La Toya was Right Michael Jackson Murdered
Jan 11, 2010 Rants
Back in June, just after his death Lat Toya Michael Jackson’s sister claimed that he had been murdered. It wuld seem that she was right.
The death certificate was amended on August 31st by the medical examiner, Christopher Rogers, the cause of death now reads ‘homicide’. It talks of “acute Propofol intoxication” and “intravenous injection by another”. There was no evidence of illegal drugs in Michael’s body at the time of death and he was in relatively good heath for a man of his age.
This is, potentially, very bad news for his doctor Conrad Murray. It is thought that he is to be indicted on a charge of ‘involuntary manslaughter’. The police are talking about a charge involving gross negligence saying that the care given to Michael was way below the standard of care normally given by physicians.
The coroner found that propofol was given to Michael without any medical need or the recommended resuscitation equipment being in place. Propofol depresses the breathing, heart rate and lowers blood pressure.
Murray was in Michael’s rented LA mansion when he died and tried to try to revive him when he was found unconcious. Through his spokemen Murray has issued a cautious ‘no comment’ to the speculation that he about to be charged. The spokesmen went on to repeat that Murray neither prescribed or administered anything that should have caused Michael’s death.
For a successfull prosecution the prosecuter woiuld have to prove that there was a reckless action that created a risk of injury or death. Where the accused is a doctor there are also other issues such as was the patient made fully aware of the risks and did he accept them?
When (if) Murray is charged depends on a few things such as how soon can a grand jury be convened and how long will the DA’s review of the evidence presented by the police take. The police investigation was largely completed in December and it included interviews with medical proffessionals much attention being given to expected standards of care.
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Tags: conrad murray, derek acorah, michael Jackson, michael jackson murdered, michael jacksons death, rock and blues
Michael Jackson – The Funeral, Court Judgements, It Just Goes On….
Nov 17, 2009 About and things
Michael Jackson was a great singer. His personal and financial lives were a mess. The wrangle over money continues.
last week his father (Joe) lost his battle to get some money from the estate. He was also told that he could not challenge the executives named in Michael’s will. You will remember that Michael had a ’strained’ relationship with Joe. MJ had said that at some times during his life, both when a child and as an adult, he had felt physically sick at the sight of his father. So, not a normal close father son relationship, apparently.
It was a bit of a fractious day in court which ended with Judge Beckloff saying; “I don’t think he gets to step into this and create further litigation,” the judge declared. “Joe Jackson takes none of this estate. This is a decision his son made.” Seems fair to me.
Joe can, however, make a claim for living expenses on the basis that Michael was supporting him when he died. What sort of expenses? They include; Rent, $1,200. Dining out, $2,500. Entertainment & holidays, $1,000. Air travel; $2,000. Hotels; $3,000. Those are monthly expenses. The rent seems a bit low for a place in Las Vegas, but he got double his rent to eat out? Learn to cook is my advice. However, perhaps he did not need to rent a big place as he spent almost 3 times his rent on hotel rooms. As for the air travel, has no one in the USA’s C list celeb community heard of global warming?
Joe also gets $1,700 per month social security. What?
The funeral. Ah yes. You will remember that until he died Michael was, relatively, poor. that being one of the reasons he agreed to the daunting O2 schedule. However, the estate must be in good shape, what with the album sales and the film grossing squillions of dollars. It has to be to pay for the funeral.
The funeral took place on 3rd September and was really fit for ‘The King of Pop’.
$860,000 to Forest Lawn Cemetery for the purchase of plots in the family mausoleum and funeral charges.
$35,000 for funeral garments (presumably Michael’s).
$1,975 for the family’s wardrobe. (?)
$2,000 for the ushers’ costumes.
$3,682 to frame a photo of Michael (the one next to the coffin).
$959 for embroidery.
$11,716 for invitations (and prgrammes).
$30,000 for security and cars.
$15,000 for a funeral designer/director.
$21,455 for the ‘funeral repast’. (When I go there will be a couple of hundred quid behind the bar at my local).
In order to pay for the funeral Kathleen (Michael’s mother) filed papers with the administrators of the state for money to be released only 3 days before the funeral. They, obviously, had to agree. Apparently the papers said that without the funds being released that “the funeral will not proceed.” If that happened it would have caused Kathleen and the family “public embarrassment and added grief, along with the daunting task of having to make new arrangements.”
