Michael Jackson in hospital

[eternal light]

Even the Vatican commented.

Ma sarà morto davvero?

vatican.va/news_services/or/or_quo/text.html#13

Vatican City, Jun 26, 2009 / 01:52 pm (CNA).- "But, will he actually be dead?" asks the headline of L'Osservatore Romano, the day after Michael Jackson died of a heart attack in Los Angeles. Today the Vatican's newspaper looks back at the pop star's life and comments on the popular impact of his death.

LOR begins its story by saying that, despite his personal scandals, Jackson is on his way to becoming a pop icon like his former father-in law, Elvis Presley; or like Jimmy Hendrix. Besides, the story notes, Jackson started his career as a member of the Jackson Five, which brought him fame even before he began his solo career.

"In those times he was still black. He hadn't started yet the process of self definition, that was beyond race, that within the years made him look no longer like an African American man," says the article.

This path, says LOR, was "a hard human way, probably painfully marked by some severe falls, that were reflected in his artistic itinerary."

He was original because he "intended to overcome the limits of black music, in which he had his cultural roots, arriving at some territories that were still closed to black artists."

The article recalls that "Thriller" was the best selling album in history, with 100 million copies sold. This hit made it possible for Michael Jackson to make a big difference, at least musically, the paper added.

L'Osservatore also notes that the fame Jackson acheived wasn't solely due to his singing and dancing. "Everybody knows [about] his problems with the law after the pedophilia accusations."

Many people are mourning his death in a very emotional way, the Vatican newspaper concludes.

catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16389

[maven2blue]

Aleister Crowley is the great misunderstood genius of the 20th century.' ... Jimmy Page: Past, Presence & Future Interview by Harry Doherty, Melody Maker, ...

Same for Michael...Nobody ever took the time to make an sincere effort to understand universe of his heart and mind........So very sad, just another example of unfortunate event that justifies how much our society has changed and remains the same....Michael had the every right to be understood in the face of humanity....The childhood he lost couldn't have possibly been measured with fame/fortune...and this is what happens when one cannot stay true to their identity for unfortunate reasons........

.RIP Michael, I wish we could have done more for you as you made us laugh with your moves and music......

Nicely put, Planetpage. I totally agree with you

[ledded1]

I can only assume that Spats will apply the same logic to Zeppelin that he has done to Michael Jackson.

You can't really pust those 2 words in the same sentence. Spats & logic.

They just don't fit

[~Bonnie~]

I feel bad for his children. They just lost the only parent they knew. And from what his family said in the news stories online, MJ really doted on them, and was an great parent. Those poor kids...

[jabe]

Wealth and fame. Not the end all nirvana as those of us on the outside might believe.

Pray that peace be with his family.

[Evster2012]

Funny how none of the celebrity children like Emmanuel Lewis and Macauley Culkin ever pointed a finger at him. Guess they weren't in need of a paycheck right? Just because Jackson paid some people off to leave him alone doesn't mean he did it.

The cynicism is nauseating.

[PlanetPage]

Wealth and fame. Not the end all nirvana as those of us on the outside might believe.

Pray that peace be with his family.

...very well said...here is a Peaceful prayer for his family...as they say true prayers from the heart are understood...Peace for his family...

[Fan_S.]

Speaking of Michael's family, there was an moment in the Jackson 5 performance on that famous Motown 25th Anniversary special. It's before Billie Jean happened. I will describe it. Michael was singing a quick-tempo'd number (could've been Stop! The Love You Save,) and Jermaine was playing the bass guitar. Michael made a characteristically graceful move with his leg while Jermaine complemented that move with a nimble move of his own right on the same beat...fantastic! I was very impressed. This moving image has been on my mind a lot for the past two days.

