mindplunge

I grew up with the music of Michael Jackson. Didn’t we all? When he earned his title ‘King of Pop’ back in the ’80’s I was captivated by the person of Michael Jackson. I remember watching the countdown of his music video ‘Thriller’. It was announced all week and we all huddled up in front of the television to see what this much anticipated video was all about. It didn’t disappoint me. The next day I bought (then still only available in vinyl) his album. I played it day in, day out… Billy Jean, Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, Human Nature…

A few days ago while reading about the death of Farah Fawcett (another icon) my twitter stream report that Michael Jackson has been taken to the hospital with a cardiac arrest. A few minutes later TMZ reports the King of Pop has died. From there I was surfing from CNN to LA Times, TMZ, Facebook, Twitter and every possible social media type you can think of… Like many others the internet came almost to a complete halt due to a spike in traffic.

So here we are. I’m playing MJ songs all weekend long. Loaded my iPod with his songs just to listen to the many, many memorable songs he has written. The following quote was found on reddit and it reflects what I think the majority of people can identify with. The original quote unfortunately is lost. If you know who wrote this please lemme know so I can quote this properly:

Michael Jackson was a tragically sad individual. Say what you want, the man was severely abused as a child, and went on to retreat completely into his fantasy world, where he’d never have to grow up or face what happened to him. His wealth allowed him to surround himself with yes-people who never questioned him, and never encouraged him to seek help. He alienated the people who truly cared about him, because they reminded him of his hurtful, negative past.

The real tragedy came when he went on to perpetuate the cycle of abuse with other children, whom he did truly, truly love … but not in an age-appropriate manner. He really saw himself as a child, and wanted so desperately to be one again, that he fell in love with everything about young children.

I’m not defending pedophilia, I find what he did to be wrong and not at all appropriate … but the only thing I can find myself feeling about his whole situation is sadness.

He was an extraordinarily talented individual, and it’s sad that all of the allegations and atrocities that came out of the 90’s will eclipse all of that. He gave us some industry-changing music, some of the best pop-music of all time. This whole situation is just really, really awful.

Right after the death of Michael Jackson spontaneous dance parties and flashmobs were held throughout the world. I collected some pictures of how people are celebrating the live of Michael Jackson.

(photo: Brian Siskind) The scene outside the Apollo theatre NY the night Michael Jackson died.

(photo: Louis Seigal)

(photo: Jennaphoenix) Trafalgar Square, London

(photo: Tanja N.) A flashmob takes place to pay tribute to Michael Jackson. It was organized in just a few hours via social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. The concept had been to moonwalk, although lack of space meant simply dancing had to suffice!

(photo: Andy Tanguay) Ann Arbor’s ‘Michael Jackson Guy’

(photo: Ernest Morales) Notre-Dame, Paris

(photo: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times) Piper James, 38, holds up his copy of Michael Jackson’s landmark “Thriller” album as he makes his way down Hollywood Boulevard soon after hearing of the pop star’s death. James said it wasn’t his favorite Jackson album, but he knew it was his most recognizable.

(photo: J. Sinclair O’Garro) Harlem Mourns the Death of Michael Jackson

(photo: Ernest Morales) Notre-Dame, Paris

(photo: J&R Photographie) Thousands of fans have met today June 26th, in front of Notre-Dame, in Paris, for a last homage to Michael Jackson.

From TMZ at 14:20 PST

We’ve just learned Michael Jackson has died. He was 50. Michael suffered a cardiac arrest earlier this afternoon at his Holmby Hills home and paramedics were unable to revive him. We’re told when paramedics arrived Jackson had no pulse and they never got a pulse back. A source tells us Jackson was dead when paramedics arrived. A cardiologist at UCLA tells TMZ Jackson died of cardiac arrest. Once at the hospital, the staff tried to resuscitate him but he was completely unresponsive. A source inside the hospital told us there was “absolute chaos” after Jackson arrived. People who were with the singer were screaming, “You’ve got to save him! You’ve got to save him!” We’re told one of the staff members at Jackson’s home called 911.

