The Michael Jackson Memorial thread-
 

Latest pics and updates I could find-link

The casket is at Staples. There is now issue on if he will be buried at Forest Lawn or Neverland.

Will update as I find more-

CNN coverage of the event- all day.

Wow. Can Lionel Richie sing at my funeral too? Damn that guy is awesome.

I couldn't tell if Mariah was crying or just wasn't vocally ready, but she was a bit off. Still good, though. Must have been difficult.

I tired watching online, but it keeps cutting out.

Cutting out on television too. At least MTV is. Too bad. Stevie Wonder made me tear up. He may be the most soulful singer ever to live.

The Intertubes seen to be bearing the brunt of this. A speed test shows my connection running at ~ 1/100th it's normal speed.

I'd forgotten how little i miss dial-up.

Could Al Sharpton get any douchier?

Sure, let him speak at a political rally rather than an entertainers memorial.

LA has set up a donation website to pay for costs
 

LA sets up Web site for Jackson memorial donations


Story here

As I said in the RIP thread, a pittance from the recent surge in sales of CDs/downloads would cover this, and more. When you die, your loved ones (or you have set up) the arrangements for memorials and funeral costs, this should be no different, IMO. No reason why the city and county should have to pay for this or am I crazy to think otherwise?

Be careful what you wish for...!

Well, yeh, a little bit. This is not your ordinary situation, just as MJ was not your ordinary entertainer. MJ's death is big. Valentino big.

updated link and pics

I just got a flurry of angry inside- THEY ARE HIS CHILDREN!!! I don't give a rats ASS where their DNA came from-they are his children. He was their father. To say otherwise just to take shots at the choices this man made in his life diminishes anyone who has adpoted, or used surrogates, or in vitro or anything else-

Those things do not determine who a parent is- it only shows biology. The man who loved them, took care of them, was rasing them- HE was their father. To say otherwise is such total bullshyt-

Yeah, did the Jackson family ask for 1,400 police officers or is the city insisting on it?

They should just have let the caravan drive in normal traffic and then said to people "if you kill each other while stand around outside Staples Center then you're stupid but we've got better things to do."

Okay, so I'm crazy. I realize this is an extraordinary situation.

Yeah, but it's not a political situation where the city by rights has to provide first amendment rights type protections to the citizenry. This is a private showbiz affair - - no one has a "right" to see Stevie Wonder at the Staples Center. I'm appalled that AEG hasn't pledged any money to cover this.



BTW, by the same token he was father to those kids ... they also have a mother, and it's not Diana Ross.

AEG and the LA Lakers pledged a million toward the cost according to the article.

True- but is he the first celebrity to have chosen to be a "single" parent? We don't know who the "mother" genetically is- Debbie Rowe or whoever. In any case it appears that those women chose to be donors- or surrogates- not mothers. Even Rowe left them behind and was not a "mother" to them.

Mother and father are not titles given for genetics- at least they should not be.

They had an egg donor (or donors) not mothers.

Link is updated with more again-more pics. His daughter Paris spoke as well-

The haters can suck it. This little girl lost her daddy-she could care less whose egg and sperm were used.

I think Queen Latifah gave one of the most eloquent and better-written speeches during the memorial service.

Hearing Jermaine Jackson sing such a beautiful song was touching, as was, of course, the emotional comments by Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris.

From what I saw of the memorial, I thought it was pretty good. Aside from the bad stuff, he was a big part of the world culture and changed alot of lives. It was an historic event and thankfully in this day and age, many can participate and morn together with the rest of the world.

I stopped watching after Lionel Ritchie because I had to go to work, but I was underwhelmed by Mariah. Goonie's theory is that she was crying. I didn't see any tears... My theory is that her voice ain't what it used to be. Does she smoke?

The Lakers? Why would the Lakers contribute toward Jackson's Funeral Theatrical Special?

The answer is, they wouldn't. The article was pointing out that, under similar circumstances, the Lakers and AEG (which owns the Staples Center) pledged a million to cover roughly HALF of the Lakers' festivities, while 1700 teachers lost their jobs because of the budget shortfall.

This time, for the MJ Hoopla, estimated by the article to cost far more, the very same AEG has pledged to contribute zero ... while 3622 more teachers lose their jobs as a result.



Is he dead yet? Because at this rate, our state can't take any more Michael Jackson.





I'm being facetious about the teachers. It's the City of L.A. that pays for both the Lakers and MJ debacles. The city is facing a shortfall of over half a billion dollars. Thousands of city workers are being laid off. It just doesn't sound as heart-rending as teachers. Although I suppose I could have blamed the Staples Center for taking life-saving medicine from AIDS victims.

