Remembering Michael

from w
For three hours we watched the TV in the middle of the night. The Memorial Service was dignified and some fine words were said. We forgot the eccentricities, the gossip, and recognized a person of great talent and tragedy. Shakespearean almost. Some of Michael Jackson's songs I liked, particularly those he sang as a teenager, then the 'world' songs much later on - such as 'We are the World' and 'Heal the world'.

Heal The World
Make It A Better Place
For You And For Me
And The Entire Human Race
There Are People Dying
If You Care Enough
For The Living
Make A Better Place
For You And For Me

And The Dream We Were
Conceived In
Will Reveal A Joyful Face
And The World We
Once Believed In
Will Shine Again In Grace
Then Why Do We Keep
Strangling Life
Wound This Earth
Crucify Its Soul
Though It's Plain To See
This World Is Heavenly
Be God's Glow

We Could Fly So High
Let Our Spirits Never Die
In My Heart
I Feel You Are All
My Brothers
Create A World With
No Fear
Together We'll Cry
Happy Tears
See The Nations Turn
Their Swords
Into Plowshares

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added later - from Fijilive:
Daddy was 'best father' ever: Jackson's girl
July 08, 2009 07:51:24
Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris, paid moving tribute to the late star Tuesday saying at the end of a public memorial here, "Daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine."

Meanwhile, civil rights leader Reverend Al Sharpton told Michael Jackson's children "there weren't nothing strange about your daddy," in a fiery speech at the King of Pop's Los Angeles memorial service. "It was strange what your daddy had to deal with but he dealt with it," Sharpton said, his voice rising in the rich cadence of a sermon. Sharpton castigated those who "like to dig around" and said Jackson's journey to superstardom was more significant that his occasional stumbles and "mess." "Michael rose to the top. He outsang and outdanced and outperformed the pessimists. Every time he got knocked down, he got back up. Every time you counted him out, he came back in. Michael never stopped." Sharpton praised Jackson's message of love, his talent and his work breaking down "the color curtain" and eradicating barriers. "It was Michael Jackson that brought blacks and whites and Asians and Latinos together," Sharpton said Tuesday. "He created a comfort level where people that felt they were separate became interconnected with his music," Sharpton said. "Those young kids grew up from being teenage fans of Michael's to being 40 years old and being comfortable to vote for a president of color to be the president of the United States of America. Michael did that. Michael made us love each other. Michael taught us to stand with each other."

Facebook said that its users were at times firing off 6,000 comments per minute as they watched Michael Jackson's memorial online at CNN Live. "The 6,000 is just for CNN Live," said Facebook marketing directory Randi Zuckerberg. "It is significantly higher than that when you factor in E! Online, ABC, and MTV which each have their own Facebook Connect implementations." Facebook users worldwide were sharing updates and thoughts while watching free streaming video of the memorial at CNN Live, ABC, and E! Online websites.

The same technology used to stream CNN coverage of US President Barack Obama's inauguration -- Facebook Connect -- allowed people to watch the Jackson memorial in CNN Live video players.

Facebook status updates, essentially brief posted thoughts at given moments, related to the inauguration peaked at 8,000 per minute at the start of Obama's swearing-in ceremony. Zuckerberg expects the Jackson tally to eclipse that record. "The most interesting thing is how many people are writing in internationally," Zuckerberg said, referring to Facebook updates from Switzerland, Israel, London, and Barbados posted just seconds earlier.

"The inauguration was certainly a US centered event, and the Jackson memorial seems to have a huge international presence." Facebook posts during the memorial included a user identified as Elycia Cook Okay Brooke of Japan saying "I am at work in my MJ T-shirt trying to get something done between the tears and popping in and off of CNN." Another Facebook user theorized that in many parts of the world, "nothing will be getting done right now."

Michael Jackson memorial: What they said – Quotes

Here are some of the most memorable quotes from Tuesday's tributes to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.

"Michael was a giant and a legend in the music industry. And we mourn with the millions of fans worldwide,"
- former South African president Nelson Mandela

"I think like Elvis, like (Frank) Sinatra, like the Beatles, he became a core part of our culture,"
- US President Barack Obama

"God has now called for you to come home, collect your wings and to fulfill your demands in heaven and continue your magic amongst the angels,"
- sister La Toya Jackson

"Michael was a personal love of mine, a treasured part of my world, part of the fabric of my life,"
- soul singer Diana Ross

"Michael was the biggest star on earth,"
- singer and actress Queen Latifah

"With the abrupt absence of our treasure, though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone,"
- words written by poet Maya Angelou and read at his memorial

"Michael Jackson went into orbit and never came down,"
- Berry Gordy, founder of Motown records who launched the careers of the Jackson 5.

"I just don't believe that Michael would want me to share my grief with millions of others. I cannot be part of the public hoopla. And I cannot guarantee that I would be coherent to say a word,"
- actress Elizabeth Taylor, explaining in a Tweet why she would not attend the memorial