Bloggers and online commentators are attacking the mainstream media for hesitating to cite TMZ as a credible source for reporting the news of Michael Jackson’s death first, while the media is attacking TMZ for calling it before the coroner’s office. But personally, I think the real reason most of the world hesitated to believe TMZ’s news was that, well, we didn’t want to believe it. I know I didn’t. In fact, I didn’t know what to believe, or think, during those few hours last Thursday as news of the King of Pop’s death spread across the Internet (nearly crashing it in the process).
Thankfully, I turned to MTV almost immediately after learning the news, where the channel had abruptly and smartly-apparently, suddenly remember the reason the channel exists in the first place-switched to exclusively playing Michael Jackson music videos. As I watched the videos to “Thriller” and “Beat It,” I suddenly knew what I was feeling, at the very least: sad. Very, very sad.
As I flipped between MTV and various news channels that night and watched the world react online, one other thing became clear. I may have been born a decade or so too late to have lived the Michael Jackson Era, before he was known more for his bizarreness than his talents, but most of the music and entertainment I enjoyed during my childhood would not have existed without him. Nsync? Their boy band dance movies and catchy pop tunes – and frontman Justin Timberlake – would have been nothing without MJ and the Jackson 5. Usher’s dance moves? Britney’s music video? Beyonce’s endorsements? Michael defined what it meant to be an entertainment entrepreneur. Michael also taught the world, as Elvis did for rock music before him, that it was OK to enjoy pop music for what it is: something to escape with and dance to.
Unfortunately, my childhood memories of the soft-spoken entertainer are tainted with – practically restricted to – tales of his plastic surgery and child molestation trials… and more recently, his bankruptcy. In fact, if it weren’t for frequent MTV viewing during my teen years-during a time when they still showed the occasional music video in between real world marathons-I might never have appreciated his multiple talents (my parents weren’t really fans). His music, even, had been on my mind lately more than ever before, helped in part by my obsessive looping of Fall Out Boy and John Mayer’s cover of “Beat It” over the last few months.
Now, as I watch multiple television specials on his life, I simply feel sad. Sad for talent lost too soon-talent that was lost, really, over a decade ago but whose continued existent left hope for a great comeback- sad over what being a childhood star who never got to be a child did to him… and most of all, sad for his children (and the non-exploitive members of his family, such as Jermaine, who tearfully said on the Today show Thursday “I wish it was me” (who had died)… spoken like a true older brother), who will have to continue living in this world where gossip tabloids obsess over their paternity, where their father’s memory will be forever tainted over the bizarre details of his life… but hopeful, too, that above all, MJ will be remembered for the positive things he brought to this world, as most of us should be in death.
“Everyone” is going crazy over the Jon & Kate + 8 divorce announcement, so I decided to toss in my (unneeded) two cents… I kind of hate myself a little for writing about this now painful-to-watch show, but wanted to stand up for Kate a bit. I’ve had a love/hate relationship with this show over the last couple years (love: the kids; hate: the shady behind-the-scene drama with family members being banned from the show, etc.). In those early episodes, I don’t think anyone predicted we would be watching this marriage crumble on cable television in a few short years.
Nothing in life is “perfect,” but this novel – an immensely satisfying conclusion to the five-part Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty – comes pretty close to it. Perfect Fifths picks up three years after the fourth left off (and ten years after we first met Jessica as a high school sophomore in Sloppy Firsts). While I wish more time was spent with some of our favorite secondary characters, McCafferty gives fans the best gift she could: a glimpse inside Marcus’s head. Perfect Fifths, unlike the the first four books written in diary-format from Jessica’s point of view, is written in third person. So we get the P.O.V. of both Jessica and Marcus, as the ex-lovers collide into each other in an airport and reconnect after years of absence. Marcus, a mystery for so much of the first four books, finally gets to tell his side of the story, and it is that much better for it.
