"Most Successful Performer of all Time" dies in LA at 50

Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, creator of the stunning moon walk, and the first black man to ever die white was found collapsed in his home in Los Angeles from Cardiac Arrest on Thursday, June 25th, 2009. The entire musical world, which has worshipped him like a God for his revolutionary pop music and remarkable performance ability, are in a state of shock. Michael Jackson lived his life as an entertainer dedicated to the people, and entertained he did. Despite the recent ups and downs (mostly downs) of his career in the last few years and his highly controversial procedure to transform himself from the cute kid from the Jackson 5 into the-disturbing-white-man-with-the-nose, nobody can deny the awesome talent and his contributions to the musical world.

Winner of 13 Grammys, seller of more than 750 million albums, and holder of many, many millions of dollars ($350 at last check from Forbes), people all across the globe today stopped in stunned silence at the news. His early death is a shock to many, but the pop star lifestyle is a very harsh way of life, especially with the magnitude of negative publicity he has received. Outside the UCLA medical center where the 'king' died, fans and passer-bys stopped to insure the news was true, several crying and many more chatting on cell phones. Others are gathering at city centers such as Times Square to remorse for their lost star, often playing such songs as "Thriller" in his memory.

No matter how much you loved or hated Mr. Jackson, I believe we all owe him a moment. For a passing of such a magnitude cannot be remembered since that of John Lennon and Elvis Presley. I, for one, am sorry for all the mistreatment that Mr. Jackson has received. Including accusations of being a Pedophile, propositions of insanity, and many other insults portrayed everywhere from schoolyard chats to blockbuster films.

Goodbye, Michael Jackson, I can insure that you will be remembered as long as Pop continues to propel this nation, and much longer afterwards.

P.S.- Oh yeah, in other news Actress...Farrah Fawcett also died today (who's that?) and another Middle East country wants to nuke the U.S. LoneJester

Reasons why we all love Star Wars

After recently watching the complete Star Wars saga from start to finish, I've come to realize the great many flaws that the Star Wars movie's suffer from. But yet, they still remain an endeared classic to the movie loving world, and have a special spot in my own collection. Effecting me as only such a great saga can, much like the great Lord of the Rings trilogy, I give you the reasons why we love Star Wars:

1. Harrison Ford as Han Solo in a role that you cannot help but idolize and admire as he smooth talks his way around with unfailing rudeness.

2. The outstanding score which captures the emotions near perfection.

3. Hayden Christansen as the hate-filled Anakin Skywalker, who practically oozes with arrogance, cockiness, and raw power.

4. Obi-Wan Kenobi throughout the series, as the protector and fighter for good, especially when played by Ewan McGregor.

5. The seemingly infinite universe of limitless adventures, creatures, and cultures.

6. The feisty R2-D2 and the naive and always panicky human relations robot, C3P0.

7. The fight scenes, little can measure up to the fierce light saber battles with characters such as Darth Maul, Yoda, Count Dooku, and of course Anakin and Obi-Wan.

8. The classical conflict of good and evil, which will never fail as the perfect theme for any movie.

9. The scale through time as we have watched Star Wars through out our lives and been able to experience it over and over. A different experience each time as we come to understand more as we as people change.

10. And lastly, one of the best parts of being able to watch the series, is the ability to connect pieces of the old trilogy with the new one. As they fill in the mysteries and allow us to watch the unknowing characters whose past and futures are unknown to all except us.

Of course there are plenty other of reasons why Star Wars is a fan favorite. I'm sure every viewer has a unique reason why he/she loves it (or in some cases, hates it) and a unique way in which they can connect it to their own lives. One thing is for sure, Star Wars is a gem in the history of cinema.

Should you see Transformers: Rise of the Fallen this weekend?

"Is it fear or courage that compels you, fleshling?" Megatron in Transformers (2007)

Weighing in at an impressive $200 million budget, with the dazzling new sensation Megan Fox and the young talent of Shia LeBeouf, Transformers 2 seems like a movie that even the most remote hermit should know all about. Yet they don't, and why not? Maybe it's because the plot revolves around a teenage kid fighting along side clunky transforming robots (like the action figures you used to play with in the tub, only lots more CGI) to save the world against other bad clunky robots all from the planet Cybertron. Meanwhile, all us other 'fleshlings' just stand by and hope that our fighter (Optimus Prime and company) comes out on top. I wonder if North Korea would share that opinion?
The truth about this Transformers movie is that it's 147 painful minutes of thoughtless special effects action. Director Michael Bay and producer Steven Spielberg comes to the table with very little plot, themes, complex sentences, and characterization to speak of. But for the targeted audience, teens and tweens, that's alright. So if you're ready for some reckless violence, rather good reckless violence I might add, then go check out Transformers this weekend. Hell, I'd even go during your regular Sunday nap time, and just take one somewhere in the boundless middle of the movie. But Roger Ebert and I are going to skip past this one, as Optimus Prime said, "We are here, We are (still) waiting."

