The greatest dancer the world will ever know

I challenge you to watch this and deny the man was a dancing genius...

MJ doing what he did best

Farewell to Michael Jackson - The world's brightest star will shine forever.

It's been a strange few days for me. I never thought I'd ever become one of those silly people that get so upset over the death of a celebrity but Michael Jackson was a little bit more than that. Anybody in my general age bracket will recall his music throughout their childhood, he gave his so we could have ours in a way. What's upset me the most are all of the cruel and judgemental things being said upon his death. The man was never proven to have done anything. Even if he eventually is, I still don't subscribe to the levels of hatred that people choose to throw his way even before that day has come, or indeed after. Compassion is something he had and it's something the world needs to learn in order to deal with some of it's biggest problems. One person I know wrote "Paedophiles don't go to heaven" Aside from the fact that I don't believe in heaven and hell for many reasons including very problematic issues of morality and judgement, this is just blind hate. It gives no consideration for his kids that are left behind and that in itself is self-defeating and contradicting, if people really cared about the well being of children so much they wouldn't put so much hatred into the world.

Now this is very strange for me. I do, despite this level of compassion, have a very sick sense of humour. But that's because it's humour, the intention is to devalue meaning, some people actually seriously believe some things that are so simplistic it worries me. I actually cried for about 5 minutes watching some of his videos and this in itself tells me something.

The world is essentially just energy. There is positive and negative energy. Now people will say to me that I didn't know him the same way I will tell them the same thing, but you can just sense watching his videos that this man was a kind and gentle soul. The thing that really broke my heart was something my friend Nathan said: "He died thinking the world hated him" This is possibly one of the most upsetting things I think I've ever heard. To think what may have been going through his mind over the past few years is simply upsetting.

I grew up watching his videos, listening to his music, but the most influential thing of all was his dancing. Michael Jackson taught me how to dance and for that I will always love him. You have to be in the moment to be a dancer, you have to be one with the world and understand rhythm.Michael was rhythm, he made the beat come alive.

Thanks for everything you put out into this world Michael, your star will always shine. They can't hurt you now.

The Gun Seller - Hugh Laurie

Hugh Laurie, Hugh Laurie, Hugh Laurie...WHY ARE YOU SO MODEST!!??? You are a fucking genius. This is one of the funniest, wittiest and most enjoyable books I've read in a long time probably ever.

"I hit him because he was trying to kill me," I said "I'm like that"

I heard that Laurie didn't even want to put his name to the book and hesitantly agreed after being told that it needed a name to sell it. Mr Laurie, when will you realise your brilliance? His romantic banter between particular characters is not only perceptive but comforting to experience on the page, he really writes some outstanding dialogue. I will more than likely give this another read very soon, just because laughter is every bit as comforting as realising the intelligence of a guy who deserves every single bit of success he's enjoyed...or should I say achieved

The Outsider - Colin Wilson

I finally finshed this book the other day after taking my sweet-ass time to get to grips with its genius. There is a lot of referencing to books I haven't read which made parts of it somewhat tedious. However, the many sections about Nietzsche, Nijinsky, Van Gogh and Lawrence were thoroughly rewarding. Wilson takes us through a fair and balanced exploration of the outsider and all that it entails. Wilson also manages to summarise perfectly what I've been trying to articulate for many years about the effect film can have on an individual and how it is at best temporary:

...anyone can notice the same phenomenon when he comes out of a theatre or concert or cinema, having been completely 'taken out of himself'. No one would expect to pass through an intense emotional experience and not feel 'a different person' afterwards. But in a cinema you only pass out of your own life into other people's; you learn nothing about yourself; hence the change, the mental reflection, wrought by it can only be expected to last for more than a few hours

Wilson goes on from here but his point is extremely valid. The book can be considered somewhat gloomy but it's a very important book dealing with a very harsh reality of man's paralysis.

If salvation means self-knowledge, then it looks as if most men are pre-destinately dammed