# Whitney Houston



## gmcunni (Feb 11, 2012)

the best rendition of the National Anthem ever


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## ctenidae (Feb 11, 2012)

She could certainly carry a tune


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## planb420 (Feb 11, 2012)

We are using that Anthem to close the 11pm Sportscenter tonight as a tribute.


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## ScottySkis (Feb 12, 2012)

So sad. She was a diva.


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## Warp Daddy (Feb 12, 2012)

Tragic


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## marcski (Feb 12, 2012)

It is tragic.  Drugs certainly seem more devastating to musicians than most others.  I wonder why?


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## andyzee (Feb 12, 2012)

She was beautiful, she was talented, she was a star. In the end, she was like the rest of us that inhabit this rock, human, nothing more, nothing less..


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## bigbog (Feb 12, 2012)

marcski said:


> It is tragic.  Drugs certainly seem more devastating to musicians than most others.  I wonder why?



They are if the musician/singer is an addict.  She was an addict.


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## Nick (Feb 12, 2012)

I remember my mother listening to Whitney all the time in our house growing up. Truly a talent, and a shame to see it ruined by addiction.


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## ctenidae (Feb 12, 2012)

marcski said:


> It is tragic.  Drugs certainly seem more devastating to musicians than most others.  I wonder why?



Because there aren't that many musicians and the media focuses on them. Plus the whole party atmosphere. It is a tragedy that a talent like that was wasted, no doubt. But, if she didn't have that talent, she'd be a statistic today, and not a headline. That's pretty tragic, too.


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## deadheadskier (Feb 12, 2012)

ctenidae said:


> But, if she didn't have that talent, she'd be a statistic today, and not a headline. That's pretty tragic, too.



Pretty much.  I bet there were hundreds of obituaries nationwide yesterday for people dying from an overdose (just making an assumption that this was the case with Whitney) and then the one headline for Whitney.  all sad


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## Hawkshot99 (Feb 12, 2012)

deadheadskier said:


> Pretty much.  I bet there were hundreds of obituaries nationwide yesterday for people dying from an overdose (just making an assumption that this was the case with Whitney) and then the one headline for Whitney.  all sad



She was found by her aides with her head below water level in her bath tub.  I am guessing OD on something an passed out having the head fall below water and drowned.

If she OD, I do not see her death as tragic.  Drugs are a choice.  If she had kids that are now motherless then that is a tragedy.


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## deadheadskier (Feb 12, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> If she OD, I do not see her death as tragic.  Drugs are a choice.  If she had kids that are now motherless then that is a tragedy.



Yes, trying drugs is a choice.  Addiction is not.  The tragedy is that her death could have been prevented. A drug addict dying to me isn't a whole lot different than a cancer patient dying.  You wish they were cured instead.

She does have children and it is tragic that they are now motherless. 

and.......

pretty darn moving performance by Jennifer Hudson on the grammys tonight.  that took a lot of stones


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## Hawkshot99 (Feb 12, 2012)

deadheadskier said:


> Yes, trying drugs is a choice.  Addiction is not.  The tragedy is that her death could have been prevented. A drug addict dying to me isn't a whole lot different than a cancer patient dying.  You wish they were cured instead.



I have no fear of ever becoming addicted to drugs, as I am smart enough to not take them.  I do fear cancer because it can just appear in anybody.


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## snoseek (Feb 12, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> I have no fear of ever becoming addicted to drugs, as I am smart enough to not take them.  I do fear cancer because it can just appear in anybody.



You should consider yourself lucky as many people are wired to certain addictions. Also if you were raised in a typical suburban American environment then the odds were favored your way. Many are not so lucky as you and I...


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## deadheadskier (Feb 12, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> I have no fear of ever becoming addicted to drugs, as I am smart enough to not take them.  I do fear cancer because it can just appear in anybody.



Though you say you're smart enough to not take drugs Hawkshot, that's a pretty ignorant statement.  You assume all drug addictions are the result of recreational experimentation. 

I lost a good friend to an oxy overdose.  An old skiing buddy.  Got in a major wreck that required back surgery.   He was prescribed oxys to help with his recovery and essentially just wasted away.  One night he took a fatal amount of oxys combined with alcohol and was dead at 31 years old. 

