A Good Night's Sleep

[poliphilo]

I was so dog-tired I went to bed at nine. Nakisha next door was having a birthday party- and she and her friends were still playing on the street. It was like being a little kid again, going to bed with the sun still up.

Carl was here fixing things yesterday. One of the things he fixed was the hole in the woodwork that Trash the rat made burrowing out of the kitchen when I inadvertently locked him in.  I'd done such a good job blocking all his passages- gaps left in the brickwork when old pipeing was removed- that he had to dig himself a new one. I haven't seen him for a while now. I hope he's told all his cousins that this house is just one, enormous rat trap.

You don't want to hear my views on Michael Jackson.

Comments

[halfmoon-mollie.livejournal.com]

I feel sort of safe posting this here, even though I wasn't going to say anything.

I totally dislike mentioning MJ and Elvis in the same sentence BUT - they were prisoners of their fame. They could barely go to the bathroom without there being a press release. This would make anyone who was even CLOSE to normal - and neither of them were close to normal - start closing themselves off.

He was an amazing dancer, I'd suggest seraphimsigrist check a little further into the YouTube videos. He seemed almost boneless. I was stuck at home when the Thriller Phenom hit, and although I do not own a single piece of Michael's recorded music, I loved that video.

BUT. I do not think news of his death should throw the REAL news of the world off the front page (speaking metaphorically here....) You know, news like what's happening in Afghanistan, or in Korea, or for that matter in Iraq and Iran?

I'm old enough to remember the cute - and he was VERY CUTE - child with the round head, the one who sang "Oh darlin' give me one more chance...". As with the Beach Boys, the person who pushed the Jackson 5 into the spotlight was their father. The father who said "Oh, I heard he wasn't doing so well." Interesting, isn't it, that Brian Wilson (a giant talent) ALSO has had problems with reality and fame?

okay, okay, I'll step down off my soapbox.

Tony, I do hope none of Trash's relative think of calling on you.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

No-one stands beside Elvis. Elvis symbolises a particular cultural moment- the birth of rock 'n' roll- and all that rock 'n' roll means. He may not have been the first- or even the best- but he's the icon.

Jackson was a victim of his fame- just as Elvis was. He was a fragile, needy person who surrounded himself with yes-men. Money can't buy you happiness, only illusion.

I don't grudge him his headlines. I think he was important. He stands for all sorts of significant things in our culture- some of them attractive, some very, very ugly. People will be discussing him- and his legacy- long after most of the events- and personalities- we consider newsworthy have been forgotten.