Friday, June 26, 2009
The King is Dead. Long Live the King.
This may surprise some of you, but I am having trouble fulling comprehending the sudden death of Michael Jackson. His music was an enormous part of my life for many years and the idea that he is gone at the age of fifty, well, it just doesn't sit right. I know everybody dies, but icons of this magnitude don't go quietly. Their departure rips a chunk out of everyone who ever looked up to them.
I was born in the 70s but I grew up in the 80s and, as a result, Michael Jackson was the undisputed ruler of the planet for a stretch of my childhood. We had a copy of Thriller and we played it a lot, more than any other contemporary music that we had. I'm sure I don't seem to be a very musical person, but I cannot stress how many times I listened to that record and watched him perform on the once-great stage that was MTV.
In a way, his death reminds me of the conflicting emotions I experienced five years ago when Ronald Reagan died (ironically, Michael died in a medical center named for Reagan). Both men were superstars of the 1980's and both were inescapable; there wasn't a channel on television or magazine cover that didn't feature their image on a regular basis, to say nothing of video games and comic books.
Once the 80's ended, the two of them went in very separate directions. Reagan all but disappeared from public view while Michael only became more famous - just not for his music. Between the molestation charges, his increasingly bizarre appearance and the scores of rumors, Michael Jackson the performer became a memory. It was a really great memory that we all shared, but with each new story the Michael Jackson we saw made it harder to look back with fondness on the Michael Jackson we all loved.
So in a sick way, Michael's death is the best thing to happen to Michael's musical legacy. Unlike Ronald Reagan, his very public life was actively denigrating his past accomplishments. When Reagan died, everyone looked back on his presidency and wondered whether he was right to do what he did. Michael's music is unambiguously positive; it was the lingering pedophilia questions and oddball child-rearing habits that was negative.
The more I think about it, the dirtier I feel for ever having condemned Michael for anything he did in his personal life. Yes, I thought that Martin Bashir special made him look creepy as hell, but why and what did that matter? The man was an incredible singer, dancer and performer. Who cares that he had his children wear masks and fancied himself to be Peter Pan?
I guess in the end, it doesn't matter at all what any of us thought about him because he's dead. And when someone dies, especially someone with young children, I feel awful. Goodbye Michael, we never knew you but deep down we all loved you.
つづく...(Click here to read more)
I was born in the 70s but I grew up in the 80s and, as a result, Michael Jackson was the undisputed ruler of the planet for a stretch of my childhood. We had a copy of Thriller and we played it a lot, more than any other contemporary music that we had. I'm sure I don't seem to be a very musical person, but I cannot stress how many times I listened to that record and watched him perform on the once-great stage that was MTV.
In a way, his death reminds me of the conflicting emotions I experienced five years ago when Ronald Reagan died (ironically, Michael died in a medical center named for Reagan). Both men were superstars of the 1980's and both were inescapable; there wasn't a channel on television or magazine cover that didn't feature their image on a regular basis, to say nothing of video games and comic books.
Once the 80's ended, the two of them went in very separate directions. Reagan all but disappeared from public view while Michael only became more famous - just not for his music. Between the molestation charges, his increasingly bizarre appearance and the scores of rumors, Michael Jackson the performer became a memory. It was a really great memory that we all shared, but with each new story the Michael Jackson we saw made it harder to look back with fondness on the Michael Jackson we all loved.
So in a sick way, Michael's death is the best thing to happen to Michael's musical legacy. Unlike Ronald Reagan, his very public life was actively denigrating his past accomplishments. When Reagan died, everyone looked back on his presidency and wondered whether he was right to do what he did. Michael's music is unambiguously positive; it was the lingering pedophilia questions and oddball child-rearing habits that was negative.
The more I think about it, the dirtier I feel for ever having condemned Michael for anything he did in his personal life. Yes, I thought that Martin Bashir special made him look creepy as hell, but why and what did that matter? The man was an incredible singer, dancer and performer. Who cares that he had his children wear masks and fancied himself to be Peter Pan?
I guess in the end, it doesn't matter at all what any of us thought about him because he's dead. And when someone dies, especially someone with young children, I feel awful. Goodbye Michael, we never knew you but deep down we all loved you.
Labels: fuzzy memories, RIP
つづく...(Click here to read more)
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
Unfortunate Update
On a routine visit to GameFAQS.com I came across some sad news. Christoper MacDonald died this week. Who is he? Well, the truth is I didn't know him, nor did I ever meet him or speak to him directly. But Chris wrote sixty FAQs for a variety of video game titles. His work was thorough and well organized and became the gold standard for future "how-to" video game guides. In fact, his work was so good that on more than one occasion video game magazines took it upon themselves to redistribute his work without his permission. Consequently, he took them to court and developed his own "copyright" statement which he included in all subsequent FAQs which became the gold standard for FAQ copyright statements. Personally, I found Chris' guide to Neo Geo titles to be most impressive.
A list of Chris' work can be found here and a memorial page written by his brother is over here. I have also added GameFAQS.com to the Links bar on the right.
R.I.P.
つづく...(Click here to read more)
A list of Chris' work can be found here and a memorial page written by his brother is over here. I have also added GameFAQS.com to the Links bar on the right.
R.I.P.
Labels: RIP, video games
つづく...(Click here to read more)
