Any news besides MJ?

I'm wondering whether there is anything important going on in the world, because all I see on TV is news about Michael Jackson. Not so much about his death--which is news--but about his life. All of the media outlets have been gleefully putting out everything they have about the guy, and there is no sign that it will stop. At least not until something really big happens.

And what's with all the interviews with the Reverends Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson? I don't recall either of them being MJ's personal spiritual guide. They'd run over a bunch of old ladies to grab the spotlight.

I never cared for Michael's fashion sense, but his moonwalk was impressive. Personally, I never became much of a dancer because life played a curious trick on me. While growing up I would watch enviously as my parents got all dolled up for a night at the ritzy Miami Beach nightclubs. There was the Fountainbleau, the Eden Roc, the Castaways, and the jewel in the crown: the Playboy Club, where the waitresses wore those outrageously sexy bunny costumes. Mom and dad were having cocktails and listening to Frank Sinatra, and the babysitter was putting me to bed at 8:00. Throughout my youth I waited for the time when I would be old enough to make that scene. Finally I was old enough to get into clubs and enjoy that glamorous lifestyle and what did I get? Disco! As Dean Martin would have said, “ain’t that a kick in the head.”

So I never did amount to much on the dance floor, and just managed a few basic moves to get by. My entire generation acquired the same modest level of skill. Most of the guys I know would dance at clubs to meet girls, dance with them during courtship to keep them, dance with them at their wedding to keep up appearances, and never dance with them again. For some reason their wives often resent this. My wife does, and has told me many times that she was wooed under false pretenses. Nonsense! It’s the most natural thing in the world. Throughout the animal kingdom birds, beasts, insects, and fish perform similar mating dances to impress the females of their species. But you never see them going to animal discos afterwards.

That's all I have on MJ. I hope something BIG happens soon so I can get some fresh grist for the mill.