When the Cheshire emerges...

The idea of childhood has been fairly rampant for me in the past week, as it likely has for most of us. Strong emotions of sadness and exultation have come through different outlets, each more random than the next.

Michael Jackson's death for one has brought such a strong emotional response across the world. Now, I know I shouldn't be surprised, but for some reason I really am astonished at the coverage and just how important people regarded him. Although we're being reminded constantly about the true reason for his popularity (his music), this is amidst what the media portrayed him as during the last decade or two of his life - Wacko Jacko. Re-reading about his struggle during childhood and how his personality remained linked to the child in him in adulthood makes you question the accusations made against him. Could someone with the mindset of a 12-year-old really be capable of paedophilia? Hardly it seems, but as with much of his life we'll never really know. From a budding journalist's perspective, I do want to say that I'm not sure if Mike Amor's opinion on Weekend Sunrise was called for (he suggested MJ was a great artist but not a great man). A bit of objectivity is needed, even with celebrity deaths, right?

On a happier note, the release of Transformers 2 continues the love for toy/hero adaptations. Had to wait 90 mins before we could get seats but what fun that film was! Although slightly drawn out and not with the most fleshed out of plots, Shia LeBeouf = excellent and Optimus Prime is a TANK! There's so much divided opinion over this movie which I also find really interesting, but it's Bay doing what he knows best - mindless explosions!

While on the childhood topic, I thought I had lost an important piece of mine yesterday when I was told that my 30-odd Disney video (yes, tapes) collection had been pawned off at Cash Converters. Needless to say I was hugely surprised at how much this affected me. They were a staple of my childhood, all watched repeatedly and I now realise how huge Disney films were for me as a kid. Found out soon after that I was being had, my gullibility the target of my father's idea of fun. I should've really known better. Another lesson learned in the arguably childish life we live.