On Michael… (and a note from my 45 collection)

I’ve been wanting to write something on Michael Jackson ever since his untimely death last week. I’ve been putting it off and putting it off… mostly because the subject is very overwhelming for me as it is, but even more so because of the amount of negative comments and press I’ve seen. So, you see, this post will be positive. And no comments will be allowed. My opinion and experience is not up for debate. It’s not open for scrutiny. It’s just my opinion and experience. Deal with it!

I am currently 35 years old. I’ll turn 36 next month – the day after Michael Jackson’s birthday. We’re both Virgos. I feel a kinship with the man and always have. I know what it’s like to be misunderstood. Not on his level, of cousre, but nevertheless. I know what it’s like to deal with people whose minds are not open. People who only see what they want to see about you. I can open my mind and understand what it’s like to have people only react to the media they are spoon-fed about you. People suck. It’s sad, but true.

Michael was found innocent in a court of law. Does that matter to anyone? Some of the posts I have seen remind me of the stereotype of the townsfolk coming after the town “weirdo” with torches and pitchforks. This isn’t the 17th century, folks! Right after Michael’s death – and by that I mean within an HOUR, I had people on my Facebook list screaming, “FREAK! WEIRDO!” and of course, all the pedophile comments. I wonder, had he never changed his appearance, would people be so quick to judge? Possibly, epecially because there are still so many racists out there. But I’d bet you anything the judgemental group would be a lot smaller. People tend to hear the word “pedophile” thrown around and immediately assume guilt, expecially if the person accused is seen as strange by the public. What happened to innocent until proven guilty? What happened to the fact he WAS NOT proven guilty? What about the fact that he was SO not guilty he has custody of his own children?

People who lack critical thinking skills, people who lack empathy and especially people who lack both MAKE ME SICK. I don’t want to deal with your kind! And I lost a couple of Facebook friends because of this. I deleted THEM. I say, “good riddance.” If their minds are that closed who is to say they won’t turn on me someday when I am in need of understanding and empathy? Who needs friends like that?

Michael had loads of money and was around hundreds, if not thousands of kids in his lifetime. During that time only two kids have bothered to say anything at all. Doesn’t that ring the warning bells? Money is the great motivater here. I really don’t want to dwell on this. For more info on the first case and how Michael was framed, please read this:

Was Michael Jackson Framed?

He admitted sharing his bed and having sleepovers with children. SO WHAT? Sleeping does not equal sex! Where are these people living, how did they grow up to automatically assume the worst over the word “sleep”? Is Michael guilty of poor judgement? Absolutely. But only because, in this world, as we have seen, a lot of people have completely lost the ability to think that a grown man does not necessarily equal a pedophile. Michael was an overgrown child!!! My goodness, is this not obvious? I seriously doubt he was remotely capable of the things he was accused of. He completely missed his own childhood at the mercy of beatings administered by his own father. He is absolutely guilty of eccentricity and weirdness in the first degree (a similar quote I saw written somewhere else), BUT SO WHAT? Who is to define what normal is? And last time I checked, being weird, different, or strange-looking does not make you a criminal or, most importantly, a pedophile! Come on people!

There is a boatload more I could say about this, but I want to talk about my personal Michael Jackson experiences.

Because I was heavily into shows like Dance Fever and Solid Gold as a kid, I’m sure I took a liking to Michael’s Off The Wall singles, and I do remember them. I think I was too young to have formed any solid memories of them, though. I was 9 years old when Thriller came out in November of 1982. “The Girl Is Mine” was the first single and, eh… I was not of the generation to worship Paul McCartney, so to me it was … eh. I remember “Billie Jean” taking our breath away. The video, with the sidewalks that lit up as Michael moved onto them held us mesmerized. How’d they do that? “Beat It” was next and oh, man! The world was listening. Michael had somehow gotten King Of Guitars Eddie Van Halen to play on this song, and the kids my age were ever so impressed. No one could deny these singles were totally, well, EVERYTHING.

