NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Heath Ledger(1979-2008)
Tragedy takes the best and brightest
Why does it do that?
You were a hero to me, fearless
The finest young actor in years, peerless
Now you've left me in tears
God hands out genius and weakness
In equal mesaure, be the distance between them large or small
And now he's taken you away from us and everyone you loved
Just when you were at the start of it all.
I loved your big big heart most of all.
Now you've left me in tears
God hands out genius and weakness
In equal mesaure, be the distance between them large or small
And now he's taken you away from us and everyone you loved
Just when you were at the start of it all.
I loved your big big heart most of all.
I can't believe he's dead. I was just renting the rest of his movies I hadn't seen. He was my favorite young actor, versatile, brilliant, and willing to take on any challenge in his roles. He was shaping up to be one of the best. In some ways he already was the best. He was the best actor of 2005 for sure. And his smile, his laugh, his candor, his humility, his maturity... I just can't believe it; I'm sick to my stomach, I'm in shock. I'm starting to cry finally. He's gone forever.
~RIP~
26 comments:
me, too...
sick about it
and in denial, really...
in
*A Knight's Tale*
he stole my heart...
and then
he just got better.
:-(
^^he will, he will rock you.^^
What a tragedy.
Thank you for visiting my site, somepink. You've got quite a beautiful one yourself; I spent a little time just scrolling through, reading tidbits but mostly marveling at your colorful and wonderful photographs. That christmas tree is breathtaking. I'll bookmark your site and peruse it more when my grief and shock has subsided a bit. Do you know Maalie? Cos I noticed he posted on your site as well - course, that old Limey seems to have tendril-like connections everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if he were one of the famed Illuminati that secretly control the governments of the world.
Just kidding about the Illuminati of course, but do feel free to stop by and visit my rather drab but heartfelt site any time you please. It's strange; usually I care nothing for the lives of "celebrities" ... after all, they are ordinary homo sapiens like the rest of us and many are not the best of people. I enjoy their work onscreen or in a book or on the sporting pitch, but I don't idolize them or particularly care what they do in their private lives.
I always felt Heath Ledger was so brave to take his surefire good looks and popularity from movies like A Knight's Tale, and rather than milk it for easy fame and money, have the courage to take on his role in Brokeback Mountain, for which it's a complete crime he was not given an Oscar. It was one of the most transformative, tragic characters I've seen in at least a decade. I didn't have an idea he wasn't a midwestern American until I saw him in an interview! What a job he did portraying that man perfectly.
And then I became interested in his other movies, and he was always this different guy, totally different, like Ed Norton or Christian Bale but even more so. A skater, a cowboy, a knight, a lover, a suicidal son... He had this grace and maturity and confidence about him beyond his age that radiated so much you couldn't take your eyes off him.
And in the few interviews he gave in video or print, he came across as a humble, truly artistic soul who didn't sound hollow when he said he passed up bigger roles because he wanted to play people who interested him. With HIM, you believed it. It's just at that point that he lost his life, probably took it, out of grief or constraining hollywood madness or who knows what - I think most people, even those close to him, are in denial and shock as well - and I lost what feels like a friend I was just getting to know.
I will always remember his small collection of movies, some very good, some mediocre, but in every one HE was excellent and kept me transfixed, the way Ed Norton does even in a bad movie. And he was so iconically good looking, not that I'm gay or that even matters, but like James Dean or Montgomery Clift, he had that swagger and charm, a big smile but with downcast eyes. Always thinking.
We lost a really neat person from this planet, and that is always a terrible thing. God knows there are so many of the other kind.
Heath, I'll miss you. I'll miss all the wonderful characters you would have been and all the excitement I would have gotten from going to see a new movie with you in it. And I know your daughter and her mother and Naomi will all miss you, as well as the family who raised you and all your friends. You seem to have been universally liked.
Shockingly sad. What a waste.
> that old Limey seems to have tendril-like connections everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if he were one of the famed Illuminati
Haven't you notic3ed that I tend to write in iambic pentameter?
E-ternal sun-shine of the spot-less mind...
It´s always heart-rending when someone you´ve come to admire dies, especially young, when they showed so much promise.
I´m sure Mags will have emailed you my now but after reading your comments on her latest post I wanted to come and leave some, well I´m not sure, I´m probably too young for words of wisdom, words of hope, maybe. I spent a significant time myself feeling miserable, wretched, sitting in my room and just crying. I know haven´t been visiting here for long but I hate to think of you feeling cold and alone.
However, surely it´s better to be alone than with the wrong person and still be lonely.
Tell us what´s wrong with your cat (I didn´t know you had a cat, give him/her strokes from me - I´m a mad old cat lady before my time) anything we - jls, Lorenzo, myself, any other cat lovers - could maybe help with?
The same with the car - any obvious symptoms?
In the past several years my football team has gone from the top echelons of the Premier League and reaching the semis of the Champions League (knocking Real Madrid out on the way) down to the Championship and then again to League One. They took 15 points off us at the start of the season for some ´illegal´ manouevrings or other, and tho´ we played well for the first half of the season now the best I can seem to hope for in each match is a draw. Beat that one!
