This Old Neon Forum

Just heard that George Michael died yesterday. Haven't heard anything new of his music for years, but what he made before had some good songs.

MerlinDrazziw wrote:Just heard that George Michael died yesterday. Haven't heard anything new of his music for years, but what he made before had some good songs.

He was only 53, and the headlines I've read say he died "peacefully in his home"—you don't usually hear that kind of wording unless the death was expected, but I didn't know that he was ill. I guess we'll find out eventually.

My opinion is that many of these celebrities who died in 2016 grew up in a culture which defended and even encouraged rampant drug use. I believe that this had health ramifications which are now visibly apparent. Call me heartless for being frank if you want, but I feel that this is a "you reap what you sow" situation. Meanwhile, while celebrities and the wealthy can do all the drugs they want without legal consequence, poor people are frequently thrown in prison for the same "crime." Sometimes they are even thrown in private prisons where their labor is abused for substandard wages. Consequently, I feel absolutely no sympathy for these celebrities.

Star Wars Rogue One spoiler -

Spoiler

I will say with Carrie Ficher, I went and saw Rogue One the day that she had died and it was a little surreal seeing the young CGI version of herself at the end of the movie. That scene ended the movie, and everyone in the theater started clapping. Not sure if it was for the movie, or for Carrie, but it was neat.

Shoe, I had the same experience, although it wasn't my first time seeing the movie. Still, even though I expected that scene, I still felt moved.

I certainly don't feel that celebrities deserve any more sympathy (or, consequently, any less) than anyone else. But, as public figures, for better or worse, they are people around whom us poor commoners' shared cultural experiences are developed. Not every celebrity's life or work means something to everyone, but some certainly do to some, and on those occasions, it's worth remembering them, and maybe even mourning/grieving in whatever way helps—heck, even if that's only to reify the reality of death at arms-length.

Drug and alcohol abuse certainly doesn't help one's chances at living forever, but when an unhealthy life contributes to death, it's still a person whose life ended.

This is probably just the way Facebook works, but 2016 is the first year where I started feeling anxiety every time I saw someone's name mentioned in the trending feed. "Patrick Stewart"—"No! ... Ah, it's just a movie he's in."

Chris Cornell died (52). He's not someone whose artistry I ever delved deeply into, but his music did form a part of the background tapestry of my youth. News says he died suddenly, which could mean overdose, could mean suicide. If it were an accident or something I suspect we would be hearing more details.

Roger Ailes, the former CEO of Fox News, also died. Adiós, asshole! The world's better without him.

They should install a camera near his grave to record all the people that will tap-dance on it.

Claytone wrote:Roger Ailes, the former CEO of Fox News, also died. Adiós, asshole! The world's better without him.

Kong Wen wrote:Chris Cornell died (52). He's not someone whose artistry I ever delved deeply into, but his music did form a part of the background tapestry of my youth. News says he died suddenly, which could mean overdose, could mean suicide. If it were an accident or something I suspect we would be hearing more details.

Confirmed suicide by hanging. I like Audioslave...