More Messages: Welcome to Neverland

Your eyes don't deceive you. The fall edition of Boulder County Kids, a free quarterly distributed in Boulder County, Estes Park, Broomfield and Westminster, features a cover depicting Michael Jackson as the Mona Lisa. There's nothing wrong with the image itself, which was sketched by Nick Cochrane, 14, using colored...

By Michael Roberts

September 22, 2006

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Your eyes don't deceive you. The fall edition of Boulder County Kids, a free quarterly distributed in Boulder County, Estes Park, Broomfield and Westminster, features a cover depicting Michael Jackson as the Mona Lisa.

There's nothing wrong with the image itself, which was sketched by Nick Cochrane, 14, using colored pencils and paper. (Cochrane is currently a student at Boulder High School, but completed the piece as part of a famous painting parody project while attending Centennial Middle School.) But there's something more than a bit disturbing about seeing Jackson in a dress on page one of a publication targeting children -- which MJ has been accused of doing on plenty of occasions.

What's on tap for the winter edition? One of John Wayne Gacy's clown paintings? -- Michael Roberts

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Michael Roberts began his career with Westword in 1990 as music editor. In 1999, he took on a new role, full-time media reporter, as author of a column called The Message. In 2008, he became the lead writer for Westword's news blog, The Latest Word, a position he held until January 2023. Michael continues to freelance for Westword, covering everything from business to sports and the media; he also contributes to Jazziz, a national music magazine. He holds a bachelor's degree from what is now Colorado Mesa University and master's degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles, and Northwestern University.

Contact: Michael Roberts

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