Notable Deaths of 2020

Year-end summaries are always expected—at year-end, not September 25th. But today's NYT  is running an obituary summary by categories, like Sports, Books, Stage and Screen, etc. in at least the online editions. The obits are also clustered by month. Many ways to dive in.

I don't know what's driving this thinking, to get a summary out there at basically the three-quarter mark of the year. I can tell I've read all the obituaries because that's what I do with every day's edition.

The Times has long learned the power and newsworthy advantage of creating tribute, or bylined obituaries. There have been days during the pandemic that the space devoted to the obit page has exceeded the truncated sports page. If the Times were to tinker with this feature any further, like they did in eliminating the TV listings, then the paper would come close to being worthless to buy. As it stands now, it does have some redeeming value.

Not that many days ago there was an obit for an artist who made an exhibition of arraying NYT obits that hit the front page.

Joseph Bartscherer arranged three decades worth of front page obits. Name the two people who were featured on the front page on the same day. No hints. Joseph Bartscherer himself doesn't make the inclusion in Notable Deaths, but of course that doesn't make him any less interesting.

His effort reminded me of the fellow who a few years ago had devoted space in a small storefront on East 88th Street solely to obituaries. Michael Brod arranged over 300 copies of obituaries from The Economist on the walls. 

The experience of viewing the installation formed one of my very early blog postings, appearing on May 6, 2009. That's how long I've been at this.

Of course with the pandemic and the added feature of giving space to people who've passed away due to the coronavirus, obituaries are popping up on the NYT pages like popcorn. No doubt whenever the pandemic is declared over, there will be a publication of these obits as there was for the people who passed away in the 9/11 attacks.

But why summarize the passing of people at the end of September? Does William McDonald, the obit page editor, know something about the fate of the world he's not sharing with us?

Can an election really be the end the world?

http://www.onofframp.blogpsot.com