Somehow, by this time (Valentine’s Day 1983) I had still managed to not have any singles or the Thriller album in my posession. Then, the Motown 25th Anniversary Special was shown on NBC. Taped March 25, 1983 and shown on TV May 16th, 1983, I believe this is the event that put me, and probably so many others, over the top for Michael! It’s hard to imagine now, but when he did the moonwalk here for the first time it had people talking for days, weeks, hey, they STILL talk about it. It was like he was other-worldly. No one ever saw anyone dance like that. Again, as a young aspiring dancer, I was hooked! I remember watching this at my friend Linda’s house. Linda lived down the street and I must have been spending the night. After Michael’s performance we tried in vain to moonwalk all over her living room. It’s one of my favorite 80s memories! And thanks to Facebook, I know she remembers it fondly, too!

I was now primed, and since “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” was released on May 8, 1983, I ran out and bought it!

Furzdurzelette's copy of Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

I love this song sooo much! It peaked at #5 on the Hot 100 Singles Chart (and I helped!). The red mark on the sleeve is not lipstick, I swear. I marked all of my 45s with a stamp that said “Karen” (my mother’s name – I didn’t have one of my own) to mark it as mine when it was brought to a friend’s house or a party. I played this single so much it started to skip not too long after I got it, and the sleeve is coming apart. I somehow acquired a second copy of it which will remain in my collection untouched and pristine!

Back of Furzdurzelette's copy

This single was released without a video, or I’d have put it here!

It was only after this that I somehow got my hands on Thriller, the Lp, on cassette. I don’t remember buying it, and I don’t remember buying this single either. I have a feeling my parents bought both for me, but most definitely the cassette, as I was still 9 and had not much money to speak of. And for some reason I’m almost certain the cassette came from K-Mart. A good bet, as there weren’t  a lot of places to buy music in my hometown. The cassette is in storage (I’ve been listening to B’s cd copy of it lately).

“Human Nature” and “P.Y.T.” came out as singles after this. I remember not caring for “Human Nature” that much as a kid, but I do like it now. I used to listen to “P.Y.T.” a lot, though, even then though I knew at 10 (I had a birthday by that point) how silly it was! I think that might even be why I liked it so much!

“Thriller” came next and blew the roof off the world. What a song! And what a video! It was definitely one of the videos that molded me as a person and made be want to be a dancer more than anything in the world!

Naturally, they are all over any posting of this video, so I cannot embed it here. If you want to see the “Thriller” video, click here:

Thriller

I have vivid memories of walking through my neighborhood with my tape recorder (I didn’t own a boom box) blasting “Billie Jean.” “Smooth Criminal” was another dance video that had me in awe of the dancing. I love these memories. I know in my heart, and for the reasons outlined above, Michael Jackson was a good man and not capable of the horrible things he was accused of doing. I’ll never understand why he felt the need to change his beautiful face. But he did it, and that was his choice. I adore Michael, and I always will.

Rest In Peace.

Today In… 1987 (and a note from my 45 collection)

From my 8th grade English class journal:

I just got out of health. Betsy is absent and I think Amy is too. I think I’ll kill them both! I have cola-flavored gum in my mouth. It’s good I guess. He is here today. He’s wearing the same thing he wore 2wice last week 3 times the week before, and 2wice the week before that. Frankly, deary, I’m sick of it. but, oh well. That’s life. Can I help it if he’s poor? No, sike, he’s not poor. I have nothing to write so I guess I’ll babble. Saturday Betsy and I went to the movies. We saw “Light Of Day.” Michael J. Fox and Joan Jett were in it. Gotta Go. Bye.

Rock. On.
I must have really liked this movie and/or just the song from the film, because I bought the Light Of Day single. Here’s my copy:

According to the IMDB page for the film, it was released on February 6, 1987. So Betsy and I were a little late to board this train. It was typical for the small town I lived in to not get a film until a month after its release, though, so this may not have been our fault. The only other interesting tidbit I can find is that this song was written by Bruce Springsteen. The working title for the film had been Born In The USA, but Bruce snagged that title for his own song about Vietnam vets, and to make it up to the filmmakers he wrote this song instead, and they changed the title of the movie to match it. There, you learn something new everyday, people!

Beloved Benjamin Is Waiting by Jean E. Karl

When I was growing up I was a voracious reader – a hobby I try to keep up with to this day. I went to the library regularly to check out everything from astronomy books to young adult novels.

