This might be the most obnoxious indirect way of letting people know you have fancy designer sunglasses that I've seen yet.
I don't get designer sunglasses though. I always break my glasses, scratch them up at the beach or just plain sit on them, so I don't spend much on them.
Don't get me wrong: my very first purchase on my own with my saved allowance was the "Got to be There" LP. I still know all the words, nearly 40 years on. But as a mother, the thought of a grown man sleeping with other people's children in his bed and using his fame and fortune to lure them there is too sick to accept, no matter how talented he is/was.
@Swordfish: And as a mother, don't you think those children's parents--who unless they lived in a cave underground, knew MJ was, at the very least, crazy, from the Pepsi commercial incident on--bear responsibility for sending their kids to Neverland? My mom didn't always make great decisions, but when the neighbor lady who claimed she spoke with God directly wanted me to come spend the weekend, she had the sense to say no.
@Better to Eat You With: I believe MJ did molest little boys. But I wholeheartedly agree, the parents that let their children stay with him, spend the night with him, and travel the world with him, were predators, too. They may not have thought he would truly harm their children, but they wanted into that inner circle, they wanted information and they used their kids to extort all they could from MJ.
@Swordfish: I've always wondered what the fuck happened in that family while they were growing up. I mean obvs it was gruesome, made to work like a slave, beatings if they didn't perform as expected. To think that sexual abuse was heaped upon it as well my god. I'm not making any excuses, just saying he didn't just do that out of the clear blue sky if it's true. To molest a child you were probably molested as a child. Any fraction of symptathy I feel for him is directed toward the poor tortured child he must have been. I always thought Latoya was really fucking brave for the things that she came out and said, she didn't have to do that but I'm glad she did.
@I_b_hatin: Yeah, "pure evil" is just a little bit over the top - who are we talking about, Idi Amin? Goebbels? He was an abused child who became a messed up man, and while it's pretty shitty that his wealth and fame protected him from the natural consequences of his actions, the viewpoint expressed in the comment you're responding to is just a bit too simplistic.
The man was pure evil for what he did to children. Pure evil. Sure he made great music. I had all his records when I was a kid in the early 70s. Loved his music. But I threw them all out and turn off the radio when he does come on now, because he was evil, and he does not deserve any of this worship. If he were a nobody who did that to children, everyone would say good riddens. That he avoided jail AND managed to keep custody of his kids after being accused of such horrific crimes--and settling with other accusers--shows how the California justice system favors the rich. Woody Allen was found guilty of nothing untoward his biological children and can't see them without a social worker present. Now that he is dead, the truth will come out. Evil.
@Swordfish: Look, I'm totally with you on this to a certain extent. The thing that complicates the stories/testimony about him is the fact that he was so rich, and people DO abuse kids, sometimes by using them to get money from a wealthy pop star. He was clearly mentally ill.
The thing is, though - a lot of that stuff came to light in the 90's, AFTER he'd already had a major impact on me. He was incredibly talented. I do not think that excuses anything he may have done, I really don't. But it doesn't negate his contributions and influence to music and dance, either.
@charliebrowns: I have been going back and forth about this same issue since hearing about his death.
On the one hand, he is a gigantic symbol of my childhood. He was everywhere and when I hear those songs from "Thriller" - it brings back such great nostalgia. When I heard he died, I was truly bummed about it.
But then I watched the tributes last night and remembered all the not-so-great things like the abuses, the incredibly crumbling nose, the dangling baby incident, the odd interview with Martin Brashear.....and suddenly I wasn't sad anymore.
Questions: Who injected him? Did he inject himself? Did he have access to the drug simply because he's Michael Fucking Jackson and nobody says no to Michael Fucking Jackson, or did he actually need it? He was fifty years old and about to embark on a grueling tour after years of inactivity: did spend the last few months rehearsing in pain?
@Dickdogfood: NPR said he was reported to have had a four-hour doctor's exam very recently to make sure he was up to the tour. I guess the doctor missed something.
@MissyMiss: He underwent a physical as part of the terms of the contractual agreements of the concert promoters. He passed but was told he needed to gain weight because he was not in shape for 50 concerts. He was working with The Hulk (Lou Ferrigno)for strength training.
If this is true--and even if it isn't--everybody's going to point out that Demerol was also in Elvis' system when he died. Along with a billion other fucking things.
@minou: I had no idea Demerol was so potent. It was the only good part of the operation I underwent a few years back - so good I almost wanted to get herniated again.
Look at that gorgeous thing! Even her damn toes are charming! She has too much intelligence and personality to schlep down a runway looking bored and jaded. You think it's so easy landing a guy like Seal, you try it, Miss Lagerfeld, you dried-up old prune.
06/29/09
I don't get designer sunglasses though. I always break my glasses, scratch them up at the beach or just plain sit on them, so I don't spend much on them.
06/26/09
But as a mother, the thought of a grown man sleeping with other people's children in his bed and using his fame and fortune to lure them there is too sick to accept, no matter how talented he is/was.
06/26/09
06/26/09
06/26/09
06/26/09
06/26/09
06/26/09
He was an abused child who became a messed up man, and while it's pretty shitty that his wealth and fame protected him from the natural consequences of his actions, the viewpoint expressed in the comment you're responding to is just a bit too simplistic.
06/26/09
Sure he made great music. I had all his records when I was a kid in the early 70s. Loved his music.
But I threw them all out and turn off the radio when he does come on now, because he was evil, and he does not deserve any of this worship. If he were a nobody who did that to children, everyone would say good riddens. That he avoided jail AND managed to keep custody of his kids after being accused of such horrific crimes--and settling with other accusers--shows how the California justice system favors the rich.
Woody Allen was found guilty of nothing untoward his biological children and can't see them without a social worker present.
Now that he is dead, the truth will come out.
Evil.
06/26/09
06/26/09
The thing is, though - a lot of that stuff came to light in the 90's, AFTER he'd already had a major impact on me. He was incredibly talented. I do not think that excuses anything he may have done, I really don't. But it doesn't negate his contributions and influence to music and dance, either.
06/26/09
On the one hand, he is a gigantic symbol of my childhood. He was everywhere and when I hear those songs from "Thriller" - it brings back such great nostalgia. When I heard he died, I was truly bummed about it.
But then I watched the tributes last night and remembered all the not-so-great things like the abuses, the incredibly crumbling nose, the dangling baby incident, the odd interview with Martin Brashear.....and suddenly I wasn't sad anymore.
06/26/09
that would be a fitting tribute.
06/26/09
THAT'S EXCELLENT.
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@Dickdogfood: Reportedly Michael's had been addicted to painkillers for close to 25 years.
06/26/09
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06/26/09
It was in the patient controlled analgesic [PCA] machine.
It was wonderful, totally got rid of the pain.
But I was told it's more like a synthetic heroin, not morphine.
06/26/09
06/26/09
Demerol, Demerol
Oh god he's taking Demerol
Demerol, Demerol
Oh god he's taking Demerol
AND this lyric:
He got flash, baby
Kicked in the back, baby
A heart-attack, baby
06/26/09
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06/26/09
I had no idea Demerol was so potent. It was the only good part of the operation I underwent a few years back - so good I almost wanted to get herniated again.
06/26/09
06/14/09
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