Quite frankly I am a little surprised by the outpouring of emotion that has been the last 15 or so hours.
Sure, the music of Michael Jackson spans generations and so many people have been touched by his 'gift' from early childhood through many great solo albums and performances well into adulthood. But let's be realistic on the 'musical front', Jackson has not produced a 'relevant' album let alone a single in at least a decade if not closer to two. For me, 'Remember the Time' might be the last thing I recall of Jackson, at least musically that is.
Sticking to his 'pop' legacy, he was truly groundbreaking AND in the right place at the right time. I was talking to a friend last night, who was not yet alive yet when Jackson released Thriller (yikes I think was the quote)! The album and what Jackson did with it visually truly changed the way we think and WATCH music today. I remember rushing home, in my Freshman year in High School, with a group of friends so we could be in front of the TV set for the World Premiere of the Thriller Movie. If I am correct, it ran close to 15 minutes and MTV played it at least 3 times in a row. We sat there mesmerized. Music Television had been out for a couple of years now but Thriller changed it all. There are so many tremendous songs in the Jackson library and it would do me disservice to start naming favorites but there are ones that I can still listen to today and even put them into context of things I can relate to now.
So, I just spent a paragraph and a half glorifying the musical genius of Michael Jackson. You would think I was mourning in the streets or at least on my Facebook status but I am not. But before I get into that, I'd like to explore a thought I had in the middle of the night...
Jackson was Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and even Miley Cyrus well before we even thought of things like that. Jackson and his family grew up in an age without mass media coverage, no cameras in the face, no TMZ snapping shots of them coming out of seedy hotel rooms. Let's be honest, we've seen enough evidence to realize the Jackson kids did not grow up in an ideal household and given the stereotypes of the early 70's lets just assume there was a little bit of recreational drug use and promiscuity around them...Can you inagine the FIELD DAY that all the tabloids and daily trash TV shows would be having if they were around then? Is the transformation that Michael has gone through any less horrific than Lohan? Ummm, she's got drug problems, apparently steals shit and who knows how many sexual partners but is she a pedophile? Have we seen her dangling babies from windows, etc...
So that leads me to my final thought. How can we GLORIFY a man, as gifted as he was, for only one side of his life? If OJ dies tomorrow there will be no candle lighting vigils on the campus of USC or in Buffalo where he is lauded for his football talents. At the end of the day, Jackson was a recluse and a creep at a minimum and a pedophile/child rapist at the worst who preyed on innocent and often sick children for his own satisfaction. Forget the mutilation he did to his own body in modifications and changes, he was NOT a good guy.
Certainly it's a tragic tale and one that the entertainment world and we as consumers should pay attention to. We, as a society, LOVE child stars. We go nuts for them, have pageants and contests to discover them and for what? Our own glory and riches?
To their parents, the Jacksons' were a way out, a means to an end. Look up and down the line of those kids and who amongst them have become well adjusted adults?
There has to be a place for children in 'show business' there always has, but at some point someone must educate the parents and make sure they keep their kids best interest at heart. Ok, I took a strange tangent there, but its related right?
To sum it up - I hope that you find peace Michael. I have and always will enjoy your musical gifts. I will explain to my children, as they have already asked why I think the person on the Thriller video is the same person in the Bad video, that sometimes people change and that pressure can be a very difficult thing to deal with, and also never to talk to strangers no matter how appealing that offer may be...
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Age and time...
I know I have other issues to get to but this is what's been on my mind for at least the last few days.
First, the middle week of June is a difficult one for me. My father would have turned 66 on the 14th, instead it marks nearly 8 years since he passed away. Usually his birthday falls very close to Father's Day. This year it is separated by a full week, which I believe is the furthest apart it ever gets. Father's Day to me has always been a dichotomy and now that I have been a father for almost 9 years I guess it's a trichotomy if that is even a word. My earliest memories of Father's Day are of pain and loss, a father that left in the truest sense of the term. Today I know that you may not be in the same place as your children but you can always be PRESENT. The second Father's Day for me is one of gratitude and thanks for the man that chose to be by father. Now more than ever I feel that gratitude and look to carry on that legacy he has given me. The third, Gil as a Dad is more difficult. I think because of my original feelings on Father's Day and its proximity to my biological father's birth I would try to push it out of my head and say its not really a 'day for me'. I'm still not comfortable with it. I like days about 'other people'. I'm a pretty good giver and I like focusing on someone else's happiness and thus getting joy from seeing them smile at my thoughtfulness. As TIME marches forward I think I need to re-focus that lens and try to receive Father's Day differently, for me.
