Goodbye Michael Jackson: Star, brother, friend, father

"Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine," said Paris Katherine Jackson, the second of Michael Jackson's three children, as a massive memorial service for her father neared its end in downtown Los Angeles.

"And I just want to say that I love him so much," Paris added, before breaking down in tears and burying herself in the arms of her aunt, Janet Jackson.

Her aunts, uncles and two brothers who were on stage at the Staples Center arena reached over to console Paris. Thousands of mourners in the audience dabbed their eyes with tissues.

It was the first time they had heard from a girl who, along with her two siblings, have often been hidden by veils or blankets when seen with their father.
"Everybody just broke down," said Tracie Laymon, a filmmaker from Los Angeles, who was in the audience. "Wow, it was really powerful."

It was the same refrain from other fans as they left the star-studded service or watched the broadcast on their television sets or online.

At some points during the 90-minute program, global Web traffic was 31 percent above normal, said Akamai Technologies, which monitors Internet traffic.
Aisha Morgan said all the television stations at her workplace in Kingston, Jamaica, were turned to the memorial -- "from upper management, all the way down."

"Some persons cried," said Morgan, who sent in a photo to CNN's iReport. "The atmosphere in one department was like a funeral."

Inside the Staples Center, Jackson lay at the foot of the stage in a closed, rose-draped, bronze casket.

His brothers, who served as pallbearers, wore single white sequined gloves, a tribute to Jackson's signature look. Singers and sports celebrities took the stage and shared what Jackson meant to them. Between them, the performers have 40 Grammy awards -- a fitting tribute to a man who alone earned 13 in his lifetime.

Jackson died on June 25 of cardiac arrest. The exact cause of death is pending toxicology tests, but speculation continues to swirl about the role of prescription drugs.
Brother Marlon Jackson was among some who alluded to the controversies that surround the pop icon in death.

The world, he said, could not understand what Jackson endured "being judged and ridiculed."

"How much pain can one man take?" Marlon Jackson asked. "Maybe now, Michael, they will leave you alone."

Pomp and precaution

The morning began with a half-hour gathering for several hundred family and friends inside a chapel at the Hollywood Hills Forest Lawn cemetery.

Jackson's casket -- bronze with 14-karat gold plate handles, a velvet-lined interior and a reported price tag upward of $20,000 -- was then placed in a hearse for the 10-mile trip to the arena.

The motorcade of black limousines and sports utility vehicles to the arena was accompanied by police cruisers and motorcycles, which shut down freeway ramps and caused a miles-long traffic backup.

Three thousand police officers, almost one-third of the Los Angeles police force, were on hand to ensure the Jackson events proceeded smoothly, Los Angeles Assistant Police Chief Jim McDonnell said.
In comparison, about 2,000 officers were deployed for the parade and celebration at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for the L.A. Lakers' NBA championship victory last month.

The mayor's office estimated the cost for security for the Staples ceremony to be between $2 million and $4 million.

And the city, which is $530 million in debt, set up a Web page asking Jackson fans to donate money to help with expenses.
Leading into the event, police repeatedly asked fans without tickets to the service to watch from home. And, putting their worst-case scenarios to rest, fans seem to have complied.

McDonnell said ticketless fans outside Staples numbered 5,000 or fewer, much lower than what police had anticipated.

Inside the arena, Jackson's older brothers carried the coffin to the front of the stage, which was designed to resemble a church sanctuary with a stained-glass backdrop.

"Soon and very soon, we are going to see the King," sang the Andrae Crouch Choir.

Tears and testimony

Singer Smokey Robinson set the tone for the event when he read a heartfelt letter from Diana Ross.

Ross, a long-time friend that Jackson named as alternate guardian to his children in his will, explained in her letter why she was not there:

"I am trying to find closure. I want you to know that even though I am not there at the Staples Center, I am there in my heart. I have decided to pause and be silent. This feels right for me. Michael was a personal love of mine, a treasured part of my world, part of the fabric of my life in a way that I can't seem to find words to express."

She then added: "Michael wanted me to be there for his children, and I will be there if they ever need me."

