Culture Icons... R.I.P

[youreyes]

Whitney Huston R.I.P. may she always represent drugged out heroin actress singing her lungs out.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

Whitney Huston R.I.P. may she always represent drugged out heroin actress singing her lungs out.

There's no evidence that she was a heroin user. The only drug that may have played a role in her death was cocaine, but considering that she died by drowning in a bathtub (obviously after losing consciousness) and cocaine is a stimulant, it's hard to put that scenario together. However, she had atherosclerotic heart disease (often caused by poor eating habits but also bad luck), which was strongly implicated in her death. Even if this condition isn't what killed her, it would have done so soon enough. She may have known that her days were numbered and was trying to make the most of the time she had left.

The only other drugs found in her system were Flexeril, (a rather benign medication for calming muscle spasms--I take a similar drug, orphenadrine), Xanax (a benzodiazepine like Valium, a class of medication used for treating anxiety and insomnia that's never killed anyone--even those who tried), Benadryl (an antihistamine for allergy sufferers that's been on the market for 65 years and is as safe as aspirin), and marijuana (arguably the least dangerous recreational drug on earth--it turns out that even the smoke is much less toxic than tobacco smoke).

She appears to have suffered from the conditions that bedevil many entertainers at their peak: anxiety, tension and not enough sleep.

People who use only coke, grass, and some quite innocuous prescription medications, are not the ones we refer to as "drugged out."

 

[Balerion]

There's no evidence that she was a heroin user. The only drug that may have played a role in her death was cocaine, but considering that she died by drowning in a bathtub (obviously after losing consciousness) and cocaine is a stimulant, it's hard to put that scenario together. However, she had atherosclerotic heart disease (often caused by poor eating habits but also bad luck), which was strongly implicated in her death. Even if this condition isn't what killed her, it would have done so soon enough. She may have known that her days were numbered and was trying to make the most of the time she had left.

This really sounds like a fan desperate to protect his favorite singer's image. The medical examiner's report says that the cocaine made her heart condition worse, for one, and contributed to her death. And Bobby Brown has said that Whitney used heroin, so there's certainly some reason to believe she used it.

The only other drugs found in her system were Flexeril, (a rather benign medication for calming muscle spasms--I take a similar drug, orphenadrine)

On its own, it's benign. When mixed with cocaine and alcohol, however, it becomes a lethal ingredient.

Xanax (a benzodiazepine like Valium, a class of medication used for treating anxiety and insomnia that's never killed anyone--even those who tried),

Well, for one, that's not true. Alprazolam has killed plenty of people, though it is usually combined with other drugs to create the toxic combination.

Benadryl (an antihistamine for allergy sufferers that's been on the market for 65 years and is as safe as aspirin), and marijuana (arguably the least dangerous recreational drug on earth--it turns out that even the smoke is much less toxic than tobacco smoke).

Actually, marijuana smoke is more toxic than tobacco smoke.

She appears to have suffered from the conditions that bedevil many entertainers at their peak: anxiety, tension and not enough sleep.

She also had been doing these drugs--and more--for nearly 30 years.

People who use only coke, grass, and some quite innocuous prescription medications, are not the ones we refer to as "drugged out."

You've never known a coke head, in that case. But to say Whitney hasn't been drugged out since the 80s is to live in denial.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

This really sounds like a fan desperate to protect his favorite singer's image.

I'm not a fan of Whitney or that entire genre of music. Like every singer she managed to crank out a couple of good ones, like "I'm Your Baby Tonight." I'm into Jann Arden and Lissie. I just saw Janis Ian a couple of months ago.

I'm just fed up to death with drug-bashers. You guys and the ridiculous laws you have lobbied your governments to enact have caused far more harm and grief than the drugs themselves could do in a billion years. The second-order effects of drug prohibition ALWAYS cause more harm than the drugs. Americans learned that in the 1920s, but my people have such a short memory that they've already forgotten and are doing the same dumb shit again with the same results, only worse. (If Americans actually had memories we'd be so ashamed of what we did to the Indians and the Africans that we'd probably all shoot ourselves.) Prohibition turned the city of Chicago into a war zone. My parents lived there then and the only thing those two knee-jerk Republicans praised FDR for was ending Prohibition and making the streets safe again. But this time the U.S. government has managed to off-load the Drug War to Mexico, where it's killing about 3,000 of their people EVERY YEAR. That's okay because Americans have never given a rat's ass about the fate of Mexico and its people.

