The boy who never grew up is dead at the age of 50. Michael Jackson died this morning of a heart attack at his Los Angeles home. TMZ reports that the singer was rushed to the UCLA medical centre where he was pronounced dead on arrival. His sister La Toya was seen sobbing at the hospital.
The world’s media is now cutting and pasting packages which condense several lifetimes of weirdness into the space of one bulletin. Jackson’s oddness has already been demonstrated with the roll-call of mourners - one of the first to confirm his demise was mystic Uri Geller who can bend spoons through mind-power alone.
Collating Jackson’s wackiness will take some time. The baby-dangling episode, the sinister stories out of the Neverland Ranch, his purchase of the bones of Elephant Man John Merrick, a chimp called Bubbles, a baby called Blanket, a brief and ill-fated marriage to Lisa Presley, an addiction to plastic surgery which saw his nose crumble and his black skin bleached white. To name a few.
Before we get to all that, listen to this song. And this one. And when you watch him above, and here, as a little 11-year-old kid, it’s hard not to feel real sorrow at the premature departure of a guy who with his abusive family background and his extraordinary musical genius, was probably always destined to be a screw-up.
Anyway, the jokes have started. This one’s kind of nice though, from @davesag on Twitter:
#michaeljackson cause of death. a) Sunshine? b) Moonlight? c) Good times? d) Boogie.
All of the above.
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
@AndrewCatsaras Agreed. Kills more people than AIDS. Yet tolerated. Meanwhile: Good Insiders piece again Andrew.
RT @JamieTravers: I'm in Europe and don't care for Eurovision, why is my twitter feed filled with Aussies recounting the bloody thing!?
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
Abbott’s crass logic: trash the Parliament in order save it
An email was sent to almost every politician in Australia this week saying that someone should cut off…
Our special forces don’t always need special treatment
We admire them, but we’re not entirely sure why. We allow them to operate in the shadows; we rarely…
A good holiday is about unrest, not rest
Like a fat full-stop, it lay in my hand. A small orange – not exactly fresh, but purchased anyway…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
Most commented