You can view the page at http://www.positivelymichael.com/for...ifted-children

Saturday, May 19th, 2012 5:13:46 by Haris Ansari



Slash, a versatile American musician, has revealed in a recent interview that he only knew about late Michael Jackson on a professional level despite working with the legendary pop artist on a number of occasions.

“Michael, I only knew him for the most part, on a professional level. I don’t even think when he attempted o be any closer than that, that I even allowed it, because it was too crazy. There’s being famous, and then there’s being that kind of famous and that’s
a crazy world to be in because you have no sense of reality”, Slash stated in a recent interview.

The renowned musician went on to reveal that after his mom split up with his dad, his mom started dating one of his favourites musician, David Bowie.

“My mom was dating David Bowie, and so that was after my mom and dad split up… I knew him from the album covers. I mean, I liked his music, and it was an interesting time. I had to have been like, roughly eight, maybe nine years old, you know, so…. And they
were never home. They came by the house every so often, he would come over, but, uh, you know, they were always off, sort of running around. But I went to a few Bowie shows as a result”

“As I got older, then I started to realize that a lot of stuff that I had learned had sort of prepared me to deal with a lot of the stuff that I was dealing with in the present”, Slash concluded.

http://www.newspakistan.pk/2012/05/1...el-says-Slash/

Alternative anesthetic lets Missouri develop new protocol for lethal injections, the first of its kind.

By TONY RIZZO
The Kansas City Star


The state of Missouri is back in the execution business with a drug that’s never been used to put prisoners to death in the United States.

Stymied by a chemical shortage affecting every death-penalty state, the Missouri Department of Corrections said this week that it now will carry out death sentences with propofol, a widely used surgical anesthetic that also was a factor in singer Michael Jackson’s death.

Attorneys representing some of the state’s death row inmates learned of the plan Thursday after corrections officials met with some inmates and informed them of the new protocol.

Defense attorneys said it’s too early to say what, if any, legal challenges might be mounted in regard to the new one-drug execution protocol that replaces Missouri’s previous three-drug cocktail.

“It’s something we will have to look at very carefully,” said Joseph Luby, an attorney with the Death Penalty Litigation Clinic in Kansas City. “Propofol has no track record in executions.”

Missouri is the first state to formally adopt the use of propofol, also known by the brand name Diprivan, for use in lethal injections, said Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center in Washington, D.C.

“No one has used it yet,” Dieter said. “Other states may have considered it.”

Deborah Denno, a law professor at Fordham University in New York and nationally known expert on lethal injection issues, called it a “pretty extraordinary development” that raises many questions.

“I would anticipate legal challenges,” she said.

Missouri’s last execution took place in February 2011. Since shortly after that, the state has been unable to obtain the anesthetic that puts inmates to sleep before they are injected with two other chemicals that stop the lungs and heart. Officials also had been unable to obtain an alternative drug that some states had adopted to take its place.

With news that the corrections department had obtained a different drug, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster on Thursday asked the state Supreme Court to set execution dates for 19 inmates. They include Michael Taylor, one of the killers of Ann Harrison, a Kansas City teenager kidnapped in 1989 while waiting for the school bus in front of her house, and Allen Nicklasson, convicted of kidnapping and killing Excelsior Springs businessman Richard Drummond in 1994 after Drummond stopped to help Nicklasson and a co-defendant when their car broke down.

Koster said in his motion that there are no legal impediments or stays now in place to stop the executions.

“Unless this court sets an execution date after a capital murder defendant’s legal process is exhausted, the people of Missouri are without legal remedy,” Koster said in his motion.

According to Supreme Court procedures, lawyers for the inmates must be given the opportunity to file responses before the Supreme Court sets execution dates.

“There is no timetable as far as when the court would rule (on dates),” said spokeswoman Beth Riggert. “The court rules when it deems it appropriate.”

Missouri and every other state using lethal injection once used the same three-drug mixture that employed sodium thiopental to anesthetize prisoners. The drug has been employed in all 68 executions Missouri has carried out since 1989.

Inmates in Missouri and across the country had filed numerous legal challenges to the method, alleging that it created the risk of inflicting cruel and unusual punishment if not administered properly. However, the U.S. Supreme ruled in 2008 that the method was not unconstitutional.

In early 2010, shortages of sodium thiopental began cropping up, and in early 2011 the only domestic supplier announced it would no longer manufacture the drug.

States also had difficulty obtaining it from foreign sources, and on March 27, a federal court in Washington, D.C., banned any importation of sodium thiopental and ordered the Food and Drug Administration to contact every state that it believed had any foreign-manufactured thiopental and instruct them to surrender it to the FDA. It also permanently prohibited importation of the drug.

With thiopental in short supply, some states began to substitute another anesthetic, pentobarbital, for use in the three-drug method.

In February 2011, Ohio began using pentobarbital by itself to execute prisoners. Earlier this year, Arizona became the second state to switch to one-drug executions using pentobarbital.

Dieter, with the death penalty information center, said pentobarbital has been used, either by itself or in combination with other drugs, in the last 45 executions in the United States.

But last July, its Danish manufacturer announced that it was imposing restrictions on how pentobarbital was distributed to prevent its use in executions.

