Michael Jackson News Roundup: Memorial Service Ticket Details

Micheal was going to sing with his son! :glurps_tb:

Jackson recently had a cancerous lesion removed from his nose that precipitated many more painkiller scrips.

That is criminal. I had a cancerous lesion removed from my nose (it was pretty bad and very deep btw) and all they gave me was tylenol. Anything more powerful than that is completely unnecessary.

That is criminal. I had a cancerous lesion removed from my nose (it was pretty bad and very deep btw) and all they gave me was tylenol. Anything more powerful than that is completely unnecessary.

Who even knows if this is true. The only circus concerning Michael Jackson is the one the media is making with all of their unnamed “sources”, etc. A lot of the speculations reported (if you can even call journalism nowadays reporting) have turned out to be false. Apparently this rumor is from a biographer named Diane Dimond and an unnamed family source. yeah right.

I’ve seen interviews with current show producers who have said there wasn’t a duet planned with his oldest son. Apparently, that is also an inaccuracy. however, if it is true, we will know since there will undoubtedly be video recordings of it.

I’m sick of Debbie Rowe, so I won’t even comment on that situation. But if anyone didn’t see Larry King’s exclusive interview with Jermaine Jackson on Neverland Ranch last night, I highly recommend it. It was very touching and amazing.

Oh yeah. The music news about MJ!! He was undoubted the best. There are no if, ands, or buts about it. It would have been interesting to see how his new music would have done in today’s market. Particularly since we aren’t used to original talent anymore. Could he have dominated this decade like he did the 70′s, 80′s, and 90′s? Unfortunately we will never know.

unique28v

I’ve seen interviews with current show producers who have said there wasn’t a duet planned with his oldest son. Apparently, that is also an inaccuracy. however, if it is true, we will know since there will undoubtedly be video recordings of it.

Oh! Hmmm yeah if it’s true then we would see recordings of it.

But if anyone didn’t see Larry King’s exclusive interview with Jermaine Jackson on Neverland Ranch last night, I highly recommend it. It was very touching and amazing.

I watched some of it on youtube cus I didn’t see it on TV. I will have to watch the rest. Poor Jermaine.

unique28v

He was undoubted the best. There are no if, ands, or buts about it. It would have been interesting to see how his new music would have done in today’s market. Particularly since we aren’t used to original talent anymore. Could he have dominated this decade like he did the 70′s, 80′s, and 90′s? Unfortunately we will never know.

Well like you said, he is the best! I bet he would have dominated this decade. He knows how to move baby!!!! If there was American Idol back in the 80′s I would have voted for him!

I didn’t know about the Larry king interview last night, thanks for bringing to my attention unique28V.

I just want Michael buried. I want him to rest in peace.

I live in Los Angeles and I think it is going to be a zoo here. The local officials are asking people not to go to the Staples Center area if they do not have a ticket. They are hoping people stay home and watch it on TV. They are also asking if people might be willing to pitch in financially to help pick up some of the cost entailed with the memorial service, i.e. overtime for cops, fire firefighters and traffic cops.

More news…

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press Writer Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer ‘“ 1 hr 59 mins ago
LOS ANGELES ‘“ The powerful sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson’s home, a law enforcement official said Friday as the city planned for a massive crowd at the singer’s memorial service.

Diprivan is an anesthetic widely used in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness. Also known as Propofol, it’s given intravenously and is very unusual to have in a private home.

The law enforcement official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about the matter.

That is criminal. I had a cancerous lesion removed from my nose (it was pretty bad and very deep btw) and all they gave me was tylenol. Anything more powerful than that is completely unnecessary.

I’m beginning to wonder if a lot of the procedures Michael had done were just an excuse for the doctors to justify giving him the pain killers that he wanted. Michael could use it as an excuse for saying “I’m not addicted to pain killers, my nose (or whatever) really hurts…I need something”. He could then pay big money to the doctors, and they could justify it legally by saying “the patient complained of pain after the procedure, so I wrote him a prescription.” I find it all so sad. I hope Michael is now able to have the peace that he wanted. He was an amazing talent.

Unique2V, I was able to watch the Larry King interview with Jermaine. It just broke my heart. But Neverland seemed like such a beautiful place, so calm and peaceful. Jermaine gave many good reasons why Michael should be buried there. At first I didn’t think it was a good idea, but after hearing him speak of it, I now think it would be beautiful to have Michael buried there. I hope they do.

