The Men Who Stares at Goats

A quick five:

1. Imagine "the dude" from The Big Lebowski in army clothes. That's Jeff Bridges in this one. I rather him be "the dude."

2. The funny in this one is the narration, not so much in the abilities of all the stars.

3. So in the beginning, they state that more of the film is true then one would think. Ok, but most of it wasn't that far fetched, so maybe they should have gone wild with the parts that weren't true, just to move this one from mildly funny to hilarious.

4. There were probably 62 moments during the movie where I said to myself either "huh?" or "what?" Maybe I didn't appreciate this movie as much as prescription herbal remedy users would.

5. This has cult hit potential.

Michael Jackson's This Is It

Did you honestly think a MJ fan like me would not go see his movie and not talk about it on this blog? Come on. I had to. So for those of you who don't know, here's a explanation of what the movie is. Last year, Michael had announced that he would do a final masterpiece for all his most loyal fans, a concert to top all concerts consisting of all his greatest hits. Fifty shows were scheduled to be performed. All would be in London and all were sold out. He hired the top of top in every business to do everything from choreography and dancing to engineers and special effects specialists. Michael, for his own personal library, had every step of the creative and constructive process from auditions up through dress rehearsals taped. Unfortunately, tragically, the greatest show ever performed would not come to fruition due to Michael's passing weeks before final rehearsals. With permission from the Michael Jackson Estate and with the direction of the show director Kenny Ortega (High School Musical flics), a documentary was made capturing the process of putting on a show that was never realized.

THIS IS IT is more than a documentary, it's a concert experience and I wanted to get up and dance so many times. The audience gets to see how each one of his hits was to be presented with impeccable dancing, awesome effects, and of course Michael's unique sound. You see into the heart of Michael as well into his genius and there's no doubt he was one. Throughout the rehearsal footage, you see Michael really dictate how he wants things done and every time he asks for a change, you know he's right. He was always dead on. He gave critique to his cast and crew in such a loving way that it seemed he was paying them a compliment rather than giving criticism. Even the old stuff in the show, the choreography and music unchanged from the originals, seemed both new and timeless. Each song had a set of its own with its own costuming that made each one a detailed story. I found myself tearing up with every spectacular reveal, sad that it would be never realized. And there was no doubt that even at his age of 50, Michael still had it vocally. I would've thought that Michael would lip synch especially because it was just rehearsal, but no. He actually sang. At times, he would get carried away with the songs, improvising impressively like he was young soulful man and then he would teasingly blame his peers for encouraging him, since he needed to save his voice. This film was a perfect farewell to one of our greatest talents because it really captured the best of Michael Jackson in his element where he was at his best. I left the theater knowing that I had just witnessed the greatest pop star of all time.

Recentness

So much has been going on with me and I apologize for neglecting you all. I have seen/read/heard lots lately and here's my thoughts on some of that stuff (more to come later):

Jay-Z: The Blueprint III

This one is just ok. He titles his albums, the blueprint, because he's implying that he creates the model for all the rap that comes afterwards, but when you read through the credits, you'll see that Kanye West is involved with a majority of the tracks. Maybe Kanye is the pioneer. There's no mistaking Kanye's style with the ol' school samples. One thing is for sure Jay-Z can still spit lyrics and his wordplay is some of the best I've heard. The problem is not too many of the songs have hooks that make you want to listen them over and over; definitely not too many to sing/rhyme to. Notable tracks: Thank You, Empire State of Mind, A Star is Born

Community

New this season to NBC's thursday night line-up is a sitcom about a bunch of completely different (yet stereotypical) folks who are attending community college. With plenty funny-man potential with Joey McHale (The Soup), John Oliver (Daily Show) and Chevy Chase (if you don't know, you weren't alive in the 80s), you would expect this show to make you laugh your butt off, but you don't really. It's only mildly funny. When it is funny, it's usually in a moment of un-PC, which is what so many other shows (Glee, Family Guy, The Office) are already doing. I'm concerned that this style will quickly get old and no one will care any more.

Lev Grossman's The Magicians

I heard Grossman, a book critic for TIME, in a NPR interview about his book (August 2009) tell how he wondered how was it that the characters in many of the fantasy books (Potter, Narnia etc), who were often orphans or children treated poorly, never were into fantasy themselves suggesting that it would be a good escape for them in their terrible lives. With this mind, he wrote about an eighteen year-old boy who was secretly obsessed with a mythical world called Fillory, from his children books. The talented boy gets invited to a college of magic where he trains and learns sorcery. Soon after, he and his friends discover that Fillory is real and that it was not such a story book place. There's sex, foul language, and plenty of adult themes in this one, but it was its realism, which made me like it. The book makes magic seem more of science and doable. Very intelligent. The book's early success has Grossman already working on a sequel.