One day I remember hunching down in the H-K author section looking for S.E. Hinton books and whatever else caught my eye. With the title, Beloved Benjamin Is Waiting, this book definitely caught by attention. Then I read the jacket flap and was intrigued. I took the book home and read it (I think I got it out a lot!) and have never forgotten it.

Over the last few years I became obsessed with the idea of reading this book again and I finally bought it used through Amazon last month. It is out of print, so used is the only way to get it now. I was really wondering if it was as clinically awesome as I remembered it being. If I re-read books that I found great as a kid I usually find them oddly lamer than I recalled. I guess that’s the sophistication of being grown up. And the true genius you must employ to be a young-adult novelist. But this book is still completely amazing!

Quick plot synapsis from the Amazon page for this book: Hounded by a gang of kids after her mother’s disappearance leaves her on her own, Lucinda hides in the abandoned caretaker’s house in the local cemetery where she makes contact with intelligent beings from another galaxy.

This leaves out the fact that Lucinda is only 11 years old. This book always haunted me, and after reading it I think I know why. The ending leaves you wanting more. You want to know more about what becomes of Lucinda, what becomes of her family, what becomes of the caretakers house… everything.

This novel was originally published in 1978. And, by the way – I’m not the only one who enjoyed this book so much they remembered it into adulthood. Just look at the comments on the Amazon page! And check out this book if you get a chance (haha- get it? check out this book)- I highly recommend it. English Major Approved!

Today in… 1986

A follow-up on yesterday’s post. From my 8th Grade English Class Journal, November 18, 1986:

I just got out of gym. I hate volleyball with a passion. After school today. We’re going to my Aunt L’s house for spaghetti with my grandparents. What fun. I’m going to miss Dance Party. Oh well. The Lip Sync wasn’t by Jason and Bob, it was by Pisces. It was stupid. F is absolutely going to kill me. I almost died. Last night Amy came over after we went downtown. I got Superteen’s October issue, and the record “Walk Like An Egyptian” By the Bangles. It was the last one. Amy got “Human” by the Human League, and something else. Gotta go, Bye.

Ah… a little bit more info! My copy of “Walk…” was the last one in stock. This goes along nicely with yesterday’s post indicating that when I purchased it, the song was climbing its way to number 1! Nice! And now we have the added info that Amy bought “Human” by Human League. Let’s see… according to Wiki ”Human” was the band’s first single off their album Crash (which was released in September of 1986) and became Human League’s second number one single in America. And Amy helped!

Hmmph… Dance Party! I had to go and mention it, didn’t I? Yes, 8th grade saw me obsessed with this Philly-based dance show on the USA Network. And this means I subjected Amy to it, and as I recall, Amy HATED Dance Party. My friend “F” and I *loved* it , though! While my friend “F” frothed over the show’s most popular regular, Bob – I spent my evenings staring at his best friend, Jason. I think Lip Syncs were about one of the worst things to come out of the 80s. I think we only cared so much about them because whomever did a lip sync had more “face time” for us to stare at them on tv. Nothing to kill me or die over. I wish I had a quarter for everytime the phrase, “I almost died” shows up in my journals and diaries. I’d be wealthy! Everything is so dramatic when you’re 13!

Incidently, I don’t remember how the spaghetti was, but it makes me wonder… I was absent the next day!

Today In… 1986 AND a note from my 45 collection

From my 8th grade English class journal:

I just got out of health. That class is getting pretty BORING. Oh well. I’m going downtown after school with Amy. I’m going to get a magazine and a record. Grandma & Grandpa got here Saturday from Florida. Yesterday we ordered a 32 slice pizza and watched slides. Karie came too. I’m going to get the record “Walk Like An Egyptian” by the Bangles. Well, gotta stop. Bye.

I guess this is as good a time as any to do another entry in the My 45 Collection category! Not often do I figure out the exact date I purchased one of my records, but there you have it: November 17, 1986 I purchased “Walk Like An Egyptian” by The Bangles! There is more information about this shopping excursion in the next day’s entry, but I’ll save that for tomorrow (hopefully I’ll remember!).

“Walk Like An Egyptian” was released, according to it’s Wiki page, as the third single from The Bangles’ hit album Different Light, in September of 1986, when it also debuted in the Billboard Hot 100. The song reached number one on the same chart in the U.S. on December 20th (so I was on board early, then.. I helped!). It stayed at number one for four weeks, carrying it through to January 1987.

