OK I know what you're thinking this is a blog about joomla and web development so what is Brian doing writing about Michael Jackson for. Sure his death is sad news, especially for those of us who grew up with The Jackson 5 but why give it space on this blog.

What many of you may not know is that in December 2004 his web site "MJJSource.com - The Official Source of Michael Jackson News & Information" was launched  using Mambo.

If I remember correctly the site was developed in flash using mambo as the content generating back end by a team of developers in the Netherlands.

Never heard about this?

Well December 2004 - August 2005 was the time that Michael J Jackson was facing his now infamous trial and there were doubts about the PR value of shouting from the rooftops about it. Especialy as this was perhaps the only web site at the time that was proclaiming his innocence of the charges.

Eventually, and after much debate, the web site was added to a showcase of Mambo powered web sites at www.mamboserver.com. However when the fork/spoon happened and Joomla was born MJJSource.com became one of many sites to show its solidarity with the now ex-mambo core team and reloaded his web site with Joomla.

They even went as far to modify the credits page of the site to

This site has been developed using the open source software formerly called Mambo. This is a full-featured content management system that can be used for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications. Currently this software is being rebranded by the developer's team.

Of course I'm not naive enough to think that Michael Jackson himself actualy used his gloved hand to build the site but even so ...

A record of the web site is available at The Internet Archive Wayback Machine and the original site credit to Mambo here.

Name
Shayne Bartlett

On-Line name (Skype:Twitter:Joomla forums)
Skype - workware, Twitter - joombaya, Joomla! - manuman

Website www.nooku.org

Location
Albany, Western Australia.

Job
Director Business Development - Ramped Technology & Business Strategist - Joomlatools

If I weren't talking to you right now I'd be ...
Finishing a Joomla! integration of WebSVN for Nooku.

I wish people would take more notice of ...
Small print.

A phrase I use far too often is ...
"Cool"

The most suprising thing that has happened to me is ...
The whole Mambo/Joomla! trip... and its still happening.

I'm good at ...
Like to think I'm good at being a dad, but really need another 20 years to know if I was or not.

I'm very bad at ...
Confrontations

The ideal night out is ...
A good band playing at a good pub with my better half and our friends.

The best age to be is ...
Anywhere between 5 and 10, but needs to be combined with it being New Zealand in the 70's. Real freedom and a total lack of responsibility.

What did you dream of becoming as a child?
A pilot.

My philosophy on life is ...
Happiness is the ultimate good.

How did you get involved in Joomla?
Mambo User -> Mambo Documentor ->  Mambo Core Team -> Joomla! Co-founder/Core Team.

I am involved in Joomla because ....
It fun!

What one feature would you like to see in Joomla?
Thats hard.... would say ACL but its on its way. So I'll go for 100% full accessibility out of the box.

What is the first extension you install in Joomla?
Actually I start by uninstalling Polls, Banners and Weblinks plus a handful of modules. First in is usually Yoothemes template overrides to help be me started with improving accessibility.

Complete the sentance "Joomla rocks the world because ..."
"...it's not Drupal :P"