Amy Winehouse

[eFestivals]

Personally, I'm not sure who her death is a 'great loss' to, except her friends and family.

It's a huge loss to music.

She was an unequalled talent of the last ten years in my eyes. It's a damned shame that she's left us just two albums, and where for the most successful it's difficult to know what was her own work and what was Ronson's (tho going by Ronson's failing to capitalise very much on the benefit that came back on himself from their association, I'd say that ultimately his own input will be largely forgotten and mostly dismissed - and perhaps rightly).

There was so much more that she could have been in a musical sense, but now we'll never get to know of it. In a world of music where the vast majority are talentless clones, losing one of the very few real-deals there's been in the last ten years is something that'll be missed by everyone, even if most never come to realise it as they lap up the latest X-Factor dross.

[eFestivals]

just read this Holy Moly view of her. I don't agree with it all, but more than enough of it rings true with me.

http://www.holymoly.com/music/blog/amy-winehouse-1983-201158264

And for the no-brains such as Barry Fish, a read of this article at Holy Moly about addiction and "why didn't anyone do anything?" will make you a million times smarter...

http://www.holymoly.com/celebrity/blog/addict-intervention-why-did-amy-winehouse-not-receive-help-she-needed58270

[The Nal]

Aye, I'm a c**t too, whatever dude, it was still hilarious.

[jump]

Who's saying she is an idol? The media are calling her talented as she was but no one is saying they should be like her.

[eFestivals]

Yeah I am the no-brainer *rolls-eyes* The one who didn't inject shit into his arm... or whatever crap she was doing...

Life is about choices... She made shit choice after shit choice... I feel sorry for her family but I still don't see why anyone should be pushed in feeling anything but contempt for how she abused her life.

meanwhile you no doubt inject the shit called McDonal;d's into your system, while their 'food' shortens far more people's lives than drugs do. Or if you don't do that, you choose to poison the world of your daughter via an endless list I could give you. So you're more than capable of making your own shit choices, yet you don't show the same contempt for yourself.

It must be great in that ivory tower with your perfect life.

[The Nal]

This drug addict waster is being pushed an idol and exceptional talent in the media...

[eFestivals]

There isn't a backlash... If she meant a lot to you and others then fine... but people should be allowed to say how they also feel she mistreated her life and showed contempt for whatever other people think is important...

I am so uncomfortable about the mixed messages going to kids... This drug addict waster is being pushed an idol and exceptional talent in the media... What a mind f**k for them. We should be holding these people as nothing put examples of how to f**k yourself up.

Yep, people should be allowed to say how they feel.

So you spout your words, and by doing so show your gross ignorance by speaking about something you've clearly no understanding of, while believing yourself as better yet showing no less contempt for others but in different ways.

Isn't life grand? And clearly so much better when you believe yourself as perfect as Barry Fish.

[eFestivals]

drinker

the worlds most dangerously active poison! You clearly do live a good and wholesome life.

If you really want to confuse the evil of the odd McDonald with hard drug use then you truly are a no-brainer

Hmmmmm ... one poison that causes a huge amount of damage is govt approved and on every high street. A lesser evil is not.

You've really got a grasp of the complex issues, and put them proper perspective, eh?

[eFestivals]

Ah... So it simply I don't understand *rolls eyes*... I will pop out and get a shit load of smack and give it all a whirl so I can form a valid opinion then God your arragoant

from what you've said you obviously believe that people choose to become addicted.

Yet you consume an addictive product yourself, and believe yourself immune from the addiction it can give you (and does give many more people than all illegal drugs combined).

You've no frigging idea what you're on about. What is arrogant here is your belief that addiction is a choice - what a person might become addicted to isn't any part of that; whether something is illegal or not is not any part of that.

The simple fact is that your own desire for alcohol at whatever consumption level it is causes other people to suffer and die asd a consequence of your own want. But none of that is anything to do with perfect Barry Fish, eh?

[eFestivals]

Don't do drugs... Drink in moderation...

if you're even one tenth as smart as you like to believe, you can tell me why you think posting contradictory bollocks like that is a demonstration of your intelligence....?

[eFestivals]

I know... and I knew as young as 12... if I took drugs I could become addicted and f**k up my life...

So me enjoying the odd Bluebird Bitter is causing others to suffer and die... Your a bloody looney!!!

So why do you take addictive drugs, and risk your daughter not having her father? By your own words you must hold her in contempt.

Oh, is it that you think that you're too good for that, that it couldn't possibly ever happen to you? Welcome to EVERY junkies mindset, no different to your own.

don't expect sympathy when it all goes to shit...

the only sympathy I've seen expressed is to her family and friends, where it's deserved.

Where are you seeing it expressed differently, and in a way that's (IYO) so wrong?

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

No I said she made shit choices... Anything more is you putting words in my mouth...

I know... and I knew as young as 12... if I took drugs I could become addicted and f**k up my life...

Make your choices... but don't expect sympathy when it all goes to shit...

