Keith Ledger RIP

[Mike McCusker]

I hate all death threads. Maybe I am too shallow/uncaring? But it just seems like every time and Tom, Dick or Heath dies the interweb is overcome with tribute threads and people commiserating each other for the parting of someone who probably barely registered with them whilst alive.

For example. Not surprisingly, the phrase "Heath Ledger" was Google's fastest-rising search term yesterday. The second? "Keith Ledger." This means that literally millions were looking for details of the death of someone they couldn't even spell or didn't even know his name.

What is it all about? Why bother? Is it so you have an excuse to start a thread? Look at the titles of our board. You don;t need the death of a celebrity to start a thread. Having a tasty snack or stroking a dog passes for enough of a reason to post.

Let the dead be.

[TempodiMorire]

I guess people just have a fascination with all things morbid. Happy 3,000 posts for ur next one.
I agree also,tasty snacks and dog carressing are certainly more reasonable thread subjects.

[Kris K]

People like to pretend to care about stuff.

[aural near]

I know I do.

[donnyidk]

people like drama.

people imagine there's some connection betwen them and a person they saw on screen or heard on cd or whatever.

people like being part of a story, being "in" on the gossip.

it's easy to see why such a fuss is made over it.

:\

people. oh people! when will you quit your foibles?

[Kris K]

The worst was the entire Terri Schiavo fiasco. I knew about ten people who were eagerly trying to convince everyone that they cared strongly about it.

[TheWrongOne]

The 2 threads that were started on the forums here were very soon after his death, and in both cases the poster wasn't even sure he had died. I know you weren't talking about here specifically but... I dunno. People just like to inform, good news or bad news.

[E Smith Rock]

surprisingly, the phrase "Heath Ledger" was Google's fastest-rising search term yesterday. The second? "Keith Ledger." This means that literally millions were looking for details of the death of someone they couldn't even spell or didn't even know his name.

What is it all about? Why bother? Is it so you have an excuse to start a thread?
.

I think people do experience geniune shock, and grief. Heath had it all, and at his age, you'd assume health would be included. Personally I never cared about Heath at all, but it's horrible that's he gone so young, leaving so much behind.

[recordrunning]

I think people do experience geniune shock, and grief. Heath had it all, and at his age, you'd assume health would be included. Personally I never cared about Heath at all, but it's horrible that's he gone so young, leaving so much behind.

I agree with this. I've always been kind of indifferent towards Heath Ledger, but it is sad and quite shocking that he has died so young. I think most of the response we're now seeing is coming from the shock of his death.

[Mike McCusker]

But how did people experience and deal with this before notice boards?

Elvis died for somebody's sins. But not mine.

[rlr_core]

people like drama.

people imagine there's some connection betwen them and a person they saw on screen or heard on cd or whatever.

people like being part of a story, being "in" on the gossip.

it's easy to see why such a fuss is made over it.

:\

people. oh people! when will you quit your foibles?

this guy always seems to say what i want to say,but better.

[lisa]

yeah i started mine 2 hours after he was reported dead and hadnt seen the other thread until after i posted mine, i should have just deleted it but some people had responses in there i enjoyed...

as yes, i did know his name, and yes i was a big fan of his work, and yes it bothered me that he died. i didnt know him but his work effected me. people say the same for elliott. meh..

[Mike McCusker]

I think discussing Elliott's death on this board makes sense. It just seems that there is a rush when a 'celebrity' of any or no merit dies there is a rush to get it posted and for people to say how much it means to them.

It leaves me cold.

[Fantasy Paradox]

yeah i started mine 2 hours after he was reported dead and hadnt seen the other thread until after i posted mine, i should have just deleted it but some people had responses in there i enjoyed...

as yes, i did know his name, and yes i was a big fan of his work, and yes it bothered me that he died. i didnt know him but his work effected me. people say the same for elliott. meh..

i feel like the two threads were started within minutes of eachother.

[muriel]

I agree also,tasty snacks and dog carressing are certainly more reasonable thread subjects.

How's about tasty dog snacks?

[Shadow16nh]

I hate all death threads. Maybe I am too shallow/uncaring? But it just seems like every time and Tom, Dick or Heath dies the interweb is overcome with tribute threads and people commiserating each other for the parting of someone who probably barely registered with them whilst alive.

For example. Not surprisingly, the phrase "Heath Ledger" was Google's fastest-rising search term yesterday. The second? "Keith Ledger." This means that literally millions were looking for details of the death of someone they couldn't even spell or didn't even know his name.

What is it all about? Why bother? Is it so you have an excuse to start a thread? Look at the titles of our board. You don;t need the death of a celebrity to start a thread. Having a tasty snack or stroking a dog passes for enough of a reason to post.

Let the dead be.

This could be seen as sort of amusingly ironic considering the message board it belongs to.

