Criss Angel, Dead

The web is on fire with questions. Did the magician die yesterday? Some reports say so. Others deny the claims. Criss made a name for himself doing death defying, dramatic works of magic. Levitating off a parking garage, setting up the most garish Myspace page ever. But is he dead.

Here’s the truth: no one seems to know. That hasn’t prevented most of us from using our internet resources to try to find out. One thing is for sure. Criss Angel is either dead or is pulling a publicity stunt. If he’s alive, maybe he should lose his wings. Or at least straighten up and levitate right.

Redbox Gets a Red Light–Or is it Yellow?

So the movie studios want big prices for CD’s. Redbox wants to rent the latest films at $1 per night. Universal opened fire: No wholesale purchases until 45 days after a new release. Redbox bought the movies retail and kept their customers supplied.

Other companies are taking sides. Sony just signed a five year agreement with Redbox to provide movies wholesale in exchange as long as Redbox destroyed the discs instead of reselling them once their rental life ends. Meantime, Fox follows suit with Universal and Redbox files suit.

Redbox accuses Universal (they have yet to file against Fox) of “Anticompetitive Behavior.” Other major studios wait on the sidelines. The real issue here is that of timing. The studios want to maximize sales. Redbox gets much of its $25 revenue from a CD at its early release–45 days just won’t do. But buying at retail is a costly solution.

Redbox, whose revenues and kiosks grow each day, needs wholesale purchasing to remain out of the red. The studios need the discount vendor to keep its place in line with the $1 movie theaters (somewhere near the back of the line). Who wins? Hopefully the consumer. And this time, Redbox is on our side.

A little less revenue for Hollywood might not be such a bad thing. Ask yourself whether anyone, even Johnny Depp, need $75 million for 9 months work? Seems like some salary adjustments may be all that stands between us and those $1 movies.

Slum Village Loses Baatin-Dead at 35

It’s official. Titus (Baatin) Glover is dead. His body was found this morning in Detroit. A public remembrance is scheduled Sunday night.

He had recently rejoined Slum Village (a group he co-founded) after a 5 year hiatus broken only by a few single releases. He told reporters shortly after leaving the group in ’02 that he had been diagnosed with Schizophrenia. As yet there is no announcement as to cause of death though there have been some unconfirmed reports of his having been ill for a few days.

Baatin was known as a spiritual guy. The one who wrote lyrics that went to the soul as much as as the heart. He’ll be missed. In these days when the soul is often forgotten it’s not hard to remember a guy like Baatin.

Alexis Cohen is Dead-Hit and Run

It’s all fun and games until somebody puts an Idol out.

Alexis Cohen tried. She tried to sing. She tried to be brave. She tried to make light of sleeping on a couch in the studio apartment she shared with her mother. She tried to get revenge by hurling insults and fingers at Simon after being denied a spot in American Idol’s Season 7. When nothing else worked, Alexis Cohen even tried stand up comedy. But most of what she tried didn’t work out the way she planned.

Alexis Cohen is a frail little blond 25 year old who walked and talked like a trucker, probably because she thought that might be what it took for her to make it through. If nobody looks out for a kid they try to look out for themselves. Her manner rings false, her bravado hollow but her need to be loved shines like a candle.

Alexis Cohen makes me sad. Her tirades make me sad. Her struggle reminds me that most of all it’s the heart that matters.

It was a hit and run. Her body left along the roadside. Found by some passersby. Found too late. Never found much. Alexis Cohen is dead.

Alexis Cohen

Erin Andrews-Peeping In, Looking Out

Searchers all across America are looking for Erin. Her Peephole video is all the rage. It’s been unavailable but, like gold prospectors after the rush, many of us are still looking for a glimpse of the blonde ESPN string reporter. Everybody longs for a candid, especially a naked moment with Erin.

