RIP in 2009

[Strangler Lewis]

Possible choices for the faithful include Graceland or a waiting spaceship, but I suspect it will be somewhere far more mundane.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Count me among the MJ fans, feeling sad and reminiscent today.

At my summer camp we were allowed to pick our troop name to match a theme. One year the theme was music, and I was proud to be in the "Michael Jackson troop". We only won after a raffle, since everyone wanted that to be their name.

I'm not sure which year, but at that same camp we each got a white glove to glue sequins to for a craft project. I remember feeling let down when mine didn't look anything like Michael's.

One time a talented fan of my father's auto repairs drew him a charcoal sketch of MJ in his "Sgt. Pepper" jacket as a thank you. My dad gave it to me, and I dutifully colored it in with crayons and posted it above my bed until it was brown and crispy with age.

My brother and I would regularly play the song "Beat it" and renact the fight using a dishtowel to tie our hands together. Thriller and Bad had regular rotation. I even loved Dangerous, one of the last albums I bought on cassette.

I credit MJ's music with my love of dance music in general. Some of you know how much I love to dance!

There's so much more to say, but perhaps I should stop there.

[Jazzman]

Any bets on how much the ambulance he was taken to the hospital in will be sold for? And to whom?

[Not Afraid]

I'm glad Goldblum isn't dead. He flirted with me at an Oscar party and it's my one grand Hollywood story.

Fawcett was expected and I'm glad she's no longer suffering.

Jackson is a shock but not necessarily a surprise. There's only so much abuse a body can take. Still, he was an immense talent.

[€uroMeinke]

Never a big fan of MJ's music, but the Coachella before last, Dimitri from Paris played a set that included ABC from the Jackson 5 - Lisa and I danced like crazy good fun. Couldn't help but think of the single I once had cut from the back of a cereal box.

As for Farah - ah well, to quote someone else today, "they should send her nipples to the Smithsonian" - damn they made that poster - and a mere 19 years ago, that Playboy spread she did at age 50 - Nipples like Dotts candies - it was reliving the adolescent sex goddess dream.

I feel my 70's childhood died today.

[flippyshark]

Ah, all the girls at my Junior High who tried to wear Farrah-dos.

I had the poster for a while, and I sure loved it, but perhaps its ubiquity meant I took it down sooner than others. Anyway, it's one of those images so prevalent, I don't even need to look at it to see it. It's etched fine on some part of my grey matter, and god bless Farrah for it.

I remember admiring her work in The Burning Bed, and I hear she is good in The Apostle, which I still haven't seen.

As for Jacko, well, I met him and he was nice. (I've told the tale elsewhere, and it's late.) Culturally, he signified the 80s at least as much as Farrah stood for the 70s. (I never had a poster of him, though.) I remember when Thriller premiered on MTV - it was a party with friends, complete with popcorn, Coke and, if I recall right, Tangy Taffy. Musically, I was into hipper stuff, but I admired the slickness, energy and broad appeal of what Michael was doing. Later on, I was often sad about the apparent self-loathing, the unfortunate cosmetic decisions, and of course, the alleged pedo-crimes. It's impossible not to have mixed feelings.

This week has been full of reunions with friends from 20 years ago, and news of icons dying. At this moment, I want to stop revisiting the past and keep my gaze forward. I've done a lot of melancholy misting up the last seven days, but with plenty of joyous laughs and smiles as well. I'm f**king exhausted!

[Nephythys]

Mixed feelings aside-I am adding all my MJ to my iPod- bought a couple I did not have- and watched Captain Eo on Youtube. I also dug out my stuffed butterfly fluffball critter from the movie-

Yeah-

[Disneyphile]

Ya know, I love the hypocrisy of people who think MJ is ****ed up, especially on the plastic surgery front.

How is bleaching skin and modifying one's nose beyond recognition any worse than piercing and/or tattooing multiple body parts, or other forms of body "modification"? Yet, that seems more "acceptable".

I find MJ's plastic surgery less disturbing than people with multiple piercings or massive "plugs" on their various parts. I think we should all start calling those people ****ed up freaks. Besides, that amount of "modification" is only a symptom of deep emotional and mental problems, right?

[Tref]

I reflected on the sad news to-day and realised I have quite a few nice memories of listening to his music with friends. And it seems these memories go back as early as my memory will allow. I have always been aware of MJ and I have always been a fan. God bless Michael Jackson!

[mousepod]

Well, just to play devil's advocate, most people I know who adorn or modify their bodies with tattoos and/or piercings tend to have explanations for their choices, whether it be for beauty, trying to fit into a cultural norm, or rebelling against a norm. I don't remember Michael Jackson ever really addressing any of his skin bleaching or facial modification as a choice, but rather that he was reacting to some mysterious ailment. Apples and oranges.