I haven’t watched much teevee coverage, I get most of my info here. I prefer the filter of MJ’s big blog where I can pick and choose what I want to watch. I don’t want to hear alot of rehash about the crazy shit, so I will just fangirl all by myself when I need to.

Sunn, I just want him buried too. I don’t know why it’s bothering me so, but there is just something so unseemly about him being in this limbo for more than a week. I know that there has to be planning for something of this magnitude, but he died 8 days ago. That’s a long time to wait to be put to rest…..

I didn’t watch Jermaine on Larry King but my heart goes out to him. Every time I see his face I feel his pain.

Michael was the best….was watching a funny youtube of him with Usher and the actor Chris Tucker, it was hysterical….

ETA: heres a clip, none of these are clear, but it is fun to watch a light hearted moment, the near Usher Michael collision and then Michael falling out with laughter at Chris!

Thank you for this MJ. I am very interested in all the happenings and it’s wonderful to find it all in one place.

Oh my, the thought of his singing with his son brought tears to my eyes yet again. :cry_tb:

…and how cool he was working on 2 CD’s. I have no doubt he truly wanted his career back.

Well I don’t have speakers on my computer at work. Looks like I’m going to have to get some so I can listen to the memorial on Tuesday. It’s going to be one of the moments not to be missed.

ETA……if Prince does sing, dear God please keep him away from Joe. Thank you.

clearone

ETA’ ¦’ ¦if Prince does sing, dear God please keep him away from Joe. Thank you.

Amen to that!!!

I live in Los Angeles and I think it is going to be a zoo here. The local officials are asking people not to go to the Staples Center area if they do not have a ticket. They are hoping people stay home and watch it on TV. They are also asking if people might be willing to pitch in financially to help pick up some of the cost entailed with the memorial service, i.e. overtime for cops, fire firefighters and traffic cops.

Shouldn’t the Jackson family be paying the costs entailed with the memorial service? Usually, when you throw an “event” you have to pay for the extra costs for policing and emergency support.

Isn’t California having a financial crisis? Are there not homeless people in LA that could use assistance? Are there not better uses for tax payer’s money and charitable donations then some kind of circus of a memorial? I’ve seen heads of state that had smaller funerals. This is ridiculous, IMO. Two massive venues? Free tickets? Police crisis. City in turmoil? Over some dude who hasn’t had a record of new material out in the last decade?

This madness must stop. IMO. Okay, I was shocked and chatty about this when it first happened. I found the sales numbers fascinating. But the guy has been dead for over a week (when are they going to bury him anyway? It’s been kind of long). It’s time for the national obsession to stop!

Goodness, gracious. Can’t these people have a small private ceremony? Most everything related to MJ turn into a zoo? Those 18,000 people who will be there should just buy a CD or watch some videos on youtube. It’s morbid if you ask me. Just you wait, people will be scalping those tickets.

ARGH!!!!!!!!ELEVENTY-ONE!!!1!!!

Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest.

ETA: This isn’t a complaint about the post, I’m just weirded out by this bizarre memorial.

See I have seen so much stuff I cannot remember who said what, mostly been watching CNN for this coverage, but I thought the statements that Michael was hoping to have one duet with his son was also mentioned by someone close to the family or close to the tour, in other words it struck me as reliable information or more reliable than most – that Michael was not going to have the kid out every night just maybe one or two concerts for one number because that is what the boy wanted…..my brain isn’t what it used to be, bwah. Who wouldn’t want to be on stage with their day once, something about part of the reason for the tour was so the kids could understand why people made such a fuss over Daddy.

Yes that is a nice interview up at Neverland Ranch, I somehow thought it would be either gaudier or all in designer white, but it is just your typical California ranch of a certain era, a great deal of warmth to the interior house.

Yes I wondered how the current financial crisis in California is not being helped by this kind of event – seems to me AEG or Staples or the estate should be picking up some of the tab. Most of us just get the standard funeral that only requires one cop car on the way to the cemetary and if you get cremated, even better. ETA Great minds, Kristen and I were simultaneously posting…bwah.

Kirsten says ARGH!!!!!!!!ELEVENTY-ONE!!!1!!!

What does that mean?

I wish they had buried him days ago.

That being said I don’t think that a private memorial would have satisfied a certain contingent of his fans, nor the public at large who want to be a part of this memorial. It also seems to me that AEG is in control of this thing not the family. It’s not as though they are hustering tickets right now.

