How to use this Page

We look back at the making of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" music video on its 25th anniversary.

The post An Oral History of Morphing in Michael Jackson’s ‘Black or White’ appeared first on Cartoon Brew.

Add a Comment

Are you aware of the Cozy Classics board book series? How about the felted board book versions of the original Star Wars movies? The other night I had dinner with Cozy Classics creator Holman Wang and we talked about his process. Turns out, the felted characters are needle felted entirely. A lawyer by trade, Holman learned how to felt through YouTube videos. Now what goes around comes around as you watch this oddly soothing time lapse YouTube video of his process. It’s an old video (as the dates at the end attest) but that doesn’t make it any less neat.

And as for the aforementioned Star Wars books, here’s Holman himself talking about his various techniques:

Also at that dinner, someone in attendance mentioned that Larry Wilmore on The Nightly Show had covered A Birthday Cake for George Washington. Come again? Yes, you truly know that a book has left our little orbit when it ends up a discussion topic on a Comedy Central evening show. I wouldn’t exactly call this one workplace appropriate, but I would call it funny. Nice too that while he talks about the book he does not speculate about the creators.

Book trailer time. N.D. Wilson has always created the best book trailers. Remember the one he did for Ashtown Burials? Or Boys of Blur?  Well, the latest premiered on Entertainment Weekly very recently:

Thanks to Aaron Zenz for the link.

So I ask James Kennedy the other day to name his favorite 90-Second Newbery Film Festival co-hosts.  And he rattles off a bunch of names but one that he was particularly impressed by?  Nikki Loftin, author of Nightingale’s Nest.  Don’t believe me?  Then check out this killer opening Nikki and James did together.  That woman has pipes!

Of course, I already had insider knowledge to Nikki’s singing prowess.  Two years ago she created a video for Jules Danielson and myself and . . . well, if you just can’t get through your day without seeing a children’s author belting out classic Rogers & Hammerstein on a roof, then are YOU in luck!

And finally, for our off-topic-but-not-really video, I bring you information from beyond the grave.  We all know Michael Jackson, and many of us know Bob Fosse.  Now see how eerie it is when you put one on top of another.  If The Little Prince movie did nothing else, it gave us this:

 

Display Comments Add a Comment

Celebrate the end of Black Music Month with this timeline highlighting over 100 years of music created and produced by influential African-Americans. Kenny Gamble, Ed Wright, and Dyana Williams developed the idea for Black Music Month back in 1979 as a way to annually show appreciate for black music icons. After lobbying, President Jimmy Carter hosted a reception to formally recognize the month.

The post 100 years of black music appeared first on OUPblog.

Add a Comment

Author J. Randy Taraborrelli has landed a deal to write a biography about Beyoncé Knowles. This project will be the the first comprehensive biographical profile on the Grammy Award-winning singer (pictured, via).

Grand Central Publishing, a division of the Hachette Book Group, will publish the not-yet-titled book in Fall 2015. President Jamie Raab negotiated the terms of the agreement with literary agent Mitch Douglas.

According to the press release, Taraborrelli conducted exclusive interviews with people who share important personal and professional relationships with the diva. In the past, he has written biographies on music icons including Michael Jackson, Diana Ross, and Madonna.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Add a Comment

By Arturo Hernandez

That any person could become an expert in something if they simply spend about 3 hours per day for ten years learning it is an appealing concept. This idea, first championed by Ericsson and brought to prominence by Gladwell, has now taken root in the popular media. It attempts to discuss these differences in terms of the environment. The idea is that practice with the purpose of constantly gathering feedback and improving can lead any person to become an expert. If becoming an expert requires 10,000 hours, does a prodigy need 20,000.

Lets consider, Michael Jackson, as an example of a prodigy. He grew up in a musical family in Gary, Indiana just outside Chicago. His father Joe played in an R&B band. All of his siblings played music in one way or another. Unlike his siblings and father, Jackson did not really play any instruments. However, he would compose songs in his head using his voice. One morning he came in and had written a song which eventually became ‘Beat It’. In the studio, he would sing each of the different parts including the various instruments. Then the producers and artists in the studio would work on putting the song together, following his arrangements.

Work in cognitive neuroscience has begun to shed light on the brain systems involved in creativity as being linked to psychometric IQ. Work by Neubauer and Fink suggests that these two different types of abilities, psychometric IQ and expertise, involve differential activity in the frontal and parietal lobes. They also appear for different types of tasks. In one study, taxi drivers were split into a high and low group depending on their performance on a paper and pencil IQ test. The results showed that both groups did equally well on familiar routes. The differences appeared between groups when they were compared on unfamiliar routes. In this condition, those with high IQs outperformed those with low IQ. So expertise can develop but the flexibility to handle new situations and improvise requires more than just practice.

