Wednesday, July 1, 2009

UPDATE: Michael Jackson

The ever intrepid peeps at TMZ have got a hold of what is believed to be 49 snaps of recently deceased Michael Jackson's once beloved and later neglected Neverland Ranch as it exists today. Mister Jackson fled the Los Olivos, CA property in the aftermath of salacious child molestation allegations and an even more lurid jury trial in 2005. Although he was acquitted of the charges, Mister Jackson vowed never to live on the property again.

None the less, it is widely rumored and frequently reported that a public memorial and viewing of Mister Jackson's dead body will take place at the ranch this Friday, a situation sure to turn into a damn circus and which will likely attract all manner of looky-loos, fans, fanatics and bizarrely obsessed kooks who rank Mister Jackson right up there with Jesus.

However, there are also reports and rumors swirling that talk of a public memorial (and viewing) at Neverland Ranch are just that, talk. Some recent reports indicate that the Jackson family has not yet decided on how or where to memorialize the man-child and bury the body. Whoever it is that gets to decide these things better get it together quick though because, as sure as we have toenails, there are probably already too many people hopping in their hoopdies and heading towards their own damn fool notion of the promised land.*

Anyhoo, the buildings at Neverland Ranch all appear to have been cleared of the kiddie crap that Jackson was known to collect and the grounds cleaned up and spruced up by the folks at Colony Capital who swooped in at the last minute to save the financially beleaguered Mister Jackson from foreclosure.

It's unknown what plans Colony might have for the 2,600 acre property. It would make sense to Your Mama's pea brain they would want to sell it for a profit (that is the bizness they are in after all) but given that ownership of the property has been reported to be a joint venture between Colony and Mister Jackson (now his estate), there could be a bit of a tug of war depending on who wants to do what with the property. Regardless of what happens to the property it will be, for better or worse, associated with Mister Jackson and is lavishly weird lifestyle.

There are, of course, all sorts of unseemly rumors and reports sliding down the gossip grapevine about Neverland Ranch becoming Michael Jackson's Graceland or it being where Jackson will lie in state (ew!). We'll just have to wait and see. In death as in life for Mister Jackson, Your Mama would bet everything we have a whole slew of people are going to try really hard to make boo-coo bucks from the endeavor.

The country-style mock Tudor mansion is said to measure around 13,000 square feet and features lots large rooms with beamed ceilings, wood-paned windows, brick walls and wood floors. The children will note that the notorious cedar lined "secret room" is included in the cache of photographs and also that it appears Mister Jackson had a party-sized spa tub in his window wrapped master bathroom.

There are also pictures of the games house adjacent to the tennis court, the swimming pool, the empty elephant cages, the giraffe house, monkey cages, Bubbles' cage, the forlorn looking carnival grounds, the refurbished railway station, the movies house and on and on...

*A decision has been made by the Jackson family that there will be no public viewing at Neverland Ranch so all you people making a mad dash for the Santa Ynez Valley can turn your automobiles around and go home. A public memorial (not, thank heavens, a viewing) is being arranged.

photo: Pacific Coast News

79 comments:

TwentyFiveFifty said...

Picture # 33 has a lovely water stain.

That house is dark. Like super dark. And cold.

Anonymous said...

What ever happened to Bubbles?

Neverland is kind of underwhelming--at least in those photos.

Anonymous said...

look, I enjoyed alot of his music, but other than staring a the developments on tee-vee like they're a car wreck, I don't care what they do with the body. Btw I hear it's Staples Center and Forest Lawn now. I do know that Los Olivos would be ruined by any kind of Graceland bit-- don't see it happening. Of course there are probs 10,000 morons already headed up there from all over the country...

angeleyes said...

Wow, thanks Mama. Michael's home isn't at all what I expected on the inside. I imagined he renovated it à la Disney style too. Trying to think of what you could convert an elephant stable and a giraffe house into.

Syd said...

Dark and pretty hideous. It looks outdated, way more than I expected, considering he only vacated it in 2005.

