Michael Jackson’s Memorial Service

Well, I have to be honest, I didn’t watch Michael Jackson’s memorial service today. I was planning on it but my satellite conked out during the afternoon and so, I missed it. I actually took it as a good sign. Now, I could just read about it and not feel bad that I missed watching an event that the world would never forget. I really didn’t want to watch it because I’m not a big fan of Michael Jackson’s and I never was. And I’ve never been a big fan of memorial services either so, the whole thing was sounding pretty bad to me.

I also figured that the whole entire thing was going to be just two hours of very sad entertainment and again, I thought I might want to pass on it. It turns out that my thoughts ended up pretty much being right. Many, many stars came out to pay tribute to the late King of Pop and they all had very sad and kind words to say about Michael, or they sang, or, in Corey Feldman’s case, they dressed up as Michael to pay their respects. I’ve read enough that I am glad that I didn’t watch it but there did seem to be especially touching moments.

Jennifer Hudson came out to sing Will You Be There and I’ve heard mixed reviews of that, between ‘beautiful’ and ’schmaltzy.’ I can see Hudson being schmaltzy. She always does everything so over-the-top and seems to be overacting on stage. What I did miss that I’m kicking myself for is Jennifer’s baby bump, which is the first time she’s shown it since her pregnancy was announced. I did though still manage to find this picture of her and Usher, who also performed at the service, and Jennifer’s bump.

Brooke Shields, who I love, love, looove, was also there to talk about her ex-boyfriend. Brooke and Michael dated during the 80s when Brooke was just growing into being America’s sweetheart and Michael was teaching the world the moonwalk. At the service today, Brooke talked about howMichael’s favorite song was Smile by Charlie Chaplin and how that’s what everyone needed to do now. The two hadn’t seen each other in almost 2 decades but, as Brooke explains in the newest Rolling Stone, the two would always have each other.  From US,

“Brooke Shields says she “instantly became friends” with Michael Jackson after meeting him when she was 13.

“Nothing was jaded about him. I just was so impressed by his sweetness,” Shields tells Rolling Stone’s special commemorative issue on the King of Pop, on stands Friday.

“He was thoughtful, sensitive, sweet, and had a funny sense of humor,” she goes on. “If you got to talk to him about music or about the future of technology, his voice would get deeper, he would start talking, and it was as if he was this genius.”

Sexuality didn’t play a role in their relationship, she explains.

“As he grew older and the more he started to change physically, the more asexual he became to me,” Shields says. “It was easy for him to be a friend to me, because I was the most celebrated virgin ever; it’s ridiculous, but I was America’s virgin.

“There were times when he would ask me to marry him, and I would say, ‘You have me for the rest of your life, you don’t need to marry me, I’m going to go on and do my own life and have my own marriage and my own kids, and you’ll always have me.’ I think it made him relax. He didn’t want to lose things that meant something to him,” she adds.

She last saw Jackson at Elizabeth Taylor’s 1991 wedding.

“He seemed like his own funny self,” she says. “We snuck in and took pictures of ourselves next to her dress. We always seemed to revert to being little kids. It was a sanctuary for him, because he knew I never wanted anything from him but his happiness.”

But the saddest moment of Michael’s memorial service today was when his daughter, Paris Katherine Jackson, stood up at the end to speak. I think, no matter who you are, and no matter what you think of Michael Jackson, reading about it and watching it on all the thousands of links that are now available from the service, everything was forgotten when Katherine spoke. Even though there was a ridiculous spotlight on her father’s casket and the whole entire thing was done up just a little bit ‘too’ much, when Katherine took to the microphone, it was like everything and everyone just shut up. The world wanted to hear what she had to say and all she wanted us to know was that Michael was a good dad. Say what you will, but the heartbreak in that little girl’s words and that little girl’s eyes tells us all that Michael wasn’t all bad, even if you’re not a fan. Here’s what Katherine said, from sawfnews,

“The most poignant moment of the Michael Jackson Memorial came at the end, when his 11-year-old daughter, Paris Katherine Jackson, bravely came up to the microphone to pay her tearful tribute to her father.

“Ever since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine and I just want to say I love him so much,” Paris said as a single spotlight shone on Michael Jackson’s gold casket inside the Staples Center.”

Before the public service today there was a private service yesterday for the family and close friends to pay their respects privately. The family then also joined this morning so that they could have some last time with Michael and each other before the day’s craziness began. It is sad but I really am hoping that we can all get past this and move on. It’s what the family needs now and more importantly, I think it’s in the best interest of his kids.

This has that Nasty Cruise/Shields Stench

Remember when Tom Cruise knocked Brooke Shields down publicly for taking antidepressants after she was diagnosed with postpartum depression? And then the entire world went ape-crap over it and he is still to this day apologizing for it? Of course, this is a memory that is fresh in many people’s minds but it seems as though Bijou Phillips, who is not only a model but also a Scientologist, just as Cruise is, doesn’t seem to remember the incident as clearly. She has not come out and attacked anyone in particular but she is attacking every single person who has a mental illness, by saying that they should ‘buck up.’ It seems as though Bijou needed people to start talking about her and know who she is because I had never heard of her before this. And now I’m feeding right into the plot by writing about it. From US,

“Scientologist model Bijou Phillips went off on a tangent about the dangers of psychiatrists medicating depression during a recent interview with Paper Magazine.

“My grandparents didn’t take any pills, and they were fine,” Phillips said in the February issue of Paper. “Just buck up and get over it. Stop being such a f—king pansy.”

