surprisingly close to home

Fred Thompson dropped out yesterday, and all around the country, people are asking: dropped out of what?

Before I start in on the fun Oscar stuff, I just want to say how surprisingly sad I was to hear about Heath Ledger's death. I think I had a real affinity for him because he's never played a role where I disliked him (frequently, in fact, I loved his work), coupled with the fact that he never really bothered anybody. He wasn't a raucous partier/drinker/drug addict like all the other actors our age, he always seemed so intelligent and likable in interviews, and he just kind of was in movies and hung out. Following his death, pretty much everyone in Brooklyn said that he was extremely polite and friendly. This is what makes it so sad and also what made it so surprising: if there was some sort of subconscious list of celebrities you expect to turn up dead, Heath Ledger was way at the bottom. A 24-year-old student was quoted in the New York Times as saying she was affected by Ledger's death "because of the way our generation is; we sort of feel we’re a part of each other’s lives." I can't really put my finger on it, but that seems to be how I feel about the whole thing. My sentiment appears to be widely shared. I was really, really looking forward to The Dark Knight this summer, and now it's going to be impossible to watch without getting at least a little bummed out.

Sadly, this happened on what is usually one of the more exciting days of my year. I'm still trying to get psyched up for the Oscars, though. Entry on that to follow.