Not merely the birthday of one man

52 years ago, a boy was born. In the next 50 years, he lived his life to the fullest and brought the world to another era, musically and socially. So many lives have been positively influenced by him; so many hearts delighted; so many souls given hope; so many dreams inspired. The world has become a better place in many ways because of his tremendous contributions, which he paid with a huge price, and yet he never held back his passion.

Today, therefore, is not only the birthday of Michael Jackson. It’s also the birthdays of the lives he had changed, of the hearts touched, of the faithful souls, and of the aspiring dreams. It’s the birthday of so much love and happiness, which continue to go on and grow into all sorts of wonderful legacies for the world. It’s the birthday of a big part of our entertainment culture today which started its main phase of evolution since this angel had come along. It’s the birthday of part of the life of virtually every one on earth.

Happy birthday Michael. We all owe it to you. We love you so much.

I'll keep on smiling

It's hard to choose a favorite out of Michael Jackson's recordings or any of his works. I guess if I ever choose one over the others was because of what I was going through.

... still from Michael's "Dancing the Dream - Poems and Reflections" book, for me, one piece of writing has always stood out : "The Last Tear" .

Maybe it was because of the promise of getting back what you've lost. 

And no surprise - throughout all year since Michael's passing this poem was a constant in my thoughts.

I hang on with every tear to the hope that each will be the last.

But I had it all wrong. Tears helped me deal with the loss. And will continue to do so.

But today I smile because of what I received throughout the years.

The LOVE is forever.

Anger, sorrow and everything else that came with those feelings are starting to fade away.

So I'll keep smiling.

Happy Birthday Michael !!!

Michael´s Legacy (Tweets on Twitter)

Credits for the Textportraits: Ralph Ueltzhoeffer

On this special day I´d like to share something with you,  what  the MJfam started on Twitter and what was intended to become a trending topic there: #MichaelsLegacy. A list of insights on Michael Jackson was created.  On the anniversary of his 52nd birthday our webteam wants to offer you just some of many  tweets we have collected. 

Today, dear MJfam, feel invited to  realize a really beautiful idea of MJ´s nephew Taj @tajjackson on Twitter.  Anyone of you is asked to show the love and magic MJ brought to us. Tweet your experiences and stories on the 29th and make sure to add the hashtag #MessageToMJ and make it a trending topic.

Our webteam is going to collect and save as many tweets as possible and will post some on this blog. 


Thank you so much, Taj Jackson for this loving act of caring, kindness and love, which will unite the fans with the Jackson Family.

Michael´s Legacy 

"If not us - who? If not now - when?" 

~"it's All For Love....L.O.V.E."
 

• He will continue to break records and create HIStory 
• His Legacy is something that can't be touched   
• His music is the soundtrack to our lives
• Bringing black,white,brown, and yellow together with pride and love 
• There´s no black and white. There´s just one color  - the color of LOVE
• A plea for unity to change the world 
• Breaking barriers 
• Daring to comfort, learning to believe
• Dreams becoming reality
• Putting L.O.V.E back into the world. Love is important.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             *

Children's Day - August 2010 - What I've Learned

I want to share with you today something I've learned from this 7 year old boy I have the privilege to know. Back a while ago we had this very interesting conversation - I'll resume it to you in the lines below.

People i care most about are

1st answer -> everybody i know
2nd answer (when i asked him but who do you love the most) -> my parents

What i like most to do

nice things, to write, to read , to draw , to color, to take walks , to go on excursions

I wish

i'll get good grades

One of the best thing i ever did

homework

playing

When i grow up i wanna be

a gardener - to plant legumes in the garden because they are good - the best

Things i don't like

to fight (phisically - to hit someone or to be hit by someone)

to do bad things

to be naughty
to shoot someone (i guess this came as a conclusion to something he saw on TV)

to destroy towns or the earth 

to fight - get upset with people or people getting upset with him

to tear and destroy things

What i like most

to be good and polite 

to be the best in school and at home (he has 2 older brothers)

beautiful sunny days

walks (30 minutes everyday)

to play with other children

to swim in the summer in the sea 

to gather and eat fruits

to be free (his words)

to grow up

to love you too (aimed at me - and I'm not family or anything that close)

That last answer is what offered me the lesson of a life time. It was honest, came natural and he even look a bit surprised at my very emotional reaction as to say - hey what's the big deal ? - this is true, isn't it true for everybody?

I wondered long if i should mention this - as it does not define him - but he is a child diagnosed with a Autistic Spectrum Disorder.

"Wings Without Me"

"It was August, and I was looking up at the sky. With one hand shielding my eyes, I made out a falcon soaring on the currents of the hot swirling air. Higher and higher it spiralled, until with one unearthly shriek, it disappeared. "

From "Dancing the Dream"

"Wings Without Me"

~ We love and miss you Michael, but we all know that it was your destiny to soar.