Since its on-hand supply of thiopental expired in March 2011, Missouri had been unsuccessful in finding it or pentobarbital.

In announcing its new protocol this week, Missouri Department of Corrections officials did not comment on when they obtained the new drug or where it was obtained.

According to Missouri’s new written protocol, inmates will be injected with two grams of propofol. An area anesthesiologist said that amount is 10 times the dosage that would be used in a surgical setting for a 220-pound patient.

According to Missouri’s new protocol, the chemical will be prepared by a doctor, nurse or pharmacist. An intravenous line will be inserted and monitored by a doctor, nurse or emergency medical technician. Department employees will inject the chemicals.

Doctors say the drug is used widely in medical settings and does not have some of the side effects, like post-operative nausea and vomiting, of previously used anesthetics. It was developed in England in the late 1970s.

Currently, only one execution date is pending in Missouri. Michael Tisius, convicted of killing two jailers in Randolph County, is scheduled to be put to death Aug. 3.

An attorney representing Tisius could not be reached for comment Friday.

http://www.kansascity.com/2012/05/18...ption-for.html

Michael Jackson impersonator
Win tickets to see Michael Jackson impersonator
VICKI ANDERSON



Just because Michael Jackson's dead, it doesn't mean you can't still see him in HIStory II, a biography of his life, featuring impersonator, Kenny Wizz. VICKI ANDERSON caught up with the softly-spoken Wizz.

History really does repeat. Why do you spend your life impersonating someone else? Don't you want to be yourself?

"I look at it as being an actor first, there's a lot of acting involved. People love to see how well I do the makeup and presentation. I love dancing so it's a combination of acting and dancing together. I don't take it home with me, it's separate from my personal life. I'm not pretending to be Michael 24 hours a day.

You've been impersonating Michael Jackson for over 25 years. How did you begin?

"I grew up in Los Angeles, pretty much around the early 1980s. I loved dancing and there was a big dance craze and, at that time, that's when Michael Jackson's Thriller album came out, people would see me out dancing and tell me I resembled him. I just shrugged it off but the bigger the album got more people kept telling me that in the street, too. Everyone loved Michael Jackson and I was into the vibe of that. Eventually I gave into it and tried it at parties and that's where it all started. I'm still going now."

You were due to perform in Christchurch in February 2011. Are you glad to be moonwalking back here now?

"I was so looking forward to that last year. I actually got a call from my agent about four hours before I was to leave for the airport, I was just getting ready to go when I got the call not to go because there had been a bad quake. I turned on the television and saw it. I still wanted to go and help in whatever way I could because I felt so bad about it."

Are you aware of the rumours that Michael Jackson's death was a hoax and that you are actually Michael Jackson? Who are you really?

"I understand. It's just the same thing as the Elvis sightings. I expected that to happen. When the circumstances came about . . . I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep doing what I was doing."

Some might say it looks like you are attempting to cash in on his death . . . or is it more that you are trying to keep his legacy alive?

"I'm not cashing in. I was influenced to continue by a lot of fans and that's when I realised I still had something to offer that people wanted to see. In our show, which is a concert setting, people who never had the opportunity to get to one of Michael's concerts have the chance to do the next best thing. "

Did you ever meet Michael?

"No. I met his mother, his brother and sister, La Toya. His mother saw me perform and told me I was doing a good job and to keep it up. That was in the early 1990s."

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? (Aside from Michael Jackson.)

"When I was in college, I was doing football, it was like a fork in the road, I tried it and I have had a great experience out of it."


HIStory II, Sunday, 8pm, at CBS Canterbury Arena.

WIN WIN WIN

GO has three double passes to give away to see HIStory II. To enter the draw email go@press.co.nz with 'Gee Wizz, Beat It' in the subject line by 1pm today. Winners will be notified and must be able to collect their tickets from The Press office at 14 Logistics Drive, Harewood, by 5pm today.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/ent...n-impersonator

San Antonio Business Journal by W. Scott Bailey, Reporter/Project Coordinator
Date: Thursday, May 17, 2012, 10:49am CDT

Michael Jackson was defined, in part, during his legendary music career by his unique sense of fashion.

Next week, some San Antonians, many of whom are too young to remember Jackson, will get an up-close look at his trend-setting style.

Jackets worn by the King of Pop in his iconic music videos for hit songs “Thriller” and “Bad” will be on display at the Children’s Hospital of San Antonio (formerly Christus Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital) on May 21 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Christus officials say the display will be open to the public and is part of a larger tour intended to help raise money for children’s charities.

The jackets are owned by Austin philanthropist Milton Verret, who says he purchased them “with the promise of continuing Michael’s quest for helping children.”

Jackson recorded nearly a half-dozen albums, including “Thriller” and “Bad,” that were among the all-time best sellers in the recording industry. He released 13 No. 1 hit singles.

Jackson died on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50.

Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour by Cirque du Soleil is scheduled to make a stop at San Antonio’s AT&T Center on June 23.

The Business Journal reported in April that Christus Santa Rosa planned to transform its downtown hospital campus into a new Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. As part of that conversion, Christus is relocating adult services now at its downtown campus to other facilities.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantoni...ng-to-san.html

My mother was a Donna Summer fanatic. Between Donna Summer, MJ and The Bee Gees I might has well have lived in a disco.