Edited for grammar & spelling

[BUCK'EYE' DOC]

Well, I hate to say it, but I tend to agree with what Spats is saying:

People (no one here on this forum, but in the media) have roasted Michael over the coals for years, criticizing every move that he made, forming the public view (whether true or not) that he was some weirdo child molester. Now that he has tragically passed away, they (the media) are singing his accolades (which he justly deserves for his musical career). How hypocritical. They are the ones that made life miserable for him while he was alive, hounding his every move, causing him to become the recluse that he was, adding to the mystic of his weirdness. (Although he himself may have been responsible for feeding this mis-info to the media?)

He was a great performer, dancer and singer. Nothing can diminish that. He should be remembered for those accomplishments. He was indeed The King of Pop.

His family deserve our sincere sympathies and prayers that they can get past this tragedy and remember Michael for the gentle soul that he was and the contributions that he made in pop music.

And, by the way, I think that people are being too harsh on Spats.

I don't think that he meant to criticize anyone on this forum for liking Michael Jackson.

He was just making an observation about the media hoopla now that Michael has died.

And the Michael bashing by others is inappropriate at this time of his passing, as others have stated. Just my opinion, too.

[Patrycja]

What crap. You weren't using humor to relieve anyone's grief. You wrote a parody about pedophilia.

Even that's giving it waayyyyy too much credit.

I feel bad for his children. They just lost the only parent they knew. And from what his family said in the news stories online, MJ really doted on them, and was an great parent. Those poor kids...

[Evster2012]

LOS ANGELES – The final act of Michael Jackson's life came into clearer focus Friday, a picture of a fallen superstar working out with TV's "Incredible Hulk" and under the care of his own private cardiologist as he tried to get his 50-year-old body in shape for a grueling bid to reclaim his glory.

While the exact circumstances of his death remained unclear, early clues suggested he may simply have pushed his heart too far.

Police said they had towed the doctor's BMW from Jackson's home because it may include medication or other evidence, and a source familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that a heart attack appeared to have caused the cardiac arrest that led to the pop icon's sudden death.

As grief for the King of Pop poured out from the icons of music to heartbroken fans, and the world came to grips with losing one of the most luminous celebrities of all time, an autopsy showed no sign of trauma or foul play to Jackson, who died Thursday at UCLA Medical Center after paramedics not could not revive him.

The AP source who said Jackson apparently suffered a heart attack was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity. Jackson's brother Jermaine had said the pop singer apparently went into cardiac arrest — which often, but not always, happens because of a heart attack.

Authorities said they spoke with the doctor briefly Thursday and Friday and expected to meet with him again soon. Police stressed that the doctor, identified by the Los Angeles Times as cardiologist Conrad Murray, was not a criminal suspect.

"We do not consider him to be uncooperative at this time," Beck said. "We think that he will assist us in coming to the truth of the facts in this case."

Craig Harvey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner, said there were no signs of foul play in the autopsy and further tests would be needed to determine cause of death. He said Jackson was taking some unspecified prescription medication but gave few other details.

Meanwhile, a 911 call released by fire officials shed light on the desperate effort at the mansion to save Jackson's life before paramedics arrived Thursday afternoon. Jackson died later at UCLA Medical Center.

In the recording, an unidentified caller pleads with authorities to send help, offering no clues about why Jackson was stricken. He tells a dispatcher that Jackson's doctor is performing CPR.

"He's pumping his chest," the caller says, "but he's not responding to anything."

Asked by the dispatcher whether anyone saw what happened, the caller answers: "No, just the doctor, sir. The doctor has been the only one there."

The president of the company promoting Jackson's shows said Murray was Jackson's personal physician for three years. Jackson insisted Murray accompany him to London, said Randy Phillips, president of AEG Live.

Phillips quoted Jackson as saying: "Look, this whole business revolves around me. I'm a machine, and we have to keep the machine well-oiled." Phillips said Jackson submitted to at least five hours of physicals that insurers had insisted on.

On Friday, the autopsy was completed in a matter of hours, but an official cause of death could take up to six weeks while medical examiners await toxicology tests. No funeral plans had been made public.

Jackson had remained out of the public spotlight during intense rehearsals for the London concerts, but those with access said he was upbeat and seemingly energized by his planned comeback. Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the Grammys, said he watched Jackson dance energetically as recently as Wednesday.

