RIP JD Salinger

First Zinn, now Salinger. Arguably both old enough to have lived "full lives," and both influential in their respective fields, it is, nonetheless, saddening to report their passings. And yet, two in two days. This report from "The Onion" is simply brilliant. Thought it'd be fun to reprint here:

CORNISH, NH—In this big dramatic production that didn't do anyone any good (and was pretty embarrassing, really, if you think about it), thousands upon thousands of phonies across the country mourned the death of author J.D. Salinger, who was 91 years old for crying out loud. "He had a real impact on the literary world and on millions of readers," said hot-shot English professor David Clarke, who is just like the rest of them, and even works at one of those crumby schools that rich people send their kids to so they don't have to look at them for four years. "There will never be another voice like his." Which is exactly the lousy kind of goddamn thing that people say, because really it could mean lots of things, or nothing at all even, and it's just a perfect example of why you should never tell anybody anything.

All I want to know is: who will be there to catch us before we fall off that crazy cliff?

RIP Howard Zinn

Howard Zinn, the influential historian and writer, died today at the age of 87. His controversial "A People's History of the United States" was required reading in a course I co-taught called AP US History/English 11 Honors, and became a staple of status quo challenging rhetoric for the kids. Loved him or hated him, Zinn knew how to start the discussion. Perhaps my favorite bit in that book is the first chapter where he accuses Christopher Columbus of genocide as he chronicled that explorers near elimination of the Arawak Indians. Heck, we even put Columbus on trial in that class and used Zinn as a star witness. I don't remember the verdict, but I do remember that this man made us all think. That's a pretty nice epitaph, no?


Here is a panel from one of Dr. Zinn's last projects, a graphic novel based on his life (As chronicled in his 1994 memoir, You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train). Look for a movie of his life soon, as well (starring Ben Affleck).