Very remiss of me not to have got round to mentioning the passing of two remarkable people, Christopher Reeve and (Earl) Conrad Russell.
I am not sure whether I actually watched any Superman films, but, of course, they are part of the cultural ether. More importantly, and I think what Christopher Reeve will be remembered for, was his determination in turning a devastating calamity into something positive. Not least his campaigning for stem-cell research. To me, the issue of stem-cell research is a no-brainer. So it rather stuck in my gullet to hear that that awful Dubya Bush person had used Reeves's name in cynical electioneering. Bush has opposed stem-cell research in the USA, on the grounds of his crackpot version of religion.
Conrad Russell was someone with whose thought processes it was impossible to disagree. I am not saying that we always came to the same conclusion on issues, but I will always respect the views of somebody who has thought through an issue from first principles. And Earl Russell had a fine mind, finer than more or less any other.
Lynda Lee-Potter has also died. I am merely recording this as part of an ongoing series noting the deaths of famous people.
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