On Michael Jackson's passing

Just got back from Texas, and I have to go through my photos before posting a summary of the trip.

While I was out of town, though, the Michael Jackson thing happened.  Specifically, I was in Woodsboro, Texas, at my wife's paternal grandmother's house, where there is no cable TV and regular television reception included three Spanish-language channels, a Fox affiliate, and an ABC affiliate.  My cell-phone reception was spotty at best, but using it to check my friends' Facebook updates and various news feeds were the only contact I had to what was going on in the rest of the world.

What I encountered that afternoon is how I expect word of the impending zombie outbreak to spread - lots of "did anyone else see on the news ..." and "did I hear right that ..." and "so and so is reporting ..." type stuff.  Pieces of information, but nothing definitive, and all coming from various sources.

Sure enough, when ABC's national news began, the news I had heard literally ten minutes before was confirmed.  Michael Jackson had, indeed, died at age 50.

I don't know exactly how I feel about it, to be honest.  Yes, I had my Michael Jackson phase when I was about seven years old.  By about nine years old, I think I'd outgrown it.  After the countless headlines and allegations that followed in the succeeding years, I thought most of America had, too - until his death, that is.  Suddenly, an outpouring of affectionate, semi-revisionist history grew into a robust outpouring of what could possibly pass as sadness, but I'm not sure.

I find it odd that so many celebrities (and semi-celebrities - like Arsenio Hall) were suddenly running toward any video camera in their vicinities to talk about how great Michael Jackson was, and what a great loss his death was, when in the years preceding Jackson seemed like such a toxic persona with whom to be associated.  It didn't seem like anyone wanted to be part of Michael Jackson when his public stock was down, but now that he was gone ... all aboard!  

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the way it seemed.  The reactions I've seen from so many seems incredibly fake.  It seems like people are saying what they're expected to say when any famous person dies, but I don't get the sense that anyone feels like there's been a real loss with Jackson's death - probably because Jackson didn't have, as far as I can tell, real friends or real relationships with anyone outside of his handlers.  It's hard to get emotional at the death of someone about whom so little is actually known personally.  I feel like people would have been just as emotional if asked how they felt about Beethoven's death in the 1820s.  "Yeah, it's really sad, he was very influential ..."  But those words ring incredibly empty given the magnitude of his accomplishments, and how people *should* be reacting, I think. 

As for the dude himself, I kinda just feel sorry for him.  On one hand, the media made him into a musical Howard Hughes; on the other, he didn't do himself any favors with the decisions he made.  He undoubtedly surrounded himself with people who wanted only to take advantage of him and give him bad advice, but ultimately he was responsible for his own actions and decisions.  He could/should have just walked away from it all and lived by his own "leave me alone" credo.  

Was he a musical genius?  I don't think so.  His (terrific) material in the Jackson Five was written by others.  As far as "Thriller" goes as an album and phenomenon, well ... right place, right time.  MTV was an emerging "big deal", and Jackson propelled the artform of the music video into the stratosphere.  "Thriller" itself is a fantastic song and still my favorite video of all time.  "Beat It" crossed genres thanks to Eddie Van Halen and the more aggressive rock style.  But there were some forgettable tracks, too, and the albums that followed weren't nearly as good as far as I'm concerned (though I'll be the first to admit that my musical tastes changed rapidly in the mid/late 1980s).

A talented guy?  No doubt.  The greatest entertainer in history?  Not to me.

But to each his own.  All I know is this:  the media that created the monster that became Jacksonmania and helped turn the musician into a mysterious, unfortunate man-child who lived under constant public scrutiny (the oxygen chamber!  the plastic surgery!) and who for the longest time hadn't been in the public eye for his actual talents but for the side-show that was his private life has now, once again, descended into a feeding frenzy with Jackson at the center of it all.  Even in death, the guy doesn't seem to have earned any dignity.  

The ultimate musical recommendation?

Virginia vacation recap

Very much in need of getting away for a few days, Nicole and I drove to Virginia and had a wonderful vacation visiting several historic sights, one water park, and one amusement park. 

I have to admit that I hardly feel qualified to attempt to reproduce this histories of the locations and people we learned about during our trip, so I'm not going to try.  Understand, though, that we took a week to explore the region and easily could have spent much more time soaking everything in.  Though I certainly became no expert in Revolutionary history in this short amount of time, I do feel that I gained a terrific perspective on the era that I'm sure I never had previously.  Though it will likely prove to be just a passing phase, I currently feel inspired and compelled to read about and watch anything related to the subject (the day after we returned home, for example, we watched Ken Burns' three-hour PBS movie about Thomas Jefferson). 

