Behind The Curtain - O2 Camera Man

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?

"This Is It" Debuts on TMZ December 2008?

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

TMZ Throws Out Photos, But We Recycle

Yesterday we posted about TMZ's Coca-Cola theme. One curious aspect of this is that they switched the original photo that was in the article. The first time they posted the article, it was the image you see to the left. Later, they switched the photo:


We couldn't find significance in this alone, but then the realization came that the original photo could have an interesting use and decided to "recycle" it in a sense.

It has been a while since we did a Dave Dave comparison, and the original photo seemed like it could fit the bill. So for fun here is a comparison.

First, Dave Dave and the original TMZ photo of MJ:

Next an overlay of each side of MJ's face over Dave Dave, with slight adjustments for angle:

Whether or not you believe that MJ portrayed Dave Dave on Larry King Live, these comparisons always turn out uncanny!

The Coke Connection: AEG

So we have seen TMZ post a rather crazy article regarding Michael Jackson's "Coke" addiction leading to his insomina and demands for Propofol:


Then, the Coca-Cola theme continues when the following images are released of Conrad Murray walking with his lawyer discussing "strategy", over a Coke:



Notice the Coca-Cola cup as well as the umbrella!

But why all of these Coca-Cola references? We joke about it being product placement, but is it REALLY just a joke? Check this out!! (click to enlarge)

In January 2009 Coca-Cola signed a sponsorship deal with AEG for the O2 arena!!



You can read Coca-Cola's entire press release here:
http://presscentre.coca-cola.co.uk/viewnews/the_o2_announces_major_new_sponsor_coca_cola

Coke Is It!

UPDATE: We received a tip from Bernadette aka "Detje" of this interesting video from Indonesia which is part of Coca-Cola's "Open Happiness" campaign. Check out the butterflies, bunnies, magic, and "Neverland-like" theme:

MJ's Handwritten Thoughts From 2009

A month before his "death" on June 25th, 2009, Michael Jackson signed many personal items to be later sold off for charity. An executive in the entertainment industry who had worked with Michael for 17 years had personally obtained these unique pieces from Michael, and is putting them up for sale.
A listing of all of the pieces can be found here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/isettaflower/sets/72157622957203117/

Most interesting are the items for which Michael included a handwritten quote. These notes can give us insight to Michael's mindset shortly before his passing.

On this first note, he quotes a Japanese Hiaku poet named Matsuo Basho. The text reads, "Fallen sick on a journey, my dreams wander, over a withered moor"



Was Michael contemplating the future of life's journey, feeling fallen, but yet the dreams were still alive? This was Basho's last hiaku recorded before his passing, and was believed to be his "final farewell" while he was on his deathbed. Did Michael use this as a way to say "farewell" too?

This next piece offers a glimpse of hope. On it Michael writes, "He alone is great who by a life heroic conquers fate" This is a direct quote from Sarah Knowles Bolton, from a poem called "The Inevitable".

The full text of the poem "The Inevitable" is:

I like the man who faces what he must
With step triumphant and a heart of cheer;
Who fights the daily battle without fear;
Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust
That God is God,—that somehow, true and just
His plans work out for mortals; not a tear
Is shed when fortune, which the world holds dear,
Falls from his grasp—better, with love, a crust
Than living in dishonor; envies not,
Nor loses faith in man; but does his best,
Nor ever murmurs at his humbler lot;
But, with a smile and words of hope, gives zest
To every toiler. He alone is great
Who by a life heroic conquers fate.

The above poem symbolizes that God has a plan for each of us, and honors the man who despite his fate in this mortal life, continues to love and overcome the hardships.
Here Michael may have realized that there could be danger, and he was "Fated", but the hero within battles this, with hopes to conquer any demons that may cross his path.


That takes us to this next piece:






In this one Michael quotes the bible and says "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life". Michael may be implying that we can often carry a heavy heart, carrying life's burdens.




But in the end there is love in his heart, as expressed in this last piece:




In this it appears that he may be speaking to God, or perhaps his fans in general, when he includes lyrics from "I Can't Stop Loving You" in this next note: "Each time the wind blows I hear your voice, so I call your name. This time is forever, love is forever". A month before his passing, has Michael proclaimed his devotion to all, and stated that regardless of his fate, he knows that love is what truly lasts in the end?

Timeline: Oxman Knew About MJ Before 911 Or Murray?

It has been stated that 911 was called from Michael Jackson's home at 12:21pm on June 25th.

Apparently now, there have been multiple phone conversations going on simultaneously right "before noon".

Take for example the revelation that Dr. Murray contacted a patient regarding test results at 11:54am. This is allegedly documented in phone records. How could Murray calmly make such a call if MJ was immediately in distress after receiving Propofol at 10:50am? Ed Chernoff, Conrad Murray's lawyer, says that Murray's recollection of the timeline was a "mistake", and everyone makes them.

But you could say, well, perhaps Murray found him at 11:55, which would still make it "before noon". Unless he was performing CPR while making additional calls this does not make sense, as he finished his final call at 12:13pm:


Here is video of Brian Oxman saying that he received a call from Randy's assistant (Randy Phillips or Randy Jackson??) that MJ was already taken "from the hospital" at some point "before noon":
(embedding was disabled on video so click YouTube link after hitting "play").

Even if this is a Jermaine style slip up and he meant taking MJ "from the HOUSE", how could he have left the house before noon before 911 was even contacted, or before Murray even realized MJ was in distress?

Special thanks to 77_Sunrise_77 who had sent me the Oxman video link.

9282 Days

DEVELOPING STORY....

Ok everyone, I had hesitated posting this because I couldn't find enough of a tie in, until _Xscape_ on Twitter gave me a photo that at least made this worth mentioning.

This may need to be filed under "very odd coincidences" as this is a breaking story that is still being researched.

It is starting to become mainstream news that there were exactly 9282 days between Michael Jackson's birth in August 29, 1958, to the Pepsi incident on January 27, 1984, and exactly 9282 days between that event and June 25, 2009.

At the same time, 9282 days is significant in another way. It was 9282 days since the Philadelphia Phillies won their last world series when they finally won in October 2008. This article was posted on October 29, 2008, about one year before This Is It was released in the theaters:


Completely unrelated stories, but uncanny in the fact that they are both tied to "9282 days". I had discovered this previously but couldn't find any type of tie-in.

Then, a blog reader named _XScape_ sends me the following newly released photo. It is from a website called 24/7 Smash that has released some rare video of MJ, and immediately after shows a gold coffin. The significance? Once of the men in the image is wearing a Philadelphia Phillies baseball cap!!!!



The video can be found here:
http://www.smash247.com/star/news/details/video-michael-jackson-makabere-geldmacherei-nach-seinem-tod-0656/

This is a very odd coincidence and we are in the process of researching further...

3/30 UPDATE:
MJ may have had at last a mild interest in baseball. One of the three Nelson De La Nuez paintings MJ purchased in June was the below piece entitled "Play Ball". (coincidentally, letters spelling "BAM" can be found in the painting - I've circled them for you to see)


3/31 UPDATE:
Interesting bit of additional trivia.. Frankie Lymon, best known as being the young lead singer of The Teenagers, was born on September 30, 1942 and died of a heroin overdose on February 27, 1968. His most famous song was "Why Do FOOLS fall in LOVE".

The kicker? There were 9282 days between the birth date and death date of this child star.