Michael Jackson and Howard Hughes: Two sides of same coin? August 3, 2009

Time Magazine April 1976

The Dashing Hughes

On This Date in History:   If you saw the movie The Aviator starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes, you may recall a scene in which Hughes is testifying before a Senate committee and the charge is brought that Hughes regularly used funds to entertain influential people in the military industrial complex to help win contracts.  Hughes acknowledges the charges in a matter-of-fact manner, saying that is just the way the aviation business is done and that everyone spends money on key people, not as bribes, but as a way to influence their decisions.  I’ve never read the transcripts of the actual hearings so I don’t know if that part of the script was just written to indicate the true situation.  But, on this date in 1947, the New York Times broke the story, though its much more interesting.

It is more interesting because the NYTimes goes to great lengths to describe how Hughes is charged with spending over $5000 on the son of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Elliott Roosevelt,  who was the guy who could make or break military contracts with individual companies.  In the story, it’s not Hughes who fesses up, but instead one of his associates who, just a easily as Hughes was portrayed in the movie, admits that they did and do regularly throw parties and entertain people like Fred Roosevelt.  In fact he said Elliott was just “one of  1000” that he entertained.   The Times goes on to say that there was more…that Hughes Aircraft provided women to government officials!  What is intersting is that no one really gets mad at the government folks accepting the gratuities.  I mean, Howard Hughes could invite FDR’s son all he wants but no one forces him to go.  But, that never comes up.

Hughes Testifying

Now, Hughes died on April 5, 1976 amidst mysterious circumstances.  He was said to have become exceedingly excentric and developed phobias to about everything, including germs.  Some speculate that he was the money man behind Watergate and that Richard Nixon never would have been forced to resign had not Hughes been secretly funding White House operations.  Seems, in the early 1970’s, the then richest man in the world was found in England flying around naked, which was apparently not unusual.  Late in his secret  life, he surrounded himself by Mormons and doctors, yet in death the only way he could be identified was through fingerprints.  He was a genius on many levels, but his later life was clouded with his erratic behaviour.    There are those who say that Hughes was allowed to die by his handlers who were more interested in making money for themselves than caring for Hughes, who was reportedly around 90 lbs, with long stringy hair, a beard to his waist and very long fingernails when he died on a plane over the Gulf of Mexico enroute to Houston from Acapulco.  There are those who say he really died in Acapulco and the story was simply a fabrication to add to his legacy.  Then, of course, there were the years sifting through all of the wills that appeared following his death.

Another Hughes?

Now, does that sound familiar?  Who else can you think of that gained great fame and fortune as a youth?   Who else was dubbed a genius for the innovation that he brought to his field?  Who else became extremely eccentric and mysterious later in his life?  Who else died of mysterious circumstances leaving a vast estate?  How about Michael Jackson.  And now, like Hughes, there are charges and speculation that his death was not as it seemed.  

As Eccentric as Hughes?

 I don’t think that Jackson ran around naked all the time, but there was the weird stuff like his ever changing appearance, dangling his kid off a balcony and having young boys have sleep overs.  And, his sister LaToya says that Michael was murdered by those who wanted his money.  I drew this comparison on my own but I found that his father, Joe Jackson, also compared Michael’s final days to those of Hughes.  So, I suspect we will be hearing more of this comparison in the media in coming days.  Ad to that the fact that Joe Jackson  also says that he was killed by people who plan to cash in on his death, and we have the makings of a story that will live on for years.   Jackson friend, activist and comedian Dick Gregory went on a 40 day hunger strike until the “truth” about Jackson’s death comes out.  Hmmm…wonder what happens if the “truth” doesn’t come out for 60 or 90 days?  Or, what if it comes out in 30 days?  Does Gregory go hungry for another 10 days just for good measure?  The real truth at this point is that no one knows.  It does seem odd that a man like Hughes was allowed to fall into such ill health, mental illness and drug addiction.  And, it does seem odd that a man like Jackson was allowed access to the drugs that he was apparently addicted to.  You know who else comes to mind with a similar scenario? Elvis, except Elvis is not generally thought of as a genius. 