I know he hasn’t had a hit in several years, but I don’t quite think that’s relevant now to many. It’s not what he did in the past few year, but over his lifetime. That is big, and outweighs the lack of a recent hit, imho.

Somehow I don’t think that LA is gonna be losing money on this either. Someone is gonna be sleeping in those empty hotel rooms, and eating at their restaurants, and shopping in their stores, and maybe even taking in a few of LA’s many sites. This is a boondagle for that city, not a crush. They are probably thanking their lucky stars that they are gonna have a shitload of people in LA, and her surrounding areas at this time. It’s gonna be like the damn Olympics except they didn’t have to improve the city’s infrastructure to bring it there.

What does that mean?

It was an attempt to be ironic. Obviously, it failed. LOL

When people are over-excited, they have a tendency to miss the shift key when typing exclamation points. So you will see something like this:

Yay!!!1!!11!!11!!1111!!!!!

So, if you put in an ELEVENY-ONE you are acknowledging that you are going over the deep end on the subject (i.e. you are creating the the missed shift key effect on purpose).

Lame. I know.

Shouldn’t the Jackson family be paying the costs entailed with the memorial service? Usually, when you throw an ‘event’  you have to pay for the extra costs for policing and emergency support.

The City spokesperson this morning said they would contact the Jackson family to see if they could “point them” in the direction to receive some financial assistance.

The spokesperson did say, however, that the Police Department does budget for these types of unexpected events. Still, there is concern about the financial crisis that is going on in California. Los Angeles residents already paying some of the highest taxes in the country (9.75 percent in sales tax).

I believe this event will cost the City, but at the same time I hope local businesses will benefit, i.e. restaurants, hotels, which in turn, taxes collected there will help the City.

You know there are going to be a rash of street vendors selling memorial MJ t-shirts, etc.

Well I do agree the delay is unusual, however precipitated by the request for a second autopsy which I can’t say I blame the family for and in retrospect was a very good idea.

I think the rationale for the big show, because Jermaine said there will be many memorial services for Michael all over the country, is he is the King of Pop. Ergo the King of Pop needs the funeral of a king or a head of state. Why do you have all the pomp and circumstance when a President dies, sitting especially but even former, or when Lady Diana died. Which I believe MJ attended, did he not?

Because it is closure for the people, the subjects, the fans in this case.

Because these are people whose lives touched more than just their immediate circle of friends and family.

The reality is I think he would be loving this. He thrived on the love of his fans.

We just went through this with the NBA Lakers Championship parade.

AEG, which owns the Staples Center, helped defray some of the costs. Since there is no funeral procession, I wonder if the costs will be as high. However, I think there are alot more MJ fans than there are Lakers fans.

Here is the link and a paragraph of the story.

http://cbs2.com/lakers/lakers.parade.information.2.1044920.html

A spokesman for the company that owns the Los Angeles Lakers’ home court says a half-dozen private donors will pay at least some of the estimated $1 million in city costs for the team’s victory parade.

Insurance will cover much of the costs, but not if Jackson’s death is due to a pre-existing condition or drug/alcohol related.

Ouch.

edit: don’t criticize or make judgments on your fellow posters opinions. KEEP FOCUSED on the SUBJECT

I think the rationale for the big show, because Jermaine said there will be many memorial services for Michael all over the country, is he is the King of Pop. Ergo the King of Pop needs the funeral of a king or a head of state. Why do you have all the pomp and circumstance when a President dies, sitting especially but even former, or when Lady Diana died. Which I believe MJ attended, did he not?

Because it is closure for the people, the subjects, the fans in this case.

Because these are people whose lives touched more than just their immediate circle of friends and family.

Exactly.

Madonna to pay tribute to Jackson in concert

I think MJ should have a big memorial, and he lived alot of his life here in Los Angeles and this is where his Mom is.

But these things cost money. It’s not unrealistic to think the City of Los Angeles would want some help in covering these expenses when this year, the Los Angeles School District is laying of teachers and increasing class size.

There’s no doubt this whole Staples center memorial is going to draw a huge crowd and that crowd will be spending money in the city.
I keep getting flash backs to Princess Di’s death and the crowds that drew.
Just like the death of Elvis and John Lennon, this is history in the making and people will want to be a part of that if they can.

Website for MJ Memorial tickets gets 500 million hits in first hour, according to LA Times…see link below.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/michael-jackson/

Here is the link of the LA Councilwoman discussing the costs of the memorial service to the City.