Tuning in to… American Idol (and Idolatry)
I saw this movie during a weekend trip in New York, so I was outraged to pay $12 for a movie I could have seen at home for $8… but found it was worth every extraneous penny. The beauty of I Love You, Man is it’s unapologetic awkwardness and embracement of the bromance. It also proved Paul Rudd can be a great leading man and that Jason Segal is in his element when he can be a goofy, loveable buddy. Totes magotes.
Reading… Along for the Ride (by Sarah Dessen)
What a way to end the series. While the series is, apparently, slated to return in the fall, with Zack Braff even returning for a few episodes, its creator promises that the show will not return as the Scrubs we know – but rather the Fraiser to Scrub’s Cheers. So I will continue to think of it’s brilliant season finale as the series finale. It was a finale that reminded us why we love the characters, and how far they all have come over 8 seasons. I especially loved the final moments, which perfectly used JD’s staple fantasies to provide us a glimpse into the future…. while also allowing us to glimpse 8 seasons-worth of memorable guest stars. This season – the last couple, really – may have been a bit bumpy, but the ride was worth it to get to this ending.
Viewing… Up (in 3D!)
Columbine is a heavy, horrifying but deeply compelling and detailed account of the events and circumstances leading up to, surrounding and following the now-10 year old high school shooting tragedy. Columbine was the first major national tragedy I remember from my childhood, the live TV images of the students running out of the high school building (as I watched in my sixth grade classroom) forever seared in my brain, right next to those of the planes hitting the World Trade Center. But while I thought I knew a lot about what happened at Columbine, I was wrong. This book unveils many of the myths, false rumors and hidden secrets surrounding the tragedy, as well as much of the psychology behind the killers. The new information is even more horrifying than one could imagine, but the novel is so engaging I couldn’t put it down. Perhaps the most horrifying fact of all: there have been over 80 school shootings since Columbine. While the country, police, SWAT teams, school administrators have learned much from Columbine, we haven’t learned enough… which is why this book, even 10 years later, is an incredibly relevant – and important – read.
For the first year ever, I have seen all five Oscar best picture nominees. I thought this might help me make an educated decision on which nominee should or will win. But I honestly enjoyed all 5 movies, so narrowing my choice down to one is more difficult than I though. So here’s my take on some of the categories:
This video, titled “WWJDD?” is one of the three winners in a video contest Megan recently ran, which asked fans to create a book trailer for Perfect Fifths, the fifth (and final) Jessica Darling book. This video, by Georgette from Georgia, perfectly conveys how readers relate to and are inspired by Jessica Darling.
As readers of this blog know, I love broadway shows. There is nothing more thrilling to watch than live theater, where anything can happen and where the same show can be endlessly transformed by a different cast, different staging, different costumes.
In keeping with my recent tradition of seeing (and reviewing) movies slightly outside of those targeted at my demographic, my friend and I joined the a theater full of senior couples (of the 65 and up variety) on Friday afternoon for a viewing of Last Chance Harvey, starring the Dustin Hoffman and one of my favorite actresses – Emma Thompson.
When I start a book series, I almost always have to know how the last one ends. This would explain why I have revisited series such as The Babysitter’s Club and Sweet Valley at their conclusions long after I outgrew reading their regular installments.
It’s no surprise that Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist was co-written by a male and female young adult author. The chapters alternate in the first person between the voice of Nick and Norah, written by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, respectively, in voices so real they feel like the best friends you wish you had (or maybe you did) in high school. I have yet to see the movie based off this novel; I missed it in the theaters so decided to take advantage of the DVD-wait time to read the novel first, and I’m glad I did.
As a long-time magazine lover and hopeful future magazine writer, I knew I had to read Up For Renewal: What Magazines Taught Me About Love, Sex, and Starting Over by Cathy Alter as soon as I read the concept: a freelance writer headed down a destructive path (sex in a cubicle, junk food lunches, unfulfilling day job) decides she needs a complete life makeover and will give her life over to women’s magazines for a year.
