I’d decided to skip mentioning this, but now I want to take sides as Rep. Peter King causes a commotion by referring to Michael Jackson as a “pervert” and “lowlife.” (In response, an offended Associated Press article simply sniffs, “Jackson was acquitted of molesting a boy”—while avoiding inconvenient truths.) So let’s note that the July issue of Stomp & Stammer has the first Dead Celebrity Haiku that I’ve written in several years. Mine is one of many in the issue, but I’m told my Dead Celebrity Haikus of the ’90s were the initial inspiration. The assorted Jackson ones aren’t online yet, so here’s mine for everyone’s approval:

         King of Pedophiles
         Cartoon Network pays tribute
         “He touched so many”

Sadly, the brevity of haiku kept me from noting that, seriously, the Cartoon Network ran a grieving nod to Michael Jackson’s death.

I should note that I wrote the first Dead Celebrity Haiku long before clever haikus became a device used by far too many fanzines and websites. I’ll always be grateful to Irwin Chusid for giving me a firm stake on the Dead Celebrity hook, with his Songs in the Key of Z book including the one I wrote in honor of Tiny Tim’s passing in 1996. Jim Treacher—who’s currently the King of Twitter Haiku—recently noted that Chusid has launched a fine compilation of Obama idiocies on the web. Also, Chusid’s compilation CDs of outsider music are in the process of being reissued on the UK Cherry Red label, so don’t pay too much for the out-of-print editions.

Speaking of Twitter, how many hacks do you think are currently writing zombie novels compiled entirely of Twitterings about an invasion of the undead? And speaking of Stomp & Stammer, you can go there to find my review of Iggy Pop’s Preliminaires, which I mostly wrote in service of an opening paragraph that would make people feel old.

 

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