[eFestivals]

Blah blah blah... I will qaulify the sentence with hard drugs if you want...

or more to the point... heroin, ecstasy and cocaine.... you might want to avoid these...

why? For what reasons? I'll go out on a limb () and suggest again that you don't have the first f**king idea what you're talking about.

There's plenty of history of heroin junkies living far more righteous lives than you can manage. The problems come for smack junkies in satisfying their addiction (which, for a poor junkie, leads them to go on the rob, because the price is set by its illegality), and the variance in quality of the heroin they are able to obtain. If it were legal then these problems would be almost non-existent, and research shows that the number of junkies falls rather than rises.

Ecstasy is not addictive at all. It's less physically and mentally harmful harmful than most low-grade prescription drugs.

Cocaine in its standard form is not physically addictive, tho can be mentally addictive (so less difficult to overcome than tobacco addiction). As crack or if injecting it can be physically addictive, but is FAR more difficult to become addicted to than alcohol.

I think most people recognise that consuming alcohol in moderation isn't going to do you great damage or lead to an addiction...

the exact same rationale is true for the drugs you've named above.

Fact is it is LEGAL... Society has deemed it so... Drugs like heroin, ecstasy and cocaine are not legal. If you don't respect that then don't expect respect that and want to use illegal substances then don't expect respect from people like me. Not that you ever did

Why are they illegal? Are they illegal due to diligent research into the dangers, or are they illegal due to the same bigotry you're expressing here, and with the same intelligence as Jack Straw when Home Secretary when asked why he wouldn't legalise cannabis - that he "couldn't legalise it because it's illegal".

I don't respect that because I don't respect idiocy. The same gross ignorance that you're displaying that I can't respect either.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I'm too old - that kind of formal education wasn't around. However when I took the step to drink I was doing no more than others like yourself did. The thing is, you are able to moderate or even 'tie one on' when you want to. I and millions like me can't. We weren't built with a 'stop button'. There's no doubt in my mind that Amy was the same. All addicts are. All I'm trying to say is that she was up against an evil tyrant (with the bottle etc). Throw in the (in my opinion) burden of fame and lack of privacy, easy access to cash etc and it's not surprising she ended up in the way she did.

[Katster]

Yeah I am the no-brainer *rolls-eyes* The one who didn't inject shit into his arm... or whatever crap she was doing...

Life is about choices... She made shit choice after shit choice... I feel sorry for her family but I still don't see why anyone should be pushed in feeling anything but contempt for how she abused her life.

[Ed209]

Oafc, its perfectly possible you could end up an alcoholic. All it takes is a tragedy to occur in your life and it could be you. If (god forbid) it does happen, I just hope the people around are a little more sympathetic to your addiction than you would be to them.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my memories of Amy. Having lived in Camden until only a couple of weeks ago, it is fair to say that she was definitely part of the community there. I only saw her out on a couple of occasions, and then only briefly (I never frequented the Hawly Arms as it is full of prize bell-ends). I once saw her when leaving the Dublin Castle as I was walking in. She looked a little worse for wear and according to the bar staff had been in there all day. I also saw her for 10 minutes or so in the Good Mixer one afternoon before she left after necking her glass of wine. But my fondest memory of Amy, and how I will remember her was when I once got off the Northern Line at Kings Cross, she had been on the same train as me. I spotted her and thought I'd walk a little faster to get a bit closer. As it turned out I managed to be directly behind her as she started walking up the escalator. I followed, and for about 20 seconds I had Amy's arse wingling inches away from my face as we both walked up together. She then went to the mainline station, and I got on the metropolitan line. And that's the last I saw of here.

RIP

[eFestivals]

I get the impression some people on here think it is wrong to come to conclusions on what is right and wrong...

I get the impression some people on here think it is wrong for the law to come to a conclusion of what is right and wrong...

Interesting... I bet many of you wouldn't willingly move to a place with little law and order...

Would be a messy place if people could just do what the f**k they wanted when they wanted...

I certainly have my own conclusions on what is right and wrong.

And what is wrong is that drugs are banned on the sorts of ignorant prejudices that you're displaying here, and not on research and rational consideration of the risks and impacts onto society.

Only when the law is being set by sense and not stupidity - YOUR stupidity - is the law worthy of respect.

If we work off your displayed stupidity, then being gay would still be illegal (on the basis that it was, so should be forever unless sense intervenes - which it luckily did), that rape within marriage is approved of in law (on the basis that it was, so should be forever unless sense intervenes - which it luckily did), and that violent racism is acceptable.

Luckily, with these things, sense over-came the stupidity and the laws were changed. One day - when there's fewer ignorant morons like yourself pacing this earth - then the drug laws will be revised too.

If that revision-to-come were to ban all drugs both legal an illegal on the basis of the harm they cause, then while I might not personally approve of that law, I could at least accept its rational basis. There is no rational basis to the drug laws as they stand.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I'm not trying to relate myself with Amy Whinehouse. I'm not massively into music and have only heard about 2 or 3 songs of hers. I'm trying to point out that sometimes the 'choices' are neither known or are taken away from you. There's millions of people this has affected over the centuries before I or Ms Whinehouse came along and no doubt they'll be millions more in the future.