A bevy of singers took the stage next, none of whom was listed in a scrapbook of Jackson photographs that fans were handed when they walked in.
Jackson had invited the star from "Britain's Got Talent" to his planned series of sold-out London shows, according to show director Kenny Ortega.

"This is a moment that I wished that I didn't live to see come, but as much as I can say that and mean it, I do know that God is good," singer Stevie Wonder said before launching into an emotional rendition of his 1971 song, "Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer."

Another wrenching moment came at the end of Jennifer Hudson's performance of Jackson's "Will You Be There." A recording of Jackson reciting the end lyrics flashed on a giant screen as the music played.
courtsy - cnn

Michael Jackson impersonator on his next step

The native of French Guyana has been impersonating Michael Jackson for the past 20 years and Monday he stood outside the gates of the late singer’s rented Holmby Hills mansion reflecting on the icon’s life and death.

“It was like my brother was gone when I heard on the radio that he had died,” Chretien said. “Now it is strange because so many people want to take pictures and talk to me.”

Fans rushed over to him and he flashed the peace sign at the countless tour buses driving by.

Chretien removed his black fedora out of respect as he walked by the many flowers, signs and gifts admirers left at a makeshift memorial. A film crew working on a documentary about Chretien’s life hovered nearby and his manager, Ben Cerceau, said the response has been overwhelming.

“In Santa Barbara, a few thousand people surrounded him and we had to escape to get him out of there,” Cerceau said.”It’s been crazy.”

People are fascinated by the impersonator, partly because of their fascination with the star, Cerceau said.

“There was something mysterious about Michael Jackson,” Cerceau said. “He was a real star.”

And now that he is gone, Chretien said he plans to continue his legacy of thrilling fans and performing.

“I must go on from here with the work,” he said, before climbing into a limousine and leaving.

Idiosyncrasies of IPL 2009

Tanvir Khan

The Indian Premier League 2009 was in troubled waters even before its start, when the Government of India had refused to provide security to the extravagant tournament due to its clash of dates with the General Elections.

There was anger all over with rumours about the second edition being scrapped due to security issues. But before something unfortunate happened, Cricket South Africa came to the rescue of the tournament and its fans.

It was first turned into a political gimmick by the opposition making it a reason to take a pot-shot at the ruling party stating they were incapable of providing security. Then the fans were upset at the Indian Premier League being shifted out of India calling it ‘International’ Premier League and ‘Not-so-Indian Premier League’. Lalit Modi’s brainchild stood every storm before it finally landed in South Africa.

The first edition was a winner hands down! It had the perfect start with a mammoth 158 flowing out of Brendon McCullum’s bat in the very first match. And there was a dream ending too – a mighty close encounter between eventual champions Rajasthan Royals and MS Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings. No one, in their wildest dreams would have thought that the de-glam squad of Rajasthan would lay their hands on the gorgeous trophy.

Things haven’t changed much even now in the sense that there still prevails uncertainty in the extravagantly lucrative tournament. The 2009 edition has been full of surprises so far and there have been incidents that have left a bitter taste in the mouth of fans forcing them to draw comparisons with IPL 2008. Let us have a look at a few mis-hits of the second edition.

Aami Kolkata, We Rule. Oops…We ‘Fool’

No one expected Kolkata Knight Riders to take the exit route even before half the number of games in the competition was played. No ‘build up’ to the series, no PR activities, no advertisements and no star power worked. No one Korbo-ed anything, so the lorbo and jeetbo part remained out of the question, completely. And yes, the over hyped ‘Multiple Captains Theory’ did not work, or better, was a blunder.

Depriving Ganguly of captaincy, calling in Sanjay Bangar and keeping the expensive Mashrafe bin Mortaza to warm the benches in the cool Kingsmead were only a couple of the innumerable mistakes that the SRK owned team committed. Keeping one of the most successful captains of international cricket away from the helm of all action is something that no management in proper mental sanity would do. Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan had once said on national television that Sourav Ganguly would remain the captain till the time he owns KKR. Talk about a change of heart…Bollywood style!!

