Tag Archives: death

Adele Rules the Awards, Whitney Remembered at Sunday’s Grammys

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Written by: Katie Garren

Singer Adele holding her six Grammys

Singer Adele holds the six Grammys she won at Sunday night's Grammy Awards

            Sunday night’s Grammy ceremony was dominated by two big stories: Adele’s incredible talent and Whitney Houston’s sad passing Saturday afternoon. From the very beginning of the night, it was clear to the audience that this would not be the typical awards show, with host LL Cool J saying, “There is no way around this. We’ve had a death in our family, and so at least for me, the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman we love, for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston.” He then led a prayer in her honor, before telling the audience that the night was still going to be a party. As it turned out, its was Adele’s party they were celebrating.

Adele took home every award for which she was nominated.  Her six awards included Artist of the Year, Record of the Year (for her song, “Rolling in the Deep”) and Album of the Year (for her album 21).  In her acceptance speech for Album of the Year, Adele broke down in tears.  She told the audience, “This record is inspired by something that’s really normal and everyone’s been through it, just a rubbish relationship. And it’s gone on to do things I can’t tell you how I feel about it. It’s been the most life-changing year.” Earlier in the ceremony, Adele had performed on stage for the first time since having surgery on her vocal chords earlier this year.  She alluded to this surgery after winning the Grammy for best pop solo performance saying, “And seeing as it’s a vocal performance, I need to thank my doctors, I suppose, who brought my voice back.”  Her performance was met with an extended standing ovation.

Jennifer Hudson sings at Houston tribute

Singer Jennifer Hudson sings a tribute to Whitney Houston at Sunday night's Grammys

The passing of music icon Whitney Houston put a damper on the typical awards show atmosphere.  Herself a Grammy winner, Houston was set to perform at a pre-Grammy party the day she died. On short notice, the producers of the Grammys scrambled to find an appropriate was to pay tribute to the late singer. Many performers throughout the night paid tribute to Houston in their songs.  Stevie Wonder said during his performance, “I just want to say to Whitney up in heaven: We all love you, Whitney Houston.” The real, Grammy-sponsored tribute came during the traditional remembrance slideshow when Jennifer Hudson took the stage and sang a powerful rendition of Houston’s cover version of Dolly Parton’s song “I Will Always Love You.”  At the end of the song, Hudson sang out, “Whitney, we will always love you,” in a fitting tribute to a fallen icon.

The Passing of an Icon: Whitney Houston Dead at 48

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Whitney Houston smiling circa 1990

Iconic singer Whitney Houston poses in her prime

Written by: Katie Garren

 

Iconic superstar Whitney Houston was found dead in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Saturday.  This marks the passing of one of the most recognizable figures of the ‘80s and ‘90s.  She was 48 years old.

Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. WST, after paramedics performed CPR for 20 minutes, according to the LA Times.  Her body was found in her hotel room’s bathtub.  Cause of death is not apparent at this time.  However, “There were no obvious signs of any criminal intent,” Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen told reporters outside the hotel.

The word was shocked when many sources reported that Whitney Houston had been found dead of unknown causes.  Countless celebrities took to Twitter to express their sadness and shock after hearing the news.  Clive Davis, Houston’s long time mentor, spoke at a pre-Grammy party he was hosting Saturday night saying, “By now you have all learned of the unspeakably tragic news of our beloved Whitney’s passing. I don’t have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear friends. I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years.”  He continues, “Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on.” Houston’s godmother, Aretha Franklin, released a statement saying, “It’s so stunning and unbelievable. I couldn’t believe what I was reading coming across the TV screen.”  A tribute to Houston was quickly planned for Sunday’s Grammy Awards.  It was set to feature Jennifer Hudson and Chaka Khan.

In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Houston was a worldwide celebrity, having both singing and acting credits to her name.  She is perhaps best remembered for her powerful voice utilized in her smash hit “I Will Always Love You” and her performance in the film The Bodyguard, which co-stared Kevin Costner. She is the only artist in history to chart seven consecutive number ones. Houston was also the most awarded woman in history, having won a total of 415 awards as of 2010. Houston was an inspiration to many current artists, including Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Christina Aguilara.  Her final film, Sparkle, is set to be released on Aug. 17 of this year.

In recent years, Houston’s talent has been overshadowed by her reported drug use and rocky marriage to singer Bobby Brown.  Her startling antics were documented in a reality show about the couple titled Being Bobby Brown.

