Eric,

Michael Jackson has, is, and always be the greatest entertainer to live. As a person, he was gentle, soft spoken, honest, courteous, and generous. I believe we owe him the gratitude he earned. I know the family would want to honor him, so we need to have a worldwide celebration for his burial. That day or June 25 should become a day we celebrate each and every year from now on. (WORLDWIDE) If we as a country can bailout the banks that caused the housing market financial difficulties. We surely can spend the money to celebrate an individual who gave all of us joy.

Frank

Eric wrote:

"We did talk about the potential expense of a public funeral today during our 9 am water cooler buzz..."

Just for the record. As with the Laker parade, I'm against any public funds being used. It's not up to the tax payers to pay for this.

Sean--It's not the wall-to-wall, non-stop coverage of Jackson that I objected to, but it's close; it's the fact that there are other, more important issues that I want to keep up to date about. That's why I watch the news. And you shout that I should just "TURN OFF THE DAMN TV!" if I don't like the coverage. No, why should I have to? I pay for my network channels and cable channels, and I would like to keep up to the minute on things like single-payer health, Iran, Iraq, energy, crime and other things that affect the lives of all Americans on an ongoing basis. I think fifteen minutes on Jackson would have been more than adequate on each of those channels that carried the news every morning including KTLA. The next the we know, you will want to have him lying in state in the Washington DC Capitol Rotunda.

And for those of you who seem to think that the fact that Eric put the birth and death dates under the video of Jackson, I wasn't aware that you were looking at it as if it were a headstone. Forgive me; I will genuflect the next time I see that in print. Get a life!

We did talk about the potential expense of a public funeral today during our 9 am water cooler buzz...

I DON'T CARE , I DON'T CARE !! Can we please get on with life instead of wallowing in this dirge . People need closure ?! Get real you sad doughheads ! Sad he's dead , sad for his kids , seemed to be a lonely man with to many demons . Thats it . Now get over it , in the grand scheme of things its irrelevant .

Hey Eric,

I think MJ should lie in state at Dodgers Studium, that way all fans can pay repects.

Thank you, please pass this on to the family

Eric, you surprise me. You of all people should be up in arms about the stuff around the death of Michael Jackson. Lets speak just of what this is costing the city in security, and loss revenue to businesses and such around Encino with the traffic and such. I, as a taxpayer in this city, do not feel that I should be paying this bill. It is shameful that the media, yourself included in this, has not spoken a word about this. We all about died when the city was forking over a mere million dollars for the laker parade, just over a week ago, and yet this is going to cost a heck of a lot more than that!! It obscene and I am shocked that no one has jumped on this.

Last week was hard enough with the passing of Ed, then Farrah, then Michael. All three were on the soundtrack of my life!
After watching HOURS of YouTube videos, the thing that really gets me is that that his family, and his brothers, and him, will never perform together again. Nevermind we will miss the opportuntity to see him, but they lost their dear Brother.
I have lost a brother suddently as well, who was a month apart from Michael. The hurt may subside, and replaced by all happy memories. But it's still a tragedy any way you look at it.
My utmost compassion goes out to Mrs Jackson and their entire family. May they find peace and comfort amongst loved ones.

Suzi
Arcadia, CA

-mike asked, what is the "bigger tragedy"?

To me, Michael Jackson wanted his children to have the childhood he didn't have. Well, he was right. He achieved that goal. They won't grow up like he did. They won't grow up missing their childhood nor will they live under the thumb of a tyrannical father. No matter how much money he leaves them, and they will inherit a fortune, they will miss out on being raised by a loving father, something he, no doubt, never envisioned for their future. They say, be careful what you wish for . . . I guess, sometimes, "they" are right.

Jozie - Yeah, I guess footprint would have made more sense than imprint, but I guess you could also include me as one, like many, who is just at a loss for words. And yes, I read the article - nice. Musically he was unmatched. His talent undeniable. His influence was unrivaled.

Paul - I, too would have to say his music was not my style, but I've discovered over the weekend that many of his songs (and videos) brought back a lot of "I remember ...." moments and smiles. And you are correct about the lifestyle comment. But, sadly it's all part of the package.

Which makes me wonder about what is the bigger tragedy: His life that was.... Or, his life that could have been? Don't know the answer to that, and it really wouldn't matter anyway because it is what it is. Can't change that. And no matter what, his passing is a HUGE LOSS. People will remember what they want and over time history will be recorded about his contributions and legacy. I'll choose to remember the positive aspects with a smile and not judge on the other...
-m

I still am in total shock about what happened to michael.its very very sad to hear that one of our BEST pop icons is gone forever.michael will live on in my heart and thoughts and through his music of course.when i first found out that michael was dead my jaw literally droped open because it was very unexpected.michael was such an insperation to me and others through his dancing and music everytime i listen to his music it makes me want to go out and dance my butt off something that i dont like doing very often.michael might have passed away but he will never be forgotten for the 16 years of my life michael has lived in my heart and he will forever live in my heart.michael we love you and best wishes and respect to the jackson family.

