Thriller

I don't have much to say about the unfortunate death of Michael Jackson. Undeniably, his reign as King of Pop was a long and fruitful one. He put out one of the greatest albums of all time--"Thriller"--and perhaps the greatest music video--"Thriller," again. Yes, he had his down moments (accusations of child molestation, and "The Girl Is Mine" chief among them), but hey, no icon is perfect.

Jackson's death reminds me of one of the oddest moments of my childhood. My next-door neighbors had an old-timey Nintendo system, the kind where you had to blow on the cartridges to get them working. One of our favorite games was, and I kid you not, "Michael Jackson's Adventure." Or something to that effect.

You played as the Great Gloved One. Under your control, Michael moonwalked his way through construction yards, haunted mansions, and even a space station, effortlessly dispatching villains with his trademark style. You could even get a power-up that transformed Jackson into a missile-blasting rocket-propelled robot. I feel compelled to repeat: I kid you not.