The Fan Chronicles – The Collector

Soo as tired as I am, I found time to look at my new MIchael Jackson book I acquired from a recent conference I attended (that will be blogged about shortly).  It made me think about (1) my love Michael and (2) the Collector.

Around my parts, I am identified as the number one Michael Jackson fan. I smile and nod and take the compliment, while inside I can be (given the time) quite tortured by the fact that I am NOT his number one fan. I could take some people to some places on this big ole internet that would make them afraid, lol lol I fancy myself in the upper echelon of Jackson Fans, but to really feel like that myself – I need to UP MY GAME! I need a room that I can use for my stuff. It needs to be out. I need to get me a freaking glove! I need some wall stuff. I need to go to JAPAN to get some of the good stuff! I am a diligent fan, I am a respectful fan and I am a collector of all things Mike.

If you’ve never been a fan of someone or something or some team, then this whole concept can be quite hard to grasp. There are folks who like things as in “I really like football” but then there are fans, such as say my husband, ‘who owns merchandise, who speaks fondly of, and will cuss you out’ about the Lakers. I think all of us have several different likes in the world of pop culture – but there are only pockets of people who truly are into being a fan.

The part of being a fan I’d like to expound upon today, concerns the….COLLECTOR

I know of people who collect solely all of MJ’s music. I’ve seen pictures from someone who has like 25 copies of Thriller, then additional copies of remixes, spin offs, International releases etc. etc. There are those that collect imagery of MJ. They just have thousands maybe even hundreds of thousands of pictures of him. There are those of us who collect a little bit of it all.

We all collect for different reasons as well. Some collect because the items might be worth something. They will buy 2 dolls, one to open and one to remain mint in the box. Others just like having things around that remind them of the person/thing/team etc. they are a fan of.

I collect items that incorporate Mike into my every day life. Nothing is off limits and I like to touch and enjoy all of the things I have. My items remind me of him and allow me to have him with me on a daily basis, if I so choose. After his death, I knew that there would be a market for items, so a part of my goal is to obtain things outside the scope of a normal collector. It didn’t have to be big or expensive, but imagine the feeling when I walked into the Largest Apple store in my community with my Iphone decked out in Mike!! That was fire!

I’ve also started ‘collecting’ photographs. There are so many great pictures of Mike and his Family at my disposal. I just collect them on my computer and will run a slide show at any given time to just examine the pictures and bring them to life in my mind. I want to take it even farther and actually print them out so I can hold them, lol I have several already – and in 2011 will try to get more out of the computer and in my hand.

I daydream sometimes about not having financial constrictions and being able to really ‘collect’ you know like folks who scour the earth for fine art etc. Michael is art to me and there are things and items out in this world that you can own that makes that very clear to you. I can see myself walking along some street in Japan and coming upon a little shop that has a whole shelf with just Michael merchandising. I can bring it even closer to something that might come true for me in 2011 – walking in Harlem, NY and coming across a street vendor who has his Mike wares displayed.

Even the most extreme collector is not crazy or should be feared. Folks spend their money on what they want to. I budget for my Mike acquisitions and even if it takes me a minute – if I set my eyes on something, I will get it.

So the next time you encounter a fan who collects, or even if you see me jumping around about some item I MUST have or just got in – don’t fret – we just being a FAN.

Thriller Tuesday

 

It’s common knowledge that I am a HUGE fan of Very Smart Brothers, so it is quite ironic that the jump off point for today’s Triller Tuesday begins on their site……

 

They did a quite comical yet scarily true piece on things we have in common with our Thug Sisters and Brothers and Number One is as follows:

 

 Listen to and love Michael Jackson

 

True story alert. A long time ago I was at my grandmother’s house in Atlanta and one of my recently unincarcerated cousins was hanging out and an argument about Michael Jackson’s best album breaks out. Me, one of my sisters, and two of my other cousins are going at it. Out of nowhere, Zone 4 Mo tells us all to shut the f*ck up because “ain’t no argument. Mike ain’t had a bad album. Off The Wall was good, Thriller is a classic beyond all else, and Bad might be his best album that nobody talks about. Y’all don’t know nothing about Mike.” This from a dude who wasn’t afraid of jail and couldn’t care less about getting locked up. And you know what, that made me realize: who doesn’t love Michael Jackson? We all grew up on him. It’s impossible to not like Michael Jackson if you’re Black and between the age of 18-98.

 

This is a great topic because there has never been more truth.  I, however, would change one thing and that would be the age bracket listed.  I go so far as to say it needs to be 8-80 blind, cripple and crazy. There seems to be this right of passage that you fall in love with Michael Jackson.   This is not an urban myth, I’ve seen it more times than I can count in my life time.  I currently have four children between the ages of 2-6 who have been hit.  Outside of the world of the Kid TV, Michael Jackson is the first musical artist almost all kids fall in love with.

 

Still don’t believe me go on you tube.  There is just something about the first time they see him and the fact that they want to see and hear his music.  They want a jacket and they want to dance like him.  I have seen my nephews discover him and spend substantial time wanting to listen to his music.  Michael sang for the world, but he wanted to really be in tune to the kids. He succeeded!!!

Thriller Tuesday

 

Well welcome to the official first full week of September. I wanted to get it all started off on a good foot so let’s roll out another September Feature for this here blog. THRILLER TUESDAY!! I just wanted to write the randomness that all about Mike. Though I don’t talk about it as frequently as I used to (yea right, lol) I still Mike on a daily basis in some form or fashion. I want to give a Shout Out to my friend Rosalind for the great gift she sent me. Sheet Music to the “Michael” CD. I don’t have any sheet music in my collection, so I really appreciate it. I might need to learn the Piano and/or Guitar to bust out a tune or two, lol lol

 

So Michael Jackson, my beloved, has taken on several appearances in his tenure here on earth. There have been times when I have cringed (ya’ll know I try to keep it real about his shenanigans, lol). A favorite game, even if it is secretly done, is the ‘when should Michael Jackson have stopped?” I log in at right after Off The Wall. Man he was on some other level of finess – you hear me!! If he had of just went with that – I would have been a happy camper forever. However, he went down a dark road of trying to ‘heal’ his feelings about his looks and take care of the Vitiligo that had been passed along to him. It is a shame that nobody steered him in the direction of make up to make him dark. Arnie Klein should be strung up and shot, to use him as his personal test dummy…but I digress.

 

All of his fans however, have this time period where you just go there when it comes to Michael Jackson and his looks. I’ve decided that this right here is where I need to stay when I close my eyes and think of Mike. When your male boss sees this picture and exclaims – he was hot then! You know your lust is justified, lol Whew I am getting heated just looking at these pictures. I see an additional page in my scrap book just showcasing his afros, really I do. It’s not just the afro though. It’s his whole body. There was a time in my life when thin defined men were the cat’s meow. During this time Mike had the most perfect cuppable ass EVER!!!!!! Can I get an AMEN!!

 

　

 

　

 

　

 

Here is a video during that time period as well. Look at how his body moves. The whole Dancing Machine era in terms of Mike’s fineness, so rises to the top. Yummy is all I can say – Just Yummy!! What is YOUR favorite Mike Look?