Reports of Michael Jackson’s IQ are unreliable. However, he is purported to have had over 10,000 books in his reading collection and to have been an avid reader. His interviews reveal a person who was very eloquent and well spoken. And clearly he was able to integrate various different types of strands of music into interesting novel blends. If we were to lay this out across time, we have perhaps the roots of early genius. It is a person who has an unusual amount of exposure in a domain that starts at an early age. This would lead to the ability to play music very well.

Jackson came from a family filled with many successful musicians. Many were successful as recording artists. Perhaps Michael started earlier than his siblings. One conclusion we can draw from this natural experiment is that creative genius requires more than 10,000 hours. In the case of Michael Jackson, he read profusely and had very rich life experiences. He tried to meld these experiences into a blended musical genre that is uniquely his and yet distinctly resonant with known musical styles.

The kind of creativity is not restricted to prodigies like Michael Jackson. Language, our ultimate achievement as a human race, is something that no other animal species on this planet shares with us. The seeds of language exist all over the animal kingdom. There are birds that can use syntax to create elaborate songs. Chinchillas can recognize basic human speech. Higher primates can develop extensive vocabularies and use relatively sophisticated language. But only one species was able to take all of these various pieces and combine them into a much richer whole. Every human is born with the potential to develop much larger frontal lobes which interconnect with attention, motor, and sensory areas of the brain. It is in these enlarged cortical areas that we can see the roots of creative genius. So while 10,000 hours will create efficiency within restricted areas of the brain, only the use of more general purpose brain areas serve to develop true creativity.

Arturo Hernandez is currently Professor of Psychology and Director of the Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience graduate program at the University of Houston. He is the author of The Bilingual Brain. His major research interest is in the neural underpinnings of bilingual language processing and second language acquisition in children and adults. He has used a variety of neuroimaging methods as well as behavioral techniques to investigate these phenomena which have been published in a number of peer reviewed journal articles. His research is currently funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development. You can follow him on Twitter @DrAEHernandez. Read his previous blog posts.

The post Michael Jackson, 10,000 hours, and the roots of creative genius appeared first on OUPblog.

Add a Comment

Conrad Murray, the doctor that was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson‘s death, is reportedly out of jail and looking for a book deal.

According to reports, Murray spent his time in jail working on the book and will use the tome to tell his side of the story in the Michael Jackson scandal. TMZ has the scoop: “Sources connected with the doc tell TMZ … during his time in L.A. County Jail, Murray penned a large portion of a book about his life and his time with Michael Jackson.  We’re told a big chunk of the Jackson story casts blame on others and justifies his conduct in the treatment that ultimately killed the singer and sent Murray to the slammer.

No publishers are attached to the project thus far. (Via Vanity Fair).

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Add a Comment

I haven't seen this entire series, but I think that the American Graphic biographies by Capstone Press may fill two needed niches.  The first, and probably the intended purpose is to fill the need for easy reading biographies that will interest older kids.  A secondary benefit, however, is that these books can bring complex historical figures to a level where they can be understood by young elementary schoolers who so often express interest in people and things way "beyond their years."
Collins, Terry. 2012. King of Pop: The Story of Michael Jackson. Ill. by Michael Byers. North Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.

Written largely as a first-person account, ten short chapters chronicle Michael Jackson's life, focusing both on his genius and his pecularities, though not going in to great detail regarding the latter.  A two-page illustration of tabloid headlines offers the reader a glimpse into Michael's personal life, but "Thriller" and "Billy Jean" are also illustrated expansively - including his famous moonwalk. The book concludes on a positive note with a collage of the many faces of Michael Jackson and the following summation,

And in his heart, he was still a little boy who never grew up ...
... and the world is all the richer for it.

The panels are easy to follow and have easy to read text. This graphic novel biography concludes with two pages of standard text titled, "The Legacy of Michael Jackson," followed by a Glossary (which includes eccentric and surrogate, as well as innovation and mourn), sites and books where more information can be found, and a small index.

I predict this one will be popular.

 Next up, Hip-Hop Icon: Jay-Z


This book never even made it onto the shelf!  Within minutes of receiving it, a young adult male spotted it on my desk and asked to borrow it.  Sometimes, a little bit of information is enough - perhaps that's a third niche for these easy-reading comic style biographies.

