2009 WILL FOREVER BE etched in my memory because it?s the year when my all-time idol Michael Jackson passed away. His sixth month death anniversary fell exactly on Christmas Day.

I?d like to believe it?s more than just coincidence. Perhaps it?s MJ?s way of telling his diehard fans like me to rejoice and stop mourning by taking comfort in the thought that the King of Pop is now with the King of Kings.

All I wanted for Christmas was a copy of the much-coveted ?Official Michael Jackson Opus.? Too bad it?s not yet available locally but super duper thanks to my good friend Francis Papica who promised to get me one in the United States.

I will surely devour the book from cover to cover nonstop. MJ was working on the book at the time of his death. It is a comprehensive look into his life as MJ himself saw it.

In keeping with MJ?s innovative spirit, the book boasts of a publishing first: live action on the printed page. It features over 300 rare and previously unpublished pictures of MJ, plus the personal remembrances of the people who knew MJ best like Rev. Jesse Jackson, Quincy Jones, Berry Gordy, Smokey Robinson, Shaquille O?Neal, Paula Abdul, Jane Fonda and many more.

MJ will be given a posthumous Grammy for Lifetime Achievement Award, adding to his previous 15 Grammy trophies, on Jan. 30. He has also been named as MTV?s Man of the Year and his demise is Associated Press? top entertainment story of 2009.

I can?t think of a better way to end the year than by paying tribute to MJ whose music reverberates in my heart. Here?s some trivia about the late King of Pop. For MJ fanatics like me, it may be a New Year but we can never ever have a new idol. It?s only fitting that I devote my last column of 2009 to MJ because from beginning to end, 365 days of the year, I?ve got the same old love for him.

In 2000, Michael was listed in the book of Guinness World Records for his support of 39 charities, more than any other celebrity. The Guinness staff refer to him as the Most Famous Living Man on Earth.

Internet?s top search

Michael Jackson tops this year?s Internet searches on the biggest search engines: Google, Yahoo and Bing. On the day of his death, the Internet almost crashed.

MJ?s fave song is ?Smile.? He recorded his own version of it in his ?History? album and dedicated it to one of his role models, Charlie Chaplin, who composed the song?s music.

Twenty-three years ago, MJ joined forces with Disney to create ?Captain EO,? a groundbreaking 17-minute 3D film experience. The classic musical spectacular that thrilled Disneyland park guests from 1986-1997, will return for an exclusive, limited engagement in February 2010.

When MJ met Lady Di, she requested him to sing ?Dirty Diana,? his song about groupies. He was taken aback because he purposely left it out of his set as a courtesy, lest people think the tune was about her. But MJ obliged and sang it for the Princess of Wales at his concert in Wembley, London, in July 1988.

MJ met Elizabeth Taylor when she walked out of his concert because she had lousy seats and she couldn?t see the show. He called her the next day and they clicked instantly. Madame Liz once told MJ, ?The way you move, I think Martians have invaded your body.?

?I felt that one glove was cool,? said MJ of his single-handed fashion statement. ?Wearing two gloves seemed so ordinary.?

MJ appeared on a postage stamp in the Virgin Islands in the mid-?80s after locals voted him the superstar they?d most like to honor.

MJ wore his trademark black armband to remind his fans of the suffering children around the world.

Jackson was really a King in West Africa. He was given a royal title by villagers in Gabon, Ivory Coast, in 1992.

MJ was a vegetarian.

E-mail wateringholeshangrila@yahoo.com