Our first stop was in Alexandria, Virginia, where we visited Mount Vernon, George Washington's home (PHOTOS HERE).  The line for the tour of the home grew very quickly, and we were happy we'd decided to get there in time for the grounds to open.  Our time waiting in line for the tour inside was mercifully short; by the time we were done, the line had grown to two or three times the size of the one we were in. 

Unfortunately, nobody is allowed to take photos inside the building. 

The most amazing sight of the entire trip, to me, was the view from the rear of the house (essentially Washington's back yard).  The Potomac stretches out forever, and the view is spectacular (though this photo does it absolutely no justice).  The grounds are gorgeous, and we had a warm, sunny day to explore them.  Washington found sanctuary here, and it's easy to see why.  That he would leave the life he had here to become our first President, which he didn't really want to do in the first place, is a testament to his character.  Given the choice, I can't say I wouldn't have just stayed at Mount Vernon and enjoyed life such as it was at the time. 

The next day, we drove to Charlottesville and visited Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's home (PHOTOS HERE).  Our tour guide was an author named Rick Britton, who's written a book about Jefferson ("Jefferson: A Monticello Sampler") and clearly knew the history of Jefferson and Monticello in incredible depth and with remarkable clarity.  He was fantastic, and his knowledge definitely helped put many of the items inside the home into better perspective.  As with Mount Vernon, no photos were allowed inside the residence. 

One of the most memorable rooms in the house is Jefferson's study.  Though most of the books on display are "of the era" and not Jefferson's personal items, some of the books are in fact originals.  Jefferson was a voracious reader, and he collected volumes in their original languages, so as not to lose meaning in translation.  His collection became the foundation upon which the Library of Congress has been built.

We had some time left over after touring Monticello, so drove a couple of miles to Ashlawn, home of James Monroe, fifth President of the United States (PHOTOS HERE).  It's not as impressive (or historically important, or crowded with tourists) as Mount Vernon or Monticello, but still ... in two days, we'd managed to see the homes of three of the first five US Presidents (and, morbidly, their death beds). 

Out next step was Jamestown, Virginia, site of the first permanent English settlement in what would become the United States (PHOTOS HERE).  I kept calling it Jonestown and had to keep correcting myself, though the original colonists only had marginally better luck surviving than those in Jim Jones' cult.  The site we visited was a reconstruction of the original settlement; nothing in the site itself is original.  The best feature on the grounds though is the one that didn't allow photography: there's a wonderful museum located in the visitor's center that displays many original artifacts of the era and puts the settlement into a better historical perspective.  We spent more time inside the museum than we did outside looking at the ships and other reproductions.

The bulk of our time was spent in Historic Williamsburg, Virginia (PHOTOS HERE).  If you're ever looking for a great vacation destination, I can't recommend it enough.  We had an absolutely wonderful time, and it's safe to say I learned more about the events leading up to the Revolution in just a few days in person than I ever did in history classes throughout my scholastic years.  I vaguely remembered something about the House of Burgesses from high school history classes, for instance, but now that I've actually been into the same room in the Capitol Building in which
Thomas Jefferson and Patrick Henry (among others) debated the course of
the colonies' fate, a trip to the library is in order. 

It's impossible to take a trip like this and not find some sort of inspiration to learn more about the figures that freed the colonies from England.  Everyone knows about Thomas Jefferson, but who really remembers Peyton Randolph (described by Jefferson as "large and inert")?  After this trip, I can't wait to learn more. 

(We ate like kings, too.  The seafood fricasse I ate at Christiana Campbell's, which reportedly was one of George Washington's favorite restaurants when he visited Williamsburg, was one of the greatest meals I've ever eaten.  Just sayin'.  If you ever visit Williamsburg, make sure to make reservations here, because it's well worth it.)

I also got my rollercoaster fix in at Busch Gardens (PHOTOS HERE), taking about 15 rides total.  I don't know if was the economy or the timing of our visit (a Thursday in late May), but the most we ever had to wait for a ride was two minutes because the park wasn't very full at all.  The Griffon, with it's 90-degree plunge at 71 mph was fantastic, but my favorite was Apollo's Chariot (better known as the ride upon which Fabio and a goose had an unfortunate encounter).  I went on each four times.

And that's what I did on my summer vacation.

Still alive and kicking

Hey all,

Long time no see, huh? 

Nicole and I are back from a week-long expedition to Virginia, where we visited Mount Vernon, Monticello, Ashland, Colonial Williamsburg, and (of course) Busch Gardens.  I'll be sorting through and posting pictures shortly. 

In addition, if all the pieces fall together correctly, I'll also have some new live bootlegs posted shortly.  "New" in the sense that I haven't posted them before - most of them are in the 10-15 years old category, datewise.  Still, good stuff nonetheless.

Just checking in!