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Okay, so we watched “The Micheal Jackson Interview: The Footage You Weren’t Meant to See” last night. The tone of the show was set early when the host walked out and I groaned. “Who’s he?” asked the Snook. “Maury friggin’ Povich,” I answered. “He was Jerry Springer before Jerry Springer was Jerry Springer.” In other words, journalistic integrity did not seem to be a priority. (What, Geraldo wasn’t available?) Anyhoo, over the next two hours Povich proceeded to show us questions and bits of the interviews that were left out. I have to admit, Micheal did seem to have a point. Bashir gave every impression that he (like the rest of Jackson’s entourage) thought Jackson was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Bashir praised Jackson for his parenting abilities and sympathised with him about unscrupulous tabloid journalists. I can see where Jackson would’ve been shocked at the tone of the final edit.

The show also included a number of interviews with people around Micheal Jackson: his parents, his make-up artist, etc. I was most interested in Debbie Rowe (his former wife and the mother of his children). I kinda wanted to see how she’d justify the whole “giving my babies to Micheal Jackson” thing. Turns out that I actually kinda understand her reasoning. He was her friend and he wanted kids, so she had them for him. I’ve jokingly made similar offers to gay friends in the past. So I can kinda see that. Overall Rowe came off a lot less weird than I expected.

As I summarized below, the overall impression I had after the show was, yeah, Martin Bashir is sort of a jerk, but that doesn’t mean Micheal is any less weird. In fact, some of the extra material they showed made him sound even more wacky. (“The chimps help you clean the house? Sure, Snow White.”) I also liked the bit at the very very end, where Povich read some statement from Bashir that he really liked Micheal and he’d never seen him do anything illegal. It was so obviously such a “See? It’s not libel!” moment. Way to cover your ass, Povich.

(You know how you’re supposed to add “… in bed!” to the end of your fortune cookie fortunes? Well, I inadvertantly invented a new version of that game for use with this show. It was during an interview with Jackson’s makeup artist and she was all, “Bashirs will come and go, but Micheal… He will live forever.” And I snorted, “Yeah… in his hyperbaric chamber!” It was really funny at the time. You can tack it on just about every soundbite in this stupid show for added amusement. I recommend it.)

I just realized today that I’ve had Jeff’s “Best of 2002” mix CD sitting on my desk for weeks. I popped it in and… it’s fantastic! You should beg him for a swap if you haven’t already. For me it’s like having my own kickass personal music guide to point out stuff that never makes it over here. (How did I miss this new Flaming Lips album? I’m loving this “Fight Test” song!) Plus Jeff always puts tons of effort into designing his jewel cases and labels, which makes you feel special for receiving one. Thanks Jeff!

1. What is your most prized material possession?
I’d have to say my iBook. It’s the most expensive (I don’t have a car or anything) and it’s definitely the thing I’d grab if the house was on fire. Next is probably my copy of “The Gremlins”, Roald Dahl’s extremely rare first book.

2. What item, that you currently own, have you had the longest?
It’s hard to say, since all of my really old stuff is still in various family members’ basements in the U.S. Most of the stuff I have here is fairly recent. The oldest thing here is probably my copy of “The Twenty-One Balloons” by William Pene du Bois. I bought it at a book fair in the third grade and I think I’ve read it about 100 times. It’s dog eared and battered, but I love it. And I always smile when I see my third grade signature inside the cover.

3. Are you a packrat?
Nope, I’m the opposite. I’m always throwing stuff away and then realizing later that I should’ve kept it. The Snook, however, is a HUGE packrat. Like, to the point of stockpiling cardboard boxes and styrofoam “just in case” we ever need them. We drive each other crazy, but he keeps me in envelopes and cardboard and I keep him from being a crazy old man in a house full of garbage.

4. Do you prefer a spic-and-span clean house? Or is some clutter necessary to avoid the appearance of a museum?
I dream of a spic-and-span house. In the immortal words of Edina Monsoon, “Surfaces, darling! Surfaces!” Unfortunately the only time I ever even came close to this dream was the few short weeks in London when we had a cleaning woman come in twice a week. That was the best.

5. Do the rooms in your house have a theme? Or is it a mixture of knick-knacks here and there?
The individual rooms don’t have a theme, but believe it or not, the Snook and I had a “theme” when buying furniture. We decided we liked A) light wood and B) primary colors. Hence our unvarnished IKEA, blue couch, and red TV stand. But in terms of, like, decorations, we don’t have much. We’ve got a shelf dedicated to our various Star Wars toys. We’ve also got a couple nice antique maps on the wall that were given to us as a going away present in London. But other than that, it’s pretty bare around here.