The obligatory MJ post

Where were you when you heard the news?


I had just arrived to my 6 pm class and some girl was like, "Isn't it crazy, Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson, in the same day!"

And I was like, "blerg, what, huh, really?"

The girl showed me the headline on her iPhone triumphantly, clearly thrilled that she got to deliver THE NEWS to someone. When I checked my cell phone during a break in class, sure enough, I had 5 "Michael Jackson died!" text messages. I didn't understand until later that night, at a bar:

Me: "Guys, we should toast to MJ!" [cheers erupt]

My friend Claire: "Why are we toasting Michael Jackson?"

Everyone else at the bar: "BECAUSE HE DIED, omg, DIDN'T YOU HEAR???!?!?!??"

There is something oddly satisfying about being the bearer of important, internationally relevant bad news. Another friend told me he was walking down Boylston St. and a guy was slowly riding his bike, stopping everyone to tell them. My friend speculated that he wasn't actually en route to anywhere, but just wanted to be the guy who told people that Michael Jackson was dead.

How affected am I by the King of Pop's death? I am shocked and sad-- I would have liked to see him succeed in his latest planned comeback tour. Like everyone, I love his early hits and was obsessed with the "Black or White" video for years. I had the "Bad" album on cassette and "Dangerous" was one of the first CDs I bought with my own money (along with Madonna's "Immaculate Collection" and Paula Abdul's "Spellbound").

But my life proceeds pretty normally minus Michael. I do feel a bit bad for Farrah -- until 2:26 pm PST on Thursday, she was definitely going to be on the cover of People this week. Now I'm guessing she'll get a sidebar photo.