"There was this one moment, he was moving across the stage and he was doing these trademark Michael moves, and I know I got this big grin on my face, and I started thinking to myself, 'You know, it's been years since I've seen that,'" he said.

Lou Ferrigno, the star of "The Incredible Hulk," said he had been working out with Jackson for the past several months.

Still, Jackson's health had been known to be precarious in recent years, and one family friend said Friday that he had warned the entertainer's family about his use of painkillers.

"I said one day we're going to have this experience. And when Anna Nicole Smith passed away, I said we cannot have this kind of thing with Michael Jackson," Brian Oxman, a former Jackson attorney and family friend, told NBC's "Today" show. "The result was I warned everyone, and lo and behold, here we are. I don't know what caused his death. But I feared this day, and here we are."

Oxman claimed Jackson had prescription drugs at his disposal to help with pain suffered when he broke his leg after he fell off a stage and for broken vertebrae in his back.

The worldwide wave of mourning for Jackson continued unabated for the man who revolutionized pop music and moonwalked his way into entertainment legend.

"My heart, my mind are broken," said Elizabeth Taylor, who was one of Jackson's closest friends and married one of her husbands at a lavish wedding at the pop star's Neverland Ranch in 1991. She said she had heard the news as she was preparing to travel to London for Jackson's comeback show, and added, "I can't imagine life without him."

Hundreds made a pilgrimage to the Jackson family's compound in Los Angeles, leaving flowers and messages of love. They did the same at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and at the home in Los Angeles' Holmby Hills where Jackson was stricken. Some camped out overnight.

In New York, people stopped at Harlem's Apollo Theater, where Jackson had performed as a child with his brothers in one of rock's first bubblegum supergroups, the Jackson 5.

Scores of celebrities who knew or worked with Jackson — or were simply awed by him — issued statements of mourning. Some came through publicists and others through emotional postings on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, where countless everyday fans were sharing memories as well.

"I truly hope he is memorialized as the '83 moonwalking, MTV owning, mesmerizing, unstoppable, invincible Michael Jackson," said John Mayer. Miley Cyrus called him "my inspiration."

And Diana Ross, the former lead singer of the Supremes who introduced the Jackson 5 at their debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1969, said she could not stop crying. "I am unable to imagine this," she said. "My heart is hurting."

His two ex-wives both said they were devastated. One of them, Lisa Marie Presley, posted a long, emotional statement on her MySpace page in which she said her ex-husband had confided to her 14 years ago that he feared dying young and under tragic circumstances, just as her father, Elvis Presley, had.

"I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that," Presley said.

Presley's father, the King of Rock 'n' Roll to Jackson's King of Pop, died in 1977 at age 42 of a drug-related death.

At rehearsals for Sunday's Black Entertainment Awards show, stars like Beyonce, Wyclef Jean and Ne-Yo were frantically revamping their performances in an effort to turn the evening into a Michael Jackson tribute.

"There's a direct line from Ne-Yo to Michael Jackson," said executive producer Stephen Hill. "There's a direct line from Beyonce to Michael Jackson. There's a direct line from Jay-Z to Michael Jackson. I think they'll want to pay tribute in their own way."

When he was on trial on child molestation charges in 2005, Jackson appeared gaunt and had recurring back problems that he attributed to stress. His trial was interrupted several times by hospital visits, and Jackson once even appeared late to court dressed in his pajamas after an emergency room visit.

After his acquittal, Jackson's prosecutor argued against returning some items that had been seized from Neverland, the Santa Barbara County estate Jackson had converted into a children's playland. Among the items were syringes, the powerful painkiller Demerol and other prescription drugs.

Demerol carries a long list of warnings to users. The government warns that mixing it with certain other drugs can lead to reactions including slowed or stopped breathing, shock and cardiac arrest.

Within hours of Jackson's death on Thursday, fans were inundating Web sites that sell his music, and physical stores reported they had been cleaned out of Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 CDs. All 10 of the albums on Amazon.com's bestseller list Friday were Jackson's; the 25th anniversary edition of "Thriller," the bestselling album of all time, was at the top.

