Anger Management In Hollywood

"A man is not old until his regrets take the place of his dreams."

It has been a strange week. The big buzz late last week, and over the weekend was the book, "If I Did It," which was penned by O. J. Simpson. I wasn't going to address that whole situation, because lets face it, does he really need one more person giving him attention? Also, I found the fact that he not only wrote a "fictional' account of how he would have murdered his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, if he had he actually done it, in the worst possible taste. The thought is gruesome. The whole O. J. phenomenon to this day, makes me shake my head in wonder. Wonder at how he was ever promoted to near god status in the first place. Ok, he was an awesome football player, he might have even been considered a first-rate sports announcer, but the man personally was a thug. I don't think there is much defense for his conduct on the 911 tapes, months before Nicole Brown Simpson was murdered. He was a violent, angry man, and he had a reason to kill her, but as Bill Maher once said, "the L. A. Police was so incompetent, they couldn't even successfully frame a guilty man."

During the Scott Peterson trial, over and over, you would hear the same things being echoed by the man, or woman on the street. "If we can't get O.J. we have to get Scott." What? It didn't make sense to me. Did they mean justice? Were they sure in their minds that Scott Peterson did it, or were they assuming because he was married to her, and statistics say that the number one suspect is usually the closest person to the victim... the spouse. I had a lot of unanswered questions about Scott Peterson's guilt or innocence. I know what my gut told me, I know what my instinct said, and I know what my thought process was telling me. Not always the same thing.

I guess the main thing that stuck out in my mind, was that the police testified to their theory... there was very little direct evidence. The most striking evidence came by way of Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's mistress. To think he would still be lying to her on New Year's Eve, by telling her he was enjoying the fireworks under the Eiffel Tower, was sickening to hear, knowing his wife had already been dead over a week. Amber Frey's testimony did indeed prove that Scott Peterson was nothing less then an ass. Did that alone make it possible he was a killer? No one could say that there was ever an instance of domestic abuse, prior to Laci Peterson's disappearance, but does that point matter? People snap all the time. The police investigators presented a theory of how they believed Laci Peterson was murdered, but is theory enough? I suppose so, Scott Peterson was convicted and sits on death row in San Quentin. Based on theory.

One of the elements that bothered me so much in the O. J. Simpson case, was the fact that prosecutors decided against asking for the death penalty, because O. J. Simpson was a celebrity, and they felt it would work against them getting a "guilty" verdict. What? I thought the criteria for the death penalty applied to everyone. It was a strange dynamic, in that I am not pro death penalty, but it seems to me to use the fact of his celebrity as a way off that possibility was an affront to the victims. Hypothetically speaking, had they found out someone else had indeed committed that murder, would they have been given the same break? Who knows. Sigh. I am really glad that the book O. J. Simpson wrote has been pulled, and the sweep week's special has been canceled.

What's Up Kramer?

Did you catch David Letterman's interview with Michael Richards? As you have more then likely heard, Michael Richards went a little, or a lot, off his nut and decided to spontaneously break into an impersonation of Mel Gibson... at his racist worst! The incident took place at L. A.'s Laugh Factory, where Richards shouted racial slurs at a group of hecklers in the crowd. Monday night, Richards told David Letterman, "I'm not a racist, that's what's so insane about this." I am wondering why it is he came up with those particular slurs as opposed to either ignoring the heckler or asking security to have them removed. I think I can understand becoming frustrated, but I don't understand why it would follow into a long tirade of mean spirited racial epitaphs had it not been the norm for him.

Michael Richards close friend, Jerry Seinfeld, encouraged him to take the opportunity to explain himself, and offer forth an apology. He did. I watched it, but the two things that stood out, in my opinion, was the friendship that was being shown by Jerry Seinfeld, by appearing with him and offering his some strength through his support, and the fact that Michael Richards seemed to be sad, frightened and sincerely unaware of where all that apparent anger originated from. That is the scariest part. Anger repressed for a long period of time, will manifest when it feels like it. There comes a point when we no longer have control, and it might just be where Michael Richards has found himself. Hopefully Jerry Seinfeld will continue to be his friend, and suggest he get some help dealing with his anger.

Tell me your thoughts. Did you see Michael Richard's interview? What did you think of his explanation and apology?

-OndineMonet
"Untitled"
Carson City, Nevada
October 26, 2006
Early Morning