June 14, 2005

Wasted, Faded, and Damned- The Man in the Mirror

Constantine Swallowtail Taken at the Butterfly Place Branson MO

this is no accident, this butterfly is upside down. I followed it around the enclosure to get its photo and this is how it would land... Upside down... Perhaps this is how it views the world...Quirky isn't it...We accept the creatures quirks cause that is how a butterfly is...

We are quick to accept quirks in people too as long as they fit with our polititcally correct way of thinking... But we lose that freedom to be ourselves and to not be judged by our differences once we are tainted with suspicion of the unthinkable weather we did it or not... So goes the nightly media pundits who have said ... Well look at him... The very face of a childmolester...A freak of abnormal bents and desires.....

Tried and convicted in the press, is that the American way???

For all of the time that I have been blogging, this blog has been a Michael Jackson free zone, unless he was mentioned regarding his music. But today, after getting a nasty-gram email regarding a comment I placed on a blog I want to say something. I wont be popular for saying what I am going to say but its my blog...I can say what I want ...Feel free to comment as usual...

A long time ago in a life far far away, a teen aged girl and her new husband moonwalked to MJ in clubs around LA. The Engineer and I never met him, but we loved him respected his art, admired his come up from a crummy life grit, and couldn't imagine how far he could go. I mean look at Thriller and what a piece of work that is. So MJ of the past is burned into the collective consciousness of myself and Im sure most of us.

We all saw the creeping weirdness set in from the skin bleaching, to the animals and the Peter Pan persona...I wonder how many of us saw the hurting man inside of all of that, or just saw "the brand changing" wacko Jacko on the loose on Highland Ave, in Encino...

I have watched a icon who I thought had the world by the tail...
....Wasted , faded and damned.

We have all seen celebs reinvent, grow, change... Some defy death... I also like Boy George, and like Jackson he was in dire straights with his health' all of his druggging and partying, and heaven knows what... and hung it up, got clean... you can name dozens of these survivors in every genre, Pop, Country, Rock and Classical music, not to mention other arts, sport ect.They came to a realization that things were getting crazy and that help was needed. Thank God they did. Usually it starts with friends and family intervening saying "enough already" "you weigh 85 lbs", "Your friends are dying, take care of your health", "have you had that throat looked at", "you will drink yourself to death in another 6 months", "if you keep touring you will ruin what is left of your voice and your health"...and they stopped what they were doing, as a result, Boy George, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Rod Stewart, Charlie Daniels, and Luciano Pavorotti and a host of others are still alive and with us.

But I don't think that MJ has too many people looking out for his welfare. Its all about money, and what MJ can do for them. His abusive blood sucking family is the worst. These people around him, yes people and hanger on-ers. Only Elvis Presley was/is more ill served by his entourage than this man and it shows...


Im not sawing the violins for Michael.We are each of us responsible for the outcomes of our actions, period. You are responsible for the actions of your "people" as well. He is a sick man that I believe he was horribly abused as a child physically and emotionally. I believe that he is a molester. I believe he will molest again. I believe that he is consumed with guilt when he acts out and I believe that he will commit suicide eventually if he doesn't get help. Like Elvis, he will be dead before hes 50. Such a sad waste for a man that could have been the Gene Kelly of our generation...from Gene's own lips...

The trial... I think that big money has changed the face of justice. Big high power "dream team " lawyers will run circles around the public defenders every time...In California in the clogged court system we have there I dont think justice is served often. After the sad affairs of the OJ trial, the Blake trial, Peterson, I think the judge didnt want this to get hung up. I think this judge gave a very narrow set of instructions and the jury did their best to comply. The prosecution couldn't prove beyond a reasonable doubt that MJ did more than have a sleep over, and didn't lay a hand on the kid. Even though we all assume that MJ touches little boys the prosecution didn't do a very good job of convincing then jury that he touched "this" little boy. Then there was the issues regarding the plaintiffs had made false statements in the past. The Mother from hell... The judge didn't leave any room for sloppiness, the only thing that would have helped was sequestration, and we will never know if that was an issue.

The jurors did their job, but I am sickened by the way the said how "normal" MJ looked day in and out when we know he is ill. I also don't like how they are jetting around the country making money off of this. But that is what this is all about money money money... Wait till the books come out. (Woody reminds me that I said that I would have liked to have been on this trial as I thought it would be interesting... would I have written a book... Hmmmm. So I shall admit that I have feet of clay myself.)

Michael Jackson is a free man, but his life is in shambles. His career already on a downhill slope simply because styles have changed, will need to think about his future. If I were him Id sell Neverland, the market is hot for the land in that area and he will get a huge return on his investment. He needs to work on his image. Stay away from kids. Don't get married again, you aren't fooling anyone. Get therapy. Have back surgery. Manage the financial empire that you already possess. Maybe leave the country.

I found this article (sorry it was MSN but it went away before I could get the credits I will work on that but I am posting it anyway. I thought that is was a fitting obit to this whole mess.


Reports keep surfacing that Jackson's future may lie on the Vegas strip. So very appropriate perhaps the only destination left for the King of Pop.

Las Vegas is a temple of fading glory, and not just in that Wayne Newton way. Consider the cites latest queen, Celine Dion. Her popularity is beyond question, but her arrival on the Strip celebrates her past fame, not her future potential.

At the same time, Vegas is a land of reinvention, a place to wipe away your past and revel in the present. In 'Casino,' Ace Rothstein described it as 'a morality car wash.'

Jackson has weathered years of murmurs about eccentric pets and skin bleachings and unsettling sleepovers and baby danglings. He faced accusations of molestation, and descriptions of sexual behavior so stomach-turning that you wanted to wash your ears out. Not even Vegas may be able to hit Jackson's reset button.

Through our endless fascination with celebrity, we endured it all too. At this point, we may all need a place like Vegas

and finally...

Years ago, I was challenged by Rick Wakeman of the group YES and a devout Believer to pray for the likes of Madonna and MJ. He had been a superstar and a Christain when this was a rare thing and as people were crashing and burning around him he was able to stay mindful of what was truly important to him. He became a icon in Britain for his realness, and humility, in a world where the masses worship at the temple of their stars, and it goes to the stars heads... He has shared his faith often with other rock stars and people in the business who while they didn't necessarily get on their knees and pray right then, thanked him for caring about their inner man. I think that its a shame that the "Rev. Jessie Jackson" is not specific with with MJ as to his spiritual condition. What a golden opportunity to win a soul, rather that continue in a sick co dependency.

What the Man in the Mirror needs is the Man on the Cross...