Sunday, July 25, 2010

Why?

You asked me why I like that photo so much, why, of the scores of shots of your face, I love that one above all others. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, when you asked me, because it's not like you look any more beautiful than normal or that the photo is remarkably well-composed.

No, I love it because it is simply you, without pretense and unguarded. The smile on your face matches that in your eyes. Even your posture, soft and unposed, speaks to who you really are. Precious few shots have come close to that one. And they grow rarer with the passage of time. You, like all of us, have aged, but it isn't the lines on your face. No, in most of the pictures, the hardness in your eyes tells far more than the grin that belies contentment.

I love that one because it's real, because it's you, happy.

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Saturday, July 10, 2010

The king of ...

I consider myself to be pretty open-minded about a lot of things and people, or at the very least it is something I admire in others and strive for myself. I try not to judge. However, I have a confession to make. I seriously look at someone differently if I find out they idolize Michael Jackson. A part of me doubts their grounding in reality and their ability to evaluate ... everything, really. OK, now once the laughing has died down, I'll continue.

I should note that gushing over celebrities is already something I just don't understand. But Michael Jackson gushers take things to a whole new level of absurdity. They go on and on about his talent and sexiness and loving nature and how misunderstood and giving he is. They name their dogs after him. Or their kids. Seriously? Can you imagine? "Honey, I named you after my favorite person in the whole world, a wonderful man, the king of pedophi ... I mean pop."

Perhaps fanatics just make me nervous. Still, I can get my mind around putting all sorts of people and things on a pedestal, and feeling irrationally passionate about those things. But a man who, while talented musically, was so disturbed as to do the sorts of things he did, to himself and to others? If you don't have the wherewithal to look at that scenario, at that person, and not see it for what it is, a part of me seriously doubts your ability to make ANY rational decision.

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