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We are told that the KING OF POP was actually penniless by the time of his ‘death’.  Is this true or not?  We heard stories from his nanny that he had no money left.  In fact, she even states that she had to lend him money.  We are also told that he was so desperate for money that he signed the contract for the 50 concerts.  Then we are told that it was the stress from these concerts that Michael Jackson could not handle, and this led to his ‘death’.  Up until now, what you read and heard is what Michael Jackson wants you to believe.  The truth is far from it…

  • Michael Jackson owned the Beatles catalogue.  Michael Jackson purchased this in 1984-85, for $40 million. At the time, he was only 26 years old.  This meant that he would earn 50% of the royalties from the Beatles songs since he owned the publishing rights.  This catalogue contained 4,000 songs.
  • In 1995, Michael Jackson sold 250 Beatles songs to Sony Corporation for $95 million.  He still owns rights to 3,750 songs.
  • It has been said that Michael Jackson owns 50% share in Sony-ATV Music Publishing Catalogue, which is estimated to be at $US1.5 billion and $US2 billion.  Just having ownership of this generated $US13-20 million in profit, on a yearly basis.
  • Michael Jackson also owns the Mijac Music Publishing catalogue, that is worth at around $US 100 million. Of course the value of this one sky-rocketed with all the sales of his albums following the hoax death.
  • His estate is worth $500 million.
  • When Martin Bashir asked Michael Jackson how much he was worth – this was in 2003, Michael Jackson reluctantly said he ws worth beyond 1 billion US dollars.
  • The Beatles catalogue that Michael Jackson owns is pegged at $US 4-5 billion.
  • Album sales of Bad (1989, $US 125 million), Dangerous (1992, $US 67 million), HIStory (1996, $US 55 million) and Blood On The Dance Floor (1998, $US 12 million)

I did some further research, and came up with some extremely interesting information that has NOT surfaced anywhere else on the internet – at least not until now.

  • Not even a few days after the ‘death’ of Michael Jackson, Joe Jackson appeared at the BET Awards.  You can read about that in my previous post.  During an interview, Joe Jackson plugged ‘Ranch Records’.  As another forum reader mentioned, the name is Ranch Records – ie. Neverland Ranch!  Extremely interesting…coincidence? I think NOT!  Here is what Joe Jackson’s partner Marshall Thompson had to say about Ranch Records: “It’s driven by Blu-ray technology, and that’s his next step.”  HIS next step?  Whose next step? Joe Jackson was never an investor…he did create the Jackson 5 partially, but thats about it.  So WHOSE next step is it?  Sounds like a huge slip of tongue by Marshall Thompson.

Initially, I did not think much of Ranch Records or the slip-of-tongue by Marshall Thompson.  Not until I did some research on the aliases that Michael Jackson supposedly used to obtain drugs and visit doctors.  Remember, you are reading this here first.

  • Paul Farance is the alias Michael Jackson used.  In reality, the name refers to Paul France – CEO of Fantastic One.  Fantastic One is a media company that uses new technologies.  Prior to this, Paul France launched Asia Business News in 1993, which eventually merged with CNBC to create CNBC Asia in 1998. In Paul France’s own words: “”I have been very closely associated with Internet developments and have felt that the true value of new media has been held back by bandwidth restraints.Now that broadband is coming on stream I am genuinely excited about the potential for this revolution.Through its parent companies,FantasticOne has the technology and the experience in content delivery to truly make this revolution of Digital Broadband Multimedia come about.”
  • Omar Arnold is another alias Michael Jackson used.  Who is Omar Arnold?  In reality, he is the CEO and owner of Quantum Sales & Technology Incorporated. Its even located in California – very convenient.  Its a company that deals with Audio Systems.  They even support organizations that promote music programs in schools across the USA.
  • Jimmy Nicholas was another one of Michael Jackson’s alias.  Jimmy Nicholas is actually the vice president of business development for MokaFive, a technology based organization.  He has a track record of working win operations and finance, and has background in developing partnerships for venture software companies.  Prior to this, he worked with TriplePoint Capital, where he was responsible for venture transactions with parters of the firm.  Along with a lot of other experience in venture firms, he was also the CEO of Oxford Media Corporation – which was dedicated for providing digital video technology.
  • In 2000, Media reports indicate that Michael Jackson invested several million dollars in, which was a firm that wanted to maximize internet technology.  Unfortunately, this start-up firm that did not perform so well initially and there are reports that it changed its company direction.
  • Brian Singleton, Michael Jackson’s alias is actually the Chief Creative Producer and Officer of Attention Span Media.  This company is also conveniently located in Los Angeles, and Brian has worked with the entertainment industry via production of various sitcoms, was a News Producer of KHIZ TV and now is focusing upon New Media.
  • Peter Midani was the alias Michael Jackson used – but actually referred to Peter Madonia.  Since 2006, he has been the Chief Operating Officer of the Rockefeller Foundation, and oversees human and financial resources, information technology, facilities and such.  Prior to this, he was the Chief of Staff to New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg – who paid a tribute to Michael Jackson.  Interestingly, Bloomberg announced on July 7th 2009 that he wanted to help the slumped media industry, by creating 8,000 jobs.  How? By creating partnerships between traditional and digital media, and attracting foreign investments by media companies.  They would also create fellowships for training with venture firms.  Not only this, but a World Congress of Children was hosted at Neverland in April 1995, where in addition to other supporters, Michael Jackson’s Heal The World Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation was a sponsor.
  • The other aliases were names of friends, his children, other celebrities, or his staff.

As you can see, there is the very strong possibility that the aliases that Michael Jackson used were those of people that he knew.  From the list above, they all happened to be leading individuals associated with media and technology industries.  Prior evidence indicates that Michael Jackson was an investor of start-up companies associated with technology.  Not only that, but surprisingly Ranch Records is also focusing on supporting new media technologies.  Contrary to the impression that has been portrayed of Michael Jackson being a lavish spender and not familiar with finances, I strongly believe that he is a very apt business minded individual.  It has even been reported that part of his intention to wed Lisa Marie was to purchase rights over Elvis Presley’s catalogue.  Moreover, Michael Jackson has even stated in his interviews that Salvation Army is an excellent store and often had nice merchandise.  This was said in the 1980’s, when Michael Jackson was already a millionaire.  Moreover, despite supposedly having problems with his father, he lived at home with his parents even in his mid-twenties.  We are talking about a millionaire here, who was already internationally recognized.  He did not go around blowing money like the pop stars today.  Rather, he lived very cautiously.  He did become a big spender in the 1990’s, but that is from our perspective, and not that of a man worth beyond 1 billion dollars.

So why the facade of showing a poor Michael Jackson to the world?  His songs lyrics speak louder then anything else about this.  All the allegations, court cases, being sued, having to settle cases out of court, shutting the mouths of people, etc. cost him a lot.  Naturally, he was worried about what would become of his finances.  His reaction was to liquidate most of his funds and assets, write them off as expenses and move them into foreign bank accounts and investments.  There are even reports that he wanted to open resorts in Dubai as well as Asia, and perhaps these even materialized.  Some of his funds were used to purchase stocks and invest into media technology based venture firms, as you can see from above, but obviously not under his real name.  Perhaps if the company structure and share holders were ever available to the general public, we could possibly locate the alias that Michael Jackson used to invest.  Moreover, Michael Jackson even fired his close business managers and advisors and hired Dr. Tohme in 2005.  This is when reports about Michael Jackson’s financial crisis began to emerge, as well as reports of him being ill.  Odd right?

The King of Pop was not facing financial distress, that was an image for us to believe in.  At the moment, he continues to receive royalties from the enormous sales of his albums, enjoy the funds that he liquidated and sent away to offshore accounts, as well as continuing to invest into venture firms based on technology and media.  All this while not having to pay a single dime to any of his on-going court cases, loans, other ‘debt’ that he had accrued.  In one of his interviews, Michael Jackson mentioned that he is not stupid, and that stupid people don’t get this far – which is very true indeed.  To pull of this hoax and having planned all the minute details needs a brilliant mind while having calculated all the gains requires a brilliant mind – that of Michael Jackson.

1. Defibrillator

A defibrillator can save a person’s life if it is used immediately after a patient has experienced a heart attack, or is unconsciousness with poor vital signs.  These have been installed in many airlines and public places.  Eve flight attendants are now trained to defib a person who has lost consciousness, has a faint pulse or none, and has shallow breathing.  You may or may not know that Michael Jackson was quite informed about medicine in general.  When his son, Prince Michael, was born with breathing difficulties, Michael Jackson ensured that the air quality in Prince Michael’s room was tested on an HOURLY basis.  He was extremely concerned about infections and spread of germs, so all the utensils utilized to feed his children were immediately discarded after ONE use.  Not only that, but he also ensured that any toys his children played with during the day would be discarded at night, and new ones be brought in for the following day.  One of the reasons that Michael Jackson wore a mask in public was also to prevent infections and air-borne illnesses.  In fact, it was even reported that Michael Jackson attended a medical conference and asked researchers performing cloning further information about their work.  Given all this, it comes as a surprise to me to know that Dr. Murray did NOT defib Michael Jackson.  The controversy around this is that in initial reports by EMT medics, it was said that they HAD seen a defibrillator in Michael Jackson’s house.  However, it was not used or that there was a problem with it.  Further reports came out denying that the EMTs had seen the defibrillator.  The questions of the hour are: Why WAS a CARDIOLOGIST hired for Michael Jackson 11 days prior to his ‘death’?  If a cardiologist was hired – wouldn’t that mean that the mulitmillionaire King of Pop, whose close friend is Deepak Chopra, also have purchased a defibrillator???  Did this cardiologist NOT know how to use the defib?  Why the discrepancy between the initial reports of the EMTs having seen the defib and later reports of them denying this??  The thought that Michael Jackson did NOT have a defibrillator present in his house does not even cross my mind, since he was medically informed, regularly frequented hospitals, and actively sought to avoid illnesses and target his own personal health care.

