Comments on: Cultural death in threes -

By: Mindy Carney

Mindy Carney — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:38:49 +0000

So true, Alison. Having grown up in a medical household, the child of a physician and a nurse, I think I tend to forget that not everyone is in it to help people. Makes me sad, and at this age, you’d think I’d know better!

By: Alison

Alison — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 01:27:14 +0000

Unfortunately, Mindy, when there’s money to be made, ethics often take a back seat. Jackson’s plastic surgery is not the only example of a surgeon who just can’t say “no” in the face of a high-paying customer. Jocelyn Wildenstein hasn’t had a problem finding a doctor willing to take the cash and turn his patient into a monster. Nadya Suleman successfully persuaded a fertility clinic to implant 8 embryos in her womb despite her multiple contraindications as a model parent. (And, just like MJ, was OK with her “abusive” parents being directly involved in raising her children. Hmmm.)

Discarding ethics in the face of serious financial gain isn’t limited to politicians, corporate officers, or financial advisors - but when people in the medical profession do it, you can see pictures of it all over the internet, and there’s no clever way to spin it.

By: Mindy Carney

Mindy Carney — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:46:15 +0000

Here is a phenomenal article on the MJ tragedy. If all of her facts are correct (i.e. the suit over his pharmacy bills), this is definitely the best article I’ve read. The issue of his “made-to-order” children is a big one, and when you look at it from the perspective of his likely not being approved to adopt through “normal” channels, it does make you wonder when the laws will be appropriately updated. I also have to say that I was very put off by one of the comments to the article in which the poster says that the doctors should not be held accountable because they only gave him what he wanted . . . really?? Medical professionals should not be expected to be, say, professional??? A mindset I cannot quite wrap my brain around.

Anyway - from AlterNet -
http://www.alternet.org/media/141095/will_the_tragedy_of_michael_jackson

By: Mindy Carney

Mindy Carney — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:44:13 +0000

NPR was just discussing that, Dan. Apparently MJ owned it jointly with Sony and a company called ATV. Most of the debt that he owes, which is being estimated somewhere between $3-4 million, is due to investments in him, based solely on the fact that he owned that catalogue. So now, it seems that it will be owned by Sony, ATV and a bunch of MJ’s creditors. Not sure how that will all fall out . . .

And Erich, my ex was also a HUGE Diana Rigg fan as a little boy. I could just never live up to her aura.

By: Dan Klarmann

Dan Klarmann — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 02:27:36 +0000

Speaking of Jackson’s music, I’ve been wondering who will now own the Beatles’ music?

By: Erich Vieth

Erich Vieth — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:45:37 +0000

Mindy: As you suggested, Michael Jackson’s music is now freed up to define him now that he is dead. Or at least that is the way I (intensely) feel. I blasted Thriller and Beat It on the stereo for my daughters today and we listened to the MUSIC.

Jackson was an incredible talent, something no one can deny. I remember seeing a 3-D singing/dance number he did in the mid-80’s that was featured at Epcot in Florida. Simply mind-blowing talent. Maybe someone can now feel free to step forward to tell the world why he self-destructed.

As far as Ed McMahon, I never really understood his celebrity. He so often seemed like a couch potato sitting right there on the set of the Tonight Show. Yes, he had a great voice for the opening announcements, but he seemed entirely normal–interchangeable–to me. Maybe that was his draw.

I thought that Farrah was gorgeous, but my heart never belonged to her. Instead, I have had a many decades-long crush on Diana Rigg, who starred as Emma Peel on the somewhat older (mid-60’s) TV series, The Avengers. Talk about being a role model for woman, Emma Peel was extremely smart, something she had over most of the Angels, most of the time (no offense to Kate Jackson). For those who are wondering who Emma Peel was, here’s an image:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Emma-Peel_Avengers-Intro.jpg

Yes, I used to watch too much TV . . .

By: Mindy Carney

Mindy Carney — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:26:41 +0000

You’re right, Stacy. I wasn’t really thinking of her work beyond my one teen years. But she did do some better acting down the road, true. I simply can’t imagine the long, drawn-out cancer deaths that far too many suffer. I’m sure Patrick Swayze doesn’t have long, and seeing the photos of them as they waste away is just heartbreaking.

By: Stacy Kennedy

Stacy Kennedy — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 02:15:08 +0000

I liked Farrah Fawcett. She defied expectations and broke out of the sex-symbol niche with several fine performances. I’ll always remember her in the movie version of Extremities and in the TV movie Small Sacrifices (especially Small Sacrifices: she was terrific as the utterly despicable Diane Downs.)

Despite the Angels (hard to remember that she left that show after just one season,) despite typecasting, despite her rocky personal life, she sought and earned respect as an actress with more to offer than just a dazzling smile and That Hair.