MIHAIL!

Well, as the whole world now knows, the King of Pop is popping no more. Michael Jackson was one weird dude, but his music was music-world changing. Being eight-hours ahead of the US, I did not find out the horrific information until I woke up and the news was already 9 hours old. To say I was shocked was the understatement of the year. I believe a "you are fucking joking" was muttered out of my still sleeping lips.

Living in "Europe" gives me a different perspective on MJ, since they love the demented cement that he walks on over here. Case in point: My non-English speaking housekeeper who does not even know what the word "yes" in English means, walks into my house today telling me (in Romanian) that she cried over his passing, and kept throwing the holy trinity sign. "Oh, Mihail Jackson, El a morit!" Or something along those lines. All day she kept talking to me about his children and how the police hurt his heart. BUT, the most important thing that she brought up over and over was the fact that he came to Bucharest twice. Thats it. For this, he will always be remembered in a God-like way...even though he was one of only two people that has addressed the public from the House of Parliament and accidentally thanked the "people of Budapest." Hundreds of Romanians also flocked to the "Embasada SUA" (US Embassy), to lay flowers for their fallen pop star on our hallowed ground. And as I was walking to dinner, our neighbor was appropriately blasting "Thriller" through their windows for all to hear their love for their hero.

Not to mention that the internet basically shut down around 4:30pm CST due to surfers innundating google with "Michael Jackson" internet searches. Also, on iTunes, the Top 8 Album Downloads are all Michael Jackson, everything from "Essential Michael Jackson" to "Dangerous." I haven't seen a pop culture event affect the iTunes Top 100 so much, well--ever. Even American Idol does not dominate the Top 10 spots after a show. I mean, "Man in the Mirror" is the Number 2 download!

For all the haters out there who only label MJ a freak and a half--you have your reasons, but remember one thing...he was a legend, and his music, maybe not his behavior, deserves our respect. To this day, "Thriller" is still the number one selling album of all time. So, here's to you Michael, may your silver glove sparkle even more wherever you are.

PS--Zoie did the moon walk today...she rocked it.