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July 8. 2009
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Michael Jackson Memorabilia Explodes
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Mississippi
Street Fair
Saturday
The 2009 Mississippi Street
Fair will draw celebrants and
sightseers to the historic north
Portland neighborhood Saturday
for a celebration of diversity and
community building.
Activities for the whole family
will take place along North Mis
sissippi Avenue which will be
closed from Frem ont to
Skidmore Streets during the cel
ebration from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Highlights will include a local
market with interesting arts and
crafts vendors plus community
service displays and food ven
dors; and four stages, featuring
a multicultural roster of enter
tainment.
There will be a kids area at
nearby Boise Eliot elementary
school featuring a castle and kids
games; and a sustainability Fair
at the Mississippi Avenue Lofts,
4138 N. Mississippi.
A children’s parade will start
at Beech school
at noon.
4 I. .
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A multicultural roster of enter
tainment is planned on four
stages.
Caution urged
because of
inflated prices
Im m e d iate ly fo llo w in g the a n
nouncem ent o f M ichael Jack so n ’s
sudden death, enterprising individu
als began selling m em orabilia online
to take advantage of the increased
demand.
The Better Business Bureau warns
that the value o f m ost m em orabilia
and co m m em o ra tiv e item s being
sold is sentim ental and the currently
inflated prices for many items will
drop over time.
A c c o rd in g
to
th e
g ro u p
Smartmoney, before Jackson’s death,
sellers listed an average 2(X) to 4(X)
memorabilia items daily on eBay, but
by the m orning following his death
alm ost 20,000 M ichael Jackson-re
lated items and memorabilia were for
sale on the auction Web site.
Ite m s in c lu d e d a u to g ra p h s ,
g lo v e s, p o ste rs, n ew sp a p ers and
even a C h eeto w hich supposedly
predicted the death o f the pop star.
In addition to m em orabilia, com
m em orative items are already being
Commemorative buttons pay tribute to the late Michael Jackson.
m ass produced and sold to fans—
including t-shirts and special edition
newspapers and magazines. Because
the value o f collectibles is largely
dependent on how rare an item is,
m a ss-p ro d u c e d c o m m e m o ra tiv e
item s are not likely to appreciate in
value.
“ C o lle c tib le s a s s o c ia te d w ith
M ichael Jackson are selling at a pre
m ium right now and most o f these
items will not increase in value in the
future,” said Robert W.G. Andrew, a
BBB representative. “Follow ing the
Jackson Albums Sales Hot
N ie ls e n S o u n d S c a n s a y s M ic h a e l
Jackson’s album sales have exploded -
three o f his album s are in the top three
spots and 2.3 m illion tracks have been
dow nloaded in the United States since his
death.
A lbum sales for the w eek ending just
three days after his death hit 422,(XX) in
theU.S., up from 10,000 a week earlier. The
w eek’s tally w as greater than all the Jack-
son album s sold from the start of the year
to June 21.
T he top three album s w ere “N um ber
O nes,” “Essential M ichael Jackson,” and
“Thriller.” The Black Eyed P eas’ latest CD
cam e fourth.
death o f Princess Diana, the market
w as flooded w ith m ass-produced
items com m em orating her death in
cluding special edition Beanie Babies
that at one time sold for more than
$100 but are now on garage sale
tables for a buck.”
For fans looking to purchase items
to help them rem em ber the King of
Pop, BBB offers the following advice:
C o llec to rs should research the
value o f M ichael Jackson-related
items before they begin purchasing
memorabilia, especially if they are in-
Obama Reflects on Jackson
Michael Jackson
(AP) — President Barack Obama
called M ichael Jackson a brilliant
p e rfo rm e r w h o se ta len ts w ere
paired with a tragic personal life.
"I'm glad to see that he is being
remembered primarily for the great
jo y that he brought to a lot o f
people through his extraordinary
gifts as an entertainer," O bam a
said in an A P interview Thursday.
O bam a said he didn't see any
controversy in the fact that he did
n o t issue a form al public state
m ent upon Jackson's death, and
said he was unaw are o f any dis-
Filmmaker Presents ‘Sweet Crude’
S eattle film m ak er S andy
C io ffi an d h e r cre w m ade
h e a d lin e s by b e in g ta k e n
into custody by the N igerian
m il ita r y w h ile s h o o ti n g
‘S w eet C ru d e,” a d o cu m en
tary about the N igerian oil in
d u stry .
Ten percen t o f the U .S. oil
supply com es from N igeria,
w h ere oil is big b u sin e ss,
p a r ti c u la r l y in th e N ig e r
D elta. H undreds o f billio n s
o f d o llars have been g e n e r
ated from that resource. U n
fortunately, 80 percent o f the
rev enues go to ju s t one p e r
cen t o f the po p u latio n , and
the en v iro n m en tal d e v a sta
tion has co n tam in ated m uch
o f the w ater supply fo r the The Northwest Film Center presents 'Sweet Crude, ' a
20 m illion people w ho live documentary about the Nigerian oil industry, on Thursday,
July 9.
th ere.