So when people start blathering about celebrities killing themselves with drugs, I pull out all my guns. Back in my day celebrities like Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley managed to kill themselves with perfectly legal prescription drugs. If you're looking for a way to die, you won't ever have any trouble finding one.

The medical examiner's report says that the cocaine made her heart condition worse, for one, and contributed to her death. And Bobby Brown has said that Whitney used heroin, so there's certainly some reason to believe she used it.

Yeah fine. My grandfather sold cocaine and Heroin (a Bayer trademark until the end of WWI) in his pharmacy and none of his customers ever got in trouble with them. They got professional counseling and if he thought one of them was hitting it too hard he'd just tell their wife or mother next time she came in and that was the end of it. When you make people hide the things they do, and buy their stuff from career criminals who are by definition sociopaths who don't care about anyone, then nobody can help them.

On its own, it's benign. When mixed with cocaine and alcohol, however, it becomes a lethal ingredient.

You can say that about half the things in your local drugstore. If people could buy their drugs legally the pharmacist would warn them about possible interactions and the stuff would come with six pages of warnings and instructions.

Well, for one, that's not true. Alprazolam has killed plenty of people, though it is usually combined with other drugs to create the toxic combination.

Never heard of that one and I've had several benzodiazepine prescriptions for insomnia and other problems. Is it sold in the USA? There's one I haven't tried?

Actually, marijuana smoke is more toxic than tobacco smoke.

Where do you come up with this bullshit? It's recently been admitted that it is actually much less toxic than tobacco smoke. It turns out that it's not the smoke that kills people, it actually is the tobacco. Ten years ago I read about a 40-year study done in Jamaica, where it's easy to find thousands of people who smoke as much pot in a day as Americans do in a week. When they started to die (at the same age as people who didn't smoke) and they looked at their lungs, they found none of the damage that virtually cover the tissue in tobacco users' lungs. In fact they were very difficult to distinguish from the lungs of non-smokers.

Besides, (and this gives away the fact that you actually have no current knowledge of the drug scene and are just repeating the bullshit the cops told you in the D.A.R.E. program in the fourth grade) nobody with any sense smokes anymore. They all use vaporizers. It makes the pot last ten times as long, reducing the cost dramatically, because they're not setting it on fire and wasting most of it. And without the smell of the smoke they're not letting their neighbors know what they're doing in there. People who have money to burn just bake it into some sweet dessert and eat it. It takes much longer to take effect but it's said to be a much better high because when ingested you metabolize all of the active ingredients, whereas when you take it through your lungs quite a few of the chemicals are not absorbed and get exhaled right back out.

But to say Whitney hasn't been drugged out since the 80s is to live in denial.

I've been drugged out since the 50s. My parents turned me on to caffeine when I was 12 and I've never been able to shake the habit. It's ruined my life at least three times and at least played a major role three more times. So don't start preaching your government-approved hysteria to me about "dangerous drugs."

Alcohol, tobacco and caffeine: these three drugs cause more harm than all the others put together. And they're all legal in most countries. In the USA we even advertise caffeine to children! Why the hell should children need an energy boost? What the hell are their lives going to be like in twenty years when they really start to slow down? I guess they'll all just start using cocaine.

The only reason the government has outlawed so many of these drugs is that the pharmaceutical industry doesn't want the competition. Why else would Obama be cracking down on medical marijuana, which isn't even controversial anymore? He's in the pocket of Big Pharma like all of them. Why let people medicate themselves with a weed or a flower or a leaf that grows wild, when they could be spending thousands of dollars on designer drugs which will probably be discovered to have extremely dangerous side effects in fifteen years?