2. Place of Michael Jackson’s ‘Death’

Let’s say that a person does die – how can there be so much discrepancy over the place of death?  If it happened in the living room then it happened in the living room – simple!  But when it comes to Michael Jackson, its just another ‘story’.  Latoya Jackson claimed that Michael Jackson had walked to the doctor’s room, and was found unconscious there.  Meanwhile other reports claim that Michael Jackson was found unconscious in his own bedroom.  Finally, other reports claim that Michael Jackson had collapsed in his living room and was carried over to his own bedroom by a guard.  How can there be so MANY differing accounts of where Michael Jackson lost consciousness?  Is it that under stress, people made errors in reporting what they had been told to do so?  If THEY had SEEN IT, then surely they would have been able to recount it, and we would not see this discrepancy.  Or were these accounts tossed at the public to cause confusion so that the public would be led astray?

3.  Requesting 911 services for Michael Jackson

Okay, lets say that a defibrillator is not present, then being a cardiologist and finding Michael Jackson unconscious, Dr. Murray should have rushed to call 911.   This was NOT the case.  In some reports, Conrad Murray claims that there was NO ONE around, and that he found Michael Jackson in his bedroom.   He didn’t know what to do, and proceeded to do CPR.  Finally, he screamed for someone to come. It was Michael Jackson’s chef who came and placed the infamous 911 call to request for help.  But even in that call, note the lack of distress and tension…this employee of Michael Jackson was way too calm.  It has been claimed that voice analysis was done for this phone call, but distress could not be detected.  Although in the background, you can hear the doctor sounding very panicked.  Odd, isn’t it?  Now remember the second account claiming that Michael Jackson had collapsed in his living room?  A guard lifted him to the bedroom where supposedly CPR was done.  So SOMEONE was definitely around, and the story falls through the cracks again.  Why didn’t the doctor just ask the guard to call 911?  Finally, it has been said that Prince Michael was present and had seen his ‘father’ being resuscitated.  Now even for this report, there are 2 accounts.  The first is that Prince Michael had seen his father collapse in the living room and followed him to the bedroom.  The second is that Dr. Conrad Murray wanted to show his son that he had attempted to revive his father, so he left the body, brought the boy to his father’s bedroom and then performed CPR.  Either way, if no one else was available, why didn’t Prince Michael call for help?? He is certainly old enough.  There are so many reports of 6 year old kids dialing for help, so why couldn’t Prince Michael who is a 12 year old?  And lets say that if he indeed see Michael Jackson being resuscitated, why did he look like he was so bored to be at the funeral and was devoid of emotions?  Its tough to imagine that such a young child would be so heartless, if you had seen your parent die in front of your eyes, there is no way that a child could restrain emotions.  Remember Princess Diana’s funeral procession?  Both Prince William and Harry had eyes and faces full of tears, although they still tried to maintain composure.  Unlike Prince Michael, who was too busy chewing gum.

4.  Michael Jackson’s 911 Call

Michael Jackson’s doctor claimed that he could not place a call to ask for help for various reasons.  One is that Dr. Murray was too busy performing CPR, and could not stop.  But yet, one news report mentions that the doctor called Joe Jackson, told him that Michael Jackson was not responsive and he didn’t know what to do.  Joe Jackson advised the doctor to call 911 right away.  Then Dr. Murray claims that Michael Jackson’s house did not have landlines present, so he could not call out.  But what about his cell phone?  Eventually there was the 911 call placed, so obviously it was possible to make a phone call.  Finally, who was Conrad Murray talking to when the 911 call was placed.  You can hear only his voice in the background, so was he calling someone…on his cell phone?  Why didn’t he just call 911 with his own cell phone then???

4. Security Tapes from The Day of Michael Jackson’s Death

It has been reported that the house Michael Jackson resided in had 24-hour camera surveillance, both indoors and outdoors. Mysteriously, the tapes from the day of the death have disappeared.  The Los Angeles Police Department has been searching for these, but to no avail.  Remember that Janet and Latoya Jackson went to clear out Michael Jackson’s belongings the day  after his death was announced?  Perhaps during this time, they removed these.  Now even stranger are reports that Michael Jackson’s bedroom was found messy and had his clothes strewn everywhere, as well as sticky notes on walls.  But, Michael Jackson’s sisters had said that they had removed ALL of his belongings even before the LAPD had declared that they were going to do a homicide investigation.  Pictures showed that even bedsheets and blankets were removed from Michael Jackson’s house 1 day after his death, as requested as by his sisters.  So where did these clothes and notes come from, that the LAPD found?  Also, reports now say that IV stands and oxygen tanks filled his bedroom, so why didn’t the sisters also remove these?  Or were these planted in the bedroom, after the fact?

Movers emptying Michael Jacksons rented house  -

Movers emptying Michael Jackson's rented house -

4. Dr. Murray’s Storage Boxes

Recent reports indicate that Dr. Conrad Murray had stored boxes in a storage facility, which were removed after the ‘death’ of Michael Jackson.  The contents of these boxes are not known.  What is known is that 2 women removed these boxes.  The storage facility was also monitored by camera surveillance, but guess what?  Surprisingly, on the day of that these women took away these boxes, the camera surveillance system ‘was not working’.  Coincidence, I think not.  As to the identity of these women or the contents of these boxes – only the Jackson family can provide answers.

5.  Michael Jackson’s Employees Fired Within Minutes

Within 30-minutes from the confirmation that Michael Jackson had ‘passed-away’, all of his personal employees were fired by AEG.   Rather then reacting to the death of Michael Jackson, AEG very methodically fired his staff – within minutes.  It would make sense if this had happened on the following day or even a few days later, but not within minutes.   It almost seems as though this was pre-planned, and that there were a certain numbers of steps to follow in staging this death.  Of course by firing these employees, it would be easier to get access to the security tapes, stage the oxygen tanks and IV stands, throw things around the bedroom, and create the stage for this hoax, since there will be no witnesses.   Also note that days before his ‘death’, Michael Jackson’s employees were not allowed to enter his bedroom.  So no one would know whether he had in fact been taking the drugs or not, nor provide any accounts of seeing the lack or presence of oxygen tanks and IV equipment in his bedroom.

6.  Conrad Murray was Michael Jackson’s Cardiologist for  ONLY ELEVEN (11) DAYS

In order for AEG to get insurance for Michael Jackson’s O2 Concert dates, it was required that Michael Jackson undergo a complete physical.  In fact, his cardiac or heart function was assessed for 4 hours with various tests, and it is said that he ‘passed with flying colors’.  A couple month’s later, AEG hires a cardiologist for Michael Jackson – this is 11 days before his death.  Again, for the King of Pop, they don’t hire an amazing cardiologist such as Mehmet Oz.  No, they hire a cardiologist with a shady past – he had defaulted on loans, needed money ASAP, was desperate for the job, had lots of financial problems.  What does this portray – simply the image of an irresponsible or reckless individual.  Anything goes wrong the first finger pointed will be at him.  Whoever hired him knew all this too well, and had actually gone out searching for someone that would fit this profile.  Remember also that conveniently, the insurance purchased by concert promoters was not for natural death of Michael Jackson, rather it was for accidental death – which included drug abuse.  Convenient but coincidental? No.  Conrad Murray had no information on who his patient Michael Jackson was.  He had never probably met him before nor examined him.  So, the man that Conrad Murray was introduced to was probably NOT Michael Jackson.  Rather, he met an extremely ill impostor, while the real Michael Jackson had already fled, and those performing on stage were his doubles.  This may sound far-fetched, but really it is not. I will post further information on the person who DID die shortly, in an independent post.  The only victim of this hoax is Dr. Conrad Murray.  He is being framed for a series of events that he probably does not even understand himself.

I will go more in-depth on this, in a following post.

Michael Jackson did very few interviews.  So it is difficult to know what his true intentions/motives/reasons were that would provide insight into whether what has happened now, his ‘death’, is truly real or not.  If you look through the media reports, half the reports suggest that he was a healthy individual, while others pegged him as being terminally ill.  The lack of consistency in these reports is very strange.  How can someone be on their dying bed, and yet also be healthy at the same time?

The only real clues or insight that we can obtain is that from the lyrics of his songs.  These were either written or edited by him, so he had complete control over the contents.  I went through all of his song lyrics, and have highlighted peculiar lyrics that strengthen my belief that Michael Jackson staged his death.  He had been contemplating this since the early 1990’s, right around the time the first set of child abuse allegations were launched against him.  It also appears that since he left so many clues in his lyrics, he did actually want to be honest to his fans – those who would follow his advice and not believe in media reports.   It is clearly evident that he despised media attention, news reports, and tabloids.  There is more than meets the eye in his lyrics, and he displayed his true intentions in his songs.

Morphine lyrics – Released May 1997

A heart attack baby

I need your body

Trust in me

Just in me

Put all your trust in me

You’re doin’ morphine

Oh God he’s taking demerol

Oh God he’s taking demerol

You just sit around just talkin’ nothing

You’re takin’ morphine

I’m going down bab

Basically, this song says it all.  A heartattack…and then suggests that drug use is involved – did he actually predict or plan his death?  You should listen to this song again, and you will note that while the Demerol was administered, there is a knocking on the door, and someone says: “The doctor says…”  No one can make-out the rest of this conversation, but it sounds eerily similar to the 911 call made to ask for assistance prior to the ‘death’ of Michael Jackson.  Even in that call, you can hear the doctor speaking in the background, but the words cannot be made out.  It seems that the death was planned for many years before it even took place.

