I LOVE MUSIC, MOVIES, TV AND DANCING!!

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Comment by Edmund Stevens on June 25, 2010 at 4:12am

Hey Phoebe and Wayne,
Thanks for the Michael Jackson postings, I will be listening to the Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5 music and the articles are great, as well as the MJ photos!
Peace, Ed

Comment by Wayne Ware c/o '75 (WebMaster) on June 25, 2010 at 3:16am

Remembering Michael Jackson 1 Year Later: Listen To 61 Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5 Great Songs!!

We all remember when legendary Michael Jackson passed away last June 25th (one year ago today) the world was stunned. And when I say the world, I mean the world.

So, let's Remember & Celebrate Michael’s life by listening to 61 of his & The Jackson 5 great songs On Big Ten 75.com Old Skool Music Station!!!!!!

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Comment by Phoebe Macon on June 25, 2010 at 2:29am

Big Year For Michael Jackson's Legacy







It sounds strange to say this, but Michael Jackson is coming off one of the biggest years of his career. Jackson has sold more than 9 million albums and nearly 13 million digital tracks in the U.S. in the year since his death. He was hotter than he'd been at any time since his glory days in the ‘80s. He even achieved a career goal that had eluded him in his lifetime--a hit movie. .



I think what happened in the past year is that people focused on Jackson's music for the first time in many years, and remembered how much they liked it. Sadly, it took Jackson's death for people to look past all the controversies--large and small, troubling and trivial--that turned a lot of people off..



In the year since he died, Jackson has sold 9,023,000 albums in the U.S. This has enabled him to vault from #47 on Nielsen/SoundScan's running list of the top 200 album sellers in its history (which dates to 1991) to #18 this week. That's a tremendous one-year gain..



Jackson's posthumous sales are among the most impressive in the history of the music business. Nielsen/SoundScan didn't exist when Elvis Presley died in 1977 or when John Lennon was killed in 1980, so precise comparisons aren't possible, but the Billboard charts shed some light on the matter..



With his smash compilation Number Ones, Jackson became only the 13th artist to have the best-selling album in the U.S. posthumously. And with the subsequent soundtrack to Michael Jackson's This Is It, he became one of only five artists to have the best-selling album in the U.S. with two albums after his death. Bandleader Glenn Miller and rappers 2Pac and The Notorious B.I.G. each had three posthumous #1 albums. Nirvana, featuring the late Kurt Cobain, had two..



Eight other artists had one posthumous #1 album: Presley and Lennon are joined on this list by Janis Joplin, Jim Croce, Selena, Aaliyah, Johnny Cash and Ray Charles..



Jackson long wanted to be a movie star, a sort of modern-day Fred Astaire. In death, he got at least part of his wish: a #1 box-office hit. Michael Jackson's This Is It topped the box-office in its opening weekend at the end of October with a domestic gross of more than $23 million..



The soundtrack album entered The Billboard 200 at #1 that same week, with first-week sales of 373,000. (It was eligible for that chart because it was a new compilation.).



That made Jackson only the sixth music star since the early ‘80s to star in a movie that came in #1 at the box-office and also spawned a #1 soundtrack (on which the star was featured). He followed Prince (1984's Purple Rain); Whitney Houston (1995's Waiting To Exhale); Will Smith (1997's Men In Black); Eminem (2002's 8 Mile); and Miley Cyrus (2009's Hannah Montana: The Movie)..



Michael Jackson's This Is It grossed more than $72 million in the U.S., which made it the top-grossing music concert film in history. (The old record was held by Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus' 2008 movie Best Of Both Worlds Concert Tour, which grossed more than $65 million.) The movie grossed an additional $180 million in foreign markets for a combined worldwide gross of $252 million. It was also a hit on DVD, with U.S. DVD sales estimated at $43 million..



Beyond the box-office success, the movie helped Jackson's image because it showed him in action and in charge. And we haven't seen that side of him since his heyday. Since Bad came out in 1987, he was usually on the defensive, facing slipping sales, image problems, criminal charges, and all the rest. His life spun out of control. Here, he was seen as being in control again..



