http://www.thepunch.com.au/author-bios/neil-mcmahon/ NEIL McMAHON started in journalism in Melbourne in 1985, and has been wondering what else he might do ever since. Nothing having presented itself, he’s kept at it and has managed to fit in some memorable experiences along the way courtesy of the Melbourne Sun, The Age, the Washington Times, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Sydney Morning Herald. In 1987, Jeff Kennett complimented him on his pink tie. In 1989, Joh Bjelke-Petersen said he had a suspicious face. In 1994 he was with Nelson Mandela when he voted for the first time. In 1996, he was in the same stadium when Mandela watched Michael Jackson’s first South African concert. In 2005 he covered the tsunami and later watched Schapelle Corby go to jail. In 2006 he wrote a book called Say It Out Loud, and in 2008 he walked the Great Wall of China for charity with Olivia Newton-John. Concluding that this life’s never dull, he’s sticking at it, figuring there’s always another Jacko story to write. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-quiet-dignified-end-to-michael-jacksons-mad-life/ NO Billie Jean. No Beat It. No-one was starting something, not even a moonwalk. Of all the unlikely things, it was often quiet. Whatever your life had been, you’d probably want it mourned this way: solemn, plenty sad, and plenty of slow songs. But this was Michael Jackson, and no one expected it be as normal as that. So it was time to put aside your thoughts about the life being recognised and be surprised. And perhaps nothing could have surprised a viewer more than a farewell that flipped the coin from crazy heads to solemn tales - the telling of gentle and kind stories that somehow did not leave you feeling conned, despite all we think we know about the man. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Neil McMahon) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-quiet-dignified-end-to-michael-jacksons-mad-life/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-quiet-dignified-end-to-michael-jacksons-mad-life/#item578 Wed, 08 Jul 2009 13:19:43 +0000 Neil McMahon | Author bios | The Punch