Where were you when you heard?

It's the question asked about JFK's death and Princess Di's, about 9/11, and now Michael Jackson. Many things move and disturb us — we wouldn't really be decent human beings otherwise — but beside beloved public icons who die without warning and unbelievable public tragedies there aren't many things that shock us so immediately.

These events come with that strange, tell-tale feeling — the 'nah, that can't have happened' disbelief, giving way to stunned comprehension.

Which is just what I felt where I was, standing chatting outside a bar in Stockholm, when a friend-of-a-friend I didn't even know stuck his head around the doorway and announced, almost nonchalantly, "Michael Jackson's dead."

Yes, I know far worse things have happened this week. I know that none of us (I'm assuming) even knew MJ.

And the huge outpouring of Jackson-grief online just about brought down the internet, with Google News slowing to a crawl, and the Los Angeles Times, Twitter, TMZ and Perez Hilton, amongst other sites, crashing completely at some point during that day.

One of worst effects of strangers mourning the King of Pop was that all the 'RIP MJ' tweets that took Twitter down for hours and stopped Iranians protesting the country's clearly rigged recent elections from communicating, since Twitter has become one of their sole means of staying connected with each other.

Despite its unfortunate consequences, I think the massive upwelling of love and sadness at MJ's passing is a good sign — not an indication that we're all star-dazzled fools who don't care about real problems in the world.

People feeling strongly about a person whose music has really affected their lives is something that strengthens our collective humanity, not something than undermines it.

But, if the kind of misery he lived through is what it costs, then that's quite all right with me.

I imagine plenty of saddened fans in California, and many from further away, will be anything but all right with the news that MJ's body now definitely will not be taken to his former home, the Neverland ranch, for a public viewing.

There's no holding back the fan flood when it comes to mourning Jackson or buying his music, though.

People have been coming out in droves to remember MJ and celebrate his life — in SA, and all over the world — and his albums have shot straight to the top of the weekly sales charts.

Amongst the massive memorial events in the US was one at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York — where MJ first appeared on stage as part of the Jackson 5, back in 1967, and most recently in 2002.

It was the logical place to host a tribute to him. But, you know, not quite so obvious — despite the date and time being widely reported well in advance — that the police managed to organise the event properly.

"It was a zoo," said a source exclusively to Bitch and Famous. "The police had little control of the line. We waited an hour and were farther back than when we got there."

The place was chaos, with, "yelling and pushing," and waiting fans fearing a riot. Most of those queuing never even made it inside, our source amongst them.

As for what led to problems: "It's Harlem — they don't give a sh*t,"explains the insider, of the police's attitude to the overwhelmingly black Manhattan neighbourhood.

They "didn't have the barracades up by 2pm past the first few blocks. That's when the trouble started."

Apparently the King of Pop was wrong. It kind of does matter whether you're black or white.

Aside from the sudden death of Michael Jackson, this week has been all about... TV stars.

First up, Anna Paquin — the actress who won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, for her turn in 'The Piano', at just 11 years old. That little gold statuette isn't always the greatest career booster, oddly enough, and Paquin languished in relative obscurity thereafter. Not even a part in the 'X-Men' movies really got her star back up there.

But she's getting plenty of love now, from fans and critics (as well as from her blood boilingly hot co-star, on-screen and IRL), for her starring role in HBO's new vampire series 'True Blood'. Better still, she hasn't been hospitalised, nor is she gravely ill - whatever you may have heard on Twitter.

"I thought it was a bit thoughtless," is how Paquin tactful characterises the hoax by the person posing as her on the site, "because if that info trickled out to friends or family they would be worried."

More on page two...