The class will be taught by sociology professor William J. Wilson, one of the best-known African American history professors in the country, who has made no secret of the fact that he is a huge fan of the show.


“I do not hesitate to say that it has done more to enhance our understanding of the challenges of urban life and the problems of urban inequality, more than any other media event or scholarly publication,” Wilson told the audience before poking fun at himself, “including studies by social scientists.”

Michael Jackson – arguably the most famous man in world history and easily the greatest entertainer of all time, died this past summer.

Oh, you’ve heard?

The aftermath and mourning of his passing included this past Tuesday’s release of “This Is It”, a documentary-style film that followed Jackson as he rehearsed in the weeks before what was going to be his curtain call – a string of 50 sold out concerts for over one million people, taking place in London’s O2 Theatre, beginning in July of this year.

Much more than way to salvage what was surely going to be a massive profit for Jackson and his camp and what may have been the catalyst that re-launched Jackson’s career, This Is It was released for the fans (as noted in the opening titles) – those that truly miss the King of Pop, what he did for music and what he tried to do for people all over the world.

Filmed in Digital Technicolour, which is easily one of the best ways to see a movie, This Is It offers a  backstage look at an icon, his processes, handlers,  and some rare candid scenes of Jackson smiling laughing and having fun while he played music – the only thing he’s ever known.  This is what is most entertaining about This Is It – a look at the raw Michael Jackson and something void of biased media, gossip and whatever stories and rumours that have followed him for at least the past ten years.  He seems happy to be back on stage and comfortable.  Even without these scenes though, any fan of Jackson’s music will find this film a joy to watch because of the music itself and a reminder of what it was that made him an unstoppable pop music juggernaut.  More than that it is a memorial and a reminder of why we miss him.

Watching him on film, the fact that the man was nearly 50 years old is almost forgotten.  Yes, he can still dance, yes he can still sing and points in the film where he seems tired and lethargic can easily be attributed to the fact that this movie was 115 minutes of rehearsal footage, and a far cry from the enormous, exciting and mind-blowing entertainer that Jackson becomes on stage in front of thousands of screaming, crying fans. We forget that MJ is just a man and probably wasn’t always the crotch-grabbing, rhinestone-glove wearing singer that we always knew.  We want him to always dance and sing and karate kick the air in front of him.  We forget that he is human and at the base point, is just like everyone else.  He’s moody, quiet and sometimes he doesn’t shave, too.  Watching him even at 50, it is quickly understood that this man was born to sing, dance and entertain and even as he aged his talent remained as sharp as it was during his rise in becoming the King over 25 years ago.  But still, he is just a man.

This Is It centres on a man with mind-blowing fame and success, yet when he speaks he is polite and timid – almost scared.  The struggle comes when deciding whether Jackson really was a truly good and pleasant man, who put all of his energy into spreading love, or a man-child scared of being vilified again by the press, his peers or anyone who ever really knew him.  The dichotomy of Jackson on stage and Jackson the person is something really remarkable.

What’s more interesting is that this movie was not intended for release and wasn’t even intended to be a movie at all, it was intended for Jackson only – a video diary for his own personal records.  It’s easy to forget this as you wait for a moonwalk across the stage or a slide to the left or right that looks like he is sliding on air.  You wait for the big payoff that doesn’t really come, a new dance move or something that pushes the boundaries because as is said in the film – that’s Michael Jackson.  Watching the heartfelt confessions of his dancers in the presence of his greatness, the process of the rehearsals themselves and watching his meticulous, precise involvement in his music and its production offers a look at a man who spent his whole life in the spotlight.

It feels good to see him out of it for once, even if we won’t ever see him again.

I have no follow-up.

I’d pay top dollar for this.  Yep, that’s just a hoodie – but it’s bananas.  The only place I can find this is  Superhero Stuff… but they’re sold out.  Of course they are.

(more pics here).

Ok, so this guy creates art on styrofoam cups, using a Sharpie – cool really, especially considering these cups do not biodegrade and will be around longer than you or your grandchildren.  Want to buy one?  It will only cost you a few hundred bucks.

Here’s what he does.

Here’s how he does it.

Here’s what they look like.

Here’s the collection.

By now you’ve either seen this or the countless other versions of this, but in case you haven’t, here’s 2001: A Beer Odyssey.  Another great video remix, brought to you by the world wide internets.

(via yahoo)

– The medals of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games are circular in shape and based on a large master artwork of an orca whale by Corrine Hunt, a Canadian designer/artist of Komoyue and Tlingit heritage. Each of the medals has a unique hand-cropped section of the abstract art, making every medal one-of-a-kind.

– They are among the heaviest medals in Olympic, weighing between 500 grams to 576 g depending on the medal.

– Each feature a different crop of larger contemporary Aboriginal artworks and are undulating rather than flat — both firsts in Games history.  The dramatic form of the Vancouver 2010 medals is inspired by the ocean waves, drifting snow and mountainous landscape found in the Games region and throughout Canada.