Blood On The Dance Floor Lyrics – Released May 1997

To escape the world I got to enjoy this simple dance

And it seemed that everything was on my side

Cry lyrics – January 2002

Stories buried and unfold

Someone is hiding the truth, hold on

When will this mystery unfold

And will the sun ever shine

In the blind man’s eyes when he cries?

Does this mean that Michael Jackson is hiding the truth, and that one day the mystery will reveal?

Gone Too Soon lyrics – October 2001

Born To Amuse, To Inspire, To Delight

Here One Day

Gone One Night

Little Susie lyrics – 1995

Somebody killed little Susie

The girl with the tune

Who sings in the daytime at noon

She was there screaming

Beating her voice in her doom

But nobody came to her soon…

Neglection can kill

Like a knife in your soul

Oh it will

Little Susie fought so hard to live…

She lie there so tenderly

Fashioned so slenderly

Lift her with care

So young and so fair

The lyrics of this song as are quite bizarre and morbid.  Is Michael Jackson calling himself Little Susie?  So young, slender, fought hard to live, was a singer, neglected (and note that neglection will kill – OH IT WILL), and even died at noon?  Is this how he wanted the world to view his death?  I mean we heard each of those descriptors in news reports about him, as word of this ‘death’ broke out.  People called him young, he was skinny, neglected, king of pop, etc.  Why was he imagining the reaction or response of the public if they found out that he had died?

Money lyrics – 1995

If you know it’s a lie

Then you will swear it

If it’s taking a chance

Then you will dare it

You’ll do anything for money…

Anything for money

Would lie for you

Would die for you

Even sell my soul to the devil

 People would do anything for money, including turning lies into truth and taking chances.  They would even be willing to die for Michael Jackson for money? wow…

One Day In Your Life lyrics – 2004

You’ll remember me, somehow

Though you don’t need me now

I will stay in your heart

And when things fall apart

You’ll remember one day

One day in your life

Just call my name, and I’ll be there

 Is he taunting people with this – that we would remember him even though we had almost forgotten him?  This will happen when things will fall apart.  When will things fall apart, upon hearing about the staged death?  Then he concludes with  “I’ll be there”, meaning that he never left.

Privacy lyrics – 2001

Ain’t the pictures enough, why do you go through so much

To get the story you need, so you can bury me

You’ve got the people confused, you tell the stories you choose

You try to get me to lose the man I really am

‘cause you cameras can’t control, the minds of those who know

He believes that a picture is enough to bury him – indeed the public saw only ONE picture of ‘him’ in the ambulance.  When he mentions “Losing the man he is”, is that his identity as Michael Jackson the King of Pop?  And then he believes that despite the pictures and reports, some people will KNOW…know the truth about the ‘death’?

Scream lyrics – 1995

Tired of injustice

Tired of the schemes

The lies are disgusting

So what does it mean

Kicking me down

I got to get up

As jacked as it sounds

The whole system sucks

Somebody please have mercy

‘Cause I just can’t take it

Stop pressurin’ me

Just stop pressurin’ me

Stop pressurin’ me

Make me wanna scream

 This song provides some insight into the state of his mind, or factors that could have driven him into conceiving this ‘death’.  He says that the lies and schemes are disgusting, but that he still has to react to them.  But why would that sound Jacked, as he states?  Isn’t it normal to react?  Unless he was planning to use the same lies and schemes to react, then yes, it does sound jacked.

Tabloid Junkie lyrics – 1995

Just because you read it in a magazine

Or see it on the TV screen

Don’t make it factual

Though everybody wants to read all about it

Just because you read it in a magazine

Or see it on the TV screen

Don’t make it factual, actual

In the hood

Frame him if you could

Shoot to kill

To blame him if you will

If he dies sympathize

Such false witnesses

Damn self righteousness

In the black

Stab me in the back

In the face

 Basically he is saying that whatever news reports suggest is not the truth, and that it cannot be considered to be a fact.  He goes on to say that people can be framed and blamed, but then when they die, you will sympathize and witnesses will come out to provide fake accounts of events.  Didn’t we see this occur?  Jordan Chandler came out to say that Michael was innocent, the world sympathized for Michael Jackson, and many people including limo drivers provided accounts of how they met him and what he was like.  Then the strange part is – Kick in the back but then in the face?  I mean if he had died, and we were doing this then it would be in the back.  However, why in the face?  Is it because he will see the response to his death on a first-hand basis?

They Don’t Care About Us lyrics – 1995

Bang bang, shot dead

Everybody’s gone mad

You can never kill me

I’m tired of bein’ the victim of hate

You’re rapin’ me of my pride

Oh, for God’s sake

I look to heaven to fulfill its prophecy…

Set me free

Tell me what has become of my rights

Am I invisible because you ignore me?

Your proclamation promised me free liberty, now

I’m tired of bein’ the victim of shame

They’re throwing me in a class with a bad name

I can’t believe this is the land from which I came

You know I do really hate to say it

The government don’t wanna see

Everybody litigation

Beat me, bash me

You can never trash me

Hit me, kick me

You can never get me

Don’t you wrong or right me

In this song, he basically tells you about how he is treated and what he endures.  The intro starts with someone who died, and that now there is chaos. But then a few lines later – You can never kill me.  Then he mentions that he prays for death to set him free of his life, but in the end he says that no one can get him and that people shouldn’t judge him.  Judge him for this ‘death’?

Threatened lyrics – 2001

You’re fearing me, ‘cause you know I’m a beast

Watching you when you sleep, when you’re in bed

I’m underneath

You’re trapped in halls, and my face is the walls

I’m the floor when you fall, and when you scream it’s ‘cause of me

I’m the living dead, the dark thoughts in your head

I know just what you said

That’s why you’ve got to be threatened by me

You should be watching me, you should feel threatened

Why you sleep, why you creep, you should be threatened

You think you’re by yourself, but it’s my touch you felt

I’m not a ghost from Hell, but I’ve got a spell on you

In one blink I’ll disappear, and then I’ll come back to haunt you

From a far corner, out of the dark

A nightmare, that’s the case

Never Neverland, that’s the place

This particular monster can read minds

Be in two places at the same time

This is judgement night, execution, slaughter

The devil, ghosts, this monster is torture

You can be sure of one thing, that’s fate

A human presence that you feel is strange

A monster that you can see disappear

What you have just witnessed could be the end of a particularly terrifying nightmare.

It isn’t. It’s the beginning.

This is one of the most bizarre songs that he has written.  Apparently he turns into a beast that people should be scared of.  But he is not a ghost, he is the living dead.  He can see you, knows what you say, and you can feel him.  But, he disappears and and comes back to haunt.  He can be in TWO places at the same time.  Meaning one in disguise and one dead?  The closing is the epitome of the song, as it states that the nightmare is just beginning.  Beginning of a new start?

Unbreakable lyrics – 2001

Now I’m just wondering why you think

that you can get to me with anything

seems like you’d know by now

When and how I get down

And with all that I’ve been through,

I’m still around

And there’s no way you’ll ever get to me

Why can’t you see that you’ll never ever hurt me

’cause I wont let it be, see I’m too much for you baby

You can’t believe it, you can’t conceive it

and you can’t touch me, ’cause I’m untouchable

and I know you hate it, and you can’t take it

You’ll never break me, ’cause I’m unbreakable

Now you can’t stop me even though you think

that if you block me, you’ve done your thing

and when you bury me underneath all your pain

I´m steady laughin’, while surfacing

You can try to stop me, but it wont do a thing

no matter what you do, I’m still gonna be here

Through all your lies and silly games

I’m a still remain the same, I’m unbreakable

With the news of the ‘death’ – the media went ahead and removed the mask from Michael Jackson’s reclusive life.  So the initial paragraph begins with him telling us that he knows we now know the ‘truth’ about him, and that he is still around.  But, we will never be able to touch, hurt, or see him.  So we will bury our pain of the ‘loss’ and go on, while he is laughing and surfacing.

Who Is It lyrics – 1991

And It Doesn’t Seem To Matter

And It Doesn’t Seem Right

‘Cause The Will Has Brought

No Fortune

Still I Cry Alone At Night

Don’t You Judge Of My Composure

‘Cause I’m Lying To Myself

I Am The Damned

I Am The Dead

I Am The Agony Inside

The Dying Head

This Is Injustice

Woe Unto Thee

I Pray This Punishment

Would Have Mercy On Me

Still I Cry Alone At Night

Don’t You Judge Of My Composure

‘Cause I’m Bothered Everyday

And She Didn’t Leave A Letter

She Just Up And Ran Away

Supposedly, this song is about a girl leaving Michael Jackson.  But, again the lyrics are so morbid that they don’t actually fit the context of the song.  He says that it doesn’t seem to matter if it is right or not, and that he is the dead, damned, in agony, and dying.  He wishes woe for others and for mercy, that he is bothered everyday so don’t judge him.  In the end, he says that the ‘girl’ just left without even a note, while Michael Jackson also suddenly ‘died’, when it was not even expected.

Cheater lyrics – 2004

I hurt my backbone baby,

I start to give it up,

Life is an aggravator,

Sometimes I part it up,

I broke my radiator,

I live to starve the bone,

I pray to leave my body,

I don’t care a jack, or about what you do (ho!)