Surely they should have sorted out the money before arranging the funeral?
A statement for the family said;
“Mrs. Jackson and her family wish to honour her son by a funeral that seeks to offer solace to his multitude of fans and by which the family also may be comforted,” the attorneys said. The costs were substantial but “entirely commensurate with the decedent’s worldwide status as an entertainer and the world’s grief over his death.”
It is all such a mess.
Outside court on Tuesday, lawyer Howard Weitzman, who represents the administrators, said: “I would have done it less expensively. But it was Michael Jackson, who was larger than life. There’s no reason he should not have a funeral that’s larger than life.”
Isn’t there is something odd about saying that a funeral should be larger than life?
The funeral costs were on top of the costs of the Staple Centre tribute…………
Tags: joe jackson, kathleen jackson, michael Jackson, michael jackson funeral, michael jackson litigation, rock and blues
Michael Jackson Speaks!
Nov 9, 2009 Rants
So the seance with Derek Acorah and the Tweance with Jayne Wallace have come and gone. What did he have to say, what was his message to the world?
He told Jayne Wallace that he was singing ‘Heal the World’ when he was contacted and was sorry that he could not fulfill the gigs arranged for the O2 Arena in London.
Derek Acorah managed to get some more information from him. This seance had 4 ’super fans’ with Acorah. This would attract Michael more than just Acorah by himself, apparently. At least that makes sense. I would be more likely to go to meet 4 people that liked me rather than go anywhere to meet Acorah by himself……
Michael told the fans of his love for them, and some of them wept. (It seems that no ‘realty’ TV programme is complete without someone crying, be it a game show, house makeover, fashion makeover, facial makeover).
Acorah said the singer wished he had been laid to rest by his icon Marilyn Monroe. It is of course no secret that Michael had a statue of Marilyn in the gardens of Neverland and was a huge fan of the tragic actress. Acorah then said that Michael said ‘I wished to lie alongside her. I suppose it’s of no consequence.’
Michael also said through Acorah that he wanted to receive the fans’ love, that it was paramount that he did so. He also said that he was slowly adjusting to his new spiritual life and spending time with his grandparents. he would take time to look after his 4 new friends who were with Acorah at the seance.
All 4 of the super fans were affected by the seance. One said that when she looked into Acorah’s eyes she could see Michael. There were tears and emotion, as you would expect as they were desperately wanting to contact Michael. My beef is not with those fans who all miss their idol, it is with those seeking to make money out of this bogus show. The show was a ratings hit for Sky with some 607,000 viewers.
As an aside, a few days ago I wrote about Derren Brown criticising Acorah and this seance. What he actually said was He wrote: “Can you honestly imagine anything – anything – more anus-invertingly unpalatable than this? I hate myself for drawing attention to it.” Well, the medium has hit back saying; “He’s looking for publicity! He always does it. Every time. I don’t know why he wants to do it that way. We are worlds apart – Derren Brown is a magician and an illusionist. He can’t do what I do and I certainly don’t claim to do what he does. He’s riding the publicity off my back.”
It’s all handbags at 100 yards. I suppose that Derren Brown did benefit from the publicity but then so did Acorah. And it is true that Acorah could not do what Brown does but it is untrue that brown could not do what Acorah does.
What would it take?
The identity of the 4 super fans were known. It is easy enough to google and research the impersonator’s performances and chose one to comment about, especially if MJ had been there, there would be a record. Talking with the super fans during the days before the broadcast would reveal bits and pieces that could be used, interpreted and researched. Some generalities about loving the fans, a comment about being buried next to Monroe, impossible to prove, or disprove but likely to be believed by the fan base. Add to that the lighting, the super fans’ expectations and desires who could fail to pull this off?
Tags: acorah and jackson, derek acorah, michael Jackson, michael jackson seance, rock and blues
This Is It! Today’s the Day Michael Jackson to Speak to Derek Acorah
Nov 5, 2009 Rants
Finally, it seems like it has been a long time coming, Derek Acorah will attempt to reach Michael Jackson this Friday tonight at 10.00pm on Sky 1 (UK time).
The Live Seance will be presented by Acorah and June Sarpong. As far as I can tell Sarpong is a pretty TV presenter good at her job but with no knowledge or expertise in contacting the dead. (Mind you as I do not think that you can talk to the dead how could she have experience?)