Jimmy said...

Personally, I think Wacko Jacko should be cremated and his ashes spread at sea (or Neverland). They bury him and every extreme wing-nut will be plotting to dig him up.

Anonymous said...

Gary, Indiana, wants the remains-- this is the best idea--the poor old town needs a lift, and it's only maybe 25 miles from the Loop--maybe 20 from Midway and 35 from O'Hare-- lots of access

Unknown said...

Tudor??? It's a victorian.

Anonymous said...

I've never much cared for MJ for numerous reasons; however, with that being said, I think it would be a sin for the family to take his body back to Neverland for a viewing or for whatever since he made it very clear when he vacated the property several years ago he never wanted to go back there again.

Anonymous said...

WOW, the interior pics of the house certainly aren't anything like the interior pics of the house he was renting / living in when he died. VERY dark and depressing--I don't blame him for leaving it.

Dee said...

To all of you commenting about the 'dark' house blah blah blah, this was Michael's vision NOT yours. He was very happy here, this was his beloved ranch.

How to go about memorializing a man whose contributions to music and dance are massive? Sorry, but I think a museum at Neverland would be perfect. Everyone (including ya'll) would pay to visit at least once. Michael was run out of Neverland by some over zealous cop with mental problems. That is all.

Anonymous said...

Dee, my dear, I can promise you that I would NEVER pay 1 cent to visit Neverland if it was ever open to the public. MJ was a pedophile and Neverland has bad karma. You are probably right, he was very happy there, but probably for ALL the wrong reasons.

Anonymous said...

Dee, 3:13PM--all of the houses Mama shows on here are the vision of the owner of that particular house, but that doesn't mean we can't all give our opinions--which we all LOVE doing. And MJ's vision for his house at Neverland is God-awful.

Anonymous said...

Dee-mented

Anonymous said...

I can promise you Dee that I would not visit Neverland but I suspect you'd be camped out at the front gates to be one of the first in.

Lauding MJs contribution to music is one thing but to not also acknowledge his obvious dark side or his reluctance to take responsibility for his own life and his own questionable actions is simply to be utterly blinded by the glitter thrown off a celebrity's back.

That's the problem with extreme fandom...they only believe what they want to believe and toss the rest aside as conspiracy or as being the obsession of an "over zelous cop with mental problems."

Your can blame his handlers, managers and etc. all day long for driving MJ down the path to his ugly demise, but in the end, Michael Jackson was responsible for Michael Jackson and that his life ended up so bizarrely and tragically is ultimately, sadly, on him.

That said, doctors who were prescribing piles of scripts and the plastic surgeons who should have said "no" should be stripped of their licenses. Some of his "managers" and hangers on should be publicly excommunicated from having anything to do with those poor children and whatever remains of the estate.

But what about Jackson's mental issues? Do you think he was mentally on sound footing? Did you think he looked healthy in the last years of his life? Do you think it's not an indication that something is not quite right when he turned his skin white and altered his face beyond recognition?

Would you let your 10 year old son or daughter sleep over night, unattended, in the bed of any middle aged man, only middle aged men in your family or just that of Michael Jackson? It's a very real question to people who are very quick to defend his suspicious actions.

Eccentricities aside, because God knows I love eccentricities, but this man was not living on this planet. I can deal with the wigs and the make-up and the weird lady's clothes and the fascination with Peter Pan and all that...What I can't excuse is his seemingly purposeful letting go of reality.

Just my 12 cents.

Anonymous said...

Are you drunk? Visit Neverland? It's been a blight on Santa Barbara County for years-- Jackson made good music that I enjoyed once upon a time, but no, "everyone" would NOT like to visit this place. Get a grip. You really need to stop wishing you were Michael Jackson's bff. So do alot of other people.

VedaPForrester said...

338, excellent

Stanford White said...

Commons-- thats the railroad station, not the house. House is Tudoresque. Anyway, both bad examples of their styles, Disneylandish. Real crap.

Anonymous said...

