When Elvis and John Lennon died, I was shocked and saddened to hear about their deaths and I can remember well the circumstances of when I first heard the news.

Whacko Jacko is another matter. I’ve always thought that Jackson was an ineffably sad person and a classical example of how talent and intelligence don’t necessarily go hand in hand. He had so much talent and so little nous.

It still mystifies me why we the public are interested in the opinions of celebrities about matters that are outside of the entertainment industry. Why aren’t the real geniuses outside of the entertainment industry as lauded and courted by the media?

That’s actually a rhetorical question, I know why.

It’s because most of the public in this fat consummerist first world society we (who have computers) live in, are dissatisfied with their lot and want to live vicariously, the lives of the rich and famous.

As John Cooper Clarke once said in his amazing poem, “Beasley Street”;

The girls are on the shelf
Their commom problem is
…that they’re not someone else

Here’s a video of the whole poem.