Here's my Donna Summer "Celebrate the Legend" post as well: http://www.positivelymichael.com/for...l=1#post317832

Wishing Janet Jackson a very happy birthday!!

We celebrated the one-year anniversary of D Home’s blog with a bit of a bash at Nest last night (photos of the scene forthcoming), and, being the decor obsessed gal that I am, I arrived early so the ever dapper Donald could show me some of his latest finds.

I was not disappointed, as there are some mighty good finds populating the shelves. Highlights include the blown-out “kitchen” section filled with organic wood serving platters, hefty ceramics, and a trove of gorgeous cookbooks; loads of room transforming pillows (including those neon Springbok numbers above) and colorful, chunky throws; local photographer Sibylle Bauer’s gorgeous painterly photographs; clever kids gifts; and ample shots of brass and copper and gold to glam things up.

All amazing stuff for sure, but I stopped in my tracks when I spied the hand-crafted jute bags embroidered with the visages of Sigmund Freud, Amy Winehouse, Adam & Eve, and a young Michael Jackson. Donald had them created especially for Nest by artisans in Paris, and only two of each were made. They are wholly unique, incredibly cool, and only $165. I want one in the worst possible way.

http://dhome.dmagazine.com/2012/05/a...st-last-night/

On the Eve of the NATO Summit, Is Phone Jamming Coming to Chicago?
May 16, 2012 4:45 AM EDT

Tony Dokoupil reports on the little-known rules the government can use to shut down phone networks.


With Chicago hosting the NATO summit this weekend, protesters and police are braced for confrontation. Eight people have already been arrested for storming President Obama’s campaign headquarters. Others have pledged to “shut down” Boeing. And gas-mask sales have been brisk citywide. But much of the cat-and-mouse game will be technological, with people in the streets wielding smartphones to coordinate actions and publicize what’s happening, while law enforcement mulls whether to take the power of those phones away—disrupting service in the name of public safety.


To ward off violent protests, authorities in Chicago are considering cutting off access to cellphone networks and social-media sites during the city's G-8 and NATO summits.

While the tactic is usually associated with digital dictators abroad—and the Obama administration has sharply criticized such interruptions, even proposing sanctions against countries that curb their peoples’ wireless freedom—shutdowns are a creeping American phenomenon as well.

Often a perfectly legal one.

Not only do the FBI and Secret Service have standing authority to jam signals, but they along with state and local authorities can also push for the shutdown of cell towers, thanks to a little-known legacy of the Bush administration: “Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 303," which lays out the nation’s official “Emergency Wireless Protocols.”

The protocols were developed after the 2005 London bombings in a process that calls to mind an M.C. Escher work. First, the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee (NSTAC) formed a task force— composed of anonymous government officials and executives from Cingular, Microsoft, Motorola, Sprint, and Verizon—that issued a private report to President Bush. Another acronym-dragging committee, also meeting in secret, then approved the task force’s recommendations. Thus, according to NSTAC’s 2006–07 annual issue review, SOP 303 was born.

"In time of national emergency," the review says, SOP 303 gives “State Homeland Security Advisors, their designees, or representatives of the DHS Homeland Security Operations Center” the power to call for “the termination of private wireless network connections… within an entire metropolitan area.” The decision is subject to review by the National Coordinating Center, a government-industry group responsible for the actual mechanics of the shutdown. The NCC is supposed to “authenticate” the shutdown via “a series of questions.” But SOP 303 does not specify, at least not publicly, what would constitute a “national emergency,” or what questions the NCC then asks “to determine if the shutdown is a necessary action.”


So when would a shutdown occur? The precedents vary. In 2005, after the attacks on London, federal authorities turned off cellular network services in New York’s Lincoln, Holland, Queens, and Battery Park tunnels, fearing similar detonations, according to the review—which notes “that action was undertaken without prior notice to wireless carriers or the public.” In 2009, as President Obama was inaugurated, federal authorities used special equipment to jam signals in downtown Washington, citing the threat of remote-controlled bombs. Last summer, in response to the less catastrophic risk of a potentially violent protest following a police shooting, San Francisco transit officials shut off underground wireless service for three hours—a move the ACLU has said was the first and only known time a government agency in the U.S. has blocked electronic communications as a way to quell social unrest.

But there may already be other cases. Jamming is routinely used to secure visits from foreign dignitaries, according to a federal official who spoke to The Washington Post in 2009. Rumors of cellphone jamming also swirled around the Occupy protests in New York earlier this month; five people told The Daily Beast that they struggled to send photos, tweets, and basic text messages.

“It’s the nature of law enforcement to push the envelope,” said Eugene O’Donnell, a former New York City police instructor and professor of police practice at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. “It’s act first and litigate second.”

While it’s against the law for individuals or nongovernmental organizations to sell or use jammers, the devices are easily found online. The U.S. military was among the first to use communications shutdowns, and local government demand for the technology has been building for years, even as the legal rules for its use have remained ill-defined. Prison wardens want to snuff out the use of smuggled cellphones by inmates; school officials hope to disable students’ phones; the National Transportation Safety Board wants to disable all “portable electronic devices within reach of the driver” while cars are in motion.

In Chicago, an alderman’s bill that would ban the practice was shunted off to committee. Questions about it compelled the mayor and police commissioner to say they had no plans to jam phones, but they didn’t take the option off the table.