In the weeks following his death on June 25, Jackson toppled records that had stood for decades. In the week after he died, he had the three best-selling albums in the U.S.: Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson, and Thriller. Since 1963, when Billboard combined its separate stereo and mono charts into one comprehensive listing, no other act had accomplished that feat. (The Beatles came closest, nailing down three of the top four spots in May 1964.).



For two weeks in July, Jackson had six of the 10 best-selling albums in the U.S. This broke a record that had stood since April 1966, when Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass had four of the top 10..



As I noted last summer, this has a strong sense of déjà vu for me. I wrote a column for Billboard in 1983 and 1984, when Jackson was setting new records virtually every week. I never imagined that it would all happen again, and certainly not under these sad circumstances..



In the week after he died, Jackson became the first artist to sell more than 1 million digital tracks in one week. (He sold 2.6 million, obliterating the old record.) Combining solo hits with songs he recorded with his brothers, he had a staggering 49 of the top 200 titles on the Hot Digital Songs chart that week. He held down six of the top 10 spots..



In each of the first seven weeks after he died, Jackson had three of the five best-selling albums in the U.S.: His biggest seller throughout this period was Number Ones. The hit-studded collection sold more copies in the first 16 weeks after Jackson's death than it had in the five and half years between its release in November 2003 and his death. At its peak in July, Number Ones sold 349,000 copies in one week. That constituted the biggest one-week sales tally for a non-holiday catalog album in Nielsen/SoundScan history..



Number Ones logged six weeks as the best-selling album in the U.S. That was the longest that an artist who had died had the nation's top-seller since 1980-1981, when Double Fantasy, by John Lennon and his widow, Yoko Ono, topped The Billboard 200 for eight weeks. It was the longest that a greatest hits set was the best-selling album in the U.S. since 2000-2001, when the Beatles' 1 held the top spot for eight weeks. It was the longest that Jackson had the top-seller since 1987, when Bad held the top spot for six weeks..



Jackson's phenomenal posthumous success forced Billboard to change its long-time policy of excluding catalog albums from The Billboard 200. Beginning with the chart for the issue dated Dec. 5, 2009, catalog albums were able to compete alongside current product on the magazine's flagship chart. The move came too late for Jackson's albums to take their rightful places in the top 10, but it was welcome development nonetheless..



When Nielsen/SoundScan released its final sales tallies for 2009, Jackson had four of the year's top 20 albums: Number Ones at #3, Michael Jackson's This Is It at #12, Thriller at #14 and The Essential Michael Jackson at #20. This constituted a record for the SoundScan era. The old record was held by Garth Brooks, who had three of the top 20 albums of 1992. (In Brooks's case, however, all three made the year-end top 10.).



By coming in at #3 for the year, Number Ones ranked higher on Nielsen/SoundScan's year-end chart than any album ever had following the artist's death. 2Pac's All Eyez On Me was the #6 album of 1996. The Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death was the #6 album of 1997..



Number Ones sold 2,355,000 copies in the U.S. in 2009. It sold all but 117,000 of those copies after Jackson's death..



Jackson had seven of Nielsen/SoundScan's top 100 albums of 2009. In addition to his four albums that made the year-end top 20, Off The Wall was #66, Bad was #68 and Dangerous was #98..



Jackson had nine of the top 200 digital songs of 2009. His biggest hit was "Thriller," which sold 1,096,000 copies during the calendar year. His other top-selling songs for the year were, in descending order: "Billie Jean" (938,000), "Man In The Mirror" (890,000), "Beat It" (830,000), "The Way You Make Me Feel" (671,000), "Don't Stop ‘Til You Get Enough" (611,000), "Smooth Criminal" (605,000), "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (557,000), and "Black Or White" (511,000)..



