The Michael Jackson Effect

The BBC had an interesting article on "Web Slows After Jackson's Death". Several websites crashed yesterday after so many people, all over the world, got on the internet at the same time to read about Michael Jackson's death. Millions of people got online between 2:30 PM and 3:30 PM Pacific Time -- around the time the news broke about his death. Google said that millions of people got an error page when they tried to access search results for Michael Jackson. The BBC reported that the traffic at their site at that time was 72% higher than normal. Twitter crashed as a result of high traffic. Trendrr, a web service that tracks social media sites, reported that the number of twitter posts on Thursday afternoon that contained "Michael Jackson" totaled more than 100,000 per hour. TMZ and Perez Hilton's site also crashed. In addition, the websites for AOL, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, and Yahoo experienced a lag. Keynote Systems, an internet performance monitor, found that starting at 2:00 PM Pacific, "the average speed for downloading news sites doubled from less than four seconds to almost nine seconds...[and] during the same period, the average availability of sites on the index dropped from almost 100% to 86%"

This article made me think about how much of a global superstar Michael Jackson really was -- that upon the news of his death, the internet slowed and pages crashed because SO many people, globally, were checking out information on his death (at the same time). You can't say that about too many people. Yeah, he's had a lot (a lot, a lot) of issues of craziness and creepiness, and no one has wanted anything to do with him since like 1995. And I think the current craziness, scandals, and lack-of-any-hits almost makes us forget how huge of music legend he actually was. Thriller is the world's, all-time best selling album. That is amazing. He holds the Guinness World Record for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time". He has 13 Grammy awards. We grew up in the generation when Michael Jackson was huge (when it was actually cool to like Michael Jackson). I remember watching MTV, hoping I could catch another viewing of the "Thriller" music video, even though it creeped me out. He was a huge cultural icon. His clothing, his dance moves, his music were all iconic. We all know what the Moon Walk is (several of us have attempted it, poorly). We could emulate at least one part of the dance from the Thriller music video (once again, poorly). We all recognize the sparkly glove. Weird Al parodied him. Everyone parodied him. And I think the final indicator of what an icon he was, was all these websites crashing because of an almost universal curiosity in reading about his death. As a big fan of popular culture, I find the response fascinating.

Favorite Scenes: Hannah and Her Sisters

Hannah and Her Sisters is one of my favorite Woody Allen movies. So many excellent scenes and great writing in this movie. One of my favorite scenes is when Mickey (played by Woody Allen) has a life breakthrough at the movie theatre, after walking around for hours and thinking. He delivers an excellent monologue:

"And I wandered for a long time on the Upper West Side, you know, and it must have been hours. You know, my feet hurt. My head was pounding, and I had to sit down. I went into a movie house. I didn't know what was playing or anything. I just needed a moment to gather my thoughts, and be logical, and put the world back into rational perspective. And I went upstairs to the balcony, and I sat down and, you know, the movie was a film that I'd seen many times in my life since I was a kid and I always loved it [It was the Marx Brothers' movie Duck Soup]. And, you know, I'm watching these people up on the screen, and I start getting hooked on the film, you know? And I started to feel, How can you even think of killing yourself? I mean, isn't it so stupid? I mean, look at all the people up there on the screen. You know, they're really funny. And what if the worst is true? What if there's no god and you only go around once and that's it? Well, you know, don't you want to be part of the experience? You know, what the hell? It's not all a drag. And I'm thinking to myself, Geez, I should stop ruining my life searching for answers I'm never gonna get, and just enjoy it while it lasts. And, you know, after...who knows? I mean, you know, maybe there is something. Nobody really knows. I know, I know "maybe" is a very slim reed to hang your whole life on, but that's the best we have. And then I started to sit back, and I actually began to enjoy myself. "

Vancouver

Taken this time last year:

The view from Spanish Banks

Vancouver really was an amazing place to live. Such fond memories of that city and its inhabitants.

Also this time last year: Eagan and I were swimming in the above waters and a seal swam up to us!

Happy Father's Day: Gender Essentialism Version

The Washington Post had a (fluff) article today about how people spend more money on Mother's Day than Father's Day.

"According to the National Retail Federation, Americans spend an average of $130 on Mother's Day. This year, they will spend an average of $90.89 for Dad today."

The article goes on to say, through various (random) people's commentary, that this is because kids are closer and more attached to their mom, and spend considerably more time with them; thus their kids feel more motivated or obligated to spend more on them. One mom acknowledged that more effort probably went into her Mother's Day than her husband's Father's Day, adding, "everyone loves their mom."

Another possible explanation given for the spending disparity is because women are "more demanding".

I especially loved the comment from a spokeswoman for the Greeting Card Association:

"For a man, oftentimes to get a sentimental card, it might make them feel uncomfortable. We often tend to shy away from engaging in sentimentality in cards for fathers. [She then goes on to say humorous cards fly off the shelves.] Lots of these humorous cards focus on, you know, the barbecue and sports and all of those dad subjects where we can give him gentle ribbing but still show him we have affection for him."