Michael is survived by three children: Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince “Blanket” Michael Jackson II.

Last but not least: Michael waving goodbye to his fans.

(photographer unknown)

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One of the guys I’m following on Twitter is @Jason_Pollock. He’s a Filmmaker, Writer, and Activist. On June 3rd he got the news that his movie ‘The Youngest Candidate‘ will see it’s world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival in Westwood village. So if you’re in the neighborhood go check out the movie!

Movie Synopsis

‘The Youngest Candidate’ is a feature length documentary film directed by Jason Pollock. It is produced by David Letterman’s company, Worldwide Pants, in partnership with Oscar winner Lawrence Bender (producer of ‘Pulp Fiction’ and ‘An Inconvenient Truth’, etc..) and Balance Vector Productions.

It follows the story of 4 teens that ran for public office in America. Funny, inspiring, poignant, and ultimately uplifting, ‘The Youngest Candidate’ is not just a film about running for office. It is the coming of age story of four idealistic young adults who dared to confront the corrupt political systems in America. Through their journey these young candidates learn about fair play, leadership development, racism in politics, the importance of family, and many other lessons that they will carry with them throughout their lives. In the face of great adversity, these four young adults braved all the odds to make it to Election Day to show that regardless of the outcome, it didn’t matter… It’s all about how you play the game.

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In “Food, Inc.,” filmmaker Robert Kenner lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry, exposing the highly mechanized underbelly that’s been hidden from the American consumer with the consent of our government’s regulatory agencies, USDA and FDA. Our nation’s food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment. We have bigger-breasted chickens, the perfect pork chop, insecticide-resistant soybean seeds, even tomatoes that won’t go bad, but we also have new strains of e coli–the harmful bacteria that cause illness for an estimated 73,000 Americans annually.

We are riddled with widespread obesity, particularly among children, and an epidemic level of diabetes among adults Featuring interviews with such experts as Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) along with forward thinking social entrepreneurs like Stonyfield Farms’ Gary Hirschberg and Polyface Farms’ Joe Salatin, “Food, Inc.” reveals surprising–and often shocking truths–about what we eat, how it’s produced, who we have become as a nation and where we are going from here.

Visit the official Food Inc. Movie website and sign the petition!

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Without realizing it I became a ‘One Hour Runner’. For a long time I was just running 5K’s a few times a week. Lately I’m extending my runs and last week I ran my first 10K. It wasn’t planned but somehow on my regular run I decided to take a left instead of a right… and I kept on running. I ran towards the Lake, turned around and headed back home. When I finally stopped workout on my iPod I clocked 10K with a time of 01:03:24 hours. Wow… I just ran over 1 hour!

When I started running in May ‘08 my goal was running a 5K in 30 minutes. One year later I’m running 10K in an hour! I’m feeling (physically and mentally) so much better than last year. My next goal is the San Jose 1/2 Marathon and I’m convinced I can do this! Wanne start running as well? Here some links to get you off the couch:

• C25K Program
• OHR Program

My advise is to start slow! You don’t have to run fast!

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I’m raising the bar on my running regime. I’ve set a pretty high goal and this goal is approaching relatively fast! I intend to run the Rock ‘n Roll Half Marathon in San Jose CA. The run will be on October 4th so less than 4 months… More about this ambitious plan in my next post. For now just a talk about running in general.

As you might know I started the C25K (Couch to 5K) last year. Basically a program to get you running a 5K within 12 weeks. Since I’ve completed the program I’ve been running 5K on a regular basis. I’m extending these runs lately and for the past two weeks I’m running 8K (Kilometers) almost daily. You can find my full schedule at twiike, runner+ and the Nike+ running websites.

