Death of a King

The death of the King of Pop has sent the world into a whirlwind of mourning, celebration, sadness and reflection.

But aside from all of this, there are many out there who are exploiting Michael Jackson's death, just as they did his life when he was alive. Only now that he is no longer alive, they can do it more freely.

The man has barely been dead for four days and there are already talks of DVDs being released of his final concert rehearsal, the auctioning of his personal belongings and the publishing rights of unreleased songs he had made for his children.

One can argue that this is the price to pay of a celebrity. That once you are a celebrity, especially one of Michael Jackson's stature, privacy and the right to live and die in peace is no longer an option. And one can argue, there's not really a rule or a timeline for when it is acceptable to move on from tragedy, to move past the shock and the grief and resume every day life.

But I beg to differ. I've always disagreed with this kind of exploitation. It just doesn't sit well with me that a movie was released before the tears had dried of those who still hadn't come to terms with the events of 9/11, or that a major motion picture was released of a slain rapper whose murderer is still unknown, and now, that there is talk of how to make the most profit from a dead man's musical genius who hasn't even been properly laid to rest yet. In my opinion, it's disgusting and tragic, and an unfortunate reflection of our society.

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Regardless, Michael Jackson holds a special place in my heart. His music was the soundtrack to my childhood, albums played nonstop in long car rides with my family. Dangerous was the first cassette tape I owned on my Playschool Walkman. I know there are millions out there who share my sentiments, who share their own memories of Michael and his music and who are shaking their heads at his tragic downfall. But from my little place in the world, I just want to put it out into the universe and say Rest in Peace, MJ. You will never be forgotten.

1958-2009

"Do you remember, back in the spring, every morning the birds would sing...do you remember, those special times, they just go on and on in the back of my mind..." - Do You Remember the Time

Travel Diaries: Keeping Austin Weird

Travel Diaries, Chapter One: Keeping Austin...Weird.

This summer began after bidding Adieu to State College and heading home for a week before making the big move to New York City. But in between home and the NYC move, I had to go to training for my summer internship at the University of Texas at Austin. Austin was, without a doubt, one of the most interesting cities I have visited. The word interesting is used with caution, here, because interesting could be taken in many ways.

To clarify: Austin's slogan is Keep Austin Weird. Yes, they take great pride in keeping the city weird. From the tie-dyed t-shirts boasting the slogan to rainbow-colored hair, undiscernable yet oddly artistic wall murals and tattoo sleeves on not just the majority of the men but the women as well, I believe weird is the perfect adjective for this city.

Prelude to the Travel Diaries

Summer thus far has consisted of traveling, traveling and more traveling. Between moving from college, going to Texas for my internship training, moving to New York for my internship and attending the National Association of Hispanic Journalism Conference in Puerto Rico, I'm all over. Although I'm not a huge fan of airports or planes, I do realize that I love to travel. This may be due to the fact that in the last 4-5 years for reasons that vary between journalism trips, sites as a part of my summer jobs with LeadAmerica, sorority conferences, family vacations, football games and others, I have been on the move quite a bit. Time spent in State College, D.C., San Diego, Atlanta, Miami, St. Maarten, Tampa, St. Croix, New Jersey, Orlando, Virginia, New York, Chicago, Mexico City, Harrisburg, Philly, Austin, Puerto Rico and my hometown of Ellicott City/Baltimore have given me a bit of a traveler's eye for observation and the ability to decide what I do and don't like about a city or place. And it is this that inspired me to begin a travel diary of some of my travels, commenting on the cities or countries to which I have already been or that I will visit in the future. Let the adventure begin....