Plenty of Nothing

Valeri Vasiliev

Soviet defenceman Valeri Vassiliev, who played in the 1972 Canada-Russia series, has died at age 62.

Sue Ogelsby

The Summer '08 Mount Allison Record bears the sad and frankly scary news that Susan Ogelsby Clarke has died. 

Susan (Ogelsby) Clarke died suddenly in July ’07 of complications from multiple sclerosis. She was on the mend after a flare-up and had a cardio-pulmonary embolism. She is survived by her husband Daniel Clarke, and her daughter Elizabeth and son Ronald, who live in Calgary. Her parents, Nancy and Jack Ogelsby, live in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. Sue led an adventurous life — traveling frequently and living in Cairo for three years. Sue always brought her insightful perspective to situations. Her optimism, humour, and faith in humans will be sorely missed.  (Written by Diana Sebera)

I'm close to running out of the fingers on one hand to count the undergraduate friends and acquaintances from that time who have died: Mark Marsters, Austin Algee and Steve Lisson spring immediately to mind.  Sue was the managing editor of the Argosy in 1980-81 and made me news editor, undoubtedly the worst personnel management decision of her career.  She green-lighted the original Cricket series.  I remember Sue as a capable boss, and pretty much perpetually amused.  Above is a sketch of Sue by an Argosy cartoonist. Below is a 1980 yearbook photo of Sue vamping it up, catching the punk or maybe Rocky Horror spirit of the time.  Douglas McLeod

Arthur C Clarke, 1917-2008

Here's a photo of Clarke (third from left) during the filming of 2001: A Space Odyssey, looking like IBM vice-president in charge of R & D, a job for which I'm sure he would have been eminently (narrow lapel) suited.  Source www.danrichter.com.

Magnus Magnusson

Magnus Magnusson has died.   Though the Icelandic Scot will be remembered in the UK for his career on TV, I'll always think of him as a translator of the Penguin Classics' Icelandic sagas.  I have four volumes co-translated by him and Hermann Palsson: Njal's Saga (1960), The Vinland Sagas (1965), King Harald's Saga (1966), and Laxdaela Saga (1969).  The bare bones exposition, irascible characters and laconic dialogue of these books remain a model for me when I write.  Here's a bit from chapter 48 of Laxdaela Saga:

      Over at Laugar, in Saelingsdale, Gudrun rose early as soon as the sun was up.  She went to the room where her brothers were sleeping, and shook Ospak.  Ospak and his brothers woke up at once; and when he saw it was his sister he asked her what she wanted, to be up so early in the morning.  Gudrun said she wanted to know what they were planning to do that day.  Ospak said they would be having a quiet day -- 'for there isn't much work to be done just now.'

    Gudrun said, 'You would have had just the right temper if you had been peasants' daughters -- you do nothing about anything, good or bad.  Despite all the disgrace and dishonour that Kjartan has done you, you lose no sleep over it even when he rides past your door with only a single companion.  Men like you have the memory of hogs.  It's obviously futile to hope that you will ever dare to attack Kjartan at home if you haven't the nerve to face him now when he is travelling with only one or two companions.  You just sit there pretending to be men, and there are always too many of you about.'

    Ospak said she was making too much of this, but admitted that it was difficult to argue against her.  He jumped out of bed at once and dressed, as did all the brothers one after another; then they made ready to lay an ambush for Kjartan.

This prose style may be Magnusson's legacy.

Douglas