Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Drop by and talk about anything you want. This is where all cheese-related discussions should go
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Re: I Dunno, Some Famous Last Words, I Guess

Postby AdmiralMemo » 23 Oct 2014, 20:46

Well, the interest may only be me. But I was nostalgic for it.
Graham wrote:The point is: Nyeh nyeh nyeh. I'm an old man.
LRRcast wrote:Paul: That does not answer that question at all.
James: Who cares about that question? That's a good answer.

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Re: I Dunno, Some Famous Last Words, I Guess

Postby empath » 23 Oct 2014, 22:38

Not just you; I saw the thread on page one again, and thought "Ooh! It that going again?" :)
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby Prospero101 » 24 Oct 2014, 07:05

What is up, party people, in the place to be! I didn't choose the nerd life, the nerd life chose me.

Welcome back to the Famous Last Words thread! Thanks to AdmiralMemo and empath for prodding me to get back into this. I can't promise once a day, but I can promise a few whenever I can. This week's theme: European Monarchs!

Louis XIV, lying on his deathbed from what was either gout, diabetes or some unholy combination of the two, said to his weeping mistresses "Why do you weep? Did you think I was immortal?" Louis has quite the positive reputation among historians despite being a miserable failure.

Henry VIII was quite mad, especially when he was dying. A brief wife recount: dead, dead, divorced, dead, widow. Anyway, his last words were "All is lost! Monks, monks monks!"

Elizabeth I (hey, an actually good monarch [as far as English royalty goes, anyway]) said "All my possessions for a moment in time!"
It's all over but the crying. And the taxes.

"Perfectionism might look good in his shiny shoes, but he's kind of an asshole and no one invites him to their pool parties."
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby Prospero101 » 25 Oct 2014, 06:13

Instead of making each week a theme, I'll do it post-by post. Today's theme: Great Singers of the Latter 20th Century!

Ella Fitzgerald died in her home on June 15th, 1996. Her last words were "I'm ready to go now." Rather than dwelling on the circumstances of her death, I'd prefer to celebrate her life. Her career spanned nearly 6 decades, during which she won 13 Grammy awards. My personal favorite is from her concert in West Berlin in 1960 where she forgets the lyrics to "Mack the Knife" halfway through and improvises her way out.

Speaking of "Mack the Knife," the singer of what Frank Sinatra himself called the definitive version, Bobby Darin, died a tragic death at the age of 37. He failed to take the necessary antibiotics to protect his heart before a dental procedure, and surgeons worked for 30+ hours to attempt to repair his damaged heart. Unfortunately, he died in recovery without ever regaining consciousness. His last words were "Dammit," in annoyance after he was told that his dental procedure would take most of the day.

When asked by his daughter "How are you doing, Daddy?" legendary singer and general badass Frank Sinatra replied, "I'm losin' it."
It's all over but the crying. And the taxes.

"Perfectionism might look good in his shiny shoes, but he's kind of an asshole and no one invites him to their pool parties."
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby Deedles » 25 Oct 2014, 06:37

Glad to see this thread alive and kicking again! :)
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby Prospero101 » 28 Oct 2014, 06:29

Happy Halloweek everyone! Today's theme revolves around truly spooky deaths.

Vic Morrow was an actor working on the disastrous Twilight Zone: The Movie. His last words were "I should've asked for a stunt double!" right before doing a scene in which the helicopter they were using malfunctioned and crashed, decapitating Morrow and several children in one of Hollywood's saddest freak accidents.

Sir Walter Raleigh yelled at his executioner "Strike, man, strike!" Then he recited the Lord's Prayer as the axe came down. Legend has it that his severed head kept going afterward until he'd finished the prayer.
It's all over but the crying. And the taxes.

