This Is It has been released, along with my tears

Someone tweeted about sitting next to a man on an airplane flight. The man was watching This Is It and bawling his eyes out. I know how he feels.

I have had an official (meaning non-bootleg, studio quality) copy of the mvie, but I have been eagerly awaiting the release of the discs with the extra footage. I carefully studied the differences between all the exclusive offers at the big box retailers and finally settled on the 2-disc version from WalMart. (I hate to support them, but lately they have been really promoting MJ.) After deliberating in the store for over 30 minutes, I bought the DVDs on Tuesday. I brought the package home...and just looked at it. I busied myself with family duties, laundry, cooking, cleaning, and chatting on line. I kept the boxed set right next to me and occasionally ran my fingers across the packaging, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to watch it. The furthest I got on Tuesday night was opening the plastic.

Wednesday came and went without me being able to watch the movie, though I did progress to putting the disc in the DVD player. I have a lot of anxiety about watching the extra footage. I already know I will cry while watching the Man In The Mirror segment as I have the last 20 or so times I have seen it. I always start to tear up when the song begins to play. By the time Michael crosses himself and spreads his arms in that freeze frame I have dissolved into rivers of saline. Given my reaction to the movie itself, I truly fear what will happen if I see any more footage of our beloved Michael literally hours before his passing. I just don't know. So you see, I empathize with that anonymous man on the plane. My soul still aches.

It's a no go for Joe

Michael Jackson's estate administrators John McClain and John Branca are attempting to block a bid by Michael's father Joe for a monthly allowance from his estate. Joseph Jackson seeks $15,000 in monthly support from Michael's estate for "montly maintenance and expenses." Michael left Joseph out of his will and trust entirely; Joe Jackson insists this was an oversight and/or mistake. Branca and McClain say Joseph's request will reduce the amount of money available to support Michael's three children who, along with Michael's mother Katherine, were the sole individual beneficiaries of the estate.

Jermaine says Michael was close to converting to Islam

In his first exclusive interview with an Arab channel, AlArabiya, on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, Jermaine Jackson claimed that his younger brother Michael Jackson was exploring Islam and was close to converting at the time of his death. According to Jermaine, Michael studied a great deal about the religion during his time in Bahrain and hired an all Muslim team upon his return to the States:

“After he got back from Bahrain, Michael hired a team that was all Muslim,” he told Al Arabiya. “His behavior at the time also showed that he was very close to converting...I believe that Islam would have helped him a lot. Had he converted, he would have been spared all the problems he had been subjected to throughout his life.”

The Sun reported Michael coverted to Islam in 2008, but this has been disproven by most credible sources. Jermaine said Michael avidly consumed books he gave him on Islam and told him he was happy Jermaine had found something to give him such strength and inner peace.

Since his passing, conversion reports have surfaced from a number of religious groups. There are Jehovah's Witnesses, including Firpo Carr, who insist Michael was an active Jehovah's Witness at the time of his passing when, in fact, he broke with the group in 1988. Conflicting stories circulate about his acceptance of Christ in the tradition of the Church of Christ under Andrae Crouch, while stories of his conversion to Islam persist. Considering the Mt. Everest of problems Michael faced and the confluence of people who constantly worked to exploit him and bring him down, I hardly think this conversion would have erased all the problems in his life. By all accounts, Michael had strong spiritual faith and a thirst for knowlege of many life philosophies.

Target is giving away 3-D glasses

Starting today (Sunday) Target Stores will be giving away free 3-D glasses for the special Michael Jackson tribute during the Grammy Awards this year. Be sure to pick up your pair so you can enjoy the segment as it was intended for the This Is It shows at London's O2 Arena. This Is It will be released on DVD and Blu Ray this Tuesday, January 26th.