Dee Dee's Kid Blog

Shooting with "MJ"

2011-06-11T07:00:00Z

Hey guys, these last couple of months have been a strange one for me. Lately I have found myself being both extremely happy and sad at the same time.

What's the happy part?

I received my "Epic" camera last month and it's absolutely incredible. What is an Epic camera? It's an innovative digital cinema camera by the "Red" company. In fact, Red was a company that my uncle Michael was very fond of. We would talk about them over the phone and especially their upcoming cameras. He felt that Jim and his company were trailblazers and that one day they would overcome the big guys. I don't have to tell you that he was right, like always.

Here is a photo of my uncle with the Red one camera.

Knowing my uncle, he probably loved every minute behind the camera.

Which brings me to the sad part. Ever since I got my Epic camera, I've been finding myself depressed. Why? Because my uncle would have been the first person I would have called on the phone to tell about my new "Epic". He would have been so happy for me, ....for us. I can hear him now, asking "when are we gonna shoot something together with it?". The hard reality is, now I never will be able to.

Anyway, in honor of my uncle, I have decided to name my Epic camera, "MJ".

That way everytime I turn on the camera to shoot something or press the record button, I will be thinking of my uncle Michael, and the way he inspired me and will continue to inspire me.

In a way, I will be shooting with "MJ"

Hold My Hand

2010-11-15T00:45:00Z

"HOLD MY HAND" was the last song my uncle Michael every played to me in person. He was SO PROUD OF IT. I'll never forget that smile he had on his face as the song played through the speakers (in his room) at the Palms Hotel in Vegas. After the song was over, he asked me what I honestly thought of it. I told him it was a worldwide number one song and that it was going to be a huge. He was so happy to hear that.
I did give the song one slight criticism though. I told my uncle that he needed to be singing more in the chorus and at the end of the song... lol. I said that we (the fans) would want to hear his voice more. :-)
"Hold my Hand" will be officially released tomorrow, November 15th. I'm definitely excited to buy it as soon as it becomes available knowing that the moment I play it, I will instantly remember the day my uncle first played it to me. It's these memories of him that I hold on to and cherish with all my heart. Words can't express how much I love and miss my uncle Michael.

Happy Birthday Poppa T

2010-10-15T19:00:00Z

It's my dad's birthday today and I wanted to post this special message about him.

Many of you guys know of my dad, but don't really know the great man he is. He is not only very laid back, but anyone who gets to know my dad, truly loves him. You see, kids learn by watching their parents and my dad was an incredible role model for me. As successful and as famous as he was when I was a kid growing up, my dad always stayed humble and simple.

My dad was a family man with a demanding and sucessful career and I am especially thankful that he was able to balance both so well. He sacrificed his own solo music career to coach our little league baseball teams. He then later sacrifice it again to start our 3T music career. Everyday he worked with us on singing, writing and making harmonies. He showed me and my brothers how to record our own music and taught us on the same exact equipment that he was using to record him and his brothers.

As we get older, we sometimes forget who was really instrumental in who we are today as a human being. As I look back, I have never forgotten the sacrifices my dad made for us. He never wanted anything in return, just for his sons to be happy. I love my dad and the man he was and still is and I wish him an incredible birthday.

The launch of Code Z : The Zombie Series Official Teaser

2010-09-09T00:44:12Z

Code Z: The Zombie Series teaser is now officially on our Code Z Vimeo Page. You can also watch it at the Videos section of the Code Z website: codeztheseries.com

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE TEASER NOW!
Hope you enjoy it and don’t forget to rate the video and leave us a comment. Your feedback is very important to us.

One of my fondest memories with my uncle Michael

2010-09-02T01:02:54Z

If you were to ask me what was one of my fondest memories with my uncle Michael, the first answer that would come to my mind would be, "Huis Ten Bosch" What is Huis Ten Bosch. The Huis Ten Bosch I am talking about is a Dutch Village theme park in Nagasaki, Japan.

