RIP Stephen Gately

Stephen Gately's funeral took place today. Yet another tragic loss to have occured this year, following the deaths of both Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett a few months back. He was only 33. By way of (admittedly very small) recompense, the post mortem has since revealed that his death wasn't from drug-related causes, so at least the stereotype of gay men as drug-popping thrill seekers hasn't been perpetuated this time round. However this hasn't stopped some of the newspapers printing nasty and narrow-minded articles like the one Lubin Odana reports on.

I was never a huge Boyzone fan (my hubbie is!) finding their music pretty bland and boring but it's still a sad way for one so young to go. His husband must be absolutely devastated. And by all accounts, Stephen G sounded like a very nice chap indeed. By coincidence he was born on the same day as me (17th March) - a Pisces - and I bet if I'd ever met him we would have had a lot in common - sensitivity, a kind-heart, creative approach and open-mindedness for one (all typical Piscean traits - and yes, I do believe in astrology up to a point). Yep, I think we would have clicked. Louis Walsh has been quoted as saying that Gately was the "glue that held Boyzone together". And when it came to looks Mr Gately was a genuine cutie - those pretty boy features and dreamy expression certainly did it for me and many others I should imagine. RIP Stephen. What do the rest of us think about it?

RIP Farrah and Michael

Okay, so I said I wouldn't be back until early July due to work stuff but I just had to post a quick comment about the deaths of both Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson. Some of you probably know that Farrah was suffering from terminal cancer so her passing doesn't come as a huge surprise, but...Michael Jackson?? At age 50 that's way too young to go and it's food for thought. Of course as we're all aware, he exhibited some very "off the rails" behaviour in recent years and his musical output also dwindled as well as (in my view) decreasing in quality...however in his heyday he was the tops ("Thriller" and "Off The Wall" are two of my favourite all time albums). I'm sure people won't disagree when I say that in his "early days" he was a genuine cutie (see pic above) until he started to "go white". Still, very sad and inexplicable news. Going back to Farrah, I am a big Charlie's Angels fan and loved her as Jill Munroe in the first season on the show. The "Farrah" hairdo (see above) became a world-wide phenomena and those teeth were ... dazzling! Post-"Charlie's", Farrah's career arguably wasn't all that great and she was often celebrated more for her looks than acting abilities (although I heard "The Burning Bed" and "Extremities" gave her a chance to prove otherwise - not seem them myself).

Anyway, two sad losses. RIP Farrah and Michael. I'll have to write some proper tributes later. Comments??