Just sign your name on the line baby, I own you (Daggone it)

(You are a…)

Cheater (oooo0000ooh!, Give it to me, What!, What!, get jack on me…)

Somebody said, give up instead on how you feel, (aah-uh)

One blow to the head is all you need,

(I aint takin’ it..!)

The song begins with Michael Jackson’s reference to ‘hurting his backbone’ – meaning his pride.  It then goes onto say that life is difficult, and that he starves and wishes for death.  Someone tells him to sign on a document and now they own him, then they tell him to let go of his reluctances – a blow to the head is all he needs.  Is this Michael Jackson’s way of telling the world that he sold off his career by staging his death, and that HE is a CHEATER (the title of the song).  Did he cheat the world?

There Must Be More To Life Than This lyrics – 1991

There must be more to life than killing

There must be more than meets the eye

What good is life, if in the end we all must die

There must be more to life than this

Again this song talks about life and death, but he writes that there has to be more than meet the eye.  We know that he loved disguises, so is there more than meets the eye with regards to his ‘death’ as well?  Is he again telling people to be skeptical about what they see?

Xscape – 1995

Everywhere I turn, no matter where I look,

The systems in control, it’s all ran by the book,

I’ve got to get away so I can clear my mind,

Xscape is what I need, away from electric eyes

Don’t have a place to run, but there’s no need to hide,

I’ve got to, find a place,

So I won’t hide away

Xscape, got to get away from a system lose in the world today

Xscape, the pressure that I face from relationships that go away

Xscape, the man with the pen that writes the lies that hassle this man

Xscape, I do what I wanna cause I gotta face nobody but me

When I go, (oh, go) this problem world won’t bother me no more

(This problem world won’t bother me no more)

(problem world, bother me, yeah, oh, yeah, hoo)

Xscape, got to get away

(I’ve got find a way)

Xscape, the pressure that I face

(can’t take it no more)

Xscape, the man with the pen

(I can’t take this no more)

Xscape, I do what I wanna cause I gotta face nobody but me

Xscape (auow!)

(You ain’t my mother)

Got to get away

(what for? I can’t take this kind of shit no more!)

Xscape till fade

You Want me? Come and get me.

In this song, Michael Jackson is desperately searching for an escape.  He wants to get away – but he doesn’t want to hide.  He feels guilty for wanting to do this, but says that he has to face no one other then himself, and that you aren’t his mother.  Then he says that he will escape until he fades, and if you want him then go get him.

Here are some of Michael Jackson’s own thoughts on disguising himself and hiding his identity.

Internet Q&A with Michael Jackson:

Compuserve Question from KANSAS CITY, MO: [102563,674] Jim Shea: Do you ever wish you could walk into a public place and not be mobbed by your fans?

Michael Jackson: I have every disguise you can think of… that is why I wish I could be Morph so I could change places and just enjoy life. I would love to do that.

I do disguises for different reasons. I like to study people – be like the fly on the wall. Even if it’s two old ladies sitting on a bench or some kids on a swing. Because I don’t know what it’s like to fit in an everyday life situation.
[Michael Jackson, 1999]

MJ: I created Neverland as a home for myself and my children and it was created simply, it was almost like it was done subconsciously, like I said earlier, where can I go? I mean, it’s hard. I’ve tried to go out as myself and I’ve had policemen tell me, “put on a disguise! And give me an autograph for my wife!” They tell me, “why are you out here with no security?” I can’t do it. I do it sometimes, but it’s very difficult.

Now you have all seen pictures of him such as these, where he walks around with hats, surgical masks, and scarves:

Check this one out – Its from a LONG time ago

But the ultimate disguise hands down is this one…I highly doubt that anyone would have been able to recognize that this is Michael Jackson.

“…That’s why I love disguises so much. I could sit on a bench at Disneyland and see what people really do and talk about. But when they see it’s Michael Jackson, they change.  I don’t see the real thing.  So I want to see the real world, what its truly like and it’s very difficult”

The shots and Michael Jackson’s quotation were taken from  “Michael Jackson’s Private Home Movies” – you can watch this in youtube

To wrap-up, Michael Jackson was infatuated with mannequins, doubles, impostors and disguises.  As you have read from my previous posts, I doubt very much that Michael Jackson actually died.  Most likely, it was the death of Michael Jackson’s career, and that too only temporarily.

News report just out on July 10th 2009

Michael Jackson’s skin doctor Arnold Klein was completely rebuilding the star’s ravaged face in the run-up to his This Is It comeback shows.

Klein desperately tried to make the King of Pop appear “more normal” for his 50-date run at London’s O2 Arena after years of cosmetic surgery left the singer’s face severely scarred and acne-ridden.

However, the dermatologist insists rumors the star’s nose was so bad it had fallen off his face are untrue.

Klein tells TV host Larry King, “He came to me because, basically, I was sort of rebuilding his face, because he had severe acne and scarring. He had scarring from having a lot of cosmetic surgery. And my expertise is like it is with every one of my patients. My patients are my treasures. And I was rebuilding his face so he looked much more normal. And contrary to what people said, he could not take off his nose. His nose was attached. But it looked too small. And I just was trying to get him ready to do the concert, because in the way he looked in his face, he wanted it to be absolutely as perfect as it could be.”

Klein also confirms Jackson was paranoid about his nose after years of taunts from his family: “I know that people made fun – or family members – of the size of his nose. He was very sensitive to that. And so he (started) doing cosmetic surgery.”

All this was taking place in June 2009.
Could it be that the REAL Michael Jackson’s face was being reconstructed, so that he could leave with a new identity, following the ‘FAKE’ death?!!

On June 10-11, 2009  It was reported that Michael Jackson had a mutilated or mangled ear.  This was just weeks prior to his ‘death’.  The reasons given were that perhaps surgeons had utilized the cartilage from his ears to redo his nose.

Take a look at pictures of the mangled ear (left panels):

These pictures were taken as Michael Jackson was leaving a doctor’s office – whom he had supposedly visited for skin cancer.

Now look at the pictures from the final rehearsal – and focus on the ears:

As you can clearly see – the shape of the ears is completely different for the individual performing on the stage, and the Michael Jackson leaving the doctor’s office. These photographs were taken less then 2 weeks apart.

This leads me to think that the original Michael Jackson may have had his face reconstructed, while the one on stage was an imposter.  Note that the Michael Jackson leaving the doctors office has a bracelet on his left wrist, which as I pointed out previously is something that Michael has been wearing for a few years now.

Since you are here – it means that you too also question the ‘death’ of Michael Jackson.  The truth is that it was indeed staged, and Michael is STILL ALIVE

Lets get to the factsbottom line you will see is that THE STORY DOES NOT ADD UP:

1 – reported Michael Jackson’s death prior to UCLA – How did they know this?

2 – Check this photo out.

It was taken while MJ was being resuscitated in the ambulance that transferred him from his house to UCLA.  Note the ambulance mirrors below – they are tinted black.  How did anyone take a picture through those tinted mirrors and see MJ so clearly?

Why is it that there is only 1 (ONE) picture of MJ while he was being resuscitated??

3 – Look at this video of the ambulance leaving his residence – why on earth is the siren not on?  Normally an ambulance with a patient loaded will turn the siren on – but no, this one even waits for the tourist bus to move first.

4 – Coroners reports suggested that Michael Jackson was bald, and only had ‘peach fuzz’ on his head.  They even mentioned that the right side of his face had caved in and that he did not have a prominent nose bridge.  Now look up at the image of MJ being resuscitated – clearly the right side of face is fine.  He has ‘hair’ on his head and has his nose piece firmly in place.  Now with resuscitation, one has to pinch the nose to provide mouth-to-mouth, but MJ’s nose piece is still intact in that picture.  Also, his ribs were fractured from the resuscitation, but his wig still remained in place on his head? That is highly suspicious.  Note that the right side of the face is in no way distorted, as the leaked coroners report had mentioned.  Look at the pigmentation of skin – it looks completely healthy.  Given that he had arrested about 40 minutes to 1 hour before that picture that picture was supposedly taken, his skin should have been darker and almost have a blue tone due to lack of oxygen, leading to cyanosis.  This is note the case at all.  Somehow, he even has his eye make-up on and intact – while his ribs supposedly were fractured from the CPR.

5 – The Jackson family refused to do an open-casket memorial service for Michael, because his face had suffered distortion and or injuries from the resuscitation.  Now look at the picture above again, his face is completely fine.  In fact, that is one of the most flattering pictures of Michael that I have seen. So why did they not due a an open casket memorial – because the body was simply not in the casket.

6 – Within a few hours of the cardiac arrest, Michael Jackson’s close staff personnel were fired.  It seems like a very bizarre and prompt decision.

7 – Janet Jackson and the Jackson family removed Michael’s belongings from the house that he was renting in LA on June 27th.  There are news clippings of this in youtube, where you can see that even bed sheets and blankets were removed from his house.  The Jackson family stated that they were concerned that these would be stolen.  However, the LAPD investigation into Jackson’s death resulting from drug overdose and possibility of homicide was launched on the 28th.  At this point, his belongings from his rented house had already been removed by the Jackson’s.  Despite this, the LAPD investigation contends that they found IV stands, IV bags, prescription medications and oxygen tanks.  So if Michael’s belongings had already been removed, what exactly did the LAPD find and how do we know that these were firstly even present, and secondly if they had not been planted there aft the fact.

