Michael Jackson's final curtain call...

[Sandman]

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Reclusive pop icon Michael Jackson will perform 10 concerts in London in July in what he described Thursday as a "final curtain call."

The summer shows, Jackson's first major live performances in 12 years, will take place at the 20,000-capacity O2 Arena from July 8.


Jackson, 50, appeared in front of fans and media at the venue Thursday to announce the "This Is It" shows.


"These will be my final shows performing in London. "This Is It" really means this is it," said Jackson, wearing a trademark black military-style jacket with sparkling embroidery and black sunglasses. Jackson blew kisses and saluted his fans as they chanted "Michael! Michael!"
I only wish it wasn't only in London....I might consider going to see him perform. Say what you will but he's actually done some good music over the years; not sure how he would sound at 50 and and at least 2 years since his last major tour though.

source (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/05/uk.jackson.comeback/index.html)

[violent]

His final curtain call should consist of a videocamera, a shotgun, a shell and his big toe.

[Suave Peanut]

His final curtain call should consist of a videocamera, a shotgun, a shell and his big toe.

Damn, you are violent.

[DarkDay]

His final curtain call should consist of a videocamera, a shotgun, a shell and his big toe.

Only it should've have happened in the 80's.

[National Kato]

Well, at least he's giving children free admission.

[Sandman]

Only it should've have happened in the 80's.

I'm gonna go with 1990....because Dangerous sucked.

[DarkDay]

Ya, I shouldn't be so harsh, he did make Thriller..THRILLER! And where would Weird AL be without him.. good thing?

[Johan]

I saw him in concert overseas. He was dubbed. I knew this because a whacked-out member of the audience jumped on the platform with him, as the thing was rising into the air, and they were both stuck up there for a while...yet he didn't miss a single lyric/note, while a crazy fan was grabbing onto him.

It was a good show, but he wasn't singing. That's more and more typical, too...shame, really.

[Sandman]

I saw him in concert overseas. He was dubbed. I knew this because a whacked-out member of the audience jumped on the platform with him, as the thing was rising into the air, and they were both stuck up there for a while...yet he didn't miss a single lyric/note, while a crazy fan was grabbing onto him.

It was a good show, but he wasn't singing. That's more and more typical, too...shame, really.

I think any singer that is going to be doing alot of movement and dancing up on stage is going to be dubbed these days.

[BlackPete]

So.... what did happen with the so-called flesh eating disease that took over his face?

I'm surprised he'd be thinking about performing when he still has/had that little thing to take care of, first.

[torrefaction]

lol...Sandman is like my anti-Pandora.

[Johan]

I think any singer that is going to be doing alot of movement and dancing up on stage is going to be dubbed these days.

True enough. I suppose you're paying for the spectacle and performance, really...and it would suck if the singer was winded a lot.

[Sandman]

lol...Sandman is like my anti-Pandora.

This one I'm just reporting, I'm not claiming to be a big fan of Jackson; in fact I only care for one or two songs off 3 of his albums.

[biosc1]

I wonder if it will even be him up there...almost like to think that it will be a body double. Last I heard, he was in a wheelchair in Vegas...where he was supposed to perform but never did.

[TheEpicOfTyler]

Fuck you all. Michael Jackson is innocent, and awesome.

[ShivaX]

True enough. I suppose you're paying for the spectacle and performance, really...and it would suck if the singer was winded a lot.

Depends on the band really.

When I went to see Tool I wasn't paying to see anyone, which is a good thing since I saw their outlines at most, but hearing the songs live with the presentation was worth the price a hundred times over.

When you get into pop music they damn near all lip sync and are dubbed. So you pay to see them "in person" and running around the stage I guess. Not my thing really. It was cool to see Maynard when I went to my first Perfect Circle concert, but when he was behind a screen with his back to the crowd the next time I saw him it didn't make it any worse by any means.

I wonder if it will even be him up there...almost like to think that it will be a body double. Last I heard, he was in a wheelchair in Vegas...where he was supposed to perform but never did.

Wouldn't suprise me. Hes doing it purely because he needs the money so I could see him sending someone else out there to do all the work. Most rubber masks look more life-like than his actual face at this point, so it wouldn't be a tough cover-up job.

[Camel]

Michael Jackson is so freaking bizarre that I think it's easy to overlook how awesome (in my opinion) so many of his songs were. I would have loved to see him in concert, but not now. It just wouldn't be the same (not that I would fly to London to see him anyways). I refuse to go see the Rolling Stones or even AC/DC, the one band I would have paid pretty much anything to see about five or so years ago, for the same reasons.

[Widgetcraft]

I wonder if it will even be him up there...almost like to think that it will be a body double. Last I heard, he was in a wheelchair in Vegas...where he was supposed to perform but never did.

When they start selling off your home arcade, you get your ass out of the wheel chair and find more monies. That guy must be in some pretty dire straits to be selling off some of the stuff I saw in the auction brochure (seeing the custom Peter Pan stuff made, just for him, by the people at Disney was actually really sad).

