*

  • E Cup
  • 326
    • http://www.flyingrabbits.tv/
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #90 on: June 21, 2006, 07:27:03 AM »
Hello Everyone,

Thank you all for the kind words regarding Al.

I just thought I'd give you all a brief update.

I will be meeting up with members of Al's family tomorrow and will take them a print out of this thread, along with a few photos I have of Al from some of our working holidays.

So if you want to add anything else - keep it clean!  

Cheers!

brianm
I am Albert Brennerman.



http://www.flyingrabbits.tv

*

collared_cherri

  • Z Cup
  • 3315
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #91 on: June 21, 2006, 09:01:49 AM »
As is the nature of this medium, you never really get to know anyone.  Until this thread, I didn't even know his real name.  He never knew mine.  But "doggo" was my friend.  A good friend.  He made me laugh.  He brightened my world.  His charm and wit were admired by many.  He was humble and never boasted about his achievements, of which there are many.  Many more than I was aware of.  

Those insignificant few who didn't understand him, don't understand what it is to be a decent human being.  doggo was a decent bloke.  He laughed at my jokes - even the bad ones. He made fun of me.  He made fun of himself.  He made fun of many people.  But there was never any malice in him.  He didn't laugh AT you, he laughed WITH you.  

Wherever you are now mate, I hope your pancake-making skills improve.  Try not to get too much sand in them.  Chicks don't dig that.  Maybe you should try stirring the batter with your tail instead.  That'll impress them for sure.

I'll miss the jokes we shared.  I'll miss the antics we got up to.  I'll miss you doggo.



Your comrade in arms
cherri x
"Everybody needs a bosom for a pillow..." Cornershop - Brimful of Asha

*

LeahJayne

  • A Cup
  • *
  • 6
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #92 on: June 21, 2006, 09:18:42 AM »
al aka doggo aka julie aka poodle aka pudge! (so many pet names!) he will be dearly missed, he had the best sence of humour, one of the funniest guys ive ever met/worked with, im just glad i got to meet him at all.

Bye Al...how the hell are you going to photoshop me from up there!?!?!  
Leah Jayne xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx<3

Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #93 on: June 21, 2006, 11:18:46 AM »
No! This can't be true.
I always did hope for new St. Cat's stories. I did realize in the past that the majority of BE stories I liked most were not from different authors, but one and the same.
The St. Cat's stories were the first one that I found on (prohibited L) when using the concept of search engines like Fireball or Altavista the first time.
Anti-social behaviours lack consideration for the well-being of others. Any types of conduct that violates basic rights (human rights is one of them) of another person. It can show as covert or overt hostility.

*

MixMaster

  • E Cup
  • 243
    • www.mixmaster280.deviantart.com
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #94 on: June 21, 2006, 12:10:59 PM »
Man...Strecher, now Al. These are indeed dark times  . Look on the bright side though, some angels are about to make a dude really, really happy  
"Be excellent to each other"
---------------------------------------
www.mixmaster280.deviantart.com
groups.yahoo.com/group/a_tribute_to_ylandra

*

BillN

  • ZZZ Cup
  • 4039
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #95 on: June 21, 2006, 02:42:10 PM »
Words fail me.  

*

Carter

  • Video Tycoon
  • 817
    • http://www.cheviotsplace.com
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #96 on: June 21, 2006, 03:48:00 PM »
I've been putting off posting to this thread for a few days now. There's just something so final about posting here... having to admit to myself that he's gone.

I've known Al since the old days, back in 1996, before Research and Development even got started. Over the years we've exchanged more emails than I can count discussing more topics than I'd care remember. He always knew how to make me laugh.

Goodbye Al. I miss you.
------------------------------------------------
If Natalie Portman in furry elephant costumes is what matters to you, as it does to most sensible people, the choice is clear.----From now on I'm solving all my problems with food tampering!----If someone serves you a dead dog for lunch you do not stick around for the pudding.----Is it because I'm Jewish? Because I'd kill my Rabbi with a pork chop

*

  • E Cup
  • 326
    • http://www.flyingrabbits.tv/
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #97 on: June 21, 2006, 04:23:13 PM »
Al and I first started corresponding early in 1999. I mailed him as editor of R&D and asked him to forward my congratulations to Some Sort Of Dog on his excellent St Cats stories.

“He won't believe me,” he replied with a   “It's me...”

And so our friendship was born.

I knew Al for seven years and yet I’m still finding out new things about him even now. It turns out that he was almost every favourite author I’ve read. If I hear that Terry Pratchett passed away last Friday I should not be at all surprised.

It was Al who encouraged me to write my first piece for this community - an account of a photoshoot I had with Linsey Dawn McKenzie which Al hosted on R&D back in 2001.

