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Michael Jackson's dead.. after coming a full cycle in life. and his legacy is kindled once again ..probably for the final time.

My First:

I remember how I got to know of Michael Jackson as a viewer of the doordarshan videos on how he rose from being a child prodigy to giving hits like Thriller, I am bad, Billie Jean, Remember the time.. and so albums.

And when my dad first took me as a child to the burma bazaar in parrys corner of madras, and curiously made me select my first english songs cassette and I asked for michael jackson. and the shopkeeper himself suggested boney M and those where the first two english cassettes we had at home.. it was the late 80's. And burma bazaar was the only place where you could buy english song cassettes then in madras... they usually came with lyrics of all songs printed in a separate booklet as a default. i cursed the shopkeeper in my mind for years later since he hadnt given the lyrics book with our purchase.

It was MJ's "Dangerous" album that I got.

I wrote MJ with a big sketch pen on the side of the cover.. which I later learnt was the popular nickname for Michael jackson.

Guess what.. i didnt understand a word of the songs in the cassette for a few years though i listened and enjoyed it probably a 1000 odd times.

Those days, you didnt have CD's, cassette players costed 2000 rupees or so, in the economy of today that cost is equivalent to some 20000 rupees.
And obviously there was no internet then .. and music had to grow slowly in your life then. not like you immediately catchup with all popular songs.

I got my own first english cassette, a new boney M when i was at college.. thats when i got to shop myself for my stuff. Thereafter things picked up slowly with interests in music, movies, books, magazines.. my dad introduced me to all of them as habits and especially only english habits.

ah. yes.. i got to understand michael jackson's and many other people's english accents as i started hearing more. and also from lyrics that started to be printed on the cassette covers itself instead of being sold as supplementary booklets.

I am making this post.. to have my observations recorded in the recent days, on news about MJ, the days after his death and the turbulence in the minds of his family, supporters, and everyone thereafter.

Child prodigy:
As a child MJ turned many heads with his music and flair for fast dance movements. He popularized that genre of dance 'the brake dance' (or break dance.. how do u call it)... and moonwalk.. and many other styles.

Moonwalk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MichaelJacksonMoonwalk.ogg

Cover of One of MJ's albums.

As a teenager his album 'The Thriller' and its video were blockbusters.. so much a blockbuster that it spread all around the globe without marketing, and even without youtube, or pirate CDs.

King of Pop:
In his twenties, his shows and albums were so much popular that any other musician was considered a hobbyist or an unknown in the industry. He had all the audience and fans to himself.

His fans and probably some new marketing guy in the team started calling him the 'King of Pop' with nobody to dispute him being called so till today.

And there used to be a lot of military personnel (or so dressed up security guys) providing cover and security for him on his shows. especially lining up around the stage or MJ's way on to the stage.. .so much so that people remarked that he was the only one popstar on earth that has a full military company securing him.

His personal life:
As it happens with all people in the entertainment industry, especially the celebrities, Michael Jackson also made weird decisions in his personal life, weird statements to the press to the court on charges, etc.,
He underwent plastic surgeries on his face probably more times than you and I would have in mind.. to personally have memorablia of looks of his love lifes, or just because he thought that look is hot. His nose and chin, and his entire complexion change from being a black to becoming a white, are the most regarded on his list of plastic surgeries or changes.

His Home:
MJ bought a huge golf course like area, called neverland ranch, and converted it into everything he wanted.. his estate, home, his own private amusement park, with private rail lines to go around the place with rail stations, etc., The area fully developed as a huge estate, had long roads, with circles and fountains, statues and figurines, scenic backyard, all in it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsbniHqKLtc
http://www.videopark.com/mj.htm

Lived life king size, had everything he needed brought to him and was occassionally pulling children, crowds of them, as invitees to his house to play around and use the amusement park.

Ironically, the name neverland (not kept by michael jackson) comes from the pied piper stories where the pied piper leads all rats in neverland behind him with his music.. which mj did to people with his music.