I don't know how Whitney Houston got hooked on drugs.  It's a tragedy that she did because she is dead now.  It happens to a lot of people. It sucks.


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## ScottySkis (Feb 13, 2012)

I don't know how Whitney Houston got hooked on drugs.  It's a tragedy that she did because she is dead now.  It happens to a lot of people. It sucks.[/QUOTE]
Lots of people experience drugs in life, some make it away, even one's from middle class structure, it has a huge percentage of mental illness victims use drugs to cope way before they seek out help.


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## Nick (Feb 13, 2012)

deadheadskier said:


> Though you say you're smart enough to not take drugs Hawkshot, that's a pretty ignorant statement.  You assume all drug addictions are the result of recreational experimentation.
> 
> I lost a good friend to an oxy overdose.  An old skiing buddy.  Got in a major wreck that required back surgery.   He was prescribed oxys to help with his recovery and essentially just wasted away.  One night he took a fatal amount of oxys combined with alcohol and was dead at 31 years old.
> 
> I don't know how Whitney Houston got hooked on drugs.  It's a tragedy that she did because she is dead now.  It happens to a lot of people. It sucks.



Sorry to hear that dhs


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## ScottySkis (Feb 13, 2012)

Nick said:


> Sorry to hear that dhs


+1


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## deadheadskier (Feb 13, 2012)

Nick said:


> Sorry to hear that dhs



Thanks

It was many years ago, in the late 90s when I was a ski bum in Stowe.  Pretty eye opening experience at a young age for me concerning the dangers of opiates.  

Now whenever I know someone who is prescribed the drug, I get a little worried.  My boss currently is.  He had a tumor surgically removed from his foot about a month ago.  It doesn't appear that it will be a problem for him.  As snoseek said, certain people are wired for addiction, others are not.  It would appear my boss is not.

Addiction is a disease and death from addiction shouldn't be considered the result of an individual's stupidity. People die from alcohol addiction everyday.  Does anyone think it's stupid that someone tries alcohol? No.


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## JimG. (Feb 13, 2012)

Addiction is not a choice...it will get you one way or another, and it does not have to be because of alcohol or drugs.

Such a beautiful and talented woman. what is so sad to me is that she was so famous, had so much press, was so well known, and yet she died alone, in a hotel bathtub. For all her talent and fame, in the end she had nobody to even talk to. That's what addiction really does to you.

That sucks and almost makes me want to cry.


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## o3jeff (Feb 13, 2012)

Not to be the jerk, but essentially we all have the choice to use it or not. Interesting clip from an interview.


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## andyzee (Feb 13, 2012)

o3jeff said:


> Not to be the jerk, but essentially we all have the choice to use it or not.



Agreed, lately we've made everything an excuse.


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## ScottySkis (Feb 13, 2012)

To bad their is one thing out their that is not going to kill u but it's not legal.


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## Hawkshot99 (Feb 13, 2012)

JimG. said:


> Addiction is not a choice...it will get you one way or another, and it does not have to be because of alcohol or drugs.



Addiction may not be a choice, but choosing to use the drugs in the first place to become addicted is a choice.  I have never heard of a person accidently falling on a heroin needle, or accidently snorting a line of coke, or any other semerio.  
The only addiction that is not a choice is a baby that the mother was using heavy drugs during the pregnancy.


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## Hawkshot99 (Feb 13, 2012)

Scotty said:


> To bad their is one thing out their that is not going to kill u but it's not legal.



Tell that to all of the people the drug cartels have gunned down....


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## deadheadskier (Feb 13, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> Tell that to all of the people the drug cartels have gunned down....



Scotty is referring to the legalization of marijuana, a non-addictive far safer substance than pretty much any other drug, including alcohol.  

How much violent crime is there in Amsterdam where MJ is legal?  None.  When a substance is legalized and controlled by the government, the cartels go away.  How many alcohol "cartels" exist in the US today?  None.  How many did during prohibition?  Many.  

Your comment is extremely naive.


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## Hawkshot99 (Feb 13, 2012)

deadheadskier said:


> Your comment is extremely naive.