When I see the government make it a crime to sell a drink containing caffeine to children under 18, come back and we'll talk then.

 

[Chipz]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/embed/PD21CBN6KkE[/video]

And we say goodbye to a legend.

 

[youreyes]

Goodbye Heath Ledger, look cool and smile while popping pills behind the closed curtains.

 

[Balerion]

I'm not a fan of Whitney or that entire genre of music. Like every singer she managed to crank out a couple of good ones, like "I'm Your Baby Tonight." I'm into Jann Arden and Lissie. I just saw Janis Ian a couple of months ago.

I'm just fed up to death with drug-bashers. You guys and the ridiculous laws you have lobbied your governments to enact ...

This is where you get yourself in trouble. I'm anti-prohibition. You assume I'm in favor of the war on drugs simply because I don't subscribe to the myths you're propagating, but I guess you could call me a "New Age" legalization proponent; that is, I'm not going to pretend drugs aren't dangerous.

So when people start blathering about celebrities killing themselves with drugs, I pull out all my guns.

And your blindfold. And your lies.

Yeah fine. My grandfather sold cocaine and Heroin (a Bayer trademark until the end of WWI) in his pharmacy and none of his customers ever got in trouble with them. They got professional counseling and if he thought one of them was hitting it too hard he'd just tell their wife or mother next time she came in and that was the end of it. When you make people hide the things they do, and buy their stuff from career criminals who are by definition sociopaths who don't care about anyone, then nobody can help them.

I'll take "Senseless non-sequiturs" for $1000, Alex.

You can say that about half the things in your local drugstore. If people could buy their drugs legally the pharmacist would warn them about possible interactions and the stuff would come with six pages of warnings and instructions.

I understand that. I was responding to your absurd comment about the drugs in her system being benign. What you're essentially trying to say is that drugs played no role in her death because they could not possibly (hence references to these drugs as "benign") even though in combination they can be deadly.

Never heard of that one and I've had several benzodiazepine prescriptions for insomnia and other problems. Is it sold in the USA? There's one I haven't tried?

Just shows how little you actually know about this subject. Alprazolam is Xanax. You'd think someone who claimed to be such an expert in the field would know that. But then, you also just said it's never killed anybody, which is a flat-out lie, so...

Where do you come up with this bullshit? It's recently been admitted that it is actually much less toxic than tobacco smoke. It turns out that it's not the smoke that kills people, it actually is the tobacco. Ten years ago I read about a 40-year study done in Jamaica, where it's easy to find thousands of people who smoke as much pot in a day as Americans do in a week. When they started to die (at the same age as people who didn't smoke) and they looked at their lungs, they found none of the damage that virtually cover the tissue in tobacco users' lungs. In fact they were very difficult to distinguish from the lungs of non-smokers.

Been admitted by whom? And I love how you say "admitted" as if it's some great conspiracy. You out yourself as a loon with that kind of language.

You can keep your (likely fictitious) Jamaican study, and I'll stick to the recent and relevant ones, which all point out that there are more harmful chemicals in marijuana smoke than tobacco smoke. And this is besides the psychological and developmental damage the drug can do, particularly to teenagers.

A study published this summer stated that there doesn't seem to be any harmful effects to the health of the occasional pot smoker. Do you know what counts as "occasional" in that study? One or two times a month. You can't name one person you know who smokes that infrequently. I know I can't. In the real world, pot smokers toke daily, sometimes multiple times per day.

Besides, (and this gives away the fact that you actually have no current knowledge of the drug scene and are just repeating the bullshit the cops told you in the D.A.R.E. program in the fourth grade) nobody with any sense smokes anymore. They all use vaporizers. It makes the pot last ten times as long, reducing the cost dramatically, because they're not setting it on fire and wasting most of it. And without the smell of the smoke they're not letting their neighbors know what they're doing in there. People who have money to burn just bake it into some sweet dessert and eat it. It takes much longer to take effect but it's said to be a much better high because when ingested you metabolize all of the active ingredients, whereas when you take it through your lungs quite a few of the chemicals are not absorbed and get exhaled right back out.