Joe Jackson: Michael's Death Comparable to Hughes'

Maybe its just that the hangers on of both Hughes and Jackson were too afraid by their boss’s fame and fortune to say anything.  Maybe they were yes men and did whatever the boss said.  Or, maybe it is like some think….that those that surrounded the two men were complicit in each death because they stood to gain financially.  I dunno.  But, I do wonder sometimes if the fame and fortune that many seek is really worth the effort.   I wonder, as these individuals rose in notoriety and their celebrity no longer allowed them time alone or time out of the public eye, if maybe at times each of them did not secretly wish that they could go back to being “normal.”  Hughes was famously out of sight for years to escape the spotlight and Jackson had been heard recently saying he wished everyone would leave him alone.  If we could ask them now, I wonder if they would say the  life they lived was worth a life being cut short.  I mean, is it really so good to be the king?

SPC Convective Outlook Tue 8AM to Wed 8AM

Weather Bottom Line:  I would suggest keeping a close eye on Tuesday evening.  The reason being is that the NAM explodes a huge shortwave to our west and then brings it through the flow ahead of a cold front.  The GFS does the same thing except that it does not initialize the short as strongly as the NAM but brings it through in better shape than the NAM which has it winding down somewhat.  Nevertheless, should that scenario materialize, there will be a pretty fair chance at strong storms late in the day Tuesday or Tuesday evening.  Other models show the feature but none of them are as significant as the NAM or even the GFS.  We’ll have to see how it shakes out.  Today will be warm in the mid to upper 80’s but it should be dry.  Normally, I’d think that we will be too dry to get anything overly significant with the short wave but if it comes as strong as advertised with the NAM, then it will tend to find the moisture it needs.

DAY 2 CONVECTIVE OUTLOOK 
   NWS STORM PREDICTION CENTER NORMAN OK
   1256 AM CDT MON AUG 03 2009
  
   VALID 041200Z – 051200Z
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS ACROSS THE MIDDLE MS/OH RIVER
   VALLEYS…
  
   …THERE IS A SLGT RISK OF SVR TSTMS ACROSS THE NORTH CENTRAL HIGH
   PLAINS…
  
   …SYNOPSIS…
   TUESDAY WILL BE CHARACTERIZED BY A FAIRLY PROGRESSIVE UPPER TROUGH
   OVER EASTERN CANADA…WITH MULTIPLE LOW AMPLITUDE DISTURBANCES
   EMBEDDED WITHIN NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT FROM THE NORTHERN ROCKIES
   TO THE APPALACHIANS. PERSISTENT UPPER LOW OFF THE NORTHERN CA COAST
   WILL ONLY MOVE SLOWLY EASTWARD…WITH AN UPPER RIDGE OTHERWISE
   PERSISTING OVER THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN ROCKIES.
  
   …LOWER MO/MIDDLE MS VALLEYS TO OH/TN VALLEYS…
   COLD FRONT WILL CONTINUE TO GRADUALLY SPREAD SOUTH-SOUTHEASTWARD
   OVER THE MIDWEST/OH VALLEY ON TUESDAY…AS BRUNT OF UPPER TROUGH
   PIVOTS EAST-NORTHEASTWARD OVER ONTARIO/QUEBEC AND THE ADJACENT GREAT
   LAKES REGION. IT APPEARS THAT SCATTERED TSTMS /PERHAPS SOME STRONG/
   WILL BE ONGOING ACROSS THE MIDDLE MS/LOWER OH VALLEYS TUESDAY
   MORNING. AIDED BY A POTENTIAL MID LEVEL IMPULSE EMBEDDED WITHIN
   NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT…THE REMNANTS OF THIS ACTIVITY AND/OR
   PERIPHERAL STRONG/SEVERE DEVELOPMENT SHOULD OCCUR EASTWARD ACROSS
   THE OH VALLEY/TN VALLEY THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AMIDST A WESTERLY LOW
   LEVEL MOISTURE/INSTABILITY FEED.
  
   FARTHER NORTH/WEST ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE MIDWEST/LOWER MO
   VALLEY…THE DETAILS OF THE SEVERE THREAT ARE DIFFICULT TO PORTEND
   IN ADVANCE LARGELY OWING TO UNCERTAINTIES REGARDING EARLY DAY
   CONVECTION…BUT AT LEAST A CONDITIONAL CATEGORICAL SLIGHT RISK
   APPEARS WARRANTED. PRESUMING A RELATIVELY
   UNPERTURBED/NON-CONVECTIVELY OVERTURNED AIRMASS…ADDITIONAL
   STRONG/SEVERE DEVELOPMENT WOULD ALSO BE POSSIBLE FARTHER NORTH IN
   VICINITY OF THE ROUGHLY WEST-EAST SURFACE FRONT…ALTHOUGH A BOUT OF
   POTENTIAL LARGE SCALE SUBSIDENCE IN THE WAKE OF THE EARLY DAY MID
   LEVEL IMPULSE AGAIN COMPLICATES THE DETAILS OF DIURNAL
   REDEVELOPMENT.
  