Since the digital era began, the song "Thriller" has sold 2,362,000 digital copies. Only one song from the ‘80s has outsold it. That's Journey's ubiquitous 1981 smash "Don't Stop Believin'," which has sold 3,819,000 copies. But Jackson tops the arena rock band in one respect: He has a second song on Nielsen/SoundScan's running list of the 200 best-selling digital songs in its history. "Billie Jean" has sold 1,898,000 copies in the digital era..



Thriller is closing in on Dangerous as Jackson's best-selling album of the Nielsen/SoundScan era. Thriller has sold 5,816,000 copies since 1991. Dangerous has sold 6,363,000 (combining two editions of the album). This is remarkable because Thriller was released more than eight years before the start of the Nielsen/SoundScan era. By contrast, all Dangerous sales are contained in the SoundScan era..



Jackson topped charts all over the world after his death. Number Ones and The Essential Michael Jackson both reached #1 in the U.K. The latter album topped the U.K. chart for seven weeks, which was the longest run for an American artist since Justin Timberlake's Justified stayed on top for seven weeks in 2003..



Jackson also had a pair of #1 albums in Japan: King Of Pop (Japan Edition) and Michael Jackson's This Is It.

Comment by Phoebe Macon on June 25, 2010 at 1:34am

THE PHOTOS LISTED BELOW ARE TO CELEBRATE THE KING OF POP: MICHAEL JACKSON!! TODAY IS THE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF MICHAEL'S DEATH. R.I.P. MICHAEL WE LOVE YOU AND YOUR LEGACY OF MUSIC WILL LIVE ON FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS!!

Comment by Phoebe Macon on June 22, 2010 at 11:39pm

Cleveland's 'Etch A Sketch King' Uses Unusual Canvas For Works Of Art

George Vlosich III holds an Etch a Sketch drawing he made of various Cleveland landmarks. He wears a graphic T-shirt designed by the art company he owns with his brother, Greg.… Read more »




Once upon a time, before portable DVD players and the Nintendo DS, a 10-year-old boy was handed an Etch A Sketch to keep himself busy on a five-and-a-half-hour road trip from Cleveland to Washington, D.C.

Not satisfied with sketching geometric shapes or stick figures, he made a picture of the U.S. Capitol Building.

Long after that trip, George Vlosich III is still producing highly intricate images on the Etch A Sketch. His detailed creations keep coming with each turn of the silver knobs. The red plastic box has become a vibrant frame for the artist's breathtaking creations. Young Vlosich stumbled upon a unique means of artistic expression that would one day land him on "Oprah" and have him sketching everyone from LeBron James to President Obama.

Early years

After realizing his Etch A Sketch talents, Vlosich entered monthly contests sponsored by the Ohio manufacturer of the toy.He usually won.

Slightly suspicious, Ohio Art sent a representative to Vlosich's Cleveland home to see if he was really the artist making all of these creations. When the company saw that he was legit, Ohio Art started to send Vlosich an Etch A Sketch toy every month so he could work on new creations.

The company also put some of his most detailed and impressive etches on a country-wide museum tour.

The son of an artist, Vlosich recalls watching Saturday-morning cartoons with his father and recreating on the Etch A Sketch the figures he saw on TV. From there, he moved on to sports figures. He fondly remembers making a sketch of Lawrence Taylor, former football player for the New York Giants and now a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"The Giants were at (the) Browns training camp, and I got to meet Lawrence Taylor and show him the sketch," Vlosich says. He also sketched baseball players such as Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles, and got to meet them as well.

Child at heart

Many children outgrow a toy as their interests change, but Vlosich never abandoned the Etch A Sketch.

Instead, he perfected his drawings, spending "hundreds of thousands of hours," in his estimation, turning knobs to just the right degree to create shadow effects that heightened the lifelike qualities of his work.

These days, Vlosich is a painter, a graphic designer and an art director for Wyse Advertising, a Cleveland-based agency. He and his brother, Greg, an artist in his own right, have created a line of graphic apparel celebrating their hometown. The "Cleve Land That I Love" T-shirt has been a big seller, according to Vlosich.

"We're very pro-Cleveland, and we want to support the community, says Vlosich, 31, who is a graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Art.