The comments are an interesting read as well.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/07/councilwoman-says-city-will-pick-up-police-costs-for-jackson-service.html

By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press Writer Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer ‘“ 1 hr 59 mins ago
LOS ANGELES ‘“ The powerful sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson’s home, a law enforcement official said Friday as the city planned for a massive crowd at the singer’s memorial service.

Wow, if this is true, heads should really roll.
Propofol , in addition to being a strong respiratory depressant, can also rapidly drop your blood pressure to the point where circulation ceases- even more so if you are dehydrated or have other narcotics or sedatives on board.
It is only given during closely monitored medical procedures and for sedation on closely monitored vented patients in an ICU.
It is never given for pain control or sleep, not even for hospice patients , and there is absolutely no reason for it to be found in someone’s home.
Really very very troubling and sad.

ETA’ ¦’ ¦if Prince does sing, dear God please keep him away from Joe. Thank you.

Well Joe does have that new label to promote……………

x17online.com already has the first picture of Prince since Michael’s death. It looks like he’s hanging out with his cousins’ at his grandparents home. The kids really have no idea what they’re in for. The media are going to be relentless.

I didn’t watch Jermaine on Larry King but my heart goes out to him. Every time I see his face I feel his pain.

I did feel for Jermaine during the LKL interview, but admittedly, I don’t know what to make of him. There were times that he was quite mean to Michael and incredibly jealous. Often times they wouldn’t speak for awhile and then make amends. I don’t doubt that deep down Jermaine loved his brother, but I also think he was very jealous of playing back up to his success.

Goodness, gracious. Can’t these people have a small private ceremony? Most everything related to MJ turn into a zoo?

The fans would never allow it. The way I see it, this man gave everything to his fans. His whole life revolved around them. I think it’s only fitting that they be permitted to pay their respects. Yes, it will be a zoo, but everything with Michael was grand and over the top. Why not his send off? For all he gave, it’s really the least the public could do.

undercooked Jul 3rd, 2009 at 7:45 pm

Website for MJ Memorial tickets gets 500 million hits in first hour, according to LA Times’ ¦see link below.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/michael-jackson/

And the site didn’t crash? The Staples Centre peeps need to talk to Ticketmaster.

500 million hits, I can’t even fathom that?

Kirsten says

When people are over-excited, they have a tendency to miss the shift key when typing exclamation points. So you will see something like this:

Yay!!!1!!11!!11!!1111!!!!!

So, if you put in an ELEVENY-ONE you are acknowledging that you are going over the deep end on the subject (i.e. you are creating the the missed shift key effect on purpose).

OH!!! ROFL ROFL Well I’m sorry you being ironic failed ROFL.

Dr. Tracey says

I keep getting flash backs to Princess Di’s death and the crowds that drew.

I cried a lot when Princess Diana died and blamed the Stalkeratzi. I also cried when John Ritter died. Yeah Micheal’s memorial is gonna be huge!

I did feel for Jermaine during the LKL interview, but admittedly, I don’t know what to make of him. There were times that he was quite mean to Michael and incredibly jealous. Often times they wouldn’t speak for awhile and then make amends. I don’t doubt that deep down Jermaine loved his brother, but I also think he was very jealous of playing back up to his success.

I understand. I just know what it’s like to lose your little brother….. It must have been difficult to be brother to MICHAEL JACKSON pop icon.

Did anybody watch Access Hollywood tonight? Micheal’s mentalist person that he had spoke up. He said he put Michael under deep hypnosis and did something unethical. He asked Michael if he ever touched a child inappropriately. Michael quickly said no he would never do that.

To get back on topic, I wonder which idiot doctor gave him Diprivan.

Did anybody watch Access Hollywood tonight? Micheal’s mentalist person that he had spoke up. He said he put Michael under deep hypnosis and did something unethical. He asked Michael if he ever touched a child inappropriately. Michael quickly said no he would never do that.

Ugh, there are no words……

To get back on topic, I wonder which idiot doctor gave him Diprivan.

Considering it’s usage, couldn’t that person be liable in some way if that is what is found in Michael’s system? Oh Em Gee, this is gonna get nasty…..

That being said I don’t think that a private memorial would have satisfied a certain contingent of his fans, nor the public at large who want to be a part of this memorial. It also seems to me that AEG is in control of this thing not the family. It’s not as though they are hustering tickets right now.