Meanwhile, fans were snapping up every Jackson recording they could get their hands on.

Bill Carr, Amazon.com Inc.'s vice president for music and video, said the Web site sold out within minutes all CDs by Michael Jackson and by the Jackson 5. Jackson's albums accounted for all 10 of Amazon's "Bestsellers in Music" list Friday, with the 25th anniversary edition of the celebrated "Thriller" album taking the top spot.

Barnes and Noble Inc.'s Web site and retail stores also sold out most Jackson CDs, DVDs and books, and its 10 best-selling CDs were Jackson titles as well.

"They love him," said Bill Carr, Amazon's vice president for music and video. "He's a legend, and they're anxious to make sure they have his music in their collections."

So I guess they think it was cardiac arrest? Hello?

[eternal light]

Although a part of him has left, his soul and spirit remain with everyone, and he will never be too far.

Accompanied by the fame of great dancer - won thanks to the sounding board provided by music videos that they took in those years with foot channels on television - with Jackson Thriller reached the top of his creativity. It would have been difficult to maintain a level comparable artistic, but the fact is that from that moment his musical parable has been declining, while the popularity is still enormous. Not always, unfortunately, for artistic reasons. Are well known its ups and judicial followed allegations of pedophilia. But no charge, even as bad and shameful, was sufficient to diminish his legend among the millions of fans around the world. The proof of the emotional reactions aroused by the news of his death. News to which many do not believe. And maybe someone in Memphis has already seen.

by Marcello Filotei and Giuseppe Fiorentino

(google translation)

Accompagnato anche dalla fama di grande ballerino - conquistata grazie alla cassa di risonanza garantita dai video musicali che in quegli anni prendevano piede con canali televisivi dedicati - con Thriller Jackson ha toccato i vertici della sua creatività. Sarebbe stato difficile mantenere un livello artistico paragonabile, ma sta di fatto che da quel momento la sua parabola musicale è stata calante, mentre la popolarità è rimasta grandissima. Non sempre, purtroppo, per motivi artistici. Sono infatti ben note le sue vicissitudini giudiziarie seguite alle accuse di pedofilia. Ma nessuna imputazione, pur così grave e vergognosa, è stata sufficiente a scalfire il suo mito tra i milioni di fan sparsi in tutto il mondo. Ne sono prova le reazioni emotive suscitate dalla notizia della sua morte. Notizia a cui molti non crederanno. E forse qualcuno a Memphis l'ha già visto.

di Marcello Filotei e Giuseppe Fiorentino

vatican.va/news_services/or/or_quo/text.html#13

But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

2 Timothy 1:10

[Evster2012]

And if they're his fans, why don't they already have his music in their collections?

[MrZoSo]

I think the fact that the media attention given to his oddball behaviour seriously hurts the accomplishments Jackson has had in music. He was without question IMO the biggest most influential recording pop star of our time. I do not care for this type of music personally. That does not change the fact that this man had more talent in his glove then most had in there entire body.

[Stevedore]

LOS ANGELES – The final act of Michael Jackson's life came into clearer focus Friday, a picture of a fallen superstar working out with TV's "Incredible Hulk" and under the care of his own private cardiologist as he tried to get his 50-year-old body in shape for a grueling bid to reclaim his glory.

While the exact circumstances of his death remained unclear, early clues suggested he may simply have pushed his heart too far.

Police said they had towed the doctor's BMW from Jackson's home because it may include medication or other evidence, and a source familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that a heart attack appeared to have caused the cardiac arrest that led to the pop icon's sudden death.

As grief for the King of Pop poured out from the icons of music to heartbroken fans, and the world came to grips with losing one of the most luminous celebrities of all time, an autopsy showed no sign of trauma or foul play to Jackson, who died Thursday at UCLA Medical Center after paramedics not could not revive him.

The AP source who said Jackson apparently suffered a heart attack was not authorized to speak publicly and requested anonymity. Jackson's brother Jermaine had said the pop singer apparently went into cardiac arrest — which often, but not always, happens because of a heart attack.