The king

The Etch A Sketch is still a big part of his life.

Dubbed the "Etch A Sketch King" for his detailed creations, Vlosich appeared on "Oprah" last February, showing the queen of daytime TV his own royal abilities. Currently, his work can be seen at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis, which is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Etch A Sketch through August 1.

As fun as using the Etch A Sketch is for Vlosich, he doesn't take on every project tossed his way. That's because over the years he has developed an involved system that he follows every time he picks up the toy.

First, Vlosich shakes a new Etch A Sketch to make sure it will produce the crisp lines he needs. If an Etch A Sketch doesn't pass the shake test, he doesn't use it.

Rather than just start with turning the knobs to begin a new creation, Vlosich initially draws an image in his sketchbook. Only when he is comfortable that the image will reproduce well on the Etch A Sketch does Vlosich get to work.

He spends about 70-80 hours on one sketch. That's because any time he doesn't quite get a line right or doesn't think an image looks like the original, he starts over. After doing the line work first, Vlosich moves on to shading, which he says is the easiest but also the most time-consuming part of a project. A single line might be traced over 20 to 30 times to give it the right thickness.

When he's finally finished, Vlosich makes his sketch permanent by removing the aluminum powder and stylus from inside the Etch A Sketch. Once those are out, the sketch on the screen cannot be erased. Vlosich says he has shipped completed Etch A Sketches across the country and the images have always remained intact.

So many places

In January of 2009, Vlosich returned to Washington, D.C., this time to see his Etch A Sketch image of Barack Obama stand beside more traditional portraits of the newly sworn-in president.

"The Etch A Sketch has taken me so many places I never thought I'd be," says Vlosich, who is working on a piece celebrating several cities around the country. He hopes to do some charity pieces in the near future, including one that would thank the U.S. military for its service.

The Etch A Sketch may be considered a toy, but when it gets in the hands of Vlosich, it becomes anything but child's play.

Comment by Phoebe Macon on June 18, 2010 at 12:57am

'Toy Story 3': Movie Review Roundup
by Michael Krumboltz.June 17, 2010

Nothing's a sure thing, except death, taxes, and maybe Pixar.

For 15 years, Pixar has been turning out critically acclaimed films, without a stinker to speak of. This weekend, the studio that brought audiences "The Incredibles," "Finding Nemo," and "Up" takes the wrapping off the highly anticipated "Toy Story 3." How does the series' third film's darker tone sit with the critics? Let's take a look.

Toy Story 3

The critics are nearly unanimous in their praise of the animation, the story, the voice work, and the new characters (The Hollywood Reporter calls Michael Keaton's performance as the preening Ken "terrific"). The one angle that may cause some minor controversy (and perhaps a few nightmares among the youngest moviegoers) is the film's darker tone. No spoilers, but we can say that there are some very tense scenes, more akin to an action film than a G-rated romp.

But, hey, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Ty Burr of The Boston Globe writes that the toy characters are "forced to contemplate an annihilation that is total and complete." That, he writes, "is heady stuff for a kiddie flick." Still, Burr is positive, noting: "The tale needs to go that far into the dark to come back into the light... the twists of the climactic scenes and the emotions they conjure up carry a weight that feels deeply and powerfully earned."

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gives the movie an "A," writing that the film is "the studio's greatest achievement since 'The Incredibles,' and -- just maybe -- since the original 'Toy Story.'" Parts of the movie, he writes, have "the poignancy of a Tennessee Williams play."

USA Today's Claudia Puig gives "Toy Story 3" four out of four stars. While "the movie segues into a prison escape thriller with apocalyptic undertones, the suspense [is] always leavened with laughs." Calling the movie a "masterpiece," Ms. Puig also writes, "the tale touches the heart as no movie in recent memory has done."

But the praise doesn't stop there. A.O. Scott of The New York Times applauds the movie's "subtle use of 3-D" and calls it "as sweet, as touching, as humane a movie as you are likely to see this summer." Some scenes, he writes, may be frightening to small children. But that seems like a small quibble. According to Scott, on the whole, it provides "sheer moviegoing satisfaction" and is "wondrously generous and inventive."

