OT: Michael Jackson

10spro · Post by **10spro** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:00 pm

His death is a sad reflection of everything that is unholy about our celebrity obsessed culture. His fall from professional greatness was so deep that it transformed his superstardom into a financial, physical and psychological mess so troubled that he could not revive his career.

We tend to worship celebrities to a fault, forgetting that they are humans just like us. From Elvis to Marylin to lady Diana, fans seem to embrace them and stalk them to a fault as if they owe us a piece of their lives, forgetting that in our obsession, they are all human after all.

I'll miss the moonwalker, I prefer to remember his art and music that his late legal troubles.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:10 pm

The thing to remember is he was never convicted of child molestation. He definitely had a bizarre relationship with children and very well may have engaged in sexual acts with them. However, it's also quite easy to project the worst onto a man who was so emotionally intimate with children. And we tend to lose our heads when someone lobs the pedophilia accusatin -- look at the daycare abuse hysteria over cases like the McMartin trial.

He had a lot of obvious emotional issues, but pedophilia is a very serious charge and it was never proven he did anything physical with the kids. Just sayin'.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:13 pm

JRod wrote:Either way, great music, f***ed up personal life. You really and probably shouldn't seperate the two. Enjoy the music but maybe recognize he was a troubled individual.

pk500 wrote:Were his transgressions sick? Arguably so. But I honestly believe the guy thought he was doing nothing wrong. I don't think there was anything calculated about it. His desire to cling to his childhood, which really never happened as Matt alluded, and be around children caused him to act and think like a child. Plus from all accounts, the guy had a heart bigger than his list of pop successes.

Again, that doesn't absolve him of his actions. But I always will believe he thought he was doing nothing wrong.

What part of my description above indicates that I don't think he was a troubled individual? Your Dr. Freud efforts provide some welcome comedy at times, JRod.

And I don't think anyone needs to weld the morals and performances of an entertainer into one package. There are countless performers whose talent we have admired or continue to admire who have done things we would never comprehend. Assault, spousal abuse, drug abuse, alcoholism, etc., etc. And Jackson's actions toward children definitely were wrong, even if I always will believe he didn't see them that way for whatever bizarre reason.

But that doesn't mean we can't acknowledge and enjoy the guy's music and dancing. The guy isn't my father or my parish priest. He was a singer and a dancer who entertained me. I don't need to hold him to such a high moral standard as you, apparently.

Take care,
PK

ansonlee · Post by **ansonlee** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:15 pm

Always been curious but how did his whole skin turn white? I can see how plastic surgery can do that to a face but not the whole body. His skin was very pale around his chest and arms in some of those videos. From being dark skinned to being completely white is one thing I don't understand how it could be done.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:18 pm

ansonlee wrote:Always been curious but how did his whole skin turn white? I can see how plastic surgery can do that to a face but not the whole body. His skin was very pale around his chest and arms in some of those videos. From being dark skinned to being completely white is one thing I don't understand how it could be done.

Plenty of debate about that. Some claim he had his skin bleached. And given his addiction to other cosmetic procedures, there's certainly credence to that belief.

Jackson and others claim his skin color changed due to vitiligo and lupus. He said the skin on his face was blotchy due to vitiligo, so he just used makeup to remove the spots and make it all white.

Toss a coin.

Take care,
PK

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:21 pm

ansonlee wrote:Always been curious but how did his whole skin turn white? I can see how plastic surgery can do that to a face but not the whole body. His skin was very pale around his chest and arms in some of those videos. From being dark skinned to being completely white is one thing I don't understand how it could be done.

I've read conflicting reports. One said he had a skin disorder, and others claimed his bleached his own skin. Whatever the case, the thing that is so astonishing to me at leaset is how he looked before his death compared to what he looked like in the 80s. It's just amazing to think this was the same person who was the star in the Jackson 5.

Sport73 · Post by **Sport73** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:32 pm

Michael Jackson's not dead; and he never had plastic surgery. He's been relocating his body (nose, eyes, skin, genitals) for years in order to re-emerge as Emanuel Lewis v2.1 in 2011. Watch for it.

According to the Onion:

"Michael Jackson, a talented child performer known for his love of amusement park rides and his hobby of collecting exotic animals for his Neverland Ranch, died from sudden cardiac arrest Thursday at the age of 12. The prepubescent singer, who enjoyed playing dress-up and often referred to himself as "the King of Pop," was celebrated for his naïve exuberance and his generosity toward other children. "

Post by **ScoopBrady** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:34 pm

Brando70 wrote:The thing to remember is he was never convicted of child molestation. He definitely had a bizarre relationship with children and very well may have engaged in sexual acts with them. However, it's also quite easy to project the worst onto a man who was so emotionally intimate with children. And we tend to lose our heads when someone lobs the pedophilia accusatin -- look at the daycare abuse hysteria over cases like the McMartin trial.

He had a lot of obvious emotional issues, but pedophilia is a very serious charge and it was never proven he did anything physical with the kids. Just sayin'.

