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In the previous post, the concentration was on sunflowers that one interesting item was missed! Upon reviewing the Thriller footage from This Is It, what caught my eye is that in the beginning, the cemetary in the background is in full daylight. Zombies don't come out during the day, right? Well I see an image of what could be one. (look under the red arrow).
Upon blowing up the image, it looked rather interesting. Could it be a person, emerging from a grave in broad daylight? If so, was this scene created with MJ?
The person in the scene looks to have the same clothes as MJ on the right. What do you think?
TMZ announced a contest entitled "Show Us Your Stems!". The word "stems" is used to mean "legs".
Interesting that they opted for this particular word, with all of the sunflower talk on their site.
The sunflower is fascinating in itself, in that it could grow up to 10ft tall and contain a single flower, often seen growing in rows which give the appearance of them looking like an "army of flowers" marching.
This is an example of such a comparison. Taking the backdrop scene from TDCAU from This Is It with an image of a sunflower field illustrates the commonality between the images. By "morphing" the two together, you can achieve a symbolic image:
The "soldiers" are marching, with the light of the sun behind their backs, bringing forth that light.
House music duo "Basement Jaxx" remixed a Yoko Ono song entitled "Day of The Sunflowers (We March On). During their live concert performance at the O2, we see a backdrop that has a similar theme to the TDCAU backdrop, except using sunflowers:
Michael Jackson himself utilized the symbolism of the sunflower within his own performances, a notable example is during the performance of "Earth Song" in Germany during the HIStory Tour. At the end of the song, a girl presents a soldier with a sunflower, with the idea that perhaps we should be fighting for peace and not perpetuate the violence which is destroying our world.
The scene begins at 8:44 in the below video:
Below are some screen shots from the performance:
Sunflowers can represent a new hope and peace when darkness is present. The wristbands for the MichaelJackson Memorial even included images of sunflowers (see below TMZ article):
There is no denying that sunflowers are playing a part in the symbolism of what represents MJ's message - seeing the light and love in all things, and sharing that with others - being that "Army of Love".
So aside from all of the crazy stories on TMZ, debates on whether images of sunflowers are photoshopped; questioning LMP's intentions, or any other distraction, let's focus on the message, which is powerful in it's simplicity.
As his oldest son Prince stated at the 2010 Grammy Awards: "Through all his songs his message was simple: LOVE".
So let's unite, and not fight, and share the light.
Thanks to "MaryElizabeth73" and "MJHOAXLIVE" for inspiration and assistance for this article.
Love To All
UPDATE!!! Sunflowers were in This Is It! (thank you Adi!)
One of the zombies is wearing a hat with sunflowers!!! Here is the video and a screen shot!
And more sunflowers were found at the GRAVES @23 second mark (thank you hhdavid65!)
For more on the "Thiller" segment, see: http://seeingclues.blogspot.com/2010/03/black-widow-whos-your-mummy.html
Update 5/23: Looks like one of the images in "Lightman" was sunflowers. "ForstAMoon" watched the "Lightman" clip from This Is It and noticed it flash by in the beginning.
Here is the video followed by a screen shot I captured:
Previously we had posted an "Open Happiness" commercial that was produced by Coca-Cola that contained many "MJ-related" themes, and we wondered if there could be some type of connection. While researching, I stumbled across this ad for the 2010 Toyota Prius, which came out in May 2009:
This one also had many themes that we tie back to MJ - nature, butterflies, tinkerbell-like fairies, children emerging from flowers, similar to the waking sleepyhead Wizard of Oz "munchkins" emerging out of flowers, "armies" of people, etc.
But I had hesitated posting because I didn't see enough of a connection.
Turns out that the song being song in the commercial is "Let Your Love Flow", by Petra Haden. Interestingly enough, Petra Haden, did a cover of "Thriller":
Hmm..a little more of a connection now. Perhaps a coincidence.
Then while browsing images from This Is It, something caught my eye in the below shot (click to enlarge): You can see the word "Toyota" in the background.
