Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Life / Media / Celeb Your Daily Quiz
Posted by David Schmader on Tue, Jun 30, 2009 at 9:40 AM
Like it or not, the death of Michael Jackson (and the hubbub surrounding the death of Michael Jackson) will devour the media for days to come. You're probably over it already, which is fine. What I want to know is:
What media-dominating death had the most actual impact on your life and emotions?
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2
When the PI went, I lost everything: no information, no idea of what's going on, what the weather will be like, I can't read The Lockhorns or Pearls Before Swine in the mornings anymore without going online. Drag.
5
Oklahoma City bombing and 9/11. I wept long and hard about both, and I waited anxiously to hear about my family who live in NYC and who work near the World Trade Center.
13
John Lennon's death--it's one of my earliest memories. At the time I didn't really know who he was but everyone around me was upset.
15
oh Princess Diana tops MJ in my book. I remembered where I was at that night when the news came that she got into an accident then died. The day I moved to Seattle back in 1997 was the day they buried her. What was freaky was how Mother Theresa died right after her.
19
I'm with Monkey @4; the only celebrity deaths that have actually saddened me were Phil Hartman, and Heath Ledger. Kurt Cobain seemed always-already on the verge of death, so his suicide came as no surpise. Michael Jackson was dead to me since the early 90s.
23
The Challenger Explosion, far and away.
For an individual...probably Phil Hartman or River Phoenix. The first because it was just so shocking, and the second because he was the same age as me, and represented so much wasted potential.
For an individual...probably Phil Hartman or River Phoenix. The first because it was just so shocking, and the second because he was the same age as me, and represented so much wasted potential.
25
I fell asleep with the TV on and woke up to Diana's death, so I guess she interrupted my sleep and therefore had an effect on me.
For real: Paul Wellstone.
For real: Paul Wellstone.
27
Aside from the PI, which was useful, I could give a fuck when celebrities die. I only invest emotions in people I actually know.
29
Joey Ramone got me. More recently Lux Interior bummed me out. I wasn't old enough for Elvis or Lennon, and the rest in that list were just news stories to me.
30
Probably none of the above. Maybe Diana, because I had just had surgery and was confined to bed/couch, so watched a ridiculous amount of the coverage while drugged. Everyone else around me seemed devastated by Kurt Cobain -- I thought it was sad, of course, but wasn't really personally affected emotionally.
By the by, a couple years ago, I had an interesting conversation with several generations of my family about which major catastrophe was most shocking, had the most impact on their psyches and our country, etc. (I was specifically wondering about Pearl Harbor vs. JFK vs. 9/11). My mom said JFK (as did most in her generation), my grandma said 9/11 (over Pearl Harbor, which I thought was interesting, even though we had lots of relatives fight in the war), I was obviously 9/11. Other people mentioned the Vietnam draft and Nixon/Watergate as being up there on the list...
By the by, a couple years ago, I had an interesting conversation with several generations of my family about which major catastrophe was most shocking, had the most impact on their psyches and our country, etc. (I was specifically wondering about Pearl Harbor vs. JFK vs. 9/11). My mom said JFK (as did most in her generation), my grandma said 9/11 (over Pearl Harbor, which I thought was interesting, even though we had lots of relatives fight in the war), I was obviously 9/11. Other people mentioned the Vietnam draft and Nixon/Watergate as being up there on the list...
31
The PI affected me the most, even if I'd run into Kurt a few times before.
Never really connected with him, even if it was sad, but the PI got me where it mattered.
Never really connected with him, even if it was sad, but the PI got me where it mattered.
33
I had to answer Kurt Cobain for myself but the death of Diana consumed my then-partner, and dealing with that was much more work than thinking about Nirvana ever was. He was devastated.
37
Hunter S Thompson was super sad. I put Kurt because I was in Middle School at the time and Nirvana was everywhere. My older brother wanted to take me to the Seattle Center for that memorial with Courtney, but my mom wouldn't let me go.
Regardless of him being on the edge of death at all times, it was still a shock and all consuming teenager sadness when he was gone.
Regardless of him being on the edge of death at all times, it was still a shock and all consuming teenager sadness when he was gone.
38
Um, also I agree with what was stated above. Why BIG and not Tupac? We are westcoast here, and seriously it does make a difference. I pretty much never listened to BIG, but I loved Tupac. I mean, come on. Westcoast FAIL.
