What price, individuality?

As most of you will know, Heath Ledger was discovered unconscious by his housekeeper yesterday at a Manhattan flat. The police were called, but he was pronounced dead at the scene – the cause of death is yet to be determined but the NYPD is looking into the possibility of an overdose of prescription pills, which would indicate suicide.

If that was the case, it’s very sad. It doesn’t matter whether he finished The Dark Knight, or his latest film, the fact remains that if it was the case that he killed himself, it’s a tragedy and a real loss to us all. Many are incredulous that so many people can be so affected by the death of someone that actually, very few of us knew, but it’s not that hard to fathom. We connect with people through their films, their interviews, we let them into our homes – they entertain us, cheer us up, give us something to do. While it is ephemeral, we do have a connection to them and it does inspire emotion in us when they do pass, particularly under such horrific circumstances as these.

Suicide is the most selfish way to die, it’s true, but it’s also the saddest. As someone who has been touched by suicide in their life, I’ve had a long time to think about the root causes behind it. Did they really think that there was no other way out than to kill themselves? Did they feel so alone and so isolated that nobody could possibly understand or help them, and this was the only possible way that they could deal with whatever it was that was causing them such massive problems? I don’t know. After Amy died it took me a long time to come to the conclusion that we can never really understand what goes through the mind of someone on the edge of something like this – it’s a deeply personal experience that’s influenced by so many factors…it’s nearly impossible to fathom what they must have been feeling and how they must have felt so trapped that it drove them to it.

Heath Ledger’s case is an absolute tragedy, but it highlights the fact that we need to listen to each other more, to be far more supportive towards people we care about than we are. Suicide is horrible for the person who goes through with it, but it’s even worse for the people who survive it, by which I mean those who had connections, emotional attachments, who even loved those who take their lives.

The ultimate victims in this are Ledger’s family, most importantly, that poor two year old girl who will never know her father.

Very sad, very tragic. If I were a religious man my prayers would be with them, as it stands, they and others suffering the same thing have my thoughts today.

Listening to: Jose Gonzalez – In Our Nature
Currently watching: Forbidden Planet 50th Anniversary Edition
Currently reading: The Guardian

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An election of tit-for-tat

I always think that it’s a shame when obviously intelligent people succumb to the vagaries of slinging insults and personal attacks to get their points across, rather than debating real issues and shining through on their command of both the situation, the conversation, and their own impulses.

The election primaries in the United States started off as a fascinating demonstration of the democratic process – with the (now) highly divisive figure of George W. Bush unable to stand for another term and no particularly prominent figures vying to take his place, it seemed as if we may be able to have an American GE that isn’t so laboured with partisan voting and personality cults. The issues are troubling to say the least – an economy in recession and dangerously on the verge of crash, several wars overseas as well as peacekeeping operations, the expansion and enhancement of international government (particularly with regards to climate change) and the growing multicultural nature of US society in the 21st century are all concerns that need capable leadership and intelligent, cohesive discussion between all parties to solve effectively.

It seemed at first as if we were going to get that – the campaigning started (and I’m speaking with particular reference to the Democrats for this piece) as engaging, and thought-provoking discussion on exactly what had happened to American society. How had it become so fractured, what were the root causes and more importantly, what was going to be done about it? However, Obama’s victory in Iowa however had far more consequences than any could have foreseen, as it has suddenly sparked the birth of emotive and dirty campaigning. Clinton’s victory in New Hampshire was widely regarded as being due to the female vote and her disastrously cliched weeping at how much she cares about public services – hardly the kind of election platform that you want to launch societal reform from.

Since then, it’s pretty much descended into the usual mudslinging so often associated with the political process. Bill Clinton accuses Obama, Obama rebukes him and lays into Hillary Clinton about her background with a particularly pointed piece of dialogue that accused her of sitting comfortably on the board of Wal-Mart while he was getting his hands dirty helping the homeless and disadvantaged in Chicago. Clinton retorted with the fact that one of his main contributors (Rezko) is currently under investigation for fraud and running slum households in the inner cities. The Obama campaign is now donating all funds from the Rezko source to charity after this came to light.

