The Best MJ of them All

The fight for great music lost a powerful ally Wednesday afternoon as Michael Jackson was confirmed dead in Los Angeles. Each person will have to deal with their grief in their own way, and while there were certainly aspects of MJ's life that are better left forgotten, I prefer to remember him for what he gave to the world. All MJ's appear to have a larger than life impact on the world (Michael Jordan in basketball, Michael J. in Back to the Future) but Michael Jackson superseded them all. His Thriller album went platinum 28 times (N.Y. Times), he went from child star to the greatest singer/songwriter/producer the world has ever known. Some people will refuse to acknowledge the impact that MJ's work had on music and the world, but there is a reason why his songs are instantly recognizable to the very young and the very old, he truly was the king of pop, rock and soul, and he was a wise and benevolent king while the reign lasted.

The New York times said this morning that "As with Elvis Presley or the Beatles, it is impossible to calculate the full effect Mr. Jackson had on the world of music." I have devised a simple formula to calculate just that, you add the effect that both Elvis and the Beatles had together, then you double it, and then you times it by infinity, his impact is immeasurable and will continue to influence people for years to come. Whether you loved Michael, hated him, or were ambivalent let us all take a moment of silence to don a single glove and remember him for what he did best, make the world better through music.

Yosemite, Yo

A week or so ago, my roommates were lucky enough to get a reservation at Yosemite, so we decided to do a little camping and hike the infamous Half Dome hike. It was really all it was cracked up to be. It was not too difficult for me, and although my knees were a little sore the next I mostly felt OK, it really was a pretty intense hike, but one I would recommend to whoever was interested in listening to me. I think it ended up being about 18 miles round trip, but you climb about five thousand feet in that distance. It was a really incredible hike, with some really gorgeous scenery. The only real downside was that it really hailed on us at the top and rained for about five hours on and off at the end, so we were wet and not able to climb the cables at the end. Other than that, great hike and I am excited to go again and finish it all the way. Pictures below.

This is one of two major waterfalls, there are stairs cut out of the rock to climb which are pretty intense, so much mist you get a little wet, but very cool.



You can see some of that climb below us, great view though.
If you want to beat the wet and still look cool, just rock the trash bags, it's all about the confidence. You can see that my roommate Shaun (white cap) is a little out of it, I was a little worried that he was not gonna make it but he soldiered on and finished the hike.
This is the part that we did not go up, you can see the trail with the cables snaking up the mountain. I kinda still wanted to do it, but my roommates talked me out of it. Turns out someone actually slipped and fell to their death right after we hiked down. There have only ever been 4 fatalities on this climb, three in 2007 and the one when we were there. It was pretty sad, you have just got to be really careful and I am glad that my roommates talked some sense to me.

It's Dad's turn for a post

This picture is just too good to not post. This is from when Dad (the General) and I went to Puerto Rico together for the NGAUS convention. It was a really good time. One day I'll have some medals too I hope.