The Seance will be the culmination of a night long series of programmes that will rehash the Jackson phenomena. Cynics (of which I am one) say that it is all a way of cramming the schedule with cheap TV about an enormously popular artist. Nothing wrong with that.
Let me quote Sky’s publicity for the programme;
“Preceding the main event, Michael Jackson: The Search For His Spirit will take fans on a biographical journey of the music legend delving deeper into both his psyche and his inspirations, and previewing some of the tactics and triggers that will feature in the séance. Sarpong, will be joined by Bobby Marchesso, one of America’s leading psychics, and close friends of Jackson including Thriller video co-star Ola Ray, Ian Halperin, author of controversial Michael Jackson Biography Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson, and his spiritual healer Reverend June Gatlin, with more contributors to be confirmed in due course.”
” Close friends including Ola Ray” Isn’t that the Ola Ray that sued Michael jackson on 5 may 2009 for royalties owed to her from the “Thriller” video that was released in 1983?
Halperin was quoted as saying that Michael would be dead within 6 months because of on going health issues in December 2008. Claims roundly attacked and denied bythe Jackson entourage at the time. He also arranged for the biography, not uncritical of Michael, to be released in July 2009 saying “I timed it because I knew around this time he was a candidate to die. I’m being totally up-front about that.” Upfront but a “close friend” I think not.
Gatlin says that she spoke to Michael every couple of months and last saw him in April 2009. She also says that he was in the process of changing his will.
Marchesso started life as a presenter of an early morning ‘news’ show that was light hearted and an easy. He decided that his talents would be better used as a Psychic and life coach (Q: Who actually needs a life coach? A: People with too much money, too much time on their hands, and no purpose….) At some point he was also a cop, apparently. He worked with Julie MacDonald to try to ‘talk to serial killers’ such as Ted Bundy. (Look, if Houdini could not come back to talk to his adored mother after promising to do just that. If Conan Doyle could not find one, just one, genuine medium although he was a believer trying to find one……….It’s all BS)
As Sky says of the night of programmes;
“These programmes provide a unique opportunity to celebrate Michael Jackson’s life, learn more about the music legend and possibly find out his final message to the world.”
As I say;
“Tell it to the marines.”
Tags: Bobby Marchesso, derek acorah, michael Jackson, michael jackson seance, rock and blues
Derek Acorah, Michael Jackson, Nothing New Under The Sun
Oct 28, 2009 Rants
Derek Acorah filming a seance and trying to contact Michael Jackson is not the first time programmes for TV have been made in which mediums have tried to reach the departed famous. (my original post here)
In 2006 a pay to view TV seance programme was made in which the object was to contact John Lennon. The show – which cost $9.95 (£5.60) to watch – was made without the consent of Lennon’s estate or his widow Yoko Ono. The result? John came through and had a message for us all. It was, “peace… the message is peace”
No surprise there then. Look, all of us could have predicted the result, does that make us all mediums, or psychics, or whatever?
I note with interest that the makers of the Lennon seance programme made one with Lady Dianna as the objective in 2003. The result of that on? She was having fun, again no surprise there either.
I am somewhat surprised to find that the subscription for Dianna’s seance was more than for Lennon’s. Actually, perhaps I am not. There does seem to be a constituency for stories about Dianna (who died in 1997) The Daily Mail (a national ‘newspaper’ in the UK) had yet another front page lead about here just last week…….
If you can not wait until December for the seance with Michael then there is some hope for you. It seems that there will be a seance on Twitter on 30th October. Called a “Tweance” it will be available on Twitter from 10 a.m (GMT). I am not sure of the format, if you can ask questions or whatever, so if you are interested give it a go just search for @tweance on Twitter.
The Psychic is Jane Wallce part of the ‘Psychic Sisters’ who provide consultations in Selfridges (London) and have appeared in the world renowned Psychic TV cannel….
If you have been trying to tweet Michael Jackson over the last few weeks without even a squeak of success, might I sing you a song of hope? A remarkably forward-thinking psychic has decided to hold a seance on Twitter. A “Tweance,” if you will. According tothe Sun newspaper , Jayne Wallace, who claims to have been a psychic since she was (at least) 7 years old, will be available to every member of the world’s tweeting population on October 30, between 10 a.m. and noon British Miserable Autumn Time (that’s 3 a.m.
