I would so much like to know the absolute truth about what was going on in his life, and the circumstances of his death. I guess we won't know until about 25-50 years from now, when all the people who knew him are dead.

May he rest in peace.

.

Yeah, MJ was a hell of a celebrity. Maybe the best ever.

I loved Queen Latifah's eulogy.

Okay, Stevie's totally making me tear up.

My little brother (who manages parking for a contractor who does Staples, Nokia, etc) had to get up at 4am this morning to get down there. . .

He was not looking forward to it.

It was several minutes ago, but I liked Berry Gordy's eulogy, too.

Magic Johnson is quite a gracious man, and his comments were kind and surprisingly personal. Kobe Bryant, however, is a stain.

I sincerely don't mean this as a derail or threadshitting...but, I wonder how admiration for MJ's accomplishments and talent compares to admiration for Kobe Bryant. Both allegedly committed pretty horrible sex crimes, but both are once-in-a-generation talents in their field. But in the end I think more people will remember MJ as a great performer rather than a child molester, whereas Kobe will end up as a rapist in most peoples' minds. Kobe's disagreeable personality doesn't help, of course.

on lack of preview: did Kobe speak at the memorial? Whoa.

People are standing in the atrium and food court down inside CNN Center watching on the jumbotron screen, and applauding and cheering after the eulogies and performances. Wow.

And yeah, mullacc, Kobe and Magic Johnson spoke a few minutes ago.

Yeah, he muttered a bit before giving up the mic to Magic. Now it looks like Lattimore is up there, but it could just be Al Sharpton with a gut staple.

Al Sharpton was particularly powerful, too (whatever controversies he's had, he's a helluva orator).

And Brooke Shields just absolutely had me in tears.

Consider for a moment that he was falsely accused (I know what it is, on a much smaller scale and with much less at stake, to be falsely accused). I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt.

In any case, I'm glad he ended his life working. Those clips of him rehearsing two days before his death are amazing. He was a remarkable talent. I'll miss him more than I knew.

"There wasn't nothing strange about your daddy" - Rev Al Sharpton, addressing MJ's kids.

I have no audio here at work, so I'm reading the liveblogging. By all accounts his children are fairly normal kids, and its an unimaginable blow to lose your father at this age. What they remember about him will always override the media coverage, but as they grow older it will be painful, I'm sure, for them to realize that many, many people considered their father a freak and worse. I wish peace to those children, and to his family. No parent, in any circumstance, should ever have to bury their child.

Is that a biohazard symbol among the crosses and Stars of David and whatnot?

And who on earth are these people?

By all accounts his children are fairly normal kids,

What accounts? Just wondering. Because all I know of them is that they have to wear masks when they go outside.

Paris and Brooke brought me to tears. Not a bad memorial, all in all.

Yes, his little girl, too, was so heartbreaking. My heart goes out to his whole family.

What accounts? Just wondering. Because all I know of them is that they have to wear masks when they go outside.

There have been a number of articles in the past week about his children, and unformly all sources -- even the ones that seem to want to find a freak show can't seem to do it. Maids, paparazzi, lawyers, "unnamed sources" all say without exception that his children are well spoken, well educated, and very normal.

re: the masks and veils. It actually seems like a fairly sensible security precaution to me. I can easily imagine (as can you) that there are people who would love to kidnap/harm these children. A couple of sources have said that he kept their faces covered when they were with him, so that they could have a more normal life when they went out without him.

My heart goes out to MJ himself. I haven't seen any of the service, I'm not sure I want to. Just listening to Thriller last week made me really feel for the guy. He was definitely a bright spot musically, & probably personally.

Did you guys see this thread on the forum for the guys who mixed in the studio for him? http://www.gearslutz.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/401331-robmix-tell-us-about-mj.html

Part of me feels like he had so many leechy people his whole life and now reading about the executor stuff, all I can think is, damn man, he can't get away from these people even now.

I'm with you Pips, I don't believe for a second he did anything wrong. I think they were just more leechy people trying to snag a piece of his pie. I think his Dad was an abusive asshole & he never had a chance at a normal life. I think he was a kid himself. Pretty much all he had was his music, & it's sad. Mrs chewie is convinced that he was castrated at some point before stardom. I don't know if I believe that but it would certainly explain a lot.

RIP & thanks for sharing your talent with us, MJ.

They haven't worn masks in a couple of years now. They seem to be remarkably self reliant and strong - his daughter stood up before how many thousands of people to talk about her daddy. Good for her. I hear that he was an excellant father, tried to be the kind of dad he never had, not too strict, not to lenient. I really don't think he was a child molester...I believe that he was trying so hard to recapture his own childhood (which was filled with a violent, abusive, controlling father) that he maybe did childlike things that were (possibly) blown out of proportion by people looking to make money. I just cannot believe that a true pedophile would be lifelong friends with people like Elizabeth Taylor and Brooke Shields.

I hope he finally has the peace and happiness he so desperately sought in life.

I guess we won't know until about 25-50 years from now, when all the people who knew him are dead.

Tell all bios in 5 ... 4 ... 3 ...