014 – Alan Rickman (1946-2016)

Damn. I really didn’t expect to put Bowie Week on hold, and definitely not to write about the death of another singular artist. The news of Alan Rickman’s death was just as shocking as David Bowie’s, and as upsetting. As profound as the response to Bowie’s passing was, Rickman’s will arguably have a greater effect on the younger generations, given the proliferation of Harry Potter titles in his filmography over the last decade-plus. Rickman was more than Severus Snape, however, earning more than 30 nominations of various types over the years and winning nine (and only some of those victories were for portraying a wizard).

011 – David Bowie (1947-2016)

I found out David Bowie died at 10:52 pm last night. In a group message I received the following: “Guys David Bowie died.” It was a weird punch in the gut. Several people in the thread started making jokes, and usually I would join in on such antics immediately, but i couldn’t. I was oddly shattered, and I don’t really know why. I had actually purchased Bowie’s new album earlier in the day with the intention of reviewing Blackstar later this week. At the time I had no idea that the musician had been battling cancer and not even an inkling that he might be dead by the time I went to bed. But here we are.

010 – The Worst People in the Bar

I wish this guy had been there

Happy Sunday, everyone. You can’t tell just by reading this but I rolled my eyes incredibly dramatically as I typed that first sentence. Sundays are high up on the list of Worst Days of the Week (oh – keep your eyes peeled for that review!). The good news is that this particular Sunday means a return to non-Steven Universe reviews, which most of the people who have ever had any interesting in reading this blog will probably appreciate. In classic 365 Days of Reviews fashion, I’m too lazy to review anything real today, so instead I’ll review the worst people present at the bar during my date last night. That’s right – Stevie went on a date (though several people in my life disapprove of that idea for one reason or another).

223 – Robin Williams (1951-2014)

By now everyone has heard the very sad news about the passing of Robin Williams, and while specifics are still vague, it is clear that Williams’ troubled life had not become any less so in recent years. I have no interest in writing about the death itself – I have nothing of worth to add to a conversation on the subject – but it would be a shame to ignore the incredible influence Williams had during a life that was not as long as it should have been.

217 – “Mmm” People

what. a. bitch.

Today was a relatively painless day of work. Rather than going to the unnamed high school where we’ve had nothing but trainings and meetings, I instead went to a conference geared toward improving the overall quality of our local charter schools. It was pretty informative, and there was way less complaining than there was at CARS+ earlier this year. But during the keynote speech I was subjected to something much worse than your run-of-the-mill complainer. I was sat right in front of an “Mmm” Person.

055 – Harold Ramis (1944 – 2014)

The word “review” is going to get stretched (and pretty much abandoned entirely) here. I’m not interested in reviewing a man’s career on the day of his death. Besides, even if I did there would only be positive things to say. Instead I just want to take a moment to appreciate Mr. Ramis for all of his amazing contributions to the comedic film community – and comedy in general.