A comparison of death: Whitney Houston ~ August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012

Over the past few years we have lost many great stars, Michael Jackson, Amy Winehouse and most recently Whitney Houston. It seems almost surreal when a big star dies. Like the world has forgotten about them until they die. Michael Jackson’s albums "Number Ones",  "The Essential Michael Jackson" and "Thriller" were top sellers in the United States the week following his death (Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/02/arts/music/02sales.html). In Western societies death is almost glamorized especially when it comes to celebrities. I hope for the sake of our society that the reason celebrities are glamorized after death is because we are taking the time to remember their lives. Sadly, I don't really think this is true.

This weekend I was sitting in a restaurant with my friends for a birthday party. All of a sudden, from down the table I hear someone tell me that Whitney Houston had just died. Within seconds the news had spread all over Twitter and Facebook. I didn't really know what to think. The way I view death, it is a very personal thing, something to only briefly be talked about and then sadly forgotten. I don't think I would want my death broadcasted all over social networking sites for the whole world to have an opinion on.

I think that the Eastern societies have a good way of viewing death. I believe the difference is the way we grieve. Compared to Western societies, the view of death in a Buddhist culture is very respectful. I think that's the difference. With the information of someone's death spread all over the internet, there is a good chance at least one person is going to be disrespectful.  

The way I will remember Whitney Houston is sitting in my kitchen listening to my favourite song of hers play over and over again.

I hope you enjoy it too.

Kind of a Cliché....

“Real danger is nothing more than just living. Of course, living is merely the chaos of existence, but more than that it's a crazy mixed-up business of dismantling existence instant by instant to the point where the original chaos is restored, and taking strength from the uncertainty and the fear that chaos brings to re-create existence instant by instant. You won't find another job as dangerous as that. There isn't any fear in existence itself, or any uncertainty, but living creates it.”
― Yukio Mishima, The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea

In my opinion this is one of the most powerful quotes in the novel. Something so eloquent, so simple and yet something that is usually overlooked. It takes a minute to wrap your head around the idea that the real struggle and danger in life is in fact living. Some people might say that that kind of thinking is rather pessimistic but I believe it is just a realists point of view. Sometimes our minds might wander thinking that death is really the easiest thing in life. Almost pure. And Mishima mentions in the novel, the act of death starts at birth where time is only the space in between these two. I think that's beautiful. This is not to say that life isn't worth living but maybe just one part of the circle that makes up our very existence.

Some Very Interesting, Unusual Characters

 One thing that I have learned from being in this IB english program is that you come by a lot of interesting characters, all of which relate to one another. Reading Doestovesky's Crime and Punishment and Mishima's The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea I have discovered a correlation between Raskolinov and Ryuji. I find it fascinating that they are both very sheltered characters, Raskolnikov ostracised from society and Ryuji a lonely sailor. Yet they both strive for something beyond the realm of there own societies. Ryuji thinks, "There must be a special destiny in store for me; a glittering, special-order kind no ordinary man would be permitted," which I can relate to Raskolnikov because he himself believes that his state of mind is that of an extraordinary man. I think that everyone at one point in there life would like to believe that they are of a "higher standard" or are capable of something extraordinary. I believe that these characters are an exaggerated version of this and therefore even though we are shocked by their actions we can also sympathize with them. Sitting here writing this I am shocked with myself thinking I could even remotely relate to these characters.