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Friday, April 22, 2016

S is for Seriously, 2016?

By now, I'm sure you heard that Prince died yesterday. Seems unbelievable that we'd lose two of the most unique voices, him and Bowie, in one year. Unbelievable and heartbreaking. I've never been a rabid Prince fan, but I enjoyed his music. Kiss was the #1 song on the charts the day I was born. And now he's gone.

It has been an incredibly bad year for deaths. We used to joke that deaths came in threes. Now, it's an onslaught. Seems like every other week, someone else is gone, just another face in the news. If this pace continues, we're going to be immune by the end of the year, to numb to care. I'm not being dramatic here (okay, maybe a LITTLE dramatic.) I counted.

According to Wikipedia, by this date in 2015, there had been 96 worldwide notable deaths. These are actors, writers, musicians, politicians, astronauts, sports stars, spiritual leaders, anyone who might have been in the news or had their own Wikipedia page. This year, there have been 94 notable deaths. Surprisingly even, isn't it?

Until you count the familiar names. Last year, I knew two of the notable deaths by this date: Leonard Nimoy and Terry Pratchett. Over the whole year, there were 16 deaths of people whose names or work I knew.

This year, there have been twenty. TWENTY. TWO-ZERO. Before the year is even 1/3rd past. And that's insane. Seriously, 2016, what the hell?

6 comments:

  1. It is weird, isn't it? Visiting from the list (I'm no. 106).
    I saw a funny quip on the internet earlier today, something about Why Can't God be taking corrupt politicians instead of talented artists?
    www.thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com

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    1. that makes sense, but God has the power and in his/her place I would take the musicians and artistes too

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  2. Both Prince and Bowie were unexpected. They weren't that old, but had done so much with their music. RIP

    ~Ninja Minion Patricia Lynne aka Patricia Josephine~
    Story Dam
    Patricia Lynne, Indie Author

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  3. I was never much of a fan of Prince, but I'm still sad. The words ring hollow when I say them, but there has just been too much death. Too many known names. Some well loved. Every one like a sad sucker punch to the heart. Onslaught indeed. It's like you hardly have time to breathe before another one pops up.

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  4. I thought Bowie and Prince were Immortals. I was wrong.

    zannie A-Z hopper

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  5. I saw a tweet recently that said "Who let George R R Martin write 2016?". Made me chuckle. This article also cracked me up: http://newsthump.com/2016/04/22/grim-reaper-given-final-written-warning/

    It's a great shame that we are losing so many talented actors and musicians lately.

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