Books-The Lost Symbol

The Lost Symbol is author Dan Brown's long-awaited follow-up to 2003's controversial blockbuster The Da Vinci Code. Our hero, once again, is Harvard professor of symbology Robert Langdon, who has thus far uncovered a plot to blow up the Vatican (in Angels and Demons) and found the Holy Grail (in Da Vinci). Impressive. This time around, Langdon has been tricked into coming to Washington D.C. Peter Solomon, a good friend of Langdon's and prominent member of the Freemasons, has been kidnapped by a tattoo-covered steroid freak who calls himself Mal'akh. Mal'akh believes that Solomon holds the secrets and Langdon has the knowledge to help him find an ancient treasure of world-changing wisdom hidden centuries ago by the Masons. He threatens to kill Solomon if Langdon does not help him; and thus Langdon is sent, as he always is, on a mission to crack the codes that have been hidden in plain sight throughout D.C.'s most famous landmarks. It's a race against time as Langdon zips throughout our nation's capitol deciphering the clues that have been laid out by the Masons over hundreds of years, helped out by Peter's sister Katherine, a Noetic scientist whose own studies may also have big repercussions on humanity.

Dan Brown's books have never been mistaken for great works of literature, and The Lost Symbol is no exception. Now at the third chapter in the Robert Langdon series, some of the novelty has worn off, and Brown's simplistic and clunky writing style is more evident. The Da Vinci Code at least had that juicy controversial material to distract from some of these shortcomings. Symbol though, like Angels and Da Vinci, is still a compulsive page turner. Brown, who employs very short chapters (over 100 chapters in a 500 page book, you do the math) and leaves a mini-cliffhanger at the end of almost every chapter, has always been very good at sucking the reader in with this "what's gonna happen next?!?" style of writing. While good at creating this short-term suspense, he's not quite as successful in creating any overall sense of urgency with his thinly-drawn characters (at least one big plot twist involving a major character's motives is painfully predictable, even more so than Da Vinci's big villain reveal). And even after the book's final climax ensues, there is still an interminable denouement that drags on for about 50 pages. Still, Brown's greatest strength lies in his research, and the little-known nuggets of fascinating historical info mixed in with the non-stop action make Symbol easy to read and entertaining if not emotionally satisfying. At the very least, Brown's novels have gotten people (myself included) more interested in things like history, art, and architecture in an entertaining way. That's an impressive achievement and a high compliment to Brown.

9

Here are five things about the movie 9:

1. This movie is visually stunning with great mixes of light and dark, what you would expect with Tim Burton as a producer. The amount of detail in every little irrelevant object on screen is definitely something to reference as computer animation goes forward.

2. The characters (both heroes and villains) are just cool looking as hell. They've got merchandising for the goth wantabees written all over them. Soon the action figures will be hitting a Hot Topic near you.

3. When I saw the trailer, one of things that made me want to see the movie was the awesome song that is played over the preview. Remember that number that went to from acoustic to hard? Totally rad music. Why wasn't there music like this in the movie? The music in the film was just traditional movie music. Bleh.

4. There's just not enough substance to go with the awesome imagery. I guess I can't complain when I knew going in that the movie was going to be only 79 minutes long. Nevertheless, I was asking myself at the end of the movie, now what happens? I wanted more.

5. Some stolen ideas. So the world for humans comes to end because of a war with the machines. So why wasn't Arnold in this movie? So a guy, divides his soul into parts and puts them into nonliving objects? Where have I seen that before? Hmm. Oh yeah.

Normally, I would have more to say on movie like this, but I was distracted for a majority of the film viewing experience by a crying baby, which brings me to a segment I'd like to call:

Really?!?! with Ped

Really?! Young couple with a baby: You thought it was a good idea to bring a baby to a theater? With the loud noises and light flickering, what? Did you think the baby would sleep through it? Really?! And when the baby started to cry, you thought no one would notice?! Really?! You think it's ok to let a baby cry for more than half an hour during the movie? Really?! and when the baby proceeded to vomit on herself, you thought no one would notice the smell? Really?! And when the baby started choking on what sounded like it's own vomit, while crying at the same time, you thought that it was ok to not do anything about it? Really?! You belong in prison for abuse. I swear I was so close to punching you both in the face and grabbing that baby and running as fast as I could. You don't deserve that child.

and

Really?! Movie theater management: You think it's ok to let people with babies into the theater?! You thought no one would complain?! Really?! You don't actually care about anyone having a good movie going experience do you? You didn't think anyone would ask for refund? Really?! How do you justify this? Did you charge for the baby? No you didn't, but you should so maybe brainless people won't bring babies to the theater. Really.

ok I'm done.

