Butter Michael Doesn't Make the Cut

Oh dear. There will be no butter-Michael at the Iowa State Fair:

Jesus Christ and his apostles made the cut. So did John Wayne, Elvis and Tiger. But Michael Jackson will not have his buttery likeness displayed at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines this summer, after support for a creamy statue of the King of Pop melted in an online vote.

Kent Lehs, a manager with the Midwest Dairy Association, which sponsors the display, said Friday it wasn't a question of Jackson's achievements that drew complaints.

"They were more pointed toward what they felt they understand Michael Jackson's reputation was and not as a singer and dancer, but more some of the things he was implicated on in his personal life," said Lehs.

...........................

Fair spokeswoman Lori Chappell said more than 100,000 votes were cast and by a 65 percent to 35 percent margin, people rejected the Jackson sculpture. Voters were asked to include a ZIP code, and 97 percent of those submitted were from Iowa, she said.

But the butter cow will still be there!

Previously:
Buttery-Michael May Not Make it After All!
Michael Jackson in Butter?

Buttery Michael May Not Go to Iowa After All

Things are not peachy in Iowa over the proposed Michael Jackson butter sculpture planned for the Iowa State Fair. The annual butter cow was to be joined this year by a butter Michael Jackson in commemoration of the Moonwalk.

Under pressure and disparaging comments, the Iowa State Fair is now putting the issue to a vote.

"The overwhelming response is a testament to how important the Iowa State Fair is to Iowans and to the iconic nature of Iowa's butter cow," says Gary Slater, Iowa State Fair CEO/Manager." However, the ongoing discussion has created a lot of, well, 'churn,'" he adds. "Since everyone has an opinion about the sculpture, we've decided to put it to a vote and let Fairgoers decide."

The Iowa State Fair site puts it this way:

"The concept of the sculpture will be a celebration of the 40th anniversary of Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk on July 20, 1969. In honor of Armstrong’s “giant leap for mankind,” this year’s sculpture will include an astronaut, an American flag and a buttery rendition of the surface of the moon. Depending on the vote, Michael Jackson would be featured in a small side portion of the sculpture as the first pop-star to perfect and popularize choreographed moonwalking. "

Never one to back away from a good controversy, PETA weighs in with this request:

"Making the statue out of cruel and unhealthy dairy products is simply a 'bad' idea. In honor of Michael's concern for kids' health, please use dairy-free butter for the statue--we're sure you'll find that you can't 'beat it."'

Oh good grief.

Michael Jackson in Butter?

The butter cow at the Iowa State Fair is a tradition that began in 1911.

Over the years the cow has been paired with other sculptures such as Harry Potter in 2007 and Olympian Shawn Johnson in 2008. There have also been sculptures of the Peanuts characters and a Harley Davidson. So it's not unusual to have the cow paired with something else.

This year it will be Michael Jackson. The butter cow and Michael Jackson.

Enough already!

Fun Facts about the Butter Cow:
The cow starts with a wood and wire mesh frame.
It is kept in a 40 degree cooler.
The cow is about 5.5 feet high and 8 feet long.
Each year features one of the different dairy breeds.
600 lbs. of Iowa butter is required. That much butter would butter over 19,000 slices of toast.
Much of the butter is recycled and used for up to 10 years.

From Oktyabrskoye to Jackson

Let's file this under Odd Michael Jackson News, if that's not too redundant:

Residents of a Ukrainian village want to rename it after the late pop superstar Michael Jackson, a lawmaker who represents the village told AFP on Wednesday.

Oleg Kislitsyn, a deputy in the regional parliament, said villagers in Oktyabrskoye, located in the Zaporizhia region in the country's southeast, had approached him with a proposal to rename the village "Jackson".

At least it will be easier to pronounce.

Michael Jackson 1958-2009

Say what you will about him, the boy had talent. And I have many, many a fond memory of dancing to Thriller with my friends in many a nightclub in my youth! I sang along to many a MJ song as loudly as I could in my car with the windows rolled up. I've plugged into my iPod and cleaned for hours to Michael's songs! Since I can't embed Thriller, I'm putting up this one because I love it, too.