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times was a bit less impressed, but still gives the movie three out of four stars, calling it a "jolly, slapstick comedy." Like other critics, Mr. Ebert did notice the level of danger the toys face. He writes that "even an Indiana Jones toy would have trouble surviving" what Woody and Buzz go through. At one point, the heroic toys go up against "Big Baby," a character The Hollywood Reporter's Michael Rechtshaffen calls "truly disturbing."

Online critic James Berardinelli starts off his review with a phrase we've all seen before and will, most likely see the next time the charmed studio releases a movie: "Pixar has done it again," he writes. One of his criticisms is with the film's use of 3D. "In the case of 'Toy Story 3,'" he writes, "3-D adds nothing except a box office surcharge."

Comment by Phoebe Macon on June 17, 2010 at 10:57pm

MICHAEL JACKSON NEWS

Billboard:( 'Say Say Say') Most Popular Michael Jackson "THE KING OF POP" Song
AP, Jun 17, 2010 3:24 pm PDT

Michael Jackson had dozens of hits, but his most popular one wasn't a solo smash or a tune with his brothers. It was a song with another icon.
Billboard says "Say Say Say," his 1983 hit with Paul McCartney, is the most popular Jackson song. That was followed by "Billie Jean," the Jackson 5's "I'll Be There," "Beat It" and "Rock with You.".

"Billie Jean" was at No. 1 for seven weeks, while "Say Say Say" held the top spot for six weeks. But the McCartney-Jackson hit stayed in the top 10 longer..

Billboard is releasing Jackson statistics ahead of the anniversary of the King of Pop's death. He died June 25, 2009, at age 50.

Comment by Phoebe Macon on June 16, 2010 at 7:54pm

'The Smurfs' Get Real in Their First Movie

by Matt McDaniel · June 16, 2010


They've been around for over 50 years, but for the first time they're coming to our world. The Smurfs, the little blue people from comics and TV, are getting three-dimensional in a live-action/computer-animated feature film. Watch the exclusive teaser trailer, introduced by star Neil Patrick Harris, for a first look at the new digital Smurfs, then keep reading to find out how they end up in modern-day New York City.

In the original comic strips by Peyo, and later on the animated TV show, the Smurfs lived in a European setting during the Middle Ages. The movie begins in the same era, but the Smurfs' arch-enemy Gargamel (played by Hank Azaria) invades their village and sends them running. According to director Raja Gosnell ("Scooby-Doo"), some of the Smurfs stumble into a secret part of the forest where "there's a magical portal that transports them to Central Park."

Lost in Manhattan, the Smurfs -- Papa, Clumsy, Grouchy, Brainy, Gutsy, and Smurfette -- find a couple of human friends (Harris and "Glee" star Jayma Mays) who take them in. They look for a way home, but Gargamel also crosses into our world to track them down.

From the teaser trailer, it's apparent that the look of the computer-generated Smurfs is very faithful to the originals. They're blue-skinned, though with a textured, fuzzy-looking skin tone the cartoons couldn't capture. And of course they have their signature floppy hats (with Papa Smurf in red). He's not shown in the trailer, but photos of Azaria in costume as Gargamel have surfaced, and he also looks the part. He's bald, with prosthetic ears and a nose, and he's wearing a black robe and red shoes exactly like the animated version.

In addition to the human actors -- Sofia Vergara from "Modern Family" also plays a role -- the Smurfs are voiced by a wide range of comedic talents. Legendary standup Jonathan Winters plays Papa Smurf, George Lopez is Grouchy, "SNL's" Fred Armisen is Brainy, and Paul Reubens (aka Pee Wee Herman) voices Jokey Smurf. Plus, pop superstar Katy Perry makes her movie debut as the voice of Smurfette.

"The Smurfs" will be smurfing their way onto the big screen on August 3, 2011.