Whiteout

Here's five things about the film Whiteout (I couldn't think of ten):

1. Antarctica is both beautiful and horrifying at the same time. The landscape shots in the movie are stunning, while the filming during the whiteout scenes seemed like a lost cause.

2. When they say in the movie, "In a whiteout, you can't see 6 inches from your face," then how come I could see the characters when the camera panned out? Doesn't make sense. I would've had some snow hit the camera lens at least giving the impression that that they were really in a snow storm. It just made the film obviously CGI.

3. This was a comic book series first. It should've stayed that way. It's a mystery that's too sequential (once clue leads to an obvious other) in it's unveiling for a movie. As a comic book, it works because, you pick one up, read it and then forget some before you pick the next one up the following the month.

4. I felt like this movie could not make up it's mind what it wanted to be. Was it a thriller? A mystery? A slasher film?

5. Kate Beckinsale is hot. Seeing her get undressed from her bajillion layers of winter clothes down to her skimpies before she hops into the shower makes the movie almost worth seeing. Almost. I feel like she's a decent actress on top of her looks, but she never does good movies, just ones for the fanboys. I don't get it.

Television-Glee

Glee is likely to be one of the more polarizing new shows of the television season. Created by Ryan Murphy (FX's Nip/Tuck), the show follows high school Spanish teacher and former glee clubber Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison, Broadway's The Light in the Piazza) in his attempts to restore glory to McKinley High School's glee club. Naturally, as glee clubs are never a popular high school organization, only a handful of students are interested. But the ones that are, such as the ultra competitive, desperate-to-be-famous Rachel (Lea Michele, Broadway's Spring Awakening) and the conflicted football jock Finn (Cory Monteith), are talented and excited to be involved. Standing in Will's way however are school board budget cuts as well as the "Cheerios," the award winning cheer leading squad led by their cutthroat coach Sue Sylvester (the always hysterical Jane Lynch, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Role Models), who don't want anything to threaten their dominance of the school. Will also must contend with his shrill, materialistic wife (Jessalyn Gilsig, Fox's Boston Public) who may or may not be pregnant.

Glee is unapologetically, gloriously over-the-top, no question about it. Some will find this trait endearing, while some will likely find it irritating. Right now I'm in the former category. Glee is tons of fun, full of energy, and at times very funny. The performers are all extremely talented (never mind the fact that every student in the school seems to be ready for a record contract), putting on inspired show choir renditions of popular songs, such as Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and Kanye West's "Gold Digger." As long as this aspect of the show is well produced, there will always be something to look forward to. In the meantime, the politics of public school and teen angst are mined for great humor. The only aspect of the show that doesn't work for me is the storyline involving Will's wife, which seems a little too odd and annoying even for this show. We'll have to see if the writers and actors can keep up the infectious energy of the show without toppling under the weight of it's ambitions, but I look forward to seeing them try. Also looking forward to future guest spots by Broadway veterans Kristin Chenoweth and Victor Garber. Glee is definitely like nothing else on television right now, and should be worth trying out.

Inglourious Basterds

Inglourious Basterds is perhaps the most ambitious effort yet from writer-director Quentin Tarantino (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill). Instead of his typical lowlifes and gangsters, Tarantino steps (somewhat) outside of his comfort zone to tell a World War II story. The film follows two parallel stories. The first follows Shoshanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), a Jewish teenager first seen with her family hiding under the floorboards of a French dairy farmer. The house is visited by Nazi Colonel Hans Landa (Christophe Waltz), a seemingly genial yet deadly officer who has become known as "The Jew Hunter." Landa quickly figures out there are Jews hiding about and has the entire family slaughtered, with Shoshanna the only one to escape. The film catches up with her 4 years later, living in Paris under an alias and suddenly presented with an opportunity to avenge her family. The other story follows U.S. Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), who assembles a small group of Jewish-American soldiers known as the "Basterds." Their sole purpose is to drop into France and kill Nazis. They take no prisoners and show no mercy, relishing every opportunity to torture, terrorize, and scalp as many Nazis as they can. When it is discovered that all the highest ranking Nazis may all be coming together for an event, the Basterds formulate a plot with the British to take them all out.