I REALLY DIDNT READ any other comments 1st i posted...ally'all have opinions but the ones that say to help micheals family are the only ones that should be heard .... in hesperia.. the witz

i cant believe that micheal is gone...but his is what i have to say to the world.... DONT LEAVE PLASTIC FLOWERS ON HIS STREET OR ON HIS STAR...START A FUND FOR HIS FAMILY.. DONT HAVE "AN ANNIVERSARY OF HIS DEATH" WHY DIDNT YOU ALL HELP HIM WHEN HE WAS ALIVE??????? WHY TELL HIM NOW HOW MUCH YOU CARED????? HE WAS IN DEBT PHENOMANAL DEBT WHY DIDNT WE ALL HELP HIM THEN???? MAYBE HE WOULDNT HAVE NOT BEEN SOOO STRESSED AND HAD TO HAVE DONE A BIG ELONGATED TOUR TO GET OUT OF THE TRAP... ITS REALLY WHATS WRONG WITH THE WORLD (in my very own oppinion) we all wait till we're gone to say we care.... we should all be ASHAMED OF OURSELVES

Oh Larry of SIMI VALLEY - I'm sorry. Am I not being tolerant of Mary and the Rev.'s intolerance?
Well, I'm sorry when a blog says Michael Jackson 1958 - 2009, I must have mistaken it for a place for people to come and pay their respects and talk about how much this man, his talent, and his music meant in our lives.
I'm sorry I didn't take it for a place of tolerance towards preaching about "Judgement".
I'm also sorry I didn't mistake it for a place to gripe about media coverage of an ICON! Yes, I said "ICON" because as you said, being tolerant of someone's point of view.
I guess the fact that you put "Simi Valley" in your name title should have been a huge clue. After all, that is where they move high profile white defendants to, so they can "get a fair trial" and be "judged by their peers", right?
I'm sorry you took offense to me calling out the fact that if Mary of Yorba Linda is so turned off by the media coverage of the beloved Michael Jackson, perhaps she should've gotten a clue when the blog title had his name in it with his birth year and death year. My bad, that I didn't realize it was a place for people to come to judge the man after he is gone and can't defend himself.

That having been said. I'm really going to miss the talent of Michael Jackson. I grew up with him, his music, and this is truly a great loss that not only my black community is facing, but every community has suffered a great loss.
RIP Michael, you will truly be missed.

Jozie wrote:

"Anyway, it's nice to read something positive here. Things were getting too negative for a minute."

MJ wasn't everyone's cup of tea. But I think that had to do more with his lifestyle than his music. He did march to his own drummer. But like Dr. Eldon Tyrell said in Blade Runner: "The light that burns the brightest also burns the shortest." RIP MJ.

Mike wrote:

"It's amazing to hear a song or see a video and get instantly transported back in time for a moment or two."

That's true Mike, I hear the Beach Boys song Good Vibrations and I'm back to the summer of 1965 on the beach at Huntington. MJ's music wasn't my style, but the time he was going solo, I had moved on musically to groups that fit what was going on in my life at the time. Now, I'm back to KRTH, Beach Boys and the like reliving my misspent summers. LOL

You know, -mike, I thought you were gonna say, "For someone who was so light on his feet, he sure will leave a heavy and lasting FOOTPRINT . . . " LOL

Anyway, it's nice to read something positive here. Things were getting too negative for a minute.

I agree with you, he's going to be missed. Did you catch the article in today's LATimes by Robert Hilburn? Thought Hilburn offers a compassionate inside view of MJ's vulnerability.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-jackson-hilburn27-2009jun27,0,4897003.story

For someone who was so light on his feet, he sure will leave a heavy and lasting imprint on the music industry. It's amazing to hear a song or see a video and get instantly transported back in time for a moment or two. What an impact he had when hearing just the two letters, "MJ", and it immediately creates so many emotions and memories for so many people all over the world. R.I.P. "MJ"
-m

To Sean,

Mary and Rev. Roy have a right to their opinions and the right to speak their minds just as you do. You should be more tolerant of others who do not share your views.

To Mary in Yorba Linda, you are so right. The media has gone way overboard with Michael Jackson's death. He wasn't a president or a leader of a country or church like the pope. He was just a entertainer who lived a very strange life. Nothing more. Time to move on.