I wrote it and Al then very politely told me what a hash I’d made of it and made me do it again! He was quite right, of course, and I learned a lot from the experience.

Al continued to encourage my fledgling writing. When I wrote my first Hilda Humper story he said it reminded him of something Joe Average might have wrote. I beamed with pride at that.  

And it was Al who inducted me into Flying Rabbits - switching from amateur to professional photographer and from zero-rated to amateur sound engineer and spare cameraman.

Al always accused me of never listening to a word he said. That was half true. I wish I’d paid more attention to him when I had the chance. There is so much more I could have learned. But then I always thought I would have much longer with him...

It was through Flying Rabbits that I met so many wonderful people - models like Lorna Morgan, Michelle Monaghan & Leah Jayne, and behind the scenes Martin Solo, Mark, John, Faye and, of course, Al himself.

And it gave me an excuse to spend much more time with two models I already knew - Kerry Marie and the very special Lisa Anne.

Working with Al was never really work. Working with Al meant getting the job done but having enormous fun at the same time; and the memories I have of our trips to Amsterdam, Ibiza and Poitiers are amongst the happiest of my life.

What can you say about someone who has given you so much?

And perhaps it is only now that he’s gone that it is possible to grasp just how much he did give us - his fabulous stories, R&D, his contributions to this forum, his continued correspondence with so many of us and, when we created Flying Rabbits, he was adamant that it should contain a lot of free content (Much of it through yet another nom de plume - Everard Twinches).

The last time I saw Al was at Easter. Lisa Anne and I were in the neighbourhood so we arranged to meet him for dinner. It was a great evening and I am so grateful to have had that last opportunity to be with him.

And finally...  

Al loved his cricket.

He’s now in that great cricket pavilion in the sky, dressed in his whites, having just come in from his turn to bat. There is a bowl of Marks & Spencers grapes on the table beside him, alongside what you thought was a cricket ball, but which is actually a dark Terry’s Chocolate Orange.

He’s watching as we continue to play the great game with the occasional nod or shake of his head.

And then he’d lean over, read what I just wrote and say. “What a load of sentimental old nonsense, Murphy!”

But he’d be smiling when he said it.  

God bless you Al!
I am Albert Brennerman.



http://www.flyingrabbits.tv

*

BarnacleBill

  • P Cup
  • 1662
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #98 on: June 21, 2006, 04:53:31 PM »
In realizing all he had done for this community, I'm reminded of a quote used to describe God...  "God is like Light in that we don't see Him, but by Him we see all else".

Such could be said of Al/doggo in relation to this genre and this most excellent community of friends.

I had no idea Al-the-Editor was doggo, who was also "some sort of dog".  One of the funniest posters, best webzine authors/maintainers, and best writers in the genre, all rolled up into one man?

Apparently so, and he will be missed, as the desert misses the rain.

In any community, it is a sad and tragic thing for a person to be unfairly and prematurely taken from his peers in the middle of his career, but it a more profound kind of loss for a person who helped build the gathering place to have to take that final journey....  

God Bless you, al/doggo
The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.

*

JustMeMike

  • F Cup
  • 616
    • The Arts
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #99 on: June 21, 2006, 06:43:07 PM »
While Al's passing is sad, reading all of these messages is uplifting and encouraging. It appears that Al was a partner, a muse, a confidant, a **94** buddy, a teacher, and a guiding spirit to so many of us.

I am amazed at how he was able to touch so many of you on a personal level. It appears that there were an infinity of Al's, doggo's, some-sort-of-dog's and so many aliases and alter-egos. He was a modern man for all seasons.

Back a few years ago, when Flying Rabbits released their first big-bust video with Chaz, Lorna Morgan, and Kerry-Marie as the featured performers, I ran a full length interview with the video's director - a chap named Pete Small. Do you recall the piece? Pete was at once - abrasive, friendly, and filled with the insiders view of the making of the movie. It was aterrific piece.

I can now tell you that Al was Pete Small. He directed, he wrote script, he managed the equipment, and more than likely he lugged the cameras, lights, and other gear on and off  the lorry.

He'd tell me about driving Kerry-Marie home after a photo-shoot. Just a guy dropping off a co-worker after a long day at the office. He be matter of fact and proud of the fact that he had shared the time with her and even prouder that he was a friend to her.

Back in early April, just after we published the April 2006 issue of AoV, I started to make some plans about what I wanted to do with the June issue of AoV, which would be the 100th issue. He applied the brakes by saying -- "Ah let's not talk about anniversary issues. There's a finality about such a round number.

