Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley

The sad news still seems to be racking up hits on all the news feeds from CNN to Fox, but the basic fact remains the same, Michael Jackson is dead. I can’t say that I’ve ever been a huge fan of the Michael’s, but I did like the music. I certainly questioned the man’s habits in private, but the fact is he was the King of Pop. People loved Michael, his style, his music and his passion when he performed. That all combined together with the fact that he took music to a new level (videos, moon walking, gloves – only one, etc) did make him the King of Pop.

Lisa Presley has been quick in pointing out that Michael thought he would die the way Elvis did. Like most people, when I sat down and thought about this, the similarities were simply amazing between the two men. I wanted to list a few from life and death:

Life:
Loved giving to others
Set new music standards
Danced in questionable ways on stage
Made television history (Thriller or Worldwide Broadcast from Hawaii)
Unique style of music
Had strong faith
Lived in fairytale type worlds they created
Created their own stage style of clothing
Loved performing
Gave 100% for all performances
Carried the title King

Death:
found at their homes
called cardiac arrest at start of investigation
alone when found
believed tied to prescription drugs
brought out fans because of death
setting record sales after death
dominating the news media
brought words from President
had police investigating their physicians
carried the title King to the grave
called one of a kind by media

Of all the things that are similar about the two men, one thing will always be the same. They were each loved by fans and they both made huge impacts on the world around them. While I liked Michael’s music, I already admitted I was not a huge fan, but for those huge fans out there, I ‘m truly sorry to see this legend die. On the other hand, can you imagine the concert going on in heaven now?

Analog Goes; 3 Million Watching Static

Okay, I usually don’t like to pick on people here, but to be honest I don’t think the people I’m going to write about will ever really know I’m writing this. For those of you that don’t know, and apparently there are around three million Americans, analog TV has gone the way of the dinosaur Going, going, gone digital. This happened faster than the transition from Beta to VHS to DVR. It happened faster than the, still slowly changing, transition from A.M. radio to F.M. radio. But come on, it’s not like there wasn’t any warning signs.

I mean, how could you miss all the warning signs of the change for crying out loud! They announced it during the last Super Bowel; it’s been on radio, TV, billboards, newspapers, flyers, store entrances, and even the convertor boxes themselves. You would have had to be living under a rock to have missed this. I mean, maybe if you are SpongeBob’s buddy Patrick Star (yes, I know their names) you might have missed the change. But, Patrick Star lives under a freaking rock! Where have these three million Americans been hiding for the last couple of years?

I guess, that if you ignored all the signs, did not listen to radio, turned off the commercials, and did not read a paper then you might have missed it. Maybe you just taped all your favorite shows and fast-forwarded through all the commercials for the last couple of years. Maybe someone picked up your food from the local store so you never had to see any signs. And, maybe you pay so much attention to the road when you drive that you missed the massive billboards. It just really seems odd to me that anyone would miss this transition.

Oh, well, I guess it happens. As for me, I’m going to tape MASH on my Beta VCR and watch it on my one hundred pound, fifteen inch television. I will just have to be careful when fast forwarding through the commercials, I bought the last beta tape from the discount shelf at the hardware store and no telling when they will get some more.

Long Hours

Long hours slip by slowly with each passing tick of the clock.
Time clicks.
Minutes seem to drag out toward an unreachable eternity.
Seconds, to minutes, and then hours
But when it is over
we are surprised at how
short
long hours really were with each passing tick of the clock.


© Clinton Thomas, 2009
(1st Draft)