Now other efforts to cut through the legal haze have emerged. In response to the wireless shutdown in San Francisco last summer, California State Sen. Alex Padilla introduced what would be a first-of-its-kind bill stipulating that to cut off service a judge must sign off that the move is necessary to avert “significant dangers to public health, safety or welfare.” If approved, the bill, which has the backing of the American Civil Liberties Union, could become the gold standard for state policy. San Francisco transit officials codified their own policy, which remains quite vague, after the public backlash to their shutdown. It calls for “strong evidence” of dangerous and unlawful activity, a belief that an interruption will “substantially reduce the likelihood of such an activity” and that the interruptions are “narrowly tailored.”

The Federal Communication Commission has launched the most ambitious effort, inviting a national conversation on guidelines. “We are concerned that there has been insufficient discussion, analysis and consideration of the questions raised by intentional interruptions of wireless service by government authorities,” the commission wrote in a request for public comments. In essence, it’s aiming to crowd-source a new version of the existing “Emergency Wireless Protocols” that would balance free speech, public safety, and security concerns.

But consensus is a long way off to judge by the public comments. Everyone seems to agree that government wireless shutdowns should be legal in certain circumstances, but defining those circumstances proves to be a vexing problem. So far there are only arguments, not answers about how to weigh free speech against security concerns. The head of BART calls shutdowns “a necessary tool to protect passengers.” Two law-enforcement organizations, the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the National Sheriffs' Association, urged the creation of a study group, suggesting SOP 303 as the standard to beat. Boeing asked the FCC to support the use of “wireless management devices” made by one of its subsidiaries, calling them a “nuanced, low-impact alternative” to widespread shutdowns.

The ACLU, Verizon, and a coalition of public-interest groups noted that cellphone blackouts would, with few exceptions, violate the Constitution and federal communication law, as well as threaten public safety by eliminating the means to share vital information or call 911. Individual respondents tended to agree, though a few offered particularly cranky dissents.

“Please do not in any manner, shape or form mistake the cell phone as a right or freedom,” wrote one commentator. “It appears our society is more concerned about liberties than being civil,” wrote another, who added, “I support the efforts of [San Francisco transit officials] and other agencies to quell these anarchist groups before their actions and mischief cause greater public harm than that of a simple wireless disruption."

Anarchists, and anyone else for that matter, have until May 30 to reply to these and other comments on the FCC website. The proceeding number is 12-52.


http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...o-chicago.html

I would be interested to know if any members in the Chicago area experience any disruption with their cellphone or other wireless devices in the coming days.

Recently it seem's that I keep continuously coming across various types of articles, video's etc... of other Professionals describing what it was really like to work with Michael. I thought it would be nice for us to have a specific place to post and discuss them. So I have created The Michael at Work Thread. If there is already a thread dedicated to this subject please feel free to merge or move it if necessary.


MICHAEL AT WORK


“We slept in the Sony studios in New York for two weeks straight on couches, and we didn’t go to no hotel, no apartments, no nothing. We just slept on couches and worked. It get kinda smelly at a times, but that’s what it’s about. That’s how you get that fever, that feeling of heat that makes you want to create more because you’re not leaving the studio. So instead of you working from 10 to eight and then stopping and going home sleeping, we may wake up at three in the morning and say, ‘Let’s do a part.’”…”I remember one time, he was like, “Let’s start from scratch…I think we can beat everything we did.” That was his perfectionist side. I was like “Man, we been working for a year, we gone scrap everything?!” But it showed how hard he goes.”

(Rodney Jerkins)



~~


“Michael is so professional, so wonderful to work with and doing vocals with Michael is an absolute joy. He’s got ears for…the pitch and everything. Michael is polite and kind. You know, he’ll say: “Can I hear a little more piano in the earphones please?”. And he’ll say thank you. This is an industry where you don’t hear those words a whole lot…I’ve never ran into anybody that works with Michael and doesn’t regard it as a pleasant experience, it’s just great…And another thing I’ve learned with recording Michael is I’ll set up the vocal mike and I’ll have Michael perform singing on my drum platform which is an eight foot square plywood platform about eight inches off the floor…one reason is that he dances when he sings and I love to have that as part of the sound because, first of all his time and his rhythm is impeccable, even when I do backgrounds Michael does little vocal sounds and snaps his fingers and taps his foot” (Bruce Swedien)



~~


“Then you work with a guy like Michael Jackson who when he was late, he was supposed to be in the studio at twelve and he showed up about quarter to one. He felt so terrible for being late he apologized the whole session. The next day he sent a big giant basket because we’re talking about movies and how much I love movies. So he sent me this giant basket….Oh my goodness, it probably had 100 DVDs. It had popcorn, candy, all kinds of books and movie trivia, all kinds of stuff. Again the card said, ‘I’m very sorry for not respecting your time.”….I would say Mike, what time do you want to start tomorrow? He said, ‘Cory, you’re the boss. You tell me what time. If you want me here seven in the morning, I will be here at seven in the morning.’ He said, ‘You are the boss. Whatever you tell me.’” Cory Rooney



~~


“Michael was unquestionably eccentric, but to my surprise, he was warm, curious, amusing, and un-temperamental…I took the opportunity to chat with him between takes and he always skewed the conversation away from himself. He asked about my childhood, my favorite films, if I knew how to swim, my religion, etc.