Of course I had no idea. I surmised this was just a numerical superstition. I had no idea that this was Al telling me not to plan too far into the future. We now know with a certainity that Al knew his days were numbered.

When May arrived and Al advised me that he was having issues walking, sitting at the computer for long stretches, and he wasnt sure he could get the May issue up on schedule. He suggested that I send him only the Intro, and he would see how it went.    

Well he didnt have much strength left at all, and May never got done. I took to calling him on the phone often. It was then he confided that he was not able to eat, and was getting dangerously weak.

He went into the hospital on or about the 19th of May. A week later he was home and that was when he wrote his last post about being quite ill. His words were, "People, its very bad". I think that post was May 26th...

He came home, strengthened, I supposed, but not really. When we talked on June 11 he was almost gone but still home. He sounded weak, and scared. His daughter got him into a hospital a few days later, and by the 16th he was gone.

Al was a widower as his wife had died some years back. His children are all grown and have their own families. If you recall in one of his posts he was asked about his name, 'Doggo ' and the image of the cute pooch that was Doggo's avatar. He said Doggo was that dog's name, and there would never be another Doggo.

Prophetic words indeed. There will never ever be another Doggo, Al-The-Editor, some-sort-of-dog...or even a Pete Small. The girls of St. Cat's will never get a day older.
We are so fortunate to have had Al come into our lives. And wherever he is now, I'm sure he will bring the same good cheer there as he has done here.  

JMM

*

CarlTL

  • ZZZ Cup
  • 8454
  • King of the Avatars
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #100 on: June 21, 2006, 07:28:58 PM »
Amen

*

3deroticer

  • Oh My God Cup
  • 8613
    • CyberLee
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #101 on: June 21, 2006, 09:43:39 PM »
wow! I am in tears just reading that. He truly gave all he had to the end. I didn't get the chance to know him that well, but thanks to all who knew him thanks for sharing your experiences with him and what it means to miss him. I am very touch by this all. I walk away thinking about how courageous he was to the end knowing the end was near.
"Yesterday, Reince Priebus called this whole story a 'nothing burger,'" he said. "Well these emails have turned it into an all-you-can-prosecute buffet."

*

LurkingWolfen

  • F Cup
  • 468
  • HHmmm
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #102 on: June 22, 2006, 01:02:16 AM »
Quote:

 It's bad, people.


When I first read those words from doggo it made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.


I feel fortunate to have had the pleasure of getting to know doggo from his posts here.

He posts were always kind and considerate. Cheerful and upbeat.

His mischievous sense of humour practically radiated from the screen.


My sincerest condolences to his family and friends.




I will miss you, my canid friend.

*

geffo1

  • G Cup
  • 965
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #103 on: June 24, 2006, 07:52:06 AM »
Oh Jeez.....Ive only just read this thread. Id noticed Doggo was absent, but I didnt bother to read this thread.

Im gutted..

*

MasterDragonfly

  • Oh My God Cup
  • 8041
  • sponsor of collared_cherri's 1000cc implants
    • Larger Implants Info
Re: Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV
« Reply #104 on: June 24, 2006, 10:23:20 PM »
I've been meaning to post for a few days now.

I'd noticed this thread previously, but as the title "Al-The-Editor - R & D - AoV" didn't hit any buttons at the time, I gave it a miss.

It wasn't until this past Monday, after getting settled in after my first day onsite at a client in another city that I decided to check in here.  First time in a couple days.  I noticed the title had been changed to include "Passed away 6/16/06 " and wondered whether that had always been there (and how could I have overlooked that, etc).  On cracking open the thread, it didn't take long for the penny to drop.

I was stunned, but I was also exhausted.  I didn't want to post some gibberish in case I ended up regretting it later.

Instead, I immediately let cherri know (I know her time here has been less frequent of late).

I thought I'd be able to feel more rested/lucid before long, but it wasn't until I'd made it back home again and had a good **82** in my own bed, cherri by my side again, that I can say I've cleared away all (most?) of the cobwebs.  And maybe a seasoned professional might say I'm in denial.

I can't say I have anything profoundly deep to say here, and I certainly didn't know even a fraction of what other activities doggo was involved in.  To my knowledge, he was just a wildly clever guy whose posts I really enjoyed, and someone who dabbled in something he called Flying Rabbits, without ever really knowing what that was all about.  He certainly kept cherri amused, and that's aces in my book.  

I find it hard to imagine what it would have been like to have Al as a friend and neighbour.  It would very likely have brightened up the daily grind.  

As I consider myself to be more spiritual than religious in nature, I have no doubt that Al is catching up with family and checking in on loved ones, at the very least.  He may even be conjuring up more stories, just because he can.  Like no other.

Cheers, mate.  You've made a difference in many lives.