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Whitney Houston dead at 48

3K views 46 replies 20 participants last post by  Lawrence 
#1 · (Edited)
#4 ·
It all started down hill with Bobby brown.
 
#5 ·
#11 ·
It started all down hill after Bobby brown.
It's his fault !
What a loss.
 
#15 ·
I was thinking about Whitney on friday. Something to the effect of "I'm surprised that she isn't dead yet". Sorry guys, no sorrow here whatsoever. She was born with a god given gift the she let go to waste. Bobby brown might have been a bad influence, but she was too stupid to turn and walk away. Drug addicts are very aware that they are living on borrowed time. Some choose to straighten out like Ozzy, Slash, Eddie Van Halen, etc., whilst others make that choice to continue down that path. I feel sorry for her family, but she got what was coming to her.
 
#17 ·
Nice. I hope people say nicer things about you at your funeral.
 
#16 ·
This just in :
Houston's death is still under investigation. Citing unnamed sources, celebrity news website TMZ reports that the pop diva's stylist, hairdresser and two bodyguards were present when she was pulled from a tub at the hotel.

Police have confirmed that the 48-year-old songstress was found dead in her fourth floor room late Saturday afternoon. Foul play is not suspected.

Sources told TMZ that Houston's entourage grew concerned when they realized she had been in the washroom for over an hour. Knocks on the door reportedly produced no answer from the pop star.

The site writes that the hairstylist entered the washroom and screamed upon seeing Houston whose "face was below the water and her legs were up."
 
#18 ·
I can't say I've ever been interested in Whitney Houston's music, but she had an absolutely incredible singing ability. I wonder what she could have done if she'd really applied that gift to something more challenging than somewhat stale pop diva fare.

I watched a couple of her videos today and was amazed by the power of her singing voice, especially one of her early videos from when she was just 19. Even though I've always hated that song from the Bodyguard I'd by lying to not admit that listening to her sing it does that hair-on-the-back-of-the-neck thing.

Anyway, her death yesterday made me think about how many artists and other extremely talented people are lost because they can't figure out a way to deal with their personal demons. I think it's far too easy to say "they should realize their gift and feel lucky and just get their ****e together". That's far, far easier said than done.

Besides those at the upper end of the talent scale, there's everyone else, who may have more modest talents, but don't take advantage of them or never develop or fully use them. To be really honest I'd have to look back at myself and say I'm partly guilty of that. I could be doing far more with my modest abilities than I'm doing, but manage to get in my own way time and time again, for reasons that I only partly understand.

Anyway, not to say I'm sad about Ms. Houston, I don't know her nor did I ever follow her career, but I have to admit to a bit of melancholy about all the personal demons that so many people can never figure out how to address. RIP Whitney.
 
#23 ·
Name one celebrity who ISN'T an addict of one form or another. Whitney Houston's early death is sad, and her family, friends and fans are going to miss her. She was only 48 years old. Enough moralizing already.
 
#24 ·
That's nonsense. There are plenty who aren't addicts. As far as the music industry is concerned, I've been places and can say, there are more non addicts than there are addicts. Which I'm glad for believe me, because there's nothing like travelling with a couple addicts for a few months (or a year). It's gets old fast. I've also known a few who were addicts but found recovery, and I admire them for it.

As for coke and junk, I never really knew too many actively using that were old. Ever seen an old coke addict?

Probably not.
 
#25 ·
There are all kinds of addicts, GT. Doesn't have to be just drugs or alcohol, though those ones are probably the most readily available. Even the addiction to all the attention, and the uncertainty about what to do with one's life when one has hit the where-are-they-now list, has led many celebrities down tortured paths. I'm not talking just musicians, but famous musicians. And movie and TV starts. And sports figures. And politicians. And as Wynona once said on Oprah, as soon as you think you've dealt with one addiction, you find out there's ten more lined up right behind it.

We the fans are fascinated with watching famous people suffer with the fame. We glorify them one day and vilify them the next. Give us dirty laundry.
 
