Heath Ledger

I have been berated by one reader for not blogging on Heath Ledger’s death.  To some degree I was wanting to know the cause of death before saying anything, but also not totally sure what to say beyond the fact it is of course incredibly sad.

Anyway Noelle McCarthy talks a bit about his death, and others. And another Herald story covers the spike in Internet usage due to the death.

Whether Ledger’s death was suicide or drug overdose, it adds to a sad string of stories in recent times.  Owen Wilson’s attempted suicide, Lindsay Lohan’s drug addiction and most of all the total meltdown of Britney Spears.

It is a useful reminder that huge wealth and huge fame do not necessarily make people happy, and in fact often seems to leave people unable to cope.  Spears especially seems to be in a bizarre fantasy world, reminding me of Michael Jackson, and their bizarre detachment from reality.