Inglourious Basterds certainly isn't for everyone, but for those that enjoy Tarantino's bold, uncompromising style, it is ferociously entertaining. Despite the new subject material for him, all of Tarantino's trademark flourishes are here: the long stretches of original, tension-building dialogue, the theatrical flashes of ultra-violence, and the countless homages to previous films and inside jokes like the deliberately misspelled title (which I'm sure Tarantino did just for his own amusement). There is nothing even resembling historical accuracy here; this is pure, outrageous revenge fantasy. If you allow yourself to be swept along, it's one hell of an entertaining ride. The acting is uniformly good. Pitt, as the swaggering Southerner Aldo Raine, proves once again that he is much better in quirky, comedic character roles (12 Monkeys, Burn After Reading) than in straight up leading man roles. The real find is the relatively unknown Austrian actor Waltz, whose outstanding portrayal of Landa is at once charming, calculating, and vicious. It's a great performance in a great, original film. While most of the much more greatly hyped action films of the early summer were disappointing (Transformers 2, Wolverine, Terminator: Salvation), the late summer has given us District 9 and now Basterds, two films which have re-imagined and breathed new life into their respective genres.

(500) Days of Summer

The tag line for (500) Days of Summer reads: "This is not a love story. This is a story about love." That's a pretty accurate description for this unconventional romantic comedy. The film makes clear from the start that the two leads will not end up happily ever after, but that doesn't stop (500) Days from being sweet, charming, witty, and yes, even romantic. Tom (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a hopeless romantic weaned on movie romances, meets Summer (ZooeyDeschanel) at the greeting card company where he works and immediately falls head over heels, believing she may be the love of his life. Summer is more of a pessimist when it comes to romance and isn't even sure she believes in falling in love, but is still attracted to Tom and enjoys being with him. The film portrays the romance mostly from Tom's point of view, and in a non-linear fashion, jumping back and forth in time at various points of their relationship: the beginning, the end, the aftermath, and all the good and bad in between. First time director Marc Webb arranges these sequences in a way that Tom (or anyone really) might recall these events a few years down the road, with certain ones grouped together and through an emotional filter that highlights the way Tom views the relationship at that particular time. Webb even employs a musical number and a wonderfully inventive split-screen scene showing the differences between "Expectation" and "Reality" that effectively showcase Tom's state of mind. Gordon-Levitt and Deschanel are both excellent in the lead roles, attractive and appealing and exhibiting loads of chemistry between them. (500) Days of Summer is quirky and funny but most of all, intelligent and realistic in how it understands that while most relationships may not end in wedded bliss, they can still be positive experiences that we learn and grow from. The best romantic comedy I've seen in quite some time.

District 9

After a ship full of malnourished aliens settles over Johannesburg, South Africa, the humans gather the aliens in a government camp that becomes a slum known as District 9.   20 years after their arrival, when the government's patience with the camp has run out, control of District 9 is handed over to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company interested in the aliens' advanced weaponry which requires alien DNA to operate.  An MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is given the task to move 1.8 million aliens to a new District 10 camp located 240 km from Johannesburg, with the help from MNU private security forces. While handling an alien device, Wikus contracts a virus that begins changing his DNA.  Shortly after, Wikus's left arm mutates into an alien claw.  When Wikus is taken into custody, experiments on him reveal that he is capable of operating alien technology.  The scientists conclude that they should harvest his body for study so they can replicate Wikus's ability to use alien technology. Wikus escapes before this is done and is forced to take refuge in District 9.  There Wikus befriends an alien, Christopher Johnson, who agrees to help heal Wikus in exchange for helping the aliens flee earth.

I have not seen a science fiction film this intelligent and creative in a long long time and who can really be surprised when producer Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings) is involved?  Based on the short film Alive in Joburg, Neill Blomkamp's District 9 is different than most alien movies because rather than depicting the aliens as monstrous villains out for human blood (like Alien or Predator), this portrays them as victims of human kind's selfish, self-serving destructive nature.  One cannot but feel sympathy for them.  There's no coincidence that plot is set in South Africa, notorious for its racial problems because the film is a true metaphor of the racial inequality that is still occurring there.  District 9 takes an interesting documentary-style approach to telling the story, which makes the the story all the more real and plausible.   The special effects, particularly with the aliens, are perfectly finished and polished.  I think it was a good thing Jackson and Blomkamp's attempt to film Halo fell through because the film they made instead, in my opinion, is the best flic of the summer.  

