The Billionty-Oneth Geek: Older Than 8 Since 1991

I was reading this article yesterday and it reminded me a lot of the book I read, earlier this summer, Stuff: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things . Anyhow, here's a snippet of the article: "Bill James apparently had no idea that the body of his pack-rat wife, Billie Jean, was under the same roof as he helped police scour the home and the Nevada desert for any sign of her. Then he spotted the feet of the body poking out of a floor-to-ceiling pile of junk Wednesday, revealing in shocking detail the woman's penchant for hoarding." You can read the rest of the article ( here ).

Truly, this is a sad week in geekdom. The anime world lost one of its great, a man that was and possibly is a legend in and around anime circles. The Japanese animator, Satoshi Kon, passed away this week at a young age of 47. Kon created such titles as The Perfect Blue (possibly my favourite anime movie), Millennium Actress , Tokyo Godfathers and Paprika , as far as full length features go. He was skilled in blending together adult themed storylines with a distorted dream-like tapestry all the while connecting to the audience with its emotional grab. When I think about who my favourite animator is, it falls between Hayao Miyazaki and Satoshi Kon. Well ff it can be considered a deciding factor, I have all of Kon's movies on DVD but not all of Miyazaki's. I am saddened that we will no longer see new ideas, new creations and new worlds from the mind of this master artist. But life is what it is and we have what we have. So thank you for that. Rest well Mr. Kon and peace be to ...

This past weekend, the body of former WCW, WWE/F wrestler Chris Kanyon, 40, was found dead in his apartment in Queens, New York. The cause of death was presumed to be suicide from an overdose of medication. Another premature death of a wrestler, it's a common occurence these days. I first saw Chris when he performed as a masked wrestler named Mortis in WCW. He would eventually unmask and become known as Kanyon. In-ring wise, he was an entertaining wreslter to watch; a really solid worker, coming up with unique spots all the time. Arguably, the peak of his career was in a storyline where he, Diamond Dallas Page and Bam Bam Bigelow (also deceased) formed a stable dubbed "The Jersey Triad", who though a trio, were allowed to perform as a tag team, giving them an advantage over other two-man teams. When WCW folded earlier in the decade, he was picked up by WWE when they scooped up the defunct company. Still in his early 30s, Kanyon would eventually fade into obscurity amongs...

The body of the professional fighter and former UFC champion, Evan Tanner, 37, was found in the Palo Verde mountain area of California on September 8th, 2008. He was found a few miles away from his campsite on foot, with no water, where the temperatures were around 110 degrees fahrenheit. The coroner's report listed the cause of death as from heat exposure. Tanner left Oceanside, California on September 2nd. On September 4th, he sent a text message to a friend telling him that his motorcycle was out of gas, that he was out of water, and if his friend didn't hear from him the next day, to call the authorities. Unfortunately, Evan never returned home. I'm not the hugest MMA fan, I consider myself a casual fan, and a n00b at best. I was listening to Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez of the Wrestling Observer Radio , and the story of Tanner's life sounded intriguing. As fantastic as it sounds, Tanner ventured into the deserts in search of treasure and adventure. I kid yo...