39
Mia Zapata?! The 16th anniversary of her rape and murder while leaving the Comet (a block from the Stranger's offices) is in one week.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mia_Zapata
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mia_Zapata
40
@37 Yeah, I put Kurt for the same reason. I was also not allowed by my parents to go to the Seattle Center Memorial. That sent my raw teenage emotions into a frenzy, and it felt like such a huge thing in my little life at the time.
41
It didn't dominate the media but I was completely devastated by the death of Joe Strummer. He was so young and definitely had more to do. Plus, it was Christmastime. Worst Christmas ever.
47
Joe Strummer had a much more lasting impact on my childhood than Michael Jackson (I was too young for the Jackson 5 and had Thriller like everyone else but nothing after that).
48
1. Jim Henson
2. Princess Diana
3. Mr. Roger's
4. Eartha Kitt (I saw her in Seattle last July and was shocked she died on X-mas from cancer since she performed like she hadn't aged. I got a seat close to the stage and she sang to me.)
5. MJ
2. Princess Diana
3. Mr. Roger's
4. Eartha Kitt (I saw her in Seattle last July and was shocked she died on X-mas from cancer since she performed like she hadn't aged. I got a seat close to the stage and she sang to me.)
5. MJ
51
James Brown, definitely. He died on Christmas so there wasn't any news other than that so he got a bunch of coverage, which was awesome and totally deserved. Then, a day later, Gerald Ford up and dies and all the news stations go into batshit mourning mode over some old white guy who liked to fall down and get crooks out of jail. That shit made me so mad. JB was the real funky president.
52
None on that list impacted my life. The most significant death for me was the mass extinction of dinosaurs. If it weren't for that fortuitous event our lemur ancestors wouldn't have evolved and homo sapiens wouldn't have come to dominate the planet. And, most important, there'd be no ME!
53
For those of a certain age (meaning almost no Sloggers), the deaths of JFK, MLK and RFK to this day beg the question: "what if they'd lived?" The voting list above contains the names of those who had a talent to amuse - no small thing - but whose deaths were said to have been good career moves.
57
Oh totally The Challenger Explosion!
The first publicized death that I recall.
They had the tv on in class and we all had to watch it over and over. I can't recall if we watched it in real time or after the fact. It was very weird. I mean, I was eight years old. I recall most of that day; school, going home, talking to my Mom about it. The weather. Being really upset about the fact they died, but not wanting to cry in front of the other kids.
The first publicized death that I recall.
They had the tv on in class and we all had to watch it over and over. I can't recall if we watched it in real time or after the fact. It was very weird. I mean, I was eight years old. I recall most of that day; school, going home, talking to my Mom about it. The weather. Being really upset about the fact they died, but not wanting to cry in front of the other kids.
62
I wasn't that sad about George Carlin, while his earlier Lenny Bruce-ish comedy was stellar, towards the end he turned into an obnoxious "HA HA PUSSY LIBERAL PC PEOPLE" south park republican and just regurgitated the same lame strawmen over and over again. I guess I do miss the guy he was, but not so much what he became.
Similarly, I wonder if Bill Hicks would have embraced or decried the Alex Jones crowd if he had lived long enough. While obviously they were both right on a lot of matters, I'd like to think that Hicks was smart enough to know when Jones was attention-whoring (ala Morgellons, Chemtrails, etc.)
Similarly, I wonder if Bill Hicks would have embraced or decried the Alex Jones crowd if he had lived long enough. While obviously they were both right on a lot of matters, I'd like to think that Hicks was smart enough to know when Jones was attention-whoring (ala Morgellons, Chemtrails, etc.)
63
Joey Ramone. David Foster Wallace.
My mom found me sitting in front of the computer, sobbing, the Easter Sunday that Joey Ramone died. A huge part of my childhood gone. I'd been a fan since I was 8 years old and saw Rock N Roll High School on cable in 1980.
David Foster Wallace because I was so sad that his depression proved untreatable, and that he lived with so much pain. I was sad for him, and for his family. We lost a lot with his death.
My mom found me sitting in front of the computer, sobbing, the Easter Sunday that Joey Ramone died. A huge part of my childhood gone. I'd been a fan since I was 8 years old and saw Rock N Roll High School on cable in 1980.
David Foster Wallace because I was so sad that his depression proved untreatable, and that he lived with so much pain. I was sad for him, and for his family. We lost a lot with his death.
65
@22 - by far, I was most affected by the one who most affected me: Mr. R, aka Rev. Fred McFeeley.
