Thriller

I know that by now, even only 10 hours (or less) since his death there have been a million things said about the death of Michael Jackson. I was completely shocked to find this out, of course, and was really sad to hear about it because throughout all of his bizarre (and possibly illegal) behavior he's exhibited over the past twenty or so years, no one could deny that he was a one-of-a-kind musical talent who could dance the pants off anyone. He was an unbelievable entertainer and though musically, I think his best years were way behind him, his death will go down in history in the shocking/before his time category that will ensure his legendary status.

I've been thinking about death for the past day or so, before I even heard about MJ or Farah Fawcett dying today, because last night I watched the exhaustive two and a half hour documentary, Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures. I had seen this documentary about five years ago and was both blown away by its thoroughness as well as the fact that it was clearly made by filmmakers and film lovers for filmmakers and film lovers. The material was not remotely dumbed down in any way. Tom Cruise, of all people, voiced in the documentary exactly what I was thinking the first time I saw this film, "There will never be another Stanley Kubrick film". And that fact, combined with the sheer adulation I feel for the man made me cry (though to my credit, I think he had died just a couple of months prior to me seeing the film) because it kind of put the finality of death into a tangible perspective for me. Of course I know that after someone dies, that's it. But when someone makes such incredible contributions to film and art history, the knowledge that you have only what is in the past to hold on to, and nothing new to look forward to, is a really depressing notion. Another thing I noted this time around was that Martin Scorsese mentioned that seeing a Kubrick film was like an event because you had to wait so long between films, but you always knew that it would be worth it. That just reminded me that no matter who you are, if you're a film buff, and if you love experiencing films so much that it physically hurts sometimes, you're going to feel the same way others do. It's gratifying to me to know that I have even just one thing in common with men like Scorsese and Woody Allen, even if it's an insatiable love of film and a deep reverence of Kubrick.

On the personal front, there hasn't been a whole lot happening. I helped Matt out a little with some work things and finished most of what I should have this week at my own job. I started the kitchen somewhat (mopped the floor, including under the stove, moved the microwave and cart, etc.) but there is still a great deal of organization to do so that is something that will have to be completed this weekend by Chris and I. Tomorrow being Friday I have off, so I plan to take full advantage by hopefully knocking a couple of movies off the DVR and just doing some general relaxing. This week was pretty uneventful for me, but sometimes that can be a good thing I guess. I definitely think we need to complete a laundry list of stuff this weekend, but remember to do something fun at least once as well.