My mother visited the set, and Michael immediately charmed her, asking her to hold his jacket while he filmed, giving her a warm hug and kiss as he left the set each day. My mom felt like she had a new best friend. The chance to experience the phenomenon of his gift from only a few feet away was the treat of a lifetime. Over those ten days of filming, I felt like I had the single greatest job in the world. And I think, perhaps, I actually did.” (Mark Romanek – Director of Scream)



~~


Steve Barron – director of Billie Jean:

“[Michael was a] really sweet person, really soft-spoken, really polite and interested, and curious about everything, he wanted to know what was going on with this and that and how that worked…[he was] just somebody that had a lot of integrity ..[he was] quite shy and had this whole other energy level to him when he started to perform and it was quite obvious that that was his comfort zone.

I was operating the camera as well and…seeing his energy and seeing this incredible movement and performance was amazing..the IP started steaming up and I couldn’t hardly see through..the moment he started to dance in that little chorus, it was just so dynamic, it was breathtaking.

You just knew in that moment and everyone in the room knew in that moment that it was gonna be a phenomenon unleashed on the world, it’s gonna blow everyone away.”



~~


On the set of the One More Chance video:

“We weren’t even prepared for him to come out,” says Juliette Myers. “We were standing in the bleachers and I was talking to somebody and all of a sudden I heard cheering. I looked up and he was just there. It’s weird how you don’t even realize how powerful he is until he’s there. It’s like a presence. I couldn’t stop screaming. I tried to be professional but that didn’t work. We were all screaming our heads off. But he let us have our time. I’m sure he knew that he was going to have fans so he gave us time to just embrace him and then we got to work.”

“I think they told us he wasn’t going to be there because they wanted to see our responses on film when he started dancing,” says Ken Yesh, “because when he first came in, it wasn’t five minutes and he jumped right into it. He started going into the sequences, walking through the tables at the nightclub, going up to the stage, singing, jumping onto the tables and onto the chairs – and I was looking at everyone else and their faces were like mine. It was just disbelief.”

“It was amazing,” recalls Juliette Myers. “Part of our reaction was supposed to be shock and awe, but it was real. We were just like ‘Oh my gosh, he’s here. This is him in real life. He’s right in front of us’. It was so easy to be happy and to have the wondrous looks in our eyes. He did a move standing on a table right in front of us and it was like, ‘Wow. There it is. This is what we grew up with’. It made that reaction and that moment real.”

“Everyone had a permanent smile across their face. They couldn’t believe it. I think we all understood what it meant. We were in the presence of one of the best entertainers ever on the face of the earth. I mean, who has the chance to do something like that?”

“It was like seeing Elvis perform live, or the Beatles,” agrees Steve McClelland. “You’ve got a legend in front of you performing. It was magical. All those rumors about him being past it were, I believe after seeing him, completely unfounded. He was still perfectly capable. He was truly magic. Truly blessed.”

“I was extremely surprised at how humble he was,” adds Ken Yesh. “But when the camera started rolling and the music was on, it was like electricity. The guy was completely amazing. He would do the same dance sequence five or six times, flawlessly.”

“Michael was soft spoken and kept to himself,” confirms a crew member. “But when the cameras started rolling he just became Michael Jackson instantaneously. The moves and the walking and everything, it was just Michael Jackson through and through. It was amazing. I remember him jumping up on a table and doing a spin at one point and his hands went up in the air and it was just 100% pure Michael Jackson. I’ll never forget that memory.” ~ Charles Tomson, Sawf News



~~


Rushka Bergman – Michael’s personal stylist – says he was the most noble and sophisticated person she worked with:

“I work for the Italian ‘L’Uomo Vogue’, I’ve styled lots of directors, athletes, actors and when we had to pick out a music icon for our photoshoot, I suggested Michael Jackson, so I sent him a letter. I was at the theatre when after three weeks I got a phonecall from his lawyer who said he was calling on behalf of Michael Jackson – I was completely caught off guard. I got scared that I did something wrong in the way I contacted him. so I started apologizing. When the lawyer told me that Michael agreed to do the photoshoot, I asked him to repeat that sentence again before I pass out I called the editor of the magazine right away and told her that Michael Jackson agreed to do the photoshoot.”

“I got thousands of girls assisting us but by the end of it we decided on six. Completely impressed with what he saw, Michael simply shouted, “Girls, you are divine!” – but in order for Ruska to hear that sentence she worked very hard for five months.

Even though he was a megastar, Michael never acted like one on the set. He was very professional, he knew that he was working with the best stylists, make-up artists and photographers and he never saw their work as something beneath him.

There were hundreds of people on set. We played his Thriller album, he immediately stood in front of the camera and started dancing and a few moments later everyone was in tears. He had so much energy that I then, and many times later, thought that he must be from a different planet. Michael Jackson thought the same about Ruska though. He was amazed how much love she put into her work . Because of similar sensibilities, they continued to work together and their professional association quickly turned into friendship. He loved her character and honesty. He appreciated the fact that she was always honest about what she could and couldn’t do as far as her work goes.

