The pop icon definitely shaped me as a musician, vocalist and artist, I’m not ashamed to admit. Thriller, while it said very little to me lyrically, I have to say, it spoke volumes on a musical level. I wanted to be like this Mike, way before others wanted to be like the other Mike. And I tried. I never had enough money to get the red leather jacket with zippers (though a couple friends did) and I never could pull off the moonwalk when it really counted (though a couple friends did) but I do distinctly remember wearing a red bow tie with a pink tuxedo shirt a few times. And if I would have owned a sequined glove, I probably would have tried to work that into the ensemble as well.

Unfortunately, the thousands of tributes to Michael Jackson today will also include references to his bizarre private (and sometimes public) life while off the stage. He seemed to redefine the meaning of artistic eccentricity. In a time when we know so much about so many who make confounding choices, it’s challenging to think of anyone who tops Michael Jackson on the “Strangest and Most Shocking” list. Whether you call him a victim, a fiend or a genius, of one thing I’m certain, there IS NO such thing as bad press.

At least when it comes to music sales. Michael Jackson is proof that you really can’t stop someone from buying a good song. Seriously.

But just how important is the way people remember you?

I was telling a good friend recently that I was feeling busy and overwhelmed and just kind of needed to have some time to myself. I admitted that sometimes, recently, I avoided people who were likely to take a little more of my time than others. Just because I was busy. My friend’s response was simple and to the point.

“Don’t be a jerk.”

His response was actually harsher than that. He told me that he knew way too many “jerks” and the world doesn’t really need any more of them.

After trying to justify my “boundaries” for a minute, I finally had to agree. The world actually needs more people who will give you the time of day and less people who complain about the time you stole from theirs. The world needs more people who think about the impact they are having on the people around them and less who only focus on what they can get from the people around them. The world needs more people who are less concerned with the way they invest their money and more concerned with the way they invest their time.

We’re all here for a pretty limited number of days. Make the most of yours.

I’m gonna make a change, for once in my life
It’s gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference
Gonna make it right.

As I, turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat
This wind is blowin’ my mind
I see the kids in the street, with not enough to eat
Who am I to be blind? Pretending not to see their needs
A summer’s disregard, a broken bottle top
And one man’s soul
They follow each other on the wind ya’ know
‘Cause they got nowhere to go
That’s why I want you to know

I’m starting with the man in the mirror
I’m asking him to change his ways
And no message could have been any clearer
If you wanna make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

Rest in peace, MJ.

Thanks again to my friends at Boundless. They do some really thoughtful stuff over there, including a webzine, blog and podcast.

I was watching American Idol tonight. Even this show, probably one of the biggest things going in terms of money-making machines at the moment, is on a journey from new to old. They added in a “13th” finalist to spice up the story. Yes, reality TV is almost as much Hollywood magic as reality, it seems.

I watched Slumdog Millionaire last week and now I always want to say “Slumdog Mill-en-air!” like the Indian Regis guy. But it’s a great story. It’s a fantastic tale of a person’s longing for love and what seems to be an end to most of us is just a means: winning a big load of money.

Some people will downplay the impact of music or video games on a person. They will tell you that it’s just music and words or entertainment and that songs that seem to promote violence or some other ill of society only affect weak-minded people.

I’m not so sure. In fact, I’d prefer to make the argument that art and stories and music can have a tremendous effect on all of us. But not just in a bad way. I think that stories can remind us what we are fighting for. They can remind us who we are. They can give us understanding about another person. They can help us cope with grief. They can give us a sense of connection to our world. They can give us a sense of connection beyond our world to our Creator. They can give us Hope.

And sometimes they just make us laugh. A lot.

Or make us think.

I was asked in an interview last week about music in general and why I write songs. I think that’s it. I want to elicit some kind of emotional response in people and push them past the mundane subplot of their own story.

I like to see people laugh too.

If you have to spend some money, please spend it on someone who needs it a lot more than me. My favorite organization at the moment is the Dalit Freedom Network. DFN is about helping provide basic necessities and opportunities for people on the lowest rung of the Hindu Caste system in India–the Dalits (AKA the Untouchables).

You can give money to start a bicycle rickshaw business for a Dalit or you can just make a donation and let them spend the money where there’s the greatest need. See the catalog here.

In the meantime, check out this video.

Make a difference this year. Somewhere.

Island ECC is my church here in Hong Kong. Check it out if you’re in the neighborhood.

Merry Christmas!

FiftyThousandShirts.com

There are 5 million people who are homeless because of this earthquake. Thousands of others lost their lives. Pitch in to make a difference. If you don’t need a t-shirt, you can just donate here.

Then on December 28th she stopped living. Or perhaps she started.

I don’t want to imply that I knew Katie very well. I just met her once and only know her mother, Dawn, slightly better. But a good friend and colleague wrote this kind account of Katie’s memorial service and I found it pretty moving so I wanted to share it here.

Lessons from Katie
It was a cold and wintery Colorado afternoon, although the sun did hang in the partly cloudy sky. Traffic on the interstate buzzed by, oblivious to the proceeding inside the church. The only odd thing someone might have noticed was the crowded parking lot – not typical for a Monday.

There were more people present for this memorial service than usually occupy the sanctuary. The number of folks gathered spoke something to me of how her life had touched so many in just a few short years.

We came together to…what? Pay tribute to a life well lived? Celebrate the “home going” of a saint? Honor the family? Share their grief? It wasn’t apparent, even as we entered the great room. There was a somber tone, a conspicuous quiet, a lack of the usual laughter and conversation that takes place before a service.

The video screen at the front showed pictures of the girl, at various stages of life. Shots of her at the hospital, obviously physically afflicted in some way. There she is with her doting mother. Now she is a toddler being hugged by a relative. And the wheelchair…an ever-present part of her life. She spent all her years confined to a bed or in that wheelchair.

Katie suffered a particularly cruel sort of physical condition. Severely affected, she was very small and most fragile. Her head fell to one side, her eyesight unfocused on anything close…she seemed to be gazing off at something, someone in the far distance. She communicated with a simple smile, or by an utterance in an unknown dialect…sometimes grunting or groaning in such a way as to seem in agony. Those close to Katie knew her communications. They could tell in some way what it was she wanted them to know: her joy at someone’s kindness, or her displeasure at the country music being played on the radio. Read the full post here.

Merry Christmas, one and all!

(Please feel free to enjoy and share this at will using the embed code at youtube or this download link of the mp4 video. Sorry about the lousy audio quality!)

“But it’s also really full of happiness and hope,” she said without blinking in the way that makes people want to be around her all the time.

That’s how I want to see life this Christmas.