Despite what you may have learned in your college marketing class, the Japanese will NOT buy anything: Michael Jackson is backing out of a scheduled Christmas appearance in Tokyo because of sluggish ticket sales.

The price of the tickets had elicited shock and some outrage among fans, with some tickets costing as much as $3,300 - for the opportunity to meet, greet and be photographed with the star; $1,600 bought merely the meet and greet. Eventually cheaper tickets costing about $425 were added, but outrage over the prices, which didn't even include a performance, continued to grow.

To make up for the cancellation, Jackson will hold a march "Fan Appreciation Day" in Tokyo:

"We want to be as inclusive as possible to all of Michael's fans," Broderick Morris, CEO, Positive Productions, the company staging the event said in a statement, announcing the new event. Prices and the venue for that event have not been posted.

This fascination with Michael Jackson is something I won't ever fully understand. The guy looks like he just escaped from a low-budget wax museum yet people still idolize him. Take away the money and platinum records and he's no different from "Freaky" Bill Johnson down the street. See, Bill has a soft voice and has a passion for "hanging out" with young boys. He also has a hook for an arm--and I'm not talking about one of those modern stylish grasping hooks, I mean an actual pirate's hook. It's really old school. The downside is that he always gets picked last when we play basketball at the gym. Good guy though, just has a horrible jump shot.