“My phone rang on New Years. I picked up the phone and heard someone singing opera. I was completely baffled. I asked who it was and Michael responded, “Who do you think it is?” – He was very shy and I can’t even describe how gentle he was. But his talent, voice, music and charisma can’t be surpassed.”

“The more I watched him the more I loved him. He was simply magic. He was the most noble person in the world. No man on Earth can compare to his inner and outer beauty. I met so many stars, talked to them, worked with them, but no one was even close to Michael’s charisma. He was simply always ahead of everyone else”
Edited – Zaneta Apostolovski (Gloria – magazine)


~~


“Here’s a guy who’s been doing it for all these years and he’s not jaded, still a perfectionist, still driven, still comes into the studio and spends all day and all night until he gets it right and come in the next day and the next day.” ~ Lenny Kravitz -

http://news.sky.com/home/showbiz-news/article/16069635

~~


2001 – Michael shoots a scene for the movie Men In Black 2 directed by Barry Sonnefield where he plays Agent M.

‘We shot a small scene with Michael on Tuesday,’ said the film’s director, Barry Sonnenfeld. ‘He was charming, funny, and really cool to work with.’ Michael’s small cameo – just a few seconds long – took around five hours to shoot.

Michael had a lot of questions about his role, according to Sonnenfeld. He wanted to know everything about the special effects background of his scene. Sonnenfeld told him that there would be icebergs, but Michael wanted to know much more details:

“He said, ‘Can I see the icebergs?‘
‘No we don’t have the photos yet.’
‘Is there anything else behind me?‘
‘Penguins.’ I’m making this up! I don’t know if there are going to be penguins,” Sonnenfeld said.
“‘Can I see the penguins?‘
‘No I don’t have the pictures of the penguins yet.’
‘Are they king penguins?‘
‘Yes.’
And then I said, ‘You know, I gotta go.‘”

Michael dressed in MIB trademark attire; consulting MIB chief Zed via monitor, tries to persuade Chief Zed to make him Agent M!
A big fan of sci-fi, Michael is sought out director Barry Sonnenfeld & requested a cameo to be briefly featured in the MIIB as a rogue alien.

Will Smith explained in an interview that seeing Michael, dressed in MIB trademenk attire and consulting MIB chief Zed via monitor, is a credit to Michael’s sense of humor:
“You know, when he comes on the screen, people are really happy. It’s as if Michael is saying to the world, ‘OK, all right. I’m human just like everyone else. I appreciate a good joke just like everyone else does,’ But the thing that I loved so much is he kept wanting to play it serious. You know, he was, like, ‘You know, I’m a Man In Black, I just want it to be really serious.’ ‘I think people are going to be really shocked and really surprised,’ predicted Smith, ‘and enjoy seeing Michael in this film and in this light.’

The movie Men In Black 2 was premiered in early July. Director Barry Sonnenfeld scored a big hit in convincing Michael Jackson to appear in Men in Black II as an alien. Michael’s small cameo appearance as an undercover alien intelligence officer ‘Agent M’ receives one of the biggest laughs! Both critics and the public praised Michael’s performance & his sense of humor:) -

http://mjjforever.wordpress.com/page/3/



~~


“[Michael's] a high tenor with a three-and-a-half octave range. He goes from basso low E up to G and A-Flat above high C. A lot of people think its falsetto, but it’s not. It’s all connected, which is remarkable. During his vocal exercises he would put his arms up in the air and would start spinning while holding a note. I asked him why he was doing that, and he said ‘I may have to do it onstage, so I want to make sure it’s possible.’ I’d never seen anything like that before. I thought maybe I should stop him so he can concentrate on his voice now, and dance later. But I figured if he can do it, let him do it…~ Seth Riggs (Michael’s vocal coach)



~~


Letters to Sega: “I realize it may be late in the process, but Mr. Jackson has requested a final addition based on a particularly powerful dream he had while taking an afternoon nap…It’s ridiculous on its face, but the man has a proven genius that I have learned not to question.”

http://everythingunderreview.com/200...tters-to-sega/


http://mjsmoonshine.blog.com/michael-at-work/

I made this a while ago...decided to re-upload it for Janet's B-day.

If you watch it. I hope you like it. :)

Be On The Show


Tell Us Your Stories!

If you know of an amazing story you'd like to see on "Anderson," please write to us. We're always interested in what our audience has to say, and we're always looking for interesting issues to explore.



Know someone who'd be perfect for this? Pass it on.


http://www.andersoncooper.com/be-on-the-show/17/

This would be a great platform to promote MJ's Musical Legacy if we recommend Joe Vogel to discuss his book Man In The Music and Spike Lee to Discuss The Bad 25 Documentary

This thread is for upcoming events, Michael-related, by and for the youth of the world and to support their education and dreams. If you find one in your area, post it here and show your support!

Michael Jackson's Father To Attend Week Of Jackson Celebrations At Oxygen Villa In Cannes, France




Los Angeles, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 05/15/2012 -- Mr. Simon Sahouri, President of the Jackson Family Foundation is pleased to announce that Mr. Joseph Jackson, father of Michael Jackson, Patriarch of the First Family of Music and creator of the Jackson Five, to attend this years’ Cannes International Film Festival.