Comment by Phoebe Macon on June 14, 2010 at 4:42am

LOS ANGELES - "The Karate Kid" has won a 1980s showdown at the box office against "The A-Team."


Sony's remake of 1984's "The Karate Kid" debuted at No. 1 for the weekend with a whopping $56 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The big-screen adaptation of the 1980s TV series "The A-Team" came in at less than half that, the 20th Century Fox release opening in second place with $26 million.


After three weekends at No. 1, DreamWorks Animation's "Shrek Forever After" slipped to No. 3 with $15.8 million. The animated hit raised its domestic haul to $210.1 million, becoming the fourth movie released this year to top $200 million.


With a relatively modest production budget of $40 million, "The Karate Kid" far exceeded the studio's expectations. Early on, Sony executives would have been happy if the movie opened to half its $56 million debut weekend, said Rory Bruer, the studio's head of distribution.


Those expectations began to rise once the studio realized it had a crowd-pleaser on its hands, Bruer said.


"It's just an unmitigated grand slam hit," said Bruer, who also worked on distribution for the 1984 version. "I loved the original `Karate Kid,' but they took this beloved title, and they made it relevant, fresh and absolutely exciting."


The big opening for "The Karate Kid" gave Hollywood a boost after a weak start to the summer season. "Iron Man 2" opened big the first weekend in May, but the box office has lagged since then.


According to box-office tracker Hollywood.com, overall revenues came in at $153 million, up 11 percent from the same weekend last year, when "The Hangover" led with $32.8 million.


"The Karate Kid" stars Jaden Smith as an American boy who moves with his mom to China, where he takes on a bully under the guidance of an unassuming martial-arts master (Jackie Chan).


With his first lead role, 11-year-old Smith had an opening weekend that stacked up well against the track record of his superstar father, Will Smith, who has had only two debuts bigger than "The Karate Kid" ("I Am Legend" at $77.2 million and "Hancock" at $62.6 million). Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith are producers on "The Karate Kid."


"It's like, `Who's the biggest star now, dad?'" said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "It proves the box-office apple doesn't fall far from the money tree in that household."


"The A-Team" features Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper and Jessica Biel in a tale of former Army Rangers trying to clear their names after they are framed for a crime they did not commit.


Chris Aronson, head of distribution for 20th Century Fox, said the momentum of a strong weekend should benefit "The A-Team," which received high marks in exit polls from the under-25 crowd.


"It's good that the industry finally has an up weekend, so it's nice to be a part of that," Aronson said. "We're very optimistic that we're now in an upswing in the business and that we're going to play and play as our word of mouth spreads."


Hollywood looks to build on its momentum next weekend as Pixar Animation goes back to its roots with "Toy Story 3," the latest sequel to the 1995 hit that was the first feature-length computer-animated film.


In limited release, IFC Films' documentary "Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work" opened strongly with $171,500 in seven theaters, for an average of $24,500 per cinema. That compared to a $15,288 average in 3,663 theaters for "The Karate Kid."


Also debuting well in limited release was Roadside Attractions' drama "Winter's Bone," which took in $87,000 in four theaters for a $21,750 average. The top dramatic prize winner at January's Sundance Film Festival, "Winter's Bone" stars Jennifer Lawrence as a teenager desperately searching for her missing father in the backwoods crime culture of the Ozark Mountains.


Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.


1. "THE KARATE KID," $56 MILLION.*****(#1 Movie over the weekend)!!

2. "The A-Team," $26 million.

3. "Shrek Forever After," $15.8 million.

4. "Get Him to the Greek," $10.1 million.

5. "Killers," $8.2 million.

6. "Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time," $6.6 million.

7. "Marmaduke," $6 million.

8. "Sex and the City 2," $5.5 million.

9. "Iron Man 2," $4.6 million.

10. "Splice," $2.9 million.

Comment by Tawnette Fulton- Gilbert on June 12, 2010 at 4:05pm

Phoebe,
Thank You for The Cartoon Article!! It was Great and I enjoyed it!!!

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