His weirdness:
His statements, sometimes rejections, sometimes shocking acceptance of guilt on charges against him in courts on child abuse, child molestation, even one involving the Richie Rich / home alone star kid.. sometimes even involving private settlement of the cases with money.... all disappointed and dwindled his fan base, more than how much his 'no-shows for many years' affected it.

Heal the world: Sample his video.

Sample this video in above link, to see his inspiring song for love of children and the world... and you would think twice before discussing whether all those child abuse charges on him were for real.

Sample him:
Sample these videos in the below link to see how his fans enjoyed his music.
this, this, this, this and this.

His Last Days, O2 and Jackson 5:
In his last days, he was rehearsing heavy, all set for a comeback. Called the O2 concerts, or the 'This is it' concerts, 50 of them planned starting october 2009.. with the 'Jackson Five' (Five family members including MJ)

After his death, of what is reported a massive heart attack, there is a lot of news that he died because of drug over dosage.. which was given to him to get him perform during the rehearsals he was undergoing.

Whatever be the cause, MJ is gone, and a face-saving comeback, atleast one of those 50 planned too couldn't happen, which probably will also end chances of his legacy living beyond him for a longer time.

May he RIP.. for having entertained not just a few sections of people.. but an entire world for a lot more time than the time his misgivings or bad news about him disappointed us... and for healing hearts and worldly issues with music like the black-or-white, heal-the-world, you-are-not-alone, etc.,

News is that, they are refunding tickets sold-out for O2 concerts.. and the Jackson-4(instead of 5) may decide about doing one O2 concert as a tribute.

A few years ago I gave up non-vegetarian because something I witnessed in a butcher shop when I was a kid was always lingering around in my head and bothering me as I grew older. The butcher, in the excitement of selling fresh meat to customers waiting in line outside, happily slit a goat's throat in front of me and grandma.. we were standing first in the line close to the doorway.

The scene of the goat moaning in pain and beating its legs and waving its head with eyes almost popping out in the fear of dying is something that I still can't seem to forget.

After I became an adult I had the maturity to push it to my family that I am no more eating meat or eggs. Slowly it happened that my people at home felt similarly uncomfortable about the meat they eat, also because they were having one person at home(me) who was running out of the house with excuses whenever meat was on the dinner table.

I also had another reason to quit non-veg.. the vegetarian and junk food industry grew with a lot of options, some of them even kind of replacing tastes that you get with meat. So sticking to my decision was easy for me. and its more easier nowadays with the options you have.

My parents and family slowly moved to be pure vegetarian even disliking the smell of eggs .. partly because we had pets.. from dogs to fishes and birds. We still do have a cute pet dog, and a nice big aquarium at home. These animals showered so much love on us, and we got so attached, that we kind of became so sensitive towards animals. We would have tears in eyes whenever some TV channel does a special story on animals being tortured and killed for meat.

I am not sure whether we can argue and stop the world from consuming non-vegetarian foods.. and I don't believe that it is possible or feasible for human kind to do away with meat because humans by evolution consumed meat always. You can't change something that was historically created...at-least not by showing videos or talking sympathetically, and definitely not in a few years.

But, if you are a non-vegetarian..and you love non-veg foods, and sometimes thought that you can take more of meat for it is tasty tasty and kindles excitement, you should see videos in the youtube.com link below...and make a decision about reducing your meat intake or at least not increasing it.

You tube - meet your meat videos

By this article, I am not trying to put pressure on non-vegetarians just because I have given up meat.. or try demonize the meat industry or people who earn their money with that industry,

but, inturn, I am ignoring everything happening around me, around everywhere, and think of those animals from their point of view of existence.

Like us, they too would have dreams of playing over the grass, munching some, and running around some, or at-least if not all that, to just die gracefully, without dying like in war with all that pain and butchering scenes in front of their eyes.

Think.

p.s. All through this post below, I refer to the people in the American government as Americans. as it is the usual way for critics of American government. So, 'Americans' used below doesn't refer to American people, but the American president, his staff.. ,also importantly chief of American army, navy airforce, and the American defence secretaries.