 8 – Conrad Murray had been Michael’s doctor for 11 days, and was hired by AEG.  A couple month’s prior to this, Michael had passed a 5 hour fitness test for insurance purposes, with a clean bill of health.  So why exactly was a cardiologist hired for Michael, and that too only 11 days prior to his ‘death’.  Conrad Murray was a ‘shady’ physician to begin with, he even had declared bankruptcy in the 90’s.  His prior activity is certainly suspicious, and he of course makes an easy candidate to blame for Michael’s ‘death’.  Also note that the heaps of drugs that the LAPD has supposedly located, must have been there prior to Conrad’s employment.  Not only that, but to build an addiction and tolerance to them requires years, not just 11 days.  So unfortunately Conrad is a poor physician who is practically being framed for a crime that does not exist.  Michael was a close friend of physicians such as Deepak Chopra – so why would he settle for a shady doctor?

9- Michael wanted his children to have their own private lives – away from Media.  However, in the months preceding his ‘death’, Michael decided to ‘unveil’ his children to the world.  Why now???

10 – From December 2008 – February 2009, it was reported that Michael was suffering with serious skin infections that could lead to flesh eating bacteria, had emphysema, needed lung transplants, and had intestinal bleeding.  It was even reported that Michael felt that he was going to die shortly.  He was photographed on wheelchairs, and was at the point that he could not even walk.  However, a couple months later – he rocked the world with news that he will be launching the O2 concerts.  Not only that, but AEG released footage of him dancing on stage in perfect form, 2 days prior to his death.  It is rumored that Michael used illness as a means of seeking media attention, something that he had learnt from Elizabeth Taylor.  In fact, he even ‘collapsed’ prior to a concert – which was cancelled.  In addition, he reportedly used illness as a means of not attending public events.  How is this not different then?

11 – Look at this video where Michael’s ‘dead body’ was being transferred from UCLA to Coroners office:

As surprising as it seems, the body on the stretcher actually rises and moves.  This is after the fact that rigor mortis should have set-in, leading to a very stiff body that would have been incapable of motion.  Who is that on the stretcher?  Crew in the helicopter reported that they were just moving the stretcher.  However, the body actually moved relative to the straps of the stretcher.

12 – From the coroners office, Michael Jackson’s death certificate was not signed by a physician.  Conrad Murray refused to sign it, as did the physicians at the coroners office – why not??

13 – The entire Jackson family has not visibly shown that the news of Jackson’s death has caused them grief.  The one attempt made was that by his daughter Paris – who really did not come across as being sincere.  She has adamantly suggested that she wants to release an album soon, as wants to be like her father.  She did cry during the memorial service, but that was momentary and soon after she was seen dancing and singing.  His eldest son was too busy chewing gum and did not look hurt by the loss of his father.  As Paris was making her speech, you can see that Janet actually smiled or looked like she was restraining laughter,  prior to ‘comforting’ Paris.

14 – Upon finding out about the death of his son, Joe Jackson attended the BET awards and was interviewed by CNN.  During this interview, Joe said that he was feeling fine and even went onto publicize his new record label.  He displayed very little concern for the loss of his son.  Now lets look at Jackson’s mother – Katherine.  Video footage revealed that she was actually shopping at Target, just one day after the ‘death’ of her son.

15 – Why is it that none of Jackon’s close friends attended his funeral – ie. Elizabeth Taylor, his divorced wife Lisa Marie Presley, and not even Oprah Winfrey?

16 – AEG took out insurance policy covering the accidental death of Michael – not natural death.  Within accidental death – death ensuing from overdose and drug abuse is covered.  So when this insurance policy was being drafted, did AEG have a premonition that Michael would die within a few months from death possibly caused by prescription medications?  Seems highly suspicious.

17 – For the O2 Concert – Michael repeatedly said ‘This is it – the final curtain call’, as well as ‘See you in July’.  Ding ding – just before July, Michael suddenly ‘died’.

18 – While Larry King was visiting Michael’s room in Neverland, camera’s supposedly caught the ‘ghost’ of Michael.

It does look like Micheal’s shadow walking across the fireplace and into the wall.  Michael was a billionaire, and even his personal trainer mentioned that Michael loved playing pranks.  This projection of a ghost was most probably due to special effects – Michael must be enjoying this from wherever he is hiding.

19 – Michael was obsessed with mannequins, and had these placed all around his residences.  He was a very lonely person who wanted to have people close to him in his life.  The only thing that he could have were mannequins.  There are reports that Michael’s staff contacted Gunther Von Hagens to have his body plastinated posthumous.,1518,614006,00.html

Was this only posthumous or did he have replicas of his body created?  Michael’s trainer mentioned that Michael loved pulling pranks, such as sending mannequins in ambulances.  How do we know that what has happened now is NOT a prank??

Michael Jackson has repeatedly said that he wanted to live forever, he thought of himself as Peter Pan and lived in Neverland.  Reports say that he even slept in a hyperbaric chamber to remain youthful.  He was also a vegetarian and only had one meal a day, to extend his life.  His close friend was Deepak Chopra, and Michael is known for having done yoga and meditation.  Given all this, he was a health conscientious person.  So why on Earth would he do a drug overdose and kill himself with prescription drugs?? The truth is that this was all set-up.  In the months prior to his so called death, he repeatedly visited physicians for short bursts – a few minutes, and requested prescription medications.  There were reports of drugs being confiscated from the Neverland ranch during a prior investigation, but these were just a few vials – nothing suggesting a problem with addiction.  Lisa Marie Presley has said that Michael had told her exactly how he would die – years before.  So this is something that Michael had been planning for a long time, he was just looking for the opportunity to pull it off.  He tried to do that earlier this year with reports of him becoming bedridden and having to use wheel chairs and needing lung transplants, but the media and fans did not really respond to these reports.  In fact, very little affection or interest was displayed by the general public.  You also have to remember that although Michael said that he enjoyed his private life, he loved being in the spotlight.  With his bipolar and eccentric nature, he wanted to know how the world would react to finding out that he had died.  Michael wanted to see this first-hand, and Michael knew that he needed a bigger scheme to get the public’s attention that he was looking for.

AEG did not contract Michael for the 50 concerts, instead, the entire motive was to stage his death.  This meant huge payoffs for Michael – and all his prior debt would be cleared.  Look at the sales of his records now – the proceeds from these are being funneled to the Jackson family.  Even the closing of his memorial stated that he was still alive, and La Toya said that he was watching it all.

Jackson wanted to live a life where he could enjoy the common aspects such as walking outdoors and going shopping.  He is known to have adorned many disguises – which he is probably hiding behind one currently.  As to the body that was found at Michael’s house – it was probably that of his terminally ill imposter.  Although Michael detests being in the public eye, he has grown so accustomed to it that he cannot live without it.  This is something that he will realize while he is living under his new identity, and this need to be in the spotlight will lead him back in-front of the cameras shortly.

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The MiddleEasy Fight Fist Podcast w/ LaMorte, Touma & Lopez, Episode 15 ‘Friend of the Pod’

It’s like MiddleEasy but for your ears. Thanks to comedians Dan LaMorte, Luke Touma and Diego Lopez episode 15 of MiddleEasy Fight Fist Podcast is here.

Hey Fisters, sorry we posted this a bit late this week. It’s another classic episode with just Dan, Luke and Diego. We talk UFC 223, friends of the pod, WrestleMania, lots of comedy and lots of other things that I can’t remember at the moment. As always please subscribe and review.

As always follow the show on Twitter @FightFistPod.

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Be A Part Of The Mideast Power League

Registration Opens Oct. 7, 2019!

This is your chance to take part in one of the strongest power leagues in the United States. The league consists of four play dates in various locations for age divisions 12 & up. The league is a Ladder League allowing teams to move up or down each date to play similar level competition. The Mideast Power League provides opportunity for any team at any level to reach their highest potential.

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2020 Keystone Fuzion 357 Toy Hauler

Fuzion Toy Hauler By Keystone

Keystone’s Fuzion toy haulers are designed for customers with a grab-the-bull-by-the-horns attitude. We don’t roll with the norm—we set the curve. Fuzion’s obsessive out-of-the-box thinking has delivered groundbreaking floorplans and features specifically designed for the thrill-seekers. With innovations like frame-welded tie-downs, OmniChill™, king-sized Glide-A-Beds™, and Super Storage, Fuzion delivers unprecedented performance and maximum value to those who live for adventure.

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Post #1246 – Planetary Obsolescence

Planetary Obsolescence is a piece of cut paper collage art using images taken from vintage magazines and other ephemera that are hand cut with an xacto knife and then dry adhered to paper using a gel medium.The original is roughly 20 inches wide by 19 inches high (not including matte and frame) and was completed March 2017.

Prints and other products are now available via society6 and saatchi.  Inquiries about the purchase of the original piece should be sent directly to

And, if you haven’t done so already, please take a moment to follow Mighty Joe Castro on instagram and twitter. Thank you for your support!

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Choosing a Civil Litigation Attorney

civil litigation attorneyIt is not pleasant to have to need a civil litigation attorney, but if you have to choose one it will be very important that you take your time and do the proper research before making your decision. Here are some tips to help make that decision easier.

Comfort Level

When deciding on a civil litigation attorney, you want one who not only has the experience and skill necessary to provide you with the best possible representation, but also makes you comfortable. The lawyer you select will need to help solve your issue in the most cost-effective, efficient way possible. Talk to each attorney you are considering about how he or she will help you reach your goals.

