I didn't by any means agree with many of John McCain's policies, but he always did his best to be a good man. When he made mistakes, he owned up to them. He was courteous to his opponents, civil to those he disagreed with, and always put his country above his party. He left a final statement, which was read by a spokesman for the family and also published online. It's worth a read. Here's an excerpt:

"...I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world's greatest republic. A nation of ideals, not blood and soil. We are blessed and a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. We have acquired great wealth and power in the progress. We weaken our greatness when we confuse our patriotism with rivalries that have sown resentment and hatred and violence in all the corners of the globe. We weaken it when we hide behind walls rather than tear them down, when we doubt the power of our ideals rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been..."

Full statement here.

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to a loving, faithful, sweet-natured companion. We are not good for much today, what with this big hole in our hearts. *snif*

"When the Man waked up he said, 'What is Wild Dog doing here?' And the Woman said, 'His name is not Wild Dog any more, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always.'" -- Rudyard Kipling

(click for more)

Farewell, Mr Ollivander. Farewell, too, Sir Richard Rich, Elephant Man, Merlin, Henry V, Caligula, General Woundwort, and that guy who birthed the Alien baby.

*snif*

John Hurt, British Actor Hailed for His Shape-Shifting Roles, Dies at 77

Hillary Clinton lost and Leonard Cohen died. Saturday Night Live managed to combine acknowledgement of both in an unusually sober and remarkably beautiful opening to their show on Nov 12th. Lovely.

Anita Brookner has died. The first thing of hers that I read was Hotel du Lac, a battered copy found on a bookshelf in a bed-and-breakfast in Germany; twenty-five years later it remains one of my favorite books. Her finely crafted novels, with their precision of description and compactness of focus, are like medieval miniatures. I'm sad there will be no more from her.

"There is so much that is matchless to remember about Alan Rickman. ..." ==> Ian McKellen's tribute to Alan

The New Yorker special cartoon tribute

"...His sensational breakthrough came in 1986 as Valmont, the mordant seducer in Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses. He was nominated for a Tony for the part; Lindsay Duncan memorably said of her co-star’s sonorous performance that audiences would leave the theatre wanting to have sex “and preferably with Alan Rickman”. ==> The Guardian

I would have killed to see him as Valmont. Just imagine!

Please Fates, no more. I don't think I could bear it.

Alan Rickman, Harry Potter and Die Hard actor, dies aged 69

When I heard, the first thing I did was turn to LJ, because I knew all of you would be mourning with me.

I just learned that Tanith Lee died late last month. She has always been one of my favorite authors, and I'm so sorry she's gone. I bought her Red as Blood: Tales from the Sisters Grimmer from the Science Fiction Book Club (remember that?) decades ago; it was my first encounter with fairy tale reimaginings and engendered a lifelong love of that genre. I also loved her Birthgrave series -- dark, weird, sword-and-sorcery + psychological myth-making -- and The Silver Metal Lover.

Her official website displays a single quote, red lettering on black:

Though we come and go, and pass into the shadows, where we leave
behind us stories told – on paper, on the wings of butterflies, on the
wind, on the hearts of others – there we are remembered, there we work
magic and great change, passing on the fire like a torch, forever
and forever. Till the sky falls, and all things are flawless and need
no words at all.

RIP, Tanith.