Thanks HB. So talented. Still find it hard to believe he's gone.

I just read the longer article. I don't know what to make of Debra Rowe. Is she even stable? How much longer will Katherine be around? Does Diana Ross even want young children? Won't they be raised by nannies no matter who has custody? It's all so sad. I just hope no one separates the children.

I've been watching Jackson: The American Dream on VH1 tonight. I haven't seen it in years. That Joe was really a piece of work. I feel so sorry for those boys, what a tyrant he is.

I saw that many years ago. It was terrifying.

Wow, they give the Kennedy's a run for their money lol. There will be another movie in no time.

I think the Judge will take into account what the kids want also and they don't know Debbie-they know their grandmother. I've never got the feeling from Debbie that she wanted to be a mom. She said those were "his" kids when she left them. I think she's more upset with the way she was listed in his Will more than anything. And wth with naming Diana Ross as backup; I thought they were still feuding. Why not the nanny he kept rehiring.

80 is 80. The judge should more be thinking who will get the kids after Katherine. He has to be practical.

This is not good.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090703/ap_en_ot/us_michael_jackson



By MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press Writer Michael R. Blood, Associated Press Writer

–
44 mins ago





LOS ANGELES – The powerful sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson's home, a law enforcement official said Friday.
Diprivan
is an anesthetic widely used in operating rooms to induce
unconsciousness. Also known as Propofol, it's administered
intravenously and is very unusual to have in a private home.
The law enforcement official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about the matter.
Authorities
are investigating allegations that the 50-year-old Jackson had been
consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. Any criminal
charges would depend on whether Jackson had been overly prescribed
medications, given drugs inappropriate for his needs, or if doctors
knowingly prescribed Jackson medications under an assumed name.
As
Jackson prepared for a massive series of comeback concerts, he was so
distraught over persistent insomnia that pleaded with a pleaded for
Diprivan, according Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who was working with the singer.
Lee said she repeatedly rejected his demands because the drug was unsafe.
It's still not known what caused Jackson's death at age 50. The pop star went into cardiac arrest
in his bedroom and his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, performed
CPR while an ambulance was called, according to Murray's lawyers.
Murray has spoken to police and authorities say he is not a suspect.
An
autopsy was conducted but results are not expected for several weeks.
The Jackson family had a second autopsy performed and those results
also are pending.

I read a similar article on MTV ( good article btw) on Wed. but didn't post it.

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1615103/20090701/jackson_michael.jhtml

I also read up on the drug in a scholarly article publish before his death.
What they said about it: It is commonly abused by victims of PTSD, often people with post traumatic stress have trouble sleeping, the most common reason for abuse and the PTSD is early childhood sexual abuse. Or to make myself more clear.. a lot of people who abuse this drug have had early childhood sexual abuse.

I found that interesting.

I find it pretty interesting too...


I'm not gonna lie, I don't think much of Debbie Rowe but I think more of her then Joe Jackson.

After all is said and done though, I think the kids are old enough to know where they want to be.

I have been sad about Michael since his death even though I was disgusted about all the "little boy" accusations. Who knows what was true, or true in his mind.

When looking for music and info to make a tribute: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAfW6mK_bKA I came across all the music I love and some I didn't know about (like the song he wrote for Ryan White, the teenager who had a high profile death from AIDS, called "Gone Too Soon). "

Anyway, I found a series of videos from an interview of Michael by Oprah. It was done about 13 years ago and certainly a lot of things happened since then but I see in Michael; sanity, humor, forgiveness and most of all sadness over his childhood. Here is the first link (part one of eight). You will find the rest from there.

Michael Jackson Will...
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/07/01/michael.jackson.will.pdf


Jacksons rely on strength of family

• Story Highlights
  
• Jackson family has been in spotlight along with Michael
  
• Father Joseph was a sometimes rough taskmaster
  
• Siblings have been in news for relationships, intrafamily bickering
  
• But group closes ranks when member is in trouble, as happened with Michael
  

By Todd Leopold
CNN
They appear to be the all-American clan, gold records arranged behind them, the boys loose and smiling, the parents more awkward and serious in their demeanor.
Over the years, that façade crumbled.
The brothers bickered; some made accusations of abuse. But the group remained tight-knit through crises, including Thursday's tragedy, when Michael Jackson collapsed at his house and later died at UCLA Medical Center.
The journey began with music in Gary, Indiana. Joseph Jackson, the patriarch, played in a short-lived band called the Falcons (no relation to the Detroit-based group featuring Wilson Pickett) in the 1950s. His primary job, however, was as a crane operator at U.S. Steel.
Katherine Jackson, the musical and devoutly religious woman who he married in 1949, tended to the couple's large family: Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Michael and Randy, all born between 1950 and 1961. Daughter Janet arrived in 1966.
By that time, the three oldest boys -- Jackie, Tito and Jermaine -- had started their own group, which Marlon and Michael eventually joined. Joseph Jackson saw a chance for his sons to have the musical career he'd found elusive.
Joseph Jackson admitted being a harsh taskmaster. He drove his sons hard, forcing them to rehearse with a James Brown-like intensity. He wasn't above emphasizing his feelings to his seventh child, Michael. "My father teased me and I just hated it and I cried every day," Michael told Oprah Winfrey in 1993. He said his father also beat him: "He was very strict, very hard, very stern. ... There's been times when he'd come to see me, I'd get sick, I'd start to regurgitate." He quickly said, imagining his father's reaction, "Please don't be mad at me." Joseph Jackson disputed the word "beat," but didn't question Michael's account.