   WITH THE NOCTURNAL REDEVELOPMENT OF A MODEST WESTERLY LOW LEVEL JET
   ACROSS THE LOWER MO VALLEY…STRONG/SEVERE DEVELOPMENT COULD BECOME
   MORE LIKELY BY EVENING AND/OR CONTRIBUTE TO ANOTHER ROUND OF STRONG
   STORMS ACROSS THE LOWER MO/MIDDLE MS VALLEYS TUESDAY NIGHT.
   OVERALL…DAMAGING WINDS/SEVERE HAIL WILL BE THE PRIMARY HAZARDS
   ACROSS THE REGION…AND ULTIMATELY SOMEWHAT HIGHER CALIBER SEVERE
   PROBABILITIES COULD LATER BE WARRANTED.
  
   …NORTH CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS…
   EARLY DAY REINFORCING FRONTAL PASSAGE WILL CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASING
   MOIST UPSLOPE TRAJECTORIES WITHIN THE POST-FRONTAL ENVIRONMENT
   ACROSS THE NORTH CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS ON TUESDAY. UPPER HEIGHTS MAY
   GRADUALLY RISE DIURNALLY ACROSS THE REGION WITH LIMITED BACKGROUND
   FORCING FOR ASCENT…HOWEVER BY LATE AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING…TSTM
   DEVELOPMENT WILL BECOME MORE PROBABLE GIVEN COMBINATION OF A WEAKLY
   CAPPED/MOIST AIRMASS…LOW LEVEL UPSLOPE/HEATING OVER THE HIGHER
   TERRAIN…AND POTENTIALLY ONE OR MORE MID LEVEL DISTURBANCES
   CRESTING THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES UPPER RIDGE DURING THE EVENING. VEERED
   WIND PROFILES THROUGH THE LOW TO MID TROPOSPHERE AND 40-45 KT OF
   EFFECTIVE BULK SHEAR WILL SUPPORT BOTH SUPERCELLS AND WELL ORGANIZED
   MULTICELLS CAPABLE OF SEVERE HAIL/DAMAGING WINDS AND PERHAPS A
   TORNADO…MAINLY ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN WY/SOUTHWEST SD/WESTERN
   NEB TUESDAY LATE AFTERNOON/NIGHT.
  
   …KS/FAR NORTHERN OK…
   CONVERGENCE/STRONG HEATING IN VICINITY OF SURFACE LOW/TRIPLE POINT
   MAY CONTRIBUTE TO ISOLATED STRONG/SEVERE TSTM DEVELOPMENT TUESDAY
   AFTERNOON ACROSS KS INTO FAR NORTHERN OK. LIMITED FORCING ON THE
   LARGE SCALE MAY LIMIT THE COVERAGE OF TSTMS…BUT STEEP LAPSE RATE
   ENVIRONMENT/AMPLE INSTABILITY MAY YIELD A FEW BOUTS OF SEVERE
   HAIL/WIND GUSTS THROUGH SUNSET.
  
   …SOUTHWEST/CENTRAL MT AND ADJACENT ID…
   THE COMBINATION OF THE STALLING SURFACE FRONT AND DIFFERENTIAL
   HEATING OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN…ALONG WITH A RELATIVELY MOIST
   AIRMASS AND MODERATELY STRONG WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT…MAY PROVE
   SUFFICIENT FOR STORMS CAPABLE OF ISOLATED SEVERE HAIL/WIND TUESDAY
   AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING.
  
   …ORE…
   UPPER HEIGHTS WILL LIKELY FALL OVER WESTERN/CENTRAL ORE ON TUESDAY
   AS PERSISTENT UPPER LOW MIGRATES SLOWLY EASTWARD TOWARD THE NORTHERN
   CA COAST. WITH LITTLE CHANGE IN THE OVERALL PATTERN…A
   MOIST/UNSTABLE AIRMASS AND MODERATE SOUTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL AGAIN
   FAVOR THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGING WINDS/HAIL WITH THE STRONGEST
   STORMS TUESDAY AFTERNOON/EARLY EVENING.
  
   ..GUYER.. 08/03/2009

Demerol, Michael Jackson & Dr. Conrad Murray-A Young Woman and Fatty Arbuckle June 29, 2009

The Killer?

