March
5 Like the man himself, the Michael Jackson auction must be seen to be believed

In a rare public appearance, Michael Jackson held a press conference Thursday at London's O2 Arena to announce "This Is It," aka his "final U.K. performances" (10 of them) at the arena this summer. Sitting in front of a royal red backdrop and sporting a Jackie Onassis hairdo, Jackson looked more like King Cobra than the King of Pop.

(The above video comes from a Michael Jackson fansite, Maximum-Jackson, which faithfully did its best to drum up anticipation for the announcement by assembling a collection of concert footage from throughout the Gloved One's career, with a generous emphasis on those periods when his face did not appear to have been planed.)
 
"I'm going to play the hits, whatever the fans want to hear," Jackson said. Or, to put it another way: Whatever pays off his massive debts. Toward that end, Jackson's Neverland Ranch belongings will be auctioned off April 22 in Beverly Hills.

"Everything must go," according to Julien's Auctions, which is selling personal items such as the pop star's white glove, the Neverland gates and lifesize marble and bronze sculptures of the King of Pop. The auction is preceded with a week-long exhibition that begins April 14. 

While admission for that preview is $20 a head, it promises a spread of worldly goods to rival those of King Tut. The collection is large enough to be divided into eight "sessions:" Garden Statuary and Outdoor Furniture; Antiques, Paintings and Fine Decorative Art; and two sessions each dedicated to Furniture and Decorative Arts; Amusements, Arcade Games and Disneyana; and Memorabilia From the Life and Career of Michael Jackson. Each is represented by its own thick catalog; see below for screen grabs, but it's really worth at least a virtual visit.

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More photos, after the jump.