Long-time metafilter member Alicia Frantz passed away on June 3rd.

August 25, 2005 12:15 PM

Long-time metafilter member Alicia Frantz passed away on June 3rd.
There is more info on her site, and a news article. She will be greatly missed.
posted by milovoo to MetaFilter-Related at 12:15 PM (82 comments total)

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posted by Emperor Yamamoto's Eggs at 12:19 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by matteo at 12:19 PM on August 25, 2005

I sure hope I didn't step on any toes by posting this, as I did find quite a few blog entries and such, but I was shocked to find out.

She was a muse to me in the standard usage, I was inspired and informed by her audio work, and it improved my work and my enjoyment of making it.
posted by milovoo at 12:20 PM on August 25, 2005

Man, that's a sad story, to die on your 32nd birthday.

What exactly do they mean "fell under the wheels of a truck?" It seems an odd turn of phrase, like it was an accident that was entirely her fault.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 12:20 PM on August 25, 2005

I was going to say the same as Matt.....
posted by Emperor Yamamoto's Eggs at 12:25 PM on August 25, 2005

From the article:

"Frantz...died in a bicycle accident Friday morning on her 32nd birthday."

This is why I ride on the sidewalk.

Interesting article. My relation with sound differs: to reliably hear a range of sounds I want to hear I need artificial amplification, yet even so I continually hear a lot of useless or annoying sounds that nobody else can hear. People might get a kick out of my Noises and Voices if I could somehow record them; a mere transcription might not be very gripping.
posted by davy at 12:26 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by voltairemodern at 12:28 PM on August 25, 2005

I wonder if she was trying to get audio of the road or something... You know like you always see these old pictures of photographers leaning out of buildings or whatnot. According to the article, the driver wasn't ticketed.
posted by delmoi at 12:31 PM on August 25, 2005

Condolences to her friends and family.
posted by yhbc at 12:37 PM on August 25, 2005

Right delmoi, but the way it was described, it would be like saying "delmoi fell into my foot" instead of saying I tripped you. Maybe there's an area bike group site that would have more info on it, from the biker prospective.

I just realized something -- since she has a Creative Commons license on her audio files, we could create a perpetual archive of her work available online under the same terms, in case her domain or hosting lapses.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 12:38 PM on August 25, 2005 [1 favorite]

I assume "fell under the wheels of a truck" means just that: somehow her bike capsized or she got thrown off and hit the ground just as a truck was coming. Maybe she hit a pothole she hadn't seen.

E.g., I didn't mean to fly through the air when my sled slid diagonally on an unseen ice patch and hit a big rock; the sled stopped, I didn't, I wasn't holding on very tight, and off I flew. Just like Superman. Right into a big sticker bush, face-first. (I was only 8, all I got was a True Story to explain the three or four ugly scratches.)

It could be nothing more than bad luck, and probably is.
posted by davy at 12:39 PM on August 25, 2005

I didn't notice that it had been a bicycle accident when I first posted that comment. That makes a bit more sense.

I got hit by a car biking a couple months ago, fortunately the car had just started moving (to make a right-turn-on-red). I was on an official bike path that sits on the left-side of the road, so he didn't see me.

In a lot of places riding on the sidewalk is illegal. While you won't get a ticket, you wont get any legal protection if someone hits you while you're crossing the street.
posted by delmoi at 12:44 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by safetyfork at 12:48 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by OmieWise at 12:52 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 12:58 PM on August 25, 2005 [1 favorite]

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posted by eyeballkid at 1:01 PM on August 25, 2005

I remember alicila. At first, her palindromic name and then her very worthwhile comments. This is very sad.
posted by vacapinta at 1:05 PM on August 25, 2005

Big trucks can suck you under if they get too close. I had that happen to me a few years ago, but I managed to fall away from the truck (just luck).
posted by milovoo at 1:06 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by cali at 1:08 PM on August 25, 2005

It didn't even occur to me that Alicia was a MeFite.

I was friends with her. She was riding to work, which took her under the expressway. The street is in really bad condition there, and as far as we know, she hit a pothole and fell off her bike, and the truck that hit her didn't have time to stop or swerve. She died very quickly.

Here's coverage of her death on Gapers Block, which includes an entry linking to lots of other people's rememberances.

Her friends are maintaining her site for posterity, and they're working on a CD of her audio work. I'll post about it in MetaTalk when it becomes available. However, I'm sure they -- or she -- wouldn't mind if it was archived on music.metafilter.com.
posted by me3dia at 1:09 PM on August 25, 2005 [1 favorite]

Thanks for sharing that, me3dia. How horrible.
posted by iconomy at 1:12 PM on August 25, 2005

Thanks for the update me3dia, I was just curious about details. Man, that's sad stuff, but glad to hear mirrors/archives and CDs are in the works.

