DJ B Works Through Her Grief over Michael Jackson with Art

Miss B continues to come to terms with the media frenzy surrounding Michael Jackson's death and her own growing realization of the concept of mortality. She sat in front of the morning paper today, pointing at his picture and said "Michael Jackson." Then, while his music boomed out of our TV from Sirius XM's "Michael Jackson Tribute" channel, she took pen to paper and drew the picture above. DJ B said:

"I'm drawing a picture of Michael Jackson. I'm going to mail it to him. He'll love this picture. He has curlies [her word for curly hair]. He has a sad face."

She's so profound.

DJ B Mourns Michael Jackson

We're a bit out of sorts in the DJ B household, having just learned of Michael Jackson's death. Luckily we have MTV, which is hearkening back to the olden days and is playing non-stop Michael Jackson videos right now. As soon as we turned on MTV, Miss B was glued to the screen. When the songs were interrupted by talk or commercials, she kept shouting, "more!"

But the strongest reaction came just now when an old Jackson Five clip came on from American Bandstand (their first visit on the show). Miss B began to dance for the first time, clearly understanding the infectious pop perfection of those innocent early years. I think she was also inspired by their rocking dance moves. After I rewound the Tivo and we viewed it again, she implored me to dance with her. Miss B just smiled and smiled, imitating the fabulous 1970s maneuvers, including the tricky circular disco hand move (what is that called anyway?).

I think watching this Jackson 5 video and Miss B's enjoyment of it makes me feel the saddest of all over Michael Jackson's early death. What a cute kid, with so much potential at such a young age. It's too bad his life got stranger and stranger and that his final years were marred by controversy.

Indie Rock on Sesame Street

I guess I'm a bad parent because, as of yet, Miss B has not watched a single episode of "Sesame Street." I grew up watching that show, but for some reason it has never occurred to me to expose her to it. Of course she's known about Elmo since birth as his face adorned her very first pair of diapers.

The only Sesame-esque media that DJ B has watched was the public library copy of "Elmo's Potty Time." She LOVED it and it was cool, even surreal at times. My favorite scene was in the toilet paper factory. Genius! I hate to admit it, but we also still sing some of the tunes from it ("It's potty time...gotta get down lowww...it's potty time, gotta go with the flow") when behind closed doors. Potty training can be a very embarrassing time for parents....

"It's Potty Time" from Elmo's Potty Time Video

An article on Spin.com this week "Indie Rockers Find New Fans in the Preschool Set" by Ellen Carpenter talks about some of the famous musical guests on Sesame Street, including a recent stint by the artist Feist. Ellen's two and a half year old niece Rilla watches the Feist segment obsessively and perhaps may be a budding DJ B with a taste for non-kid music. Ellen writes:

"Right now, she only has time for Feist. My brother finally broke down and bought Feist's 2007 album The Reminder. Rilla's new favorite song is "Sea Lion Woman," which was originally popularized by Nina Simone. Nina Simone! I'm fully expecting Rilla to be into Bessie Smith, the Soft Boys, and Neu! before she turns three."

Indeed! I look forward to hearing 2-year-old Rilla's reviews.