And to Mary in Yorba Linda,

If you don't like the coverage TURN OFF YOUR DAMN TELEVISION. God, how much of a brain do you need to know it's the button that says either; "On/Off" or "POWER".
Maybe there's those of us who can really relate to MJ and who the HE.LL are you to condemn the coverage. Like I said, if you can't find something else to watch - turn your dang tv off!

Rev. Roy this is not the place nor the time for your Disneyland Fantasy BS. You religious fundamentalists are today's Domestic Terrorists.

I'm so tired of the ilks of people like you. Oh what it would be like if all y'all would practice what you preach, but you don't. This is all about power and trying to scare the Holy Bejesus out of everybody. You're no better than that Preacher who performed the exorcism on that young teenager.
I will be so glad when the day comes and the Government wakes up and finally revokes your tax exempt status for being Snake Oil Salespeople polluting the World!

If Michael Jackson has done anything to children, he is being judged by the Lord now. And he and he alone will pass judgment on him. His money will not give him a pass to heaven. May the lord have mercy on his soul.

The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars.. they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.
Revelation 21:8

Hello, I have a new website called Bobble Advertisements, Share your memories of growing up with Michael Jackson

Go to http://www.bobbleadvertisements.com

Cheryl Fritz

Enough already with the adoration of Michael Jackson! It's sad, but it's not like he was the President. There really is other news in the world that is way more important than Michael Jackson's death. How much longer is this going to go on? I am thoroughly sick of the constant reporting and re-reporting. It's over. Get a life, people! I'm not just talking about the fans. I'm talking about all of the reporters. I turned on all the stations that have news this morning, and every one kept trying and failing to find something new to say about Michael Jackson. That included Channels 2,4,5,7,CNN,Fox,HL and MSNBC. I want REAL news! How about it.

I want to give my condolences to the Jackson family. I will not mourn Michael's death but celebrate his life for he has touched so many lives of all generations. We will all remember him for the lives he's touched and the accomplishment's he's made for his fans and the music industry as we know it today. Michael Jackson is the Elvis Presley of my generation and he will never be forgotten. We thank you Michael, we love you, and may you rest in peace.

this is a sad time for all michael jackson fans. I grew up with this iconic family's music. it is what started me in this business. as a child< my very first singing group was patterned after the jackson 5. I grew up in the same neighborhood with jackie's first wife, and knew them well. when motown 25 aired, every entertainer, including myself started to pattern everything after what he was doing that night. all of the new artists genuwine,cisqo, justin, chris brown,neo, owe their very existence to the king of pop. I had the privlege to visit neverland with my children and it is a wonderful place.I also had the privlege to be musical director for jermaine a couple of years ago in puerto rico. tonight my band Tyghtship performs at Pala casino and we are going to do a small tribute to him on really short notice. MIke, our hearts grieve and are heavy, but we know that you are one of God's special angels, and your light will shine forever.......

I think It's great that every body is showing so much support for a child molester what is this would coming to The only reason he wasn't convicted is be cause he bough his way out and payed off the family

Is it just me or did everyone forget that this man was a child molester? I can't seem to understand why he is being portrayed as god like. I never wish death upon any individual but the way I see it, is one less pedophile in the world that parents such as myself have to think about. Is sickening to see how the media is dedicating all this time to him. How about the family of the children he may have molested (even the ones the never spoke out). Only one thing to say.... GOOD RIDDANCE!

I was listening to KIIS-FM this morning when a sound bite from an unnamed Jackson family attorney was played. He said: "I told the family that someday Michael would [wake-up] dead"..... hmmm maybe this guy should not be sharing his comments in public forums.

I am hearing about how much Michael had in debt, and his now cancelled tour will help him to get out of it. Why not ask to all the people that wanted to be in his tour (but also all people that don't) to buy a CD or DVD and help his family pay his debt.

With the passing of Michael Jackson I heard his song Man In The Mirror,if all of us were to look at the man in the mirror this would be a much better place in which to live. I woke up this morning saying wow he is really dead,this is a blow that is unfounded,for some reason I cant't wrap my brain around this,It saddens me that he had to be a grown man to live his child hood and his child hood he had to be grown. parents please let your future stars be kids at all cost.

Not to take away from Michael Jackson's legacy, but Ibelieve Rick James fought to have Black artists' videos on MTV. He won, but they snubbed him by, first playing a Herbie Hancock video with no humans in it and then Michael Jackson. Pleae check the facts, but I think MTV snubbed Rick James for several years prior to airing one of his videos.