Long after a person is gone, those that knew them still have memories, but if their life's work can be shared with others, I think that's really a great and noble thing to do for her -- so that her work lives on and others can enjoy it and learn from it.
posted by mathowie (staff) at 1:14 PM on August 25, 2005

Sad to die so young. I had never run across Alicila on MeFi. And now I never will.

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posted by teece at 1:16 PM on August 25, 2005

delmoi, the risk of getting hurt or dying from riding a bike on the sidewalk is lessened, especially when the sidewalk is empty and the street is busy. People can follow the law to the detriment of their well-being if they want though.

(Then again, unlike in Louisville, in real cities like Chicago sometimes the sidewalks are also too busy to ride on, so YMMV; I'm not advocating pedalling heedlessly down the sidewalk at any cost, you know.)

Anyway, is the above your free informed legal advice or just another layperson's opinion? One reason I ask is that it seems at least as likely that I'll get smashed up while cycling as that I'll get arrested (or beat up or murdered) over something I post to the Information Superhighway.

Anyway. 32 seems young to me too, that strikes me as a painful way to die however quick it might've been, and I too offer my condolences.

(There's a "MUSIC.metafilter.com" too?)
posted by davy at 1:18 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by trillion at 1:23 PM on August 25, 2005

Jesus H. Christ. Too young. :(
posted by Optimus Chyme at 1:23 PM on August 25, 2005

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way too young, and on her birthday too--just horrible
posted by amberglow at 1:25 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by Fuzzy Monster at 1:29 PM on August 25, 2005

In Chicago, it is illegal to bike on the sidewalk. However, in areas like where Alicia died, the police have said they will not ticket bikers on the sidewalk, since riding in the street there is so dangerous. Unfortunately, until signage spells this out in those places, bikers will probably stay in the street.
posted by me3dia at 1:37 PM on August 25, 2005

I'm so sorry to hear it. My condolences to her family and friends.
posted by LeeJay at 1:41 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by letterneversent at 2:08 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by rhapsodie at 2:13 PM on August 25, 2005

RIP Alicila.
posted by caddis at 2:17 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by subgenius at 2:30 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by pardonyou? at 2:31 PM on August 25, 2005

Not being ticketed doesn't mean much in my opinion; about ten blocks down the street from where I stay there was a girl (and I mean girl--elementary-school age) who was crossing the street, in the crosswalk, on her bike, with the sign showing "WALK," and a big truck came through, turned right, and ran her over. No ticket.

That said, yes, 32 is young, and Alicia has done some interesting work, and it's a wonderful idea to preserve it.
posted by Tuwa at 2:34 PM on August 25, 2005

Same here me3dia. I didn't even think to check if she was a MF member. I met her a couple of times and while our interactions were not the stuff of drama, I recall her as being one of the more soft-spoken, kindest persons I had met.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 2:47 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by stray at 2:57 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by Penks at 3:01 PM on August 25, 2005

Not meant jokingly, but is the 'moment of silence' represented by the '.' really appropriate in this case?

For Alicila, a moment of sound:
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posted by wendell at 3:08 PM on August 25, 2005

Boy, this is sad. I can't say I "knew" her, but damn.
posted by CunningLinguist at 3:28 PM on August 25, 2005

I first knew Alicia through her sound work and we corresponded a few months before finally meeting. When we eventually met for drinks to talk about an art project i'd hoped to include her work in, it was a kind of love at first sight moment for me. She was so funny and so smart and so incredibly charming and we got on like old friends. I was smitten, and decided that before the night was over, i would ask her on a proper date.

I'm shy by nature, so as the evening drew up i went to the bathroom, splashed a little water on my face, and rehearsed my asking-her-out lines. I returned to our table and with a confident "So..." glanced up to meet her eyes. She must have known what was coming. She was softly shaking her head with a half smile, and her eyes indicating toward her purse on the table. Her purse on the table that had her mini-disc recorder in it. Her purse on the table that had her mini-disc recorder in it and its tiny covert microphone now clipped outside. "...would you like to get going?" I said.

Not only funny and charming and smart, Alicia (who, it turns out, was in a relationship) also had the grace to stop me from making a small ass of myself and recording my awkward entreaty for posterity.

Wherever she is now, i'm sure she's found a noisy peace.
posted by verysleeping at 3:46 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by dobbs at 3:53 PM on August 25, 2005

[sound of freewheel coasting by]
posted by fixedgear at 4:12 PM on August 25, 2005

[sound of tears being blown across the ocean]

Oh man, that totally blew me away. How sad. I've never known her as a Mefite (just missed her stay, in fact), and I just thought "oh, that's really sad" right until I clicked thru from the article to the blog entry with photos. Then came the shouting at the monitor and the verge of tears. Dammit.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 4:21 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by seanyboy at 5:28 PM on August 25, 2005

I once fell on a car while bike riding (I sort of tripped, if that makes any sense). Thankfully it was next to me, so I bounced off.
There but for the grace of ifni...