Say what you want about him, I think that a lot of his problems aren't necessarily his fault. He grew up with a shitty non-childhood, and has basically been a celebrity all of his life. Not just when he was a kid, not just when he was a teenager, but his entire life. He doesn't know how to be normal, because he has always lead the life of an insular celebrity. He has no perspective on what normal is.

[johnperkins21]

I went to one of his concerts in Hawaii a little over a decade ago. One of the best concerts I've ever seen. The dude is pretty much a musical genius (well, in terms of pop anyway), and a fantastic showman.

As Heretic Machine pointed out, it's not entirely his fault he's messed up. He was fronting one of the world's most popular bands when he was 11, and hasn't been out of the spotlight since. His father was an abusive prick. I defy anyone to walk in his shoes and not be at least a little off.

[Xydarc]

Nothing can justify being a pedophile.

[Shrinn]

Nothing can justify being a pedophile.

Never excuses but there can be reasons.

[Kagger]

Never excuses but there can be reasons.

Exactly. Justify is a word with too many meanings. It's wrong regardless (whether he did or did not do it), but it doesn't mean there wasn't a reason for it.

[Narradisall]

Yea, he made one wierd annoucement.

What was worse is I got home to see the layout of the O2 arena for the concert on my desk. I liked his early stuff but haven't really enjoyed anything his done in decades so I'll give this a miss.

[Ancalagon]

He should do a Barcelona Dive and then a Flying Izuna Drop as his very last move.

[total]

He should do a Barcelona Dive and then a Flying Izuna Drop as his very last move.

Absolutely loving the cross thread action here.

[roboninja]

I would personally never give the pedo one penny of money, or one second of my time. While it is pretentious, I would feel disdain for anyone going to this concert.

[TrackZero]

I only wish it wasn't only in London....I might consider going to see him perform. Say what you will but he's actually done some good music over the years; not sure how he would sound at 50 and and at least 2 years since his last major tour though.

source (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/03/05/uk.jackson.comeback/index.html)

Well from his comment "These will be my final shows performing in London.", still leaves it open, IMHO, for him to do final shows elsewhere.

[Bone]

Exactly. Justify is a word with too many meanings. It's wrong regardless (whether he did or did not do it), but it doesn't mean there wasn't a reason for it.There's a reason for everything. The reason he's a pedophile is because he puts "it" in "kids".

[Squidbot]

Have you guys seen the MJ auction catalogue that's around the net somewhere? Freaky shit, man.

[johnperkins21]

I would personally never give the pedo one penny of money, or one second of my time. While it is pretentious, I would feel disdain for anyone going to this concert.

I don't think he's actually a pedophile. I think he's a severely messed up dude who spends an inappropriate amount of time with kids, and in compromising situations, but I sincerely doubt he ever actually raped any of the kids or even touched them inappropriately.

I would say chances are very high that he has a mental disorder, and he truly believes that having sleepovers with children while he's in his 40s and 50s is ok. But to straight up call him a pedophile I think is wrong. The first time he was accused, it was pretty obvious that the father forced the kid into the accusation to get rich. The second time was very similar, and a psychologist examined him, stating that his mental health had regressed to the point of him thinking he was a 10 year old boy.

The dude is off his rocker, and obviously spends an inappropriate amount of time with children, but he thinks he's a kid as well. None of the allegations of sexual abuse have stuck, and they all seem to be forced accusations by the child's parents to make money.

You certainly have the right to your beliefs, but all criminal charges of sexual misconduct have been dropped. If your kid was raped, would getting a 22 million dollar settlement make it ok? Would you stop the criminal investigation for cash, or would you aggressively go after the dude who did it, and put his ass in jail for years and years so that he can get raped in prison? Now imagine why the parents and the supposedly raped kids stopped cooperating with police after a settlement. Still think he's guilty? I don't.

[Bone]

I don't think he's actually a pedophile. I think he's a severely messed up dude who spends an inappropriate amount of time with kids, and in compromising situations, but I sincerely doubt he ever actually raped any of the kids or even touched them inappropriately.

I would say chances are very high that he has a mental disorder, and he truly believes that having sleepovers with children while he's in his 40s and 50s is ok. But to straight up call him a pedophile I think is wrong. The first time he was accused, it was pretty obvious that the father forced the kid into the accusation to get rich. The second time was very similar, and a psychologist examined him, stating that his mental health had regressed to the point of him thinking he was a 10 year old boy.

The dude is off his rocker, and obviously spends an inappropriate amount of time with children, but he thinks he's a kid as well. None of the allegations of sexual abuse have stuck, and they all seem to be forced accusations by the child's parents to make money.

You certainly have the right to your beliefs, but all criminal charges of sexual misconduct have been dropped. If your kid was raped, would getting a 22 million dollar settlement make it ok? Would you stop the criminal investigation for cash, or would you aggressively go after the dude who did it, and put his ass in jail for years and years so that he can get raped in prison? Now imagine why the parents and the supposedly raped kids stopped cooperating with police after a settlement. Still think he's guilty? I don't.
I think OJ Simpson told us everything we need to know about what money can do for justice. I think you're also fooling yourself if you think Michael Jackson wasn't plying these children to have sex with them (feeding them "Jesus Juice"- alcohol mixed with soft drinks, sleeping in their beds, etc). It seems likely that a conviction wouldn't happen, and a settlement was the best option. He's paid out enough that his fortunes are all but gone- and by doing this, they may have done enough harm to MJ that he can't endanger children again.

