Michael! Michael! We love you!
Now that at least some of the hoopla has died down...
The closest I ever got to Michael Jackson was four stories, watching from my office balcony as, on the street below, a throng of Japanese girls screamed, "MICHAEL! MICHAEL! WE LOVE YOU!" Waving stuffed animals, they surrounded the white van taking Michael from Sega's Japan headquarters to his next destination. Security guards screamed at them to get out of the street as the van moved slowly away.
It seems fitting that Michael Jackson would be visiting the headquarters of a major game company. If I recall correctly, he was there to check the status of a game licensed to him ("Moonwalker"), and of course he got the grand tour. One of the American product managers spent some time at my desk asking how to play one of the "Streets of Rage" games so he could demonstrate it to Michael.
I'm not a huge fan of performing artists. I have nothing in common with them (except maybe Harrison Ford or John Travolta, both avid pilots-and even then, that would merit perhaps five minutes of conversation). When I heard of Michael Jackson's death, I was surprised because 1) he was so young and 2) he died on the same day as Farrah Fawcett. He was a talented singer and dancer, but his latest behavior struck me as just creepy. Through the media circus, I kept hearing tracks from his "Off the Wall" album in my head. And hearing those girls: "Michael! Michael! We love you!"
The closest I ever got to Michael Jackson was four stories, watching from my office balcony as, on the street below, a throng of Japanese girls screamed, "MICHAEL! MICHAEL! WE LOVE YOU!" Waving stuffed animals, they surrounded the white van taking Michael from Sega's Japan headquarters to his next destination. Security guards screamed at them to get out of the street as the van moved slowly away.
It seems fitting that Michael Jackson would be visiting the headquarters of a major game company. If I recall correctly, he was there to check the status of a game licensed to him ("Moonwalker"), and of course he got the grand tour. One of the American product managers spent some time at my desk asking how to play one of the "Streets of Rage" games so he could demonstrate it to Michael.
I'm not a huge fan of performing artists. I have nothing in common with them (except maybe Harrison Ford or John Travolta, both avid pilots-and even then, that would merit perhaps five minutes of conversation). When I heard of Michael Jackson's death, I was surprised because 1) he was so young and 2) he died on the same day as Farrah Fawcett. He was a talented singer and dancer, but his latest behavior struck me as just creepy. Through the media circus, I kept hearing tracks from his "Off the Wall" album in my head. And hearing those girls: "Michael! Michael! We love you!"