Establishing your plot on the new Frontier: 'The Internet'

While we all use the internet to some degree, many only experience the outer ring of possibilities that can be obtained through 'internet mastery' (remind me to copyright that one). There are literally countless ways to immerse yourself for infinite lifetimes on the web with only a basic understanding of the ever complex universe of internet space (Wish Einstein could see this!). Enough mindless chit chat, let's begin feasting on knowledge:

1. Blogger.com (Optional Skip)- Starting off easy, Blogger.com is a wonderfully splendid way to express yourself painlessly with pre-made templates and computer retarded friendly procedures. A great place for beginning web travelers...and possible highly advanced internet gurus (you never know).

2. Google sites- A step ahead of blogger.com in terms of possibility, google provides a similar system of easy-to-use sites while placing the awing possibility of a personal website for free. The catch is you have to pledge that you will never use any other search engine that google, believe me, it's in the 'terms & conditions'. Using google sites places you a step closer to getting ranked on search engines, such as 'google' being how you're building a site through them. It works kind of like that time when you only ate at that vegan restaurant because you wanted to get noticed by the hot waiter/waitress.

3. Squidoo!- I had to add an exclamation mark after Squidoo because you can't help but exclaiming it! Whatever that means! Squidoo is likewise a free, sensing a pattern here, site where you can create "lenses" on just about anything from what kind of dog food you like (by 'you' I hopefully mean your dog) to where you can get your dog cremated in the Manhattan area. A "lense" in Squidoo's case is a website covering a topic of your choosing. Once created, your site can be found through searches on the Squidoo website or on the king Google's own search results is you are deemed worthy.

4. Myspace/Facebook- Here we go again, I'm sure everybody and there ferrets heard of these two bad boys. But they seem hard to ignore being there enormous followings/communities they have to show for. So if you're a teenage brat or a lonely housewife, here's a good way to meet the man of your dreams, at least until he wants to meet you for real. (See 'False Identities')

5. Digg- Described by the ever beautiful Wikipedia (See numero 6) as a social news website. Digg is the gossip queen of the internet. Dissecting every insignificant and trivial detail to the fullest, Digg is the place where you can tell all your buds what you are looking at and what you are thinking. Dude, can you digg it?

6. Wikipedia- A blessing for computer's everywhere, Wikipedia is an internet icon, a founding father on online information if you will. The encyclopedia that can inform you on anything (and in any language) comes to us from the public. Yes, that scares many people away, but for the casual creature wikipedia is a brilliant way to learn the quick facts fast.

7. GoDaddy.com- I'm specifically mentioning GoDaddy.com not because it's the only place to buy web domains and get web hosting services, but because it is possibly the most widely known to the average joe world. Plus they have "entertaining" commercials in every super bowl broadcast. Anyway, sites like GoDaddy allow anybody with a credit card to easily buy that plot of intangible space to build anything you want. From your very own movie review website to a website about your favorite hobby, you can create it with your very own .com with the help of these web hosting services for as little as a couple dollars a month and a little(lotta) time.

8. Youtube- Not to be forgotten, the infamous youtube provides the ways for any kid with a camcorder to blast there way into fame. Post your own original short comic skit or your favorite band in concert and sit there as the views pile up. Do you have what it takes to be the next Tila Tequilla? Let's hope not.

That seems to cover the most mainstream of internet sites. To many this is probably a review, but oh well. You made it to the end, so now turn on that pile of mush and go do something creative for the world to see. LJ

Welcome to Jester's Court

Welcome,
Thanks to this new technology, I am able to find a more convient way of talking to none other than myself. This doesn't particulary bother me, for I am often very successful at keeping myself entertained.
Anyway, enough about me, let's talk about Jester's court. A place of fun, games, and perhaps the occassional lesson/reflection on that one thing we all share in common, "life". This is a team effort, and I grant all court members as equals. Except I'm the executive, because I'm the founder, sorry...
Life's often a horrible mixture of emotions, wonder, and harsh reality. Here, I hope to make a safehaven for all who wish to tone down that reality and supplement that little thing called
"wonder". Get high on pure imagination, and your whole world may soon be doing backflips. I know mine is. Thanks, LoneJester