Farewell, Dave Brubeck

Great sadness. One of the most influential jazz pianists of all time, Dave Brubeck, has passed away at the age of 91. (Technically; he would've been 92 tomorrow.)

If you're not a fan of jazz, you still likely know his music, if only for this:

(Here's another great version, with Brubeck and Marian McPartland.)

However, he had dozens of recordings, spanning seven decades. After he broke up the Dave Brubeck Quartet he worked on everything from orchestral and choral pieces to songs for This Is America, Charlie Brown.

He won about a gazillion awards, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement award, and supported the Jazz Foundation of America in its efforts to help musicians left homeless by Hurricane Katrina.

Rest well, sir, and thank you for the decades of incredible music.

New THE CROODS Trailer

Farewell, Jeff Millar

More great sadness. starcat_jewel alerts us to the passing of Jeff Millar at the age of 70.

Jeff was the writer on one of the most underappreciated comic strips of all time: Tank McNamara. If you haven't seen it before, it may be because it usually runs in the Sports section of the newspaper (although you can subscribe to it online as well). It's a witty, silly, occasionally utterly goofball strip starring Tank McNamara, a former football star who changed careers and became a sportscaster.

There aren't too many regular supporting characters -- his girlfriend and co-worker Angela, his neighbors Nick and Kate, the amazing Dr. Tszap -- but the big appeal of Tank has always been skewering sports, the culture of sports, and pretty much anything else that Millar saw.

The strip will continue, with his partner Bill Hinds both writing and drawing.

My own favorite strip, one of my very favorite comic strips of all time, is a Sunday Tank where a coach is talking to an owner -- "Absolutely incredible, and he's a free agent!" The owner says, "Okay, let's see this new defensive star."

They go to the field, where a scrimmage is starting. The quarterback says, "Hut one, hut two --"

At which point, The Incredible Hulk tears through the defensive line, aiming straight for the QB. He's got a helmet kinda jammed onto his head, he's flinging bodies this way and that, and he picks up the QB (clutching the ball to his chest like a child) and tosses him like a lawn dart. And then Hulk comes over the to the coach and owner with a big grin.

The owner says, "... What are you trying to pull? That's The Hulk. We can't sign him. He's a fictional character. He's not even real."

The coach walks away dejected, and ends up in the locker room, where Iron Man, Spider-Man, Captain America, and Thor are waiting, all with football helmets. And the coach says, "No go, guys -- try the Colts...."

Rest well, Mr. Millar, and thanks for nearly four decades of laughs.

Any favorite sports comics you like, or specific cartoons, or...?