Mr. Jackson will use the occasion to kick off "A Jackson Week of celebrations" starting on Sunday the 20th of May 2012 through the 25th in Cannes at the Private Villa Oxygen, Hosted by Lifestyle extraordinaire Richard Nilsson owner of Villa Oxygen and Superieur Lounge. The week long Celebrations will include a VIP Gala Bash, Entertainment, Michael Jackson Impersonators, Exclusive Clothing Designers, Fashion Shows and Media. Part of the proceeds from all these events during Jackson Week will be donated to the Jackson Family Foundation to continue with the Legacy.

Accompanying Mr. Jackson in the festivities include Mr. Simon Sahouri, President of the Jackson Family Foundation; Miss Rose Marie Perez, Founder of Total Prestige; Michael Jackson's former business manager, Mr. Dieter Wiesner; Mr. Marco Derhy, Founder and CEO of c l e a n ww; Donald A. Barton, President of Artistry Media Group,Inc.; Mr. Charles Everhardt, President of Dance Holdings; Mr.Odie Anderson,President of Unico Designs; Mr. Zia Atabay, Founder and CEO of NITV UNITED LLC.; Mr. Carlos Lopez Producer of "Forever King of Pop".

Jackson Family Foundation: The Jackson Family Foundation is a nonprofit organization established by Joseph and Katherine Jackson for the purpose of developing the Jackson Family Institute in connection with Michael Jackson Performing Arts and Culture Center & Concert Hall and Jackson Family Museum in Gary, Indiana, the birthplace of the Jackson musical family. For more information visit http://www.jacksonfamilyfoundation.us

Villa Oxygen & Superieur Lounge: The First Lifestyle Designer in the World is known for his cutting edge art and cinematic performance where he combines art, fashion, music to an orgy of entertainment. In 2004 the Lifestyle Company Residence Superieur was born and in 2012 Superieur Lounge was launched as the First Private Celebrity Club on the French Riviera. http://www.richard-nilsson.com

Dieter Wiesner Management: Mr. Dieter Wiesner is global business and entertainment manager, who among others managed the Late Michael Jackson from 1996 until his death in 2009. His latest biography on Michael was released by Random House Germany and is currently a top 10 best seller in Germany. http://www.dieterwiesner.com

TotalPrestige: is a leading company offering luxury lifestyle management services to high net worth individuals, celebrities and corporations. http://www.totalprestige.com

c l e a n is a corporate and celebrity identity, image and reputation management company. c l e a n works closely with celebrity and international clients to transform their product, event, or service into a unique sensory experience that cuts through today's traditional marketing noise. For more information visit; http://www.cleanww.com

Mr. Zia Atabay Founder and CEO of NITV United Started his career in the entertainment industry at the age of fourteen. After releasing a best-selling record at 18, he established his career at CBS Recording Company and with a vision for the future he opened in March of 2000 and founded NITV to bridge the gap between all Cultures and the American Culture and even Iran. For more information visit; http://www.NitvUnited.com

Artistry Media Group: is a production and representation company for motion pictures, television programs, video games and animation produced and distributed around the world. The company develops and produces a diverse array of intellectual property and films worldwide, including United States, Canada, Europe, Thailand, China (and other Asia countries) and South Africa. http://www.artistrymediagroup.com

Unico designs: Odie and Sharon Anderson’s "passion for fashion" is evident the moment you walk into one of their clothing stores. Their stores cater to men, women and children who have a special event or just want to look fabulous for occasions. Unico Designs the first store started with that very concept "Unico" means unique or original in Spanish. "Because there is only one of you-there is only one Unico" was our first slogan Odie says. unicodesignsltd@aol.com.

Forever King of Pop: is a show for all ages, The objective of the show is to create the same atmosphere that one can perceive in any concert of definite characteristics, with live music and singing, a perfectly coordinated dance group, with lead players each in their own role, all this guiding the spectator through fine line that recognizes Michael Jackson’s universally recognized hits. http://www.foreverkingofpop.net

For more information about the Jackson’s Week and schedule of events, please contact Richard@richard-nilsson.com Press and Media Inquiries please email: pressoffice@totalprestige.com

http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases...ire-142459.htm

Share your favorite Janet movies here!

May 16th is Miss Janet Jackson's Birthday! :cake:

Next to Michael, she is my favorite Jackson. I love her music and most importantly her personality. Similar to Michael, yet different, she's her own person and was able to step out of her family's shadow to be who she is.

Happy Birthday Miss Janet (miss Jackson if you're nasty!)

By Jan Hogan
VIEW STAFF WRITER
Posted: May 15, 2012 | 12:22 a.m.

No one would recognize him as Michael Jackson on the street, and that's how he wants it.

Ice ---- he goes by only one name ---- appears as the late pop icon in the show "2 Kings" at the Rio, 3700 W. Flamingo Road. Transforming himself means spending more time at his makeup table than he does on stage.

"Nothing about me is real," the Summerlin-area resident said while backstage in his dressing room. "My natural speaking voice is nothing like his. I hear people swear up and down that I'm lip-syncing, which is a compliment, but it's also a little depressing when you put all this work into your actual vocals."

