MJs bedroom pics show drugs drips and oxygen tanks

Michael Jackson's bedroom pictures show large volume of medical supplies littered around the singer's bedroom at the time of his death. The images detail the late singer's tragic fall into a life of drug dependency while showing a bizarre shrine to babies he made by his bedside, the Mirror reported. The evidence pictures, released by Los Angeles police investigating his death, show numerous pill bottles, oxygen tanks and medical supplies littered around the King of Pop's bedroom at the time of his death on June 25, 2009. One of the pictures show numerous portraits of unidentified babies along with a small picture of Charlie Chaplin. The snaps also show a tall medical stand holding a plastic bag hanging of intravenous fluids and what appear to be two oxygen tanks. The amazing volume of prescription drugs found in the 50-year-old's bedroom. Bottles can be seen lined up alongside over-the-counter drugs he had purchased from a string of local chemists. Michael Jackson's mother Katherine is suing AEG Live, claiming it failed to properly investigate her son's personal doctor Conrad Murray and missed warning signs about his failing health. The new set of pictures came as jurors in the Jackson case were shown an email on Monday in which the top executive at AEG Live expressed serious concerns about treatments the late singer was receiving from his longtime dermatologist.

How music and dance are deeply intertwine

As male superb lyrebirds sing, they often move their bodies to the music in a choreographed way, adding evidence from human cultures around the world that music and dance are deeply intertwined activities. "Like humans, male superb lyrebirds have different dance movements to go with different songs," Anastasia Dalziell of Australian National University, said. "Just as we 'waltz' to waltz music but 'salsa' to salsa music, so lyrebirds step sideways with their tail spread out like a veil to one song-which sounds like a 1980s video-arcade game-while they jump and flap their wings with their tail in a mohawk position while singing a quiet 'plinkety-plinkety-plinkety'," she said. The lyrebirds' dance movements are a voluntary embellishment to their singing; in other words, they can and do sing without dancing. As much as people love to dance, the activity is even more crucial for the birds. Before they can mate, males must impress females with their dancing skills. They put a lot of work into their dances, with years of practice before they reach maturity. In the breeding season, female lyrebirds will visit several different males to watch their song-and-dance routines. Exactly what those females are looking for is still anyone's guess. The findings are published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology.

Odin Mobile, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) on the T-Mobile network

Beginning in July, Odin Mobile will offer comprehensive cell phone service for the visually impaired, including innovative accessible handsets, rate plans for every budget, as well as a unique customer service experience designed to address the needs of its customers. This unique experience will include sending user guides to each of its customers via email in Word and HTML formats and providing customer support that is expert in the accessibility features of its phones. "Everyone should be able to experience all of the wonderful things that go along with mobile technology, and we're thrilled to see Odin Mobile stepping up in this way to help make sure that they can," said Doug Chartier, senior vice president of MVNO, partner brands and national accounts for T-Mobile US, Inc. Odin Mobile will offer a range of accessible handsets, including the RAY, an innovative mobile device developed by Project RAY Ltd, featuring a unique user interface built from the ground up for eye-free operation. This unique device offers users a range of capabilities, such as calling and SMS, contact list services, calendar, GPS, advanced WEB remote assistance, voice recorder, emergency services and more. In addition, the RAY is a fantastic device for accessing audio books, newspapers and magazines with one single user interface across all services and applications for unprecedented simplicity and ease of use. "The RAY is an amazing device that fills an important need in the blind community. It offers the visually impaired the benefits of a smart device through a unique user interface that makes it easy to use by the tech savvy and reluctant adopters of advanced technology alike" said Robert Felgar, general manager of Odin Mobile. "We are extremely excited to collaborate with project RAY to improve the lives of the visually impaired." Odin Mobile will also offer great mobile phones for those persons who are visually impaired and simply want to make calls and text message. These mobile phones, manufactured by Emporia, will be extremely easy to use and have numerous accessibility features, including buttons and functions that "speak" and a high contrast display. To further improve the lives of its customers, Odin Mobile will donate two percent of its voice and text revenue to organizations dedicated to serving the needs of the visually impaired. For additional information about Odin Mobile, please visit www.odinmobile.com.

Take the AFB Described TV Survey!

As you should know, since July 1, 2012, America's leading broadcast and cable television channels have each been required by law to provide at least 50 hours of primetime or children's programming with description in every calendar quarter, approximately four hours per week per channel. Description is oral narration of on-screen visual elements and actions spoken during natural pauses in program dialogue. Please take just a few minutes and participate in AFB's Described TV Survey, and let us know about your experiences accessing and enjoying television programming with video description. You'll be invited to tell us what your favorite described programs are and which programs that aren't currently being described you would very much like to have described. By taking this survey, you will help AFB and our field as we work to better understand how well the major broadcast and cable networks are complying with the law and how satisfied viewers with vision loss are with their program offerings. Your answers will be completely anonymous. You may choose, however, to provide your zip code when prompted. The law requires that video description must be provided in the top 25 TV markets, but all broadcast stations and cable companies must pass description through to customers unless some exception applies. Providing your zip code will help us better track how well broadcast stations and cable companies in specific TV markets around the country are doing to comply with the law. To take the AFB Described TV Survey, follow this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CFTZRJ6 We will be collecting survey responses from now until July 15, 2013, and hope to report on our findings in late July, so stay tuned. Also, please share this announcement widely with your family, friends and networks. Thank you!

Announcing the National Macy Act Call-In Day, June 27--Contact Congress More Easily than Ever!