Show me one statistic saying that "they all use vaporizers." Please. Oh wait, you can't, because it's only a small portion of the smoking community that actually uses these devices. Most of the people who use, smoke. As for the benefits of vaporizers, who gives a shit? We're talking about the harmful effects of smoking weed.

I've been drugged out since the 50s. My parents turned me on to caffeine when I was 12 and I've never been able to shake the habit. It's ruined my life at least three times and at least played a major role three more times. So don't start preaching your government-approved hysteria to me about "dangerous drugs."

So let me get this straight...people who use cocaine aren't the people we refer to as "drugged out," but people who use caffeine are? Typical druggie hypocritical bullshit.

Alcohol, tobacco and caffeine: these three drugs cause more harm than all the others put together. And they're all legal in most countries. In the USA we even advertise caffeine to children! Why the hell should children need an energy boost? What the hell are their lives going to be like in twenty years when they really start to slow down? I guess they'll all just start using cocaine.

Are you high right now? You're having a lot of trouble staying on-topic. I never argued that alcohol and tobacco aren't harmful. (I'd love to see something official about how caffeine has hurt more people than any hard drug, though. It seems another one of your invented "facts") I agree that they are. I also agree that marijuana should be legal. So should all hard drugs. But not because I hold some delusion that they're not harmful; the kind of fantasy crap you're spouting is no different than the people who say marijuana is a gateway drug that necessarily leads to heroin or somesuch. I think they should be legal because prohibition is ineffective. You know what else comes with legalization? A decrease in usage.

The only reason the government has outlawed so many of these drugs is that the pharmaceutical industry doesn't want the competition. Why else would Obama be cracking down on medical marijuana, which isn't even controversial anymore? He's in the pocket of Big Pharma like all of them. Why let people medicate themselves with a weed or a flower or a leaf that grows wild, when they could be spending thousands of dollars on designer drugs which will probably be discovered to have extremely dangerous side effects in fifteen years?

When I see the government make it a crime to sell a drink containing caffeine to children under 18, come back and we'll talk then.

I hope you put a breadcrumb trail down so you can find your way back to the subject.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

I hope you put a breadcrumb trail down so you can find your way back to the subject.

I'm sure another celebrity will die soon enough.

 

[elte]

Im not going to sit back and accept your abomination of a culture, mankind.

Universarian's, is what we ought to be!

Indeed, I call it cultural minimalism, in order to promote peace by removing the strife-causing differences that can be removed.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

Indeed, I call it cultural minimalism, in order to promote peace by removing the strife-causing differences that can be removed.

The cultural differences that cause the most strife are religions. Lots of luck removing them.

 

[R1D2]

Death is not kind...

I'm sure another celebrity will die soon enough.

No reason to wink over a death..

And you have your wish.

Jenni Rivera Dead: Mexican-American Singer Dies In Plane Crash..
Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera is believed to have died Sunday in a plane crash in Mexico that left no survivors, HuffPost Voces reports...

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/10/showbiz/mexico-singer-plane/index.html

Monterrey, Mexico (CNN) - Millions of fans on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are mourning the death of Jenni Rivera, whose performances of soulful ballads sold out concert halls and made the singer a household name for many.

Crews searched for Rivera's remains Monday amid the wreckage of a plane that crashed in a remote, mountainous area in northern Mexico on Sunday.

"The plane was totally destroyed. ... It is a great tragedy," her brother, Gustavo Rivera, told CNN en Español.

Six others were killed, including the singer's publicist, lawyer and makeup artists, he said. Family members were planning to travel to Mexico on Monday as investigators work to determine what caused the crash.

The small Learjet plane .............

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

No reason to wink over a death.

I guess you're right. Sorry.

Mexican-American singer Jenni Rivera is believed to have died Sunday in a plane crash in Mexico that left no survivors, HuffPost Voces reports.

I haven't heard of her. I'll have to check out her music.

 

[elte]

The cultural differences that cause the most strife are religions. Lots of luck removing them.