Other titles in the American Graphics series include: ELVIS: A Graphic Novel, Obama: The Historic Election of America's 44th President, Sara Palin: Politcal Rebel, The Bambino: The Story of Babe Ruth's Legendary 1927 Season. A complete list of the American Graphic biography collection is available on Capstone's site.

Also on the site are complete readability statistics - ATOS, Lexile, and GR.  These high-interest, low-level biographies are suggested for grad

Display Comments Add a Comment

In John Jeremiah Sullivan‘s new essay collection, Pulphead, the journalist gives readers a deep introduction into the esoteric world of blues musicians and blues music collectors.

While reading “Unknown Bards” in the book, this GalleyCat editor built a Spotify playlist with eight hours of blues music by forgotten musicians that Sullivan celebrated in his book. If you want to read the original essay, you can find it at Harper’s Magazine.

Follow this link to listen to the list on Spotify. Once you have an account, check out our Haruki Murakami Spotify playlist, our Patti Smith Spotify playlist, our Geoff Dyer Spotify playlist and our new James Ellroy Spotify playlist.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Add a Comment

Last night, Google announced that its Music service (is out of beta and open to the world at large. So far, the Web has been unimpressed by the service, claiming it’s just a copy of iTunes with its exclusive tracks and free songs of the week.... Read the rest of this post

Add a Comment

Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y’alls neighborhood
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse’s shell

Add a Comment

The Situation is known for taking his shirt off (but now Abercrombie & Fitch wants to pay him to do so. The student-targeted brand has offered “a substantial payment” to Mike Sorrentino and his cast mates to not wear its clothing.... Read the rest of this post

Add a Comment

Michael Jackson

August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009

Add a Comment

The concept for the ‘Behind The Mask’ Project (to create a user-generated video of the Gloved One’s single was awesome, but considering the excessive direction fans were given regarding their submissions — as in instructions for... Read the rest of this post

Add a Comment

Last night’s Oscars fell flat (on so many counts. The various efforts to grab young viewers failed. James Franco came across as “beige” and stoned while Anne Hathaway overcompensated to fill the void. The second screen,... Read the rest of this post

Add a Comment

Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y’alls neighborhood

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom

And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller

Add a Comment

Although book tour dates have yet to be announced, former President George W. Bush will be interviewed by Matt Lauer and Oprah Winfrey when his memoir arrives next month.

Lauer will air his interview November 8th. Winfrey will air her interview on November 9th, the day of the book’s release. The regular hardcover will cost $35, but 1,000 copies of it will be signed and specially cloth-bound with a $350 price-tag.

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair received a reception of shoes, eggs, and protests during his book tour this year. Would you go to a book signing by former President Bush? Let us know in the comments section.

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Add a Comment

The great Michael Jackson once offered to make a Harry Potter musical for J.K. Rowling. The story came out during a recent Oprah Winfrey interview special with the bestselling author.

“Were you reluctant to increase the empire?” asked Winfrey in the video embedded above.  Rowling replied: “It could be so much worse. Michael Jackson wanted to do a musical … I said no to a lot of things. For me, I love the films, I love the books, and there’s elements that I love around it.”

Winfrey called it “one of the most fascinating interviews I’ve ever conducted.” The women spoke at Edinburgh’s Balmora Hotel, the place where Rowling finished Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows. Rowling mentioned that if she wanted, she could write more Harry Potter books. She explained: “I definitely could write an eighth, ninth, tenth book. I could, easily.”

continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Add a Comment

We were exhausted and excited afterward and I was afraid I wouldn't sleep, so I took a Tylenol PM. The last thought I had before closing my eyes was that we'd catch the subway and go down to the World Trade Center first thing in the morning, around 8. We'd go up to the observation deck and show Bryce the Statue of Liberty. His father and I had been there before he was born, and I remembered the fantastic views. Bryce called the statue "the most beautiful woman in America" and I knew he would love the sights from the WTC.



That afternoon, Joan and I had an appointment at Publisher's Weekly. This was a big deal for Lucky Press, the publishing company I'd founded and Joan helped me to launch. We were from Ohio and this was only the second time I'd been in NYC.

(Photo: Bryce Merlin on the steps of the Parks building in Central Park)

Usually, Bryce and I wake up at 6:30 or 7:00. Invariably. But not this Tuesday morning. Bryce walked from his small adjoining room to my bedside. "Aren't you going to wake up, Mom?" he asked. I looked at the clock: 8:52 a.m. I couldn't believe it. The times I've slept past 8:30 a.m. I could count on one hand.

