"The Moonwalking Maestro..." (1958-2009)

I had a phone call from one of my best friends just after 10pm yesterday (25th June) and as soon as I picked up she was like, 'have you heard that Michael Jackson is dead?' I was like 'what, you've got to be joking. Are you serious?' and she was like 'yeah, I'm watching it on CNN right now'. With that, I hurried to end the conversation and ran to the tv. I tuned into CNN and was immediately met with the headline: 'MICHAEL JACKSON IN COMA AFTER SUFFERING CARDIAC ARREST'. I switched to BBC and there it read: 'MICHAEL JACKSON DIES'. With that, silent tears started streaming down my face. I felt so sad. I then woke up my folks and they were just as shocked and surprised as I was.

Michael Jackson died at 2.26pm LA time at the UCLA Medical Center shortly after going into a coma subsequent to suffering cardiac arrest. The exact cause of death is yet to be established later today.

I've always felt sorry for him. I always saw him to be a victim of circumstance. I mean, who could possibly be, for lack of a better word 'normal'   after having dealt with divorce of his parents, an abusive father who picked mostly on him, a childhood spent constantly on stage, court issues later on, constant crazy fame which made him more and more reclusive, etc. Sure, he was rather 'queer' sometimes, but who wouldn't be after having to deal with such unfortunate issues? 

Supposed molestation, plastic surgeries, his claims of 'sharing love' by sharing his bed with kids, building a childhood fantasy land (Never Land)  in his home, bizzare first wedding to Lisa Marie Presley in 1994 where they spent wedding night in separate rooms, as weird as it may seem I  believe these were just many ways that he felt he could deal with his issues. Somehow I believe that is some cases they were just pathetic attempts to gain back a lost childhood. He was not a happy man. A very good friend of his, Uri Geller interviewed by the BBC this morning said that M.J. ever described himself as "a very lonely man". 'There was a lot of sadness in my past life', he again revealed in one interview by CBS.

We made him and unmade him. Unmade him by always picking on him. Why couldn't we have just respected his privacy and instead of ridiculing him, helping him to really find himself. He had the most bizzare of lives, never 'normal' because no one would ever leave him alone! He had it all, fame, fortune, but not the most important; happiness. How many more famous people are we going to 'kill' like this? We already did that to Princess Diana of blessed memory.

My earliest memories of him was of me and my brothers watching a video of him doing the moonwalk. We would rewind it constantly and replay it in slow motion, making miserable attempts to learn it for ourselves. We had loads of videos and tapes of his. Thriller was definitely a family favourite. 

He had an upcoming final 'This is It' concert at the O2 Arena in London this upcoming July. He was to do 50 shows in all. Tickets were claimed to have sold out in a matter of 5 hours, a ticket being sold every 11 seconds!! Amazing! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_256XQiS1X8

He is the undisputed King of Pop and will remain for ever. I don't think anyone will ever be able to beat his records of 13 grammies, 100million copies of thriller (biggest seller of all time), 13 no. one hits in his lifetime!! Someone like this should have lived longer, 50 years was not enough! But then again, when you think of it, perhaps it is better for him. He can finally have his piece of mind.

Michael, you came, you fought, you conquered. Definitely, you will find better happiness and peace in death, than in life.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tqYUTjQIc0

What were your fondest memories of the Pop Legend?

Judge Not...

I've been looking for inspiration for my next blog entry, ever since my last (and first). I'd almost given up and started getting this sinking feeling that perhaps starting this blog without any clear focus or goal in mind probably wasn't as good an idea as I'd previously thought. I felt like maybe Kaleidoscope wouldn't survive and would die a death of starvation. Then thankfully, I chanced upon a poem on a friend's (Prince Adu-Poku)  facebook page. He'd named it 'Judge Not'. A little research on the world wide web produced the author, one Rama Muthukrishnan.  

Here it is,

Pray Don't Find Fault 

Pray don't find fault with the man who limps
or stumbles along the road, 
unless you have worn the shoes he wears
or struggled beneath his load.
There may be tacks in his shoes that hurt, 
though hidden away from view, 
or the burden he bears, placed on your back
might cause you to stumble too. 
Don't sneer at the man who's down today
unless you have felt the blow
that caused his fall or felt the shame
that only the fallen know.
You may be strong, but still the blows
that were his if dealt to you, 
in the selfsame way, at the selfsame time, 
might cause you to stagger too. 
Don't be too harsh with the man who sins
or pelt him with word or stone, 
unless you are sure, yea, doubly sure, 
that you have no sins of your own
for you know perhaps if the tempter's voice
should whisper as softly to you
as it did to him when he went astray, 
it might cause you to stumble too. 