The Strength of Your Case

In order for your lawyer to help you reach those goals, of course, you need to set them first. You want the attorneys you are considering to be upfront and honest about the strength of your case, and to be frank about whether or not they can help you win. Always be leery of anyone who says you have a “slam dunk” case. The reason is that you can never be certain how a judge, jury or arbitrator will decide.

Relevant Experience

You may encounter several attorneys who will say they have a great deal of experience in civil cases, but that will not help you a great deal if that experience is in cases other than the kind you are going through. Do not be shy in asking hard questions about how that attorney’s experience pertains to your particular legal matter.

When you speak to a civil litigation attorney with Martin, Ingles & Hensley, you can rest assured that we will do whatever it takes to help provide you with the best chance of prevailing in your case. If you would like to learn more or schedule an appointment, contact us online or call (804) 693-2500.


text:
Mike Levine

VHS Archives #54: Slik Toxik win Best Canadian Metal Video, tribute to Helix’s Paul Hackman (1992 MMVAs)

“You know what time it is?  It’s thrash time!” – Nick Walsh

This video is for Superdekes!  He is going to be on CBC Radio this morning (March 15 2019) to talk about Slik Toxik’s rise to stardom.

1992 was all about a resurgence of Canadian Rock.  Slik Toxik, Sven Gali, and Big House were all making waves.  Lee Aaron and Killer Dwarfs had new music.  But it was Slik Toxik who won Best Metal Video for “Helluvatime” (directed by Don Allan).

The award was presented by Brian Vollmer (Helix), Phil X (Triumph, now Bon Jovi) and Mike Levine (Triumph).  Slik Toxik then performed…but my tape ran out!  This is what I captured.  Neal Busby is one helluva of a drummer!

VHS Archives #18: Kim Mitchell wins Best Toronto Male Vocalist (1990)

An unusual but amusing one for you!  (I recorded everything.  I have a tape here labelled the “Star Trek Awards”, I can’t wait to see what that is.)

This tape comes from the 1990 Toronto Music Awards.  Mike Levine and Gil Moore of Triumph are called to present Best Toronto Male Vocalist.  Triumph were without a singer at the time, imagine if Rik Emmett were nominated!  But he’s not.  Check out the seven (!) nominees and who Kim had to beat.  “Sebastian Back” was a formidable singer and Kim said as much.

Finally, Peter Fredette is hilarious.  Listen to him singing opera style as he approaches the podium.  Did you know he was Kim’s vocal coach as well as bassist?

REVIEW: Triumph – Edge of Excess (1992)

Bought in Taranna at Kops for $2.50!

Scan_20160102TRIUMPH – Edge of Excess (1992 Virgin)

When Triumph split in ’87, Rik Emmett went off in a pop direction leaving his two bandmates with no singer/guitar player, and without their most recognizable member.  As bassist Mike Levine said in M.E.A.T Magazine, “We couldn’t just be Duo-umph”.  Since Triumph always had two lead singers in Rik Emmett and drummer Gil Moore, this time Gil simply stepped up and sang everything.  Then they needed a guitar player.  Gil and Mike Levine wrote and recorded most of Edge of Excess with Mladen Zarron in Toronto, before hiring ex-Frozen Ghost (current Bon Jovi) shredder Phil X.  Five years after the split, the new Triumph emerged with a heavier and darker album, Edge of Excess.

Triumph boldly opened the album with a whole minute of nothing but bluesy guitar noise.  If there was a stronger way to say “We don’t need Rik,” I don’t know what that would be.  This guitar noise serves as an intro to the first Triumph song without Emmett, “Child of the City”, a harder edged Triumph song with the same kind of hooks.  It’s hard to determine who is playing lead guitar, Mladen or Phil X, but rest assured that whoever it is has laid waste to the land.  Rik Emmett wasn’t just a shredder, but a talented player who composed his solos with class and ability.  Mladen and Phil have done the same, but without emulating Rik.  (Phil’s going to have his work cut out for him in Bon Jovi, though.)

The rip-roaring “Troublemaker”, easily the fastest and heaviest Triumph track to date, was featured on the soundtrack to Hellraiser III, and it’s easy to see why.  It’s as close to speed metal as Triumph have been, and I shouldn’t need to tell you that again the solos shred.  Who’s playing?  Fucked if I know, there are three guys credited on the song.  The song is actually very close to high-octane Whitesnake and it would be easy to imagine Coverdale’s crew doing it.

Lest you think that ballads were a thing of Triumph’s past, “It’s Over” has a country & western feel. Unfortunately of the two singers, Moore had the less commercial voice.  This is where Gil’s voice reveals its limitations.  On backing vocals, some big names are on hand such as Fred Coury of Cinderella and Steve DeMarchi of Sheriff, to help beef up the big chorus.  It’s not enough to make a memorable song.  They cook up some groove on the title track, tapping the vein of Van Hagar.  But without Rik Emmett, Triumph lost part of what made their unique sound.  On Edge of Excess it’s too easy to compare them to contemporaries.  “Turn My Back on Love” is better, occupying a dirty mid-tempo groove, and with Phil X handling all the guitars himself.  The big chorus is the closest thing to old Triumph on the album.

That’s the side; the second one opens with “Ridin’ High Again”, a sleezy rocker that sounds like Don Dokken emigrating to Canada.  Phil X really can shred though, and anyone who’s curious what he can do should check it out.  I don’t think Phil will be able to play to his strengths in his new band, so give this a listen and hear the guy blaze like Vai meets Van Halen.  “Black Sheep” starts as a total surprise; a blues right in the middle of the album.  No drums, just claps.  Sadly instead of sticking with this, it transforms into a stock hard rocker.  “Boy’s Nite Out” has a grammatically incorrect title:  The lyrics are clear that it is not a boy’s night out, but “the boys”, plural.  It should therefore be called “Boys’ Nite Out”.  Here I am bitching about the grammar and not the word “Nite”…anyway, back to the song.  Standard rocker.  Plenty of great shreds, but this album is far too burdened by generic rockers.  Rik Emmett used to bring a variety of influences to the table, and their albums with him may have had their weaknesses, but they were more diverse than Edge of Excess.  Without enough identity, Triumph forged a batch of largely forgettable bluesy hard rock songs.  Lots of crunch, not enough stick-to-your-brain hooks.

Fortunately the classy power ballad “Somewhere Tonight” helps wind things up properly.  Identity is still a problem, but at least this is a break in the rut the album had been in.  Right back into the rut for “Love in a Minute”, the last in a batch of heavily generic rock songs that sound like about a dozen bands…none of them Triumph.

Like any fan, I was pleased that Triumph kept going despite such a huge setback as losing your main guy.  Unfortunately the album they produced in ’92 was not up to par, and I guess that’s why it took me 23 years to finally buy it!  A couple good songs early in the album, but not much more.

2.5/5 stars

REVIEW: Triumph – Greatest Hits Remixed (2010)

My Triumph reviews to date:

GR HITS REMIXED_0001TRIUMPH – Greatest Hits Remixed (CD+DVD 2 disc set 2010 Universal)

I was very impressed with the “new” Greatest Hits Remixed by Triumph. Normally I don’t go much for remixes, as 9 times out of 10 the original versions are superior. Greatest Hits Remixed however was done by none other than Rich Chycki (ex-Winter Rose) whose credits include remixing work with Rush, particularly on Retrospective III. He did the first remixes of the Vapor Trails material, leading to the band remixing the whole album today.  Chycki’s work elevated those songs to a new level, likewise with Triumph.

The drums are louder and harder (read: modern sounding). The guitars more aggressive. The rolling, grooving basslines are now in your face. (I may have underrated Mike Levine in the past.)  Keyboards have been toned down. Vocals have been stripped dry and place high in the mix. In the case of “Just One Night”, the entire song sounds re-recorded, particularly the lead vocal.  Gil sounds older on this version. Even the hokey cheese of “Somebody’s Out There” has been replaced with a new edge, drowning out the formerly keyboard-heavy leanings. My only complaint is that some vocals are a little heavy on echo.

This CD-DVD 2 disc set comes with a wealth of interesting extras.  The DVD here is a great package on its own, and would have been worth buying in the $10 range alone. Every major Triumph video is here, now backed by the remixed tracks. In addition, there’s some bonus features, such as the “Child of the City” music video by the “v2.0” version of Triumph with Phil X.  There’s some early fan-cam footage (“Blinding Light Show”) and perhaps best of all, Triumph inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.  They are inducted by Tom  Cochrane, introducing Gil Moore as one of his closest friends.  Who knew?  Additionally, the set is housed in a nice double digipack, with lots of photos (a couple recent ones too) and lots of text to read. On the whole, a well made and timely package.

If you’re a new fan who hasn’t got their first Triumph CD yet, this package is a pretty good buy.  You might really get into the more modern sound. If you’re an old fan, I think it’s fun to enjoy the memories and the harder rocking sounds.

5/5 stars

REVIEW: Triumph – Surveillance (1987)

Part 2 of a 2 part series by request of reader DEKE! Today we look at the final album by the original Triumph. For the first installment, The Sport of Kings, click here!

TRIUMPH – Surveillance (1987 MCA, 2003 TML)

Triumph bassist Mike Levine once called this album your proverbial “contractual obligation” record. What he meant by that, was that Rik and the boys were barely on good terms anymore, the end was near, but the band needed to crank out one more album (plus a “greatest hits” record entitled Classics) before they could call it a day.

And who can forget that awkward interview on MuchMusic’s Power Hour, when Erica Ehm unwittingly asked Rik, “Have you ever thought of going solo? Wait a second, I have the chance to break up Triumph with this question!” Rik mumbled something about how the guys in the band always gave him the freedom to do whatever he wanted, and there was no need to go solo. Then a couple months later, WHAM!  The headline was all over the Toronto Sun — RIK QUITS TRIUMPH.

