I Can Only Hope It Works Better For Other People

It’s not the worst thing about funerals, but I’ve always had . . . problems with obituaries and eulogies. Good and/or bad, they never seem to say what people are actually thinking. I know, I know . . . the formula is supposed to be soothing, but it’s never soothed me.

The World Is Now A Less Wilder Place . . . R.I.P. Gene

If you want to view paradise,
Simply look around and view it.
Anything you want to, do it.
Wanna change the world?
There’s nothing to it.

– “Pure Imagination”

Roger Ebert (1942-2013)

Roger Ebert died yesterday, leaving the world a poorer place.  Having never met the man personally, I can think of no higher praise for him than this:

He never led me astray when it came to movies.  I always  knew what kind of movie I was in for after reading one of his reviews, even, and perhaps even especially, when I disagreed with his personal opinion of the movie itself.  He had his biases, but he did his best to make them clear to his readers, and to base his judgements on what a movie was trying to be, and not on some nebulous and artificial “universal standard.”

Enjoy your leave of presence, Mr. Ebert.