I’d ask for the day off to attend the ceremony if I wasn’t so far away. The AEG control thing actually works out perfectly. I would hope they are working closely with the family. Since the City of LA will be saddled with O/T expense, I think it would be great if some of the more rich and powerful of the fan community organized to chip in on the extra expenses. All they need to do is get w/ the LA Finance Director. Not exactly a huge sum of money for them to underwrite, esp. with a lot of them chipping in.

*off to load the Jermaine vid

ETA: The economic boon for both the City of LA and the State of CA is one of the silver linings to be gleaned from this tragedy, along with some closure for family and fans.

abbysee says

Considering it’s usage, couldn’t that person be liable in some way if that is what is found in Michael’s system? Oh Em Gee, this is gonna get nasty’ ¦..

Well the oath is first do no harm! So, the doctor should be liable. As it has been mentioned Michael should not even had that drug in his house!

Kristen: I didn’t get the joke, but I actually do that all the time with !’s and 1′s.! That is so funny!111

(I did not do that on purpose either!)

Kristen: I didn’t get the joke, but I actually do that all the time with !’s and 1′s.! That is so funny!111

(I did not do that on purpose either!)

I do that sometimes too. ROFL But I fix it before I send it so nobody sees.

I believe Larry King Live has another show tonight from the Neverland Ranch (part 2) at 9:00 PM Eastern time.

I hope this post doesn’t show up more than once. I had trouble submitting it.

Website for MJ Memorial tickets gets 500 million hits in first hour, according to LA Times’ ¦see link below.

Holy crap. Thats HUGE!!

Here is a good article from the LA times referencing how the media is making MJ’s passing a circus and how they are passing along incorrect information. Article Link

And the site didn’t crash? The Staples Centre peeps need to talk to Ticketmaster.

It did indeed crash very quickly. They had to get a second server up fast. (per news reports).

That being said I don’t think that a private memorial would have satisfied a certain contingent of his fans, nor the public at large who want to be a part of this memorial.

Yep. Even if the family tried to keep it small, they would fail. People would find out. Remember the huge crowd gathered outside the hospital? The people flocking to the streets in NY? MJ’s music was appreciated world wide. I dare say some fans even outside the US have been flying in to California to pay their respects.

I keep getting flash backs to Princess Di’s death and the crowds that drew. Just like the death of Elvis and John Lennon, this is history in the making and people will want to be a part of that if they can.

Fans were encouraged by Yoko to participate in a candlelight vigil, but there was no funeral for John Lennon. I have never been crazy about Yoko, but I thought avoiding a media circus was classy of her.

IMO it will be hard to make the Staples thing tasteful, sounds like a potential circus to me, but I hope I’m wrong.

I was a young mother when the Jackson 5 performed on television and of course I thought he was adorable. Later on when my kids were teenagers I would wonder through the family room catching glimpses of his videos on MTV. I don’t think I watched The Jackson’s: An American Dream (made for television movie), but heard people talking about it afterwards as this was the first the public knew of Joe’s harsh discipline. However, I watched it last night, all 300 minutes on VH1. It was very good and must be pretty accurate as Jermaine was one of the directors.

If you are interested, VH1 will probably replay it, it chronicles the family’s history from before Michael was born all the way up to his solo career. It came out before the “terrible troubles.” Even so, his sensitivity, alienation, and wistful sadness were already present. Music was his main salvation, but in the end it could not save him.

The only MJ music I had was Thriller (on my iPod) but since his death I bought a couple of tunes, sent a DVD to the grandkids and will probably buy some more of his stuff. I think his sales are going to continue for awhile and that he will be introduced (and re-introduced) to people around the globe. As time goes on, hopefully memories of his music will overshadow the “other stuff.”

I can’t get your tunes out of my head, MJ. RIP.

Goodness, gracious. Can’t these people have a small private ceremony?

Apparently you underestimate what MJ’s death means, to millions of people. I suppose the family could have a “smalll, private ceremony”, but are choosing instead to shate the moment with his gazillion fans. I think folks will appreciate that.
As others have said this will bring closure. Michael Jackson was a huge and popular icon who changed the face of music.

Considering it’s usage, couldn’t that person be liable in some way if that is what is found in Michael’s system?

