On a day when we get this year's Oscar nominations and I should be applying myself to getting out a companion blog, I get to write an obituary.

If by now you have not heard, actor Heath Ledger, 28, is dead. Cause is not yet certain but speculation points to some kind of drug use and the overuse may have been intentional.

I really haven't had a lot of celebrities die in my lifetime that have truly shocked me. I missed out on John Lennon by about a year or two and I hadn't had my musical awakening until after the death of Kurt Cobain.

Most of the other famous people who have died that I payed any mind to were of older ages and so it just wasn't a shock to my system the way Ledger's death is proving to be right now.

It might have to do with the fact that he is a mere two years older than myself. I know the fact that he is portraying the Joker in the movie 'The Dark Knight' this summer has me and the rest of geekdom choking on our game controllers at the moment.

I think the main reason I was shocked is a combination of those two things. His age and the fact that he was (from all accounts so far) going to deliver not only the best depiction of the Joker character but a generally great performance all around this summer.

Who knows what Warner Bros will do with this situation now but I'm sure we'll find out how it'll pan out soon enough. Ledger was set to star in a Terry Gilliam film as well but I'm sure that'll be put on hold.

Ledger leaves behind his ex-wife/girlfriend Michelle Williams who he met on the set of their film 'Brokeback Mountain' as well as the couple's two year old daughter (not to mention the rest of his family and friends).

As a fan I will miss Ledger. He was in a lot of good movies and sometimes his performance was the only redeeming quality of some of his films that I didn't like. He truly did become the character and I think we will see that again this summer and realize what has really been taken from the entertainment world.