Been in the home several times, before Michael bought it. It is exactly like it was built by William Bone. It used to be called Sycamore Ranch and the home was framed by three big Sycamore trees representing him his wife and daughter. When his wife filed for divorce, he called a contractor in the middle of the night and had the tree representing his wife cut down before dawn!

Anonymous said...

4:27 - LOVE that story. I bet Mr. Bone had a great time stoking the ex in one of the many fireplaces.

Dee said...

Actually FYI I am an ex employee not a bff wannabe.

I'm sick of people like the anon clowns in the comments above calling the man a pedophile. I never saw any such goings on in all the time I worked there. Just as parents with ulterior motives (money) will allow their kids to sleep in a middle aged man's bed, so too were there employees that saw an angle to make a quick buck at the expense of someone's reputation and did that very thing. You want to talk about someone spending 15 YEARS trying to prove that MJ was a pedophile? Go talk to CNN. They tried and failed. The over zealous cop with mental issues bragged "we finally got him" to the press before any formal investigation was initiated. Who does that?? Someone who wanted MJ 'dead or alive' that's who. Sneddon's a prick. He is best known for prosecuting and ultimately losing the Michael Jackson trial in 2005.

MJ is dead and you have no idea how he lived his life or the absolute uniqueness of it. He had no idea about the mundane things that you and I do each and every day. After years and years of people laying themselves at his feet to conduct his every whim, he thought he was truly invincible. How could he not? We all treated him as such, he was universally adored. How could any kind of perspective survive? It could not.

Go ahead and criticize his house. It was a place of fun and joy until the crazies came along for blood and money. Those are the facts. I was there.

If you can't say something nice about a dead man, don't say any fucking thing at all. Wannabes.

Anonymous said...

Dee, Dee, Dee--it appears you are exactly the type of people MJ and people like MJ did NOT need around in their lives. I can promise you, I doubt if any of us posting on here are wannabes--why would any of us want to be a black man who tried to turn himself in a white woman and who was, no matter what you say or believe, a pedophile?

Anonymous said...

Dee,

1. What is it that you think I "wannabe?" A faithful Jackson acolyte?

2. I did not call him a pedophile, I said his (known) actions were suspicious and questionable.

3. Not every person who speaks out about MJ or says something unflattering about Jackson has an axe to grind.

4. I'm not defending Snedden.

5. There are plenty of ex-employees who do not feel the love for Jackson that you do. I know some of them.

6. You're right that he lost perspective at least partly due to the pedastal he was put on (and liked being on)...by people like you. People who claim to care about him but allowed, fostered and perhaps even encouraged his self-destructive behavior.

7. Caring for (and loving) someone does not mean not holding them accountable for their actions. In fact it's quite the opposite. So what does that say about how you see him...as an innocent ruined by the world? He was a very rich, very powerful, very shrewd, very talented 50 year old man. He was not an innocent or naive person. No one was more aware that that stance, that "mask" of naivte is what allowed him to behave erratically and strangely and then abdicate any responsibility for his actions.


8. Although he certainly had many, many fans around the world, Jackson is not/was not "universally adored."

9. You'll note that most of the beef around here is not with Jackson but with his cult like followers who refuse to accept that he was broken and behaved like a desperate and broken person.


10. Don't you think that knowing the real truth about him, his life, his tragic end would be a good thing? A little honest to goodness honestly from the MJ camp would go a long way to shutting up the naysayers and etc.

Anonymous said...

The Neverland drinking water was obviously Kool-Aid. "I NEVER SAW ANY SUCH GOINGS ON in all the time I worked there. Just as parents with ulterior motives (money) will allow their kids to sleep in a middle aged man's bed, SO TOO WERE THERE there..." Please explain that...

Dee said...

Well both of you anon posters .... you'll never know the real deal. I know what I know and it's too much to bother to sit and type it all out here for the pair of ya. You, the anon poster above, with your long assed posts, obviously have time to fritter away. I do not. Don't presume to know me because you do not. Don't presume to know someone like MJ - you didn't. And that tired old line "I know some of them" is strictly reserved for those who (a) really don't know shit, (b) have a need to impress which fails every time and (c) a non argument.