Seems to me that person would be liable and perhaps guilty of medical misconduct (or whatever the legal term might be). However Michael also begged a nurse to give him that drug on a prior occasion, and she refused. If he was begging doctors for it, some of them, the more weak-willed or more susceptible to the special inducements of wealth and fame, would cave in and give it to him.

As a likely addict, Michael bore responsibility for seeking out dangerous drugs. He must have been pretty miserable to want to deaden himself to such an extent. Addiction is a sad thing all the way around.

Apparently you underestimate what MJ’s death means, to millions of people.

Apparently, so does the Jackson family because they are only giving out 17,500 tickets. That means that most of those millions of people will not be able to attend the memorial. A small memorial could just as easily be televised to the masses as a large one.

Look, I get that MJ had a lot of fans, but there are lots of people with lots of fans who have died that don’t shut down major US cities for some sort of over the top memorial at a sports arena. It’s just turning the entire thing into a spectacle, IMO. And given that I think that all this spectacle, over the top fan behaviour and obsessive tabloid coverage are some of the factors that contributed to Michael Jackson’s problems that eventually led to his death, I find the entire thing morbid.

Further, I think that turning his funeral into a circus pulls the focus off of the actual subject of the funeral and makes it all about the “event” and the “spectators”. IMO, it’s wrong. I’m sure there will be people celebrating that they got tickets to the “event” and others that will scalp them. Scalping tickets to a funeral! Can you imagine? Ick! People putting their little tickets in their scrap books. People trying to get their programs signed by a Jackson. People selling their programs. It all seems very depraved. People have made enough coin off of MJ, they don’t need to turn his funeral into another event. Besides, I’m quite sure that there will be at least a couple of people who will be in the audience who were not major fans but just wanted to be there “because it was history in the making” or “to see all the stars”. How is that getting closure?

Finally, the Jackson family has a lot of wealth. If they want to throw an event, they need to pay for the costs associated with it, IMO. If people feel compelled to donate something, donate it to one of the many true charities that MJ supported during his life, IMO. I’m sorry, but that’s where my priorities lie.

Yes, it’s sad that MJ died. Yes, he had a lot of fans. Yes, it’s tragic what became of his life. Yes, he died too young. Yes, his death was shocking. Yes, it’s too bad he didn’t get to do his comeback tour. But he’s somebody I don’t truly know. If I’m to celebrate his life, I will celebrate his works and his charities. I will not celebrate getting a ticket to sit in the Nokia and watch Al Sharpton prattle on over a close-feed television circuit. I would leave his family and friends, the people who actually knew him, mourn in peace. If a gazillion fans cannot have closure without seeing them mourn, have somebody quietly film it.

Wow some folks are pretty cynical.

The way I look at it is that they are celebrating Michael’s life in a big way. He was a force of nature and bigger than life. His memorial shouldn’t be anything less than that….to each their own though.

Just some thoughts.

The City coffers do have a special fund to help cover special event needs for Police presence for traffic and crowd control. I’ve taken advantage of it for some local events I’ve helped organize through the LAPD for the public benefit.

With that said, the magnitude needed for this really begs that the ‘Producers’ of the event and those attending should pony up for police, trash, portapotties, etc. that will be needed.

I doubt that the City will make any money from this and businesses will actually lose money since regular customers and clients will be avoiding the area or won’t be able to get to them. Lost revenue means lost tax dollars.

There will be no revenue from Staples since there will be no taxes from ticket sales. There may be some from concessions inside Staples Center. There will be tons of unlicensed street vendors hawking t-shirts and memorabilia – again no tax dollars. (btw, it sickens me that there will be people selling crap at a memorial service.)

I finally watched the MJ rehearsal video. I felt like I was punched in the stomach at the end: Hold for applause, hold for applause …. dim the lights.

On the news last night, I heard Al Sharpton is calling for a National Day of Mourning for Michael Jackson. Give me a break!!!!!!!

THe Larry King interview with Jermaine was very moving. Neverland Ranch is quite beautiful as is the main house. I felt so bad for Jermaine and was quite touched by him.

The Larry King interview with Jermaine was very moving.

It is nice to hear some appreciation for Larry King lately. Just because American Idol isn’t his forte doesn’t negate all the other great interviews he has done and continues to do.

