Man, that's really depressing. And yet another reminder that Tim and I aren't that young any more. I wonder what Falco is up to these days?

The original stuff on MTV was really quite bizarre wasn't it.

I was staying at a friend's condo in Manhattan for Christmas season of 1987 - the condo building was just across from the Flatiron Building (That wedge-shaped one you see in so many pics of NYC) at 23rd and Broadway - when I ran into Tom Hulce. It was 2:00 AM Christmas morning at a Korean deli that was open all night. I needed more beer, and Tom was hitting the salad bar. Of course, I struck up a conversation with him about Amadeus because it is one of my favorite films (Though, it is not about Mozart, but some crude caricature of Mozart). I was impressed by two things: 1) By his dedication to the part: He took keyboard lessons for months to prepare, and said he had stuck with it and continued to play, and 2) by how short he is! He was a very open, approachable and unaffected guy. Just the opposite of so many stars I've met over the years.

I read recently that Falco was killed in a car accident back in the late 90's. As is always the case when such tragedy strikes, his career was said to be "starting a comeback."

Hucbald, I'm glad you made that distinction about Amadeus. The problem is that most people who see the movie won't. From a biographical perspective, I find it extremely irritating. On the other hand, I love the bit where, in front of the Emperor, Mozart takes Salieri's inept little score and transmogrifies it into "Non piu andrai."

Stirling's OK. But I admit, I wanted Juniper MacKenzie's head on a pike by the end of book 2. Blessed be!