Diary of a Low Budget Superhero

I was struggling to get through a particularly gnarly workday, but when my co-worker ventured out into the rain and brought me back a tuna sub (thanks Jeff!) I tried to shut out all the frustrations and take an actual break.

One hand on the sandwich, the other on my mouse, I tried to take my mind off work for ten minutes. Facebook tipped me off that E News online was streaming the Michael Jackson service. I came in during the latter half, and I couldn't watch it all (a "break" at my work is, well, not so much) but I caught bits of it.

And you know what? All you haters can kiss the back of my butt.

Follow up:

That memorial service was excellent. It was poignant and touching, tastefully done, I wanted to hug everyone who spoke so personally and eloquently, and I'm proud of the citizens of LA for behaving with class. I think it's wonderful that the Jackson family chose to celebrate his life this way, with the world watching on TV and online. There will be a swarm of snakes trying to profit from his sudden death, but just for today it seemed like peers and fans and family came together to remember this amazing performer. Latter day nuttiness aside, the man was a seriously talented motherfucker who put a lot of good into the world.

I don't understand at ALL the particular group of haters acting like it's some kind of immoral travesty that this funeral was a giant affair. Are you high? Of COURSE it was a giant affair. It's Michael fucking Jackson. This is how you say goodbye to an icon. Were you buried under a rock when Princess Diana died? The whole world had watched her wedding on TV, and the whole world mourned her death. What about John Lennon? My parents left us kids with the grandparents and drove to New York to attend the Central Park memorial, which my grandparents let us watch on TV. I remember my mother said there was a moment of silence, and how eerie it was to be in the middle of Manhattan, standing with a million people, and be able to hear a pin drop. Some of the political figures we've lost...oh how connected to the planet do you feel watching the old tapes of JFK's and MLK's services? Sobering, and connecting people together. Isn't that the point?

When the world loses someone iconic, someone so famous that you can go almost anywhere and people will know their face, music, ideals, whatever it is they did to bring so many people together... there's nothing you can do to stop the world from mourning such a person. Today's service gave everyone a chance to stand together and say goodbye to a rare breed; a Michael Jackson doesn't come along every day, or even every decade. The service humanized Michael Jackson in a way icons rarely are, especially with the sincere eulogies of Brooke Shields, Stevie Wonder and little Paris.

Hearing someone tiny and innocent calling Michael Jackson "daddy" changed the world just a little bit.

Of all the things his fame turned him into, it's easy to forget. Michael Jackson was someone's daddy.

Rest in peace, Mr. Jackson.