Anonymous said...

.
A number of you are brats. The truth of the matter is not one of you can substantiate that Michael was a pedophile.

Dee is obviously a fan in mourning. What big men you are picking on a girl, not.

Ethel M Borgnine said...

The difference between "Anonymous" and "Dee" would be what, exactly? I think the biggest fraud of all might just be you.

Anonymous said...

Good post.

Can't wait until he is in the ground.

Also, Bubbles is living in Florida...
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2512623/Funeral-snub-for-buddy-Bubbles.html

Owl Eyes said...

Dee is bonkers. Seems M Jackson's wasn't the only life starved for affection/attentinon/escapism, there are lots of nutjobs throwing themselves at the gates of Neverland. Yes, let's get Michael in the ground. As was said of Gatsby: "The poor son of a bitch...."

Dee said...

Who knows what wisdom was behind advising MJ to pay off that kid and his dad? Personally, I think he should've gone to court and fought for his reputation. You need to remember ~ there is not one shred of real evidence that can pin the label of pedophilia on MJ ... not one. The cops tried, CNN tried, Bashir tried. In the end, they all drove him to an early grave. They must be SO proud of themselves.

I would be hard pressed to find a more bitter bunch anywhere than in the comment section of this particular blog. Mama, you run a tight ship here but many of your readers were at the back of the line when compassion and humanitarianism were handed out.

To anon 6:11, thank you for sticking up for me. Right now, I feel devastated and borderline suicidal.

Anonymous said...

"He had no idea about the mundane things that you and I do each and every day."

MJ didn't breathe, eat, drink water, or eliminate? Was he an air fern?

Anonymous said...

Dee, I honestly feel for you that you are devastated and borderline suicidal. If that is really the case, I suggest you seek treatment from a professional rather than aggravate yourself here any longer.

Now then, just because he was not convicted does not mean he did not do it what he was acccused of. I'm not saying he did or didn't. I have my opinion but I do not know for a fact and neither do you Dee. You were not in those rooms behind locked doors when MJ was having the sleepovers with young children that he freely admitted to having.

Also, do you know how hard it is to convict on crimes like child molestation that happen in secret and without witnesses? Nearly impossible. It becomes a case of he said / she said.

I'm not sure what would be sadder and more pathetic, MJ doing what he was accused of or the parents of these children who, taking your side of things, are willing and eager destroy their children's lives for financial gain.

One is a bit harder to believe than another but both are plausible given human nature.

Oh. P.S. And you're right...I've got nothing better to do than fritter my time away here. Ain't life grand?

Air Fern said...

So, Dee, you're "borderline suicidal" and say "obviously [other posters] have time to fritter away. I do not," you continue to post here at length. Is it boring hanging around in front of Neverland's gates? Passing the time on your I-phone? And if you're so much the insider, how come you're not inside helping to plan the funeral?

Evita said...

How can you believe anything said by someone who obviously altered his appearance in such startling ways and yet claimed only to have two surgeries on his nose so that he could hit the high notes? (this is what Jackson says in HIS rebuttal to Bashir's film).

I know it's none of our business what he did to his face and skin, but don't you think he would have saved himself a world of bad press by just being honest about what he'd done?

Dee said...

You have no idea who I am or where I am or what I do. We sat around in the office today and watched MJ on a big screen dancing at the MTV awards. He gave so much to the world in general and I don't care what else has been posted here ~ he was a good employer. I feel gutted ~ he's been hopped up on pills for a long long time since before I ever started my job. However there wasn't anything I could've said or done. He didn't listen to his mom so why would he listen to anyone else? I just think it's incredibly sad. He wasn't perfect of course. Who is? Bashir's documentary caused him a great deal of pain and his judgment in dealing with the line of questioning was open to criticism and interpretation which in turn caused a humiliating backlash.

I visit Mama daily and I won't stop doing so. The pedophilia comments are unwarranted though now that the man is dead and gone.