What I cannot believe is that according to the Wiki entry, this song is one that was deemed inappropriate by those nerds at Clear Channel after the 9/11 attacks. I guess they didn’t want the terrorists thinking we were making fun of the way they walk?

I bought no less than three 45s from the album Different Light. It dawned on me later that I should have just bought the album. But that’s how it was back then. Not often did you find an entire album to your liking or want to take a chance on it, especially as an 8th grader with no money. You bought what you liked and could afford. Only rarely did it turn out that the album would have been the bargain!

If you’re my age (35) you’ll probably remember everyone and their grandmother walking around imitating ancient hieroglyphs of King Tut during the winter of 1986/1987. Such a clever song! The country couldn’t get enough!

Before I go, I want to give a shout out to the Pudgies 32 slice sheet pizza mentioned in the English class entry. Pudgies is still in my hometown and the pizza and wings still rule. Yes!

 

Heimlich Maneuver Film Review from 12/1986

From my 8th grade English Class notebook, I bring you my review of a Heimlich Maneuver film we viewed in Health Class, circa December 1986. I have left in all crossed-out items and spelling errors for your enjoyment:

yesterday in health In health a couple of weeks ago, we were talking about how to save a choking person from death, After that, we saw a movie. It was disgusting! In the beginning it showed this (inserted here: tall) girl with short, blond hair talking to her boyfriend and eating an apple. her boyfriend turned around, his back to (in margin: get his bike because they were going to race. home), and she she turned blue and choked on a piece of the apple. He did the Heimlich manouvre and the apple flew out of her throat. Then she returned back to her normal color. The next one was about this guy at a barbecue that choked on a piece of meat. A tall, sturdy, black guy gave him the Heimlich and the meat flew out. Again the guy had turned blue. Totally blue. There were other examples. All the people that choked looked like smurfs. I swear, and each time someone choked someone or they would save (them)selves.) Dr. Heimlich was there to tell us what they just did. (How they got saved.) It was so stupid.

(editors note: I did look for this film on Youtube and unfortunately, I cannot find it.)

Today in… 1987

9th Grade English Class Journal, October 26, 1987:

Hellro. I want to go home. Jennifer is skipping. Homecoming was awesome. Halloween is Saturday. B-O-R-I-N-G. Baseball is awesome no matter what anyone says. I want to go home. The dance was ok, the game was fun… I want to go home. Gotta stop (go?). C-ya later. P.S. – I want to go home!!!!!!!!! Coyotito’s head got blown off – isn’t that gross? OK – now I gotta stop (go) C-ya. I want to go home! I can’t wait ’till math. I want to go home!

God, I sound insane in this entry! I’m not sure, but I think I wanted to go home?

 

 Jennifer never skipped. I don’t know where that came from or why I wrote it. We were probably fighting or somthing.

“Coyotito” is a character in the John Steinbeck novella The Pearl, which we were reading in this class. You can buy this book and learn more about it here, on its Amazon page.

(Keep feeling) Fascination – Human League

Anyone here like the Human League?

Seriously, B and I were driving home from my Mom’s and listening to the 80s channel on XM radio in our car when “(Keep Feeling) Fascination” by Human League came on. It’s one of my favorite Human League songs (not that there are many), and yet one I frequently forget all about. As it turns out, it was a huge hit tonight, prompting an impromptu karaoke session right there on Route 81! I am still thinking about it and it’s still in my head and it was an hour and a half ago now. Damn that Human League!

If it seems a little time is needed
Decisions to be made
The good advice of friends unheeded
The best of plans mislaid

Just looking for a new direction
In an old familiar way
The forming of a new connection
To study or to play

And so the conversation turned
Until the sun went down
And many fantasies were learned
On that day

Keep feeling fascination
Passion burning
Love so strong
Keep feeling fascination
Looking learning
Moving on

Well the truth may need some
Re-arranging
Stories to be told
And plain to see the facts are changing
No meaning left to hold

And so the conversation turned
Until the sun went down
And many fantasies were learned
On that day

And so the conversation turned
Until the sun went down
And many fantasies were learned
On that day