Friday, June 26, 2009

Body Snatchers

Today's Bizarro is brought to you by Eight Dead Pop Stars.

So Jacko is dead. I've done a few Michael Jackson cartoons and posts over the years and I was no kinder to him than any other humorist. I've always felt sorry for him, though, he was obviously a supremely talented kid driven mad by a strange life and family.

Preliminary rumblings are that his death was a result of prescription drug abuse. That stuff will wear on your body and a heart attack is a classic result. As Keith Richards well knows, home-grown drugs are a lot safer than some of the poisons that Big Pharm puts out. (Although there are unsubstantiated reports that Keith Richards has been dead for years and that the copious amounts of drugs in him are only creating the appearance of life.)

More surprising than his death was how much of the news cycle this story has and still is devouring. I personally think that few people short of a figure of national political importance deserves so many hours of non-stop reporting. There was nothing to report in the end, other than that he was famous, he was relatively young, he died. I sympathize with the news anchors who had to stay on the air hour after hour and think of things to say. It must have been excruciating and exhausting.

One person who is undoubtedly happy about this news is Governor Mark Sanford, who's own public insanity has been bumped from the headlines for now.

I was born seven weeks after Michael Jackson in 1958, I can't help but wonder if I'll be dead of a heart attack seven weeks from now. The fact that I have not abused my body for most of my adult life with eating disorders, elective surgery, prescription drugs, and god-knows-what-else will likely work in my favor in this regard. I hope so, anyway.

NOTE: I'm off for a few days to a family reunion and wedding and won't be posting until Tuesday of next week. Have a great weekend, mi amigos.

10 comments:

doug nicodemus said...

have good trip and take plenty o pictures

Karl said...

Hmmm, a fast food stand named 'Burger Dogtaco' might prompt one to ask what ingredients are in "Man's best friend's bean taco" special.

Hope the family reunion goes well. Looking forward to seeing some "relative" humor in a few weeks.

Unknown said...

I find that my feelings on the matter are pretty darn close to your own. Thanks for the level-headed-non-panic-stricken tribute-ish post.

As for today's cartoon, "BurgerDogTaco" is just an awesome name for a food stand. My favorite part of the entire panel.

Ben said...

You may not abuse drugs, but I bet you commiserated about being told that you suck by that Baltimore newspaper with a vegan beer or two.

Bodi said...

See you on Tuesday then! We'll be waiting :D

One of the thousands of anonymous readers this blog has.

Anonymous said...

I know the it's annoying for people to correct grammar, but I can't help it. I am fairly certain that mi takes the plural of amigos, the end result being mis amigos.

Juan Cascallares said...

This Governor put Argentina in a sadly highlight. I would have preferred to appear on news due to anything else, but these. We also have lost many artists this week, the performer Fernando Peña and the master illustrator Andrés Cascioli.
And you are out for some days...
what a week, what a week....

Catalina said...

I completely agree. He was famous, he died, my condolences to his family. It should have been a ticker and a mention on the news, not some overwhelming media spectacle that has shoved to the sidelines actual news stories about whats happening in the world.

Penny Mitchell said...

@ Karl: I thought it was "Burger Dos Tacos", which really isn't much more appealing.

I feel bad about Michael Jackson. I think he was a genius in many ways, and a complete train wreck in most others. Sad life. :-(

Karl said...

@Penny: I thought that the same thing at first, because the sign on top of the taco stand looks like “DOS”, but when looking at the side of the building it looks more like “G." Either way, I’m thinking about looking for a recipe for homemade refried beans.

With regards to MJ, I have a better understanding of his “odd” behaviour, after listening to his old man promoting his own record company at a time when I would expect him to be grieving.