from dead. In fact, with all the controversy over the album title, anyone who listens to it will realize that Nas doesn’t actually think hip-hop is dead. He is just frustrated with the way things are right now, just as some fans who grew up with him are. Hip-hop has survived being called a fad, censorship, tragedy, introduction to suburbia, and even police raids against mixtape DJ’s. It’s not going anywhere but that doesn’t mean we can’t demand more from it. That might really be the message of Hip Hop Is Dead.”

~~The ODDones for OurDailyDead.com

Technorati tags: Blog Critics, Sterfish, Hip-Hop Is Dead, Nas, Hip-Hop, Dead, James Brown, Daddy Kane, Jay-Z

By way of the Toronto Star…Sidney Sheldon, best-selling author, dead at 89.

Sydney Sheldon had a prolific and award-winning career writing for theatre, movies and television, but he often proclaimed his greatest love for another creative outlet.

“Writing novels is the most fun I’ve ever had,” Sheldon once said.

The best-selling author died Tuesday at 89 of complications from pneumonia at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage. His wife Alexandra was by his side.

“I try to write my books so the reader can’t put them down,'’ Sheldon explained in a 1982 interview. “I try to construct them so when the reader gets to the end of a chapter, he or she has to read just one more chapter. It’s the technique of the old Saturday afternoon serial: leave the guy hanging on the edge of the cliff at the end of the chapter.'’

Sheldon mostly wrote about stalwart women who triumph in a hostile world of ruthless men. His notable novels included Rage of Angels, The Other Side of Midnight, and If Tomorrow Comes.

“I like to write about women who are talented and capable, but most important, retain their femininity,” he said. “Women have tremendous power – their femininity, because men can’t do without it.'’

Before turning to novels at the age of 50, Sheldon had a successful career writing Broadway plays and films. He won an Academy Award in 1948 for The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, starring Cary Grant, and created long-running TV series Hart to Hart.

Speaking in 1982, Sheldon likened his writing style to that of “the old Saturday afternoon serial”.

“I try to write my books so the reader can’t put them down,” he wrote.

~~The ODDones for OurDailyDead.com

Technorati tags: Sidney Sheldon, dead, Rage of Angels, The Other Side of Midnight, If Tomorrow Comes, Academy Award, Cary Grant

“Alex we’ll take Dan’s and Moderism for $1,000 please.” The Answer is…

By way of Market-Day Daily World News comes that Dan Saxon Palmer, an architect who designed Modernist tract homes for Southern California in the 1950s, has died in Santa Monica, Calif. He was 86.

Aye, tis Dan you can thank for those lovely homes you and your friends grew up in.

Palmer and his partner William Krisel began designing the “Modernist” homes, which featured post-and-beam construction with lots of glass and open floor plans that connected the living room, dining room and kitchen, in 1950. The buildings featured clean, simple lines on the inside and outside of the buildings.

“They took on one of the great problems of Modernism, which was to create good, decent contemporary housing that was affordable for the masses,” architectural historian Alan Hess said. “Palmer and Krisel did it, and on a large scale and keeping the inherent qualities of Modernism.”

Remember to take the architectural tour next time you find yourself wandering LA.

~~The ODDones for OurDailyDead.com

Technorati tags: Dan Saxon Palmer, architect, tract homes, Southern California, died, Modernist

From the Earth Times web site comes that Dan Christensen, an abstract painter known for free use of color in various styles, died in East Hampton, N.Y., of heart failure due to a muscular disease.

“In the late 1960s, Christensen, 64, found that the realism of his classical art training was restrictive and began using spray guns to paint colorful stacked loops on canvas, winning him critical acclaim, The New York Times said. Besides the process of painting and experimentation, he was concerned about how color interacted.”

“Christensen, who initially was inspired by Jackson Pollock, painted until his death. His works are featured in museums such as the Museum of Modern Art, the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and the Whitney Museum of American Art.”

Terry Fenton has a nice write-up from 2001 covering Dan and his art. Mind you that the article does have a number of “post-painterly abstraction” and “post-postpainterly” type phrases in the write-up, but in general even non-artists such as the ODDones get the drift.

You may view one of Dan’s pieces at stia.org, another over at Spanierman Modern, another at Ask Art, and one more at Abstract-Art.

Go get cultured.

~~The ODDones for OurDailyDead.com

Technorati tags: Dan Christensen, abstract painter, died, muscular disease, spray guns, Jackson Pollock, Museum of Modern Art, Fine Arts Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Terry Fenton