On June 27, the anniversary of Helen Keller's birth, you are invited to participate in a unique opportunity to honor the legacy of Helen Keller's beloved teacher, Anne Sullivan Macy, and to advocate for improved educational results for all students living with vision loss, including students who may have additional disabilities. Be a part of the National Call-In Day to support the Anne Sullivan Macy Act, and tell Congress to get moving on making America's special education system more accountable for meeting the unique learning needs of students who are blind or visually impaired. Find the full text of the Macy Act and an online support petition at: www.AFB.org/MacyAct For this National Call-In Day, AFB is proud to offer our field a new and exciting resource for contacting Congress. Using the toll free numbers provided below, you can contact your U.S. House of Representatives member and your two U.S. Senators directly by simply entering your zip code when prompted. Your call is on AFB, and your congressional advocacy for students with vision loss should be easier than ever before. While you may call using these numbers at any time starting today, we do encourage all who are interested to make a special effort to concentrate calls on Thursday, June 27, during normal business hours. This National Call-In Day is being coordinated with an array of activities in support of the Anne Sullivan Macy Act around June 27. We hope that every individual who receives this email will participate in the National Call-In Day and share this announcement with family and friends. We are also inviting all interested organizations who would like to play an active part in promoting the National Macy Act Call-In Day to share this announcement with your networks. Encourage your boards of directors, donors, parent groups, association members, alumni, community members, and all appropriate audiences with which you interact, to participate in the National Call-In Day. To learn more about how you can help and how to best coordinate your national, regional, or local group with the National Macy Act Call-In Day, please contact Rebecca Sheffield, Public Policy Intern, AFB at (202) 469-6838 or at RSheffield@afb.net Call-In Numbers: U.S. House of Representatives: 1-855-882-MACY (6229) U.S. Senate: 1-877-959-MACY (6229) Thank you in advance for taking a few minutes to contact your members of Congress. In making these important calls, you are joining families, professionals and consumers from all across America who are as concerned as you are about the readiness of kids with vision loss for college and career. Once you enter your zip code and get connected to your U.S. House of Representatives member or to each of your two U.S. Senators, identify yourself and let them know you're a constituent. Then, ask them to sponsor the Anne Sullivan Macy Act. You should point them to: www.AFB.org/MacyAct for the full text of the legislation and for an online support petition. You may also find an array of useful supporting materials at a joint AFB and Perkins project published on the web at: www.ECCAdvocacy.org Don't be disappointed if you only get to talk to a receptionist or if you get their voicemail; the fact that you are their constituent and are taking the time to bring the Macy Act to their attention is what it's all about. If you like, you can ask to speak to the staffer in the office who works on special education issues, but that's not necessary. Named for Helen Keller's beloved teacher, the Anne Sullivan Macy Act would dramatically improve educational results for the more than 100,000 students in America with vision loss, many of whom have additional disabilities. The Macy Act would ensure that these students are properly evaluated and served in light of all their unique learning needs. Without the Anne Sullivan Macy Act, our nation's special education system will remain unable to deliver on its promise of a truly appropriate education for our kids. Ask your member of Congress, and their staff whom you're likely to speak to, to sponsor the Anne Sullivan Macy Act, and ask them to get back to you with their response. For further information, contact: Mark Richert, Esq. Director, Public Policy, AFB (202) 469-6833 MRichert@afb.net

MJ driven to early death by concert promoters says family lawyer

Michael Jackson was driven to an early death because concert promoters were desperate for him to make them money, according to the Jackson family lawyer. Launching a 40 billion-dollar lawsuit by the Jackson family, lawyer Brian Panish said bosses at AEG were so keen to get the star to perform that "they didn't care who got lost in the wash". The family claim AEG ignored the pop legend's drug addiction and pressured him to sign up for a run of shows at London's O2 Arena, the Sun reported. Panish said AEG chiefs are the only people to claim they did not know about the King of Pop's addiction to prescription drugs. The lawyer - acting for Jackson's mum Katherine, 82, and kids Prince, Paris and Blanket - showed jurors emails between key AEG bosses. In March 2009 - before a press conference where Jacko announced his O2 shows - AEG Live boss Randy Phillips wrote to the former chief of AEG's parent company, Tim Leiweke, claiming the singer was drunk and refusing to address fans. Panish said that the singer's behaviour was just one of several warning signs that AEG ignored. Panish said AEG was under pressure from rival gig giant Live Nation and ruthless bosses were ready to exploit Jackson to catch their competitor. Jackson's family accuse AEG of failing to properly probe Murray - and say his 100,000 pounds-a-month wage demands should have been a warning. However, AEG's lawyer Marvin Putman claimed that the firm could not have known Jackson was on Propofol, a powerful anaesthetic usually only used in hospital. He said AEG had no access to private information between Jackson and his doctors. He branded the star an addict and said the company should not be held responsible for his death.

Now music app that shows 25 most-played songs by listeners

For those tired of music charts dictated by 13-year-old girls and Justin Bieber, there may be a solution in the form of a new app. Herne Bay resident Anthony Gardiner has developed 25mostplayed.com, a new website dedicated to creating custom music charts based on what interests each listener, Stuff.co.nz reported. It could signal the end of the top 20 music chart replacing it with playlists selected by users based on a selected age-range, location, interest or genre. The 33-year-old started developing the site last year as a means of discovering what people were listening to as opposed to buying. "I've always found people's 25 most-played playlist on iTunes a really interesting insight into their personality, so whenever I meet a new person I always look at what their 25 most-played are," he said. Initially the site was designed just for that purpose but he soon discovered that by blending the demographic data provided by each user with their music listening habits filters could be put in place which would allow others to create custom playlists and discover new music. The app is still in stage one of its development but Gardiner hopes that as it grows he will be able to have the most definitive answer to the question of what the most popular song of all time is. Both Apple and Facebook have shown interest in the app, he said.