this is it!

the first time a remember really listening to a michael jackson tune was probably in 1987. our neighbor jörg völker was listening to “i just can’t stop loving you”, and i guess some not so conscious memories came back. i’d known michael’s music since my year in the us, but it was only then that i became a fan. a fan of a musical genius, unique in any way, even musically speaking. with the help of his “big brother” quincy jones, he set new standards in pop music, with incredible grooves, great singing and dancing quality, and a creativity almost unlimited; this is hard to understand today, because so much in the music and entertainment industry has used michael jackson’s legacy as a draft – but when he came up with the stuff, there was no one doing it before.

to me, his death is kind of strange, as was his life. strange in the sense that it was tragic, just as his life – he was about to do shows called “this is it” to end his career, maybe even on a high note. just the way he started it, back in the jackson 5 days, literally with high notes and a beautiful voice. his solo efforts at the time, like “ben”, “music and me” and “got to be there” were even more successful than the gig with his brothers, so nothing more natural than going solo all the way, with the career starting “off the wall”, at the age of 19. i discovered this album for real only in the early nineties, more than a decade after its release. the first track, “don’t stop ‘til you get enough”, is already a show cast of his talent to make danceable music – and always so well sung, with lots of energy. his romantic side is displayed in the ballad “she’s out of my life”, where he started his tradition of crying in at least one track of each album. my personal favorite of this album is “i can’t help it”, really well sung and groovy as only he can be.

and then came thriller. near to 60 million copies sold, making this the most selling album of all times. and never was it more deserving: starting out with another long dance track, “wanna be startin’ somethin’ ” – no one could do that, make it groove the way it does. mamassê mamassa mamacussa, bmfd! then, after two tracks i’m not too fond of, comes maybe the best sequence ever in a recorded album: “thriller”, best and most groundbreaking video of all time. “beat it”, where the still black king of pop puts in new elements that are so no motown, like eddie van halen’s guitar solo. “billie jean”, which besides being a great tune was also the basis for the first moonwalk in history (1983), followed by “human nature”, great song and always superb interpretation. it closes with “lady in my life”, a song which reminds me of my summer crush priscila reis, new year’s eve 1992.

when i started listening to michael, “bad” had been out only a few months. “liberian girl” ironically will always be connected to a girl i really liked in 1990, jana deutsch. ironic because she looks as german as it can get, and even has “german” in her surname. “the way you make me feel” with the famous line “you knock me off my feet now baby, hiiiii” is a classic, just like michael’s high pitch voice, heavy breathing, “hick-ups” and “hi-his” – and let’s not forget the “hooooos”. “another part of me” and “dirty diana” (another rocky song), in which he sings really well (imagine him singing that in the studio) will always remind me of my good friend raphael sanz; my favorite song of the album and his whole work is track seven: “man in the mirror” with it’s incredible ending. “anna are you okay” has one of the greatest videos ever.

i watched the live premiere of “black or white” on mtv, and wasn’t too impressed by the track, after so many years of waiting for my first new michael jackson album. but “dangerous” proved to be the album i’ve most listened to, to date. thanks to tracks like “jam” and “dangerous”, on the dancy side, “remember the time” and sometimes even “heal the world”… and i even got used to “black and white”. but my favorite part of this album is the latter part, starting right after the hit song about races: “who is it”, just michael jackson at his best, and unique to him; “give in to me”, great guitars (slash) and singing; “will you be there”, the first of two gospel-like songs, and my favorite track on this album. “keep the faith”, with an incredible ending part; and the beautiful ballad “gone too soon”.

i don’t want to go into the controversy so much. just want to put on record that he is solely responsible for all the gossip and scandals, because of his always more than peculiar behavior and clear strangeness – in short, the genius was and has always been a perfect nut job. he did not take advantage of any kids, that’s for sure, at least to me… he’s just crazy enough to think that everything is and was totally innocent. it is also a shame that musically, he didn’t produce much good, although i know my brothers will disagree with me here. his next cd, “history” (i mean, come on, what a name!), very well produced as all of his work always was, always the highest quality possible and mostly defining what that was for musicians to come. i like “stranger in moscow” and “little susie”, basically. and i haven’t even listened to “invincible”, didn’t give it a chance.

but he is still the greatest, not because of his impressive 750 millions of albums sold, but because of his unique style, bold creativity – just for being michael jackson.

his death to me is different than some other famous deaths (senna, diana, etc.), because michael, the human, was never very real to me anyway. it is michael, the musician and entertainer that is a legend of his own, and that michael will never die. so, even finishing up with the biggest possible cliché at this point: the king is dead, long live the king!

class of 2009 - last, but certainly not least!

tabea höfig and shreya chauhan are the last individuals i will talk about in this series. a german who lived in china, and an indian who lived in germany. this is only a small part of the internationalism that these two represent so well. hindu religion, catholic religion. different viewpoints, high intelligence, and respect for humanity is what unites these two.

shreya has been here only half a year, and still was able to make a lasting impression and leave her mark, culminating with her deserved induction to nhs a few days ago. tabea has been here only a year longer, and she too will be missed because of her many versatile qualities – the most important one is to be able to think by herself, really think – and act! tabea and her family are a little bit of germany nostalgy for me, and it has been a pleasure to be in contact with them.

