Some of you, who only began reading this current blog and never experienced the original blog during the "Golden Age of Springfield Blogging," may need an explanation of some of the recent post.
You probably are saying "Why all those links to the obituary of a celebrity deaths?" First off, other retro blogs mention the passing of entertainers from the past or the era we cover on our blogs. I agree with what Gilligan over at Retrospace said over the weekend, a retro blog should keep these celebrities spirits alive and wallow in the morbidity of death.
However, my second reason for doing this, is so people can find it as a reference. It is this reason I use quick links to other media. I don't have the time to write a great send off and (a little media secret revealed here) any large news organization worth their salt has been compiling information and working on a celebrities death from the moment we first hear of them. Whitney Houston and Richard Dawson's obits were probably written in the mid-80s and Ray Bradbury's may have been written as early as 1954. I should also say here that, contrary to what some talk radio goons and right-wing groups that solicit money on Facebook want to tell you, the media doesn't "force" every celebrity death "down our throat." Yahoo News used to be good to have a daily list of obituaries from all around the world so you could find the death of those minor entertainment figures, who we often wonder if they are alive or dead. A few years ago, they dropped that in favor of stories about what female star had an ugly dress on at a premiere or may have wet their pants in a club. So, in many ways, I am a persons only hope in finding out if someone passed away.
Finally, for a bit of a local angle on this story, this is sort of an extension of "the contest" from the "Golden Age of Springfield Blogging." Before you get an idea that this had anything to do with that Seinfeld episode, I just say...WRONG! The object of the contest, between Chatter, Busplunge, Fat Jack, Larry at Simple Thoughts, the late great Curbstone Critic and the other bloggers during the boom days, was to see who could announce a famous persons death first. Maybe I think we are all still playing that game.
You probably are saying "Why all those links to the obituary of a celebrity deaths?" First off, other retro blogs mention the passing of entertainers from the past or the era we cover on our blogs. I agree with what Gilligan over at Retrospace said over the weekend, a retro blog should keep these celebrities spirits alive and wallow in the morbidity of death.
However, my second reason for doing this, is so people can find it as a reference. It is this reason I use quick links to other media. I don't have the time to write a great send off and (a little media secret revealed here) any large news organization worth their salt has been compiling information and working on a celebrities death from the moment we first hear of them. Whitney Houston and Richard Dawson's obits were probably written in the mid-80s and Ray Bradbury's may have been written as early as 1954. I should also say here that, contrary to what some talk radio goons and right-wing groups that solicit money on Facebook want to tell you, the media doesn't "force" every celebrity death "down our throat." Yahoo News used to be good to have a daily list of obituaries from all around the world so you could find the death of those minor entertainment figures, who we often wonder if they are alive or dead. A few years ago, they dropped that in favor of stories about what female star had an ugly dress on at a premiere or may have wet their pants in a club. So, in many ways, I am a persons only hope in finding out if someone passed away.
Finally, for a bit of a local angle on this story, this is sort of an extension of "the contest" from the "Golden Age of Springfield Blogging." Before you get an idea that this had anything to do with that Seinfeld episode, I just say...WRONG! The object of the contest, between Chatter, Busplunge, Fat Jack, Larry at Simple Thoughts, the late great Curbstone Critic and the other bloggers during the boom days, was to see who could announce a famous persons death first. Maybe I think we are all still playing that game.