A sad tidbit from the article: Hallmark has introduced a line of cards this year that acknowledge the hard work of fathers and husbands (not mothers and wives?) during the tough economic times. With categories including "Dad Having a Difficult Year" and "Husband Having a Difficult Year". Sad. But those cards better not be TOO sentimental!

And it even starts young, a 7th grade kid explained why he appreciates his dad: "They give you a great time. They have less limits usually. They like to press the envelope. "

This is too funny

An awesome line:

"I think I'll delight a little bit in the schadenfreude. Man, only the Germans would have a whole word for delighting in the embarrassment and suffering of others."

Creepy Families

I was flipping through the channels and I passed by that Duggar family show on TLC (which is called "18 Kids and Counting". I think the title changes every 9 months...). It was the intro of the show where they have the opening sequence with the voice-over saying something like "We're the Duggar family. We have 18 kids: Jonathan, Jacob, Jedidiah..." (and, of course, my favorite Duggar, Jabehjayjay)

"Jedidiah, he beat me to the fake Crocs."

Anyway, as they were listing all their children, I thought "Hey, wait, don't they have a kid with alopecia? What happened to that guy?"

So I looked it up online, wondering what happened to that hairless son, and apparently that's ANOTHER family.

There's ANOTHER family that was featured on TLC that ALSO has a ridiculous amount of kids, the family is super religious (but, surprisingly, not Mormon), the mom has crazy poofy hair and is totally docile, the kids are homeschooled, and the family is all-around creepy. How many of these families exist (outside the deserts of Utah)?!? And why does TLC have to give them all shows!?

The Duggars

vs

The Arndts

Jeff Hanson

How terribly tragic that Jeff Hanson died from an accidental fall in his apartment, in which he hit his head. Update: The cause of death was actually ruled "mixed drug toxicity". The medical examiner's office was unable to determine if the death was accidental or intentional.

I was a fan of Jeff Hanson's. I thought he was a brilliant songwriter. Very reminiscent of Elliott Smith. Most distinct, obviously, is his voice. Not really a falsetto...but, feminine, I guess is the best word I could describe it as. I often described him to friends as "What Elliott Smith would sound like if he was kicked in the balls." And I meant that as a compliment. Jeff Hanson (and that voice, more specifically) was not everyone's cup of tea, but I liked him. One of the best concerts I ever attended, he was a part of. It was the first time the Decemberists came to SLC. Jeff Hanson opened up for them. There were eight people in attendance. 'Intimate' does not fully describe that concert. I've been to a lot of concerts in my life, and that one will always stick with me.

Thanks

I think I've seen this fact mentioned in every article I've read on the Air France plane crash:

That it's a common occurrence for planes to be struck by lightning.

That's not something I want to know. Yeah, they say the strike is usually harmless. But still, I don't want to know the odds are relatively good that I'll be on a plane that could be struck by lightning.

From The Washington Post:

"Lightning strikes on passenger airlines occur daily, particularly in the Northern Hemisphere and the equatorial belt where massive thunderstorms are frequent throughout the year ... With approximately 25,000 commercial jets in service with the world's airlines, there are statistically about three dozen lightning strikes that occur each day."

Wow

I heard that Christina Ricci and her fiance, Owen Benjamin, are calling off their engagement. Yeah, that's sad. But what I was most intrigued by was their height difference. The picture below doesn't even look real. She looks like a little life-sized doll that Owen took along for a walk. The photo almost looks photoshopped. Like they juxtaposed a picture of Christina next to Owen and the perspective is all wrong.

Of course, what comes to mind when I see such a height difference is me and Eagan (or me and anyone, pretty much). But this is just crazy. Eagan is a foot taller than me -- which I considered an ungodly amount. The difference between Christina and Owen is a foot and a half! I can't even imagine what it would be like to have six more inches added to the height difference between Eagan and I. At that point, the relationship would be over. Get out while you can, little Christina.

Her neck must be really sore

Sounds About Right...

From the Washingtonian magazine (on an article about how the Senate needs Al Franken's humor. [Hell, they just need Al Franken! Give up already, Norm Coleman!]):

"Let's face it: The United States Senate is a place where Utah's Orrin Hatch is considered witty. Where being colorful means starting a second family at 55. Where wild and crazy means not having a 6 AM tennis game three mornings a week."

"At the 1994 White House Correspondents Dinner, Franken told the audience he had discussed the merits of an Al Gore joke with Tipper Gore. He shared this joke: 'Vice President Gore continued to show his commitment to the environment by announcing today that he is going to change the policy on the stick up his butt. Instead of replacing the stick every day with a new stick, the Vice President will keep the same stick up his butt for the rest of the administration. Evidently, this will save an entire rain forest.'"

Philosophical Life Lessons on a Public Utility Box

I stumbled upon this on the way to the grocery store:

They even included the accent over the e