The challenges on the Runner+ website are a great motivator as you try to outrun your fellow runners. It’s quite competitive but I must say that the running community, although always on the run (pun intended), is a pretty relaxed. You know what I’m talking about once you become a runner.

My favorite time to run are the early mornings. No traffic, cool breeze and it is just stunning to see the sun come up. I’m privileged to run in California. Not only for the weather but the views are amazing. I run through walnut orchards towards a dormant volcano (Mt Konocti) and passing some vineyards. Yes, I’m blessed.

So yeah… 4 months to go. San Jose, here I come!

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I know… this post is long overdue but I have my reasons. Summer is approaching so it’s time for a new theme! Hope you like it and please let me know if something is not working properly for you. I still have to adjust some settings but it’s pretty much all there. Also time to kick it up a notch when it comes to posting. I’ve been off ‘the grid’ for a while but I intend to post more frequently.

For now a quick post about Memorial Day Weekend. Since I’m a freelancer a ‘day off’ sounds kinda weird now. I’m having so much ‘free’ time a holiday has a new meaning to me. Not sure how to describe it but it doesn’t feel like a holiday…

Below some pictures of fresh herbs and vegetables from our garden. In the morning we went on a kick ass canoe trip at Anderson Marsh. Water was so still, simply amazing. Fish were jumping all around us. One made it almost in our canoe. Trippy shit… Anyways.. Enjoy the pics!

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It’s been a while and for a reason. Last month I quit my job and I’m sorting things out. I know, I get a lot of comments about quitting your job in this kind of economy. I still believe I did the right thing, tanking economy or not… To me personal health is now priority #1 and if this means sacrificing stability so be it.

On the other hand, numerous doors have opened up and it feels to me all the pieces need to fall into place. I’m currently drawn to being a freelance web designer again and yes, it’s not an easy road but it is something I really enjoy doing. I’m just fascinated by the web and I love creating for it. The last 3 weeks I’ve been updating my two other domains eightdegree.com and richardlemon.com. Both are portfolio sites and powered by Wordpress. Next up is mindplunge! Design is already in place but I need to convert it to a Wordpress theme.

Besides tinkering with my 3 domains I’m working on a Construction site. Once completed I’ll give you the link.

I’m really happy I have the full support of my girlfriend. Without this it would be an impossible situation but she totally rocks and knows what I’m going through. I’m thankful she can see and understand the various options we have right now so this makes things easier.

I’m sure I have other things to say but for now I’ll keep it at this. More to come as I have a sea of time!

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Well… it’s mainly work related at this point. The New Year started of with a bang which means a bunch of workload on my desk at the dental website design company I work for. Given the current state of the economy not a bad thing but it’s eating up my weekends as well. Again, not a terrible thing but it also keeps me away of updating this blog. So finally a little spot in my schedule to give you an update.

Saturday we will be in Oakland. Our best friends Jason and Cindy getting married and A. is one of the bride maids. They will go shopping for a dress which means Jason and I will chill out in Oaktown! Since I’m shopping around for a netbook we probably will be roaming the city for this little gadget. I’m really drawn to the HP mini 1000 MI edition and apparently it’s only available at HP’s online store. We’ll see if we can find it somewhere.

So far the weather’s been pretty forgiving with temperatures in the lower 70’s but yesterday it finally started to rain. And rain is what we need. It’s been so dry here in NorCal and this could mean some potential problems later this year. California is notorious when it comes to water meaning no water at all…

Other then this I’m consistently working on my two other sites, richardlemon.com and eightdegree.com. Another reason I neglected this blog. Too bad a day has only 24 hours…

Oh yes, before I forget: mom, you can see my twitter updates here and here. The second one is mainly SEO orientated so not much of a fun to read…

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Watch it live on Hulu!

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Had to share this: Sacrifice 10 friends from Facebook for a free WHOPPER®.

Facebook and Burger King are teaming up to give you a free Whopper–as long as you “sacrifice” 10 friends to get it. The world of social networking is getting meatier all the time.

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