Gone Too Soon

Too many celebrities are passing before their time. First there was Brad Renfro, then less than a week later it was Heath Ledger, and now it's Brittany Murphy.

Brittany was one of my favourite actresses, and I was truly saddened when I heard of her death this evening. The death of Michael Jackson was sad, and unexpected, but he had lived a decent life. At 32 you don't expect your life to be so dramatically cut short.

I loved the films she was in, from Clueless to Just Married. She was quirky, funny, beautiful and talented. And I don't just mean her acting abilites, but her voice too. She hadn't even accomplished all she could have. I don't often quote celebrities, but in the words of Ashton Kutcher, the world has lost "a little piece of sunshine."

Chips

I don't know what the latest news is on Swine Flu in your area, but it's getting pretty widespread here in the UK. So widespread in fact, that people are now freaking out and overdosing on antibacterial paraphernalia.

As I keep trying to tell them; if you're going to get it, you're going to get it. There's little you can do to prevent it, except running for cover and not coming out until the spring. I on the other hand, have come to the conclusion that I'd rather get it now, than in five weeks' time when we're supposed to be going on honeymoon.

Don't get me wrong, I am not, repeat NOT about to hold a Swine Flu Party and rub up against every sick person I can find. I'm simply saying that I'm going to be careful, but I'm not going to change my lifestyle in order to specifically avoid it.

On Monday I elected my "Flu Friend". On Tuesday she called me to tell me she had Swine Flu.

I choose my timing well :)

Seriously though, she lives 100 metres from me, so I would have offered to help her anyway. So I left work early on Tuesday and collected the Tamiflu from the pharmacy. You should have seen the reaction; it was like they thought I was sick. I had to stifle a giggle.

But despite what people are saying, I feel useful, and I like being able to help her. She's housebound for 5 days, so the least I can do is buy bread and milk for her while she's sick. Which got me to thinking; if the same happened to me, I would have nothing in the house to live on.

Hubby and I ended up doing an emergency shop on Tuesday evening in the event that we both get taken down sick with it. So now our freezer is fully stocked with ready meals, and most importantly, chips.


If I'm gonna get swine flu, I'll deserve a big plate of chips :)

Come to think of it; I'm not feeling too great today. That'll be because I decided to make the switch from Diet Coke to Diet Coke - Caffeine Free. What was I thinking?

The King is Dead

I think most people would agree with me when I say that today is a very sad day. The death of Michael Jackson has shocked the world. It seems most people found out yesterday, but I woke this morning to hear it on the news.

They say everyone can remember where they were when they heard about the deaths of people like John F Kennedy, John Lennon and Martin Luther King. While I'm too young to remember them, I do remember where I was when I learned of Princess Diana's death (on holiday in Majorca).

The death of Michael Jackson will be one of those moments. However my memory won't be too thrilling, as I was standing over a pile of clean laundry, trying to find something to wear for work, with a towel wrapped around me and my wet hair turbaned up on my head. I was also bleary-eyed and the first time they mentioned it on television, I misheard.

Or perhaps I didn't mishear; perhaps I just wanted to think I did. The truth is the death of Michael Jackson is something I never thought I would hear. He was one of those people you thought would just live forever - in a really unrealistic way.

Love him or hate him; you have to admit that Michael was talented. And a law unto himself. I grew up listening to his music, because my parents were fans, so it's really no surprise that I have his albums in my CD collection. He has been a great inspiration to me, not because I'm musical, because I don't have a musical bone in my body, but because of what he's accomplished in his life.

Admittedly I did question his innocence when it came to the child abuse charges, but I never stopped liking his work, and I never gave him any less respect than I think he deserved. He was an incredible artist, an incredible dancer, and I think very misunderstood. I think the world has lost a gem with the death of Michael, and I think it would be very hard (if not impossible) to find a match for his talent and success.

I hope his family, especially his children, find some privacy to grieve during this awful time, and that the press and his fans don't cause too many problems for them. It's hard when someoene with such a high profile dies, because many fans seem to consider themselves as entitled to attention as their families.

