Sheer genius. Probably the greatest song and dance man of all time. What a fall.

Im devastated. my entire childhood consisted of pretty much bathing in this guys music. RIP MJ. Hope you get the peace you couldnt get in this life

Watching them now talking about Michael Jackson on the news stations is sickening.  The crows now get to pick at him one last time.

I will always remember the bright clear voice of that little ten year old and how it cut right to your heart.  How he could make a song about a freaking rat into the purest expression of love.  How you didn’t remember to breathe until he was finished singing.

I think we’re growing due for a day when six or seven notable people kick off on the same day.  I will be intrigued to see how the media handles it.

Michael Jackson was a brilliant artist. It is a shame how he became so eccentric but it is also understandable being raised on a stage from his early childhood. Who wouldn’t be screwed up? I have read some blog postings saying some pretty hateful things about him. I believe that he is innocent until proven guilty like any other person but there will always be those who automatically believe the worst about people. He was the greatest song and dance person ever and I think that is what he will be remembered for and not the unproven claims of people who want to the see bad things happen to anyone who has made the impact on mankind that this remarkably talented, though eccentric or even mentally ill man made. Rest in Peace Michael.

Michael was an icon and in his time he shaped the world of music which in turn shaped how we grew up to a large extent. Towards the end he might have suffered the effects of his entire life being watched and controlled by the entertainment industry but on this day, at the end, I will remember the star who shone so brightly and lit up my childhood. I feel like I’ve lost an old friend and I know that a light has gone out in this world. R.I.P Michael.

It is a shame how he became so eccentric

I don’t think it was the eccentricity that had so many of us shaking our heads - but rather the sociopathy.

P.S. You are right, Sullivan nailed it. Yet another cautionary tale for those parents who try to live through their children and push them too far.

File under “too soon” with my apologies, but I gotta pass along this exchange from yesterday:

COWORKER: Hey, you heard about Michael Jackson?

ME: No, they were saying something on the news but I wasn’t paying attention, what happened?

COWORKER: He was just rushed to the hospital. Heart attack.

ME: Holy shit!

COWORKER: Yeah, and the prognosis?

(pause)

ME: What about the prognosis?

COWORKER: Ya know it’s bad, it’s bad.

ME: You’re such an assho…

COWORKER: Really, really bad.

Allan, Your comment was poetic, beautiful and touching.  I regret anything bad I ever said or thought about you.