There were just so many things to pass along to our brothers in the Boobie Struggle that we felt it warranted a second strip. As I said before, these are things to take to heart. There will be a test. Maybe. Assuming I get around to it.

Sometimes, I don’t really know where to begin with things. Sometimes the scope of a person’s life or story is so vast that its impossible to comment on it accurately. That said, I want to talk about Michael Jackson for a moment.

Jackson’s life was far from perfect. The erratic behaviour, the abuse he suffered as a child star, his troubles with the law and questionable financial choices. But I have to be honest. On the day of his death those are not the things that come to mind for me. I do not excuse or ignore any of the darker aspects of Jackson’s life, but for me what I am focused on right now is the music.

Jackson was an incredible performer. When he was on stage, he gave everyone more than their money’s worth. That was where he was at home, that was where his life actually was. His music was universal, and even if you don’t like it, or the man himself, you have to respect the amount of people he was able to reach with it. There is no other performer of his generation who’s songs are more well known around the world. “Thriller” is still one of the best selling records of all time, and to have him die so suddenly is so strange, so bizarre, that it’s almost befitting of the life he led.

Like I say, I don’t excuse or defend any of the stranger and more controversial aspects of the man’s life and behaviour. All I’m saying is that the music, at its core (and I believe at Jackson’s core), is what I’ll remember. No matter what you think of the man or his music, this is going to be one of those days when you remember where you were and what you were doing when you heard the news.