End of an era for Canberra

I found out only yesterday that Daniel McFadden died last week (I found out via a friend, then went straight to where I knew I'd find an internet link). He was one of the people who provided Canberra's colour (and yes, to all ye unbelievers, Canberra has plenty of colour! Just subscribe to Culturazi and you'll get a glimpse), the person Kingston's pub Filthy McFaddens was named after, and someone I always stopped to talk to when I saw him in the street.

I saw him only a couple of weeks ago, in Manuka. He was busking outside Paperchain, playing his guitar and ad-libbing lyrics. He sang to me:

thank you for nothing
you've just missed out on preselection for the Beijing Olympics
now go away

I bought a couple of his photocopied drawings and had a chat. I have a whole pile of his poems and drawings somewhere. Culturazi has started a small online gallery of things like that.

Last week I found the DVD of The Devil and Daniel Johnston at JB HiFi and while watching it, thought about the similarities between this Daniel and that.

Do follow the link to his life story. His funeral is today, but I can't make it. I'll just spend the day sending good thoughts over that way to his family and friends.