I agree, and as a father I have a hard time thinking that any father would settle something like that out of court. I would think you would want vengeance ala Samuel Leroy Jackson in A Time to Kill or would want the man responsible to serve time in jail. I'm just sayin.

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:45 pm

All I know, is that we (LA) is in-store for one of the most gloriously bizarre funerals ever. One to stand the test of time. It's gonna be a-list, b-list, c-list, and f-list combined with rabid fans & just LA-weirdness. Get the popcorn ready...

Post by **Jared** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:55 pm

I'm not quite sure he was a child molester. I read the Wikipedia entry on it (so take it with a thousand grains of salt), but it boy who admitted the child abuse originally did it under the influence of sodium amytal administered by his father, who was severely in debt. The second case went to court, and they found him innocent as well. I think Michael Jackson was terribly strange, and had a fascination with kids...but I don't think he was a pedo.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:12 am

This article comes courtesy of a link from Drudge so take it with a grain of salt. According to the article Michael was not only a mess but basically had both feet in the grave. The article among many things say Michael no longer was able to sing or dance and that he thought he signed up for 10 concerts and was shocked when he found out it was 50 and it was all due to his handlers taking advantage of him as it was a big payday for them if he could do all 50 concerts. Kind of sad if all this was true.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... s-ago.html

sportdan30 · Post by **sportdan30** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 11:15 am

Just read it. Unbelievable. How incredibly sad if true.

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:00 pm

pk500 wrote:I don't know, Rod: TMZ usually nails this Hollywood stuff. It has tons of sources there.

Very sad, if true. Two entertainment giants gone in one day. Let's hope bad things don't come in threes.

Take care,
PK

Billy Mays the infomercial celebrity died today at age 50.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:02 pm

Rodster wrote:
pk500 wrote:I don't know, Rod: TMZ usually nails this Hollywood stuff. It has tons of sources there.

Very sad, if true. Two entertainment giants gone in one day. Let's hope bad things don't come in threes.

Take care,
PK
Billy Mays the infomercial celebrity died today at age 50.

Holy sh*t -- this will strike my kids more than the King of Pop dying. My kids think Billy Mays is a trip.

RIP. Dude was a character and very good at his craft.

Take care,
PK

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:05 pm

RIP: Billy

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529328,00.html

greggsand · Post by **greggsand** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:14 pm

Rodster wrote:RIP: Billy

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,529328,00.html

Wow, WTF is going on this week???????

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 1:20 pm

pk500 wrote:
Holy sh*t -- this will strike my kids more than the King of Pop dying. My kids think Billy Mays is a trip.

PK

Same here. They love the Mighty Putty guy.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 2:06 pm

webdanzer wrote:
pk500 wrote:
Holy sh*t -- this will strike my kids more than the King of Pop dying. My kids think Billy Mays is a trip.

PK
Same here. They love the Mighty Putty guy.

Sure enough, when I told my 10-year-old daughter that Michael Jackson died, she said: "Michael Jackson died? Hmm."

When I told her this morning that Billy Mays died, she spun and yelled, "BILLY MAYS DIED? WHAT?"

When I told my 8-year-old son that Billy Mays died, he replied, "Yeah, right." I said, "No, really." He looked sad.

My 4-year-old son is oblivious. He just keeps walking around saying, "Billy Mays here!" as if nothing happened.

Take care,
PK

MizzouRah · Post by **MizzouRah** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 7:15 pm

greggsand wrote:
Rodster wrote:
Wow, WTF is going on this week???????

No doubt.. sheesh... 50 years old for both him and Michael, wayyyy to young.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 10:35 pm

I'm pretty sure I posted this in another thread, but this is the classic Billy Mays video on YouTube. Showed the dude was a cool guy, willing to parody himself:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VtYdDK1uTDI&co ... edded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Take care,
PK

GTHobbes · Post by **GTHobbes** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 2:35 pm

pk500 wrote:I'm pretty sure I posted this in another thread, but this is the classic Billy Mays video on YouTube. Showed the dude was a cool guy, willing to parody himself:

<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VtYdDK1uTDI&co ... edded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed>

Take care,
PK

Great video, PK. Unfortunately, it's also probably an eye-opener for the rest of us fast food eaters since the official autopsy is saying heart-disease.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/2 ... index.html

Teal · Post by **Teal** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:04 pm

This just in: Since Michael Jackson is approximately 90% plastic, they're going to melt him down into LEGOS, so that kids can play with HIM for a change...ba da BING!

EDIT: That's SO wrong, I know, but...sorry, it was funny...

webdanzer · Post by **webdanzer** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:12 pm

I have to admit I laughed at this:

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:29 pm

^^^

Btw it looks like he died from a heart attack during his sleep. His autopsy indicates he had developed heart disease.

http://tv.yahoo.com/contributor/2452757 ... __ER:66441

Rodster · Post by **Rodster** » Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:33 pm

Add Fred Travalena to the list, dead at 66.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/06/2 ... index.html