17026
Entertainment / Re: Sleep well, Farah.
« on: June 26, 2009, 07:44:24 AM »
Yeah, another tragic loss today. Farah was indeed a beautiful person, I always thought.
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17027
Forum Games / Re: Praise the above poster!
« on: June 26, 2009, 07:28:03 AM »
She plays a top secret instrument!
17030
Forum Games / Re: Add a caption to the previous poster's avatar, ROUND TWO!
« on: June 26, 2009, 05:30:07 AM »
"You think your jet form is faster than me?"
17033
Entertainment / Re: What are you listening to?
« on: June 26, 2009, 04:57:15 AM »| Michael Jackson - Liberian Girl | |
I should get around to writing my Kalinka parody of that song, Siberian Girl.
17034
Entertainment / Re: Michael Jackson: Moonwalking in Heaven R.I.P.
« on: June 26, 2009, 04:45:19 AM »
Ben showed me this.
Quote
by Roger Ebert
Michael Jackson was so gifted, so lonely, so confused, so sad. He lost happiness somewhere in his childhood, and spent his life trying to go back there and find it. When he played the Scarecrow in "The Wiz" (1978), I think that is how he felt, and Oz was where he wanted to live. It was his most truly autobiographical role. He could understand a character who felt stuffed with straw, but could wonderfully sing and dance, and could cheer up the little girl Dorothy.
We have all spent years in the morbid psychoanalysis of this strange man-child. Now that he has died we will hear it all repeated again: The great fame from an early age, the gold records, the world tours, the needy friendships, the painful childhood, Neverland, the eccentric behavior, plastic surgery, charges of child molestation, the fortunes won and lost, the generosity, the secrecy, the inexplicable marriage to Elvis's daughter, the disguises, the puzzling sexuality, the jokes, and on and on.
I never met him. My wife Chaz did, a long time ago when she was part of a dance troupe that opened some shows for the Jackson Five. What she remembers is that he was -- a kid. Talented, hard-working, but not like other kids. That's what he was, and that's what he remained. His father Joseph was known even then as a hard-driving taskmaster, and was later described by family members as physically and mentally abusive, beating the child, once holding him by a leg and banging his head on the floor. Michael confided to Oprah that sometimes he would vomit at the sight of the man.
Families are important to everyone, and to African-Americans they are the center of the universe. A census is maintained that radiates out to great-nieces and nephews, distant cousins, former spouses, honorary relatives, all the generations. Communication is maintained, birthdays remembered, occasions celebrated. Important above all are parents and grandparents. Family was a support system from a time when slave-owning America refused to recognize black families. Family was the rock.
No home to phone home to.
(Enlarge Image (it is of Michael sitting with ET's hand over his shoulder)
Michael Jackson doesn't seem to have had that rock. His father seems to have driven him to create an alternate universe for himself, in which somewhere, over the rainbow, he could have another childhood. He named his ranch Neverland, after the magical land where Peter Pan, the boy who never grew up, enacted his fantasies with the Lost Boys. I wonder if we ever really understood how central that vision was to Jackson, or how literally he tried to create it.
I have no idea whether Michael abused the children he "adopted." It is possible those relationships were without sex; he seemed frozen at a time before puberty. Whether he touched them criminally or not, it is easy to see what he sought: To create, with and for these Lost Boys, a Neverland where they could imagine together the childhood he never had.
Mixed with that was perhaps a lifelong feeling of inadequacy, burned in by the cruelty of his father. That might help explain the compulsive plastic surgery, the relentless rehearsal, the exhausting tours, the purchase of expensive toys, the giving of gifts.
The scene everyone remembers from "The Wiz" is Dorothy and the Scarecrow, the Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion dancing and singing down the Yellow Brick Road. They were off to see the Wizard, and a wonderful Wizard he was, because of the wonderful things he does.
In the story, the Wizard is a lonely little man hiding behind a curtain, using his power to create a wonderland. Now Michael Jackson will never be able to tell us what he was hiding behind his curtain. But because of his music, we danced and sang.
17036
Entertainment / Re: Michael Jackson: Moonwalking in Heaven R.I.P.
« on: June 26, 2009, 04:32:13 AM »H: A dark day in musi indeed. I'm currently listening to his song Off the Wall which coincidently is the name of this part of the forum.
| As am I, dear Heleda | |
17038
Forum Games / Re: The ^, <, V Game!