Tags: derek acorah, jane wallace, john lennon, lady diana, lady diana seance, michael Jackson, rock and blues, tweance
Michael Jackson, That ‘New’ song, A New ‘Duet’ With Janet, and His Kids…
Oct 20, 2009 rock and blues
The soap opera goes on.
Janet is to release an unheard duet with Michael on her forthcoming ‘Greatest Hits’ album. Little is known of the song other than it is called ‘Make me’ and was recorded in 2008. Call me cynical but how can an unreleased song be part of a greatest hits album? I suppose the answer is that if you haven’t sufficient real hits to complete an album and you can use the name of your late brother to boost your CD sales then……
Paul Anka is to get 50% royalties on MJ’s new record sales. He had co-written the song with Michael in 1983 when it was called “I Never Heard”. It was subsequently recorded by Sa-Fire in the 1990s. On that version MJ and Anka are credited as co-writers.
No one is suggesting that the Jackson machine were trying to get away with not paying Anka, just that they were a bit stupid. As Anka said “They did the right thing,” Anka said. “I don’t think that anybody tried to do the wrong thing. It was an honest mistake.”
From the Jackson machine side they said in a statement “The song was picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael gave his tour,” the statement read. “We are thrilled to present this song in Michael’s voice for the first time, and that Michael’s fans have responded in unprecedented numbers.” – so sales are going well, then.
Apparently they forgot that Anka helped write the song and it was not until Anka heard it and was contacted by the media that he was aware of it. However, alls well that ends well. Anka will get the money he deserves, as well as the Jackson machine.
Finally, for now at least, will Prince, 12, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7 appear on reality TV? There seems to be some disagreement within the family. There are reports that they will appear in “The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty” which may be broadcast in December on cable network A&E. Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, seems set to try to maintain their privacy, as Michael did. However, others of the family apparently can see why they should appear.
We shall see.
Tags: katherin jackson, michael Jackson, paris jackson, prince jackson, prince michael II jackson, rock and blues
Derek Acorah’s Michael Jackson Seance
Oct 18, 2009 Rants
I honestly do not know what to say about this story.
Derek Acorah, a TV medium (he says that he contacts the spirits of the the departed) is to hold a seance and contact Michael Jackson’s spirit.
My position on spiritualism is quite simple. I believe that when you are gone you are gone. No heaven, no hell, reincarnation would be nice but I do not buy that either. So in the spirit (sorry about the pun) of objectivity I watched one of Ocarah’s programmes last night, well, part of one to be exact.
This is what happened. There was a small audience of people who had suffered losses. They had all brought objects connected to their departed and Acorah picked them up in turn to tune into the vibes from the dead. One woman had brought a set of darts. This is what Acorah deduced.
1. The departed was a man (few women play darts).
2. The departed liked to win (how many dart players play to lose)
3. The departed’s first name began with a ‘S’. (to be fair, it was the surname that began with an S. Unless I miss my guess ‘S’ is one of the most common letters with which names begin in the UK – Smith, Singh, Steven etc.)
The woman was interviewed later and was very impressed with Acorah. She wanted to hear from her son. She believes that her son could be contacted. She was obviously desperate for comfort.
So, was I convinced by this performance? Of course not.
Now, what is it with this seance? Is it an honest attempt to contact MJ? Well, it might be but bearing in mind that Acorah was attacked in the national press in 2005 over the editing and some would say dishonesty of his programme ‘Britain’s Most haunted’ I doubt it. Surely, it is only just about the money, just like the new record, the release of a film of his rehearsals, etc.
Derren Brown who is a mentalist that performs on UK TV said in his blog. “Can you honestly imagine anything – anything – more anus-invertingly unpalatable than this?” Derren wrote. “I hate myself for drawing attention to it.”
To say that TV in the UK has plumbed new depths would be wrong, there have been many, many depths. But this is up there (or down there) with the best (or worse) of them.
Tags: derek acorah, derren brown, michael Jackson, rock and blues
A New One From Jacko, Old Ones From The Beatles
Sep 27, 2009 About and things
A new single from Michael Jackson will be released on 12th October. Whether it would have been released if he was still alive I do not know.
In the last week the Beatles sold 2.5 million (remastered) albums in the US, UK, and Japan. A spokes person for EMI said “Beatlemania has returned, with fans new and old embracing these beautiful albums in their re-mastered and re-packaged forms. By putting the needs and desires of consumers first, the band are breaking new records around the world more than four decades after they first started recording. All of us at EMI Music are very proud to have been a part of this exciting project and to have delivered an insightful and globally executed marketing plan.”
