remembering mr. bell
When Glen Bell - the founder of Taco Bell - died last week, I was pretty upset. His passing was overshadowed by the devastating tragedy that was the earthquake in Haiti, but both lamentable events deserve attention. Like some others, I was also surprised to learn that Taco Bell was actually named for a person. But it's good to know that the work of the man will persist in the colons of his patrons for years to come. And it's also good to see that the company's website is remembering their founder with good spirits in lieu of dreary somberness:
Sometimes a mourning salsa packet says it all.
confessions
Let me go on the record now: if I ever do something that provokes someone to say that I'm not thinking clearly, and I reply that "for the first time in my life, I am thinking clearly," then I'm probably not thinking clearly. I just cannot envision a situation where my thinking would actually be more clear leading up to such an exchange.
Also, I hope that after my (eventual) death, no one says that I was "full of life," or that I "loved life." Such remarks are made of people about whom nothing more substantial can be declared, and about those whose uniqueness was dubious. I would hope for more.
take that, farrah fawcett – mj
Put him in with the big white guy who thinks he's the little black guy...
I have to admit, I watched some stuff about Michael Jackson in the time after his death. I couldn't help it; the media convinced me that I was missing out on something huge. So of course I loaded up "Thriller" - all 14 minutes of it - because I'd never watched the whole video. And I must say, it is quite amazing. The frequent twists and turns, the awkward shuffling during the eerily quiet choreography sequences, the fact that Michael Jackson was black...it all comes together, even if the music itself only makes up a small percentage of the video. Michael's normal, now he's a monster, he's normal, now he's a monster, now he's normal again...but wait, is he a monster? I mean, truly thrilling stuff.
Of course I also watched "Stark Raving Dad," the episode of The Simpsons featuring Michael Jackson. His name isn't given in the credits (it's listed as John Jay Smith) due to contractural obligations, but you can tell it's him. Even though it aired in 1991, the show dealt somewhat with Jackson's seemingly growing insanity while ultimately conveying him as a sympathetic character. Well, the character was Leon Kompowsky, and not actually Michael Jackson - I guess. Anyway, it's worth a watch to commemorate the life of a strange, bizarre contributor to our society.
Man, I miss Charlie's Angels.