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posted by signal at 5:35 PM on August 25, 2005

With respect and admiration,

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posted by snsranch at 6:25 PM on August 25, 2005

[sound of clouds sighing and stars blinking]

So sorry to hear this. Great story, verysleeping: the sound of grace.
posted by taz at 6:38 PM on August 25, 2005

verysleeping, thanks for that story. I didn't know about her, but that made me like her. A lot.
posted by languagehat at 6:39 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by grapefruitmoon at 6:40 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by moonbird at 7:06 PM on August 25, 2005

Yeah. A good story, verysleeping.

!!!?!!!! for alicila.
posted by librarina at 7:08 PM on August 25, 2005

Tragic. Thanks for letting everyone know, milovoo. I think I'll go sit by the edge of my pond, and listen to the music of the frogs and crickets and the wind in the willows.
posted by dejah420 at 7:24 PM on August 25, 2005

Wow, this really made me sad. She seemed like such a fun, spirited, and amazing person.

Go loudly, alicila.
posted by fionab at 7:26 PM on August 25, 2005

I dread posts like this. ;-(
posted by mischief at 7:29 PM on August 25, 2005

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A moment of silence, followed by the most glorious sound you can imagine.
posted by Vidiot at 8:09 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by edgeways at 8:26 PM on August 25, 2005

added to deadpeople.xls
posted by moift at 8:57 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by Pretty_Generic at 8:58 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by dg at 9:00 PM on August 25, 2005

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posted by brujita at 9:17 PM on August 25, 2005

Stupifyingly tragic.

I have no more words except...

we could create a perpetual archive of her work available online under the same terms, in case her domain or hosting lapses

...this would be a very nice gesture, Matt.

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posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:47 PM on August 25, 2005

That is sad. I don't even feel like putting a '.' here.

Condolences to her family and friends.
posted by bdave at 9:53 PM on August 25, 2005

Hi. Alicia was my best friend.

Thank you everyone, for your concern, your silences, your noises.

Alicia was actually the one who got me into mefi; I'd always said "life's too short for MetaFilter" but she kept sending me links from ask. and...yeah. Hi. Thanks, Andrew (me3dia), for sending me a link to this thread.

For the record, her site, audiblefrequency will be maintained. Naz is helping with a memorial site for her...we are also compiling some songs by friends, since so many of her friends are musicians, using samples of her sounds.

I'd like to set up some sort of acoustic ecology scholarship in her name, since she put herself through college. So far our friends have been very generous, though I don't think she could have had anything less than wonderful friends. She was so amazing. Once I get the funeral paid off, we will set up some kind of scholarship or something in her name.

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Labor day will make three months now that she';s been gone.

I cannot tell you what a hole her death has left in my, and so many other people's, lives. I feel so privileged to have known her. She was someone I saw myself getting old with, and then she was gone. She was someone that was always convincing me to skip out of work and go drink champagne by the lake with her. I'm so glad I did. Whenever she was trying to convince me to do something with her, the line was. "what will you remember in 20 years, the time you [did ___] with me or the time you didn't?"

Alicia, I will never forget you. I miss you, and I love you.
posted by j3s at 12:20 AM on August 26, 2005

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posted by fullysic at 1:17 AM on August 26, 2005

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posted by scarabic at 1:46 AM on August 26, 2005

I'm really deeply sorry for your loss, j3s, and for Alicia's other friends and family.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 2:00 AM on August 26, 2005

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posted by joe lisboa at 2:59 AM on August 26, 2005

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posted by sciurus at 5:05 AM on August 26, 2005

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posted by unrepentanthippie at 5:46 AM on August 26, 2005

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posted by eriko at 5:49 AM on August 26, 2005

One of her first recording post.
posted by thomcatspike at 8:14 AM on August 26, 2005

That is truly sad. Those stories about her were very moving. My thoughts are with those of you who knew her.
posted by missmerrymack at 9:53 AM on August 26, 2005

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posted by rainbaby at 10:11 AM on August 26, 2005

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posted by cass at 1:35 PM on August 26, 2005

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posted by bh at 7:34 PM on August 26, 2005

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posted by juv3nal at 7:44 PM on August 26, 2005

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posted by mwhybark at 11:05 PM on August 26, 2005

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posted by SisterHavana at 1:26 PM on August 27, 2005

I stayed away from this one until today--death is a sore subject of late. But I am glad to have read it, to have found out about her person and passion and to read so many sweet things in memory of her. It is safe to say that her's is not a name writ in water.
posted by y2karl at 5:44 PM on August 27, 2005

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posted by squ1rr3l at 10:51 PM on August 27, 2005