Perhaps this is a way to raise some $$ for the City of LA? That was listed on ebay in record time.

I'd expect a pretty penny could be made from video of the memorial itself: Downloads, Blu-Ray, DVD's etc....

The listing has already been removed by eBay.

Also, cnn.com is rebroadcasting the memorial service now for anyone who missed it.

Why in the heck would they remove that?

The tickets I can see but a book about MJ? That's overreacting.


EDITED TO ADD: Ahh! I don't think Ebay removed it. There are plenty of others.

There are more listings on ebay. FYI, I doubt it's illegal to post now that the event is over.

Thanks for the new links, Moonliner.

Hahahaha! ... Some overly optimistic seller is hoping to get $10,000 for his/her eBay listing of the Michael Jackson memorial service program.

Did anyone else think that the casket looked like a chafing dish?

Made to order omelet? Potatoes, bacon, and MJ are to your right.

Watched the memorial with like-minded company today, and it was just awesome.

After the service, in MJ's honor (and taking note from Magic Johnson's story), we ran over to pick up a bucket of KFC, returned, and sat on the floor to eat it while reminiscing about MJ's influence in our lives. I was especially moved by the note that Michael "raised the bar and then broke it", and how he "studied the best and made it better". It reminded me once again that I can achieve whatever I set my mind to. It added more fuel to my fire, and that I can soar instead of just fly.

I laughed at Brooke's story about them attempting to sneak a peek at Liz Taylor's wedding dress. From hearing about the more human aspect of his life, I wish I had known him personally. He was the type of person that I prefer to keep close to me - innovative, child-like, dreamer, playful, compassionate, giving, loving, inspirational, successful, talented, and strong. (With emphasis on that last part with all the crap he had to endure that would have caused most people to blow their brains out early on in the game, yet he didn't quit - he kept giving and loving people.)

I was considered "weird" when growing up, because I didn't follow mainstream or popular trends. And, I still walk to the beat of my own drum. Today, I was reminded that I should always keep my own beat, and not give a damn what anyone else thinks - to keep moving forward, always do my best, and love unconditionally. Those are the traits of a wealthy, fulfilling, and happy life.

Brooke's eulogy was one of the best

The cost of providing police for the Jackson funeral/memorial comes out of $90 million already budgeted (well prior to Jackson's death) for police over-time for the fiscal year. While these 2 things may be the biggest, they are a small part of the over-time budget(s). Further, you can hardly blame the Lakers for city workers being laid off and lack of AIDS drugs; all of the Lakers money came out of last year's $80.7 million budget as the new fiscal year began July 1. (The rise to $90 million was largely due to COL increases in over-time pay.)

I hardly think it fair to charge the Jacksons for the same services (albeit mucho more manpower) provided for free to thousands of other Los Angelens (?) every year.

Does any of this mean that I don't think it would be lovely if AEG and the Jacksons offered to pay for part of it? No. I think it would be a nice gesture. On the other hand, if they choose not to, I don't think the impact on the budget is worth everyone getting in a tizzy.

btw, I thought the memorial was surprisingly touching and dignified.

Michael's daughter brought me to tears...we should all be so lucky to be remembered thusly.

T, while you were not at Staples, it sounds like you celebrated and mourned with just the right note. The KFC feast made me laugh!

I found the memorial to be tasteful, dignified and a lovely tribute to a human being not well known by the average person. I hope that he felt the love coming back to him. The eulogies were wonderful, the performances terrific and I really felt for the clearly emotional Mariah Carey having to come out first. I suspect she did not know the casket would be there in front of her too soon before she had to sing. Usher, amazing. Stevie Wonder, I wept like a child. I can only say that Mr. Jackson's mother Katherine must be an incredible person, it's clear she has the respect and love of many people, and not merely the immediate family. Second only to his 11 year old daughter, the words of his brother Marlon, that just ripped my heart out.

As an update, it appears as though donations from fans and friends have probably covered the costs (and perhaps then some). As "icing" it is estimated that the city probably made $4 million+ in revenue generated by all of tourism associated with the memorial.

Raising the question: What if LA is the only one to make a profit off MJ's funeral. If people selling tickets on eBay were wankers, would this make all of the citizens of LA wankers?

Aren't all the citizens of LA already wankers? ;)

I figured that would happen. Now people can't whine about how much it cost. The only thing left to complain about now is the news that will still be lingering for at least a good six months and then taper off into an eternal occasional story (ala Elvis). But, there's a simple and quick solution for that too - people can just finally learn how to use a remote control or click on a different link. ;)

I just really hope the media leaves his children alone. I'm really glad I no longer work in news, because some of the stories would get me fired by refusing to shoot or edit 'em.