Authorities said they spoke with the doctor briefly Thursday and Friday and expected to meet with him again soon. Police stressed that the doctor, identified by the Los Angeles Times as cardiologist Conrad Murray, was not a criminal suspect.

"We do not consider him to be uncooperative at this time," Beck said. "We think that he will assist us in coming to the truth of the facts in this case."

Craig Harvey, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner, said there were no signs of foul play in the autopsy and further tests would be needed to determine cause of death. He said Jackson was taking some unspecified prescription medication but gave few other details.

Meanwhile, a 911 call released by fire officials shed light on the desperate effort at the mansion to save Jackson's life before paramedics arrived Thursday afternoon. Jackson died later at UCLA Medical Center.

In the recording, an unidentified caller pleads with authorities to send help, offering no clues about why Jackson was stricken. He tells a dispatcher that Jackson's doctor is performing CPR.

"He's pumping his chest," the caller says, "but he's not responding to anything."

Asked by the dispatcher whether anyone saw what happened, the caller answers: "No, just the doctor, sir. The doctor has been the only one there."

The president of the company promoting Jackson's shows said Murray was Jackson's personal physician for three years. Jackson insisted Murray accompany him to London, said Randy Phillips, president of AEG Live.

Phillips quoted Jackson as saying: "Look, this whole business revolves around me. I'm a machine, and we have to keep the machine well-oiled." Phillips said Jackson submitted to at least five hours of physicals that insurers had insisted on.

On Friday, the autopsy was completed in a matter of hours, but an official cause of death could take up to six weeks while medical examiners await toxicology tests. No funeral plans had been made public.

Jackson had remained out of the public spotlight during intense rehearsals for the London concerts, but those with access said he was upbeat and seemingly energized by his planned comeback. Ken Ehrlich, executive producer of the Grammys, said he watched Jackson dance energetically as recently as Wednesday.

"There was this one moment, he was moving across the stage and he was doing these trademark Michael moves, and I know I got this big grin on my face, and I started thinking to myself, 'You know, it's been years since I've seen that,'" he said.

Lou Ferrigno, the star of "The Incredible Hulk," said he had been working out with Jackson for the past several months.

Still, Jackson's health had been known to be precarious in recent years, and one family friend said Friday that he had warned the entertainer's family about his use of painkillers.

"I said one day we're going to have this experience. And when Anna Nicole Smith passed away, I said we cannot have this kind of thing with Michael Jackson," Brian Oxman, a former Jackson attorney and family friend, told NBC's "Today" show. "The result was I warned everyone, and lo and behold, here we are. I don't know what caused his death. But I feared this day, and here we are."

Oxman claimed Jackson had prescription drugs at his disposal to help with pain suffered when he broke his leg after he fell off a stage and for broken vertebrae in his back.

The worldwide wave of mourning for Jackson continued unabated for the man who revolutionized pop music and moonwalked his way into entertainment legend.

"My heart, my mind are broken," said Elizabeth Taylor, who was one of Jackson's closest friends and married one of her husbands at a lavish wedding at the pop star's Neverland Ranch in 1991. She said she had heard the news as she was preparing to travel to London for Jackson's comeback show, and added, "I can't imagine life without him."

Hundreds made a pilgrimage to the Jackson family's compound in Los Angeles, leaving flowers and messages of love. They did the same at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and at the home in Los Angeles' Holmby Hills where Jackson was stricken. Some camped out overnight.

In New York, people stopped at Harlem's Apollo Theater, where Jackson had performed as a child with his brothers in one of rock's first bubblegum supergroups, the Jackson 5.

Scores of celebrities who knew or worked with Jackson — or were simply awed by him — issued statements of mourning. Some came through publicists and others through emotional postings on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, where countless everyday fans were sharing memories as well.

"I truly hope he is memorialized as the '83 moonwalking, MTV owning, mesmerizing, unstoppable, invincible Michael Jackson," said John Mayer. Miley Cyrus called him "my inspiration."