That is true, and after discussing it more, I see that it seems that in addition to that, and more importantly, all cultures have to be way more tolerant of other cultures.

 

[R1D2]

I just heard on CNN Mr Bork has passed away.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bork

Conservative judge Robert Bork died early Wednesday at the age of 85 at his home in Virginia, two sources close to his family told CNN.....

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/19/breaking-judge-robert-bork-dead-at-85/?hpt=po_c2

 

[R1D2]

12/24/12: Award winning actor, Charles Durning, died of unknown causes in his home in New York. Durning was known as one of the kings of character acting. He had roles in such films as "The Sting", "Tootsie" and "The Best Little Whore House in Texas". Most recently he starred in the hit TV show "Rescue Me". He was 89.

 

[R1D2]

I was shocked to see so many names so early in 2013. Some are repeats with different information. Please take your time and read over these. Some may be missed by there fans more than others. Mr Swartz may be missed by many here.

http://blog.oregonlive.com/lifestories/2013/01/notable_deaths_around_the_nati_10.html

Pauline Friedman Phillips, 94, of Minneapolis, who as Dear Abby dispensed snappy advice on love, marriage and more to millions of newspaper readers around the world, died Jan. 16. The column launched in 1956 in the San Francisco Chronicle, and her daughter, Jeanne Phillips, took over in 2002 after her Alzheimer's diagnosis. Phillips competed with the Ann Landers column by her twin sister, Esther Friedman Lederer. She also did a radio version and wrote best-selling books.
Eugene Patterson, 89, of St. Petersburg, Fla., a Pulitzer-winning editor of the Atlanta Constitution who drew attention to the civil rights movement across the South, died Jan. 12. His column about a church bombing that killed four girls in Birmingham, Ala., was read on the "CBS Evening News." The World War II veteran also served stints at United Press. He later joined the Washington Post and played a role in publishing the Pentagon Papers, then led the St. Petersburg Times and Poynter Institute.

Vincent R. Sombrotto, 89, of Manhasset, N.Y., who served as president of the National Association of Letter Carriers for 24 years, died Jan. 10. He joined the then-Post Office Department in 1947 as a part-time letter carrier. In 1970, he took charge of a New York strike to protest low wages and working conditions. It spread to 100 cities and led to creation of the U.S. Postal Service. He also helped reform the Hatch Act, which prohibited partisan activities by federal employees.

Aaron Swartz, 26, of New York, a co-founder of the social news website Reddit and fighter to make online content free to the public, died Jan. 11. His death came weeks before he faced trial on accusations of stealing millions of journal articles from an electronic archive. The teen prodigy helped create RSS to gather updates from blogs, news headlines, audio and video for users. He also co-founded Demand Progress, which campaigns against Internet censorship.

Conrad Bain, 89, of Livermore, Calif., who gained fame as the rich white adoptive father of two poor black brothers in the sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes," died Jan. 14. He also played a conservative neighbor on the feminist sitcom "Maude." The Canadian veteran of World War II did character roles in films including "Bananas" and theater companies across the U.S. and Bahamas.

Jeanne Manford, 92, of New York, an early organizer of relatives and other supporters of gays and lesbians, died Jan. 8. Her group now is called Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays and has 350 chapters across the U.S. She spent her career as a schoolteacher in New York City public schools, then was inspired by an attack on her activist son.

George Gund III, 75, of San Jose, Calif., the original owner of the San Jose Sharks hockey team, died Jan. 15. He and his brother Gordon relinquished their stake in the Minnesota North Stars in exchange for the rights to an expansion team in the Bay Area. He previously had ownership roles with the NHL's California Golden Seals and Cleveland Barons and the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.

Daniel J. Edelman, 92, of Chicago, who built one of the world's top public relations companies, died Jan. 15. He worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, then analyzed German propaganda during World War II. He was credited with developing methods such as celebrity endorsements and media tours. His New York-based company has 66 offices worldwide and serves clients including Microsoft, Pfizer, Wal-Mart and Royal Dutch Shell.

