I think I just got a logical epiphany. People talk a lot about love and how it's impossible not to love someone that you don't know, someone whom you have never met. I say that is not true. What bring love to our hearts are not just the exchange of words and the power of touch. What makes us love is a way of life, words from a genuine soul and for what that person stands for. Actions and contributions make us love. The only way to love is not just to have known someone in person. Why does millions of people around the world love the one man, who supposedly lived thousands of years ago, so deeply so that they live their lives based upon his early existence? They love him for what he did, for what his actions were and that is exactly why I am more than certain that I can say that I love Michael Jackson. Love is nothing that any person can possess the right to decide for what is wrong and what is right. Only you and I know what we love and why we love, and no one can say that you don't

L O V E  more

The death of Michael Jackson still brings me to tears whenever I see a remembrance of him. You know it really struck me, more than ever, that despite of all the hate he has been given and all the lies he has been taking, he still gave to the world. He kept advocating peace and forgiveness, endless love and compassion for one another. But unfortunately the world managed to beat the man down. No man can be so strong for he will reach the limit of human destruction

Remember that. And always remember that in your ways towards your fellow people. Love and understanding is the true resolution for a world at PEACE

We love you M, keep teaching the world the wisdom of your heart for I, and many with me, will listen for eternity

♥

It's now official, the THIS IS IT trailer was premiered at the VMA’s last night. It will be in theatres around the world starting from the 28th to the 30th October 2009, and for only two weeks. Tickets go on sale on the 27^th of September in most places around the globe. Just wait for it, it’s going to break the roof with it’s incredible POWER!

Visit http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/michaeljacksonthisisit/international/ to see when it will be released in your country!

On September 3rd Michael was finally laid to rest at the Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California. The ceremony was a private one with only family and friends. Media was allowed just before it all got started. When it was time for the actual funeral everyone had to hit the road, even the paparazzi helicopters. The security was enormous and they made sure no unauthorized were to enter the funeral. The police even had helicopters in the air making sure all was safe and sound.

Friends like Elizabeth Taylor, Maculay Culkin, Corey Feldman, Chris Tucker and ex wife Lisa Marie Presley were seen at the funeral.  The ceremony was set for 7 pm local time but the Jackson family arrived 1 hour late. The gold casket carrying Michael arrived another 30 minutes after that. Gladys Knight performed with the song “Our Father”.

Michael Jackson is now interred in the Great Mausoleum, 13 “floors” down in the ground. Another 12 graves were bought by the Jackson family, one can only speculate why. But even though Michael is now buried, some say it might not the place where he will ACTUALLY lay. Like Elvis’s Graceland, there might be a Neverland for MJ.

The Jackson family called the ceremony “A Celebration of Life”.

Michael was finally put to rest at the Forest Lawn Cementery on September 3rd.. More about that later. Rest in Peace Mike, I love you always

Personally, I think the voice on that video (which is supposed to be Michael's) sounds like it could have been him during the early 80's. Could it have been an old conversation, where he (MJ) was speaking of someone else called Michael who had just died, and just happened to call himself Donald bc of private reasons? The voice is awfully much alike Michael's.. and the way he says "that is what I hope", it's so Michael to speak that way. But of course, it can also be a very good impersonator who's been working on his way of speaking for a long time..

The question marks still remain though. I'm not convinced, but I am not totally against it either. That was after all the first thought that came to my mind when I first got the news, that this was the biggest scam the world would ever witness, without knowing it.

Music claimed a part of history at 2:26pm when physicians at UCLA Hospital announced the death of Michael Jackson. His life aside from the media speculations was silent to me up until that day. News coverage of his fatality was exposed through TV, newspapers, internet, and co-workers gossiping at lunch. I was familiarized with his music but I wasn't a diehard fan. In fact, it's now after his passing that I became an ardent supporter of his humanitarian contributions and music. I grew up in a generation of hip hop music, gangs and violence and Michael Jackson was heard seldom. Through my research of MJ's life, I learned how he broke racial barriers, helped cultural differences become comfortable and raised awareness about global issues through his lyrics. But all that grace stood as a dark shadow casting behind his drastic physical change. It became a conflicting interest to many around the world including his fans and he succumbed too many controversial affairs in spite of it. Evidently his distinguish appearance and lifestyle reform shifted his success downwards and many American fans lost interest. Undeniably he left a legendary story to tell and though I share different experiences with Michael's music as a fan after death as compared to fans a generation or two before me, we can all correlate the one thing he expressed over and over through his explicit lyrics which is change and hope for a better place.  

