Brittany Murphy (1977-2009)

(Usually, when I see a celebrity's name in Yahoo's Top 10 searches list, I assume the worst, but nine times out of ten, it's not about said celebrity's passing. To my surprise, Miss Murphy, at this writing, isn't in the top ten.)

I don't want to dwell on her...peculiar choices in movies (like Just Married, the direct-to-DVD MegaFault and that "I'll never tell." thing*). I will say that her passing is one of the most surprising of the year. It may even unseat the King of Pop's as the biggest blind side. I can't imagine what her family is going through, but I wish them well.

* - However, it was nice to see her appear in dark, challenging fare like 8 Mile and Sin City (my favorite role of hers). Also, parts of Little Black Book are strangely watchable.