Both are fair points, but using the poor and the economically deprived as a weapon is hardly a rallying call for change. Obama is popular among the young vote for his ability to spin rhetoric at a thousand paces about mending the schisms in their social fabric. His policies are something that I’m fairly sympathetic to, but they just don’t seem to carry the weight and obvious thought borne from experience that Clinton’s do. She also has the benefit of career experience, having served as a New York senator, and had first-hand experience of the White House (it’s no small shock that many people believe she was the true power behind her husband’s administration), as opposed to the 47 year-old first-time Arkansas senator.

However, both are tainting their campaigns with this excessive amount of highly personal and increasingly bitter attacks against each other. John Edwards, who most people have already ruled out as a serious contender, has even remarked on such (ironically, he’s come out of this storm looking like the best candidate, but people don’t vote for the nice guy who doesn’t want to offend in politics).

Meanwhile, the Republicans are rubbing their hands with glee not only at such a controversial Democrat ticket as a female contender or a black man, but also at the deep divides that this is causing among the mule’s voters. Their best candidate, Rudy Guiliani, is performing appallingly at the polls, but if the Democrats continue to bicker and fight among each other like this rather than come up with a defined and detailed, different political strategy, they risk losing their natural advantage due to the backlash over eight years of Republican government, numerous conflicts and the images of US boys and girls coming back home in flag-draped coffins.

If I were able to vote in these primaries I’d probably still go with Hillary Clinton, but this election needs a turn for the positive in order to keep the interest in politics that is surfacing in America piqued, lest the populace once more sink into apathy and disaffection.

Currently reading: Mil Millington – Things My Girlfriend And I Have Argued About
Currently watching: Chuck Season One
Want to watch: There Will Be Blood

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We few, we lucky few…

My Saturday pretty much consisted of driving back from Blackpool and frantically refreshing the BBC Live commentary page for the Treviso – Irish game on my mobile, hoping against all hope that we’d pick up a bonus point so as to get ourselves a QF place. And we did manage it! Might have been in the eighth minute of injury time, but we managed it nonetheless.

Alas, since Perpignan didn’t manage to pick one up themselves, if we hadn’t scored that fourth try then we’d be looking at a home game against Munster instead of playing USAP again. Oh well, beggars can’t be choosers, at least we’re through and it’ll be nice to stuff the Catalans after the sheer amount of whining they engaged in after the last game at the MadStad.

With the Six Nations beginning very soon and Irish on their way to the knock out stages of the Heineken Cup, it’s going to be an excellent period for rugby I think. My money’s on France or England to take the 6N – Ireland are too unfocused, Scotland are fairly useless and Italy…well. There were only 3500 in attendance in Treviso on Saturday, at least 1000 of which were our fans. Says something about the level of enthusiasm for the game there. I say make it the Seven Nations and bring Argentina in – wouldn’t mind a bit of a tussle with the Pumas, their performance in the WC was fairly inspiring.

Oh well, back to work I suppose.

Currently reading: Robert A. Heinlein – Starship Troopers.
Currently watching: Stargate Atlantis Season Two
Want to watch: No Country For Old Men

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Round three, fight!

So this will be the third time I’ve tried to maintain a blog, with the first still being my most successful over at LJ. Well, lucky number three and all that jazz I hope.

I’m mainly going to be using this as a soapbox for whatever I feel like writing about at the time. I may post snippets or short stories here, I may not. I’m currently wallowing in the well of indecision at the moment, woe is me.

One thing I would like to know is why we can go to the moon, send probes to Mercury, build robots that look so lifelike it’s impossible to tell the difference between them and humans, and attach bionic limbs to people, but we can’t find a simple cure for the common cold or a stomach ache? I mean seriously guys, you’re letting the side down, but more importantly you’re letting yourselves down too.

For anyone reading who doesn’t know me, I’m a 21 year old man who has delusions of competency. I work as a media journalist at the moment, but I’m planning to segue into newspaper journalism through taking the NCTJ preliminary certificate while I work in London town, freelancing in what little time I’ll have remaining after that. For the moment though, I’m still living in sunny Bournemouth and drinking far too much. Huzzah!

But seriously, there’ll be a range of topics here from politics, to work, to science fiction, to films and whatever tickles my fancy. Read it if you enjoy it, comment if you have something to say, or alternately you could just think fuck it and have a cup of tea and a sit-down. The choice, as they say, is yours.

– J.

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