Billy said...

When I first saw the pix I thought they were pre Bone move in, but the piano is not in the music/ballroom. I wonder if they really had to take the windows out to get it out?

Anonymous said...

Dee, Your brief and minimum wage brush with percieved stardom makes me yawn. You've had your 3 seconds of fame. Please now, go away nicely. We are appropriately impressed. Not.

Anonymous said...

It just sounds like Dee is in LaLaLand and like so many, wishes desperately that he/she had worked for MJ--so he/she is writing from his/her delusional perception of his/her life.

Anonymous said...

Dee, I feel the pain in your posts. I'm sorry for that.

If you did work for him, can you tell me if he played a musical instrument? or was his whole act a processed song and dance manufactured by record producers. I've always been curious. It always seemed like he was well packaged.

Anonymous said...

Mama, I have long enjoyed your lighter side of my business, but have never felt the need to comment until now. The vitriol and judgement on display here astounds me. Seems to be an awful lot of people in glass houses throwing stones at a grave.

Anonymous said...

.
Ethel M Borgnine, that was me who noticed the ganging up on Dee and said something, and no I'm not her.

You and your fellow low lifes project onto others what you don't like about yourselves.

As I alluded to earlier, you're not men, you're insufferable abusive frauds.

Anonymous said...

502-- it isn't working--back to swabbing that tub

Anonymous said...

I'm not trying to make anything work, you are, and you just proved my point. Have a nice day.

Anonymous said...

Wow what a bunch of mean posters! What is the problem with some of you people? Sexual repression?? Brokeasses? Or just plain jellus h8ters? Sorry for that couldn't resist :) If Dee says she worked for the man, who are u to say she didn't? There is some serious hating going on round here for no good reason other than mommy didn't love some of you nearly enough.

Eddie Falco said...

Give me a break...jellus h8ters? are you kidding?

Sexual repression? That's funny coming from someone defending MJ's honor.

Dee probably did work for MJ. And maybe that gives her more insight into his character. Or maybe it just blinded her to his seriously strange and destructive behavior.

But even MJ did NOTHING to improve his public image. In fact just the opposite. So we're all allowed to express our opinions about how he presented himself to the world without being a "jellus h8ter."

Madeline said...

That's not what happened up there in the comments .... Dee was ridiculed by a pack of hyenas out for blood so much for having an opinion. Sorry Dee for your obvious sadness. Hope you're feeling better today if you read this.

Anonymous said...

I'd visit Neverland as a paying tourista. There I said it! (Speaking as one who took vacay time and went to Graceland.) It's the ghoul in me.

Yes indeed Michael Jackson was an unusual cat. He didn't do himself any favors in the PR dept in recent years. However the fact remains that he hold the Guinness World Record as most philanthropic pop star. He had a very giving heart obviously.

What have any of you negative nellies contributed other than butt nuggets to the sewers?

Show some respect please.

Anonymous said...

Well said 9:17, and he was an extremely philanthropic pop star indeed, giving in excess of $300 million to various worthy causes while he was alive. I just learned that yesterday and was stunned.

Anonymous said...

butt nuggets is the name of my new band!

Anonymous said...

bfd

Anonymous said...

Was that the name of your band before I said it or did you take that from my post? Either way, excellent name!

MJ was a kind gentle soul who was warped by the star fucking machine.

Jenni said...

I feel bad for Michael Jackson. I think he was as ruined by his managers, handlers and enablers as he was by the masses of fans who would not leave him alone for 1 second. All these over-zealous fans of Michael Jackson are the very reason he could not even leave his house to take his children to the zoo.

Doc Hollywood said...

http://www.showbiz411.com/michael-jackson-funeral-date-set-at-staples-center

Anonymous said...

Grammar note to Mama: Not "whomever" but "whoever" is correct. "Whoever it is that gets...." Nominative case mandatory here. Whoever is the subject, not the object.

Your Mama said...

Thank you darling. This is one of many grammar rules we struggle with daily.

