Michael Jackson Announces He's Broke

Well, not really, in so many words:

Michael Jackson Announces 'Curtain Call' Concerts

Surprise, surprise!  Another music sensation finds that he can't live the lavish lifestyle without, someday, the money running out, so I guess it's back to work.   While some fans think that comeback concerts are to appease and fulfill, it's really just back to work for the musician.  Why do you think New Kids on the Block and the Spice Girls went back on tour?  For their fans?  Hah! And don't get me started on Britney; based on the reviews of her opening concert in New Orleans, you better hope that Ticketmaster will be offering refunds to those later tour dates.  She ain't gonna last. 

Forgive my acerbic nature today.  Compared to the amount of money that these people earn and how much they spend, the theory is that they should be keeping our economy buoyant for years to come (well, if only they spent it in the right places).  It's a similar story with the public faces we love:  Actors and former NFL greats endorsing diet foods, finding new exposure on "reality" shows, and God knows what else they'll do to keep their tiny corner of fame on the gossip blogs.  

PostSecret-ness

PostSecret just came out with the announcement of a new book, called "PostSecret Confessions on Life, Death and God."  

This blog is one of several that I check on a regular basis, and for whatever reason you think of me because of this (voyeurism, morbid interest, or just knowing a great thing when I see it), you can't deny that the response to Frank's blog has been life-alternating for people across the globe. 

Case in point:  I have the four previous books that Frank has published, and I like to leave them out on the coffee table.  People usually pick one up and start to flip through it casually, as if it were a photo album.  Then they start reading the postcards and flipping through the pages, reading and swallowing the information as fast as they can, and then go through the other three books in a similar manner.  

I'm not sure what it is about PostSecret - perhaps it has the same Confession-like healing that some Catholics claim to feel after the sacrament of Reconciliation - but sometimes, even in pop culture (over 219 million hits on PostSecret constitutes pop culture, for sure) you learn something new every day: 

When I was younger I used to believe that God and Satan were like Mr. Willy-Wonka and Mr. Slugworth. That they were really working together to see who was honest and I thought that if I told anyone, and exposed God's plan, that I would be blamed for blasphemy.

How's that for a different look at judgment?  Most folks come to PostSecret to avoid just that:  Judgment on their past actions, on current feelings, or future decisions.  We all expect to be judged at some point in our lives, maybe several times, whether in the form of  job evaluations, our parents, or an IRS audit.  It's everywhere.  Most folks believe they will be judged after death, as well; but the assumption that an all-good Presence would be doing the judging is wide and fleeting, while the idea that a possible cooperation with an all-evil Presence may help round out a fuller picture of our consciences.  For a Catholic who believes that Satan was originally in God's good graces, this makes it all the more interesting to think about.