The phone rang at the crack of dawn this morning. It was the breakfast producer from the ABC Radio asking if I'd heard Heath Ledger was dead, and if I (being the in-house movie reviewer) would go on-air and have a chat about his life and work.

I did it, of course, but what a sad reason to be doing an interview. The death of someone so young is always a tragedy, not so much for what they've done, but for what they will never do. Heath Ledger was only 28, and initial reports say he may have accidentally overdosed on prescription sleeping tablets by mixing them with over-the-counter remedies for insomnia.

Life is so fragile and sometimes it takes the death of such a young - and public - figure to remind us that every day truly could be our last. It puts things into perspective.

Stay connected with your loved ones. Don't sleep on arguments or let silly disagreements turn into the last words you ever say to someone you love, who might - without you knowing anything about it - believe that one more of these, added to a few of those, will result in a goods night's sleep.