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, this sounds like the last album by a once powerful band. It sounds like a band out of ideas, a tired band, a band who doesn’t care anymore.  It has an atmosphere of “let’s see if this one will stick to the wall.”

Yes, Rik Emmett was and remains a genius guitar player.  Mike and Gil, God bless ’em, were the average backing band, given a tremendous boost in our native land due to the fact that they are Canucks. There’s a certain Canadian mediocrity to Triumph — not quite as good as Rush, but similar. A loyal fanbase, but with not nearly the treasure-rich back catalogue that Max Webster has. A talented guitar playing frontman, but as a vocalist a bit shrill even by Geddy standards. A T-shirt-and-jeans type image, maple leaf proudly emblazoned on their hockey jerseys, but an image just too bland for anybody but us hosers by the late 1980’s.

Surveillance struck me from the start as Rik taking control of the machine for one last spin. It treads the progressive tendencies, with two instrumental intro tracks, a guest shot by Steve Morse, and some lyrically interesting pieces (“All The King’s Horses”). This is tempered by Rik’s increasing interest in pop — “Let The Light (Shine On Me)”, and “On and On”. On Gil Moore’s side, we have nothing but terrible filler tracks, the worst of which is “Rock You Down”. This is perhaps the worst song Gil’s ever foisted upon us. At some points trying to be R&B, at others hopelessly lost in a morass of bad lyrics and muddy mix, it is a bit of a train wreck.  The whole album suffers from this muddy mix and too many odd crashing keyboard samples.

Dark Helmet.

The best tune was the lead single, “Never Say Never” (co-written by Rik’s new protege Sil Simone).  Unfortunately this is a video that Rik soon found embarrassing to watch.  The bouffant hairdo (or as Rik referred to it, “good hair production”), the fancy wardrobe…what was wrong with jeans and jerseys?  It was 1987.  That’s what was wrong with it.

I wanted to give this album one star, as I believe it truly has some of the worst songs of Triumph’s career. Upon reflection I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t because lyrically, I like some of this album, and musically there are a couple good moments here and there that save the album from being a total torpedo. The guitar playing, like on “Carry on the Flame”, is absolutely fiery.  You know a guitar player like Rik Emmett isn’t going to lay a turd.  There are a couple interesting riffs. And, as a Power Hour nerd, I loved the voice cameo by J.D. Roberts (now known as CNN’s John Roberts).

Much to my surprise (and delight, because I didn’t like it when bands broke up), Triumph carried on with one more album (Edge of Excess) and a new guitar player.  Phil X (ex-Frozen Ghost  and currently on tour with Bon Jovi) joined the band, while Toronto’s Mladen Zarron wrote on played on the majority of the album.  Sound wise, they rocked it up several notches before calling it a day.

When they did reunite with Rik, they didn’t play any songs from Surveillance.  Can’t say that I’m surprised.

This album serves as a reminder of what a terminally ill band sounds like. You can hear the tension and lack of cohesion. Despite that, there are still a couple interesting tracks and melodies here for the Triumph fan, some of which have not yet resurfaced on a compilation CD. Check it out if you’re a fan, avoid like the plague if you are not.

2/5 stars

Also worth noting:  The guy on the cover of Surveillance is the same dude from the Never Surrender album!

REVIEW: Triumph – The Sport of Kings (1986)

Part one of a two-part series by request of the mighty DEKE!

TRIUMPH – The Sport of Kings (1986, remastered 2003, TML Entertainment)

And the award for Worst Album Cover of 1986 goes to…Triumph!

Seriously, can anybody tell me what the hell this is supposed to be? Methinks the band just didn’t care anymore, and the music contained herein bears me out.

The Sport Of Kings, following the double live Stageswas a total about-face for Triumph. Starting off with a turgid sequencer riff, the album shifts immediately into “coast” on “Tears In The Rain”. Keyboards, bad sounding drum samples, coupled with a sappy almost guitarless song, and that is the opening track! (I hereby trademark the word “guitarless” as my own creation.)  Post-split, Gil Moore and Mike Levine were pretty adamant in their blaming up Rik Emmett for the change in direction.  Certainly, the early part of Rik’s solo career backs up that claim.

I’ll admit to being into “Somebody’s Out There” at the time, but it is hard to listen to now in the car with the windows down.  Wouldn’t want anybody to see me.  (The remixed version from the recent Greatest Hits Remixed CD is better.)   This song is just pure pop, way further into that direction than anything Bon Jovi was doing at that time.  But not in a good way.

The sad thing is, I really used to dig this album to the point that I wore out my original cassette. Now, on CD, I once every few years.  I’ll claim that I didn’t know better at the time. When I owned this the first time, I’d never heard a single Led Zeppelin studio recording; not one. I had never heard of “Smoke On The Water”, and I’d never heard a Rush album. Perspective changes even if the songs remain the same. The problem is that Sport Of Kings is too pop:  not enough guitar, not enough rock, not enough Triumph, too many keyboards! Hell there are three keyboard players on this album (one being Kitchener’s own Scott Humphrey).

I’m trying to pick out some non-embarrassing highlights. I kind of like “If Only” for the lyrics and chorus.  “Play With the Fire” is Triumph trying to be progressive again, but the song isn’t any good.  I like “Take A Stand”, and I’ll admit to still enjoying “Just One Night” (an old Eric Martin demo, co-written by Martin and Neal Schon). I only wish the video remix was on an album of some kind. The superior original remixed version used in the music video has never been released on any music format that I own.  I’ll have to use Audacity to rip it from a DVD.

This is not the remixed video, unfortunately — they’ve replaced the remix with the album version

I used to enjoy “Don’t Love Anybody Else But Me”, and I think the melody is still OK, but man, those lyrics. Gradeschool stuff. Of course, I was in gradeschool at the time!  To me in 1986, these lyrics were probably pretty profound.  There’s nothing wrong with admitting that your tastes have changed and some music you just don’t dig anymore. In this particular case, the tastes of the entire world have changed. Richard Marx does not make top-ten albums anymore. This album lacks spark of any kind, it’s just a keyboard-ridden embarrassment. If you played anything on this album side by side with “Blinding Light Show” or “It Takes Time”, you’d never guess it was the same three guys.

But it is, and they had only one more “contractual obligation” record left in them after this. The end was nigh.

1.5/5 stars

Come back in a few days, and we will be discussing that very contractual obligation record!


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Daily Archives: March 6, 2011

To an Afro-Latino Caribbean Flavor

I ran as fast as I could with my backpack firmly strapped to my back. My sleeping bag and assortment of toiletries and other items wrapped in it was cradled in my arms. It doubled as my “carry on” and the sleeping bag would come in handy as a blanket.  On these large buses that cover long distances they keep the AC system cranked to the max. I prepared for this, dressing in five layers – with a sixth handy – for the 18-hour journey.

I was late for the 7 p.m. bus that would take me from Bogota to Barranquilla. Mauricio Mellan, my couchsurfing host who I now consider a friend, drove through rush hour traffic like a true Bogota local, dodging taxis and buses and motorcyclists. We made it to the bus terminal in just enough time to hug goodbye and quickly agree to meet perhaps in Medellin.  I was supposed to make that Medellin trip with Mauricio on Monday, but I woke up Thursday with the sudden urge to experience carnival in Barranquilla. Weeks before, several Colombians I met along the way had asked and even gently suggested that I should go to Barranquilla for carnival. Somehow I was not moved by that. I was thinking about other things, such as visiting colonial Villa de Leyva, and the Salt Mine Cathedral, not getting carnival bacchanal.

Well, in the shower – where I do my best thinking – I asked myself what in the world was I still doing in Bogota. The city was cold, wet, and dreary and I had had my fill of the place. The only reason I was still in Bogota, I thought, was to hitch a ride to Medellin with Mauricio. Not reason enough. Move on!

In the lap of luxury from the mountains to the shore

So the obvious destination was carnival. Barranquilla is where everybody would be this weekend, partying it up and having a good time.

Colombians love their country. They talk it up. They love to describe its beauty and all that it has to offer. They describe cities and villages like they are national jewels. Most of them, however, describe Barranquilla as dirty, chaotic, and dangerous in some areas, and only worth a day’s visit, if that. The only thing worthwhile about Barranquilla, they would add, is carnival. People from Barranquilla, such as my first host Mar Ortega, take offense to this less than flattering description of their city, of course. People from the coast and from Bogota take friendly jabs at each other. Bogota folks like to say people from the Caribbean coast are loud, talk too fast, drink and party far too much. I would not go as far as to say there’s a regional conflict – they are all proudly Colombian – just friendly ribbing.

Well, soon I would see for myself what Barranquilla, where singer Shakira and other notable Colombian artists are from, is all about. In the meantime, I am just outside of Bogota on a mountain pass, rain and fog forcing the bus to slow to a crawl. I don’t mind. These are serious mountains we are climbing and descending and I for one like the fact the bus driver is moving at a snail’s pace. As assistant world editor at the Miami Herald, I read more than my share of stories about buses in South America going off some cliff side, and I don’t wish to be tomorrow’s headline. Go slow, bus driver. Take your time compadre.