Much of the speculation making the rounds regarding the death of Michael Jackson involve Demerol and Dr. Conrad Murray. Gossip pages are running amuck.  TMZ cites a Jackson family member as a source, saying that Jackson had a daily demerol shot and had one just prior to his death.  Even some mainstream press organizations are jumping on board.   However, the lawyer for Jackson physician/cardiologist Dr Conrad Murray says his client never gave prescriptions or injections of demerol or oxycontin.  It’s all speculation but there must be some reason that the Jackson family wants a second autopsy. 

I’ve had demerol before, after shoulder surgery.  I could have an injection every 3 hours.  I could set my watch by it.  From the time of the injection, I became very sleepy and quickly was snoozing.  Every time I awoke, it was exactly 3 hours and 1 minute from the time of the injection.  It’s powerful.  Now, I know of someone who suffered from migraine headaches.  Doctors prescribed demerol.  I’ve since found studies that say its not the proper solution due to the high risk of addiction and long term toxicity.  Death happened almost instantaneously.  The amount of demerol found in the system was theraputic but there was a huge toxic level in the liver.  The lab results took a long time.  If the cause of death of Michael Jackson is demorol, my limited experience would say that its from long term use, not a single lethal injection.  If a layman like me is aware of this risk, then one would think a physician would also be aware of such a risk.

On This Date in History:  When anything happens involving a big celebrity like Michael Jackson, the public can’t get enough.  This has been true for as long as there have been performing celebrities in America.  When things went well for actor/director Fatty Arbuckle, they still went bad.  He was a big star.  So, big that he signed a 3 year contract with Warner Brothers for a million dollars in 1921.  Really huge money in those days.  When he signed the deal, he had a party. At that party, a young starlet was found drunk and bleeding in Arbuckle’s room.  He was accused of rape and murder after the woman died of a punctured bladder 3 days later. It was Hollywood’s big scandals and William Randolph Hearst made it into a media circus.  Hearst didn’t care about the facts, he was in the business of selling papers and he made it into one of the first trials “of the century.”  He is quoted as saying that the scandal “sold more newspapers than any event since the sinking of the Lusitania.” 

Mugshot of Fatty

The judge found no evidence of rape but determined that Arbuckle could be tried for manslaughter.  In fact, the whole case isn’t nearly as cut and dried as I had been led to believe.  There are numerous instances of bribes by the prosecutor, false testimony and doctored evidence.  Twice juries were hung 10-2 in favor of Arbuckle with some interesting circumstances. The third trial ended in acquittal but, the prosecutor and newspapers tried Arbuckle in public with wild, unsubstantiated salacious charges and false accusations.  The main witness wasn’t allowed to testify because she was so unreliable.  During the 3rd trial she didn’t even show up as she had been found to be planning to extort money from Arbuckle from the night of the party and besides that, she was too busy on the lecture circuit spreading her tales.  They were inadmissible and unfounded in court but good enough for the stage. 

Women Couldn't keep their hands off Fatty

Though acquitted, Arbuckle’s movies were banned in the US for something that he may not have even done.  On this date in 1933 he was signed by Warner Brothers to make a feature length film.  Perhaps it was too much for the not-so-slender Fatty.  That night he had a heart attack and died. 

Maybe he would have been better off not signing contracts with the Warner Brothers.

Weather Bottom Line:  After a week of August-Like conditions we get a nice break.  We’ve also had a lot of rain.  June official numbers come in at 9.22″ which is less than an inch shy of the all-time June record of 10.11″ set back in 1960.  Wonder if there was a remnant of a tropical cyclone back then.  This year, that was not the case, just a hot and humid pattern that lent itself to storm activity.  That pattern has shifted with a big trof setting up in the east and a semi-staitionary low in the Great Lakes.  That will put us in a northwest flow which is tough to get much rain out of.  It also will drag down dry air.  Look for lows this week in the low 60’s with some folks in the upper 50’s on Tuesday morning after a reinforcing shot of dry air filters through following a cold front quietly sneaking through Monday evening.  The models want to toss out a few showers from time to time during the week but I find that a tough solution considering the relatively dry air.  High temperatures will only be in the low 80’s.  I suppose if we were to get some isolated activity popping up, the best chances wouldn’t get started until late in the week as we warm somewhat and a front to our south tries to move northward a bit.  That would be ahead of the next system that will get ejected eastward across the plains and increase storm chances on Sunday.  Right now, the 4th of July looks pretty good.  Invest 93L is dead in the tropics.