I am still just in a state of confusion. I can't believe we lost 3 major icons in less than a week.
I think Shonda Rhimes, the creator of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice" said it best on her Twitter page when she wrote:

"I'm not ready for the icons of my youth to start dying..."

I think that says it all!

Yes I'm hearthbroken over Michael's death but he has been through so much negative press and other issues that maybe he can be remember for all the charity donations and invlvolvement with the Make a Wish Foundation. But also cover other news in the process and try to remember that we have lost 2 other Icons this week.

Yesterday the world stopped. Michael Jackson died. Apparently according to the news media there were no more killings in Iran, North Korea was not threatening to wipe the United States off the face of the earth. The American and World Economies were doing fine, the State of South Carolina had no governor problems to face and very little was said of a Angel flew to her maker earlier the same day. The world had stopped, because Michael Jackson died.

I think God needed some one to be the lead in his chorus, so he choosed the best, Michael is now with him maybe now he is dancing an singing to him. Rest in peace Michael.

Giovanni wrote:

"I only hope that this station(KTLA) and other news outlets around the country and the world, do the family and themselves a great favor in giving Michael the due respect and admiration he deserves by reflecting on the positive impact he had on this world, and not on the tabloid-like infatuation with his personal life."

Oh, you know that's not going to happen. The ambulance photos have already made it to the air. There will be more, I'm sure deals are being cut right now. This is way too big.

I WOULD ALWAYS LISTEN TO MICHAEL JACKSON I LOVE HIS SONGS. I AM STILL IN SHOCK CRYING. REST IN PEACE MICHEAL WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU. MY THOUGHTS & PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU & WITH YOUR FAMILY. YOU WILL ALWAYS REMAIN IN OUR HEARTS. WITH LOVE MONICA

I COULD NOT BELIEVE IT WHEN I HEARD THE NEWS, WE ARE ALL VERY SAD. MICHAEL JACKSON WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU. MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU & YOUR FAMILY. WITH LOVE ALWAYS MONICA

I feel like a part of my life has died.My grandmother lived not to far from Michael's house in Encino. We would go by the house when I would visit my grandmother. Sometimes we would see Jermaine and the family at the Mann theatre. Michael would frequent my Aunt's health food store on Ventura and Van Nuys Blvd..His music was a big part of my life as I am only 2 yrs older than he was. He had a soft kind side not to many people may know. May he rest in peace and my thoughts go out to the family especially to his brothers and sisters.

Michael is a legend the king of pop ,inspired by many people around the world...touch by his music,dance move which people know thats mj move..sadly he only stayed here for fifty years but he did made a difference in the whole world and made us fans believe that u can do whatever u dream.. he is amazing person..and now he rest he will always be remembered and never forgotten..a idol,a friend,a son,a father and a brother ..

I join with many fans of Michael throughout the world in sending my prayers and thoughts to the Jackson family.

I only hope that this station(KTLA) and other news outlets around the country and the world, do the family and themselves a great favor in giving Michael the due respect and admiration he deserves by reflecting on the positive impact he had on this world, and not on the tabloid-like infatuation with his personal life.

Every one Tallking, Saying , Asking, Answering ......But we don't realize that the world Lost Somthing BIGGGGGGGGGGGGG
We lost Michael Jackson.

Apple

still don't believe that some one who when far beyond anyone who ever sang a song has not one song left to sing and will truly be missed. I am still in shock and will be for a few days.

Eric, your post "Tour New York City in 4 Minutes, 51 Seconds" is a tribute to Michael Jackson. It's titled, "Mystery New York Tourist Dances for Michael Jackson." What irony. May MJ rest in peace. And may the tourist continue to dance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VfJu_Bom2sA

News of Michael Jackson's death hasn't sunk in. For as long as I can remember his music has been the Muzak of my life.

As Don Henley so beautifully sang, "There's a hole in the world tonight."
Sadly, there will still be a hole of sorrow tomorrow.

Rest in peace, Michael Jackson. Thank you for the beauty you left behind.

The Merv Griffin Show footage is great! I first saw Michael and the Jackson 5 on the Flip Wilson Show when I was very little and was amazed by his singing and dancing then. So many memories of his talent- "A-B-C," "Ben," and the "Thriller" album plus his role in the film "The Wiz" and the "Captain E-O" attraction at Disneyland. His music was popular with everyone at my So Cal high school and his moonwalk was fantastic! Thanks for all the entertainment, Michael- still can't believe you're gone.

Boycott CNN! They have sunk to the level of the Paparazzi. They showed their "Exclusive" shot of the Dying Michael Jackson IN the ambulance! Digusting. Is nothing sacred??