lurid.org

Charles Rocket, a comedian and actor who appeared on “Saturday Night Live” and had roles in a variety of movies and television series, committed suicide, the state medical examiner has ruled.

Rocket, 56, whose real name was Charles Claverie, was found dead in a field near his home in Canterbury on October 7. His throat had been cut, the medical examiner said.

“An investigation determined there was no criminal aspect to this case,” State Police Sgt. J. Paul Vance said Monday.

Rocket was a cast member on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” during the 1980-81 season, a tumultuous year that followed the departure of the original “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” and founding producer Lorne Michaels. Rocket gained notoriety when he was fired from “SNL” for swearing on the air.

He went on to appear in numerous TV shows, including “Moonlighting” and “Max Headroom,” and provided voices for cartoon series.

His movie credits included “Earth Girls are Easy,” “Dumb and Dumber” and “Dances With Wolves,” according to the Internet Movie Database.

Original here.

After having a very informative discussion with Stef Hall, a reporter with the Lancashire Evening Post, I have decided to rework the content of the site, effective immediately.

Stef’s Article titled Help us Stop the Peddlers of Death goes a long way toward explaining her motivation.

I have begun the process of removing all suicide-related discussion from Lurid and will replace all interactive content (commenting, the forum, etc) with static educational information and links to suicide prevention sites and organizations such as the Samaritans and the Hopeline Network.

While I see the value of an open forum to discuss suicide prevention, I think the best chance of getting through a suicide crisis is to engage the professionals at one of those organizations. Being one of those professionals myself, now that I have completed training, I see the value of directing people to the appropriate resource.

I know some of you have come to see Lurid as a part of your personal support and coping structure. For you guys, I highly suggest getting in touch with the Samaratins or the guys at the Hopeline Network. They can help you develop a plan of action and explore new coping methods.

My CIT class last night focused on suicide and suicide statistics.

Some things I found very interesting:

1. There were approximately ~30,000 suicides in the United States in 2001 (the latest year such statistics are currently available). During that same time period, there were ~16,000 homicides.

2. Men are 4 times more likely to die by suicide than women.

3. However, women attempt suicide 3 times more often than men.

4. Elderly adults (especially elderly white males) have rates of suicide near %50 higher than the nation as a whole.

5. White suicides rates (11.9 per 100,000 population) are nearly twice that of non-whites (5.6 per 100,000 population).

6. Ratios of attempted suicides to completed suicides among the young (15-24) are estimated between 100-200 : 1. Meaning, for every young person who dies by suicide, there are between 100-200 attempts by others in that age range.

7. Ratios of attempted suicide to completed suicides amount the elderly (65+) are estimated to be 4 : 1. Meaning, for every elderly person who completes suicide, 4 others attempt.

8. Alcoholics are 50-70% more likely to complete suicide than the general population.

Sources:

National Vital Statistics Reports @ the CDC

The American Association of Suicidology

I’ve finally gotten around to archiving the first 1,000 comments on the infamous “suicide chatrooms” post.

It had grown very large and was taking too long to load, even on broadband.

The first 1,000 comments are archived here.
http://www.lurid.org/suicide_conversation.html

You can still post comments to the original entry, if you’d like.
http://www.lurid.org/archives/000110.html

Dave Blood, bassist for the band the Dead Milkmen committed suicide on Wednesday.

I’m torn between making a bad pun about him supposedly already being dead and being contrite and reverent and writing about how the DM’s music changed my life.

Seeing as how the DM’s music didn’t change my life at all, nor did I even particularly care for them, I’ll go with the pun.

Question: What would it take for a Dead Milkmen reunion tour to happen?
Answer: Three more suicides.

This blog was evidently mentioned by name in the Channel 4 documentary Chatting to Death, aired on November 25th, at 10:40PM.

I had no idea that I was going to play a part in this show and would like to see it in context before I freak out about unauthorized use.

Does anyone have a taped copy of the program?

I’d happily pay for shipping and cost of the tape.

Please email me at chris@lurid.org.

Thanks in advance.

Oh man.. This really, really sucks ass.

Original story here

Singer Elliott Smith dead at 34

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — Elliott Smith, a singer-songwriter whose dark, introspective songs won him critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination, has apparently committed suicide, his publicist and coroner’s officials said Wednesday. He was 34.

Smith’s body was found by his live-in girlfriend Tuesday, Los Angeles County Coroner Records Supervisor Marsha Grigsby told AP Radio.

He sustained a single stab wound to the chest that appeared to be self-inflicted, she said.

His New York-based publicist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also confirmed his death.

And omg…what a way to kill yourself. A stab wound to the chest? That must have been a horrible and not incredibly quick way to die.

Poor guy.

Due to the potential for abuse, I’ve removed the live chat room.

If you are looking for help with suicide related issues or depression, please visit

www.4-lane.com/supportchat/pages/suicidechat.html

CNN has a story HERE about the growing popularity of suicide web sites.

The story describes how the sites are particularly popular in Japan, and how they offer specific advice such as which buildings to jump from and the most lethal over-the-counter drugs.

Suicide sites, often designed with an ominous, pitch-black background, post disclaimers about the dangers of their content. Delving further into the sites leads to chat rooms spilling over with death wishes and exchanges of ideas on how best to take your own life.

Interesting, if not completely morbid stuff.

The company I work for has a large presence in the Boston area. Over the past 2 years I spent some time working on various projects up there. I was having dinner with a group of coworkers one evening when the topic of murder suicide came up. One of the older Boston natives mentioned the case of George O’Leary, a guy who killed his wife and 5 of his 6 children.

I didn’t think much about it until just now when I came across this story.

Here is an excerpt:

The phone rang by Teresa O’Leary’s hospital bed with a cryptic, terrifying message from the father whose beating had put her there. “I want you to have your mother’s jewelry,” he told her. Then he hung up.

The next day, the panicked 15-year-old left the hospital against doctor’s orders, pushed through the unlocked front door and stepped into a horror that never left her. Her father had murdered her mother and five siblings with gunshots to the head, then killed himself.

O’Leary spent the next three decades in state hospitals to deal with her lingering shock.

The article goes on to describe Teresa’s mental problems and her own eventual suicide.

This is a very good example of the devastating effect suicide has on those that are left behind.