I don’t have romantic ideas about Neverland anymore. Maybe once upon a time I did, decades ago, but the molestation investigations changed my feelings about it. When seen as the kind of playground a pedophile might create, a place to entertain and lure children, it took on a different cast. A lot of strange things went on at Neverland. Giving alcohol to children? Showering with them? Sleeping with them? I can’t romanticize the place now. A lot of pedophiles think that they “love” children and see nothing wrong with their special brand of love. Sorry but to me, Michael was a sick individual despite all his great talent, and Neverland was not all lightness but had a lot of darkness too.

unique28v
Jul 3rd, 2009 at 5:27 pm

Oh yeah. The music news about MJ!! He was undoubted the best. There are no if, ands, or buts about it. It would have been interesting to see how his new music would have done in today’s market. Particularly since we aren’t used to original talent anymore. Could he have dominated this decade like he did the 70′s, 80′s, and 90′s? Unfortunately we will never know.

unique28V: I just came from iTunes and currently MJ still has 48 of the Top 100 videos. I didn’t check out the songs but sure he has lots in the top. I do realize that a lot of these sales are due to his death, but has anyone ever had 50% of the top anything on iTunes? This is unbelievable.

BTW: Adam’s Mad World is still holding onto #94, no other S8 peeps there. Hang in there, Adam. :wub_tb:

I finally watched the MJ rehearsal video. I felt like I was punched in the stomach at the end: Hold for applause, hold for applause ‘ ¦. dim the lights.

I agree. When I was watching the video, I temporarily forgot he was dead… but that ending brought it all back.

As far as the whole memorial service thing goes, I understand having a public memorial service. I understand the ticket situation to try and get some kind of handle on crowd control. I had not thought about the whole scalper thing that Kirsten mentioned. The thought of someone scalping tickets to a memorial service makes me ill. Sadly, there will be some sick jerks out there who will do it and take advantage of some person who truly just wants to remember Michael. Unfortunately, since the world has sick, insensitive people in it, those kinds of things will happen.

This whole thing is just so sad to me. The one good thing to come out of it is MJ’s music is out there again. My wish is that the rehearsal footage is released and they offer it in the theatres. I think people pay to see it. I know I will! Then people will be talking about Michael as the amazing entertainer that he was and stop associating him with things that he was found not guilty of.

Then people will be talking about Michael as the amazing entertainer that he was and stop associating him with things that he was found not guilty of.

Alas, Michael’s “other associations” will always be a part of his legacy. He was an amazing performer and artist, but he also had a dark side that manifested in many ways, some of them made public. Being found not guilty in a court of law doesn’t necessarily mean innocence. Michael had more than one such accusation made against him and he paid off more than one family. A lot of people thought that OJ Simpson and Robert Blake were also guilty of their crimes, even though a jury didn’t convict them. Those kinds of shadows never leave a person, especially when many intelligent people studied the cases and the facts and believed that they were guilty of what they were accused of.

MJ was both a brilliant artist and a damaged soul. His legacy will always reflect those two realities.

Being found not guilty in a court of law doesn’t necessarily mean innocence. Michael had more than one such accusation made against him and he paid off more than one family.

A matter of opinion of course but the fact that the families were willing to be paid off makes me believe even more that he was not guilty. I can understand why he would try to settle because the longer it was talked about by the media, the more it was damaging his reputation. We’ll never know the truth but I believe that MJ was not guilty.

The entire memorial (and the cost to taxpayers-30 mill and counting) leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I grew up with Jackson music, and thought he was just a misunderstood weirdo. I do not think he molested children, but watching the coverage this week and the interviews I do think he is a pathological liar and manipulator. He takes full credit for songs he didn’t write, for dance moves he did not choreograph and even claims to have never had plastic surgery. His equally offensive family members back him up on all of the lies. And according to Jermaine he never did drugs. Yeah, right.
While Elvis also had a drug problem, he was a person with a good heart. Michael Jackson mostly made being a celebrity an art form, and it seems to me, looking at the footage he enjoyed every minute of being a child star. While I think his father is probably an Asshole, I don’t think he actually ‘beat’ Michael as he claims. By the time he was eleven he wasn’t even living at home, and Gordy claims that they provided Michael with as normal a childhood as they could, and that he thrived and seemed happy. And then he buys his own children and raises them in his own freak show.
MJ spent his life indulging himself in every whim and it was a life of complete self absorption. Should the taxpayers of California really have to fork over millions to celebrate this life? I myself would prefer to see the money spent to celebrate the two lives just lost in the Afghanistan offensive. If the Jackson family or the promoters want to pay for this memorial-great-have it at the Rose Bowl for all I care. But tragedy to me is a 21 year old who has given his life for his country, not a self aggrandizing freak who died do to misuse of illegally purchased drugs.

