I can't believe it's been a year since Michael Jackson died. It still feels like yesterday.

I wonder what will happen to that idiot doctor who was basically putting him under surgical anesthesia every night! What a goddamn retard, how could he think that was okay?? He MUST have known that was a bad idea and should have used better judgment and acted like a doctor and done what was right for the patient, no matter what the very rich and famous patient may have been asking for. I hope he loses his medical license at the very least. He has to live with the guilt that he killed a legend, the greatest entertainer of all time.

I've been contemplating getting an MJ tattoo for a long time now. I've had such an intensely strong attachment to him from the time I was born, Thriller being my first favorite song even as a baby, and there's no question his music has had the most significant impact on me of any artist. I want the picture to be something similar to this icon of him in the fedora from Smooth Criminal. I'll probably have the words "Michael Jackson, forever and always" and "...just another part of me..." surround it. The trouble I'm having is finding the exact right photo to use and deciding where I want it.

Well, I've got plenty of time, I'm not in any hurry to decide; he's always in my heart anyway. I love you and miss you, Michael! ♥ ♥ ♥

Our last yellow labrador, Yukon, went to the vet to cross the rainbow bridge today. He was a month shy of 13 years old, and it was definitely his time. He'd been arthritic for a few years now, but he went rapidly downhill over the last week or so, being barely able to move. May he romp around pain-free with Heather, Taffy, Sierra, Sequoia, and Bootsie now.

Yukon was the lunkhead of the house, as well as the only male dog we ever had. Headstrong and smart as a brick, he was ruled by his stomach and got into anything and everything that he suspected was food. Kleenex were a favorite snack of his, especially used ones he pulled out of all the garbage cans he would knock over on a regular basis. Training him required lots of patience and lots of treats. But he was absolutely the most sweet-natured dog ever, loved everyone instantly and would lick you half to death given the chance. He was a good companion and was lucky to have such a good, long run.

( Yukon: May 27, 1997 - April 11, 2010 )

I just got back from seeing Michael Jackson's This Is It. It was so wonderful and so heartbreaking at the same time, knowing that this was the last of his gift to us, that he would never get to perform that series of concerts he worked so hard on. I did walk away from the theater in tears. I just love him SO. MUCH.

The man was clearly a genius, but so much so that he seemed to exist on a different plane from the rest of us mundane human beings. Not only was he unbelievably talented and the most incredibe performer ever, he was so good and so caring and so loving to everyone and everything; he just wanted this world to be a better place.

Obviously the lowest common denominator, as usual, feared what was different from them and what they couldn't understand and tried to drag him down into the dirt with them at every opportunity. It just makes me furious the way so many idiots attempted to sully such an amazingly good-natured and kind-hearted person. I'm not religious, but if there was something approximating the entity of an angel in this world, it would have been Michael Jackson. Humanity at large is a bunch of lowlife cretins, and the only positive thing about his passing on is that he's not around to be their punching bag any longer. Still, that moron of a doctor has a lot to answer for for so carelessly obliterating the life of the greatest entertainer the world has ever known.

So rest in peace Michael, sadly we hardly knew ye. I, for one, will always cherish the gift of your presence on this earth and feel so lucky that it took place during my lifetime. I'll forever hold dear both you and the music you so graciously bestowed upon this undeserving world. Thank you, Michael.

*watching the Michael Jackson memorial service*

Still can't quite believe he's really gone...and I was right there where this is being held just two days ago. I wish I could have gotten a ticket and stayed for it. ;_; So sad and touching...I'll always love you, Michael! ♥ ♥ ♥

I'm so incredibly sad to hear that Michael Jackson passed away today. Thus far I've heard it was a heart attack, though that has yet to be verified. My personal feeling is that he finally succumbed to the insane amount of stress and vilification he'd been (imo unfairly) bombarded with for years. I don't know how anyone could have stood up to the kind of world-wide scrutiny he'd been under nearly his entire life.

I am, always have been, and always will be, a die-hard Michael Jackson fan. My very first favorite song was Thriller, off of the same-titled album that came out the year after I was born. My parents tell me I listened to and adored that song ever since I was a baby. I got all of his albums over the years, watched all his videos, and listened to all his music. It's such a shame I'll never be able to see him perform live or be able look forward to more wonderful music from him. I think a big part of the reason Savage Garden became my favorite band was due to the heavy influence of Michael Jackson on Darren Hayes; I felt and heard a lot of similarities in his music.