so, shreya, all the best to you! and tabea, you’ll be missed! it has been a pleasure, now go and conquer california for germany! ;)

class of 2009 - excellent!

excellent students. yes, i guess at least at chapel, the school i work for, there is no doubt about it: victor chen(ster) and fabio ussher(man) belong into that character. but it is no secret that they are much more than that.

fabio is very determined. he always knows what he wants, and he does his very best to achieve it. but his actual strength is his character. always respecting of others, he always does what he believes to be right, and his principals make him trustworthy in a world where trusting is becoming more and more difficult.

while fabio is a strong tennis player (as many of “my math hl boys”), victor, who also plays some tennis, is the more musical one. he plays quite a nice guitar (so does rodrigo, i hear); but he is more notable not only as a hard worker, but as a fine person, helpful and polite, strong in character. he has a positive ambition about him, and i just hope he finds true fulfillment and happiness.

victor and fabio – friends for quite a while now. and excellent people. i’m sure i’ll hear nice things about them in the future. not positions, power or money, but testimonials like this one: about two good human beings!

class of 2009 - physics & math

the word is sweet. even talking about these two representatives of the male gender, using the word sweet doesn’t need to have any other connotation than the obvious one: two people who show high respect towards others, are always trying to be at good spirits, are polite and would never do anything to offend anyone on purpose.

this is where the similarities between roberto sfeir, my physics student, and bruno chung, my math student, ends. roberto has many qualities, some of them quite rare: he is very perseverant, sets himself high goals and always tries to do everything in his power to achieve them. ambitious is the adjective for that, i suppose. he is warm and cares about others, likes to be helpful and is a very grateful soul.

bruninho is more the lazy genius type. he has great reasoning, and inidivual way of approaching problems, and is generally very independent in his thinking and values. enthusiastic when his interest is sparked (and only then, ;), he is certainly capeable of great thoughts and things. i hope that he finds something in life that will interest him so much that it just sucks out oll of his potential – in a positive way, of course!

so roberto, be happy! life is not always easy, but it is good and has its rewards, as you know; continue to be physics - the practical, applied type! and bruno, don’t forget to look for your happiness; the positive attitude that you have inside will help you with that! stay true to being math - the thinker, rational yet emotional. i’m rooting for both of you, that’s for sure.

class of 2009 - passion & corinthians

passion for a club. i think that’s the first thing that comes to mind when i think of gerry mendoza. this mexican’s heart doesn’t root for cruz azul, chivas or america… it totally belongs to sc corinthians paulista, which i’m sure he’ll never abandon. other things he’ll likely be in 20 years from now: determined, polite, social, leading something somewhere, trustworthy, charismatic, a little shy in the beginnings and a man with true relationships in his life. and, be sure, he will be admired.

another corintiano has been my physics student for two years now. lucas parolin (oh parolina) is a very happy fan, and so passionate about sports that his career dream is to write about it, travel after it and live from it. by the way, little commercial break: www.blogdosmanos.com, a blog with amateur sport journalism. back to lucas… he won’t be needing physics and math in his life, so he claims, but he will need that wit of his. and i’m sure he’ll find ways to reach his full potential in things that are important to him. and i hope to read from him, someday!

one comment to both of you: copa do brasil has a name written on it, this year: internacional!

class of 2009 - all smiles!

have you ever met one of those people who are basically always smiling – for no reason whatsoever, or for all the possible reasons? thomas maia and souza is one of those, for sure. a competition lover, thomas never seems too upset about anything – not even when his beloved palmeiras fails to win titles, time and time again. thomas loves to be kind and charming, as his good friend chelsea schmitt knows quite well.

she is quite different from him, though. although she also loves fun, she is very responsible, dedicated, ambicious and hard working; not that thomas isn’t… J! chelsea likes to read in class, is never shy to take leadership roles and is committed to everything she does – which can sometimes be a special truth. what unites these two are mainly two things: their high sense for justice and well being of others, and their positive anxiousness about things to come in their respective future colleges. i just hope they’re as happy as they are today. but you just know that both will be fine – in their own special way!

class of 2009 - the pirate & the wizard

it’s someone’s birthday today. for me, he will be remembered as the giant pirate, seemingly loyal to a fall, wise, yet not exactly the extrovert type. a fan of his home team, santa fé (colombia), santiago osorio is one of the many tennis players and fans in the math hl class. andre and leo, if you’re reading this, he reminds me of kiki. always in a good mood, sharp sense of humor, intelligent. someone you just really just have the best wishes for. so, happy birthday to him, and happy college life! and don't stop using that pirate outfit...

another tennis fan and player is rodriguinho ribeiro. a good enough reason to like him is that he is constantly using a germany sweatshirt… but rodrigo has other qualities that make him distinctive: very smart and witty, fast with his mouth and his mind; funny and fun to make fun of, seemingly… . he has grown up with some of his classmates, and they seem to stick together even in boston – good luck with that, i say! i know that rodrigo will be successful at anything he really puts his mind and heart to, and i hope he does! still want to play you in a tennis match before you go… . ah, i should mention – he is a math wiz! and a person with a gigantic heart.