And Diana Ross, the former lead singer of the Supremes who introduced the Jackson 5 at their debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1969, said she could not stop crying. "I am unable to imagine this," she said. "My heart is hurting."

His two ex-wives both said they were devastated. One of them, Lisa Marie Presley, posted a long, emotional statement on her MySpace page in which she said her ex-husband had confided to her 14 years ago that he feared dying young and under tragic circumstances, just as her father, Elvis Presley, had.

"I promptly tried to deter him from the idea, at which point he just shrugged his shoulders and nodded almost matter of fact as if to let me know, he knew what he knew and that was kind of that," Presley said.

Presley's father, the King of Rock 'n' Roll to Jackson's King of Pop, died in 1977 at age 42 of a drug-related death.

At rehearsals for Sunday's Black Entertainment Awards show, stars like Beyonce, Wyclef Jean and Ne-Yo were frantically revamping their performances in an effort to turn the evening into a Michael Jackson tribute.

"There's a direct line from Ne-Yo to Michael Jackson," said executive producer Stephen Hill. "There's a direct line from Beyonce to Michael Jackson. There's a direct line from Jay-Z to Michael Jackson. I think they'll want to pay tribute in their own way."

When he was on trial on child molestation charges in 2005, Jackson appeared gaunt and had recurring back problems that he attributed to stress. His trial was interrupted several times by hospital visits, and Jackson once even appeared late to court dressed in his pajamas after an emergency room visit.

After his acquittal, Jackson's prosecutor argued against returning some items that had been seized from Neverland, the Santa Barbara County estate Jackson had converted into a children's playland. Among the items were syringes, the powerful painkiller Demerol and other prescription drugs.

Demerol carries a long list of warnings to users. The government warns that mixing it with certain other drugs can lead to reactions including slowed or stopped breathing, shock and cardiac arrest.

Within hours of Jackson's death on Thursday, fans were inundating Web sites that sell his music, and physical stores reported they had been cleaned out of Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 CDs. All 10 of the albums on Amazon.com's bestseller list Friday were Jackson's; the 25th anniversary edition of "Thriller," the bestselling album of all time, was at the top.

Meanwhile, fans were snapping up every Jackson recording they could get their hands on.

Bill Carr, Amazon.com Inc.'s vice president for music and video, said the Web site sold out within minutes all CDs by Michael Jackson and by the Jackson 5. Jackson's albums accounted for all 10 of Amazon's "Bestsellers in Music" list Friday, with the 25th anniversary edition of the celebrated "Thriller" album taking the top spot.

Barnes and Noble Inc.'s Web site and retail stores also sold out most Jackson CDs, DVDs and books, and its 10 best-selling CDs were Jackson titles as well.

"They love him," said Bill Carr, Amazon's vice president for music and video. "He's a legend, and they're anxious to make sure they have his music in their collections."

So I guess they think it was cardiac arrest? Hello?

Personally, for me this is the real tragedy in this whole story. Watching Larry King as I write this, a doctor friend of Michael's has just said that Jackson had asked him to write a prescription for a class 3 narcotic in 2005. He is aware of Jackson taking Oxy-Cotton and having injections of Demerol. These pathetic Hollywood so-called doctors who'll write any prescription to gain access to a mega-stars inner circle need to be held accountable and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Danny Ganns, Anna Nicole and now the brilliant Michael Jackson, what a waste!

[PlanetPage]

Well, I hate to say it, but I tend to agree with what Spats is saying:

People (no one here on this forum, but in the media) have roasted Michael over the coals for years, criticizing every move that he made, forming the public view (whether true or not) that he was some weirdo child molester. Now that he has tragically passed away, they (the media) are singing his accolades (which he justly deserves for his musical career). How hypocritical. They are the ones that made life miserable for him while he was alive, hounding his every move, causing him to become the recluse that he was, adding to the mystic of his weirdness. (Although he himself may have been responsible for feeding this mis-info to the media?)