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter is back again for the 6th installment of the series, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. As Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Hermione (Emma Watson) enter their second to last year at Hogwarts, the threat that the evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) and his gang of Death Eaters pose to the wizard world, as well as the Muggle world, grows ever larger. Professor Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) enlists Harry to befriend new Potions professor Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), with the hopes of extracting a key memory that Slughorn possesses that may aid in defeating Voldemort. Harry and his friends must also try to uncover the motives behind the increasingly dark and mysterious actions of classmate Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton). Also worthy of suspicion are the actions of Professor Snape (Alan Rickman), who Dumbledore still fully trusts but the schoolkids aren't so sure about. And if that weren't enough, they're 16 years old now and the hormones are raging, as Ron and Hermione continue to tiptoe around each other and Harry develops an attraction to Ron's younger sister Ginny (Bonnie Wright).

Half-Blood Prince is the second to last installment of J.K. Rowling's opus (though not the second to last movie) and as such, suffers from a somewhat unfinished feeling. This is a product of design however, since it's place in the series pretty much requires it to set up the explosive final chapter. The film, taken on it's own merits, is a solid piece of film making. Director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves have taken many liberties with the story, but have still managed to capture the spirit and heart of the book. With far less action than the previous films, it does tend to slow down on occasion and veers into Twilight territory somewhat with all the teen angst and romantic entanglements. But it's (mostly) necessary, as the characters become more fully drawn out for larger payoffs in the last quarter of the film, which is spectacular both visually and emotionally. Radcliffe has continued to grow stronger as the films have progressed, arguably starting out as the weakest actor of the main trio and improving to becoming the most impressive. Felton and Wright are also very good in their now expanded roles, and Rickman is outstanding as the enigmatic Snape. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is another entertaining and impressive chapter in what may become the most extraordinary film franchise ever.

Merlin

From the BBC, showing on NBC this summer, comes the retelling of the classic tales of King Arthur and his wizard friend in Merlin. The story begins with a young Merlin (Colin Morgan) arriving in Camelot where he hopes to get trained by an old court physician named Giaus (Richard Wilson) in the arts of sorcery. The only problem is that King Uther Pendragon (Anthony Head, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) has outlawed magic and has imprisoned the only remaining dragon (voice by John Hurt, Harry Potter films). From the dragon, Merlin learns that it is his destiny to protect Uther's son Arthur (Bradley James), so that Arthur can one day found and rule a great kingdom. So for the most part the show is about how Arthur gets into trouble and how Merlin secretly uses magic to get him out of it.

If you are a purist of King Aurthur lore, this show is not for you. The show deviates much from the original tales and takes lots of liberty with the characters. For example, the role that Guinevere (Angel Coulby) plays as a maid servant to the king's ward Morgana (Katie McGrath) is unconvetional to what most of us know. I however enjoy the show for its "Smallville-like" approach to telling the origins of the characters we know. Once you get past the shows campy effects and rather simple plot lines, it is rather enjoyable especially for brainless summer entertainment. The truth is there is nothing better on TV in the summer and it should pacify some of the fantasy-starved fan-people out there.

Year One

Andrew did it, so I'm gonna do it.  Here's 10 things about "Year One."

1. Jack Black is funny. Michael Cera is funny. Together, well, they're kinda funny.

2. Oliver Platt in women's makeup is creepy as hell. 

3. All of the funny scenes are pretty much in the commercials.  Nevertheless, they're still funny.

4. There was so much potential with the story and actors, but it's never even close to being realized. 

5. For example, it would've been funnier if Cain and Abel fought the entire movie, but no Cain kills Abel (which of course he does) in the first 10 minutes and then Cain is uncomfortable to watch for the rest of the movie.

6. If you like poop jokes and guys peeing on themselves, this one's for you.  ie this flic was full of unnecessarily gross moments that weren't that funny.