But nobody's talking about the late Farrah Fawcett, who also died yesterday after a long battle with cancer. I hate to say it, but I think Farrah's death might be treated similarly to that of Mother Theresa - if you remember, Mother Theresa died shortly after Princess Diana, and while she devoted her life to helping the poor, her death was over-shadowed by that of Diana's, and the hardly got a mention. I think it would be sad to forget about Farrah, and I think it's important to recognise her as well. I didn't even realise she was sick, so her death came as a surprise to me.

Sorry I'm not posting about happy things today, but I thought both Michael and Farrah were worth a thought.

What's Going On?!

There are loads of strange stories going around in the news at the moment. Take these for example:

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GIRL ASKS FOR THREE STARS TATTOOED ON FACE, GETS FIFTY SIX:
A Belgian girl walked into a tattoo parlour and reportedly asked for three small stars to be tattooed on her face. She then (reportedly) falls asleep and the tattooist proceeds to tattoo a further 53 stars all across the left hand side of her face.

Hmmm. She fell asleep? I doubt anyone can fall asleep with a needle so close to your bone like that. Let me just say; there's no jog mark from where she would have pushed him away upon waking up, and each star is completed. It just doesn't add up. The tattooist claims she asked him for 56 stars, and it was only when she got home that her father and boyfriend saw her that a problem arose.

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CHILD ACCIDENTALLY FLUSHES PUPPY DOWN TOILET:
A child tried to wash his muddy week-old Cocker Spaniel in the toilet, and pulled the chain, accidentally flushing him in the process.

Incredibly, the puppy survived and emerged 20 yards away from the house after the RSPCA and drainage services, Dyno Rod, fighting to pull him out.

The family have since named the puppy Dyno, in honour of the Dyno Rod worker who saved him. The little boy said he was "so sorry" and promised never to do it again. I bet he got the fright of his life when he saw his beloved puppy disappear round the U-bend...

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WILL & KATE LOOK FOR £5m HOME IN MALIBU:
Prince William and his girlfriend Kate Middleton are scouring Malibu Beach for a home; their meagre budget being £5,000,000. Five MILLION pounds ($8,200,000).

This one really got me thinking. Now, I'm an anti-royalist, and I don't mind admitting that. I dislike the royals more than I dislike chronic migraines. In fact I would rather live my entire life with migraines if it meant the royal family were disbanded.

What's more, the money they're spending on this house is that of the British taxpayer. And where's it going? Well, it's certainly not being pumped back into the British housing market, which is on its knees right now.

They get free education at the best universities (even if they don't have the grades to qualify, AKA Prince Charles), they don't have to repay their debts, and they spend my money. The Queen Mother alone is said to have racked up about £20,000,000 ($32,700,000) debt during her lifetime. When will it stop?

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KITTY USSHER QUITS AFTER ONE WEEK:
For those of you outside of the UK, there has been a huge row over expenses for a while now. It's recently come to light that members of parliament have been claiming a disgusting amount of things on their expenses:

* Douglas Hogg claimed approximately £2,000 to clean his moat at his second home.
* Jim Devine claimed £2,000 to re-wire his second home.
* Married couple, Alan & Ann Keen (both working as MPs) claimed £250,000 ($400,000) between them for mortgage payments on both of their homes, despite that only one home is allowed to be claimed for.
* Lembit Opik claimed £30 for a fancy dress wig.
* Tony Blair claiming £7,000 for a new roof on his second home two days before stepping down as Prime Minister.
* David Chaytor claimed £13,000 for a mortgage he had already paid.

...the list goes on. It seems to be every day that we hear another extraordinary claim, and subsequently that member of parliament quits/stands down or whatever.

This time it was Kitty Ussher who hit the headlines. Ms Ussher had only been working as Treasury Minister for a week when she threw in the towel and quit. She reportedly changed the designation of her home in order to avoid capital gains tax.

Under tax laws, people with more than one property are liable for capital gains tax on the sale of their second home, but must inform Revenue and Customs which this is.

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And finally a nice one...

VICAR OFFERS OWN MONEY TO FUND COUPLES' WEDDINGS:
A Cumbrian vicar has offered to put his own money forward to help cash-strapped couples marry in church during the recession.

The vicar, who earns £21,000 ($34,000) is offering to cover the statutory £250 fee from his own pocket, because he wants to make it easier for couples who are struggling to find the money. He was also quoted as having said he thought the Church of England should stop charging people for everything.