Michael Jackson's Memorial in Downtown LA: TV Hysteria

It would be remiss of The Flaming Nose to not cover the extraordinary live television event that is building to a hysterical pitch this morning. Coverage of the Michael Jackson memorial at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles has gone from breathless celebrity chest beating to an almost apocalyptic tone. It reminds me very much of a classic Nathanael West novel (Day of the Locust) set in Hollywood during the Great Depression.

Every cable news, local news and network news channel appears to be covering the event. It is also streaming live on all news websites. It's not worth listing them all here. If you can't find the coverage within 30 seconds of switching on your set or booting up your PC, then stick a mirror under your nose to see if you're still breathing.

One of the most interesting circus side stories to this amazing public meltdown, quite literally involves the circus. KTLA-TV's website reported that dozens of elephants were paraded through LA at dawn, past the pulsating crowds waiting outside the Staples Center for Michael Jackson's memorial. Barnum and Bailey's circus begins its run at the same venue tomorrow and an elephant walk is part of their tradition. We don't make this stuff up folks, we're just passing it along.

Meanwhile, several news outlets have just reported that Mr. Jackson's casket will be transported to the Staples center for the memorial. Apparently it will be rolled out during a performance of "Thriller". OK, I did actually make that one up. But it wouldn't surprise me.

Superstars scheduled to appear at the memorial include Stevie Wonder and Jennifer Hudson. Elizabeth Taylor respectfully declined.

I don't recall anything like this level of public insanity when past music superstars met their demise. Surely both Elvis and John Lennon were as big, if not bigger in the pantheon of dead celebrities? What makes Michael Jackson's death and subsequent memorial a bigger media event? I offer the following hypothesis:

• The number of media outlets has exploded. There are countless websites, cable channels, social networking sites....one can barely get a Tweet in edgewise. They all contribute to the media uproar like twigs being thrown onto a giant bonfire.
• Similar to "The Day of the Locust" which is set in the great Depression, we are now teetering on the edge of very dark days. If not an actual depression, we are certainly in a deep recession, with massive unemployment in Southern California. Mob mentality thrives in an economic downturn.

There's no escaping it, so unless you're trapped in an office with no Internet connection or hiking in the desert...there will be coverage. The Flaming Nose will be there to watch and report.