Are we blind to the fact that our children are raging against the indifference, crying out against the abandonment, or thundering against the neglect?

The aftermath of the Pakistan floods is beyond tragic.

20 million people have been displaced.

6 million children have been affected by the floods.

3.5 million children are at risk of disease.

Politics, religion or anything else should fade away in front of the human suffering.

Our prayers are with the victims and their families.

Please help

Pakistan Flood Disaster Relief

http://www.state.gov/p/sca/ci/pk/flood/index.htm

UNICEF

http://www.unicef.org/

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/pakistan_48558.html

Save The Children - Pakistan Children in Emergency Fund

https://secure.savethechildren.org/01/web_e_pakistan_flood_10?source=hp_fb_pak10

Red Cross

http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/helpicrc?opendocument

CARE

http://www.care.org/newsroom/articles/2010/08/sends-convoy-relief-goods-pakistan-20100803.asp

OXFAM

http://www.oxfamamerica.org/

Music For Relief

http://www.musicforrelief.org/index.php

Michael Jackson - HIStory Teaser

On may 22nd, 1995 Michael Jackson presented the world with a  4 minute video teaser to promote HIStory, Past, Present and Future Book 1.

 

The response to it was as overwhelming as the video itself.

 

Directed by Rupert Wainwright (who also worked with NWA on "Straight Outta Compton" and "Express yourself", MC Hammer and George Clinton) and filmed in August 1994 in Budapest, Hungary the short film and the reaction to it marked (or better said underlined) the gap between how Michael's music and work was received by the critics and the media and the reception they got from the fan base and the general public.

 

Narcissistic was one of the most used words to describe the video teaser. But it wasn't the only one. Excessive. Self-deification.and so on. He was accused of using symbols of totalitary regimes (an accusation that will also aim at the lyrics of "They Don't Care About Us"). 

 

It was like the media was very surprised that after the lynching Michael was the subject of during the previous years he was still able to come out with such power. Married, happy, spending $30 million to promote his album, hiring an army for a $4 million, 4.00 minutes long commercial.

Larger than life, with an huge and loyal fan base.

 

 

The public's response was amazing. Instant connection and to this day the special effects, the smile, the costumes, the imagery but mostly the message behind it still make people say WOW !!! (don't believe me go on blogs and YouTube and read the comments to the video)

Did he had a big ego ? If by that you mean he was aware and proud of his accomplishments - yes, i think so. It's one of the things i admire about him. False modesty is not my thing - see i have this big ego (right now my friends are going like duhh !!!) .

But this video is not about that. Back on October 1st, 1992 Michael Jackson performed in Bucharest, Romania. Maybe not such a big deal fro most of you. But when Michael Jackson comes to a country who only 2 years before was under the "iron curtain" the impact is huge. It changed my life and it would make the distance between eastern and western European countries smaller.

 

"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others."

Nelson Mandela

 

 

, “It’s not political. It’s not fascist. It’s pure, simple love.”

Michael Jackson

And yes this is what we got. After a terrible time in his life Michael Jackson wanted to send a message out for his fans, for the media and for the world. Music will brake barriers and will bring people together.

And music heals. For the people in the former communist block this video has special meaning. It is pointing out to the idea of restoration - an army bringing music and entertainment instead of fear and pain.

 The few lines the workers in the beginning of the video exchange are in Esperanto, the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language

 The meaning of the word esperanto is "one who hopes". The creator of the language is L.L. Zamenhof and his aim was to create a politically free language with the purpose of working towards peace

It is no coincidence that the HIStory World Tour kicked off in Prague, Czech Republic to an audience of 130.000 and continued in Eastern Europe with Budapest, Hungary; Bucharest, Romania; Moscow, Russia and then Warsaw, Poland. 

With almost half a million of people attending this 5 shows it is clear that Michael's message, his appreciation and support for the fight for freedom in Eastern Europe and the sacrifices made by our nations, were very well received.

 

 

"Every day create your history
Every path you take you're leaving your legacy
Every soldier dies in his glory
Every legend tells of conquest and liberty"

Michael Jackson - History

Please visit
http://www.mjmemoenglish.estranky.cz/

and join in the efforts to allow the placing of a 

statue of Michael Jackson in Prague, Czech Republic

for more info visit also 

http://www.facebook.com/Statue.of.Michael.Jackson?ref=ts#!/Statue.of.Michael.Jackson

http://www.facebook.com/pages/I-want-a-statue-of-Michael-Jackson-on-Letna/136659026360103?ref=ts

http://www.eurweb.com/?p=32886