Tuesday, March 11, 2008

UPDATE: Michael Jackson

Thanks to the the always helpful B.S. Beaverman, Your Mama recently received a link over to a salacious and high-larious story about the never ending saga of Neverland Ranch in the The Sun, one of the UKs most lurid and lascivious tabloid rags owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch. The article suspiciously reports that two twenty something "tycoons" are making a last ditch effort to buy broken down music icon Michael Jackson's broken down Neverland Ranch.

The young and supposedly rich whipper snappers claim to be huge fans of The White Lady and are reportedly willing to fork over up to £15,000,000 to purchase Neverland Ranch and then...are the children ready for this nonsense...lease the place back to Mister Jackson. Whaaat? Do the people at The Sun really think anyone is going to believe that? What legitimate tycoon would make the damn fool maneuver to buy Neverland Ranch and lease it back to the very same financially strapped and fading pop star who does not have the money to pay his bills as it is? Please.

As laughable as The Sun article may be, it does include some stunning and seriously sad photos of Jackson's once beloved and now abandoned Neverland Ranch in a startling state of disrepair with a tattered tent, a crumpled tee-pee village and a tennis house that looks like it might fall over in a stiff wind. One note to the children...the article identifies the Disneyland like brick structure as The White Lady's residence, but trust Your Mama when we tell you it is not...it's the train station. How do we know this? Because Your Mama's cuzzin used to drive the damn train at Neverland Ranch.

Unless The White Lady can convince some financial fool to refinance the approximately $24,000,000 mortgage that is in default on the 2,600 acre ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, Neverland Ranch is scheduled to be auctioned off on the steps of the Santa Barbara county court house on March 19. Your Mama recommends those people in Santa Barbara get the security barriers in place, because you know that is going to be some kinda mess with developers shouting over the screams and cries of the twelve or fifteen people who still consider themselves die-hard fans of Michael Jackson.

Poor Michael Jackson. Why the man does not just sell Neverland Ranch like a sensible person and be done with the whole fracas is beyond our comprehension. He must be a real glutton for punishment. We've been saying it for months kids, but this whole Neverland Ranch bizness can only end in tears.

Photos: Splash (via The Sun)

43 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can't really take anything The Sun says as being accurate, though millions of idiots read it daily & take it seriously which I find hilarious!

It will be interesting to see who ends up with it.

Anonymous said...

The photos are just sad. The house next to the tennis courts isn't the actual house? I've been wondering when updated photos would start to surface.

It is rather ironic that the circus tent reflects his career. Both are faded and tattered. :-(

Anonymous said...

try this
neverland

http://googlesightseeing.com/maps?p=22&c=&&ll=34.746430,-120.087111&sll=34.652771,-120.104432&spn=0.008014,0.011727&sspn=0.022797,0.043228&t=k&hl=en

Anonymous said...

How are those hedges so ~clean~

WHO is paying for the landscaping!?!

Anonymous said...

where exactly is his house on that map fairfirld girl?

by the tennis court?

there are so many random (?) building on the property

i am so confused by his property

Anonymous said...

Follow the driveway after going by the train station. Yes, the house is next to the tennis court. Continue up the various little roads to see the entire mess.

so_chic_darling said...

The Sun made up the story.Check google UK the people they name do not exist,also note that the Sun says nothing about them or how they made money.

Anonymous said...

no, the main house is not next to the tennis court...it is NEAR, but not next to.

see that pond with the bridge thing over it...that road leads to the mains house.

it's not far from the tennis court, but what is shown in the pic here is not the main house...it's a tennis pavilion...you know, bathrooms, an entertainment area that sort of thing.

Anonymous said...

so_chic,
I just found the wheeler/dealers that want to save Neverland. I won't even be too specific because everything indicates a PR ploy that I don't want any part of furthering. The have a company name that is easy to confuse with a very large organization in the same industry in the UK. Their website has no credibility or tangeable meaningful proof of a product, but losts of virtual concepting. Their site is a huge hype trying to solicit investors. The company doesn't even google out in the likely places it should appear.

I could be all wrong, but this is what my 20 minute search produced.

Alessandra said...

Thanks for the link, fairfield girl.

If the Sun can't even identify a train station versus a mansion, the rest of the story (with fairy godmother investors) is even more suspect. I'd feel more sorry for the White Lady if he'd actually do something to help himself.

Anonymous said...

If you look at the sun article, scroll down to the end of the article to the last photo at the bottom which shows the amusement park. Is that the house in the upper left with what appears to be a motorcourt and fountain in front of it?

Anonymous said...

No.

Easter Egg said...

anon 10:49.
Go to michaeljacksonforsale.com
A little way down the page it says over 6000 pictures. Click the drop down and it will say neverland. Click that and you will see the main house in the second picture and of course the rest of the compound in it's hey day.

Anonymous said...

tidal wave - Thanks for the link. I had no idea the compound was so vast.

I'm torn between feeling desperately sorry for him, and wanting to kick his ass into next week for being such a pathetic little wimp. I can't put a finger on why, but somehow I'm fascinated by this ordeal.

Those pictures, though, are sad indeed.

Anonymous said...

Collins and Bone, the two "tycoons" that allegedly want to purchase Neverland, are a couple of UK real estate flipper kiddies. They got their start in 2002 buying properties to fix up and resell/rent to their fellow college students.

So no, these guys are not highly experienced real estate individuals, and the real estate biz in the UK isn't doing any better than it is in the US. This is just hype on their part.

Anonymous said...

tidal wave,

Great find. You rock.