Pure coincidence, or could of MJ had an interest in "short films" to be designed for commercials and did, or was planning to work with various sponsors?
Bit o' trivia: AEG owns the "Toyota Sports Center"
UPDATE: The readers have discovered even more of a connection - Here is an article about MJ getting into a Prius limo. Interestingly enough, this article links to another about Coca-Cola adding 120 hybrid trucks to their feet. (click to enlarge)
The article can be found here: http://green.autoblog.com/2007/12/04/michael-jackson-goes-green-ish-takes-a-prius-limo/
Thanks to the great readers for your comments and tips!!
There has been some discussion regarding similiarities in Sony's "make.believe" commercials, and how they tie into Michael Jackson related projects such as "Moonwalker". The print ads continue these similarities; most notably to the This Is It film.
This first ad shows a city scene that is very reminiscent to the Smooth Criminal backdrop in This Is It:
This Is It Smooth Criminal Scene:
Sony "make.believe" ad:
Then we have a similarity between the beginning of the "Earth Song" short and another "make.believe" ad. The beginning of Earth Song shows the sun rising above the Earth:
A Sony make.believe ad captures an almost identical image:
So to "connect the dots", perhaps we should look at the overall theme with Sony's new campaign in that the "dot" connects what you can imagine, to what is reality. When Sony announced that "make.believe" campaign, they released the following diagram:
So the dot connects ideas, and we have seen that as a recurring theme. From TMZ's articles referring to "connecting the dots", to the "FOOL" spelled out when "connecting the dots" in that News of The World article about Dr. Murray, to what may be the ultimate theme in this...
We as individuals are single small "dots" in the scope of humanity, but together, when connected for a higher purpose, can make dreams become reality:
I always enjoy viewing the photos and videos that the blog readers send in, especially when it comes to looking for new things in previously discussed topics. Credit goes to DreamChild777 for sending me this photo of from the O2 conference. In this shot you can clearly see the camera man behind the curtain. And who is this guy? His sleeve at the wrist seems to have a curious white border. His hand is exposed but his face is hidden behind the curtain. Why so secret? And why film so low to the ground and at MJ's back? When you zoom in on the camera, it is pointing slightly up, so it doesn't appear that it was used to capture the crowd directly in front of MJ - the angle seems off.
Has anyone seen any images/video that could have been taken from this camera?
Could this be the start of the odd TMZ articles relating to "This Is It"? Below is a screen shot of an article that talks about how Pat Harrington, Jr. "resurfaced" at an event in Los Angeles. He had played Dwayne Schneider in the 70's sitcom "One Day At A Time".
It then goes on to show images of other people who haven't been seen in a long time, under the title "memba them" ("remember them").
Why would the article be entitled "This Is It"? The One Day At A Time theme song does begin with the line "This Is It", and perhaps gave them a reason to list that as the article's title, but still, does it make sense?
Fast forward to June 2, 2009. In this posting TMZ says that "Michael told us yesterday" that he was going to do a concert with the Jackson 5 in 2010. So Michael Jackson was communicating directly with TMZ in June 2009 but was the extent of it just random quotes given to the TMZ Paps as he left the doctor's office or was there more to it? How far back did this all begin? Note the photograph of MJ hiding a smile is one of TMZ's own, and it's with a blue screen background. This is what makes it appear that there could be more to the story....
See also: http://seeingclues.blogspot.com/2010/03/mj-says-yes-to-j5-tour-on-june-1st-2009.html
Travis Payne announced that the This Is It Dancers will be embarking on a "Still The King" World Club Tour in April and May 2010. The website is located at http://stillthekingtour.com.
Here is a partial screen shot:
The blood red spray paint graphics are eerily similar to:
Is this to let us know "This Is Not It"...or merely another coincidence?
UPDATE: Amazing images were discovered when zooming in on the word "KING"! Notice the crown is above the rabbit's head!(Click to enlarge)
Below is a photo of the rehearsal of "Dangerous" for This Is It. (click to enlarge)
Sort of reminds you of this image from the paramedic's report...