Leon Leyson, 83, of Whittier, Calif., the youngest of 1,100 Jews saved from the Nazis by industrialist Oskar Schindler, died Jan. 12. He was nearly 10 when Germany invaded Poland, and his family was soon sent to a ghetto. He was so short that he stood on a box to work factory machinery. He later immigrated to the U.S. and taught at Huntington Park High School. He began speaking about the Holocaust following the 1993 film "Schindler's List."

Frank Page, 87, of Shreveport, La., a radio broadcaster who helped introduce Elvis Presley to worldwide audiences, died Jan. 9. During 65 years with KWKH, he announced for the Louisiana Hayride, the state's version of the Grand Ole Opry, where Presley sang "That's Alright Mama" in 1954. Page also worked with Armed Forces Radio and helped launch country stars "Nat" Stuckey and "Gentleman Jim" Reeves.

John Wilkinson, 67, of Springfield, Mo., a rhythm guitarist and longtime musician with Elvis Presley, died Jan. 11. He joined the TCB Band at age 23 and performed at 1,200 shows with Presley before the legendary singer died in 1977. He also played and sang with such groups as The New Christy Minstrels. He later made a living in retail and airline services management.

Kenojuak Ashevak, 85, of Cape Dorset, Nunavut, a Canadian native artist whose prints and drawings helped introduce Inuit works to the world, died Jan. 8. Her "Enchanted Owl," with exaggerated feathers and a piercing stare, appeared on a stamp for the Northwest Territories centennial. A film about her was nominated for a short documentary Oscar and led to international art exhibitions.

Ed Miracle, 83, of Richmond, Ky., who created an eastern Kentucky football dynasty in the 1950s and '60s, died Jan. 10. He was best known for coaching the former Lynch High School in Harlan County to 13 Class A district championships, eight state finals appearances and four state titles. He also coached winning basketball and football teams in Madison County until he retired in 1992.

Dyer Brainerd Holmes, 91, of Memphis, Tenn., director of manned space flight for NASA during early American forays into space, died Dec. 11. During his tenure, John Glenn became the first U.S. astronaut in orbit, and groundwork was laid for missions to the moon. Previously the electrical engineer worked for Western Electric, Bell Telephone and RCA, helping develop the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System. Later he led Raytheon.

Claude Nobs, 76, of Montreux, Switzerland, the founder and general manager of the Montreux Jazz Festival, died Jan. 10. He worked his way up from a chef and director of Montreux's tourism office. His passion for music introduced generations of artists, including Keith Jarrett and Roberta Flack, to international audiences. The acts broadened to include rock and pop, notably Deep Purple.

Frederick "Freddy E" Buhl, 22, of Renton, Wash., noted as a Seattle hip-hop artist, died Jan. 5. He also was known for his edgy YouTube program, "Jerk TV," which had thousands of subscribers and millions of video views.

Evan S. Connell, 88, of Santa Fe, N.M., the acclaimed author of twin Depression-era novels "Mrs. Bridge" and "Mr. Bridge," died Jan. 10. He began writing at Dartmouth and served as a pilot and instructor during World War II. His 19 diverse books included a best-selling account of Lt. Col. George Custer, two lengthy poems and a biography of Spanish painter Francisco Goya.

Mariangela Melato, 71, of Rome, an Italian actress acclaimed as a spoiled socialite stranded with a sailor in "Swept Away," died Jan. 11. She had her most success in 1970s films directed by Lina Wertmuller, including "Love and Anarchy." But she had less luck in Hollywood roles, which included a part in "Flash Gordon."

Ralph G. Martin, 92, of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., a best-selling author of political and celebrity biographies, died Jan. 9. He served as an Army correspondent in Europe during World War II and later was a magazine staffer at The New Republic, Newsweek and House Beautiful. His subjects for about 30 books included the Kennedy's, Israeli leader Golda Meir and British politician Winston Churchill's American-born mother.

