I tried very hard to find SOMETHING to post about for Music Monday that was in no way related to the recent loss of Michael Jackson. With the world still reeling from his death, the media is still all over this “news”, and the fact that yesterday was supposed to be the beginning of his 50 show “comeback” tour doesn’t help. There’s still speculation over his cause of death, as well as the impending custody battle over his three kids. There’s stories of them possibly being exploited and marketed by their grandfather, the way their father was before them and there’s the heartbreaking story of his daughter purchasing a broken heart necklace after his death, leaving one piece in his coffin and vowing to “wear the other half forever”. Heartbreaking stuff.
But, life goes on and so must the music. Tell this to the people who write the music news! In light of the fact that NOTHING caught my eye and inspired me, I’m going to have to USE Michael Jackson to form my own information. So, today’s blog will focus on the young man from “Britain’s Got Talent” who wowed us all at the King of Pop’s memorial. His name is Shaheen Jafargholi and he is only 12 years old. Apparently, he made his mark on the British talent show by singing songs by the Jackson 5 and, reportedly, Michael Jackson saw a performance on YouTube and invited Shaheen to join him on his This Is It tour in London. While poor Shaheen missed that opportunity, he did move the crowd at Jackson’s memorial with a rendition of ‘Who’s Loving You”. It was almost as if the boy had channeled the sound of a young Michael Jackson! Although his American debut was under the most terrible of circumstances, I see a career in this boy’s future.
On Thursday, June 25, the world of music abruptly changed forever. Michael Jackson (aka- “The King of Pop”) passed away in Los Angeles after suffering from cardiac arrest at the age of 50. I never imagined that I would feel his loss so profoundly, but I’m finding myself drawn to the news and sad that he’s gone. And, since I’d only recently blogged about his upcoming London show schedule, I felt it only appropriate that I write a tribute post as well.
Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He was the seventh of nine children. At a very young age, Michael was thrust, along with his four brothers, into the spotlight as The Jackson 5. Everyone remembers the phenomenal family act, but Michael was destined for more. He moved on from The Jackson 5 and become the single best-selling artist of all time. Songs like “Billie Jean”, “Bad”, and “Thriller”, as well as countless others, secured Michael’s spot as “The King of Pop).
Unfortunately, there were times when his rocky personal life overshadowed his remarkable talent. There were the “marriages of convenience” to Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe (who, in my opinion, was merely a gold digger–who else would give up her children for an “undisclosed lump sum”?). Then, there were the plastic surgeries and skin disease that made him completely unrecognizable as the 11-year old Michael who won hearts with The Jackson 5.
Sadly, the most overpowering parts of his personal life were the rumors and accusations of inappropriate conduct with young boys at his Neverland Ranch. I, personally, choose to believe in his innocence. I believe, as others have said in the past few days, that he was just a lonely little boy trapped in an adult’s body. I don’t think he was allowed to have much of a childhood so he lived vicariously through the children to whom he opened his heart and his home. Besides, as a parent, I know that, if someone had done inappropriate things to MY child, there’s no way I would let them “settle out of court” for ANY amount of money!! Adults want to condemn what they cannot fully understand, and Michael was the target of many cruel jokes, making it no wonder he preferred the company of children. He often said that children “weren’t mean to him”. I might be wrong about it, but with Michael gone, the truth is gone with him and I’m glad I’ll never know for sure!
I find Michael’s life almost as sad as his untimely death. He appeared to be a sad, lonely, sheltered human being who longed for love, acceptance and understanding. In the end, though, he had more of all of those things than he likely realized. He was truly an amazing talent and he will be deeply missed.
“If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.” —Michael Jackson
(August 29, 1958–June 25, 2009)
I love a good musical. I even sometimes love a bad musical. I’m hoping that the new “Footloose” proves to be one of the good ones. They’ve already cast Chace Crawford, which is someone that I, being 30 years old, have never heard of, and they’re in talks to cast Julianne Hough opposite him. Most of us “older folks” (and I use “older” loosely, because I’m not that old) will know Julianne from Dancing With The Stars. She’s a fabulous dancer and she’s even coming into her own as a singer. I’m not as much a fan of her singing, because a) I don’t really like country music that much and b) she has one of those mousy, child-like voices that doesn’t appeal to me. But, she’s great if you’re into that kind of thing. At any rate, I think she’d do very well in that role and I’m almost a little excited about it! Besides, maybe if Julianne successfully crosses from dancing to music to movies, her brother, Derek, will follow in her footsteps, as he did with DWTS, and he makes GREAT eye-candy!!
Time will tell if Julianne gets the role, but even if she doesn’t, I think I’m excited about a “Footloose” remake!
It’s that time of year again–the time when we celebrate the paternal half of our parenting duo. It’s Fathers Day! Men are, in my opinion, harder to shop for than women. This is probably because women aren’t very diverse. MOST woman can be satisfied with either something that sparkles or something that smells good! Men, on the other hand, are very broad and have a huge number of interests to choose from. Some are sports fans, some like to hunt, some fish, some golf, some are into computers. But, regardless of other interests, most men are young at heart, and, for THAT father, there’s this Marshmallow Blaster in Blue and Red:
It’s a gun that shoots marshmallows! Yes, that’s what I said….marshmallows! You load the gun and it’ll shoot a target up to 40 feet away. You can use the regular size marshmallows for a clear shot, or load the gun with several miniature marshmallows for a scattered effect. Either way you choose, this gun will provide hours of entertainment for the father in your life and the kids who call them “Daddy”.
I’m From the South…and even I have never seen anything like this! We have a saying where I’m from…”If duct tape can’t fix it, it ain’t broke”! I have seen duct tape working to “redneck engineer” everything from artificial Christmas tree stands to broken car windows, but I have never seen a wallet made out of it. Now, rest assured that this wallet isn’t ACTUALLY made from real duct tape, that would be really sticky. It’s just the outside part…but that’s close enough!!
They come in your choice of bi-fold and tri-fold, and there’s also a duct tape passport holder! LOL I would have to imagine that they’d be super durable, since they’re made out of the very stuff that “citizens of the southern states” use to fix things! They’d be very popular around here. I’ll have to spread the word!
“Duct tape is like the force: It has a dark side and a light side and it holds the universe together.”
- Carl Zwanzig
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