Parasocial grief. This week we lost a cheerleader. Days before that we lost a professor. A few weeks ago a musician. I knew of these individuals, had never met them, fairly certain they had no idea who I was. I was either a fan of their work, or sympathetic to their struggles, or both. #Parasocial. Each of their deaths felt like a tragedy, perhaps the most recent, the youngest of them, most of all. #Grief

Hayden Panettiere, the actress who played a cheerleader with regenerative healing powers on the tv series “Heroes”, would have turned 37 today.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayden_Panettiere

A few months ago she had published a memoir of her many struggles, so many. There’s a story inside about being brought to a boat by a woman she trusted, and then into a room with a male occupant. Who was that woman, and who was that man? Someone must know, and enough information has been released that someone should be able to narrow down the possibilities.
* More (CW: abuse) details: https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/hayden-panettieres-tragedy-foretold-in-harrowing-memoir/
The world failed to save the cheerleader, multiple times.

Jason Arday was a professor at the University of Cambridge. He was accused of plagiarism, and the press, from all sides, disproportionately covered and criticized him in contrast to their criticism of others similarly accused. Institutional racism across an industry. He died just a week ago, aged 41. Another tragedy.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Arday
* More: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-08-19/jason-ardays-death-sparks-u-k-debate-over-academic-rigor-racism-after-media-frenzy

Kavinsky was a French DJ and music creator. I was (still am) a fan of his music, which simultaneously felt like some of the best electronic music from the 1980s, yet refreshingly novel. Partly dark, and partly hopeful.
He had been complaining of headaches, then passed away on July 28th, three days before turning 51.
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kavinsky
His most popular track, “Nightcall”, was featured in the opening scene in the movie “Drive” with Ryan Gosling.

I found his track “Renegade” particularly resonant: https://youtu.be/N5u6YYqWgEo

#HaydenPanettiere #JasonArday #Kavinsky
#Blaugust #Blaugust2026