Archive for April 10th, 2026

Obit watch: April 10, 2026.

Friday, April 10th, 2026

Afrika Bambaataa, early rap/hip-hop guy. (Edited to add: NYT (archived). This wasn’t working for me earlier today.)

(I actually asked ChatGPT to explain the difference between rap and hip-hop to me last night. I don’t trust the results.)

By way of Lawrence: Thomas Tessier, horror writer.

Jim Whittaker. He was the first American to reach the summit of Mount Everest.

On May 1, 1963, a decade after Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary became the first climbers confirmed to have reached the summit of Mount Everest, and at a time when fewer than 10 people were known to have matched that feat, Mr. Whittaker set out into a storm with his climbing partner, Nawang Gombu, a Sherpa guide.
The conditions on the South Col of Everest were less than ideal for a summit push, but Mr. Whittaker did not hesitate.
“You always start up,” he told The Seattle Times in 2013. “Because you can always turn around.”
Mr. Whittaker became the first American to top Everest at about 1 p.m. local time on May 1. He and Mr. Gombu were the 10th and 11th climbers known to have gotten there and part of the only expedition to reach the summit that season.

Well! Isn’t THAT special?

Friday, April 10th, 2026

No, seriously, this is damned special.

Eleven years ago, my great and good friend (and award-winning SF writer) Pat Cadigan was diagnosed with recurrent endometrial cancer. If you look that up, the prognosis sucks.

That was eleven years ago.

Yesterday, her oncologist told her she was cancer free.

Which is the most awesome thing ever in the history of awesome. This is the kind of thing that would make me want to go out in the backyard and fire off a full magazine from my AK-47 (with the shoulder thing that goes up) in celebration, except I think that would hurt Pat’s feelings.

It’s nice to know that Pat’s going to live forever: I figure at this point, she’s frightened Death enough that she, and anybody geographically close to her, is probably safe from the Grim Reaper.