#27 ·
Nope. Just the famous ones. At least, the most gifted and creative ones, the ones you actually hear about. Fame itself could be considered an addiction, one that many celebrities do not do so well with. Kurt Cobain couldn't handle it. I'd say Bruno Mars seems to be handling being in the public pretty well and thrives in the spotlight. Of course, he also went to jail already for drug-related issues, so he kind of underscores my point. So does Paul McCartney—ten days in that Japanese prison on account of the wonder weed. Look closely and I imagine you'll find addictions issues with nearly every famous musician. I'm not judging them for it; I just accept it as part of the artistic temperament to be this way.
 
#33 ·
Having a major cocaine habit is an expensive endeavour. So either you are famous and wealthy, or you are a criminal that steals in order to get a fix. Anybody in between does not last long because they usually cannot maintain employment while being a chronic user. Superstars like Huston have unlimited funds and their working environment tends to put up with that kind of behaviour. Simple as that.
 
#37 ·
Addiction can hit ANYONE, and the addiction can be anything to help sooth a problem. People become addicted to alcohol, weed, food, cocaine, you name it. It's very sad, but even more sad the way some of the holier-than-thows just write off such a talented life because of her addiction.

My heart goes out to people with harmful addictions. It is really shocking just how randomly this can hit people you would never expect, not just hollywood celebrities. Two instances in the last little bit really hit me.

Just today I read about Paul James, who is big in the Canadian Soccer scene:

Hall of Fame player. World Cup veteran. Former NCAA, university, club and Canadian under-20 coach. TV and newspaper analyst.

Paul James's soccer pedigree is long and distinguished.

But away from the pitch, James lived a secret hell. For more than a decade, the intense, meticulous coach was a crack cocaine addict who lived in fear that his secret might leak out.

"In spite of losing so much -- including my soccer employment, my financial security, and, many times over, my dignity -- I appreciate that I should take comfort from the fact in 2012, I am indeed fortunate to be alive," writes James.
"For me, drug addiction has proven to be a cruel disease with no simple remedy -- not a moral failing or a weakness of mind, but a unique, personal, and devastating experience," he writes.

His double life will come as a shock to many (I have known James for more than a decade, having covered him as a coach and worked with him both as an editor and fellow TV analyst, and never suspected).

"Everybody has said that to me. Anyone that I've opened up (to) has been stunned and shocked," he said in an interview. "It's not a badge of honour to wear but what it is, it's to alert people and society in general that you never know what's going on behind closed doors."
I met Paul James several times, and he is one of the last person's on earth you'd imagine to have a drug problem.

Maybe even closer to the last person, is someone else I knew and met quite a few times (And sold Macs to on a number of occasions) :

Robert Munsch admits cocaine, alcohol addiction

For more than 30 years, Robert Munsch has fascinated young readers with his unique stories that have made his books staples of any child's library.

But it is his latest story, one of admission to cocaine and alcohol addictions, that has become the most shocking and captivating one, a story not intended for his young "Munschkin" fans.

In a message titled "Note to Parents" posted on his website, the bestselling author admits he's been diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive and manic-depressive.

"Those challenges have led me to make some big mistakes," Munch says, without providing further details.

But in an interview with Global Television aired Saturday, Munsch admitted he is a recovering cocaine addict and alcoholic, adding he has been clean for about four months.
The stigma that so many people put on this problem is a major reason so many people don't get help like Paul James and Robert Munsch.
 
#38 ·
Addiction can hit ANYONE, and the addiction can be anything to help sooth a problem. People become addicted to alcohol, weed, food, cocaine, you name it. It's very sad, but even more sad the way some of the holier-than-thows just write off such a talented life because of her addiction.

My heart goes out to people with harmful addictions. It is really shocking just how randomly this can hit people you would never expect, not just hollywood celebrities.
<snip>
The stigma that so many people put on this problem is a major reason so many people don't get help like Paul James and Robert Munsch.
Thanks for writing that.
 
#39 ·
Whatever demons she might have been fighting doesn't diminish her talent or accomplishments.

R.I.P Whitney
 
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