Music

If you're looking for a day trip to tell the grandkids about, a mere $55 will let you board a bus in Chicago and travel to beautiful downtown Gary to see all the influences that turned Michael Jackson into the unique human being he was. You can see his boyhood home that, though "modest" has a kitchen and even indoor plumbing. You can see the now-defunct Mr. Lucky's lounge, where the Jackson 5 held one of their first performances.

Delusion seems to have taken permanent hold in Gary:

No matter where they originate, the masses continue to descend on the small northwestern corner of Indiana to honor the King of Pop.

As a result, the mayor of Gary, Indiana, Rudy Clay, has big plans for Jackson's childhood stomping grounds.

Video show of solidarity for the people of Iran. Cool.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RASKaZFZtS8

Michael Jackson's death lures one of the Big Boys from the Los Angeles Times, who otherwise would probably never consider getting within 100 miles of Gary:

Michael Jackson fans are convening all over the world to mourn a superstar.  But to residents who gathered this afternoon near his childhood home in Gary, Ind., Jackson was a once-beloved neighbor.

You listen to "Thriller," and I'll listen to this.

Happy 30th to the Walkman, which started the revolution that meant we would never again "have to endure the tedium of doing only one thing at once." And our great disengagement was soon to follow:

Would you call this a Hoosicer-centric point of view?

Well, aren't we all just stunned and amazed. With nearly 100 million votes case, underdog Kris Allen has won the eight season of "American Idol"! Phhht.

The entertainment world has been abuzz about Susan Boyle, the Scottish woman who wowed the audience and judges of "Britain's Got Talent." Here's the clip, if you're one of the handful of people who haven't seen it on TV or YouTube.

For the Little Lost Lamb Hall of Fame, today's nominee is -- Phil Spector:

“It hasn't been a very pleasant life,” Spector told writer Mick Brown in a rare 2002 interview. “I've been a very tortured soul. I have not been at peace with myself.”