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George Orwell DEAD January 21, 1950

Posted by KristenM in Famous Deaths - (0 Comments)

Born June 25, 1903

Died January 21, 1950

High of His Life: Eric Arthur Blair, known by his pen name George Orwell, is best known for the lovable dystopian novel  Nineteen Eighty-Four. Well, maybe lovable isn’t the right word, but most of us sure do enjoy the bleak and dismal society ruled by Big Brother. Thanks to the success of the novel, the man gets an adjective formed from his name. It doesn’t get any cooler than having your name added to the dictionary. His novella Animal Farm, written four years beforehand, was also widely successful. Together, they have sold more copies than any other two books by another 20th century author.

Low of His Life: With such an immense cultural impact, inspiring similar dystopian novels, music, film, and more, it’s difficult to pinpoint a low of this man’s life. I would say that despite all the homages and references, the downside is that some may have missed the point of his novel. With the recent SOPA bill floating around, clearly our own government doesn’t quite see the problem that potentially lies ahead. Orwell may have unintentionally planted a seed in some politicians’ heads. Ironically he died the same day as Vladimir Lenin.

Who Sees Him as a Hero: Tom Morello and the rest of Rage Against the Machine, college students (English major included), the producers of Big Brother, and anyone who appreciates democracy.

Popularity: 6% [?]

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Lewis Carroll DEAD January 14, 1898

Posted by KristenM in Famous Deaths - (0 Comments)

Born January 27, 1832

Died January 14, 1898

High of His Life: It is without question that the high of his life is giving the world the drug induced children’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. His second accomplishment? Writing the nonsensical poem “Jabberwocky” –a creature that would later give me nightmares. The rest of his life was pretty hustlin’ n’ bustlin’ writing other literature, doing photography, and inventing stuff no one really cares about. But Carroll gave the world a book that made little sense about a girl with A.D.D who talked to a cat with no body, people with a serious tea addiction, and a Queen obsessed with the guillotine. The book has inspired numerous film adaptions, tea houses, and a group of adults obsessed with all things Wonderland.

Low of His Life: Besides creating somewhat unintended attention from the books, Lewis Carroll’s legacy has been marred by rumors of pedophilia. Whether they’re true or not, many lean towards perv. He did after all have a thing for taking nude photographs of little girls. You can’t really argue with that. Also, I’m forced to see women dress up like a slutty version of young Alice every year for Halloween. Hmm…maybe Carroll would have enjoyed that….

Who Sees Him As a Hero: People on LSD, Tim Burton, anyone who ever did a remake, pedophiles, and tea whores.

Popularity: 8% [?]

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Jay Reatard DEAD January 13, 2010

Posted by TimD in Celebrity Gossip | Celebrity News | Entertainment | Famous Deaths | Music | Pop Culture - (2 Comments)

Born May 1, 1980

Died January 13, 2010

High of His Life: Jay Reatard spent most of his short life attempting to perfect tightly contained chaos in catchy punk rock songs. The goal proved to be a fruitful one when in 2005 he actually did exactly that. His solo debut Blood Visions was not so much a first record as a culmination of the talent he had shown in his previous bands(Lost Sounds, The Reatards, etc.). The record was an ideal slab of punk rock for anyone who knew anything of such pursuits.

Over the ensuing months Reatard’s notoriety and bank account would grow and he would be offered the chance to expand beyond his punk rock goals. Which is all any artist ever really wants.

Low of His Life: Success of course is always a double edged sword and the unruly nature of Jay Reatard became a bit of a source of both infamy and idolized punk rock credentials. He kicked fans in the front row, feuded with band mates, brought under age girls back to hotel rooms to take acid with him. Things got messy and the lows seemed to be coming directly on the back of all of the heights.

Of course the last public missive in Jay Reatard oeuvre was a Tweet. Not some funny tweet or a touching tweet. It was a Tweet (This Tweet) where Jay Reatard offered his fans money to vandalize the van of a rival punk band. No one ever did that requested act of vandalism and two days later Jay Reatard was dead.

Who Sees Him As a Hero: Ty Segal, anyone making anything even sort of like punk rock, misanthropes, me.

Popularity: 6% [?]

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Eli Whitney DEAD January 8, 1825

Posted by KristenM in Famous Deaths - (0 Comments)

Born December 8, 1765

Died January 8, 1825

High of His Life: Despite having quite a few inventions under his belt, the only thing we remember from Elementary school is the cotton gin. Thanks to this nifty device, he turned cotton into an immensely profitable crop, strengthening our economy and turning a painstakingly tedious process into less of an annoyance. It was also a key invention for the Industrial Revolution. (I’m sure we’re all thankful for cozy cotton shirts instead of itchy wool.) Despite being inaccurately credited for the invention of interchangeable parts, it’s still something to add to his list, along with the milling machine.

Low of His Life: Although the cotton gin increased the cotton industry and turned quite a nice profit, the invention subsequently strengthened slavery, despite what one might think. Now that it was easier to produce cotton, demand skyrocketed and so did the need for slavery in the South. Whitney also had to deal with a ton of legal battles over patent infringement and barely turned a profit from his invention. Poor guy just can’t catch a break.

Who Sees Him as a Hero: Industrialists, the entire South, and Fruit of the Loom. I’m sure we can all surmise which people didn’t see him as a hero…yeah you’re all thinking it too.

Popularity: 8% [?]

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Momofuku Ando DEAD January 5, 2007

Posted by TimD in Celebrity News | Entertainment | Famous Deaths | Food | Movies | Music Industry | Pop Culture | Popular News - (2 Comments)

Born March 5, 1910

Died January 5, 2007

High of His Life: We all know the famous Cup O’ Noodle soup. A staple of diets for anyone living in a rush or on a budget. Well, Momofuku Ando was the man who brought these high sodium treats to the masses. At first he simply sold bagged pre-cooked ramen, however it is likely that his greatest achievement was finding a self contained polystyrene cup to contain said noodles in. From then on the cups became a staple prop along with sweat pants and acne of the college set and a source of carbs, salt and not much else for people committed to a shoe string budget.

Low of His Life: About a half hour after shoveling a pile of these salty noodles down your neck you are likely feeling pretty much like a polystyrene cup full of shit yourself. For me, owing to high blood pressure, I almost immediately feel the vein in my head begin to throb and I get an almost instantaneous sodium based headache that very little can be done to fix. Momofuku being human likely also had these problems. A low of almost anyone’s life.

Who Sees Him As a Hero: Hot Pocket inventors Paul Merage and David Merage, the developers of Lipitor, college students, and fat people with a death wish.

Popularity: 14% [?]

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