However odd he might have been in his personal life, there's no denying he is probably the most amazing singer/songwriter/dancer/all-around entertainer to ever live, and far and away lived up to his well-deserved title of King of Pop. My personal belief is that he was a sensitive soul who had a harsh childhood, or rather lack of one, and hence spent his fortune and adult years trying to relive and provide other children with what he missed out on. Yet because he was a single non-parent "weird" adult, he was unfairly demonized for it. I'm certain he simply truly loved children (and thought of himself as one; I'm not saying he didn't probably have some psychological issues that could have been worked on) and was a good person who wanted to share what he had with children in ways that some adults may have deemed abnormal. But fuck, if I was a kid (hell, even as an adult!) I *totally* would have given anything to spend time at his Neverland Ranch with all the animals and rides and fun stuff! I never once believed any of the molestation allegations, and I still don't; I think he just saw himself as a child in a lot of ways, and that's why he wanted to be with them. And you know what, even if all those awful things people said about him turned out to be true (which I most vehemently believe they are NOT)? I don't give a fuck. Michael Jackson is and forever will be a musical genius and legend who has bestowed mankind with a lifetime of incredible entertainment that will always be a part of our history and heritage. No matter how hard some people tried to taint him, nothing can take that away from us.

Long live the King of Pop. No one can ever come close to holding a candle to you. You will be forever in our hearts and sorely missed, always.

Just got back from Melissa's memorial service. It was very beautiful and touching. She was a true mentor and friend and I already miss her dearly. =*(

( My dear friend )

David Eddings has died D=

He wrote my still-favorite series to this day, The Belgariad. I can always go back and read those books and enjoy them over and over every bit as much as the first time I read them. I also really enjoyed The Mallorean, The Elenium, and The Tamuli. Didn't like his later stuff written with his wife much, but still, he will be truly missed. =(

It's fricking HOT here. This heat wave is breaking temperature records and everything. I haven't ridden for the last four days because it's just too hot to move; I barely have the energy to clean Jackson's stall. The power went out at work for about an hour on Thursday probably from all the increased energy demand for A/C. Our townhouse is actually too warm upstairs even though it's almost always too cold in here, although the downstairs stays cool no matter what. Unfortunately both bedrooms are upstairs, and the master bedroom has a vaulted ceiling, so there's no good way to cool it down. We put out A/C unit in the much smaller guest room and have been sleeping in there.

When my friend and I were getting ready to leave the stable on Friday, I heard a loud screech and turned to see Duchess, the barn cat, running by with a struggling bunny in her mouth. We followed her into the barn where she had dropped it; apparently it was still alive enough to run and hide. We caught it behind some feed bins and were going to give it to our office lady since she likes to take in needy wildlife, but she wasn't home. I took the bunny home and figured I'd bring it to her the next day, assuming it survived the night. It was alive early the next morning, but when I was ready to leave later I found it had died. =( The cat must have landed a good bite, in which case it had no chance to begin with; we'd been hoping maybe she'd just grabbed it but didn't break the skin, since we couldn't find any fang marks. Poor little thing.

Saturday night Josh and I went to see Iron Man. I was hesistant, although I'd heard nothing but good things about it. I didn't know what it was about really other than some comic book movie, which for the most part I am not a fan of (like the Spiderman movies? Ugh). I didn't know what the Iron Man comic was or what it was about; from the little I'd seen of it I thought it looked sort of like Robocop. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was actually a very entertaining action movie! I love action movies. It had a lot of amusing parts as well, which was cool, because I didn't expect it to be funny. Robert Downey Jr. also turned out to be a great actor, another surprise to me because the only thing I knew about him is that he's some drug addict who's been in and out of jail a lot; I'd never seen him in anything before. I'm now looking forward to the sequel. The next movie on our list is Indiana Jones; I just seriously hope George Lucas didn't fuck up another great movie legacy like he did with Star Wars.

The movie turned out to be pretty long, so I didn't get much sleep last night before going to work early this morning. It was hot and awful, but at least that meant we weren't busy. And we were having a vaulting show, so there was something to watch. Also, there was a lady from a magazine called Horse Connection there who was doing an article on wine and horses, so she came to a pretty appropriate place considering we're both a stable and vineyard. Anyway, she wanted to get some pictures of someone riding by a plaque we have next to one of the barns (I've never read it, actually...I think it says something about the history of the farm maybe). All the other staff were already out on trail rides, so I agreed to do it. I jumped on our most "photogenic" (i.e. spooky; his ears are always pricked forward!) horse and posed for a few pictures. Don't know if they'll use any of them, but she said she'd let me know if they did. So maybe I'll be in a magazine, haha. Later in the day she came back again to talk to us and took a few notes. I'm curious to see what she writes.

I didn't get a chance to mention this earlier due to the move and everything, but we did finally have to end good old Smoky's suffering on Saturday, September 22nd. He had cancer in the entire upper part of his mouth and could no longer eat; we kept him on pain meds for a while, but it was obvious he was in horrible pain even with them. He was born in May of 1994 and was 13 years old.

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