I was waiting for the 73 bus at the Okeechobee train station when I received an incoming text. It read "Michael Jackson is dead." I underestimated its authenticity at the time and forwarded the message to my contacts. It wasn't till I arrived at my grandmother's apartment that afternoon that I began to flick the channels on TV to find breaking news" Michael Jackson dead at 50" it confirmed. They showed video footage of a dance rehearsal he performed at the Staples center just two days before his death. He appeared healthy and energetic, ready for his big come back. His dance moves showed me so much passion, a true show stopper. His performance was as great as it was in the mid 80's and early 90's.

Michael's talent dazzled many at an early age. He became the lead singer for his father's group called the Jackson 5. The group's talent raised eyebrows at a Motown audition and without a doubt Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown records, offered to sign Michael and his brothers on. They were a great hit off the bat and popularity escaladed fast, perhaps a bit too early for MJ. Pat Superfine, who was born in a small segregated town, just twenty five miles west of Gary, Indiana, MJ's hometown, was a fan of MJ and Motown music. She remembers hearing the Jackson 5 play repeatedly on her orange transistor radio despite the town's limited exposure of color folks. Her feet tapped and she'd swayed her head every time she heard her favorite song Ben. Oddly MJ's music unified different cultures and it would be of no specific individual to enjoy his groovy beats. Nearly twenty years after the civil rights movement was completed both President Reagan and Michael displayed the meaning of desegregation in front of the White House. In fact, on that day Ronald Reagan awarded Michael for contributing a positive influence on teenage kids through his music and commercials in 1984.

He was at the peak of his game, and the album Thriller broke the bar and up to date still holds the record as the biggest selling album of all time. Thriller transcended race, age and gender. My husband Moe tells me that when he was growing up around the age of fifteen he was a fan. The boys and he use to bust moves on their rollerblades at the skate key roller rink in Bronx, NY to Michael's beats. Many of them enjoyed just about every song on the album. Mean while further south of New York in the city of Miami my mother who was twenty six years old was out enjoying boogie nights at Big Daddy's nightclub in coral way. Her favorite song in that era was P.Y.T (pretty young thing) she said it inspired her to move forward with her life and that it reminded her exactly that, P.Y.T. I was a newborn in the care of my grandmother on those boogie nights. She was a single mom hanging out and mingling in the early eighties. Thriller clearly was in demand and eventually as reported it turned out to be a Michael mania era.

Growing up I listened to Michael's music very seldom in fact only when my mother would blast the speakers, simply because being a fan of MJ was not cool among my peers. Although we listened to artists that were inspired by him such as Usher and Justin Timberlake, pop music was last on my top favorite. I enjoyed the hip hop genre way more. I wore dickie suits with a sports bra, Fila sneakers, nautical jackets, big gold hooped earrings and my hair jelled up in a high and tight ponytail. This was around 1997 and Michael had established a fictitious name by the media, as Wacko Jacko which was all I ever knew about him. It wouldn't be until after death that I would research for evidence to understand all the controversy he left behind.

            His music success tells a legacy on its own but along with that he inherited a humanitarian side, one which sadly stood dim behind the show stealer "Wacko Jacko". Although Michael left a list from A-Z with thirty six different charities he supported throughout his life, the media coverage was only about his plastic surgeries and allegations. If you ask me I tell you its gossip, sensationalized gossip. The ratings go up so do the speculations and America tends to be naive and believe what they say. They practically condemned him before he was ever even convicted. He was charged with child molestation and about six other counts which were later acquitted and the media just kept covering it so relentlessly. Yet the media found a way to shift their coverage on Michael and wallowed in this epoch after his death.

            The media knew that breaking news would have his fans around the world riveted to their channels as we mourned his passing. They sold his story as a national tragedy even after all the horrific things they condemned him with. Amazingly enough they turned the tables and praised him. "How can they feel he is a freak show one day and a marvelous soul the next day?" I asked myself. Many of my interviewees feel the same way they blame part of their fall out as a fan of Michael because of all the unethical things they heard over and over in tabloids and news networks throughout the years of his career. Yet we all also agree he is in that better place he always preached about throughout his lyrics. We want him back so bad but at the same time we know he is doing better in a place without headaches, no one to ridicule or judge him and mainly that endless peace of sleep he wished for some many times here on earth.