*edit* Heath Ledger is worth making a fuss over in my opinion, he was a genuine talent that had worked hard to avoid being typecast as a heartthrob. Its saddens me to see a brilliant and hungry artist cut down.

[TempodiMorire]

i feel like the two threads were started within minutes of eachother.

Yeah just 3 minutes difference. I'd just read 1 of them and went back and saw the other appear.
Lisa was wrong though, the threads were started only shortly after it was reported.
It had been two hours since they had actually found him.

[pointyjess]

I was walking laps at the park today when three teenage girls showed up (skipping school???) and decided to swing to commemorate Heath Ledger. "OMG, it's just like 10 Things I Hate About You." And I thought about the phrase "Teenage death tourists."

I never saw that movie. I don't know who this guy is.

[pointyjess]

This could be seen as sort of amusingly ironic considering the message board it belongs to.

There were people here before Elliott was dead.

[Shadow16nh]

There were people here before Elliott was dead.

Granted, and there were obviously fans of Ledger's here before he too passed on. I'm just suggesting that a person like Ledger warrants the frenzy surrounding his death.

[E Smith Rock]

Most new people are here because they love his music as well.

[donnyidk]

i'm not sure you can compare the two really. the fact that elliott died is almost by-the-way for people here (except it means a) we'll never see him play live and b) no more new music) but the google search for keith ledger was purely because of his death.

i don't think many people here went searching "eliot smith" after they read a news article about his death and then figured they liked the music and came here. i think for most of us the music came first.

[lisa]

i don't think many people here went searching "eliot smith" after they read a news article about his death and then figured they liked the music and came here. i think for most of us the music came first.
most film fans knew of heath ledger before his death also. he was nominated for an oscar and lost just like elliott omg!

[donnyidk]

omg! :O;)

yeah i mean it seems from what you said you were a fan, and i don't mean to toss that. but people who typed keith into google...c'mon. that's just...hfff.

[E Smith Rock]

I didn't even notice it said "keith" ledger in the thread title until now.

[TempodiMorire]

I'll be more interested in a week or so to see how many people typed "I am Ledger" into google, thinking the film was a biopic or something :-p

[Mighty Mouse]

it'll be interesting to see how fast we'll know the autopsy results for heath ledger, a celebrity, considering that it will be one month before i'll know exactly how my friend died.

:yes:

[TheKeenGuy]

Given that Heath Ledger contibuted so much more in terms of creative output in his short lifetime than Anna Nicole Smith ever did, I think it's fair that his passing got at least a fraction of the attention that hers did.

Just like when Elliott died, some people knew him and most others knew his work well enough to realize what an immense loss it was, and when a greater community got a sense of that, they began to examine Elliott and appreciate what he left behind.

Certainly there's both good and bad intentions behind the attention of the so many different kind of people who pay attention to a story like this, but it's unfair to cast every single one of them in a negative light.

[JacksonAlbracht]

I am willing to wager that a good number of people searched for "Elliot Smith" after his death; this displays unfamiliarity as well, though not as much as if had affected the pronounciation as was the Keith case.


What's worse: people who care when successful artists die or people who are assholes on internet forums but not bold enough to be so in real life?

[ktothebbc]

And I thought about the phrase "Teenage death tourists."


:darn:

So, uh... anyone know any tasty snacks?

[XXX]

am i the only one who is still laughing about "keith ledger?"
how many other misspellings made the googletopten?

[pointyjess]

:darn:

So, uh... anyone know any tasty snacks?

http://www.taquitos.net/im/sn/Bugles-Orig.jpg :D

[JacksonAlbracht]

I'm Old Greg!

[donnyidk]

What's worse: people who care when successful artists die or people who are assholes on internet forums but not bold enough to be so in real life?

are you saying we should either mourn for a guy we never knew or go picket his funeral because he died?

[recordrunning]

are you saying we should either mourn for a guy we never knew or go picket his funeral because he died?

No... I think the point is, for every thread someone makes about someone who's died, there's always gonna be somebody who has to stand up and let everyone know how much they don't care and trash others for their pseudo-sympathy or whatever.

If you don't care that Heath Ledger died, that's fine. Don't want to mourn him, that's fine too. Nobody's forcing you to. But don't be an ass about it to the people who do. It's disrespectful.

[donnyidk]

fair enough, and i don't mean to be an ass toward him or people who sincerely are upset by his death.
but i do mean to be an ass to the whole celebrity culture that causes people to "mourn" and gossip about and perv on the family of somebody who's name they don't even know.

[recordrunning]

fair enough, and i don't mean to be an ass toward him or people who sincerely are upset by his death.
but i do mean to be an ass to the whole celebrity culture that causes people to "mourn" and gossip about and perv on the family of somebody who's name they don't even know.

Nah, it's alright. I didn't think you were being an ass. Some of the behavior you refer to is also disrespectful, and if I was seeing that here I would have been equally disturbed.