The budding actress frequents Scientology-sponsored events and spoke out against psychiatry and prescribing patients with medication for such mental illnesses as depression or anxiety.
Phillips, 28, lived alone in New York City after legally emancipating herself from her parents — her father, John Phillips, was in the Mamas and the Papas — when she was 14 years old. After several years on her own, she went to rehab.”

Well that sounds like someone with a good head on her shoulders. She’s been alone since she was 14 and has had to go to rehab because of it. I just hate Scientology, I just hate it. I don’t understand how people can be so ignorant not to learn the benefits of these drugs and the number of people they help. I don’t generally like to put it ‘out there’ that I hate anybody but these people have made it clear that they feel free to judge others quite vocally so I feel justified doing so as well when it comes to them. I hate Scientology.

Tom Makes More Weird Moves

Well Katie may have been able to kick the whole Cruise clan to the curb of her house but she definitely can’t stop them from getting heavily involved in her husband, Tom’s, career. Tom Cruise has once again turned to his sister, fellow Scientologist, to help manage his career. This isn’t the first time that Tommy Boy has wanted to keep his affairs within the family. It was right around the time that he and Katie started dating that she also managed his career and, as TMZ reports, it was not a good time in Tom’s career,

“Couches of the world, you’ve been forewarned.

Tom Cruise has once again enlisted sister Lee Anne Devette to help manage his career and steer the Cruise ship, reports OK!. This is not a positive development for Cruise; the last time she was involved, Tom started jumping up on couches and calling Matt Lauer glib.

“He needed someone to step in and take over. And Lee Anne stepped up to the plate,” says a source.”

Let’s not forget how he verbally attacked Brooke Shields for - GASP! - taking care of herself and her child! Anyways, it’s stuff like this that really has me feeling sorry for Katie Holmes. I think of how overwhelming her life must be, with a weirdo husband and overbearing in-laws. I’m glad that she take this gig on Broadway - it seems to have been really good for her to do something that she loves and step outside of the roles she’s been playing as Suri’s mom and Tom’s wife. She has also received rave reviews from audience members and fellow costars such as John Lithgow. Lycos caught a snippet of an interview with him where he couldn’t stop singing Katie’s praises,

“He adds, “Katie is lovely in the play, and she’s been such a sweetheart to work with. She has worked so hard - this is a tough, tough play.

“Katie is acting with thoroughbreds and she’s doing a wonderful job! She’s had to really push herself.”

John also praised Tom Cruise’s efforts in supporting his wife and making sure Suri got a taste of the excitement as well: “They’ve been around…a lot!”

Gosh darn it! If she would only leave that crazy husband of hers, I think I would really start to like Katie Holmes! Well I guess that’s a lot to put little Suri through just for my peace of mind. Alas, I suppose I’ll have to make peace with the fact that she really does love Tom.

Celebrities Celebrate Father’s Day

Because Father’s Day was this past weekend, it seemed only appropriate to check in our favorite celebrities to see how they celebrated the dads in their lives as we celebrated the ones in ours. Here’s what they were up to!

One of Hollywood’s newest hot and heavy couple, Kate Hudson and Lance Armstrong spent the day with their kids - all four of them. Lance brought all his three kids: Luke, Isabella, and Grace and Kate brought along little Ryder. Yes, one big happy family indeed.

Larry King also dodged the paparazzi as he took his two sons, Cannon Edward and Chance Armstrong to cheer for the L.A. Lakers as they competed at the Staples Center against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Championship. Just a nice day out with the boys.

Brooke Shields also stopped for a moment with her entire family to take a nice family picture as this foursome headed out on their own Father’s Day adventure.

And Adam Sandler celebrated his big day with his first child, Sadi who is two with his wife Jackie and their dog down in the beaches of Malibu. This family will be getting a new addition this October when they will welcome their second child.

And Paris Hilton shows just how much she loves her daddy by treating him to a wonderful dinner at Mr. Chow in L.A. Her mom, Kathy and her brother, Conrad were also there while her sister Nicky did not come with the family.

TomKat’s Humble Home Now Built

Well Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have completed construction on their new home in Beverly Hills and let me tell you, it’s a far cry from what we saw on Oprah when she and Tom were huddled in a cozy cabin in Teluride, Colorado. The estate, which is worth a whopping 35 million dollars, was the venue of the couple’s housewarming party on Saturday night. From Celebrity Baby Scoop,

“Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes hosted an A-list housewarming party on Saturday night at their new Beverly Hills mansion. Some of the stars on the guest list included Oprah Winfrey, Jennifer Lopez, Brooke Shields, Victoria Beckham, Eva Longoria Parker and Kyra Sedgwick.

It was also a family affair with Holmes’ parents from Ohio and all of the Cruise children: Isabella, 15, Connor, 13, and Suri, 2. Cruise and Holmes purchased the 1.3-acre $35 million estate last summer and have spent the last year on renovations.

Guests began arriving around 9 p.m. and were driven up the long driveway to a large fountain by a valet service. The party was both indoors and outdoors and staffed over 50 people, including world-renouned chef, Wolfgang Puck who catered the event. On the back lawn, cocktails and appetizers were served to guests as they lounged on white couches under heat lamps, the trees were adorned with white lights and an orchestra played music. The festivities ended around 1 a.m.”

I find it particularly interesting that Brooke Shields was there even though there has been such tension between her and Cruise in the past. It also seems as though Tom and Katie are back to doing what they do best - showing off how great they are and how much money they have. I know they earned it and blah, blah, blah but flaunting it seems unecessary. Who needs a 35 billion dollar home?