"Perfectionism might look good in his shiny shoes, but he's kind of an asshole and no one invites him to their pool parties."
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby AdmiralMemo » 28 Oct 2014, 06:49

Well, they say you're conscious for about 7 seconds after your head gets chopped off. While there would be no air moving through his lips to make sound, they could still have been moving.
Graham wrote:The point is: Nyeh nyeh nyeh. I'm an old man.
LRRcast wrote:Paul: That does not answer that question at all.
James: Who cares about that question? That's a good answer.

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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby Prospero101 » 28 Oct 2014, 07:43

I've been blinded by science!
It's all over but the crying. And the taxes.

"Perfectionism might look good in his shiny shoes, but he's kind of an asshole and no one invites him to their pool parties."
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby empath » 28 Oct 2014, 07:56

Wellllll...

Yes, the lips might still be moving, but there'd be no neural connection between the brain and anything except the eyes anymore. Uncontrolled spasms, maybe.

I can totally see his mouth jerking with a last few seconds of 'white noise signal' being interpreted that as finishing the prayer, though; even if I was present, I might think the same.
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby My pseudonym is Ix » 28 Oct 2014, 08:27

It's not his last words, but Raleigh pulled a little witticism before he was executed- he walked over the the headsman and felt the edge of the axe that was to be used to behead him. As he did so, he commented "'tis a sharp remedy but a sure one for all ills"
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not Image it after all."
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby Prospero101 » 28 Oct 2014, 08:56

Weee! Discussion! :D
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby Master Gunner » 28 Oct 2014, 09:26

I've heard that the executioner's axe was not always that sharp, and one would have to bribe the executioner if you wanted your head off in one hit.
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby Prospero101 » 28 Oct 2014, 09:34

Yeah, in medieval England it was difficult for an executioner to find time to sharpen his axe.

Wow, that sure was a sentence.
It's all over but the crying. And the taxes.

"Perfectionism might look good in his shiny shoes, but he's kind of an asshole and no one invites him to their pool parties."
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby Robo4900 » 28 Oct 2014, 16:46

This is back? YAY!

Prospero101 wrote:Yeah, in medieval England it was difficult for an executioner to find time to sharpen his axe.

Wow, that sure was a sentence.

I feel like that would be amazing with no context.
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Re: Back By Popular Demand, It's Famous Last Words!

Postby Prospero101 » 30 Oct 2014, 07:16

So...I kind of really fucking hate Hallowween, so that theme is gonna stop here.

Instead, let's talk about Ludwig von Beethoven, who is rather unique among aficionados of dying declarations. He has about four different last words, and they tend to vary from biography to biography. Now that it's been so long since his death, we'll never really get a definitive answer. Nonetheless, the debate surrounds a number of possibilites:

"Friends, applaud. The comedy is over." I was going to use this one for December 31st had I actually stuck to the once-a-day plan.

"I shall hear in Heaven!" Pretty self-explanatory. Beethoven was deaf probably because of lead poisoning due to drinking from his favorite cup for most of his adult life. Really, scholars are pretty sure that's why.

"I feel as if up to now I had written no more than a few notes." This one originates in Beethoven's most spurious biography (Spurious Biography is my Alan Parsons Project cover band) and is almost certainly made up.

"Is it not true, Hummel, that I have some talent after all?" Speaking to his friend Johann Hummel, who was at his bedside a few hours before he died.

"There, do you hear the bell? Don't you hear it ringing? The curtain must drop! Yes, my curtain is falling!"


The debate surrounding Beethoven's last words is somewhat symptomatic of one of humanity's many idiosyncrasies surrounding death. Everybody thinks that every person deserves an eloquent, profound dying declaration, even if the person is in no fit state to make such a statement, whether they're insensate, unconscious, or merely aren't aware that they're dying. There's a curious trend among people to outright FABRICATE profound last words for their loved ones, out of some confused sense of obligation to the person's memory.
It's all over but the crying. And the taxes.

"Perfectionism might look good in his shiny shoes, but he's kind of an asshole and no one invites him to their pool parties."

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