OT: RIP Michael Jackson

[Lucas]

oh and is it just me or were all his surgeries making him look like a twin of his sister janet?

[hskwarrior]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZtiJN6yiik

let's hold hands, sway side to side in unison, smiles on our faces........yeah man.....groovey

[andyhaas]

"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama," said the Rev. Al Sharpton. "Michael did with music what they later did in sports and in politics and in television. And no controversy will erase the historic impact."

And here I thought the first black entertainer on MTV was Lionel Ritchie. But maybe that's just because I joined in late.

[Scott R. Brown]

I dunno ... he was pretty successful as a kid and then again as an adult. The main thing that seemed to go wrong was when he was burnt onstage by those fireworks and he had skin / nose problems after that.

Overall, he was a good entertainer in those videos, though.

I mean professionally successful, but in his personal life and as a well-balanced human being he was a failure. He was never very happy!

[Lucas]

"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama," said the Rev. Al Sharpton. "Michael did with music what they later did in sports and in politics and in television. And no controversy will erase the historic impact."

And here I thought the first black entertainer on MTV was Lionel Ritchie. But maybe that's just because I joined in late.

hey i just copy cnn, blame them which i think is spoken under a specific context, in which i did not carry over. sue me.

personally im more in a ruffle over ed mcmahon.

now i cant be an instant winner

[Lucas]

I mean professionally successful, but in his personal life and as a well-balanced human being he was a failure. He was never very happy!

lol, now thats the light and dark all in one nice package huh?

[Scott R. Brown]

"Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color way before Tiger Woods, way before Oprah Winfrey, way before Barack Obama," said the Rev. Al Sharpton. "Michael did with music what they later did in sports and in politics and in television. And no controversy will erase the historic impact."

And here I thought the first black entertainer on MTV was Lionel Ritchie. But maybe that's just because I joined in late.

That is not quite true. There was Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier who proceeded Michael, as well Arthur Ashe, and many other lack athletes and performers.

Bill Cosby was popular many many years before his "Cosby" TV show, as a stand up comedian and he had a previous TV series called I Spy.

[firepalm]

Michael Jackson was simply put a 'Artist' that made Pop music. He was good at his craft, he had a life that was simply put; 'a bit of a circus'. For me I had a few of his CD's but I could honestly careless about the rest of his life & death. We all die, sooner or later, that's it. MJ wasn't Madam Bovary, Albert Einstein, AG Bell, etc... he made Pop music he didn't cure cancer, invent something like the phone, electricity, advance medicine, improve the quality of people's lives... oh sure he talked his rhetoric about the wonderful children (which I will leave @ that) but he wasn't a social activist like say someone like John Lennon. MJ just made Pop music, so what? I enjoy Prince, but when he passes I'll just say liked his Pop music and move on with my life.

And now Michael Jackson & his passing is serving as a good distraction, news media companies (TV, radio, internet, etc...) are actually being told that they have to run MJ stories. Meanwhile s_h_i_t that will really have an impact on people's lives is quietly being pushed through; Bill HR2454 currently in Congress which is reported to be the single biggest tax increase in US history.

Meanwhile everyone is obsessing over MJ's passing, the circumstances around it, his 'children', what every other person has to say about MJ & whatnot, etc... He died, that's it, let's move on!

Personally I like music by a large cross section of Artists and the films of many different actors but I don't obessess over their lives & their shortcomings, etc... and I view those as do as being somewhat pathetic.

[Lucas]

Dimebag Darrell was a bigger loss imo.

[Scott R. Brown]

Dimebag Darrell was a bigger loss imo.

and Billy Mays!

[Lucas]

That is not quite true. There was Bill Cosby and Sidney Poitier who proceeded Michael, as well Arthur Ashe, and many other lack athletes and performers.

Bill Cosby was popular many many years before his "Cosby" TV show, as a stand up comedian and he had a previous TV series called I Spy.

i think what a lot of people refer to in regards to jacksons popularity is the level at which he reached people. he was one of the, if not the first, internationally famous superstar, that was black.

we have a lot of famous black performers before jackson, but few reached the level he did. he was kind of like the black elvis as far as how far his fame reached.

world wide is big

[BoulderDawg]

Read the above article, then say he never covered up his personal life!

What article?

In any case how did he cover up his personal life? MJ was MJ. He never attempted to be anything else nor put on some sort of false front for the media. Living a private life and covering up your private life is two separate things.

One thinks of someone like Rock Hudson who was the biggest sex symbol in Hollywood for a number of years yet went to great strides to cover up his ****sexuality.

********

The first black man on MTV was Veejay JJ Jackson. If anyone remembers MTV started with just videos and veejays. I'm not even sure if anyone even took note when the first video by a black performer was done. I'm sure it was probably in the first couple of hours they were on the air and probably no one even thought about it.

BTW: the first video on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.

[Lucas]

and Billy Mays!

i shed a single manly tear for Mr. Mays. Which I promptly sold on Ebay for the low low price of 3 easy installments of 19.99

[Scott R. Brown]

What article?

The link I posted above

In any case how did he cover up his personal life? MJ was MJ. He never attempted to be anything else nor put on some sort of false front for the media. Living a private life and covering up your private life is two separate things.

One thinks of someone like Rock Hudson who was the biggest sex symbol in Hollywood for a number of years yet went to great strides to cover up his ****sexuality.

So did Michael, that is why I referred you to the above linked article!

The first black man on MTV was Veejay JJ Jackson. If anyone remembers MTV started with just videos and veejays. I'm not even sure if anyone even took note when the first video by a black performer was done. I'm sure it was probably in the first couple of hours they were on the air and probably no one even thought about it.

BTW: the first video on MTV was "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.

Our knowledge of history tends to start when we are old enough to remember things usually around age 9 or 10. There were many blacks who were internationally known before Michael! Sidney Poitier was an internationally known and acclaimed actor, for one, Leslie Uggams another and others too, such as Diana Ross, etc

[Scott R. Brown]

i shed a single manly tear for Mr. Mays. Which I promptly sold on Ebay for the low low price of 3 easy installments of 19.99

Hey!! Is that the one I just bought??

You sure rooked me!!