No film is ever as good as the book. In fact, the more you love a book the less likely you are to enjoy the film. I missed the Golden Compass at the cinema - I had no-one to go with as Matt´s Spanish is dreadful. I may (or now may not) rent it when it eventually comes out on DVD. Perhaps they´ll produce a director´s cut. Did you ever use to watch a tv series called My So Called Life with Claire Danes? It was excellent but failed to gain a following over there and so they never made a second series, the fools.
I can´t do much about the heating but will send you warm thoughts and evil ones to the repairmen until they get their arses in gear and fix your heater.
I join with Raelha in sending you warm cuddling thoughts, and I so agree with her that it's better to be along than with the wrong person. For the last nine years of my marriage I was so lonely. There's nothing quite so lonely as a marriage gone wrong.
Give your pus a stroke from me, and keep your pecker up my old fruit.
Lorenzo.
And give him a stroke from me too.
I loved Heath! Each role was fresh. I didn't see interviews, but I'll look for them now. He was an actor like Brando, Dean, others - a natural, nothing forced. The Patriot - just a boy, but he stole the scenes from ol' Mel. Knight's Tale - good spoof and been a while, so I will rent it again. Brokeback Mtn - incredibly deep. He was made to play Casanova with his bass voice and good looks. Depp played Don Juan de Marco - both scored. I'll miss Heath. What a good soul he was/is.
BTW, Thanks Meta for writing about him to give us all a way to say something. Nice photo too.
I had to do it for myself, but I'm glad others could express themselves as well. Thanks for the comments.
Raels - I agree about the misery of being with the wrong person. Thankfully this time I recognized only a month or two into things. Last time it took me ten years of marriage to figure it out, so I feel your pain.
Jackson, my cat, is just coughing a lot, like he's trying to barf something up. It could just be hairballs, but he makes a weird weezing noise too. I wonder if he has a cat flu. He's pretty lethargic as well, but that could describe him just about any time.
My car is trying to start, so it's not a dead starter. It's turning over, but even a jump from a powerful truck battery won't get it to actually catch and start. I'm not a car person so if it's not the starter, the oil, the coolant, the brakes, the tires...you see where I'm going. I've had problems with this car before - last time it has overheating on me because of a cracked radiator, which I had replaced. I dunno what this is.
Sorry about your footie club. That's quite a plummet. If the Lakers don't recover, we'll sit in a pub (since the US and Spain are no good for that sort of thing we'll have to meet up in England somewhere) and drink ourselves silly.
I'm hoping for a Director's Cut to the Golden Compass, as the footage that was left it wasn't bad at all, it was the editing and confusion due to expository omission that was the theatrical release's undoing. New Line ought to know all about extended editions, having produced a nearly 12-hour version of the LOTR trilogy. I hope saner heads prevail that did the first go round. Of course the films will never beat the books; that's a given. But given the hype and the trailers I was expecting so much more. Now I almost wish I hadn't seen it, it seemed so dumbed now, or at least bizarely incomplete (which is because it was). Even the director is enraged and apologized publicly the day after it was released via internet video. I'm sure the studio loved that!
With such a low domestic gross, unless the overseas take (currently at a very respectable $300 million) makes up for it, I doubt we'll see the return of so many high-profile actors for a Subtle Knife sequel, and that would be a weird shame. Better not to make it if they can't get the marquee players back. I forgot that Eva Green was in it too as Serafina Pekkala and the always-great Sam Elliot as Lee Scoresby, a role made for him. Just good solid actors all the way down the list.
I LOVE Claire Danes!! I've seen ALL her movies, she's one of my favorite actresses. Shopgirl might be one of her best roles. Yes, I watched some of My So-Called Life but not the whole series; however I will have to remedy that. I had a crush on her then and I still think she's quite beautiful.
I'll give my kittie Jackson some extra lovins, Lorenzo and Scaredy, don't you worry. He likes sleeping on or near my head or chest when he's not feeling good or when he misses me, so giving him attention isn't something I can really avoid.
Maalie, quite clever. And a bit scary. Don't tell me if you have any Iambic (or Doric) PetaGRAMS etched into your hardwood floors.
*scratches Scaredy's chin*
Thanks everyone. Now I will go cry myself to sleep despite it all.
How are you doing this grey, miserable morning. Jackson still coughing?
Lorenzo
Poor Jackson, sounds like he´s got a cold. Malt is always good for hairballs, I get it in a tube from the local supermarket for not too much money.
Maybe you just have to change your car battery. Is it very old?
I´m up for a mutual comiseration drink-fest in the UK. I´m still keeping my fingers crossed for promotion but I won´t speak further on it since every time I do they go and lose.
I hadn´t realised that Sam Elliot was plaing Lee Scoresby. I agree, he´s just perfect for the character. Hopefully there will be a director´s cut, it will be incredibly popular and they´ll have to make the other two films the way we want them. I hope Philip Pullman raised hell (no pun intended) when he saw what they´d done to his story.