"I whipped him with a switch and a belt," he told the BBC in 2003. He added, "I never beat him. You beat someone with a stick."
In a 2005 interview with CNN's Larry King, Jermaine defended his father's actions. "We grew up like any other black family. You did something, you got your butt tore up, and it wasn't tore up, it was just, you got a spanking," he said. "I will say this. He kept us off of the streets. He kept us away from drugs. He kept us away from gangs and ... we've been able to project a talent out there and have the support of strong people to entertain the world." By 1968, when Michael turned 10, the Jackson 5 was a professional musical machine. They'd won an Apollo Theater talent night the previous year and were working the "chitlin circuit" of black clubs when producer Bobby Taylor urged Motown to sign the group. Motown founder Berry Gordy was impressed and made them "the last big stars to come off my assembly line," according to a biography on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Web site.
The group shot out of the gate with four No. 1 hits and gained a huge fan base, along with an animated TV show. But success took its toll, particularly when it wasn't so easy to come by.
In the mid-1970s, the band -- minus Jermaine, who'd married Gordy's daughter Hazel -- moved to Epic Records, where they were produced by the Philadelphia soul-funk team of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. The two remember nothing but good times from the sessions, which produced two albums and the Top 10 hit "Enjoy Yourself."

"It was a collaboration," Gamble said. "They all participated in creating. Tito was a great guitarist -- they were all great musicians."
Huff said he visited the Jackson compound during a trip to California and remembered a warm family setting, complete with a "fantastic meal" cooked by Katherine Jackson. "I've got nothing but respect for the father," added Gamble. "He's a great man. He made something out of nothing." Even during that era, however, Michael was standing out. Gamble and Huff recalled him taking a keen interest in recording technology and the way he sounded. Going solo with Quincy Jones producing, as he did in 1979, was the right move, Gamble and Huff said.
The family dynamics kept changing as the siblings grew older. After Michael's "Thriller" became the biggest album of all time, the brothers -- including Jermaine -- regrouped for a new album, "Victory," and accompanying tour. But Michael, now the undisputed draw, disagreed with some of the tour plans and ended up donating his earnings to charity. Michael's brightened spotlight boosted the careers of his siblings; even Rebbie had a hit. But it was Janet who broke out with the most success, including the No. 1 singles "Miss You Much," "Black Cat" and "Again" in the 1980s and '90s. With the increased interest in the Jacksons came tabloid scrutiny of the family's every move. When La Toya appeared nude in Playboy magazine, the story made headlines. She later criticized Michael and was on the outs for several years. Jermaine put out a song called "Word to the Badd," an attack on Michael, in 1991; he later changed the lyrics. Janet's relationships were probed in detail, as were the brothers' marriages.
And Michael, of course, was seen as increasingly eccentric, his personality overwhelming his music. But for all their own bickering, the family closed ranks when a member was attacked. In 1992, Jermaine co-produced "The Jacksons: An American Dream," a TV miniseries based on Katherine Jackson's memoir, which chronicled their rise to stardom. When Michael faced molestation allegations in the early '90s and was tried in 2005, the family rallied around. "The Jackson family was groomed to be a team," said Linda Johnson Rice, president and CEO of Ebony and Jet magazines' Johnson Publishing and a longtime family friend. "As you can see through their performances, they were always there for each other."
In recent years, La Toya has appeared on the reality shows "Armed and Famous" and the UK "Celebrity Big Brother." She originally had a scene in the forthcoming Sacha Baron Cohen movie, "Bruno," but CNN confirmed the scene has been cut, "out of respect for Jackson's family," the studio told The (UK) Guardian.
Jermaine, who converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Abdul-Aziz, appeared on "Celebrity Big Brother" in 2007. Jackie runs a record label, Tito remains involved in the music business, and according to a 2008 article in the New York Post, Marlon and Randy have struggled financially.
In the hospital emergency room Thursday, Randy and Jermaine were witnessed hugging and crying over their late brother. "We're a family," Jermaine told Larry King in the 2005 interview. "We're no different than any other family who has feuds and problems. ... But at the same time, we're united, and we have a united front that is very, very strong, and it's supported by God.

"My mother and father did a great job in instilling the morals and principles in us from the very beginning. We feel that with that, that's all you need to go through life."



http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/27/jackson.family/

The Forgotten Jackson (known as)



Rebbie Jackson, La Toya Jackson & Janet Jackson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cWt4kJY9T0

I just finished Melissa Gilbert's biography (good, btw) and she had a cute story about Michael. One night she, Rob Lowe, Liza Minelli were having dinner at Spago. MJ was there too. After dinner, they were trying to decide where to go. After a while, Michael spoke up (first thing he said all night) and said "You can come go to my house, I have a llama". They decided against it, (went to hang out with Sammy Davis Jr) but I thought it was a cute story.

Michael Jackson Memorial Wall for fans to sign.
Nancy O'Dell's posted these pictures on her Facebook.


Michael Jackson's on every jumbo screen around Staples and Nokia

Such a sweet thing

I loved the memorial, it was very emotional, joyful and solemn. RIP Micheal Jackson, your music is part of my life.

I really enjoyed watching the memorial, especially Jermaine singing "Smile", Usher singing "Gone Too Soon", everyone singing "We are the World" and "Heal the World", but if watching Paris talking about her dad didn't grab your heart, nothing would!

The only thing I didn't like was when Jermaine and another brother came up to speak. It was right before Paris. He said "I had your back" and some such. He didn't even know Michael took pain pills. I just thought they were there for themselves.
It's just my impression. I just thought it was fake. The rest was done very well. It was a nice combination I thought.