He was a great performer, dancer and singer. Nothing can diminish that. He should be remembered for those accomplishments. He was indeed The King of Pop.

His family deserve our sincere sympathies and prayers that they can get past this tragedy and remember Michael for the gentle soul that he was and the contributions that he made in pop music.

And, by the way, I think that people are being too harsh on Spats.

I don't think that he meant to criticize anyone on this forum for liking Michael Jackson.

He was just making an observation about the media hoopla now that Michael has died.

And the Michael bashing by others is inappropriate at this time of his passing, as others have stated. Just my opinion, too.

....Agreed here. yes, Role of Media was and remains next to God...Media can create/break people...Truly, the Real Michael dies long time ago...and a new one was created which struggled to long for the True Michael, and now Gone.......it is a very sad fact...I wish the media had taken stronger moral "Opposite" role, rather than just thriving on daily news reporting from the Court House Scene....The news reporting journalistic scene has got to change...

[BUCK'EYE' DOC]

In 1984, my husband's uncle worked for Ronald Reagan at the Department of Energy. His office was located at the Executive Office Building, which is right next door to the White House. He was a personal friend of Reagan's.

In April, 1984, my husband and I visited his aunt and uncle in Washington, D.C. We were given a tour of his uncle's office, and on that particular day in April, the President of Mexico was visiting the White House. We were invited to go over to the White House lawn for the reception for the Mexican President. After much security screening (nothing like today's) we were ushered onto the White House lawn with about a hundred other people for the reception, which was held out doors. The military bands played to much ceremony. One of the bands was a drum and bugle corps dressed in their Revolutionary War uniforms. It was all pomp and circumstance. The Mexican President's limo pulled up to the Rose Garden, and Reagan and Nancy came out to greet him. Then there were brief speeches by both Presidents, and then they all went into the White House. That was it.

The next day, Michael Jackson was visiting the White House. Security was ten times as tight for his visit as it was for the President of Mexico. Only employees of the White House and the Executive Office Building were allowed to attend the reception, which was similar to the one for the President of Mexico. We pleaded and begged to attend, and his uncle called Reagan personally, requesting an invitation for me and my husband, but no dice. It couldn't be arranged at such short notice due to the security requirements.

So Michael's visit was much hyped and was more exclusive than for the head of our neighboring country of Mexico. He was at the height of his popularity. It would have been great to have been there to witness this little piece of history.

Note: Ronald Reagan is funny and quite quippy in this video, lol.

[Reggie29]

From the LA Times.

Tickets for all the scheduled dates -- nearly a million in total -- were snapped up within hours of going on sale.

On Wednesday, promoters had announced that extra seats were available by lottery. But barely 24 hours later, Jackson was dead.

As envisioned by Randy Phillips, chief executive of AEG Live, the concert promoter behind Jackson's comeback, his 50 dates in London would have been the first of a four-phase plan to have the singer tour the world, hitting Europe and Asia -- including India, Australia, China and Japan -- before returning to North America.

"We felt London was the right place to start this comeback," he said.

"Do I think the international marketplace is a little less judgmental than America can be? Yes.

There was a calculated reason we did that.

We figured we start over there and work our way back into America."

Hey Ev, the REAL people know all Yanks aren't as bad as they are made out to be!

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/wo...0,6098493.story

[Dzldoc]

I was just thinking whether or not I had any of his cds. Well the ex took most of the cds when she cast off and I know she had some of his work.

I started browsing my iTunes collection and low and behold I have the History album on there and after looking around my other media I found a VHS tape of the live at

Bucharest concert and that was one hell of a show there.

[danelectro]

Funny how none of the celebrity children like Emmanuel Lewis and Macauley Culkin ever pointed a finger at him. Guess they weren't in need of a paycheck right? Just because Jackson paid some people off to leave him alone doesn't mean he did it.

The cynicism is nauseating.

