A World Without the 'King of Pop'

Happier times when Michael Jackson (l) and Quincy Jones (r) won multiple Grammy's for "Thriller"

As Paul Simon said in Mrs. Robinson, "Where have you gone, Michael Jackson?" OK, so he didn't say Michael Jackson (he said Joe Dimaggio) but you get the idea. The world lost its biggest musicial entertainer yesterday. Michael Jackson went into cardiac arrest in his home in Los Angeles and died about an hour later early Thursday afternoon. He was only 50 years old.

Yesterday, I was driving home and heard the DJ on 100.3 in Washington D.C. say that Michael Jackson had suffered a heart attack but he was alive. Then about 25-30 min. later, he came on to say Michael Jackson had died. Not believing the DJ, I rushed home and as soon as I ran through the door: SPECIAL REPORT on CBS News. Michael Jackson was dead. Stunned, I began to cry. This man that I grew up listening to, enjoying his music and even seeing him once in concert. The man that took the world by storm with the world embracing him in return. Gone just like that.

I regained my composure but even today I am sitting here still stunned at this news. An icon that was over $400 million in debt was about to start his comeback tour that would have wiped out his debt and made his life easier and more enjoyable. I feel for his three children who now have to face going to Debbie Rowe's care or Michael's mother. I hope Michael's mother gets custody.

So what will happen now? A world without Michael Jackson. I at least thought he'd be around for 30 more years. We'll know in the coming weeks what he died of and then we'll see what happens with his kids and massive debt. The concert promoters in London still haven't said if they're giving out refunds or not.

Whatever the case may be, we lost an icon. I lost a piece of my childhood. Selling over 750 million albums worldwide, I don't think we'll ever see an artist of his magnitude. John Lennon was killed in 1980 and this death is the first significant one since that dreadful day in New York.

I think Billy Joel put it best "Only the good die young."

It's alive! Virgin Festival to invade Merriweather Post Pavilion

Virgin Mobile FreeFest 2009 (AKA Virgin Mobile Festival), will take place Sunday, August 30 at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland

It finally happened. After months of speculation that the 2009 Virgin Mobile Music Festival was dead, on Wednesday, June 24 came the announcement that the bands Blink-182 along with Weezer and Franz Ferdinand would anchor the 2009 Virgin Mobile FreeFest, where all tickets were FREE! Sir Richard Branson, head of Virgin, said that since the economy was so bad, he felt that people needed a break and to have an amazing time at little cost. The sponsors are paying for the bulk of this concert with the rest going to charity to fight homelessness.

Now this is definitely a big blow to Pimlico, which held the first three extraordinary Virgin Festivals with the likes of The Police, The Who, The Killers, Smashing Pumpkins, Beastie Boys, and many others. With the economy the way it is and Pimlico going bankrupt, Branson and Co. found Merriweather Post Pavilion, a venue that can hold 35,000 compared to Pimlico that could hold upwards of 70,000+. In my view, perfect. HFS held their last fesitval in 2006 there and it was a great venue for that (although I hope the bathrooms are better this time.)

This is beyond huge. The pre-sale has begun and is supposed to go until Friday at 10pm but tickets are scarce as of 11:45 a.m.

The preliminary lineup as of Thursday, June 25:

Sunday, August 30 (Gates open at 11 a.m.)
2009 Virgin Mobile FreeFest at Merriweather Post Pavilion:

• Blink-182
• Weezer
• Franz Ferdinand
• Public Enemy
• Jet
• The National
• Girl Talk
• The Hold Steady
• St. Vincent
• Wale
• Taking Back Sunday
• The Bravery
• Holy Fu*k
• Mates of State
• Pete Tong
• Danny Howells and Lee Burridge (Dance Tent)
  

The 1980's are Back!

The Ghostbusters are back to battle ghosts and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in this update of the 1980's classic video game

Remember the 1980's? The Ghostbusters, Jason, Freddy Kruger, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, He-Man, The Smurfs, Alvin and the Chipmunks. All these classic TV shows and movies are getting rebooted in the 2000's.

It all started with the cartoons. New TMNT and He-Man cartoons showed up on Fox and Cartoon Network. Then talk of The Smurfs anniversary coming up prompted a CGI movie coming out in 2010.

Friday the 13th (now on DVD) got a reboot earlier this year with Freddy Kruger coming back in 2010. Alvin and the Chipmunks got the CGI update in 2007 with a sequel in the works. Now there is word that the Ghostbusters are back for a third movie and to wet fans appetites: a new video game on PS3, XBOX 360 and Wii.

