Bye bye celebrities

OK, I realize I haven't posted in 3 months. I will try to be better about posting, but I'm not making any promises. I just wanted to comment on the recent celebrity passings. Ed McMahon will forever be remembered as the "Heeeeere's Johnny" and the Publishers Clearing House Sweeptstakes guy with that huge-ass check. He seemed to have a pretty good life so good for him. Next Farrah Fawcett. She also had an illustrious career in TV and film, most notably as one of the Charlie's Angels. She unfortunately had cancer and passed quite young. Billy Mays, the Oxy Clean guy, recently passed due to a head injury. He may have been the annoying infomercial guy, but he actually had a good product.

Finally, Michael Jackson. He was only 50 years old and I believe the official cause of death was cardiac arrest. What caused that is anyone's guess. The King of Pop had a successful, controversial and fascinating life. From the age of 5 or so he was a star with his family in the Jackson 5. Apparently the home life left a lot to be desired, but the success of that group cannot be denied. As Jackson aged, the speculation and controversy that surrounded him grew. Why was his skin changing color? What happened to his nose? Why did he name his home Neverland? What was his fascination with children? You can believe what you want, but none of the allegations were ever proven and now, in his death, those who were paid off to drop such allegations have said that they were never true. Whatever the answers to these questions, he was still the King of Pop, he was beloved all over the world and was quite talented in his music making. Although I was not a fan of his (mostly, I'm not a fan of that style of music in general) I can appreciate his contriubtion to music. Apparently, he was preparing for a final tour and had over 100 unreleased songs in his library. I wonder if those songs will be released or if his family will keep them forever. I truly hope they do release them in a final tribute to Jackson to allow him to make one final mark on the music industry. I hope wherever he is now, he is at peace and people will let their speculations dry up and let the man rest. What I want to really know, is what is going to happen to his rights of The Beatles collection?

RIP Heath Ledger

A few weeks ago, a promising, young actor passed away. I obviously did not know Heath Ledger, but I admired his work, from 10 Things I Hate About You to Brokeback Mountain. It was truly sad to learn about his death which brought to light that even famous celebrities are subject to stress and anxiety. I feel like sometime we (non-famous people) tend to think that because someone has a zillion dollars, they are superhuman. The coroner's report has finally comeback with a ruling of an accidental lethal mixture of prescription drugs in Ledger's system. I truly feel for his family, especially his young daughter. I hope they will all find some comfort in the fact that Ledger was able to bring joy to the many people who watched him on the big screen.

Sting Like A Bee

Muhammad Ali turned 65 this week. Most of you who know me know that I am not a boxing fan. I just never saw the point of watching grown men beat each other up. Maybe there is some sort of strategy or something, but I don't get it.

However, I am a fan of good people. This is not to say he was always a good person, but he did become a good person and mended the errors of his ways. He has given millions of dollars to charities and persevered despite his severe illness.

So, happy birthday to the greatest, keep on dancing.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

I would like to take a moment to remember Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Days like today are necessary to make us remember that there were people who had great hope for our country and world. We need more people like that to get others fired up about equality no matter what they look like, what language they speak or what religion they practice.