LV’s Twelve 22
Bar & Lounge
For an appointment,
call
terested in purchasing pieces that
have the potential for substantial ap
preciation in value.
C o n firm in g the au th en ticity o f
m em orabilia is rarely easy. A uto
graphs can be verified by a third
party, but for other items, the collec
tor should feel free to ask the seller
questions about the item, including
how the seller cam e to own it. If the
seller can’t answer simple questions,
then the collector should w alk away.
C onsum ers should alw ays p u r
chase items with a credit card if they
are shopping online. If the seller
turns ou, to be fraudulent, then the
co n su m er can d ispute the charge
with the credit card com pany and
may be eligible for reim bursement.
W hen purchasing item s from an
in d iv id u al on eB ay, research the
seller’s track record by reading buyer
re v ie w s . W h en sh o p p in g on
Craigslist, go local and never wire
money as paym ent.
Just because the seller claim s that
the item is o f lim ited ed itio n , it
doesn’t m ean that there w eren't m il
lions made. If the item is being widely
advertised, chances are, it’s too com
m on to actually gain m uch value
over the years.
A s p eacefu l p ro tests have
had no effect, m ilitan t groups
a r e f o r m in g to g a in th e
w o rld 's atten tio n and to take
action against the pow erful oil
co m p an ies. S w eet C rude tells
a story th at m ay be far aw ay,
b ut is m o v in g clo ser all the
time.
Cioffi will introduce the film
w h e n it s c re e n s T h u rs d a y ,
Ju ly 9 at 7 p.m . in the N o rth
w est Film C e n te r’s W hitsell
A uditorium at the Portland Art
M useum , 1219 S.W. Park Ave.
T h e sh o w in g is p art o f the
N o rth w e st T ra c k in g se rie s,
w hich sh o w cases the w ork o f
independent film m akers living
and w orking in the N orthw est
and w hose w ork reflects the
v ib ran t cin em a tic cu ltu re o f
the region.
H orace S. S im pso n
Barber
satisfaction in the black com m u
nity with his response.
"I know a lot o f people in the
black com m unity and I haven't
heard that," O bam a said.
The president said he grew up
on Jackson's m usic and "1 still
have all his stuff on my iPod.”
"I think that Michael Jackson will
go down in history as one of our
greatest entertainers," Obama said.
"His brilliance as a performance also
was paired with a tragic and in many
ways, sad personal life."
Jackson died June 25 at age 50.
‘ N ig h t w ith D a y ’
The encore per
A w a rd -w in
formances, with a
ning songstress
special appearance
an d
a c tre s s
o f Tom Grant on
J u lia n n e
R.
piano, are sched
Johnson-W eiss
u led T h u rsd ay ,
brings back her
July 9 at 11 p.m.
p o r tra y a l
of
and Friday, July 10
Miss Billie Holi
at 7:30 p.m. at the
d ay in N ig h t
Ellyn Bye Studio
w ith D ay, an
at the P o rtla n d
event th at has
C e n te r A rm o ry
been a hit since
it first o pened Julianne Johnson-Weiss Building.
Johnson-W eiss
la st M a rc h at
Jim m y M ak ’s Jazz C lub in portrays Holiday five m onths
before her untimely death in 1959.
downtown Portland.
f
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New Prices Effective May 1,2007
Martin Cleaning Service
Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning
Residential & Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
A
$45.(X)
Carpet Cleaning
2 Cleaning Areas or more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas (Includes: I small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only) $40.(X)
3530 N Vancouver Ave
5 0 3 -2 8 1 -2 9 3 6
The Little Big Spot
(Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area • Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs) $25.(X) (With Other Services)
Heavily Soiled Area: Additional $ 1 ().(X)
Sun, Live Music Randy Starr and The Player-Jam Session
7:00-12:00 Funk & Soul
8 :(X)-12:(X) Open Mic, Singers, poets, M usicians, G uests
Tues. Reagge Night
8 -1 2 :3 0 G u estD J’sa n d Bands
Weds, Ladies Night- Tw elve 22 A ll-Stars Band G uest DJ
Rehearsal 5:00-7:00 Live
T h u rs . Ja z z B and - com ing Soon-H appy Hour 6-9
Fri-Starting April 10 - Kings o f O l-Skool. D ress Code
Enforced. DJ'sz Ken Berry, Larry Bell & Mike. $5 cover
Can you “burn ”?
The Miracles Club
4069 NE MLK JR. Blvd
Welcomes you to our “Cookout Cook-off’
Show off your best “ribs” (burgers & steaks)
Saturday August 1.2009
$50 entry fee; I s t, 2nd. & 3rd prizes
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