Some years ago, my father’s brother died. I saw my father cry for the first time in his life, and I wondered why I didn’t. I had liked my uncle; I enjoyed visiting him very much, and was alway impressed at his ability to complete the Sunday Times crossword every week. I regretted that I hadn’t seen him as much as I should have in his last years, but I didn’t cry.
Tag Archives: Alan Rickman


The Devil’s Details: A Chemist? (Addendum)
Now that we know that the late beloved and despised Iron Lady was a chemist in a past life, here are some more well-known people who did pointless things before discovering their life’s purpose.
Dr. Mayim Bialik
Where: UCLA
Now: Actress, Big Bang Theory
Dr. Brian May
Where: Imperial College, London
Now: Guitarist for Queen
Ivan Drago (actually Dolph Lundgren)
What: MSc in Chemical Engineering
Where: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockhlom
Now: Not looking so good after having the shit beat out of him by Rocky IV.
Andrea Bocelli
Why: His parents were advised to abort in 1958 when she developed appendicitis whilst pregnant.
Now: Probably the second-most famous blind musician after Ray Charles.
Alan Rickman
Where: London
Now: Snape
Dr. Peter Roget
Where: London
Now: Dead, but left us with a little thing called the Thesaurus.
Jozef Teodor Konrad Nalecz Korzeniowski
What: Depressed, insane, suicidal criminal sailor
Where: Everywhere in the world, pretty much.
Now: Dead as Joseph Conrad, the guy who wrote Heart of Darkness, upon which Apocalypse Now is based.
Dr. Kermit the Frog
What: PhD in Amphibious Letters
Where: Southampton College, New York
Now: Cashing in unemployment cheques after a series of disastrously dull movies.
Credit to cracked.com and thefrisky.com for their insightful lists of interesting celebrities. Since I know very little about celebrities, I’d have found this article rather difficult to write.