IT'S as if 2016 just won't give us a break. Two days ago, Star Wars fans around the world bade goodbye to Carrie Fisher, who was central to bringing to life the spectacular universe of Star Wars as Princess Leia to generations of viewers.

Yet even as the year is set to fade into history in a few days, it will not rest. Just a day after Fisher died, her mother - renowned actress Debbie Reynolds - also departed this world on Thursday. The deaths of two silver screen legends - mother and daughter, no less - in such quick succession as the year closes no doubt reinforces the notion that 2016 has been a year of losses.

Over the past 12 months, we mourned the deaths of icons including George Michael, Muhammad Ali, Zaha Hadid, to name a few. Closer to home, Singapore's former president SR Nathan, philanthropist Lee Seng Gee and Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej also departed. With every comment and "share" on social media on the news of these luminaries' passing, the world collectively expressed its grief and sense of loss; it seemed like a generation had moved on.