[Widgetcraft]

I think OJ Simpson told us everything we need to know about what money can do for justice. I think you're also fooling yourself if you think Michael Jackson wasn't plying these children to have sex with them (feeding them "Jesus Juice"- alcohol mixed with soft drinks, sleeping in their beds, etc). It seems likely that a conviction wouldn't happen, and a settlement was the best option. He's paid out enough that his fortunes are all but gone- and by doing this, they may have done enough harm to MJ that he can't endanger children again.

You realize that, even if you believe the worst of what he has been accused of, it would amount to him giving a blow job to a kid? None of them seemed to indicate that he even attempted to get them to pleasure him in any way.

I don't know if he did any of it or not, but even if he did, I wouldn't classify him as the same type of pedophile as those which would come to mind upon immediately hearing the word. Certainly, if he were guilty of such things, he should be in jail, but it isn't the same as some kind of kiddy-rapist.

Keep in mind that I'm not a fan of Michael Jackson, outside of Thriller. I have no favorable bias towards him. I just think that there was more than enough reasonable doubt in the two cases that there is no way he should have been locked up. There was virtually no physical evidence, that I'm aware of. One could theorize that he was never accused of sodomizing any of them because such an act would leave behind evidence as physical damage to the child, which they didn't have since it never happened.

Their whole case seemed to amount to kids saying, "This guy touched me in my no-no place." Add that into his creepy persona and obvious mental instability, and you have quite the sensational story.

EDIT: And another thing that has always bothered me about these stories... this isn't some random redneck, or creepy priest. This is Michael-fucking-Jackson, formerly one of the richest musicians, ever (if not the richest). If he wanted to molest children, he could have built Neverland in a country where he could buy dozens of new children every day. Hell, with his kind of money and resources, he could have done the same thing here. Why take the risk of throwing these elaborate slumber parties for sick children? Are people just assuming that, because he is weird, he is also stupid?

Nothing about these theories make any sense once you put any thought into the situation at all.

[johnperkins21]

I think OJ Simpson told us everything we need to know about what money can do for justice. I think you're also fooling yourself if you think Michael Jackson wasn't plying these children to have sex with them (feeding them "Jesus Juice"- alcohol mixed with soft drinks, sleeping in their beds, etc). It seems likely that a conviction wouldn't happen, and a settlement was the best option. He's paid out enough that his fortunes are all but gone- and by doing this, they may have done enough harm to MJ that he can't endanger children again.

That's a completely unfair comparison. First of all, there is actual physical and circumstantial evidence of OJ killing those two, where there is nothing but an accusation against Jackson. Second of all, the Brown family has continued to aggressively pursue OJ, because they fully believe he killed their daughter. No amount of money was going to deter them from going after the guy. Jackson's accusers? Gave up immediately after getting settlement money, which indicates that's what they were after all along.

I'm sorry, but if dude touched my kid I'd cooperate with the cops, and never stop going after him. The fact that they gave up pursuing him tells me that they don't really believe that it happened. Every time you see the Brown family, they're calling OJ a killer. You don't hear that from the parents of the children Jackson supposedly touched. They're not trying to get on TV every few years to remind everyone that he's a pedophile. If it were me, and I thought he did that, I'd have a website up and be calling every morning show at least once a week trying to get on. But that's just me.

[torrefaction]

You may think that way John...but do you think these parents who let their children spend ridiculous amounts of time with that freak were really all the concerned about their kids? Because I sure as fuck don't. They wanted money the whole time, and I bet they were just fucking elated when he finally crossed a line that guaranteed their millions.

[johnperkins21]

You may think that way John...but do you think these parents who let their children spend ridiculous amounts of time with that freak were really all the concerned about their kids? Because I sure as fuck don't. They wanted money the whole time, and I bet they were just fucking elated when he finally crossed a line that guaranteed their millions.

That's a valid point. Though I think all of the kids who say he never did anything inappropriate, including all of the Culkin kids, help to assert his innocence. And it's possible that when he didn't cross the line, the parents forced the kids to lie.

He may have done the things he's been accused of, but the burden of proof falls entirely on the accuser, and at this point I have no reason to believe them. I think he's been unfairly found guilty in the court of popular opinion due to his odd behavior. Again, I agree that he shouldn't even be doing the things he's admitted to doing with the kids, but I don't believe for a second that he did anything with malicious intent, more of what you would expect any 10 year old kid with a mental disorder to do.

[violent]

What's brown and in a baby's diaper?
Michael Jackson's hand

[Bone]

Yeah, I heard Michael Jackson got food poisoning from eating a nine year old wiener.

[violent]

Yeah, I heard Michael Jackson got food poisoning from eating a nine year old wiener.

Hah! Heyoooo!