While I interviewed Pat superfine I could play her favorite song Ben in my head and hear his adolescent voice sing so vivid. Interviewing both my mother and husband painted a picture of fun times as I experience now every time I hear his music play. I'll I want to do is jump up and dance. His music hits my soul and his lyrics influence me deeply. It is through his death I gained a yen to learn the truth about him. I cleared all the negative thoughts people who where pursued by the medias speculation engraved in me. I see another side, a positive one, a man that tried through his popularity and entertainment to teach us all that we should all be treated equal, as one community, and without greed. Truth is that even through his hard work he himself could not accomplish what he wished for the most a better place.

After all the coverage, and all my research, the one thing his fans will always remember him for his all the good he did. Somehow all the bad just vanished along whit his demise and what stood behind is a long story of music, fame, success, accomplishments, contributions, and love. All that we care about as fans to share with others is his impact as an artist and his magic. I became a fan after death but I share the same feelings about him as Sara Wreteljung a fan of Michael on the other side of the world in Sweden. She's been a fan of MJ since she can remember and the one thing we have in common as fans is the strong will that we along with other members of heal the world foundation have to make this a better place. It is undeniable that we will have to work stronger and harder as a team to accomplish what Michael did throughout the years. Reality is we don't have an income of billions of dollars as Michael did. But through Michael's inspiration on new and old fans we can build that Michael Army we need to reach out to others.

            When MJ passed I was like any other ordinary person oblivious of his life and contribution. Something about his death changed me in a very mysterious way. I want to express it as a work of magic but I wouldn't want anyone to think I am crazy. His death impacted me as if he were my brother. I knew so little yet I knew a lot without any recognition of what I knew. It was right after the breaking news that I became intrigued. Everything I knew about him from his nose falling out, his change of race, dangling his son from a balcony, and numerous plastic surgeries where all true but not all was as bad as it seemed. I learned that there are many sides to one story and we are absolutely of no importance to judge others or our selves. There is far to many other people in the world who have nearly a shoe to walk in and those are the ones we must judge and help to the best of our ability. It is his humanitarian stories that will live on as an example of giving back and I hope to show my daughter and new generations to come that they too can make a change with a heart that holds no boundaries.

I'm asking you with all my heart to sign my petition. Please spread the word about this petition to everyone, we need to reach the goal of 1 million people so that we coninue with our hopes of a restoration of Never Neverland.

For many of us who had a dream, that dream might be gone now that Michael is no longer here to lead us. Well Michael might be gone, but his good heart laid paths before us during his living life for us to continue. Michael's dream of healing the world and his journey towards world peace shall be carried forward in all of us now. We are all part of this world and we all have a responsibility to protect it, and protect each other.
Michael believed in our children, and he used to say "I see God in the face of children". Neverland Ranch isn't just any place; it is the place where dreams of children in need come true. Michael's initiative to bring kids into Neverland to play meant a great deal to them in their healing process, just because of the fact that it was his home. He made a great impact on the world, especially the children, and he still does.  

This is a fantastic way to preserve the memory of Michael Jackson in his favorite place on earth and in the same time enlighten needy children's lives by letting them in once again to have a blast. Neverland Ranch is a haven and a paradise for a child who's going through a hard time and just by letting them spend a day there or two would really make a difference in their lives. Once again, just the fact that it was a home of the greatest superstar of all time makes the place and the visit magic.

So let's bring back the little red steam engine, fill up the bar with lots of candy and start playing those cartoons. Let's bring back the animals and turn on the rides, let's once again open up the gates to Never Neverland and let the children forget for a while and just have fun.

If we don't do this, there is a risk that it is going to turn out as a resort, gambling casino or wine-growing. The plans are many and as we speak it is being planned.

Sign the petition if you think Never Neverland should get its right heart back, the way it should be. Let in Peter Pan, Snow White and the seven dwarfs, Mickey Mouse and his Minnie, Pooh and the gang and many, many more !

Make dreams come true, children are our future.

The president of Heal the World Foundation, Melissa Johnson, writes following open letter on the foundations website HTWF:

"June 27th 2009
Michael Jackson Passing

Please forgive me if my writing is poor, I wont be eloquent, as I've not yet had the opportunity to process this tragedy and I am not myself, nor are we prepared to answer all of you personally yet, so please accept this as a group response, for the time.

This is Melissa Johnson and I am one of many, who have been helping to develop the initiatives of HTWF and doing its work since 1993.

