I thought these things were supposed to happen in threes

First it was Ed McMahon.
Then Farrah Fawcett.
Then Michael Jackson.
Now Billy Mays.

I wasn't totally surprised by McMahon or Fawcett going. He was in ill health, and she was in the endgame of dealing with cancer.

Michael Jackson was a shocker. The man was only about a month and a half younger than me. I don't know why, but I figured Madonna would be especially spooked, given that she's a whopping 12 days older than he is. Now that we know about his addiction to prescription pain killers, his death is more sad than surprising.

Billy Mays dying totally shocked me. I was even more shocked when I learned he was only 16 days younger than me. I was never particularly fond of his ads, but my respect for him jumped when I started watching the Discovery Channel's TV show Pitchmen, which I've found to be curiously addictive. Apparently the man would test every product to make sure it worked the way it was supposed to before he endorsed it.

I fear the rash of celebrity deaths aren't going to end.

• Walter Cronkite is apparently quite ill and "not expected to recuperate," according to United Press International.
• Patrick Swayze's latest TV series just got cancelled while the National Enquirer, the oft-unreliable tabloid that has been scooping the mainstream press in the last few years, claims he's "dying."
• Zsa-Zsa Gabor is in her 90s and is reportedly in the hospital with pneumonia.