Strategic Time-Out

This one is a complete torture, honestly. Seven and a half minutes of stoppage time after 10 overs in every innings takes away the seriousness and the set mood of the viewers. Such a long break in a micro format is absolutely not required. It is not good for the spectators and not even for the players. It has already received flak from all corners of the cricketing fraternity and the irritation is spreading big time amongst its audience.

The strategy break might work in favour of either team in the match. The break gives both the teams to analyze their progress in the match and change their approach if required. The gap breaks the concentration of the batsman and as we have seen, in almost every match, there has been a wicket or two falling in the 11th over of the game. The strategic time out might work for the team that has been on the backfoot as they get the time to resurrect their plans while it might put brakes on the team going all guns blazing.

The main objective, however, is to generate revenue. Seven and a half minutes of break gives the IPL generate ample revenue from its advertisers, twice in a match. Lalit Modi, the chairman and commissioner of the IPL, has said that it will definitely be a part of the ongoing season. As of next year, it will be decided after the tournament.

Competitive Pitches, Dropped Catches

First ball ducks and wickets in the 11th over (thanks to the strategic break) have become a common sight in the latest edition of the IPL. There are bets being laid on first ball ducks and inning scores of less than 150. Being a T20 game, the spectators expect a cracker of a match with runs flowing out of the blade like water from a broken dam. They do not want to see wickets at regular intervals and scores of 120-140 being chased for victory.

The 20 over format has, more often than not, been a high scoring format and that is what is expected out of it. We want to see the bowlers being thrashed and bashed out of the park. Ironically, this IPL has seen only one score of over 200 in all.

Catches are dropped more than they are taken. Run-out opportunities missed in a fashion that can be related to gully cricket, or even worse. Till the 33rd match of the IPL (Rajasthan v Bangalore), 55 catches had been dropped, with Kolkata (ahem, ahem) leading the table.

Flop Shows

Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Brendon McCullum, Chris Gayle, Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff…whew…! Big names, small show. The above are only a few to name. The English duo of KP and Freddie were the most expensive catches at 7.5 crores each, but neither could do much for their respective teams, and now, have returned with their hefty pay packets to their homeland to play West Indies.

Delhi Daredevils captain Sehwag and his deputy, Gambhir, are known to be tailor-made for the 20 over format. Fearless hitting is their characteristic, bludgeoning the opposition, their charisma. But both have failed to give their team a rock solid quick start. Thanks to the middle order suspension, they have sustained the top order shocks and scares comfortably. Gambhir, however, looked like getting back to his best when he won the Man of the Match award for his 71 off 57 balls versus KKR (31st match).

Brendon McCullum’s stint in IPL can only be remembered by his 158 n.o in the very first match of the IPL in 2008 - a perfect start that a tournament like the Indian Premier League could get. Nothing could have been better. Chris Gayle set the stage ablaze with a scintillating century in the first match of the T20 World Cup in 2007, but it seems like someone has poured a bucket of water on his fiery blade in the IPL.

With the bigwigs (in context to both names and age) like Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble, Matt Hayden, Dravid, Adam Gilchrist and Gibbs performing well, it would be great if the rulers of the format come to the fore and take the series to a different altitude altogether.

DLF Maximum or CITI Moment of Success?

Is it all about money honey? Yes it is. IPL is all about money, money and more money. Millions of dollars to buy players, hefty advertising costs, security budget etc. It’s raining cash in IPL.

The latest addition is the renaming of a SIX. It is now known as the ‘DLF Maximum’. A crucial wicket is called a ‘Citi Moment of Success’. Gone are the days when commentators spoke just for the love of the game. Sadly, it is just about the commercial proliferation and we get capitalist fabricated emotions to hear when an exciting moment comes in a game. Needless to say, it takes away the beauty of the effort and leaves us with an incomplete feeling. But as they say, ‘In Rome, do as the Romans do’, we must also take a cue and leave the poor commentators do their ‘job’ of making their sponsors happy and keep the money flowing.

Hick...Hick...Hurray..!!