You can call me ignorant and naive all you want, it really has no effect on me.

But all of the drugs mentioned are not legal, and lots of people have died either directly from them, or indirectly.  Breathing any burning smoke is going to be bad for your lungs.


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## thetrailboss (Feb 13, 2012)

Sad story.  She was an amazing artist in the early 1990's.


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## deadheadskier (Feb 13, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> You can call me ignorant and naive all you want, it really has no effect on me.
> 
> But all of the drugs mentioned are not legal, and lots of people have died either directly from them, or indirectly.  Breathing any burning smoke is going to be bad for your lungs.



Ever have a beer Hawkshot?  Ever get drunk?


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## Hawkshot99 (Feb 13, 2012)

deadheadskier said:


> Ever have a beer Hawkshot?  Ever get drunk?



Yes I have, and I am not addicted to alchol.  But I am not going to go back and forth with you.  I still feel addiction is entirely from personal choices, and there is ntothing that you are going to say to make me feel differently, and I am guessing I will not be changing your opinion either.


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## thetrailboss (Feb 13, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> Yes I have, and I am not addicted to alchol.  But I am not going to go back and forth with you.  I still feel addiction is entirely from personal choices, and there is ntothing that you are going to say to make me feel differently, and I am guessing I will not be changing your opinion either.



So I imagine that you feel that homosexuality is also a choice?

In some cases, maybe things look like a choice, but there is a dependency problem that is more than just a choice.  If you are saying that people say that they have a problem to dodge personal responsibility, then I see your point.  But everyone has their own natural predispositions, good and bad.


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## deadheadskier (Feb 13, 2012)

thetrailboss said:


> So I imagine that you feel that homosexuality is also a choice?
> 
> In some cases, maybe things look like a choice, but there is a dependency problem that is more than just a choice.  If you are saying that people say that they have a problem to dodge personal responsibility, then I see your point.  But everyone has their own natural predispositions, good and bad.



bingo


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## hammer (Feb 13, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> Yes I have, and I am not addicted to alcohol.  But I am not going to go back and forth with you.  I still feel addiction is entirely from personal choices, and there is nothing that you are going to say to make me feel differently, and I am guessing I will not be changing your opinion either.


I'd actually have to say that this opinion has some merit.  While an addict didn't make a conscious decision to become addicted, the addict certainly made the decision to initially ingest the addictive substance.

That said, prescription meds may be one case where the decision to initially ingest may not have been actively made by the patient.

The decision to initially take an addictive substance, or to continue taking it to the point of addiction, may be considered just a high-risk bad decision and not some basic character flaw.

Is there anything else we all do that may be considered a bit risky but we feel the risk is managed enough?

Rare is the individual who has not made a risky decision in his/her life that, in retrospect, was a bad one.  Most of us are usually lucky enough that those decisions didn't have bad consequences.


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## Hawkshot99 (Feb 13, 2012)

thetrailboss said:


> So I imagine that you feel that homosexuality is also a choice?



So now homosexuality is a disease, or a addiction?  I am not seeing how that has anything to do with this.


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## thetrailboss (Feb 13, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> So now homosexuality is a disease, or a addiction?  I am not seeing how that has anything to do with this.



Some think that it is, actually.  And it is relevant because it is an example of how some use your logic (i.e. everything comes down to choice).  

But regardless, sad story.


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## deadheadskier (Feb 13, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> So now homosexuality is a disease, or a addiction?  I am not seeing how that has anything to do with this.



What he's saying is some people are born worth certain traits and an addictive personality is one of those traits, just like homosexuality is one of those traits.

Your comment earlier in thread said you were not stupid and would never take drugs.  Yet, you admit to having consumed and gotten drunk on alcohol.  There are more alcoholics in this country than drug addicts, yet somehow it's not stupid that you tried alcohol?

For some addicts, their addiction begins with that first experience.  They want to repeat the "high" again and as often as possible.  I've got a couple of friends from high school who are sober these days because the are alcoholics.  We used to drink on the weekends as many high school kids do.  All the way back then, they wanted to get plastered every single weekend.  Now, you couldn't tell at the time that they had a problem, but looking back, it's pretty easy for me to see now and why they made the choice to get sober.  Addicts have a saying, either sober up, get locked up or get covered up.  Unfortunately for Whitney, she got covered up.