Nagisa Oshima, 80, of Tokyo, a Japanese "new wave" director known for internationally acclaimed films "Empire of Passion" and "In the Realm of the Senses," died Jan. 15. A former student activist, he debuted in 1959 and tackled social issues ranging from capital punishment and racism to explicit sex scenes. His last work was "Taboo," about gay samurais, made after he suffered a stroke.

David R. Ellis, 60, of Los Angeles, famed as the director of Internet sensation "Snakes on a Plane," was found dead Jan. 7. He was in South Africa working on "Kite," also starring Samuel L. Jackson. He began his Hollywood career as an actor and stuntman in the 1970s. His directing credits included "Shark Night 3D" and "The Final Destination."

Ned Wertimer, 89, of Burbank, Calif., who played the Ralph on the sitcom "The Jeffersons," died Jan. 2. A Navy pilot during World War II, he had one-off roles on dozens of TV shows from the early 1960s through the late 1980s, including "Car 54 Where Are You?" and "Mary Tyler Moore."

-- Compiled from wire reports

http://fox8.com/tag/2013-notable-deaths/

‘Dear Abby’ Dies; Remembering The Legendary*Columnist
By Michael Martinez,CNN * (CNN) — The woman known as ‘Dear Abby,’ Pauline Phillips, dies. * Her family said Thursday…

And


Conrad Bain of ‘Diff’rent Strokes’*Dies
Actor Conrad Bain has died at the age of 89. The veteran stage and film actor was best known for his role as Philip Drummond on Diff’rent Strokes.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaron_Swartz

On January 11, 2013, Swartz was found in his Crown Heights, Brooklyn apartment where he had hanged himself.

 

[R1D2]

I am shocked no one has posted anything as of late.
Like Mindy's Death.

Recent Celebrity Deaths Famous Hollywood stars who died today ...
Malinda Gayle "Mindy" McCready (November 30, 1975 – February 17, 2013) was an American country music singer. Active since 1995, she recorded a total of five studio ...
www.hollywoodmemoir.com/?page=1

 

[R1D2]

George Glenn Jones, the country music singer behind songs like ‘She Thinks I Still Care’ and ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today,’ dies at Vanderbilt University Medical Center after being hospitalized with a fever and irregular blood pressure.

http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2013/04/26/george-jones-dead-country-superstar-was-82/

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

George Glenn Jones, the country music singer behind songs like ‘She Thinks I Still Care’ and ‘He Stopped Loving Her Today,’ dies at Vanderbilt University Medical Center after being hospitalized with a fever and irregular blood pressure.

They've had his obit penned for a couple of years, apparently his death was no surprise. Every few months somebody would manage to Google it accidentally and post it, thinking it had already happened.

His blockbuster was, and will always be, "White Lightning." In 1959, it was a song that completely bridged the gap between rock and country. There had always been a few artists who were welcome in both camps, but they were mostly balladeers like Johnny Cash, clowns like Homer & Jethro, or heartbreakers like Patsy Cline. George Jones broke down the barrier between the two genres with hot, fast, rebellious rock'n'roll.

Ironically, it was written by J.P. Richardson, an up-and-coming rock'n'roller who specialized in really silly songs and was known by his stage name "The Big Bopper." His only hit as a singer was "Chantilly Lace," because he died in the same plane crash as Buddy Holly and Richie Valens, in February 1959. He didn't live quite long enough to see George Jones's rendition of his song "White Lightning" hit #1.

 

[Fraggle Rocker]

Christine Joy "Chrissy" Amphlett (25 October 1954 – 21 April 2013). Lead singer of the Divinyls, an Australian rock band that achieved modest fame in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Her big hit was "I Touch Myself," a phrase which your grandparents used as a euphemism for masturbation.

A friend of mine won a karaoke contest by doing that song... in a chair, posing lewdly, and touching herself all over.

(She's a fabulous C-list professional singer, so she might have won anyway, but three years later everyone still remembers that one performance on that one night. She also starred as Kate Monster in a highly-praised local production of "Avenue Q," which required not just singing while dancing, which all theatrical performers have to do, but also operating a Muppet at the same time!)