He separates his role from his real life so much that his contract stipulates that the media use only his stage name. Reporters aren't allowed backstage until he's in full makeup. Only Charlie Franks, who stars as Elvis Presley in "2 Kings," gets to see Ice before he transforms himself. Franks recalled seeing a write-up on the Internet that tried to determine Ice's ethnicity.

"One of the people who came ... said, 'We were trying to figure out if it was a man or a woman and whether he was white or black,' " Franks said. "And it turned out, (speculating) he was an Asian woman."

The role is a strenuous one with nearly nonstop movement. There was the Moonwalk, signature poses, robot moves and gravity-defying footwork that had him gliding across the floor.

"I don't work out during the week," Ice said. "This is all the cardio I get, doing this."

His prosthetic nose has to be glued on so securely that it takes Goo Gone to remove it.

His theater training and hours of studying the legendary singer paid off when he took the stage. Ice was so convincing that audience members abandoned their seats to take ones closer to the stage and leaned forward in their chairs.

Arn Lieberman, who lives near Vail, Colo., was at the show April 20.

"He does a really good job," he said. "He's really trying to impersonate Michael Jackson, where I think (others) just sing the songs."

His wife, Barbara, was more blunt.

"He took your breath away," she said.

Ice may be only 26, but he's been emulating the King of Pop for years. He even grew up in the same town. It all began in middle school when his show choir teacher had him do "Thriller."

"I had no idea what the song was," he said. "I thought the lyrics were stupid. They didn't make a lot of sense. I went home and looked it up online, and I learned a couple dance moves. And when I did it, people were in absolute shock. And I started getting noticed, and (someone) asked, 'Can you come do this for my son's birthday party?' and I said, 'Sure.' I'm 12, 13, I thought, 'I can do that.' "

Ice said he was paid $150.

"I'm a kid in middle school," he explained. "So I started doing it, and people in Chicago would start (calling), and after a while, I'd start missing school on Fridays and fly out for the weekend, doing gigs, making $1,000 a week ... I flew to Houston, New York, Tennessee, Florida, California."

His mother, Penelope, traveled with him.

"I grew up in a Christian household, very sheltered, so I had no chance to get into the Michael Jackson fad," he said. "My exposure wasn't a lot, so when I'd see people go crazy over this, I'd go, 'Why?' I didn't get it. I was watching him, and I started getting intrigued, so the admiration began."

Before "2 Kings," Ice was in "Legends in Concert" 2010 and 2011.

He has a degree in theater with a minor in music from Columbia College Chicago. He said his "passion is music and singing and acting. You know, my own, though. ... Eventually I do want people to see the real me and see the person under the makeup and get to know me, versus the Michael Jackson character. Until that happens, I'm more than happy to (turn into Jackson) and get up on stage and entertain people."

"2 Kings" is performed in the Rio's Crown Theater at 5:30 p.m. nightly except Mondays. The show will be dark on Sunday.

Tickets are $39.95, and VIP seating is $69.95. For more information, call 777-7777.

Contact Summerlin/Summerlin South View reporter Jan Hogan at jhogan@viewnews.com or 387-2949.

Photos at link
http://www.lvrj.com/view/performer-p...5.html?ref=555

In lieu of the Jacksons Unity Tour, it's time for another Song War! The rules are simple, pick a song, step up to the podium and say why you think the song is superior than the other. Flip a coin if you have too.



Maybe Tomorrow



VS.


Looking Through The Window



Your argument can be as long/short as long as you want, but make sure to BRING IT.

:D

Michael Jackson costumes to be exhibited, sold

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer – 17 minutes ago

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson's glittery gloves, spangled jackets, stage-worn costumes and personal fashion effects are going on a world tour.

Celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien says clothing created by Jackson's longtime costume designers will be exhibited in South America, Europe and Asia before being sold to the highest bidder in December.

The exhibit opens May 18 at the Museo de la Moda in Santiago, Chile. It features items such as Jackson's Captain EO shirt, the black spandex outfit from his "Scream" video and the breakaway suit he wore during his BAD tour in the late 1980s.

The items will be sold by Julien's Auction on December 2, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting Guide Dogs of America and Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...b9d8821eeb24f9

Mark Ronson says his sleepovers with late singer Michael Jackson were ''pretty wild'' and they would have a lot of fun joking and playing around.

Mark Ronson says his sleepovers with Michael Jackson were ''pretty wild''.

The music producer used to be friends with the late singer - who died in June 2009 aged 50 - when he was younger and would often stay over in the same apartment as the 'Thriller' singer, where they would have a lot of fun joking and playing around.

He said: ''I was probably 12. He was super cool. You're 12 years old and he's the world's most famous overgrown kid, who's running around your friend's apartment with you. It was pretty wild.''

Mark - son of writer and socialite Ann Dexter-Jones and former band manager Laurence Ronson - admits his childhood was quite star-studded and was once saved from drowning by Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney.

He told live magazine: ''That sounded like one of my mum's crazy stories. But then I did a song with Paul McCartney a few months ago. After a couple of days in the studio, he came in and said, 'Your mum's Ann, right? Me and Linda (his late wife) would always run into your parents on the beach in Long Island.' I told him about my mum's story that he saved me from drowning one time, and he said he vaguely remembered something like that.

''So maybe he backed up her claim, which means I can't really tease her about it now.''

http://www.contactmusic.com/news/mar...ackson_1328112