Joan woke up too and while I was in the bathroom she clicked on the TV. And then, well, you know... When the second plane hit, I sat on the bed stunned. How far away were we from the site? Should we close the windows we'd opened to let in the fresh air? What was happening?

We explained to Bryce, who has mental and physical challenges, that we

0 Comments on Our Time in NYC-- September 11th as of 1/1/1900

Add a Comment

One of my favorite Nighttime Stories, Michael Jackson in Thriller!

The Sketchbook Project 2011

To view more work visit www.robertabaird.com

Add a Comment

Ubisoft to release performance-based Michael Jackson video game (the dance and karaoke game will be among the first to use motion sensor technology. And in other E3 news, Nintendo unveils its portable console for 3D games — no glasses required... Read the rest of this post

Add a Comment

This is a video of my 2 nephews jammin 2 MJ's Thriller. They LOVE them some MJ. His spirit lives on...so glad cos MJ was a classic.

Add a Comment

reviewed by Deborah Garcia

You’ve been hit by, you’ve been struck by a smooth criminal … and so, I was. My initial curiosity to see the last footage of Michael Jackson’s final concert rehearsals became utter fascination and inspiration within seconds after the film began.

Throughout my life, I hadn’t ever gotten overwhelmed with fandom for Michael’s music, even if it played in the backdrop to many of my formative years. This Is It has changed that and offers the same potential to others like me who never thought they’d fall under Michael’s spell.

Never-ending streams and pulses of dance energy shoot, pop and break out from Michael Jackson’s lithe frame with every breakbeat and syncopated rhythm. For a neophyte like me, it would have been easy to think he couldn’t contain his energy or, rather, what was so integral to his artistic depth: his chi and vital source of creativity. The truth is he contained and channeled his artistic creativity in measured and tempered song filled with long-drawn breaths, shouts, polished musicality and the art of motion.

This Is It provides such a complex view of Michael and all his talents: the film has a multidimensional focus, much like a faceted cube. There's a 3-D effect this documentary achieves and captures as MJ works, performs, directs and perfects what was so uniquely his—his own art form represented in the marriage of dance, song and feeling.

The viewer should pay a keen eye to his dance ticks and highly-tuned ear. Michael Bearden, credited as Michael’s music director, states, “Michael knows all the tempos, key signatures, key changes of each of his songs.” Michael could hear when the pitch and rhythm were off, too fast, and notes were thudded or being ham-fisted.

Directed by Kenny Ortega, Michael was given regal control while rehearsals went on. It didn’t end there. Michael’s own music seemed to never fail in inspiring him or translating into the infectious calls and responses his dancers carried through in moves and shouts while offstage. In every measured beat and note landed, one can hear a delicacy achieved and seamlessly delivered.

Ortega nurtured tremendous verve among the tour cast, resulting in sets where Michael powered through rehearsals with unstoppable skip and free-form dancing. Astoundingly, Michael mostly held his singing back during each rehearsal—a feat attributable to years spent mastering his music and from raw, unending depth of feeling. Michael said, “It’s all for love.” I finally believed him.

A studious understanding of his anthology of hits and his eras of cumulative success is lacking in my review. However, This Is It takes on a reprise to the indicting and unforgettable Martin Beshear interviews. With each hit performed in the film, it’s palpable how personal Michael intended to be with his fans. Each song is sung for you. So, when he opens with the softly-landed lyrics, “You and I must make a pact,” that artistic pact is most definitely alive with fans in every dance burst, extended vocals, and political message.

Michael certainly was on a different plane of creativity. The heightened sense he had for every performance detail amaze

Add a Comment

A fast rise to number one on the charts!

The album Thriller was released on November 30. 1982, and sold more than one million copies per week and currently remains the best selling album of all time.

Besides winning 8 Grammy Awards, Thriller cemented Jackson’s status as one of the biggest pop stars of the late 20th century, enabling him to break down racial barriers and gave the musical industry a new direction.

It would’ve been interesting to see where his latest This is It comeback tour would have taken him. We’ll never know. Michael Jackson….gone too fast.

This is it movie opening on October 28, 2009, for two weeks only.            Link: HERE

Add a Comment

More musical stylings of Sid Weakly, future rockstar.

Add a Comment

The spirit of Michael Jackson lives on in my 5 year-old nephew, Sidney, future rockstar!

Add a Comment