in the wee hours...

i've become inspired by writing again... you can thank michael (jackson, that is) for that... within months of figuring out various directions, i now know where it is i want to go... obtaining this goal of finishing this book (on who else, but?). acknowledging that all of us are as strange as we consider michael to be...

after reading some 'news' story my sister sent me about the jacksons winning yet another award (this time from BMI) i realized how incredibly smart michael is. of course i realized this long ago but we must remember something: how much of an obligation he felt he had to appear somewhere with his family for so many years. now, at the age of 50, he's got three children to deal with, as well as an even more intense need for privacy. it's good on him that he hasn't followed the grains of technology and created a blog, youtube or myspace page or something thereof (he's got his record label and throngs of fans and advocates to do this for him). he's become so smart that his family doesn't even know where he is... or so they say...

and yes, i realize this is going out all over the world (like the ye old televised train we depended on every saturday morning, IF you know what i mean)... we've got to make our feelings concise and coherent. no time to process, process, process... life in portland, oregon will do that to you. i am just getting started here, so more on portland later.

but admittedly, after all these years of growing up with him (i was 6 years old when the infamous 'thriller' was released, and my mother played he and his brothers' music from the time i was released from the womb)- i have become an advocate of the MJ, as essentially he represents all of us. after many years of never following aspects of his career (since i stopped regularly watching television and following most media 14 years ago) i did not follow either of his court trials, nor did i watch any of his interviews. i didn't even know he was even being interviewed, i did not know he had a 30th anniversary celebration in 2001, nor did i know there was a court trial in 2005 (i know, i know... where have you been, jam?). however, i began to catch up with so much i've missed beginning in october of 2007; it's certainly been an enlightening experience. and with all of the film and media criticism i've been doing this whole time since i was a wee teenager (my criticism was the thing that disengaged me from the teevee- i also have written film critiques for fun) i realized i had a whole lot to learn, in terms of human connections.

i still have yet to follow much of popular culture these days, but i am not so quick to dissect it these days, without attempting to make some human connection. thanks so much for that, MJ...

and THIS, good people, is my first 'blog'...

and p.s... where are you, barry? i miss talking to you all the time, my friend. you were the first person to ever listen to me rant about my feelings on this person named mr. jackson. and your likeness is on this page right now.