All these things, with the exception of Ghostbusters, are reboots because hollywood is desperate to recapture the magic and money those franchises brought in. Originality is very scarce in hollywood these days unless it's a TV show. I find it hard to believe that no one can think of anything original and instead want to update even the most remote TV show or idea like "Land of the Lost" only to watch it tank.

Dan Akroyd wrote and created Ghostbusters in 1984 and is busy co-writing a third movie to pass the torch to a new generation. He co-wrote a brand new story with Harold Ramis set in 1991 two years after Ghostbusters II for the new video game. If Akroyd can think of something, why is it so difficult for everyone else?

Hollywood needs to go back to originality or else they'll start touching the ultimate classics and remaking them into horrid tributes that devalue what they truly stood for.

Mario Lemieux's Crazy Pool Party

Sid the Kid and company decide to go swimming with the Silver Stanley Cup

As we all know, last Friday the Pittsburgh Penguins upset the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 to win their third stanley cup and first since 1992. Mario Lemieux has his name on all three (2 as a player and 1 as owner) and decided after a long day of parades and confetti to have a pool party for his team, their families and closest friends. What resulted is seen in the photo above: the Stanley Cup in the pool.

Chlorine aside, the cup is made of silver so I can assume that is not a very good thing for the 35-pound trophy. Alas, it ads another story of Stanley Cup lore. Here are some other wacky stories involving the oldest trophy in sports:

• After a night of celebrating their Stanley Cup victory in 1905, members of the Ottawa Silver Seven felt it necessary to see if one could kick the Cup into Ottawa's Rideau Canal. One of them lined it up and gave it a boot, drop-kick style. In a true test of his accuracy and distance, the Cup landed on target, in the canal. That established, the boys went on their merry way, and the Cup stayed in the Canal until the next day when sober heads prevailed and Lord Stanley's mug was rescued. It was then placed in the capable hands of Harry Smith, a Silver Seven member.

• During the 1962 playoffs, the Cup sat on display in a huge glass case in the Chicago Stadium lobby. A Montreal fan, Ken Kilander, was upset with the Stanley Cup being in Chicago. He opened the glass case and when no alarms went off, reached in and grabbed the Cup off its stand. Kilander crept through the stadium lobby and headed for the exit doors. He was just a few yards from the exit when a police officer spotted Kilander and asked him why he was taking the Stanley Cup out of Chicago Stadium. "I want to take it back where it belongs," Kilander explained, "To Montreal."

• In 1996, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Sylvain Lefebvre christened his child in the bowl of the Stanley Cup after his championship season.
  
  

For more tales of Stanley Cup lore, visit http://www.hhof.com/LegendsOfHockey/html/silver_stTales.htm.

The Dream is a Reality for Conan O'Brien

Conan O'Brien officially took over "The Tonight Show" Monday to mixed reviews

It's finally official folks. On Monday, June 1, 2009 Conan O'Brien became just the third host of "The Tonight Show" to grace the stage in over 40 years. With Jay Leno announcing the hand off a few short years ago, O'Brien looked nervous yet humbled at becoming the host of televisions most honored late night program.

The show started with classic Conan as he looked over a checklist of things to do before his debut. Last on the list was "Move to L.A." in which he looked at the camera in a panic. Running out to catch a cab, he gave up and decided to run from New York to L.A. stopping off at some hilarious places along the way. When he got to the studio, he realized he forgot something...the key to "The Tonight Show" studio! Frustrated, he leaves the shot then plows through the door with a bulldozer.

What proceeded was a mixture of monologue and skits for about 30 min. The Universal tram was hilarious. Will Ferrell came on around 12:10 am to four men carrying him on a platform as if he were royalty. His interview was OK but not the one you want as your first interview on "The Tonight Show." The evening finished up with a world premiere song by Pearl Jam off their new album. All in all, not a bad night for Conan.

Now a lot of older people are going to shrug off O'Brien for his immense energy and hilarity. But everyone should give him a chance. He got the "Late Night" gig after Letterman bolted for CBS in 1993. At that time, O'Brien was only known for being a great comedy writer with "The Simpsons" and was totally unknown. In those 16 years, he built an audience that followed him and easily won the late night ratings in his time slot. His wackiness and crazy energy made the show original and fresh. From his campaign to put "Dirty Dancing" back into movie theaters for it's anniversary to his "Walker, Texas Ranger" clips, O'Brien is a talented comedian that deserves this shot at his lifelong dream.

A lot of people will need a few shows to get used to O'Brien and company's zany, out-of-this-world humor that made him the king of the 12:30 time slot. Here's to you Conan, hoping you garner a huge audience for years to come!