Thank you also for coming at me correct and not acting a damn fool like some of the children here who do not seem to have a lick of sense or decorum.

Anonymous said...

I spoke too soon the other day when I said Hugh Laurie's stalker Jackie was the worst fantard to visit Mama's house.

Dee takes the crown. She appears to have been dipping into the same drugs as they found at Carolwood.

Advice to Dee - Just be careful trying to wrestle your new crown away from Jackie. She's a bear. Literally. Well. As heavy, mean, & hairy. But I suspect you've never met an all you can eat buffet you didn't like.

Joe said...

Mama, not all - but many - of your bastard children are behaving very badly here. I suggest time outs and cod liver oil followed by early bed times. Your children need to learn to respect the dead and not to speak ill of someone who is no longer alive and able to defend themselves.

Do you think that any of these malignant brats would go up to MJ and say any of this stuff directly to him? Of course not. Which makes them cowards and guttersnipes. Your babies should be tied up in burlap sacks and thrown out into the middle of MJ's lake at Neverland as punishment.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry Dee. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. Anon.

Anonymous said...

Gary, Indiana, wants the remains-- this is the best idea--the poor old town needs a lift, and it's only maybe 25 miles from the Loop--maybe 20 from Midway and 35 from O'Hare-- lots of access

____________________________

Gary's not getting his remains. MJ is going to be interred at Forest Lawn in LA.

Anonymous said...

I think MJ should be interred at Neverland because it's very difficult to go snooping at Forest Lawn.

Anonymous said...

OK now this is just rumor and gossip but .... word is that officials in california are working to allow Michael Jackson's burial at Neverland. The memorial on Tuesday is just that. It's not a funeral. It will most likely be announced next week that MJ will be buried at Neverland.

Anonymous said...

For anyone interested, Larry King will be taking his audience for a personal tour of Neverland tonight on his CNN show.

Brad said...

There's a ton of activity at Neverland right now. I'm not talking about the news crews and fans but stuff like extensive groundswork, painting and repairing. Non of that would be happening unless the ball is rolling on future plans for that place I would think.

Anonymous said...

They have been working on Sycamore Valley Ranch (Neverland's real name) since before Jackson's death.

My guess is the family wants ownership back so they can bury him there and they can turn it into a "Graceland". But I don't think any of them have the funds to buy it back. And even if they did, they don't have the best track record with post-Jackson 5 endeavors. I think they'd be bankrupt within a couple of years.

The fact that Colony was already changing the name back and preparing the property tells me they (& Michael) had already come to terms with it being returned to just a very nice ranch.

JETER said...

That's sad in a way. The ranch would be a great place to showcase the entertainer's personal effects and grave all in one place a la Graceland. I think the Jackson family are blowing a primo business opportunity.

Anonymous said...

The Jacksons don't control Neverland...Colony Capital does. As I understand, he sold out his control in exchange for assuming the $23+ millon loan

If there is to be any kind of Graceland there, it would have to be with full approval and participation of Colony, who don't forget, are going to want their investment back.

I'm sure they'll offer to sell it to the Jacksons but I don't expect they'd buy it because they don't have the money...maybe Janet does, but don't count on her for that.

Maybe Katherine will after all is said and done but who knows. there may be much less left after all the estate taxes and etc. are paid than anyone is thinking.

JETER said...

The Jacksons could cut a deal with Colony Capital over let's say a five year time frame .... give Colony a cut of the profits .... buy the place back when it's generating cash. You know that place is going to generate serious coin if open to the public as a museum. It would be a global tourist destination.

Ed said...

It would probably draw lots of people and make money, but such a commercial enterprise would have to be approved the by town council or whatever they have there.

Jackson fans will not want to hear this but it's doubtful the people and govts of Los Olivos and the surrounding communities want the Santa Ynez Valley to be defined forever by a museum to Michael Jackson with Neverland themed motels and gift shops lining the tiny towns. It's way, way, WAY to dignified and wealthy of an area for that sort of thing.