I cry along side the whole world and my heart is broken in two. My prayers go out to the family, his precious children and all those who I know are hurting from the loss of him on Earth.

There is a void in the air we all breath, as it no longer is shared with a man of extraordinary value to the world.

You all knew and loved him most, for his music, but my small part in his life and knowledge of him was not as a pop legend, but a legend for change and a force for good and charity, a side of him, even in his death, is rarely talked about.

His rare love and devotion to the helpless, the down-trodden, the innocent and the world's most needy is why I grieve today. They lost their greatest advocate.

Mr. Jackson was not a perfect man, but I know he strived to become the best version of himself and was surrounded by those that would not let him serve and love the world with the vigor he desired.

Over the years, I fell in love, not with a superstar or a pop icon as the world did, but with a  miracle, a masterpeace of 'love and service', that was the blue print for the future of HTWF.

I learned of a work and a plan that I believed Mr. Jackson could actually make happen, saving millions of lives, not merely results for the worlds most needy, but a shift in the way that people treat each other. From indifference to concern, from inaction to action, from selfishness to service.

He was pure in heart and he loved humanity with a passion I had never witnessed in any other human being and likely will never see again. It was not manufactured love, like a politician who puts on a face for people, it was pure, innocent and simple.

He was full of love and he fought the world's dissaproval boldly, to hold on to his child-like qualities and inner beauty.

I believe he WAS a king, but not merely of POP, a king in character, the royal blood of an honorable and God-like man, flowed through his body and he was good at levels most of us could never attain ourselves.

I believed that Mr. Jackson would DO what he said he would do and change peoples minds and their hearts. Then the whole world. Not through music alone, but with a clearly defined plan and devotion to carry it out.

Starting a movement with his fans and eventually a world of well indented people, people who were fed up with the environment they had created for themselves.

He wanted to be remembered as one of the worlds greatest contributors and instruments for good, along side Gandhi and Mother Theresa, Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.

He just wanted to love us, all of us and in 1992 he founded Heal The World Foundation, then in 1993, the first false allegations hit and year after year, until his death, every time he tried to serve and love us, there was some rapacious person there to slow him, cripple him and destroy any chance for his good works.

How many genuinely abused children were NOT helped in the last decade because Mr. Jackson's name, charity and good work was damaged so severely. Accused of abusing the VERY children he set out to RESCUE and HEAL.

Corey Feldman once said, calling Mr. Jackson a child abuser is like calling Santa clause a thief!

I believe the world will come to know as I have always known, that Mr. Jackson would never hurt any child and did have a propensity to love children especially, but love them as he loved his very own.

How could he not? He said many times, that a child's heart is not judgmental or unkind, its boldly honest and wholesome, not crude and manipulative as he came to experience with adults in his life.

How many Millions of lives would have been saved if we had protected our beloved ambassadors of peace, goodwill and charity. Living Legends for good, like Mr. Jackson and  Princess Diana? How much more GOOD could they have done?

The loss of Mr. Jackson is not to Mr. Jackson, he is in Paradise and is ok now, the loss is to humanity, to the most vulnerable and the sick, to the abused children and forgotten child in all of us. We needed him, he didn't need us.

The whole world loses a teacher, a leader and an example of good character and we will never know how much he could have taught us. 

Mr. Jackson is gone now and It is unclear if the Jackson Family will want to continue his charity work and his humanitarian legacy and in what manner.

The staff at HTWF only ask that the public be patient with us and allow the family time to grieve as we wait for the direction they would have us go.

HTWF belongs to God first and then to Mr. Jackson, as God's instrument for miracles and good to the world and we must all be respectful and wait for the family to come up for air, before and IF we can move forward on Mr. Jackson's behalf.

Many have asked what we plan to do and I don't know yet, we are left at the mercy of God and the Jackson family have a heavy burden to bare, but I do know personally, I won't let the adversary take me out, before I accomplish the things that God has prepared for me and I leave the world a lot better off, than the way I entered it.  

My prayers are with you all and I ask that your prayers be with the family, his precious children and finally myself, that I be given the strength to do right always, in God's purposes and in the magic and glory of HTWF.

As Mr. Jackson loved his fans so deeply, I have seen clearly why, as I cannot express the joy you all have brought to my life. Your beauty, your loyalty, your love for others.

My deep gratitude and love to you all,

Melissa Johnson
President
Heal the World Foundation"