Hopefully, you readers know what is being talked about here. Yes, it is the ‘sip of beer’ on the boundary lines by none other than the very cool and mischievous, the Australian Rajasthani, Shane Warne in the match against the Royal challengers Bangalore.

The spin legend was captured on camera gulping a mouthful of beer from a mug that was supposedly offered to him by a spectator. Now if that is something to be angry over, be amused or just enjoy the video, is up to the viewers to decide.

My batting in IPL has been pathetic: Dhoni

His flop-show in the Indian Premier League
has left Mahendra Singh Dhoni frustrated and the Chennai Super Kings skipper has no
qualms admitting that his batting has been "pathetic" so far in the tournament.

"I think my batting is pathetic in the tournament so far," Dhoni said.

Chennai is riding
high on back-to-back wins but Dhoni's reputation as an explosive batsman is at stake after the star player managed just 107 runs at an average of 21.

Dhoni said he was desperate for a good knock. "All the big-hitters including Albie Morkel, me and Jacob Oram didn't really click. We need to perform in the future as we are a side that relies heavily on its batting.

"If one of us clicks in future and with our top-order performing well we can give good targets to our bowlers to defend. And that is our strategy," Dhoni said.

Overall, Dhoni said he was satisfied with his team's performance and lauded new find Shadab Jakati, the left-arm spinner who took four wickets in last night's match against the Delhi Daredevils.

"It is a very open tournament and people are always looking for fresh talent. Jakati was part of our side even last year. We had a decent batting line-up last year, so we used to play an extra batsman to strengthen our batting," Dhoni said.

"But this season things have changed, the spinners are able to get good results as the innings progress. The batsmen tend to go after the spinners and take their chances and that this is one of the reasons why spinners have been so successful in the tournament," Dhoni said.

Dhoni said with youngsters doing well, the selectors would be spoilt for choice when they pick the Indian squad for the Twenty20 World Championship
in June.

"The more difficult it becomes, the better for us. We will go with the best 15 players in the ICC World Twenty20. So I am quite happy," he said.

Dwelling on his team, Dhoni said it's a balanced squad and hence the task of picking the playing XI was a difficult one.

"More often you will see these four overseas players in our playing XI -- Matthew Hayden, Muttiah Muralitharan, Jacob Oram and Albie Morkel. They are an integral part of the team. Until and unless someone gets injured or loses form we are not going to change them.

"So, it is not really difficult to pick the playing XI," he added.

No swine flu in India: Health ministry

NEW DELHI: No case of swine flu has been reported in India and clinical samples of suspected flu cases tested so far have proved negative, a
health ministry official said on Sunday.

"As of now, no case has been reported in India. The clinical samples tested so far have been negative for Influenza A (H1N1) and the situation is being monitored," said a health ministry official.

The official said a passenger screened at Hyderabad airport has been referred to the identified hospital.

The saliva and blood samples of a 28-year-old man found with symptoms of swine flu after he arrived here from the US have been sent to the National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) at New Delhi.

Six samples of suspected flu cases in Delhi were found negative Saturday.

"Samples of all passengers brought to Ram Manohar Lohia have tested negative and all of them (passengers) were discharged. We have no suspect of H1N1 case now at the hospital," N.K. Chaturvedi, medical superintendent of the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital here, said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Sunday reported 787 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection with 17 countries having officially reported presence of the disease.

Mexico has reported 506 confirmed human cases of infection, including 19 deaths. The United States government has reported 160 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one death.

Health screening of passengers coming from affected countries is continuing in 21 international airports and a total of 41,012 passengers have been screened. As many as 140 doctors and 101 paramedics have been deployed to man 59 counters at the above airports.

According to Chaturvedi, the RML Hospital is fully equipped to handle the flu and has a dedicated team of doctors to treat infected people.

"We have a full-fledged isolation ward with 30 beds. There are 20 doctors and 12 nurses on duty. We also have 1,000 Tamiflu tablets. If there is a shortage of Tamiflu tablets, the NICD will provide them. RML also has 100 medical kits which consist of protective gowns, gloves, eye-gear, syringes and scissors," he said.