We all know of the way Americans consider themselves and the rest of the world.. yes, they consider everyone else the "rest of the world". as if the world was a big platter with Americans as the main dish.

Yesterday(or today if I am right) kosovo got freedom .. it became a Nation. While I was reading something on that.. I landed up on some crazy things only Americans can do calling it interestingly "for world peace". What you see below is America's largest military camp(since the vietnam) outside of America.. in kosovo.

Well Americans are not just stupid enough to build military bases outside of their country.. but also build very large bases outside their country.. and of course.. that's for world peace.

Camp BondSteel

The camp is called bondsteel. and there are about 7000 soldiers or more in the camp .. yea for world peace.. To any dumb fellow, it would be obvious that having 7000 troops at a place itself calls for war, not peace.. anyway, we are talking about Americans here.. not just dumb fellows.

Dick Cheney who served as defence secretary during the senior Bush administration granted a company 'Brown and Root Services' a big military contract in 1992 .. and later on became the CEO of the company for 5 years in a goodwill exchange offer from that company. no not joking. It all happens in America. Now, the part we are interested in is, Dick Cheney comes back as US Vice President in junior Bush administration and grants a lot (read loot) of defence projects including development of camp BondSteel.

The company 'Brown and Root Services' did a good job.. and that's why the landscape is so lovely in the above picture. For electronic engineers like me, can compare it to seeing a well laid out printed circuit board. It doesn't look real.. it looks extraordinarily perfectly developed site. What we are interested in knowing here is the money the company made. They made a whopping amount in developing this project, because in kosovo, in the area where the site is located they only had to pay $1 - $3 per hour of labour to the locals and that is considered very good compensation as the local economy which is 80% unemployed was almost entirely dependent just on agriculture-oriented jobs until bondsteel.

To read more on this crazy money and power stuff you can read the below links.
1. Camp Bond-steel in Kosovo - Hanna's blog
2. Remarks to United States Troops at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo - George W. Bush - Transcript

Notice to Indians:
In the second link, there's a part of transcript of American president Bush's remarks to troops in Camp BondSteel where he says something like the Americans are indeed controlling world peace "from kosovo to kashmir" ... whoopy.. yea, kashmir he says.. both kosovo and kashmir are not in America and looks like Americans have hell a lot of free time to tackle things outside their country (as they have completed managing their country enough).. and so Mr.Bush addresses the troops saying their involvement and sacrifice is required for world peace from kosovo to kashmir.

This person Bush, he is definitely very funny when he speaks, because he, I think, is one American President who often stupidly assumes he has done a lot to the world(oh, may be in line of hitler) and thinks he is not just responsible for America but the world itself. Good grief.. God save America(save the world too).

End Note:
Anyways, all this is something that happened in 2002, I just read that blog now..
Although, it was an interesting pass-time read... and imagine how interesting Americans should be now in 2008, if until 2002 itself was such interesting.

Have you seen the movie 'The Pursuit of Happiness'... and did you have goose pimples watching its climax.. .My newspaper today had an actually much more inspiring story.. narrates briefly a real story of Petchi.T. Read at the below link.. take your time to feel every word of it... as if happening in front of you.. you will feel it.

She chartered her own course - The Hindu, metro Plus, pg 1

A dream: How would it be, if all poor had this courage and perseverance towards education.. ..actually some of us too have to learn something about perseverance from such people, we take it for granted that we are hard working and using our time the best. Keep dreaming. I will, for me thats the first step towards acheiving.

I have sometimes made boring advices, a couple of sessions/seminars at workplace... and I have been a listener in more boring sessions especially powerpoint based .. particularly ones which have paragraphs of text in every slide.

Here are some interesting thoughts a friend(sangeetha) makes on the idea of how NOT to do presentations/meetings.. and if you are victim, how to adjust.

1. How NOT to make meetings interesting...

2. 20 things to do when you are listening to boring speakers in a ‘dignified’ gathering…

And, regarding how to do a good powerpoint presentation.. from another friend's(venkat) blog archives

3. Tips for doing effective Presentations (Proffessional tips that is.)