There is a big difference between "Sheltered from the press" and "Sheltered".

I wonder which is the case for the Jackson kids.

Were other dead celebrity kids hounded? I don't follow gossip news, so I've no idea.

Also, I don't remember dead Elvis news going on for too long. Just that, like Michael Jackson, he turned out to be worth far more dead than alive.

There was no internet back then either. All people have to do nowadays is start a rumor in a blog somewhere and then it becomes "news". But, then again, I was only 4 years old when Elvis died, so I didn't hear nor understand much news back then.

Though, I imagine that MJ, like Elvis, will be endlessly immortalized through impersonators, memorabilia, and even conspiracy theories like "he faked his death and is living in a trailer park in southern Texas".

One thing I feel weird about is here MJ was so careful all these years about keeping his kids' faces concealed so that they could move in public without him, and as soon as he dies, there they are on international TV (and the media was licking its chops on that one!) Losing the anonymity he fought so hard to give them, and for which he endured so much criticism for masking/veiling them.

On the bright side, no more masks.

Time will tell which was better for the kids.

How did the media treat Priscilla and especially Lisa Marie, after Elvis' death?

I always forget that Lisa Marie and Michael were married. It's always been a too-weird coupling. Too bad they didn't have kids, though. Imagine the hip action!

Imagine the discussions about whether to bring the kids up as Jehovah's Witnesses or Scientologists.

As soon as they were unmasked I was convinced that the reason they were masked at all was to conceal that they were not his biological children.

You got that right. Eww.

Sorry, I had to post it. Beautiful song, but this video is definitely the moment I was turned away from Michael Jackson. :(


ETA - then there's this. Again, eww.

Or Muslim. (Wasn't MJ Muslim?)

Not that he ever admitted. But we Americans are big on sniffing out secret Muslims.

I don't know if he was ever baptised as a JW (I believe it was his mother that was the serious one) but that affiliation lapsed 20+ years ago after kerfuffle surrounding Thriller.

So, I had to look at LMP's Wikipedia entry. She's into short marriages, apparently. Her and Nick Cage were married for a whopping 108 days. Jackson and LM for under 2 years.

Maybe she needs the money. I bet she's a gold digger.

Ok, to make up for that, I'm going to post a great video of his.

Jam, with the OTHER MJ, as well as Heavy D's rap break and a cameo by Kris Kross(!).

Smooth Criminal is my fav MJ video. I used to play it at the club, but had to use the instrumental to cover the bridge.

That's a great song that I haven't heard in years. Thanks for sharing. :)

I just heard that there a conspiracy going around that Sarah Palin stepped down because she was involved in killing Michael Jackson and the story was about to break.

OMG! She's the REAL mom to the kids! Of course. It all makes sense now...

That would explain why one was named Blanket. ;)

That's beautiful!

What's up with Blanket anyway? Is that a real name or what?

His real name is Prince Michael, just like his brother. Michael nicknamed him Blanket, because he wanted to "blanket him with love". And, the name stuck.

Actually the eldest isn't named Prince, he is Micheal Joseph Jackson Jr. but dubbed the prince because his dad is the King. Prince is actually Prince Micheal Jacson II why they stuck the II on there who knows? and Paris is Paris Micheal Katherine Jackson, but the Blanket story is 'accurate'

Hmm. I assumed it was because the kid was famous for being covered by a blanket while being dangled over a balcony.

After Jackson's divorce from Rowe, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr.'s name was changed to Prince Michael Jackson (I think I remember reports that he didn't want his son to bear his father's [Joe's] name). His second son (who is reputed to be his bio child-- and who I personally think actually looks similar to MJ when he was young) was named Prince Michael Jackson II, his oldest son presumably being "I".

Visible Mojo! :D

Apparently the city of L.A. does NOT want your money for the Jackson memorial thankyouverymuch.

Hmmm, I wonder how much those reports are gonna cost taxpayers...

At least the $35,000 they took in from donations.


*Poof!*

And, Joe Jackson wants to put his grandkids on tour as the "Jackson 3".

(Insert vomiting smiley here.)

Sadly I can see him trying to do that. Hopefully others in the family would never allow that to happen!

Hmm... I didn't even know he had kids, much less grandkids.

Us Weekly released a video of Jackson's head catching fire during the shooting of that Pepsi commercial. I watched it. Wow. His head was on fire for quite awhile before he and the crew put it out. I guess I hadn't realized how bad the accident was. 2nd and 3rd degree burns. Yikes!

Yeah, I haven't wanted to watch that. Too gruesome. But maybe I'll get some courage later on.

People who know him say that the pain/recovery from the burns was the trigger for his addiction to prescription drugs.

Which also explains why he ended up wearing wigs after that point.