Shopgirl? Is that the one with Steve Martin? I´ve only seen a trailer in Spanish. Mr. Martin normally puts me off watching films, although I was tempted by the restof the cast.
Do watch all of My So Called Life, it encapsulates perfectly what it´s like to be a teenager. However, be prepared for huge disappointment at the end, it´s a cliffhanger, sort of, and thus incredibly frustrating when you know there is no more.
More strokes for Jackson and warm thoughts for you. Have they fixed your heater yet?
R
Thanks Lorenzo, I am doing just fine. I feel a whole lot better than yesterday and not so overwhelmed. Just taking a thing at a time. I WILL not get down in the dumps this year!
Jackson-the-orange-dumbo keeps wanting to go outside even though water is turning into a solid out there and he's obviously not at peak health. There's a reason why cats are our pets and not the other way round. :)
I think he'll be ok. I'm gonna try the Petromalt like you suggested; I'd already thought of that actually and was waiting till the pet store opens to go get some. He's never gotten hairballs ever before which makes it kinda strange, but I'll keep a close eye on him and see if his behavior changes for the better or worse. If he starts to get too ornery, I'll know he's fine again.
He said to say hi to Scaredy and that he understands the whole neutering thing and sympathizes greatly.
Unfortunately my car battery is the newest part of my car, less than a year old. It's an Interstate battery too, I dunno if your stores carry that brand or not but here it's pretty much considered the best brand. So I really doubt that's it, though it's always possible. I think something must be flooded after our record storms a week or two back, but I won't venture any more technical speculation beyond that or I'll sound like a person who calls their entire computer box the "hard drive".
I'm not enthusiastic about Steve Martin either and in fact there is almost something grotesque about someone his age having a romantic fling with a woman of Claire's age. But the movie surprisingly is well done and asks some tough questions. It's quirky but certainly not a comedy. She dominates the whole film quite capably, capable actress that she is. And you've convinced me; I'm downloading the whole season of My So Called Life at the moment (55% done...). Sucks about the cliffhanger but thanks for the warning.
So how are you doing? Work going ok? Health good? You, Lorro? Scaredy?
No han reparado mi calentador, lamentablemente. I'm going to twist off somebody's head today and see if that does anything. Good thing I've got a nice pair of UGGs, a big goose-down blanket and pillows, the warm crocheted blanket my grandma gave me a long time ago, and a stocking cap to cover my head and ears. I also have long underwear and a thick pair of sweat pants as well as a cashmere sweater. The only things that are still cold are my nose and my hands. Brrrr.
I think some exercise even in this cold weather will get the old blood going and I can ride this out. That or I'll go sleep inside a nuclear reactor and take my chances.
Why do you need a blanket for your crotch? Feeling the cold? A receipie.. reici... ressipie for disaster.
Maalie, maalie, maalie. I'm shocked and disappointed in you. Such a dignified, well-aged gentleman as yourself stooping to the level of Rex or myself to get in a crotch joke.
Well done!
And for your information, this crochet is absolutely HUGE to enable it to cover what it needs to and keep the "blokes" comfy and cozy. I have a kingsize bed as a single man living in an apartment by himself. There is a reason for that.
Yes, Meta. Try some kind of maltbased hairball stuff. Most cats like the taste and just lick it off your fingers. If Jackson hates it, rub it on his paws, a little veg oil would help too. Cats hate anything on their paws and so he'll clean up anything you put on them. If it aint hairballs, he may just need worming.
The car probably just has an appliance demon.
Give the little sod a tin of sardines. They fix Scaredy up a treat. Especially the ones drenched in olive oil.
Lorenzo.
The car or the cat? I dunno whether Jackson would eat sardines, he's extraordinarily fussy, even for a cat. But it's worth a try, tins of sardines are pretty cheap. And he seems to be improving a bit on his own unless it's just my imagination. I still think he just has a kitty cold. Temps here have been below freezing at night, and rain and wind from an arctic storm front during the day. It almost looks like England. Thanks for the advice though dear. I'll try it if he seems no better in the morning. That or Petromalt on his paws like Magdalene suggested; though he has a dry cough and it doesn't seem he's coughing up furballs or regurgitating his meals at all. More like a wheezy cough.
Like I said - kitty cold or flu. It's the season for it. Thanks for everyone's concern, I'll keep you posted.
Try him on an asthma inhaler.
Failing that, if the worst comes to the worst, I've no doubt Maalie has a recipe somewhere for cat au vin.
A kingsize be to oneself (bar the odd cat or two), that has to be one of life´s ultimate luxuries.
I´m getting confusing images of crocheted blankets now. I shall never look at my crochet hooks in the same way.
It´ll be intersting to hear what you make of My So Called Life. I last saw it about 12 years ago and I wonder if it will still ring true from a more adult perspective.
I just found out you were back Meta. Sorry i'm so slow.
This is a very sad thing! Very cruel world we live in. And life is so fragile.
You're quiet. How is Jackson, all sardined-up yet? Did they fix the heater or are you still wrapped up in your blanket? Blue skies here, would like to send them your way.
Is your car mended yet?
Is Jackson mended yet?
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