Michael Jackson

As I write this...we have all learned that the legendary King of Pop, Michael Jackson has passed away.

Like many, the report of his death was unexpected.

Or was it?

It seems to me that the real Michael Jackson never got a chance to exist. A child forced to play the part of an adult. An adult desperately reaching for his childhood.

One word:

Misunderstood.

In this time of overhyped, bullshit "celebrities" we should all take a moment and experience the sacrifices this man made for the sole purpose of entertaining us. Seriously, got to YouTube, search Michael Jackson.....I'll wait....

As a child I danced in my room with 'Bad' blaring from my stereo. As an adult I still feel that same connection. I seriously doubt that we will ever find that again. Our pop stars today are disposable and repetitive. Our culture finances the empty caloric value of reality television and Spid-e or whatever-the-fuck-that-couple's-name-is. It's a sad state of affairs all around today, to put it mildly.

We have lost our appreciation for showmanship. We have lost our ability to enjoy art. We have become jaded and dysfunctional.

Was Michael Jackson a weird guy? Hell yes. Was he evil? I don't think so. We are so quick to devour, to parade the truth that media feeds us that we forget to pause. It's easy to demonize Michael Jackson, it's easy to make the pedophilia jokes. What isn't easy is to accept the fact that we made Michael Jackson. We gave him fame and in turn, shit on him when his demons became a little too real.

An abused child turns into a billionaire weirdo. Sounds familiar, except that these stories usually occur in trailer parks, not on MTV.

What have we learned from Michael Jackson's life??

Don't be an asshole. Just be yourself.

People might poke fun. But, at the end of the day, you can still look at the Man in the Mirror.

R.I.P MJ

A Man In a Stall....

I visited the public restroom today.

Obviously, this this feat alone isn't one to brag about or to broadcast on the internets. Unless, of course, I was a 2 year old boy...in which case you could congratulate me on going tinkle AND on my fantasic grasp of the English language.

But, I digress...

I was in the restroom at work. As I went about my 'buisness' a man walked in on his cell phone. Deep in conversation, the man seemed to forget his whereabouts in this world. Surely, he could have polietly postponed the conversation untill a time when he wasn't in dire need of a bowl movement, right? Apparently not. Nope, he walked in, sat down and let it rip. All. While. Talking. On. The. Phone.

This has become a pet peave of mine. Not because it's offensive and/or obnoxious to me, I really don't care what a person does. Hell, if you pass me dropping a deuce in a stall, chances are I'm Twittering or something. No, the reason this upsets me is that it points to a frightening trend in this day and age. Not being able to excuse yourself from the phone when you have to drop some kids off at the pool.

It points to a larger problem than the minor annoyance it causes the people surrounding you. That larger problem is our inability to exist alone, in silence. It is our lack of patience and, ulitmately, our lack of progress. While it may seem that technology IS in itself progress, the opposite seems to be true. While we continue progress forward an unending stream of information presents itself to us. And we are losing original thought.

This from the man Twittering on the toilet next to you...

Irony is an amazing thing, hypocracy is often funnier though.

I'm not trying to save the world, I don't know if I care that much. I'm not looking to inspire or be an 'original voice'. If I were, I probably would be much more eloquant and tactful in my approach...well, maybe not. But, if you're reading this blog, what I want from you is this:

1. Take some time today to be quiet. Just five minutes, no iPod, no TV, no nagging significant other and/or kids. Just take a deep breath.

2. Join me in flooding Twitter, MySpace and Facebook with constant updates about our bowel movements.

B

end of an era...

I just spent the morning taking the false wall down from what used to be my home studio/band practice space. Thought it'd be an interesting time to start blogging again...Plus, it went a lot faster than I thought, so now I've got some time on my hands..

I thought I would be more sad about this event. I really did. I thought that it'd somehow represent me 'growing up' and 'moving on'...turns out it doesn't. Not really. It's just another event. Another step forward. 

This could easily be a moment where I attempt to relate this event to some greater meaning of life philosophy...But, there really isn't one here, other than life is consistently challenging and constantly changing.

Sometimes we all just need to tear down a wall or two..

B