And speaking of childhood memories...

I was very sad to hear about Michael Jackson's death on Thursday. It was a total shock, and a piece of my childhood also died. As a child, it was my dream to be Tina Turner and marry Michael Jackson. I fufilled part of that dream last October, when I saw Tina in concert, dancing on the stage in her four inch heels; but, now, I'll never be able to realize that dream with Michael.

Yeah, I know. He was a little...strange. But I've always felt a bit sorry for him. He had a tough childhood, with an abusive father and a spotlight always on him. He should have had better people around him, to tell him what was inappropriate or could be perceived as over-the-line. But there's no denying that he was truly talented, and there doesn't exist a person today who can do what MJ did.

I have these great memories of me dancing around in my underwear to "Beat It" as a child. And while I might still do that to this day, it will lack a bit of the luster and passion as it once did. Here's hoping his music and musical influence will live on for another generation to enjoy.

When you find pieces of your childhood in an antique shop

This past weekend, Scott and I were perusing an antique store in Greenville, in pursuit of some small, unique decorating items. I'm not usually a big fan of antique stores, but we've recently found some good finds and I'm all about reusing things, rather than buying more stuff.

As we were looking, we came across the old book section and the black-and-white checkered spine of one book caught my eye. I pulled it out and - to my disbelief - it was a book of Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes...the same exact copy I had growing up as a child. I used to love that book - with it's black and white cover, colored illustrations inside, funny rhymes. I was so close to purchasing this copy.

We kept looking and came across the toy section - and there, on the shelf, was the same Fisher Price musical box I had as a kid. You turned the dial and it played a song, as a window showed a revolving picture of bears on a picnic. They say smell is one of the strongest senses, but I would argue so is sound. I haven't heard that song in probably 25 years, but I immediately began humming along with the tune.

So when do you know you're officially old? I would say when you find pieces of your childhood in an antique shop.

Good news, bad news

With GM's announced bankruptcy yesterday and the loss of about 20,000 jobs that will come with it, it was nice to hear that Wal-Mart will be back filling some of those losses this coming year. According to a new press release, Wal-Mart plans to fill about 22,000 jobs, some of which will be in Michigan.

I'm not a big fan of Wal-Mart; in fact, I avoid it as much as possible. It's large, it's always busy, I can never find anything, and it takes approximately 3 weeks to check out.

But there are some good things that they are doing, including some environmental things that may have some big impacts. You can't deny that they are one of the largest employers in the nation, and so anything positive they do will have a big impact. It's nice that this announcement comes as a media-painted-bleak time.

It was also interesting to see GM's new PR commercials, launched the same day as their announcement. They are good. It's inspirational. It's patriotic. It's hopeful. I'm not a GM fan in particular, but I'd like to see the American car companies survive...but they have to be able to compete. Hopefully, this means that the American car companies have seen the light and will start to give the American people what they want and give the foreign car companies a run for their money.

Let's see if the good PR campaign can become a reality.

Up and Away

Pixar has done it again.

We went to see "Up" in 3D this weekend, and it was incredible. Any animated movie that can bring me to tears has got to be good (and yes, as a warning, within the first 10 minutes, there is a sequence that will start the waterworks for just about anyone. I swear the movie theatre was silent, as people tried to keep their sniffles under control).

There is some heavy content in the movie that I wonder is really meant for younger children, but along with the great message (Live Life. Don't live in the past. Adventure can be found in everything you do.), it had lots of humor and wonderful artistry. And anyone with a dog would be totally able to relate to the movie!

I highly recommend it, especially if you like Pixar movies. They've done it once again!

And, as a teaser, Toy Story 3 is coming out July 2010. Seems like so long away, but I never realized it takes them at least five years to create each movie. That is true talent.