Remembering Michael

It's been a year since the death of Michael Jackson. He still fascinates and troubles me. I recently watched a mini-series about his life that focused on his childhood and how his father created the Jackson 5. It was interesting but truly heart-breaking, and you could really see how he was broken bit by bit over the years.

I bought his Ones cd as a birthday present to myself over the weekend, and have been playing it just enough to annoy the Man, but not so much that I'm sick of it yet. I hope that Michael is in heaven, though I know it's likely that he's not. I'm sad for his kids, and I hope his mother protects them better than she protected her own kids.

Gone Too Soon

Unless you live under a rock, by now you know that Michael Jackson died yesterday. I was utterly stunned by this news, and quite honestly, a bit heartbroken. As I've written before, I have always found him fascinating. I don't know how you sum up the life of someone so complicated, so talented and yet somehow so broken. I know that he will certainly be remembered for his incredible musical accomplishments, as much as he will be remembered for his strange behavior and white children. Many will only remember the accusations against him. I'm glad that I didn't have to sit on his jury, because I could never say for sure if I could believe that this oddly pale man-child could ever do such terrible things.

Andrew Sullivan had some things to say about Michael Jackson's death that I found touching. I pray that his kids are well taken care of, and that they are able to find peace in their lives that their daddy clearly never could.

Gone Too Soon

Too Many Labels

I bet that based on that title you're thinking that I'm going to say something truly profound about the way that we pre-judge other people, and how in today's society we simply must put an end to such shallow definitions. But alas, I am not that deep, at least not right after I finish the dinner dishes and collapse into this chair to putter about the internet.
No my dears, I just have too many labels on the blog. I spent some time earlier today trying to tidy them up from their unruly state. I had a lot that were only used once that I condensed or removed. There are some however, that will remain no matter what, such as the Michael Jackson label. The cheese stands alone. Or, the crazy man-child stands alone, whatever you prefer. (Of course, mentioning it in this posting allows me to go from 1 to 2 Michael Jackson entries, thereby justifying his presence.)
I promise I will come back to this project, hopefully after I put the kids to bed tonight. I am thinking of some kind of homemaking label, so I can mush together cooking, sewing and tattoos.

Ok, so the Michael Jackson thing....

I have an unhealthy obsession with Michael Jackson. I'm fully aware of this, so don't judge me! I read and watch everything that comes along about him. The Martin Bashir documentary was awesome! I just find him totally fascinating - it must be that whole can't-look-away-from-an-accident phenomenon. What makes a grown man live like this? The whole Neverland thing I can kinda get, since he felt he was denied his own childhood because of the career, blah blah blah.... but what is up with the surgeries?
I found a web site that shows what he would look like now if he had never had any work done. It's... well it's.... ok, so it's beyond words. Just go look here.
I wonder if his hair is a wig. It's so shiny and bouncy! And the voice. I wish I could hear his real voice. I bet it's freaky to hear a normal man's voice coming out of that woman-child looking face.
I really enjoyed his trial, seeing what he would wear every day. I especially enjoyed the pajama day. Or as Ethan calls them 'majamas'. I have one of those days myself now and then. It's one of those stay-at-home-mom perks.
So the surgeries.... It's kind of like watching my kids with Play-Doh. What will he look like next? If you go here you can see a timeline with pictures of what he had done and when over the years. If he has much more done, I think his nose will just cave in. (fyi, there's some language on that last link)
I can't really defend myself but there are certainly worse habits that I could be indulging in.