« on: June 26, 2009, 03:54:54 AM »
^ One of the best artists ever
< One of the worst artists ever
V Meh, okay artist...
< One of the worst artists ever
V Meh, okay artist...
17039
Entertainment / Re: Michael Jackson: Moonwalking in Heaven R.I.P.
« on: June 26, 2009, 03:27:48 AM »It's an M.J is dead thread, I think I should be able to voice my opinion about the man. Just because my opinion isn't the same as yours you intend to try and silence me? That's pretty stupid, dude.
I'm not trying to start a "is he a pedo" debate. I'm just saying how I feel. If someone starts trashing me for it, then by all means, but it won't be me who started the debate; it'll be the person who responds.
Opinions are fair enough. However...
I guess they're talking about giving him a traditional burial, but I'm with the epa on this one; plastics should be recycled.
This is not an opinion. It's an attempt at humor.
17040
Forum Games / Re: Praise the above poster!
« on: June 26, 2009, 03:13:48 AM »
Clearly referencing I'm On A Boat.
17041
Entertainment / Re: Michael Jackson: Moonwalking in Heaven R.I.P.
« on: June 26, 2009, 02:59:08 AM »
I think the Jeff Goldblum thing was a hoax.
17042
Entertainment / Re: Michael Jackson: Moonwalking in Heaven R.I.P.
« on: June 26, 2009, 01:40:11 AM »
As Viewtiful Ben just told me, and I just checked to confirm, MTV is showing nothing but MJ videos right now. It's a fitting tribute, and appropriate, being that MJ pretty much created the network with his videos.
17043
Entertainment / Re: Michael Jackson: Moonwalking in Heaven R.I.P.
« on: June 26, 2009, 01:09:38 AM »I doubt any of the artists today won't likely care, which is a shame for them really. he's one of the biggest influences of music in years.
I disagree. I think a lot of artists today, in every field, grew up listening to his music.
17044
Entertainment / Re: Michael Jackson: Moonwalking in Heaven R.I.P.
« on: June 26, 2009, 12:53:09 AM »What a shame. And to think, he was just in the process of relaunching his career.
I know. It really is a shame.
17045
Entertainment / Re: Michael Jackson: Moonwalking in Heaven R.I.P.
« on: June 26, 2009, 12:32:25 AM »I'm not too sure what to believe at the moment. TV sources are saying he's in a coma while some of the online outlets have pronounced him dead.
Well, if the latter is true; RIP MJ.
It's confirmed. He had indeed passed on.
17046
Entertainment / Re: Michael Jackson: Moonwalking in Heaven R.I.P.
« on: June 26, 2009, 12:30:53 AM »
Sadly, it was just reported that Michael Jackson died of a heart attack recently today at the age of 50.
Wow. Ever since I was young, I loved his music. One of the greatest artists ever to grace our times, and it's truly a shame to see him die at such a young age. I hope that despite all the weirdness, all the craziness, and everything that went on in his life, that he's truly found some peace.
Time to put on some music in tribute. Also, thanx for one of the greatest games of all time, in Moonwalker. BA-OW!
Wow. Ever since I was young, I loved his music. One of the greatest artists ever to grace our times, and it's truly a shame to see him die at such a young age. I hope that despite all the weirdness, all the craziness, and everything that went on in his life, that he's truly found some peace.
Time to put on some music in tribute. Also, thanx for one of the greatest games of all time, in Moonwalker. BA-OW!
17047
Fan Creations / Re: Tsuyoshi's Thread of stuff
« on: June 25, 2009, 11:19:26 PM »
Hitomi 2: The Adventures Of Yoshi?
17048
Fan Creations / Re: Vixy Randomness~
« on: June 25, 2009, 08:46:25 PM »
Adorable! Nice coloring too! 
17049
Gaming / Re: The Official E3 2009 Discussion Thread & Lounge (May 30, 2009 - June 5, 2009
« on: June 25, 2009, 08:42:18 PM »
All of those would have been awesome!
17050
Forum Games / Re: The ^, <, V Game!
« on: June 25, 2009, 08:10:10 AM »
^ Will do it under an office desk
< Will do it under his computer desk
v Will do it for a Scooby Snack
< Will do it under his computer desk
v Will do it for a Scooby Snack