So what it boils down to is this. MJ will have a song released that may not have seen the light of day if he was alive and the Beatles are topping the charts after 40 years. What does that say about the state of modern pop music?
BTW, don’t you just love the way that EMI were acting altruistically in releasing the remastered albums. They were “putting the needs and desires of consumers first”. If only the rest of the music business shared the same selfless motivation……
Tags: beatles, classic rock music, love rock music, michael Jackson
Michael Jackson Worth More Dead Than Alive? (part 2)
Aug 10, 2009 Uncategorized
When I was doing my research for this post (I know, you are shocked that I do research) I was looking for information about the rights to MJ image. What I found were a couple of interesting news items, I use the term ‘news’ loosely.
The first was a tree stump in Sacramento that suddenly took on the appearance of Michael Jackson. I was going to include a photo but, to be honest it just looks like, well, a tree stump……….
The second was about a fence in the San Francisco Bay area. A family noticed this unusual pattern on their fence this week. Depending on the time of day, they say it looks like a face looking forward or to the side. And that it looks a lot like Michael Jackson. “The strangest thing, is that I was listening to Michael’s music,” says a family member who wants to remain anonymous, “I was thinking about Michael’s life and his death when I saw it. I was feeling his music emotionally. I looked to my side, out the window, and there he was.”
As you can see, there is quite an uncanny resemblance between The King of Pop and these planks of wood….
Mark Lester claimed that he was the father of Michael Jackson’s daughter. Am I the only one who thinks that it is sad that it would seem that the friends that MJ asked to donate were 1) his skin doctor and 2) a childhood star.
What I am getting at is that the dermatologist obviously played a large part in MJ’s sad life while Mark Lester was, like MJ, a child star who found adjusting to adult life difficult.
Whatever his faults, MJ was a sad person with problems and pressures that most of us will not know in our lives.
Oh yes, the image rights. It seems that the Jackson estate (for that read family and assorted lawyers) are going to settle deals about the image rights today. The rumour is that it will be just short of $100,000,000.
Just found another bit about MJ’s image. There is a tattoo site that says that tattoos of MJ are becoming popular, since he died. Before that apparently to display a tattoo of MJ invited attacks along the lines of ‘if you have a MJ tattoo you support pedophiles’.
Now, I hate tattoos. I can not think of anything worse that a young taught body bearing the image of a sex symbol and then seeing the same sagging, sun damaged body at 65.
However, If you have a MJ tattoo you do not necessarily support pedophiles, it just shows two things;
1. You lack foresight.
2. You like crap music.
Talking of which…………
Tags: classic rock music, michael Jackson, real rock and blues, rock and blues
Michael Michael Jackson – Why Wait Till He’s Dead ? (part 3)
Jul 26, 2009 About and things
I never thought when I started this blog that Michael Jackson would provide the first serial post, but then he was such a sad person perhaps I should have.
I said in the last post about Michael Jackson that we should expect lots of litigation. I am reminded by James (thanks James) that only in May of this year Ola Ray started proceedings against MJ. Ray played the girlfriend in the Thriller video. According to James she is an ex-playmate, but I do not know about that. She says that she is due a 2.5% of the revenues from the video plus SAG and AFTRA royalties (What are they?).
Another bit of litigation associated with Thriller was launched in January by John Landis, who directed the video. He claimed that he was owed 50% of “Thriller” video and documentary revenue.
So, Ray wants 2.5% Landis 50%, just how much would have been left for Jacko? Especially after he fought the litigation using one of his 13 (yes, 13) high profile and expensive lawyers. 2 things occur to me. First, in the late 50s (I think) there was a British film about an author who kept selling 10% of his successful play, he was a bit of an idiot, until his outgoings to agents, representatives etc. totaled 110% of the play’s takings.
The second thing that occurs to me is that you have no idea of the pressure that MJ must have been under. Financial, legal and personal. If it is true that his health was failing as badly as some are saying then undertaking such a large run of comeback shows must have been very daunting, and a desperate throw of the dice. If I was in that situation I think that I would want a sympathetic doctor as well………..
Tags: classic rock music, michael Jackson, michael jackson litigation, rock and blues