Let the naysayers chime in.

Anonymous said...

Michael hasn't lived there in years, all his personal possessions are gone, and everything he added to the place that made it Neverland has either been dismantled or done away with, such as rides, animals, etc. There's nothing of him left there, and he abandoned it as his home. On a purely practical level, I think it's potential to become another Graceland has long since passed.

JETER said...

This is true but people soon forget. Plant flowers, amusement rides and animals and that place will be just the way it always was. Don't forget that people would go to Neverland for the same reasons they go to Graceland - to see the grave. To breathe the same air their idol breathed. To walk around the same grounds the idol walked. To tour the house he lived in. That's why they'll go. No one cares what it looks like now. It's what it could represent. I think it's a fantastic business opportunity and I'm not being disrespectful I don't think. Michael Jackson was an extraordinary person and there will not be another like him.

Anonymous said...

Oh Christ almighty.

I think it's disturbing that people actually think and say things like "to breathe same air as their idol breathed."

He was a man not some thing to be idolized. Don't you people see how you handcuffed him by idolizing him and not allowing him to be human and fallible?

I'm through. All these Jackson freaks need to get a grip on reality and see a psychiatrist because the fervor and idolatry is unhealthy and unproductive and ultimately it's soul crushing.

JETER said...

I didn't mean for it to come across the way you see it. I was approaching it from a purely business angle. Purely business. I still think it's a great idea.

Anonymous said...

Why can't people express a respectful opinion on this blog without someone disrespectfully swooping down to carve them a new one for it.

6:27 you need the psychiatrist friend, because your negativity is the only unhealthy, unproductice, and soul crushing sentiment that's been posted in these comments for the better part of the day. It's obvious you're intimately familiar with that about which you speak.

You're fine Jeter. Rock on.

JETER said...

Thanks 6:44. I must say, there is an unhealthy level indeed of negativity around these parts but I press on. I find it interesting to read others opinions (not necessarily the insults) but I don't get flustered by either.

I feel that this is an important topic. MJ led an extraordinary life. So he should most likely want to lead an extraordinary death! I think it would be splendid to honor a humanitarian such as he in such a way as to open a 'Graceland West'. He would be back home in a place he is said to have loved very much and what is more, it would be a very private place for his children to visit him whenever they wanted to away from prying cameras. That is the most important thing.

Anonymous said...

I think from a business standpoint, turning Sycamore Valley Ranch into a Neverland amusement park/memorial would be an epic fail.

Anonymous said...

I see in the news that the family do want to bury Michael at the ranch. I hope they get their wish.

Anonymous said...

7:15 - I don't see where "you" are a majority. In fact, all the statements from anyone other than his [broke] relatives are of the opposite opinion.

So if you and your majority want a "Graceland West" you better start saving your pennies now. I hear Colony Capital wants 70 million for the ranch.

Anonymous said...

ABC had a reporter interviewing people that live in Los Olivos, including a rancher with an ajoining ranch. Everyone they talked to said they understand why the family & fans might want to bury Jackson at the ranch but they don't want their valley turned into a tourist attraction.

They need to cremate Jackson, make up a few vials of ashes that can be encased in memorials at places like his hometown, Motown, Los Olivos, etc. then blast the rest out into space. If they bury a body, some crazy fans are going to dig him up expecting the Thriller video to come to life.

Doc Hollywood said...

I think, now that the dust has cleared, that MJ never wanted to return to Neverland. There have been so many conflicting reports over things that MJ supposedly did and didn't do (the real estate agent who represented him in the lease of a home in Las Vegas on MJ's return to the US said that MJ was a complete gentleman who left the house cleaner than he found it while Jack Wishna (some bizniss person or other) claimed it to be a pigsty). And so on. Latest news is that Neverland will be dismantled, moved to Las Vegas and reincarnated which is an excellent idea. MJ loved Vegas and he loved his Neverland. Here, he has the best of both worlds for eternity. His fans need to be able to continue to pay homage to a musical icon of tremendous magnitude.