Carrie Fisher and I were about the same age, so I have to agree, she was too young and lively to die.
Dang. I should have headed off to Hollywood when I was 19 to become a cinema icon. Missed my chance.
Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher’s mother, has died now, too. Outliving your children is a hard burden to bear.
Princess Leia is the least of what Carrie Fisher has accomplished. Everyone should read this profile from October (which sadly, seems like an obituary now). Here’s the money quote:
“I haven’t ever changed who I am. I’ve just gotten more accepting of it. Being happy isn’t getting what you want, it’s wanting what you have,” she said.
I just don’t have words for how profound that is. We’ve lost a bright light. 2016 has been a cruel mistress, and I fear what she has in store for us for the next 4 days.
Trying to wash that image of PZ in a metal bikini out of my mind (shudder)
Robin WilliamsCarrie Fisher brings joy to the hearts of journalists and politicians once againPoopyhead says, “I should have headed off to Hollywood when I was 19 to become a cinema icon.”
Warning! Do not be sipping a fine beer when reading that, as it stings mighty up the nose and drenches the keyboard.
Fortunately, as the mildly deranged penguin points out, I missed the cheese.
starfleetdude #3
What’s your point?
You might have needed the famous mom and dad to get you in the door. Yet, she was very talented. My favorite of her movie roles: Mystery Woman in The Blues Brothers. But I also enjoyed the Star Wars movies, and Postcards from the Edge both the book and the movie.
Ah, thanks for that memory. Femme fatale, with a twist on the second word.
I admit I never realised she was the mystery woman in The Blues Brothers.
#3. You missed the point.
PZ quite rightly made Carrier Fisher’s death all about himself. Fisher’s self absorption with HER health issues and celebrity and the Hollywood faux feminism of Star Wars does not deserve oxygen.
She was always a Pricess of the Patriarchy.
#9: That’s telling him, pal!
And “Pricess” is priceless. Have you considered taking up blog commenting as a profession?
She was a good friend of Stephen Fry, and much more intelligent and funny than I’d been led to believe before her QI appearance. I was hoping we would see more of them.
It seems to me she suffered oxygen-deprived brain damage on the plane four days ago, and was kept alive over the weekend until the family could make a decision. The AMA does not approve of doctors using vague non-medical terms like “stable”, and it is unfortunate someone said that to the media. This should not have seemed sudden to anybody, otherwise.
The sudden is the announcement. When I heard she was unresponsive when taken off the plane, i figured it was a fatal heart attack. Just been waiting for the official call that the body and mind agreed.
@#3
It’s actually exactly what I thought when I read the post.
They both seemed like decent people, both will be sadly missed.
Damn it, can’t 2016 just die in peace rather than dragging damn near every celebrity I like with it?
This year has just been one continuous punch in the gut.
Wow what a shitty article to link to as your eulogy PZ. That starts off by the author talking about his/herself and veers off in to something about Mavis Staples and has almost nothing to do with Carrie. Thanks. For nothing.
A personal anecdote about Carrie, a passive aggressive complaint about getting fired from NPR with a non sequitur in to the Staples Sisters, which has everything to do with Carrie Fisher and her amazing life and courage to talk about her mental health issues, right? Which by the way weren’t mentioned in the article. Thanks again, for nothing.
I’ve read ten great eulogies to her today already and this is the dreck you post? pfffft.
For all our problems with 2016, you realize 2017 is going to get a lot worse, right?
And another one: Astronomer Vera Rubin died December 25 (aged 88).
She discovered the galaxy rotation problem which led to the concept of Dark Matter.
It is ironic: At the end of the movie theatre version of Episode V Luke and Leia were looking through a window at a visibly(!!!) rotating spiral galaxy and Rubin discovered that galaxies rotate to fast to be stable.
@#1, kdemello1980: thoroughly concur.
Her passing hits much harder than obituary writers and their editors imagined.
Very few (so far) understand why.
Did she get oxygen-deprived in an ordinary airliner ????
The cabin pressure is supposed to emulate an altitude of 2000 m/ ca 7000ft, I can only assume there was a pressure leakage, but the pilots of airliners are supposed to rapidly dive to low altitude.
#19 The oxygen starvation of the brain is due to the heart stopping, and I believe in her case she stopped breathing as well. CPR was given for 15 minutes on the plane and who knows how long she was in trouble before she was noticed. While being at a lower altitude may have helped a reduction near an airport is too dangerous due to not being able to land quickly. There is oxygen on board normally and if they could use that on patient and provider (I’ve given CPR in training and its bloody hard work) then they would have done.
Its quite possible she made no noise when the attack hit and no-one noticed until it was too late – I believe she is normally seated with her dog so it seems possible.
I don’t know if it’s possible for 2017 to be worse. You can’t re-kill like, every Celebrity and musician I liked.
Shit, I just found a report that Debbie Reynolds, Carry Fisher’s mother, was rushed to the hospital after a stroke. This year sucks big time….