But tragedy to me is a 21 year old who has given his life for his country,

I certainly don’t disagree with this. I was just talking about MJ. We are all certainly entitled to our opinions on him. I’ll always respect our servicemen – present and past and the sacrifices they make.

And Staples Center has just announced that they have opened up the ticket lottery to people outside the US and the winners will be announced Sunday night…

So interested Canadians put in your name, but man that is a short time span to arrange transport to LA…..I’m with Anderson Cooper, stay at home and CNN will have the best seat in the house……….

John F. Kennedy was not a well behaved boy, he kept a lot of secrets, the Kennedy family itself has a lot of secrets on top of the exposed ones, but most people forget that, it helped that the media at the time did not cover it but it was certainly covered in detail after his death but for the most part his memory is not tarnished……..over time people do forget the negative unless it is so heinous, like Adolph Hitler and hey he apparently still has his fans, sadly. Even Stalin is upheld by many far left wingers as a hero even though Stalin killed more people than Hitler, actually.

Most historical figures, whether they were leaders or geniuses in one field or another were flawed, perhaps even more so than the average person. You live large you have larger personality flaws in many cases. Not all. And the negative tends to get whitewashed over time.

There’s a lot I could say about the Jackson family that’s not positive, but I don’t in any way think they’re responsible for turning Michael’s memorial into a circus. Anyone who honestly believes that this should or even could be done privately needs to give their head a shake. It’s a fact that hundreds of thousands of fans are going to descend upon LA regardless to pay their respects. The family and city are being proactive in trying to maintain crowd control. I think it’s the responsible thing to do.

I agree that this isn’t in the realm of service men and women giving their lives, but as far as pop culture goes, it really doesn’t get any bigger than this and I don’t think it will again.

I finally watched the MJ rehearsal video. I felt like I was punched in the stomach at the end: Hold for applause, hold for applause ‘ ¦. dim the lights.

I felt like I’d been sucker punched too. How fitting that that’s the last image of him….and the grin at literally the very end like he was satisfied with it. It’s still so difficult to comprehend a week later.

Then people will be talking about Michael as the amazing entertainer that he was and stop associating him with things that he was found not guilty of.

There were a couple of lawsuits against Michael and he had a crack team of lawyers. I heard two jurors later come out that they didn’t want to deal with the issues but felt he was guilty, this is in light of the other mass media circus of OJ Simpson trial. They said they felt MJ was guilty though. Michael won the lawsuit but settled millions on the accusors. Why settle if you are found innocent? Isn’t that the point of a lawsuit–you don’t want to pay. The settlement was made with the stipulation that this would not go to civil court (just like OJ Simpson was was found guilty in civil court). Money talks, and a lot of money screams. There are few people who have enough money to take on Michael Jackson and persue it, might as well just take the damn money, because justice will never be served.

Giving kids “Jesus Juice,” taking showers with them, sleeping with them, is not normal. Okay, a father might take his young son into the shower can be innocent, but I can’t imagine a man taking another kid in there. Sure, sometimes kids are afraid and they crawl in your bed, but that’s your kid and most of the time after the kid is asleep you carry them back to their own bed. There is nothing worse than sleeping with a kid as they toss, turn, pivot & kick you everywhere. Staff were off limits when Michael was “entertaining” kids visiting his ranch. There is no doubt in my mind there was something going on at “Neverland.” It will be interesting so see if any of the staff will start talking now that the King of Pop is dead and can’t control them.

Michael was a liar, I believe he was a child molestor, and clearly a deeply disturbed person but heck it’s okay because he was the King of Pop so let’s all put him on a pedestal because he was so talented and contributed so much to the music world and that’s all that counts and we shouldn’t speak ill of the dead.

Adamdebomb says By the time he was eleven he wasn’t even living at home, and Gordy claims that they provided Michael with as normal a childhood as they could,

Where did you hear that? I heard differently. That he lived at home until he was 30 years old. I think it was either an interview or made for TV movie.

As I said previously in this thread, we are all entitled to our opinions as far as MJ is concerned. We’ll never know for sure but we all have our differing opinions and that’s okay.

Adamdebomb says

While Elvis also had a drug problem, he was a person with a good heart.

Well Elvis wasn’t a perfect person either. Have you watched the movies about his life?