ASU Saddened By the Loss of a Great Man: W.P. Carey

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Written By: Jessica Mangiameli

Arizona State University has lost a great role model, friend and contributor, William Polk Carey, who passed away at the age of 81 on January 2, 2012.

William Polk Carey

William Polk Carey

Carey was an outstanding real estate investor, one of the best in the country. It’s no wonder why then when Carey donated $50 million to Arizona State in 2003, that ASU decided to change the name of their business school to The W.P. Carey School of Business. The W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU remains one of the top ranked business schools in the nation, a very outstanding and proud accomplishment for not only ASU but also remains an honor to Carey. At the time, the $50 million donation was the second largest single donation that was ever received by a business school, according to the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and remains the largest donation ever received by Arizona State University.

“The ASU family mourns the loss of our benefactor and friend Bill Carey,” said ASU President Michael M. Crow

Carey and his family had many ties with Arizona State University, which is probably why he selected to donate his money to this particular college.  Carey earned a honorary Doctor of Science degree from ASU.  Carey’s grandfather was also the one who introduced the legislation that established Arizona State University in 1886.

Carey was born on May 11, 1930 in Baltimore, Maryland. Carey was the founder of W. P. Carey & Co. LLC, a real estate financing firm located in New York City.

The W.P. Carey School of Business is one of the largest business schools in the country. The school contains over 250 faculty and more than 1,500 graduate and 8,300 under graduate students. The W.P. Carey School of Business offers a wide range of business degrees including accounting, economics, finance and management. The W. P. Carey School of Business and the W. P. Carey MBA are accredited by Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).

Many students from all over the country have received degrees from the business school including comedian and actor, David Spade as well as former Arizona Cardinals player and former Corporal of the US Army Rangers, Pat Tillman.

The W.P. Carey School programs are ranked among the Top 30 nationwide by U.S. News & World Report, The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times.

While ASU mourns the death of a brilliant man, students look to the future hoping to some day become the next William Polk Carey.

Pansy the Chimp Dies, and Fellow Chimps Grieve?

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Pansy at play with friend and daughter

After friends and family expressed their sadness with a moment of silence, people started to wonder if the chimps were actually affected by the death of their dear friend, Pansy. It’s stories like this – and others – that have attracted the attention of scientists, who now speculate on whether or not chimpanzees are capable of knowing that death means that they are never coming back. According to two newly published studies found in Current Biology, that seems to be the case.

They may be more thoughtful than we think

James Anderson of the University of Stirling in Scotland admits that chimps may have a greater awareness of death than was previously believed. Pansy’s demise provided the first chance to observe a chip’s response to a friend’s natural death. Scientists – via two video cameras within the chimp enclosure – witnessed how three adults started grooming her days before her final moments. Her breathing became labored, and within the last ten minutes of her life, the grooming increased, until a single male jumped onto the platform where the dead chimp lay, and pounded on the body before charging off in an aggressive manor.

The following day, the three same individuals (including Pansy’s daughter) watched in silence as the zoo keepers removed the corpse. Nobody slept on Pansy’s deathbed for five days; survivors ate less and were abnormally inactive throughout the following weeks.

Hip Hop Ages, While Some Consider Changes a Death

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The Original Hip-Hop Heads

Since its conception in 1979 with the Sugar Hill Gang’s Rapper’s Delight, hip hop has dramatically changed from the days of the Fresh Prince, to a mega-culture that took over the nineties, and finally to the culture of violence, bling, and womanizing that it is infamous for today. And, while the mainstream sensationalists that consume the genre appear to some as the death of hip hop – namely, Nas, who dropped an album in 2006 titled, “Hip Hop is Dead -” some aren’t quite yet ready to start digging the grave.

Devin Cole, a third-year political science student from Tampa, is one of those people. He doesn’t believe that hip hop is dead, he just thinks that it may have lost its direction, and he despises the fact that the meaningful songs from yesteryear have been completely replaced by the swagger-saturated anthems of present-day.

Paul Porter, the co-founder of Industry Ears and former music programmer for BET and Radio One, also agrees that hip hop is still alive, just not quite kicking; however, his concern for the future of music has inspired him to found Industry Ears, a non-profit organization that strives to ensure well-balance media – which couldn’t be more appropriate in a time where conglomerates run a major portion of all media outlets, convincing the public of what they like to hear.

Are you sure it's dead, Nasir?

As it stands, it seems more important for people to consider things for themselves, rather than worrying about the health of hip hop; art lives in the people.