PS - sorry if responses are low. Working with limited kit

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

The problem is with the 'choice' of stopping once it's got out of hand. Firstly there's denial by those afflicted that there is a problem, even though all around can see that there is. This denial can go on for ever or until the person passes away. If the addiction is recognised by the person then there's the ability to overcome this. I'll agree with you in that what comes with this is a willingness to want to change. However, I was willing on many an occassion but didn't have the ability, strength, ingredient X that was required to achieve abstenance. I could see the logic in stopping but just couldn't. It came to me in the end but was the result of a more spiritual intervention than any strength or conviction on my behalf.

[eFestivals]

I am fine with people campaigning for a change in law... Breaking the law leads to a break down in society... Which I don't like...

millions of people break the drug laws every week and have been for decades, without it leading to a break down in society. The amount of criminality in this country is around the same as it was 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 50 years ago, and 100 years ago.

In fact, at the very top of our current govt, there's at least four people who have a past of heavy cocaine use (and very probably other things too). It's not effected their ability to 'get on' in the world and neither has it led to a break down in society.

Breaking the law only leads to a breakdown in society if the laws that are broken are sustaining society. This is clearly not the cased with drugs because the growth in use has had no measurable impact on society.

You can measure the amount of use of the drugs themselves, but you can't measure the effect (if it's had one at all) onto society. The crime figures bear this out.

I think historic issues with homosexaultity are some what different for obvious reasons to hard drug use... Apparently, you can't choose not to be gay... You can choose not to shove that needle in your arm....

Not if you're an addict you can't.

(at least, not on the same 'normal' basis that you're applying to it).

And as I said previously, no one* chooses to be be an addict - so the point that things tip from being (in your case) "an occasional drink" into "must have a drink" passes you by without any concious awareness, meaning that you're sat there doing yourself harm (no different to the junkie with the needle in their arm) before you know that you're doing it.47

(* I'm sure there's exceptions, but very minimally)

The issue is not legality or illegality, the issue is one of addiction. The fact that it's absolutely no different whether a person's choice of poison is legal or illegal proves it so.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I happened to be in an annexe of a church and suddenly this overwhelming sense of calm came over me and I just stopped drinking. I had a minor relapse at Glastonbury this year but apart from that it's been 2 years on the dry. However I was lucky. Not sure everyone either gets that moment or recognises it. Like you I now believe in a God but don't do religion.

[eFestivals]

To become addicted to illegal drugs you have to take them in the first place... My message is DONT TAKE THEM in the first place... Is it that hard ? I think not...

If you get addicted to legal substances like prescription drugs or alcohol I have more sympathy... I had sympathy for George Best...

So where does your own moral responsibility for yourself that you started off banging on about come into this?

You've already said that you knew as a 12 year old that alcohol was addictive - and yet now you're saying that if you found yourself addicted to alcohol you'd think yourself deserving of sympathy about it, despite allowing yourself to get into that situation.

Where the f**k is the difference between that and (say) a smack junkie? The only difference is in a word that is completely meaningless in regard to addiction - that one you're loving so much here, 'illegal'.

But hey, you the pronounced Christian (ever heard of its central tenet - 'forgiveness'? ) have no moral responsibility for your own actions if they've been ok'd by some higher power that isn't your god.

f**k me, can you please tell me which school you went to? I want to ensure that my kid doesn't go there, because in your own perfect world I'd be doing the world a favour to stop him growing up as mind-numbingly thick as you.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I guess I can't argue with that. I don't know where I'd be now if I hadn't stopped (or hadn't been made to stop). I'm still able to see why people can't do the same though. As Neil has indicated, there's people holding down very good jobs etc while abusing powders and potions which are illegal. Alcohol isn't illegal and it's destroying swathes of people on a much greater scale. Don't get me wrong I'm pretty much like you when it comes to the law. Who wants anarchy. I do think the law has got it wrong with drugs though. If only because it can't win and therefore should tax it and get rid of the ugly people who run supplies nowadays. You used to be able to buy cocaine (or was it opium) in Harrods I believe in the 1920's!!

[eFestivals]

You opened yourself to god for a moment and he rewarded you with the power to over come the addiction...

*Likes this

What a mindnumbingly sad admission of your own lack of the will you think you have yourself to stop yourself being addicted in the first place. What a mindnumbingly sad admission of your own lack of will to do all you say that Amy should have done.

If your god can save you then he can lead you there in first place. Or does he only do the good things in your life, meaning that you personally have no good inside of you whatsoever?

Oh well, there is no free will, so on your own basis you have no grounds to criticise Amy for her failings.

I don't know what's sadderm, your stupidity to addiction or your deferral to your life to your imaginary friend.

[Ed209]

Look at Portugal for example. Their society treat drug abuse as an illness, not as a crime, and there is a lot of evidence starting to come out that this approach is actually working.