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## witch hobble (Feb 13, 2012)

gmcunni said:


> the best rendition of the National Anthem ever



What about the Dixie Chicks' super bowl version, just two months before they became every jingoist's most despised country group, for saying something that half the country was feeling???  It's better, IMHO.

RIP Whitney


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## gmcunni (Feb 13, 2012)

witch hobble said:


> What about the Dixie Chicks' super bowl version, just two months before they became every jingoist's most despised country group, for saying something that half the country was feeling???  It's better, IMHO.



i don't recall their version, got a link?


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## Abubob (Feb 13, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> She was found by her aides with her head below water level in her bath tub.  I am guessing OD on something an passed out having the head fall below water and drowned.
> 
> If she OD, I do not see her death as tragic.  Drugs are a choice.  If she had kids that are now motherless then that is a tragedy.



I thought maybe she's fallen off a chair lift.


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## thetrailboss (Feb 13, 2012)

gmcunni said:


> the best rendition of the National Anthem ever




Ah, Super Bowl XXV.  Good choice.  Giants won that game!


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## ScottySkis (Feb 13, 2012)

Hawkshot99 said:


> You can call me ignorant and naive all you want, it really has no effect on me.
> 
> But all of the drugs mentioned are not legal, and lots of people have died either directly from them, or indirectly.  Breathing any burning smoke is going to be bad for your lungs.


Who saids it has to be smoked, we have great vaporizers and it can be put into food, the worst thing about mj for me is getting hungry but hungry comes back to cancer victims and they eat again which is great.


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## Abubob (Feb 13, 2012)

Scotty said:


> Who saids it has to be smoked, we have great vaporizers and it can be put into food, the worst thing about mb for me is getting hungry but hungry comes back to cancer victims and they eat again which is great.



What?


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## witch hobble (Feb 13, 2012)

gmcunni said:


> i don't recall their version, got a link?


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## Glenn (Feb 14, 2012)




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## ScottySkis (Feb 14, 2012)

Glenn said:


>



+1


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## ScottySkis (Feb 14, 2012)

This is not news¡!!! I Get it but when I Put on CNN main news channel that's all they talk about,  at least ch 13 they talk about Whitney for the last segment,  that was over doing it.


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## Nick (Feb 14, 2012)

We can be empathetic but we can never really be in someone else's shoes. To know what you might do in a situation doesn't always apply because that person isn't you


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## o3jeff (Feb 15, 2012)

Really, she's and American hero now too????

http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/02/new_jersey_gov_chris_christie.html


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## andyzee (Feb 15, 2012)

o3jeff said:


> Really, she's and American hero now too????
> 
> http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/02/new_jersey_gov_chris_christie.html



Just lowered the significance of lowering the flag. I heard that yesterday, I couldn't believe it.


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## Warp Daddy (Feb 15, 2012)

An   egregious insult to REAL heroes who live up to and often exceed expectations and do so with little fanfare , privilege and  often  have a sense of humility.


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## gmcunni (Feb 15, 2012)

andyzee said:


> Just lowered the significance of lowering the flag. I heard that yesterday, I couldn't believe it.



i agree. but reading the comments on that article (and assuming you believe what you read) he did this already for Clarence Clemons.


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## andyzee (Feb 15, 2012)

So he just lowered it even lower


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## ScottySkis (Feb 15, 2012)

Warp Daddy said:


> An   egregious insult to REAL heroes who live up to and often exceed expectations and do so with little fanfare , privilege and  often  have a sense of humility.



+1


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## bigbog (Feb 15, 2012)

Compared to how other truely great singers' lives comprised of less than blissful times...Whitney had a good time while the good times rolled....hope her afterlife is as pleasant.


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## Nick (Feb 15, 2012)

Warp Daddy said:


> An   egregious insult to REAL heroes who live up to and often exceed expectations and do so with little fanfare , privilege and  often  have a sense of humility.



Agree with this as well ... not in good taste really. And it's not personal against Whitney in any way; but she never (as far as I know) served the country.


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