Gawker: spectacles

There Is No Way to Describe How Much the Michael Jackson Memorial Matters

Gabriel Snyder — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:27:18 EDT

Yes, the Michael Jackson memorial — going on now! — is being watched everywhere right now. But the only question if you happened to have been on TV filling time was "How big is this?"

Well, simple say TV talking heads: just imagine if there was an Olympic sport in which Elvis, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles and Mozart duked it out with nuclear weapons. Maybe that would be a bigger deal than what's going on at the Staples Center.

The Michael Jackson Memorial Clusterfuck

Hamilton Nolan — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 10:40:36 EDT

Michael Jackson's memorial service happens in LA today. Is it a media circus out there? Check out the elephants! Eh? Seriously, it sounds like the media equivalent of the Superdome after Katrina. A brief rundown of the clusterfuckery:

The event starts at 10 a.m., L.A. time. Who will be carrying it live? Everybody! Specifically, "All the major networks and a host of cable news and entertainment channels, including CNN, MSNBC, E! Entertainment, TV Guide Network and TV One."
"More than 1.6 million people registered over the weekend for a chance at one of 17,500 free tickets to the service."
To make things a little more lively, MJ's dead body will be in attendance! Appearing alongside the corpse: "Mariah Carey, Usher, John Mayer, Jennifer Hudson as well as a delegation from Motown, the label that nurtured Mr. Jackson as the child star of the Jackson 5. There are also figures from sports (Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant), politics (Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III), movies and television (Brooke Shields) and the church (the Andrae Crouch Choir)."
The presence of Michael himself is, of course, driving the TV anchors wild with hyperbole. As well as anyone speaking to the TV anchors. Said Ken Sunshine, PR man for the event: "Michael Jackson is the biggest figure emitting love ever." HEH.
According to vague "experts" and "analysts," one billion people will watch this thing. Christ. Let's hope not.
And through all of this madness, reporters won't even be given any food that they can't pay for themselves. Or phones! Sounds nice. From the official media advisory:

See you in hell.
[Pic: Getty]

Hero Journalist Doesn't Let Mom Get Away With Wanton Baby-Having

Hamilton Nolan — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 09:53:17 EST

Ann Curry grills the octuplet mom today. Why have all these babies without a steady job, tart? Well, she has one, Ann: media curio. Click to idly watch baby lady entertain you!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

[More in-depth take at Jezebel]

Obama Celebrations Erupt

Ryan Tate — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:23:09 EST

Spontaneous street parties are forming in the wake of Barack Obama's election to the presidency, and we've been getting emails about it. After the jump, shots taken in the streets of San Francisco, DC, Philly, New Orleans, Chicago and Baltimore and various parts of New York — and even in Freeport, Sierra Leone. Send us shots of your own and we'll add them to the galleries, or feel free to post in the comments. In the meantime, try not to get too drunk or start throwing anything or pushing anyone. (We're hopeful you won't, hopeys.)

See also our collection of pre-election party pics from earlier.

From the mailbag: "I work at Paramount plaza,...

Choire — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 15:50:14 EDT

From the mailbag: "I work at Paramount plaza, the building that is in sad proximity to Mars 2112. Coming back from lunch just now there are hundreds of people surrounding the railings that overlook Mars, as well as at least 50+ paparazzi and at least one ginormous bodyguard guarding the stairs that go down to the restaurant (the body guard allowed only the paparazzi down the stairs while keeping the crowd contained high above). It would seem that Brad Pitt, Maddox, Pax and company are in 2112. I plan on using the spectacle as a diversion when I slip out of work early in 20 mins."