Or so I was told by Emily. It logically follows that a world without MJ cannot be as awesome as it was with him.

Here’s my two cents on him, my assignment for work this morning:

Michael Jackson was 50? I didn’t know that; did you know that? Probably not. Why? Because Michael Jackson is timeless. So timeless that, in referring to him, I switched from past to present tense—did you notice that? Michael Jackson was before my time, but that didn’t stop him from subtly making his presence felt in my time. I couldn’t be cool until I learned the lyrics of and dance moves to “Thriller.” A similar experience had by women inmates in a high-security prison in the Philippines makes me think, like Michael Jackson did, that I am not alone. So does the worldwide outpouring of shock, grief and subsequent celebration of his life and music.

Like all news concerning MJ, there was the initial disbelief at the insanity of such a bizarre event. He’s turning white? His nose is peeling off? He’s having sleepovers with little kids? He’s dangling a baby off a Berlin balcony? He’s getting sued and running low on money? What? That’s the Michael Jackson I knew, a tabloid sensation and huge weirdo. But despite whatever antics he was up to, there was still this invincibility about him: No matter what he did, people still went crazy over him, still reenacted his music videos, still played his songs proudly. He was still the King of Pop.

His fans like to write off his loopiness, preferring to just call him “misunderstood.” I don’t know if he’s misunderstood so much as just not understandable. Who can ever understand geniuses? MJ broke down racial barriers and transformed music as people knew it. All the annoying pop stars of today were influenced by him or, at least, influenced by someone who was influenced by him. He supported and donated a lot of money to so many charities, he went down in the Guinness Book of World Records for it. He liked to tell us he was Bad, but I like to think he meant badass. Who else can get away with all these things?

No one. So I will rock with MJ, watch his epic videos all day long and then have a celebratory beer after work.