The quick story is.... my brothers and I were visiting my uncle Michael in Japan. All of us were invited to visit the theme park Huis Ten Bosch . I won't go into too many details because most of these memories are very special to me and I hold them close to my heart. However what I can tell you is that the four of us never laughed so hard....period..We were all just acting silly and making each other laugh that day. For years afterwards we still talked about that trip. Matter of fact, whenever my uncle need some cheering up, all we had to do was mention Huis Ten Bosch and he would laugh again. That's one of the things I will miss most about my uncle. Making him laugh or smile. He had a great laugh. A laugh that would make you laugh back. That trip was purely a magical one and I will never forget it.

Taj

#MessageToMJ

2010-08-25T23:08:28Z

On August 29th, I will be tweeting some of my fondest memories of my uncle Michael. Some tweets will be funny stories, others will be about how he both inspired and changed my life.

I need your help making "#MessageToMJ" a trending topic on Twitter on Aug 29th. Please tweet with your memories of MJ. Also make sure to use the hash(#)symbol followed by MessageToMJ so that we are all on the same page.

Some quick examples.

#MessageToMJ Thank You uncle Michael for always teaching me the importance of humility. I love you.

#MessageToMJ Thank You Michael for Smooth Criminal. It's still one of my favorite songs and videos.

Those are just off the top of my head. Don't forget to Include yours this sunday on Twitter.

Together let's show the world how loved my uncle Michael is and will always be.

Thanks

Taj

The teaser for Code Z will officially launch on August the 29th

2010-08-04T07:00:00Z

The teaser for Code Z: The Series will be officially launched on the 29th of this month. This date is VERY special to me . I'm sure everyone knows by now that August the 29th happens to be the birth date of the greatest entertainer that ever lived. PERIOD.
As Code Z: The Series is dedicated to the memory of my uncle Michael, I couldn't pick a better date to "officially launch my directing career". My uncle was both my inspiration for directing and my partner in crime when it came to studying movies and learning about filmmaking. It's been really hard continuing this dream without him.
Not only do I want Code Z: The Series to succeed for professional reasons, but I know my uncle is watching over me right now and I want to make him proud. I could really use everyone's help in spreading the news about Code Z: The Series. My uncle use to light up when we talked about making films together, it was such a passion of his. I know come Aug the 29th, with your help, he will be smiling down at me.

Taj

It never gets any easier.

2010-04-01T07:26:02Z

April 1st has always been a difficult day for me. While everybody else is enjoying their April fools jokes and pranks with each other, I am sadly reminded of my mom's birthday. Each year on this day, I reminisce about the great times I had with her. In such a short period of time, she was able to instill all the key values I would ever need in life. She was and will always be my main moral compass. When I was younger, she would definitely keep me in check and did not let me get away with anything. I still live by her rules today and can hear her in my ear whenever I am about to head in the wrong direction. I am so thankful that I was able to spend the little time I had with her. I will never forget her and her influence on me. She will always be a part of me.

Code Z : The Series (BTS, part 1)

2010-01-23T01:49:39Z

Click here to visit our Code Z: The Series youtube channel as well and subscribe.

"After this, we're doing films."

2010-01-10T08:00:00Z

Those were the final words my uncle Michael would ever say to me.
It was at the end of our family day at a Beverly Hills Indian restaurant. While I was saying my goodbyes to the rest of my family, I went up to my uncle and hugged him. I told him that I loved him and that I was proud of him and proud to be his nephew. I also said I would see him soon because I was planning to go to the UK to see his shows. He responded by saying that he loved me more. He then paused, looked me straight in the eyes and said, "after this, we're doing films."

That was our master game plan. You see, my uncle had another huge passion besides music... that was film directing. We would always talk about making films together, me and him, we were going to be a 1-2 Jackson power combo.
That's what I loved about my uncle. You truly believed like you could do anything when you were with him. He made you feel like that. He was so inspirational.
Since he's been gone, a huge hole exists for me. One that can never be filled. An emotional, spiritual, and mental hole. The only thing that helps, is knowing that I am doing exactly what he would want me to do. Doing what he taught me to do…. and that's film. And that's why Code Z is so important to me. It's about a promise. A promise to direct films. A simple promise that I made to my uncle, who was and always will be the greatest.

I know someone could say that Code Z is just a zombie series. But it's much more than that too. It's the official start to my film career... when I finally stopped talking about it and started doing it.

I really want to thank all of you for helping me keep that promise.

Taj