@39 - yeah... she was a friend of a friend, and that one sets in my stomach with the sickest, thickest heaviest feeling more than others.
@39 - yeah... she was a friend of a friend, and that one sets in my stomach with the sickest, thickest heaviest feeling more than others.
66
You know how some questions elicit the response, "This is like asking me to choose between my children."?
This question is like asking me to pick out the prettiest crackhead in a lineup. I don't hold any serious ill will towards celebrities, but I don't know them and their death, while notable, has no real impact on me.
The death of the PI was a huge moment in media history but as someone who didn't grow up with it on my doorstep every day (sorry, Seattle), and understand the direction that news media is taking with the rise of the internet, it didn't really touch me all that much either.
This question is like asking me to pick out the prettiest crackhead in a lineup. I don't hold any serious ill will towards celebrities, but I don't know them and their death, while notable, has no real impact on me.
The death of the PI was a huge moment in media history but as someone who didn't grow up with it on my doorstep every day (sorry, Seattle), and understand the direction that news media is taking with the rise of the internet, it didn't really touch me all that much either.
67
The death of princess diana. That day my son was admitted to the hospital suffering side effects of the first round of chemotherapy he had to take for cancer at f-ing age two. As we spent that week pumping him full of morphine to help him (barely) cope with the pain, I was remotely aware that the rest of the world was wrapping itself in knots over Diana. I realized how completely divorced I had become from the rest of my culture.
68
I'm with the others who said Jim Henson. For my daughter (and, admittedly, me a little) I thank God that Sesame Street was able to survive his death. The rest of the Muppets haven't fared as well.
69
Kurt Vonnegut, I actually morned him, and read Slaughterhouse 5, something I had been avoiding, fearing that it would over shadow Breakfast of Champions. It did not, they are both beautiful.
70
The death of Gary Gygax didn't dominate the media, but it is absolutely the only celebrity death I ever really felt.
71
The day of the Challenger disaster was one of the strangest of my young life. I attended the same school as Christa McAuliffe's son, in Concord NH. Everyone was watching it live and the collective excitement morphing into grief as we realized something went wrong was head spinning. Seeing all the normally stoic teachers openly crying and clinging to each other was rattling. There was no more structured class for the rest of the day, we were allowed to kind of wander around the school randomly, which only added to the sense of dislocation.
72
Jim Henson and Phil Hartman, because I really felt the loss because of the stupid, silly way that they died (misdiagnosed, crazy woman). Plus, both still had years of inspired entertainment to offer. (I once had a chance to talk with Elvira about Phil Hartman, and I will never forget the way she turned deadly serious and sad and vengeful when talking about how his friends all hated that woman.) Heath Ledger, too. I was always a fan of his acting, and it was just so weird to hear that he suddenly died.
Vonnegut and Hunter moved me, but they both seemed to pass appropriately, and I don't have trouble accepting that people die. Usually, when a celeb or author dies when they are older or have been battling disease, it doesn't affect me other than with a mild interest.
That said, I am really going to be upset when Swayze dies.
Oh, and I can't think of a political figure in my lifetime (b. 1970) that has died in a way that has profoundly affected the world (ie, JFK, MLK). Princess Di's death was just stupid and sad, but wasn't really politically motivated, so that didn't count. I may just put 9/11 in that column and leave it at that.
Vonnegut and Hunter moved me, but they both seemed to pass appropriately, and I don't have trouble accepting that people die. Usually, when a celeb or author dies when they are older or have been battling disease, it doesn't affect me other than with a mild interest.
That said, I am really going to be upset when Swayze dies.
Oh, and I can't think of a political figure in my lifetime (b. 1970) that has died in a way that has profoundly affected the world (ie, JFK, MLK). Princess Di's death was just stupid and sad, but wasn't really politically motivated, so that didn't count. I may just put 9/11 in that column and leave it at that.
73
Paul Wellstone's death shocked and saddened me, and caught me so by surprise that I wept as if I had known him personally.
74
River Phoenix! I was crushed, and I'm surprised he's so forgotten, particularly after Heath Ledger's too-similar death. Is it just me?
Phil Hartman would be follow a close second. And of the list I think I'm the only one who picked Elvis. I know he's now regarded as a complete hick, but I was 6 years old, I had a ton of his 45s, and a major crush.
Phil Hartman would be follow a close second. And of the list I think I'm the only one who picked Elvis. I know he's now regarded as a complete hick, but I was 6 years old, I had a ton of his 45s, and a major crush.
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