Postscript at bottom updated on 5/6/2002.

First of all.  Once again (and again and again), sorry for the time period between postings.  The muse can be a fickle mistress.  A friend of mine recently "discovered" the site and commented that he enjoyed my work, so now I feel like it's more than just a diary again.  If I wanted a diary, I'd be over at LiveJournal doing this.  Not my speed, thank you very much.  I'd much rather talk about the world around me than my own pitiful life.  With that being said, let's move on to today's topic: why people are famous.

Let me begin by saying in all honesty, I dislike hearing about people dying.  I try and avoid the news as much as possible for that very reason.  The war in Afghanistan is horrific.  Justified and necessary, but not something I want to hear about on a daily basis.  The whole Israel/Palestine tête-à-tête?  I just can't fathom how two groups of people can fight for so long over the same small piece of land.  I know the troubles are far deeper than that from a political point of view, but it boils down to these two groups of people fighting for so long that they've forgotten what they're fighting for.  When peace boils down to two grown men, both  saying "You stop first," then it's time to reevaluate the whole reason you're killing off an entire nation.

With that in mind, I was shocked and dismayed when I heard that Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes died in a car accident.  I thought about it, said a short prayer asking that her soul move quickly to its just reward and moved on with my life.  I guess I figured most of the world had done pretty much the same thing until Sunday night, when I caught the start of VH-1's "tribute" to one-third of TLC.  The hostess, in her opening monologue, said the music world was "still reeling" from the tragic demise of Left Eye.  Still reeling?  Let's review Miss Lopes' accomplishments up to her untimely demise (not necessarily in chronological order):

1. Provides backing vocals/rap for the album Oooooooohhh...On the TLC Tip, which includes the hit single "Ain't too Proud to Beg."
2. Tries to make a fashion statement by accessorizing her Flava Flave-inspired wardrobe with condom wrappers, including one over her left eye.  The accessorizing alone makes her more of a celebrity than I will ever be in my lifetime.
3. Provides backing vocals/rap for the album CrazySexyCool, which include the hit singles "Waterfalls" and "Creep."  The album wins a Grammy for Best R&B Album.  The single "Creep" wins a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
4. Attempts to burn her then boyfriend Andre Rison's shoes in a bathtub, causing a huge fire which burns a sizable portion of the house.  The repairs cost more money than I'll ever see in a lifetime.
5. Provides backing vocals/rap for FanMail, which includes the hit single "No Scrubs."  The album wins a Grammy for Best R&B Album.  The single "No Scrubs" wins a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
6. The group TLC files for bankruptcy after making more money than I will ever see in my lifetime.
7. Releases "Supernova" as her first foray into the music world without "T" and "C."  The album has, to date, not received any awards.

So from this list, what would make the music world "reel" from her unfortunate departure from this realm?  Is it the fact that she was a member of a Grammy winning group?  Hendrix never won a Grammy, but it could be argued that his passing shook the music world in a much more pronounced way.

Maybe because died so tragically and had so much of her career ahead of her.  Janis Joplin was 27 when she died, had a more impressive body of work and the cause of her death was a ham sandwich Heroin overdose.  Janis' life and death caused a generation of women to simultaneously realize their freedom as well as their mortality.

The real reason for the celebrity surrounding her death?  I'm sorry to say, but I think it was just a slow news day.  The only real news in the world that day that wasn't already happening (meaning the war of terrorism or the Israel/Palestine thing) was that tragic shooting rampage in Germany. First of all, there's not real entertainment angle there, so E! and Entertainment Tonight weren't going to do stories on it.  The only real entertainment news of the day?  VH-1 announced that "Weapon of Choice" was named the Greatest Video Ever Made.  I'm as big a Christopher Walken fan as the next guy, but if you're the entertainment editor, which story are you going to run with?

Lisa Lopes was a beautiful woman.  She was a very talented rapper.  I think that with the right management and push behind her music, she would have faired well as a true singer away from her TLC band mates.   Her death was senseless and pointless and came too quickly.  My problem isn't with her, her life or her body of work.  My issue is with the entertainment media that decided to deify her simply because she was the biggest story of the day.  She was more mainstream and popular than Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley.  She died from a car accident, not a drug overdose.  The fact that she was in a foreign country where honking your horn first gives you the right of way and her was speeding (as it's being reported) never seem to come to the front burner of the tributes.  It's a shame that they've made her a cause-celeb due to tragedy.  Where was this great rally when her "Behind the Music" episode aired?

The music world isn't reeling.  The world blinked and moved on.  The music world paused, bowed its collective head, shrugged and moved on.  The only people reeling are her friends and family.  To them, as well as Lisa, I wish peace.

Gasucawa

Jason

Quick Postscript:  Couple of items to clear up and add.  

First off, Janet died from an OD, it was Mama Cass who choked on the ham.  Sorry.  The overdose isn't as senseless, but for the era it happened in it seems almost as senseless.  From everything I've heard (and I could be wrong), back in the 60s, Heroin was a considered a lot more recreational than it is today.  Either way it was stupid to do and senseless that someone with her whole life ahead of her could be taken from us. 

Lastly, I just saw over on Yahoo that Dale Earnhart, Jr.  paid tribute to Lisa because people were putting autopsy photos on the Internet. The same thing either happened or was going to happen with Dale's daddy after his tragic accident at Daytona.   Couple of opinions for the record:

1. Dale, Sr.'s accident was tragic.  He died at work, doing something he loved.  Lisa died driving in a foreign country where she'd be considered rich enough to hire a local to do it for her.  Not tragic.
2. I have no idea what to make of this whole "solidarity among victims of the Internet" thing.  Part of me understands the sentiment, but wouldn't it make more sense to put your celebrity behind an effort to make sure it didn't (or doesn't) happen rather than to wear eyeblack under your left eye and paint a stripe under your left headlight?
3. Thanks to www.fark.com for bringing this to my attention.