Not only that but I'm pretty sure a sex crime perpetrated against a minor is prosecuted but the county and state. They didn't have evidence of a crime for that particular incident and it wasn't part of a criminal court it was civil. Which means jack shit, anyone with a pencil and the fee to file a summons can get someone in front of a judge. The money MJ paid was to hush the family from dragging him through the mud in the media. It would have been more damaging to fight it than to agree to their blackmail. And that's basically what it was. If the law had a shred of evidence against him it would have been mandatory to take it before a judge. In all US states crimes concerning minors and domestic violence crimes it is handled by the county or state because victims tend to retract statements under pressure from their accusers.

[zosodude13]

This is still surreal for me. Just a week ago, I visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and saw many pieces of memorabilia from various rock and pop artists. Looking back on it now, there was a video about the evolution of the music video, featuring and discussing 'Thriller' at great length. Among the various articles of clothing were one of the famous red leather jackets from 'Thriller', along with an original vinyl pressing of 'Thriller'. There was the montage of RNRHOF inductees, which showed him joking about the camera getting his 'good side'.

It wasn't the highlight of my trip, but it was rather incredible when those parts of the trip were pushed to the front of my mind when I first heard a radio DJ say there were rumors he was dead.

Do I feel kinda guilty by the fact I had been meaning to listen to 'Thriller' the last couple of months and only got around to it when he died... yeah. It's just one of those things where we need to appreciate who is here now.... perhaps something not all of us, including me, did with Michael Jackson.

[NickZepp]

Michael Jackson is absolutely one of the biggest stars ever on the planet. You won't see a member of Led Zeppelin getting the press he is getting after his death, You might see Paul McCartney get this hype when he dies but I doubt it. Possibly Bob Dylan but I doubt it. The controversies and issues he had the last 15-20 years of his life only made him even more well known even though it was for bad reasons. And with the controversy around his death appearing to be pill related. It'll only make him bigger. There are so few deaths out there that give this many opinions either way. He was the "King of Pop" and his music will live on forever. Yes he may have also done some strange things like dying his skin and whatever he did with kids. That's just all part of the strange trip that was a music legend.

[NickZepp]

Oh yeah and to those complaining about Michael Jackson's little boy fetish which we don't know if it's 100% true or not. Didn't Page do girls that were like 13 or 14 in the 70s? That's not mentioning all the drug and alcohol use a ton of famous people have gone through the last forever. When you get to be so big you have issues especially when you are famous for your entire life like Michael was. Think about this he became the lead singer of the Jackson 5 when he was 5 years old. They were big by the time he was 10 years old. Do you remember anything in your life before you were 10 years old? Probably not a ton of stuff. So he was brought up with basically no real life. His entire life was his professional life.

[Charlotte Sometimes]

If you weren't around or old enough in the early/mid-80s, then it probably is difficult to realize what a phenomenon M.J. was. All many people know about him are the stories of the last decade in the tabloids. But, back then, it was difficult to find someone who wasn't a Michael fan. Young, old, black, white, yellow, blue whatever...EVERYONE was blown away. The Motown special, the premiere of the Thriller video...those were huge moments in my childhood. I had never seen anyone dance or move like that, haven't since, and never will again. And, as a singer, he was equally gifted. If you don't believe me, just try singing a Michael song. Any one of them! And I'm not talking just in the car, but on one of those games, like SingStar where you actually have to "sort of" hit the notes. Good luck!

He was one of a kind, and I mean that in the GOOD sense of the phrase. Also, an interesting thing to keep in mind is that Michael was a great admirer of P.T. Barnum, who used eccentricity as a publicity tool. I think M.J. may have went to far with that idea and it backfired...well..at least when it comes to those who believe everything they read.

Anyway, I will miss him and his talent. Gone too soon, like so many of the greats. It's a shame.

[Aquamarine]

I think in many respects he genuinely was eccentric, having had little opportunity to experience "normal," or what "abnormal" looked like to the rest of us--I'm not prepared to believe he was so cynical as to invent or exaggerate most of that stuff for publicity purposes, especially given that (apart from the undeniable publicity) most of it hurt rather than helped him.

But yeah, the Motown special, Thriller--that was breath-taking stuff.