7. Hank Azaria's circumcision jokes get old after the 5th time, really old after the 10th.  

8. Judd Apatow, you can do better.  You have done better.

9. Rent this one and have a beer with it.  Make that a couple of beers.

10. This movie is called suck.

The Hurt Locker

The Hurt Locker is the latest and unquestionably the best of the recent spate of films set in the current Iraq war. It is also the first to put forth no political agenda, no commentary (pro or con) on the reasons for being there. It is first and foremost an exceptionally skilled and highly intense action movie. The film centers on the bomb-defusing unit of Bravo company in Baghdad. Sgt. William James (Jeremy Renner) is the main focus, the cocky bomb expert who is constantly, sometimes recklessly, putting his life (and others) on the line to defuse the various bombs found around the streets. While most of the other soldiers are doing their job and just trying to not to killed, James seems to almost enjoy the high pressure situations he is put into, fueled by adrenaline and a sense of real exhilaration at his work. This occasionally puts him at odds with the professional, by-the-book Sgt. Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), who heads the support team that covers James from surrounding gunfire while he's at work. But the two of them, along with the nervous, less-experienced Specialist Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty), have a job to do and they do it, despite being charged with perhaps the most dangerous job in Iraq.

The Hurt Locker is a marvel; a high-octane, edge-of-your-seat intense action thriller that is also an intelligent character study of American soldiers at risk, without resorting to heavy-handed preaching. Director Kathryn Bigelow (Point Break, Strange Days) has made her most accomplished film yet. The action sequences are expertly crafted and genuinely suspenseful, with real consequences behind them. This is the kind of action movie that Transformers 2 can only dream of being. Other than small cameos by Ralph Fiennes and Guy Pearce, the cast is made up of largely unknown actors, who are uniformly outstanding. Renner deserves particular mention at the center of this film for his complex, focused performance as James. The Hurt Locker is a thrilling, realistic slice-of-life portrayal of the dangers our soldiers face, and is the best film of 2009 so far.

M.J. and Me

1983
I was four. I remember hiding under a crocheted blanket in fear, as my family watched the Thriller video for the first time in the den of my Aunt Shahin's house in Pennsylvania. Something about his eyes at the end of the video and Vincent Price's voice gave me nightmares. Twenty-six years later, it's still the best video ever made.

1988
Michael releases his "Smooth Criminal" video, which I think is his most under-rated. The choreography is ridiculous. Do you know how many times I've nearly busted my head trying to do that anti-gravity lean? Little did I know, Michael had patented the dohicky that allowed him to do that. (U.S. Patent No. 5,255,452)

1990
I was a tween and what did tweens in Wilmington, DE do? They went to the mall. Brian Wortham's dad gave me and him each five dollars to spend on whatever we wanted. Being boys, we ran to the arcade, where we discovered Michael Jackson's Moonwalker which featured electronic versions of "Beat it" and "Smooth Criminal." It was the greatest game ever and we blew our whole night and all our money on it. Using Michael's sweet dance movies we beat the bad guys and rescued monkeys. One day I'll buy that arcade game for my basement.

1992
One of the first times my father let me stay up late on a school night was to watch the made-for-TV movie, The Jacksons: An American Dream. Man, that Joe Jackson was a S.O.B. I don't know how accurate that one was, but I have since blamed the wacko jacko stuff on Joe because of it.

1993
I was a Buffalo Bills fan and I believed that third time in the Superbowl would be the charm. Boy was I wrong. The @#$%& Cowboys were up 28-10 at the half. The only consolation of that disappointing game was Michael's halftime performance. How did he move around the stadium so fast like that? Man, how did he pop out of the floor? And he just stood there, like a statue. For what felt like hours. But when he got going, he got going. It was rad. It was the first time in the history of Superbowl that the halftime show had greater viewership (125 million americans) than the game.

2001
What better way to end my Senior year and my last Y Chromes show than with a little Michael? In our last number, we busted out a fan favorite "No Diggity" featuring the sweet pipes of Broadway's finest, Shaun Taylor-Corbett. The highlight of this one though, without a doubt, was the "Billy Jean" interlude sung by who else but Matt "my everything is bigger than yours" Hearn. They'll be talking about this one still, when we croak. Billy Jean is still my favorite song.

2005
I was in the Raleigh airport grabbing a connection flight back to Florida after attending a Forestry conference, when I noticed a large crowd gathered staring up at a TV. They were about to announce the verdict of the "People vs. Jackson" trial, so I joined up. I had mixed feelings about the trial. I couldn't decide if it was legit or just some sad people trying to make a dirty buck. I still can't decide, but what I do remember is the racism from the people in the airport I saw when Jackson was acquitted. Several horrible things were said. So much for "Black or White" making a difference.

2009
"Baby, I got some bad news." Bethany says to me on the phone just when I had returned from a long hot day in the field. What a stunner. I have always been fan, despite his "lack of childhood" induced lifestyle. With Michael, I always tried to stay focused on the immensity of his talent and I hope others will too.

Got any Michael memories? Let us know.