- Rama Muthukrishnan -

How many times have we heard or read stories and expressed our utter shock and disgust? We wonder, 'how could anyone in their right mind ever perform such a hideous act!?', many atimes we (well, at least I know I do) just conclude that the person was probably just that - not of right mind. We think they are merely weak, horny, lustful perverts with abnormal sex drives, bored individuals who have nothing better to do with their time,  evil persons possessed by some kind of dastardly evil spirit, selfish, sourpusses, or paronoid individuals who think only about themselves. At times we think that something must have gone wrong seriously wrong in the lives of these people, perhaps in their childhood as they were being brought up.

Within the last four years or so, I have really come to understand the importance of not judging other people. My very own experiences and temptations have been the cause for that. Over the years, I have had to come face to face with and had to struggle through various unpleasant situations, experiences and temptations. Sometimes, I found myself struggling and failing; doing the exact same things that I had frowned upon and judged greatly just some few years earlier. I would sit back and think that I had had the best of upbringings. I went to the best of schools, was well disciplined and always well behaved with conservative and morally upright parents and yet still here was I finding myself failing when faced with situations. Yes, at this point I came to the unbelievable truth. It doesn't matter who you are or where you come from; one can easily find oneself performing such should i say 'socially unacceptable behaviour' (SUB).

It doesn't matter the situation. It may be acts of murder, theft, rape, pregnancy and childbirth out of wedlock, sex tapes, starring in porn movies, homosexuality, kinky sex, alcoholism, examination malpractices, drug peddling, addictions of all kinds, spouses living with abusive partners, etc. No matter what, I believe that we are all capable of performing SUB and even worse if we had to face the same circumstances. It doesn't matter how religious or morally-upright you may think you are. Anyone can do these things if only they are exposed to the same circumstances and struggles.

Don't get me wrong though. Some of the poeple who do these things really have no excuse, they are just mentally disturbed, lustful, bored, spirit-possessed just plain sick and evil people with no conscience. What I am trying to put across is that, it is wrong for us to put a label on everyone who is found behaving socially unacceptably. Some of them are just victims of circumstance. It is wrong for us to judge our fellow man, especially when we don't know the full story. What we hear in the form of gossip, rumours, stories on the news or in newspapers is not enough to understand a person's real reason for SUB. Let's desist from all forms of gossip and judging others because most of the times we don't know the full story, and it could have easily been us! Instead of raining judgement, gossiping and/or shunning their company, let's learn to be there for them; make an effort to understand them and encourage them. Let's stop being so narrow-minded and open ourselves to new things, ways of living, build our store of knowledge about life, other people and the world around us. Let's get out of the box. You never know when next you will be saving someone from a grave situation and making someone's life just that little bit more bearable!

Cheers

Beautiful places I've been...

I really don't have much of a plan for Kaleidoscope, as of yet... that is, as to what my blog is going to be all about! I just know that I have been wanting to have my own blog for a couple of months now. Why? Because, I love to write. Or let me put it this way rather, I used to lovvve writing! But then, Senior High School happened to me! And despite my interests in the arts I became a pure science student and since then I never seemed to have any more time to write or read for that matter.

When I was younger though, I remember spening hours on our home pc (Gateway 2000 , or is it 3000; ????hmmm. ???)  typing out my own fictional stories. I used to win a lot of literary competitions back in those days. I also started writing my first diary when I was in Grade 6. It was a day-to-day one that I still have to this day. It cracks me up now when I read the kind of things that meant so much to me back then.... crushes on boys and men! (Will Smith, my teacher, etc.), insecurities about my lack of 'feminine features' (yea, I was a late bloomer!), secrets about friends of mine, dreams... funny thing is, I kept up a consistent diary through the years; all the way through to my first year of Senior High School (Grade 10). However, I couldn't keep writing it on a regular basis as I would have liked to. I was in an all-girls boarding school you see. So, writing in my diary became rather sporadic until somewhere in Senior High School year three when I gave up all together. Now, well I wouldn't dare keep a diary; no, not because I don't have the time... but,  the thought of keeping a trail of the kind of crazy and random things I have gotten up to within the last couple years of my life scares the hell out of me! lol.  I always say that, very few people know me for who I really am.  Most people -unknown to them- only scratch the surface.

Anyway, I seem to have digressed.... Basically, what I am saying is that with this blog here I am just trusting that it will build itself as time goes on. I don't have a laid out plan; I will just take it a day at a time.  With time maybe it'll have more of a focus; but presently, all I know is that it will just be a wide array of random things that mean something to me. Sort of a way of expressing myself in many ways than one!

I am open to ideas if anyone has any for me! But I do hope against all hopes that at least, my blog "Kaleidoscope" will interest someone out there....

Cheers... ;)