It was early in the morning here in Manila when I checked my Gmail, and saw, to my shock, first a breaking news e-mail alert that Farrah Fawcett had passed away, and then another alert saying that Michael Jackson had been rushed to the hospital.

I went to the microblogging sites Twitter and Plurk, and was quickly updated on the latest news by the tweets and plurks.

Michael Jackson was dead.

Just like that.

My Twitter and Plurk timelines, as well as my social networks, are now filled with updates on the death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, who apparently suffered from cardiac arrest, according to reports.

Earlier, we’d already been jolted by news that actress Farrah Fawcett died, losing her battle against cancer. Now the Web is “collapsing under the weight of Michael Jackson’s death“, according to TechCrunch.