Easter Egg said...

Bentley,
I am not sure if you looked at all (I believe) 7 pages of the photos of neverland but near the end there was actually a map of the grounds. With all buildings numbered and so on. I also believe that some of the interiors shots are of the house and some are not.

Easter Egg said...

Anon 12:00
Why thank you!
Now, where is "Girl at the Bar"?
I am a little dry after all that . Not to mention after looking at all thos pics it might just relax me a bit.

alex the sea turtle said...

Mama, I will admit I am still a fan of his music, videos and dancing. I would pay big money to see him perform live, I would buy new music and have.

However, I would never bother to go stake out him at a court house or go crazy screaming or crying in anyother silly scene. I also think he is a very sick puppy who can't be trusted with children. Probably can't be trusted alone.

Anonymous said...

I take a look at these photos and all I can hear ringing in my ears are Alessandra's words when she first viewed "Fleur de Lys":

"OH, my virgin eyes!"

Anonymous said...

Tidal Wave,

Based on her visits, girl at the bar is, for the most part, a nocternal creature. Then again, she did pop up on Sunday with a pitcher of bloody marys. Ya never know.

Easter Egg said...

In the mean time I may have to ask mama for one of her famous nerve pills until we find "girl at the bar" and prop her up.

Anonymous said...

Tidal Wave...great site, but the 2nd pic down is the Encino house on Hayvenhurst Avenue that MJ lived at the time of Thriller's release. He still owns this (but has had problems holding on to it also) and various family members live in it off and on.

Marc

Easter Egg said...

Thanks for the correction Marc. I thought it looked to light but then you know how we can alter photographs and well, who knows. Personally, I have never been at the the ranch but I remember seeing something on TV and thought that the house was very dark and tudor-ish. I remember that it was not at all what I expected and the interior was just...just...a mess. Just a mixture of everything that really looked really bad.

Anonymous said...

Time for some bulldozers and some sage burning and holy water sprinkling. I have visions a la Poltergeist if that property isn't decommissioned properly.

Which all sounds weird, especially from me, but that guy gives me the creeps.

Anonymous said...

I lost a quarter so I'm down to $12.66. But my friend Ed got his $5.00 allowance and he is going to kick in half of it. Bill took a dollar from his mom's wallet. We've got $16.16 to bid on it.

We will consider additional partners - but you have to let us on the rides first because it was our idea.

Anonymous said...

WORTH A LOOK - THE WHITE LADY

http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/21361530.html?view=2555575418#t2555575418

Anonymous said...

Why not just turn it into an exclusive cemetery and be done with it?

They won't have to dig anyone up (God willing), and the rides will give the little ones something to do whilst Mom and Dad pay their respects to Granny.

Easter Egg said...

LGB
LOL. You are to much!

Anonymous said...

I think the state of california should buy it and turn it into a colony for pedophiles then we could empty them out of prisons and our neighborhoods and they could live out their lives together under the rule of the white lady.

Anonymous said...

Lord have mercy, Jason is back . . .

Easter Egg said...

What the hell? Where did he come from?

Easter Egg said...

I am not falling for it Jason.

Easter Egg said...

Uh oh! Jason vanished.

Anonymous said...

Tis a pity; perhaps Mama banished him . . .

Easter Egg said...

You know, all snarkiest aside.
I cannot imagine that with everyone that MJ had by his side, paid or not, that MJ was not warned many times over, that Neverland was not going to survive long term and that things were in trouble for many years prior to his last court troubles. Attorney's fees, etc. I think for a long time that he was told or knew the end was near. Seriously, that place was a money pit. I don't care how rich you are, you can only live a fantasy life for so long.
I am not here to judge MJ. I have not walked in his shoes. Nor anyone else's. I can only say if that if it were my shoes, things would have been much different.
The only thing I will say at the end of the day, is that whether it be "Neverland" or "Fleur De Lys" it is sad to see anything go into disrepair or have it be empty. It may have not been whatever I wanted, but there is a sad feeling when all is said and done. At one time, these places held happiness. Now it is gone and the places are empty. No matter what the circumstance. Funny how life works.

so_chic_darling said...

Who is Jason and what did he say?It must have been bad for Mama to have deleted it.

Anonymous said...

It was spam, So Chic...with a link to some website.

Alessandra said...

I hear you, easter egg. I always feel sorry for abandoned or "troubled" homes. It may seem maudlin to have such empathy for a pile of bricks and mortar and some wood, but it is sad to see. You know that so much has to have gone wrong is someone's life to have a home reach that state.

As for Neverland Ranch, I'm sure some savvy investor will grab it. 2600 acres in that location is nothing to sneeze at. I could see a vinter or hotelier being interested. I'd prefer those buyers to a developer.

Anonymous said...

About the spammer...I picked up some nasty adware the last time he did that. Silly me for opening it.

Alessandra said...

Err...vintner, I meant "vintner". Bed now.

Anonymous said...

Sandpiper,

Get a Mac. Only machine I've used by choice professionally or personally for almost 20 years and only got one Trojan Horse in that whole time, and it was just a harmless splash screen that said "Happy New Year!!!"

I do have to use a PC at work but only when I absolutely must - and NEVER for internet or email.

In the same span of time, I've gone through twice as many PCs as Macs - they just last longer, and have less third party hardware conflicts.

So ends our harmless ad for today. Sleep tight.

Anonymous said...

Little Buddy,
How I wish! Started out with a Mac-Plus and PageMaker beta-test software -- before it was even a version! Have been on PCs so long now that Macs confuse me. Shame.