So where does all this tie in (notice the cute father's day pun of TIE)? Maybe it won't but by now you know that I just type and type.
Back to TIME, last week I was STUCK in the Dallas airport for 18+ hours with not much to do but sit in the Crown Room and contemplate life. Sure I watched a movie and even used the restroom, but basically it was the worst 'holding pattern' I could remember in a LONG time and it made me think about TIME and how much of it we waste in our life on petty shit. In fact time wasting has actually become a 'pasttime for people'. Don't believe me? GOOGLE 'time wasters' and all you get are hits for games and sites for you to actually WASTE TIME. Fuck - I want just the exact opposite (pardon my french). I don't want to waste any more time.
I am now 40. Do I feel 40? I have no idea. I know I don't feel like I thought 40 would feel. I still love to goof around, I like current music which makes the kids happy, despite two major knee reconstructions I run, play golf and am getting ready to play basketball again. When I was in my 20's I looked at 40 as old and sometimes I wonder do I come off that way to that same 'demo' now. The biggest thing about being 40 seems to be the realization that if life were a bell curve I am no longer on the 'climb'. Though it doesn't mean that I can't still reach higher heights!
How do the concepts of AGE and TIME collide?
Pretty simple. There are so many things I wish to do, experience and accomplish. What I have come to accept is that I don't have time for 'time suckers', 'time wasters' or 'haters'.
MY father died at 57. I can't imagine only having 17 years left on this planet, but if I do I want to make the best of it. I don't want to 'live each moment to its fullest', I want to 'LIVE IN EACH MOMENT'. I want to be able to look around and see it for what it is, enjoy the experience or even hate the experience but use that to make future experiences that much better.
AGE is truly but a number. I know 35 year olds that have given up and are resigned to a life less ordinary and I have friends in their mid 20's that have a lifetime ahead of them and they see all that life can offer them. My hope is to try and help rescue the 35 year old while being able to jump on the ride with the mid 20's and let them see, through experience, how many ways this life can be enjoyed.
Is 40 the new 30? Probably not, but 40 is me. Its active, fun and looking forward to the next 40 and not back on what the first 40 'should' have been.
Age and time...I hope they are both on my side and those around me get the chance to see that and while things might not be 'ideal' from a fairy tale perspective, they can be pretty spectacular in the moment and on in to the future if your mind and heart is open.
First, the middle week of June is a difficult one for me. My father would have turned 66 on the 14th, instead it marks nearly 8 years since he passed away. Usually his birthday falls very close to Father's Day. This year it is separated by a full week, which I believe is the furthest apart it ever gets. Father's Day to me has always been a dichotomy and now that I have been a father for almost 9 years I guess it's a trichotomy if that is even a word. My earliest memories of Father's Day are of pain and loss, a father that left in the truest sense of the term. Today I know that you may not be in the same place as your children but you can always be PRESENT. The second Father's Day for me is one of gratitude and thanks for the man that chose to be by father. Now more than ever I feel that gratitude and look to carry on that legacy he has given me. The third, Gil as a Dad is more difficult. I think because of my original feelings on Father's Day and its proximity to my biological father's birth I would try to push it out of my head and say its not really a 'day for me'. I'm still not comfortable with it. I like days about 'other people'. I'm a pretty good giver and I like focusing on someone else's happiness and thus getting joy from seeing them smile at my thoughtfulness. As TIME marches forward I think I need to re-focus that lens and try to receive Father's Day differently, for me.
So where does all this tie in (notice the cute father's day pun of TIE)? Maybe it won't but by now you know that I just type and type.