As I made the decision to go to Barranquilla, I had to hustle to get to the bus terminal to buy a ticket, book a hotel, eat lunch and pack. I decided not to even request a couch in Barranquilla, useless during carnival, and find a hotel instead. Of course all the prices were jacked up for carnival. And there definitely wasn’t a couch to be had as I noticed in the Couchsurfing Barranquilla group. In that forum I posted an SOS. Could anybody advise about hotel, with wireless internet, near the carnival action, safe, clean. Almost immediately the responses came, one from David, a 22 year old guy from Barranquilla who made a hotel suggestion then offered to help me find a reasonably priced hotel. I found a hotel online and called David from Bogota to ask if it was in a good location and safe. He said yes on all fronts then offered to pick me up at the bus station and take me to my hotel, then again pick me up from my hotel to take me to his home to celebrate carnival with his family and other couchsurfers he was already hosting or helping to enjoy Barranquilla. I was blown away by David offering to do this and had to ask if he was doing this out of pure friendship or he was seeking to be paid. David said absolutely not. No money. His gesture was being offered out of friendship, nothing more. Cool, I thought.

Ready to shake it for 8 kilometers

When I made it to the bus terminal in Soledad – the bus and airport that serves Barranquilla are actually in a neighboring town named Soledad – I called David. He sounded like he had just awaked or maybe just tired. David said he’d be right over to the terminal. I waited. And waited. And waited, turning down offers from taxi drivers. After more than an hour, here comes David, who looked like a high school linebacker with braces. We greeted and David said they were others waiting inside the terminal. There, a group of six people from Israel and one guy from Austria, all couchsurfers. The obvious question came to mind: was David driving a bus? How was he going to get all of us to our respective homes for the weekend? He had found hotels or apartment to rent for some in the group. They were going in a different direction, I to my hotel on the other side of town. After trying to get an answer as to exactly what was the plan, David revealed that he did not have a car – or a bus – and that instead he would get us all taxis. So let me get this straight: I waited an hour and a half for David to get me a taxi when I could have gotten a taxi on my own? As I got in the taxi, a bit befuddled by David, he said he’d come to my hotel at 6 p.m. to pick me up to join the official kickoff carnival festivities. He went off with the others to get them into taxis, all – as me – with their large backpacks.

So here’s what I think was going on in David’s mind: Here’s a kid from Barranquilla who only recently signed up to couchsurfing and he was just excited about meeting visitors from other countries. So he volunteered to facilitate their visit, as a sort of self-appointed one-man greeting committee. David had really good intentions and a really good heart, but in this instance doing more harm than good. It would have been better for him to say upfront he had no means to transport any of us from the terminal and perhaps would be better to allow us – me! – to proceed to my hotel. After an 18-hour trip and you are standing outside in the intense sun waiting, you’d rather get to where you need to be and soon.

I hold nothing against David. His heart was in the right place. By the way, I think he took on too much. He never showed up to meet me at my hotel and I went to the event on my own, where he turned up, happy and dancing through the crowd to cumbia. No explanation, no response when I said I called him but he didn’t pick up. Moral of the story: sometimes you have to depend on the kindness of strangers. But be ready to do for yourself.

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partisan warfare

partisan warfare
Not to be used. See guerrilla warfare.

Military dictionary. 2000.

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Partisan Warfare, Soviet —    In the 1930s, the Soviet Union made preparations to conduct partisan warfare, but Joseph Stalin, who had promised the Soviet people that war would be fought on the enemy’s territory, cancelled plans in 1937–1938 and had a number of experts… …   Historical dictionary of Russian and Soviet Intelligence

  • Partisan Warfare, Anti-Soviet —    Soviet authorities faced a partisan threat from Ukrainian and Baltic citizens from the first days of World War II. In Lvov in the Ukraine and in Lithuania, nationalists fired on retreating Soviet soldiers in 1941. Moreover, some Soviet… …   Historical dictionary of Russian and Soviet Intelligence

  • Partisan (military) — A partisan is a member of an irregular military force formed to oppose control of an area by a foreign power or by an army of occupation. The term can apply to the field element of resistance movements that opposed German rule in several… …   Wikipedia

  • partisan — par|ti|san1 [ˌpa:tıˈzæn US ˈpa:rtızən, sən] adj 1.) strongly supporting a particular political party, plan or leader, usually without considering the other choices carefully ▪ British newspapers are highly partisan. 2.) relating to the fighting… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • partisan — (n.) 1550s, one who takes part with another, zealous supporter, from M.Fr. partisan (15c.), from dialectal upper It. partezan (Tuscan partigiano) member of a faction, partner, from parte part, party, from L. partem (nom. pars), see PART (Cf.… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Partisan — Ein Partisan (von italienisch partigiano Parteigänger; vgl. Partei) ist ein bewaffneter Kämpfer, der nicht zu den regulären Streitkräften eines Staates gehört. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Definition 2 Rechtlicher Status 2.1 Historische Entwicklung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Partisan Ranger Act — On April 21 1862, the Confederate Congress passed the Partisan Ranger Act. The law was intended as a stimulus for recruitment of irregulars for service into the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. The Act reads as follows: Section 1 …   Wikipedia

  • partisan — parÂ·tiÂ·san || pÉ‘rtÉªzn / pÉ‘Ët n. one who fervently supports a specific group or cause; guerrilla fighter adj. siding with a specific group or cause; devoted, zealously supportive, biased; of or pertaining to guerilla fighters or guerilla… …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Guerrilla warfare in the American Civil War — followed the same general patterns of irregular warfare conducted in 19th century Europe. Structurally, they can be divided into three different types of operations mdash; the so called People s War , partisan warfare , and raiding warfare . Each …   Wikipedia

  • Unconventional warfare — Warfare Military history Eras Prehistoric Ancient Medieval Gunpowder Industrial …   Wikipedia

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The BQ(Q) Allan C

Proud to share the story of one of my Prospect Park Track Club teammates hitting that BQ. Thanks for sharing your story, Allan!

Allan C

Age (at the time of first BQ):

Weight (at the time of first BQ):

At which marathon did you get your first BQ?

Mohawk Hudson

Tell us a little about the race.

The short version: I zoned out, stayed patient, and believed in my ability that day. The longer version: I stayed at my place (which was a 90 minute drive from the start) the night before and my husband drove up me and a friend from my Brooklyn running group, PPTC that morning. The weather was nearly perfect – 50 at the start, overcast, with a slight wind that was on our tail for the second half. Most of the race is on a shaded rail trail of crushed gravel or pavement that follows the Mohawk River until in meets the Hudson then south along the Hudson to Albany. Although I was worried about being stopped by a train (which happened to me in this race two years ago), there was no such issue this year. I had never run a BQ before but I had been close (previous PR: 3:06). In actuality, I would age up for 2018, so I would be fine with a 3:10, but I thought my previous races warranted trying a sub-3. I tried to read my body, and stay focused on making sure it was “easy” for the first half (then later until mile 16). I was able to hold my pace at about 6:45-6:55 for the first 20 miles, running with various people, or alone, trying to focus on making sure I wasn’t getting excited. I wanted to be patient so that I could finish strong, which is always the dream. I was pleased that I my training, which focused on strength endurance, facilitated control for the first 18 miles. I got to mile 10 at 1:08:20, the half at 1:29:42, and mile 20 at 2:16:39 (the first and second ten miles being nearly identical), but I was in uncharted territory after that. I focused on keeping on pace in what some consider the mentally toughest part of the course – when you exit the rail trail and are running through suburbs of Albany. By mile 20, the field was strung out. I was able to focus on chasing the person in front of me, and ended up passing a handful of runners in the last 10K. My pace started to slip in the last three miles. After running 21 miles at 6:50 pace, I ran a couple of 7:00(even) mile splits before a reasonable controlled dive. (My last three miles were a 7:14, 7:19, 7:27). I did my best to fight, telling myself that I didn’t know if I could get under 3 hours, but that I should still try. It wasn’t until mile, which was hit at about 2:52:10 that I was sure under 3 wasn’t going to happen. Still, I sprinted to the finish over the moon – not hitting sub 3, but knowing that I had a huge PR in front of me and that I had executed my strategy nearly to a T. This race was a bit emotional for me. I had been chasing this goal for nearly my entire running career. As a runner and a coach, I’ve espoused positivity and hard work as core drivers behind training and racing, but I had huge mental blocks about my ability and would get down when time and time again when it felt like my results weren’t reflecting my fitness. It was a huge weight off my shoulders to finally do it.

How long had you been running when you ran your first BQ?

10 years

Did you run in college or high school?

What was your approximate lifetime mileage at the time of your first BQ?

An educated guess: 18K?

How many miles did you run in the year before your first BQ?

Approximately how many races did you run in that year?

Did you follow a canned program? If so, which one? If not, can you give us an idea of what your training philosophy was?

No, I have RRCA and USATF coaching certification, and I’ve coached other runners. I like the Hanson’s training plan, but I modified it for my own use.

 Did you run with a running club or utilize a coach?

Did cross training play a role in your training? If so, how?

I’m the worst at cross training, but I started small amounts of body-weight exercises that focused on my core strength and flexibility. I think it helped with my stabilization and cleaned up my form a bit.

Did speed work play a role or specific workouts play a role in your training? If so, how?

I run intervals once a week during training, but these vary. There’s a mix of intervals at faster (5K) pace and longer ones that are done slower. The former help with form efficiency and turnover; the latter ones add to strength endurance.

Any other thoughts you would like to share with those of working towards a BQ?

I strongly believe in using tempo runs and cumulative fatigue via long runs to simulate conditions during the race. I also tend to have higher weekly mileage than most, because that’s what my body responds to. Many training programs focus on the long run, and the first 20 miles of the marathon. Training for the last 16 (as the Hanson’s put it) means there’s more focus on strength endurance.

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