Remembering the better Michael Jackson

In this better world you speak of Rod, I'd like to add that you'd be alittle less of a hypocrite and show alittle more decency, class and respect. Just sayin'.

Amen brother Rod!

I still wonder why you people read this blog if you can't stand Mr. Dreher. It never ceases to amaze me!

Here's another pageview Rod. Thanks for all the good work. Keep talking sanity.

As I said to you before, mocking fools can often be an act of charity, I think. A spiritual act of mercy. It will probably rarely convert the fool himself, but mocking knavery (and Micheal Jackson the pop star was an utter fool, I think, a spiritual disaster) and praising virtue (the example of the other Mr. Jackson, who as an avid homebrewer is someone I admire very much, and whose work I have read quite a bit of) discourages others, especially young people, from imitatiing vice, and inspires them to imitate virtue.

What these chowder heads criticizing you see as hatred, I see as purposeful and useful criticism. So carry on, Rod. Carry on.

Better to appreciate good beer, patronize the people who make it, and maybe make some of it yourself, than to become a drugged out androgynous freak.

Damn straight. Isn't that obvious?

That's not hatred, that's just the speaking the truth.

I think he once said in an interview, "I AM the 'real' Michael Jackson."

You know Brett, that mockery is deadly serious. But then, so is fun. When you mock evil, you do good. Think Hitler. Dancing like a silly twat in that looped British contrived propaganda film from Versailles.

The devil is ridiculous, like a very dangerous fool. We need to make that perfectly clear for everyone to see.

When a bully attacks innocence, mock him mercifully for the fool he is. It's more subtle than fighting or being martyred by him, physically.

No matter if his aggression against good is rooted in weakness (as evil always is) it still should be disdained, gently, yet openly. With courage and kindness.

It's not, in the present instance, about disdaining the person of Micheal Jackson (the "King of Pop"), but rather his pretensions. Which we all enabled.

What's now happening in LA is no joke. It's about more than one poor silly dead pop singer. His is our collective pathology. What he represents needs to be mocked, and so condemned.

God will have mercy upon his soul. We cannot remain impassive in the face of his outrage. He was sick, but in a seductive way.

So ridicule him, for he is ridiculous. As (for example) is Bernie Madoff, aye?

It's when evil is respectable, masked by propriety, and unmockable, that it becomes virulent.

We need to strip the satanic bastard of his mask, and laugh the laughter of the martyr. Which is really mockery of our own sins.

Micheal is obvious, too much so. His excess was merely a magnification of our own shabby little sins, which is why if we do not react and attempt to shame him, we're already done. Just like him.

And yet, dear heart, for all the grotesque offensiveness you find on this site, you not only keep coming back, but actually endeavor to comment. 'Tis a mystery. While I cannot explain why you continue freely to subject yourself to such pain and suffering as I inflict on you by my postings, I remain grateful to you for putting more money in my grubby little pocket by your patronage.

And yet, dear heart, for all the grotesque offensiveness you find on this site, you not only keep coming back, but actually endeavor to comment. 'Tis a mystery. While I cannot explain why you continue freely to subject yourself to such pain and suffering as I inflict on you by my postings, I remain grateful to you for putting more money in my grubby little pocket by your patronage.

Actually - that is why I keep coming back - after you wrote about your concerns about losing your job and the financial responsibilities you have - I felt - as someone who has no such concerns - that it would be the decent thing to do to help you out on the page count issue - besides which - it is really fun to see what you will come up with next on this site. At the very least - some of your posters here are erudite and interesting. Certainly better than the intellectualizing at FPR.

I figured the almost schizo nature of your posts here probably was about page hits - at times you are absolutely great - then you sink into all this divisive garbage - sadly it seems the garbage is what gets the page hits. Anyway Rod - you need us dissenters - if all you had were the fans - the page hut count would be dismal. Hard to indulge those foodie passions if the page hut goes down.

Thanks for the videos Rod. I did enjoy listening to Sam from Dogfish head. Though I've yet to try all his beers my current favorite is his 90min IPA. It is very well done. Any suggestions on his other excellent brews to try next?