Back to TIME, last week I was STUCK in the Dallas airport for 18+ hours with not much to do but sit in the Crown Room and contemplate life. Sure I watched a movie and even used the restroom, but basically it was the worst 'holding pattern' I could remember in a LONG time and it made me think about TIME and how much of it we waste in our life on petty shit. In fact time wasting has actually become a 'pasttime for people'. Don't believe me? GOOGLE 'time wasters' and all you get are hits for games and sites for you to actually WASTE TIME. Fuck - I want just the exact opposite (pardon my french). I don't want to waste any more time.
I am now 40. Do I feel 40? I have no idea. I know I don't feel like I thought 40 would feel. I still love to goof around, I like current music which makes the kids happy, despite two major knee reconstructions I run, play golf and am getting ready to play basketball again. When I was in my 20's I looked at 40 as old and sometimes I wonder do I come off that way to that same 'demo' now. The biggest thing about being 40 seems to be the realization that if life were a bell curve I am no longer on the 'climb'. Though it doesn't mean that I can't still reach higher heights!
How do the concepts of AGE and TIME collide?
Pretty simple. There are so many things I wish to do, experience and accomplish. What I have come to accept is that I don't have time for 'time suckers', 'time wasters' or 'haters'.
MY father died at 57. I can't imagine only having 17 years left on this planet, but if I do I want to make the best of it. I don't want to 'live each moment to its fullest', I want to 'LIVE IN EACH MOMENT'. I want to be able to look around and see it for what it is, enjoy the experience or even hate the experience but use that to make future experiences that much better.
AGE is truly but a number. I know 35 year olds that have given up and are resigned to a life less ordinary and I have friends in their mid 20's that have a lifetime ahead of them and they see all that life can offer them. My hope is to try and help rescue the 35 year old while being able to jump on the ride with the mid 20's and let them see, through experience, how many ways this life can be enjoyed.
Is 40 the new 30? Probably not, but 40 is me. Its active, fun and looking forward to the next 40 and not back on what the first 40 'should' have been.
Age and time...I hope they are both on my side and those around me get the chance to see that and while things might not be 'ideal' from a fairy tale perspective, they can be pretty spectacular in the moment and on in to the future if your mind and heart is open.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Teaser...
Seriously, if I had the time, and I am working on clearing up some space, here are some topics that I would like to blog about...and I will I promise.
1. Homelessness - especially in Atlanta. I went to a breakfast for the Atlanta Children's Shelter that was very powerful and I started doing some research. I can't wait to share.
2. Iran and its continual development of nuclear capabilities and the ramifications on not just the Middle East (Israel) but also Europe. Also Iran's relationship with Venezuela and the impact that could have on the West - interesting and scary stuff.
3. Comedienne Lisa Lampinelli - I almost cringe about giving her 'face' time. I watched her HBO Special over the weekend, at 3:00 AM when I couldn't sleep, and I was outraged, disgusted and offended (not things that someone can usually do to me). Sitting here 2 days later my skin still crawls from her racist, anti-semetic and cruel sexual orientation jabs.
I have been traveling a TON for work and that continues through the middle of next week, but I have all these notes, I just need to put them together in coherent thoughts :)
1. Homelessness - especially in Atlanta. I went to a breakfast for the Atlanta Children's Shelter that was very powerful and I started doing some research. I can't wait to share.
2. Iran and its continual development of nuclear capabilities and the ramifications on not just the Middle East (Israel) but also Europe. Also Iran's relationship with Venezuela and the impact that could have on the West - interesting and scary stuff.
3. Comedienne Lisa Lampinelli - I almost cringe about giving her 'face' time. I watched her HBO Special over the weekend, at 3:00 AM when I couldn't sleep, and I was outraged, disgusted and offended (not things that someone can usually do to me). Sitting here 2 days later my skin still crawls from her racist, anti-semetic and cruel sexual orientation jabs.
I have been traveling a TON for work and that continues through the middle of next week, but I have all these notes, I just need to put them together in coherent thoughts :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)