Well, it wasn’t the nasty fight many thought it would be.  It also doesn’t appear to have been about money either.  Custody of Michael Jackson’s three children has been kept with Michael Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson.  Debbie Rowe, biological mother to two of the children, gets visitation rights with her two children.  Visitation will be under the supervision of a child psychologist.  According to TMZ, Deborah Rowe wants the psychologist to help the children adjust to her being in their lives on a meaningful basis.

With the recent death of Michael Jackson and the circumstances involving drugs that surround his death, Jamie Lee Curtis has recently revealed that she also became addicted to drugs at one point (though she doesn’t reveal exactly when).  She said it happened after a routine cosmetic surgery procedure while using morphine.   The television and movie actress, author, and inventor (yes, inventor) understands addiction.

We’ve all heard about it – the Pepsi commercial where Michael Jackson’s head caught on fire when an effect went off too early.  Still pictures had been released but I could never make out what was what in those.  U. S. Weekly now has the video.    In the video, you see MJ’s head catch and he’s unaware of it – still dancing – until many people practically tackle him to ensure it is out.

This morning was the funeral service for the King of Pop.  Right now as I type, guests and fans are at The Staple Center to pay tribute to Michael Jackson. 

Guests include John Mayer, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson, Brooke Shields, Usher, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson and Berry Gordy.  Performances by Mariah Carey and Jennifer Hudson are on schedule.   Michael Jackson’s casket will be there as well.  A live feed of the event can be found here.  Brooke Shields is tearfully speaking right now.

Controvery surrounds, as always.  There are those who feel tribute should not be made given the legal history of Michael Jackson.  There are those who pay tribute to the musical genius that he was with the understanding that he was never found guilty.  Watching the live feed brings tears to my eyes remembering the hours of enjoyment his music brought me as a teenager and the struggles that became his life.  It’s all very sad.

This post is found on http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/07/michael-jackson-4.html
By – Cara Mia DiMassa

Organizers of Michael Jackson’s memorial service at Staples Center said today they will give away 17,500 tickets to the event and will randomly draw names from those who sign up online to determine who gets to attend.

The service will be live-streamed on television and on the Internet, and there will be no funeral procession, organizers said at a news conference this morning at Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Organizers will draw 8,750 names, and those people will receive two tickets each and wristbands on Monday. A total of 11,000 tickets will be for seats at Staples Center and 6,500 for seats at Nokia Theatre, where the live feed will be broadcast.

People can register for the drawing at Staplescenter.com.

No tickets will be sold to the event, organizers said.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry said fans would be better off staying home and watching the event on television.

“I want to stress to people who are thinking about coming, you might want to consider watching this from the comfort of your home,” she said at the news conference.

No details were released on the content of the memorial service, but Jackson’s brother Jermaine Jackson told CNN that it would include tributes from celebrities in the music industry.

Those whose names are drawn will be notified between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Sunday and given the location where they should pick up their tickets Monday.

“There will be no distribution of tickets at Staples Center and L.A. Live,” said Tim Leiweke, president and chief executive officer of AEG, the company that owns and operates Staples Center and was producing Jackson’s comeback concerts.

Los Angeles Police Department Asst. Chief Earl Paysinger said, “You must have a ticket to be admitted to the venue. There’s no way to get to this venue if you don’t have a ticket.”

Officials said the services will not be shown on any of the large screens at L.A. Live, the entertainment complex that houses Staples Center and the Nokia Theatre.

Paysinger said those without proper security identification or tickets will not be allowed within the following boundaries during the event: Flower Street to the east, Olympic Boulevard on the north, Pico Boulevard to the south and Blaine Street to the west, which is one street west of the Harbor Freeway.

Ken Sunshine, a spokesman for the Jackson family, and Leiweke emphasized that they do not want anyone to try to scalp tickets.

“Those who would take advantage of this, shame on them,” Leiweke said.

– Cara Mia DiMassa

Photo: A note taped to a lectern details the plans for distributing tickets to fans for Michael Jackson’s public memorial. Credit: Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times