Note that ECG heart monitors use a similar green light:
It has been said that the background screen was to resemble brain waves, and below is a screen shot of an EEG, which measures such waves:
At minimum, it is interesting that an image of an aspect of the body being monitored is the backdrop for the "Dangerous" song.
And speaking of "Dangerous", did you know - Michael Jackson began recording the "Dangerous" album on June 25, 1990, almost 20 years ago. Bit o' trivia to start your week.
UPDATE: Here is the video of the whiteboard notes for the "Dangerous" rehearsal, which shows notes about brain waves (thank you Jessicakthx):
One curious aspect of the Thriller segment in This Is It is the never before seen use of a Black Widow Spider. Michael Jackson emerges from the paralyzing clutches of the Black Widow unharmed (start at :22 of the video below).
However close inspection of this Black Widow shows that it's design is like no other Black Widow I have seen:
Interestingly enough, after he walks out of the spider, and takes a look around to the left and right (making sure the coast is clear?), MJ strikes a similar "mummy-like" pose:
Then still looking at the camera he indicates he is ready to fight:
And finally..the scare!
These three moves happen in about a second before the scene switches.
So was a metaphorical spider holding the "mummy" until it was able to emerge?
UPDATE: Seeing Clues blog reader "Cristadobre" sent me the below vintage Disney short film "Egyptian Melodies" which contains a segment where a spider brings mummies to life:
If you are in the mood for a "Silly Symphony" you can watch it here:
Usher has a very interesting CD cover forthcoming for his new album Raymond vs. Raymond which contains some interesting visuals...
There appears to be a hidden "Man In The Mirror" within the smokiness of the mirror image:
There also appears to be lettering or a drawing below the arrow coming from the "H" in Usher.
Additional examination reveals that the font used in the letters of Usher's cover is the same font used in the This Is It movie poster:
This CD was originally due to be released late 2009, but had been delayed. A representative of Usher's told MTV: "The release of Usher's next album, Raymond vs. Raymond, has been delayed because we believe that the album is so strong that we want to give it the opportunity to have the proper setup before coming out"
Below is a recent interview of Kenny Ortega on Sky News in conjunction with the DVD release:
While somewhat avoiding the question regarding Michael's health, he says that Michael hoped to do even more touring after London.
When asked how much it hurts, and how much he misses him, it sounds by the way Kenny is talking that everyone is still together. "We're all still very close" "It's continuous, and will be for a while, I'm certain".
Newly discovered photo of Michael Jackson and Kenny Ortega, allegedly shot on June 24th, 2009 and featured on the DVD release. They seem to be having a great time and sharing a laugh.
Here is a close-up image of the shoes Michael Jackson was to wear during the "Thriller" song performance at the O2 shows in London.
MJ had such an attention to detail, there were even images inside the shoes that no one would see..no doubt to anyone that these are MJ's shoes only. :)
I came across an image of Criss Angel that reminded me of a poster we all know. Again, more similarities with This Is It and Criss Angel. Of course it could just be an interesting coincidence.. again.. (click to enlarge)
If you are ever bored on a rainy day, here is a game for you to play... see if you can match all of the arms in this photo to an actual body... of course, that is assuming there is an actual body that goes with all of the arms in this photo. :)
UPDATE, 1/2/2010 - Comparing the photo above to an overhead view makes things even more puzzling. The fans seem very close to the stage in the first photo, but further back in this photo below... (click to enlarge)
Today I was just casually strolling down memory lane reviewing older interviews and watched a few from the Movieweb website. You may or may not have seen this interview clip with Mike Bearden, the Musical Director for This Is It. He's known for some suspect slip-ups in the past..and this interview adds some more to his portfolio. But to give him credit, he tries to catch himself...
1:14 "We were working with MJ the last 4-5 days of his life.. (oops, I mean MONTHS of his life)
4:24 "MJ was happy, vibrant, healthy... he wanted to do this fi(lm)... (oops I mean TOUR!)
Mike B, we'll let you slide on this one..but next time, realize your audience here.. ;-)
Side note - Movieweb had their own error by saying he was Kenny Ortega!