Maybe it’s because she’s a sports journalist. Maybe it’s because she’s sexy. Maybe it’s because she’s famous. One thing is clear. We can’t get enough of Erin Andrews. Everybody wants a peep through that hotel room wall. And unless I miss my guess, although the window of opportunity to get a copy of that video is a closed caption, her career is just getting started. My guess is that everybody but Andrews might be a little sad about that.

It’s human to be curious. Harder to be respectful. Best to be above it all and so far Erin Anderson appears to be just that. She’s a victim with class. Nude dancing or not, it was in her hotel room. This is Main Street and she’s taking it all in stride.

Erin Andrews-Peeping into the Abyss

Erin Andrews bared it all. In her hotel room. And someone was watching. Taping even. Erin walks around the room nude. Dances nude too and enough of us want to watch that there is still searching.

The video was on the web. Her lawyers called it off. Now all that’s left is virus distributors, porn sight come ons and lots and lots of curious folks wondering what exactly a voyeur sees in a celeb’s hotel room.

It’s over, but I don’t think we should forget about it. Erin is an ESPN sports personality. She chose a public life. She is a public figure but does that mean her figure should be made public?

Once, on a crowded Boise, Idaho sidewalk during lunch hour I saw a young girl in a very short, very full skirt hurrying down the street. Her mother pulled her along and with each step the skirt showed…a bit more than leg. As I pondered the fashion statement a middle-aged man hurried past me. He pushed his way through the crowd frantically, eyes glued on the teenage girl. I following them. They went into Macy’s. The man went in behind them.

I warned the woman and her daughter. The man, apparently an experienced stalker, recognized what I was doing and disappeared, leaving three stunned women in his wake. We stood in a cluster, gaping at each other in silence as we came to terms with how much access men like this have to all of us.

Erin is a victim, just as all women are probably victims at times of their lives. Does the fact that she’s a public figure mean she doesn’t deserve the respect of not being victimized a second time? Shouldn’t I, as a woman especially appreciate her right to some dignity?

Truth is, I would have watched the video a few minutes ago if it were available. I could say it would have been “research” for this entry. Or that I like to keep up on current trends. But the truth is that I am curious. Probably like most of us I’d like to see someone, especially somebody famous in a candid moment. It would give me insights into who she is and maybe make me laugh. But Impulse makes poor judgments. Erin Andrews’ dignity is more important than my curiousity.

Even if that much sought video were still out there I wouldn’t watch it now. And I feel good about the decision. I’m glad her attorneys gave me the time I needed to think it through.

Daniel Suelo-The Money Changer

Daniel Suelo lives in a cave outside Moab, Utah. Surrounded by scavenged clothes and makeshift cooking supplies he survives the desert–with a little help from the residents of Moab.

Daniel claims to be an aesthetic. A true spirit who lives for purity and simplicity. He’s an educated man who walked away from a decent job to join the Peace Corp and never again participated in our decadence.

Daniel Suelo will tell you he’s transcended. At first, I believed him. I read the articles on his lifestyle. I studied the photo of his cave home for clues. Had this man found a better way?

Suelo doesn’t barter for that is just “money under another name.” Instead, he scavenges insects around his cave home or takes the one hour walk into Moab to scrounge burgers. Suppose some would say he lives off the land. More to the point, this man lives off whoever he can find.

If Daniel Suelo were truly spiritual it seems he would find peace in productivity. Enlightenment in the joy of giving. Instead, he takes what he can and judges himself superior to the society and the people in it that support him.

Daniel, are you out there? Are you reading this on the free library computer paid for by money sullied tax payers, wearing the shirt you found after my neighbor’s husband outgrew it because the stress of supporting his children drives him to eat? Or maybe offering hurls of jumbled philosophy on your blog using electricity courtesy of the old lady down the street?

You’re 48 years old. Still a young man. Does an avoidance of money have to mean a dearth of productivity? What part of leech don’t you understand?

You ought to be embarrassed. Clearly, you know better. Make something, Daniel. Build something. Offer something to others. That’s what truly spiritual people do.

The “gift” of allowing us to subsidize your musky cave misses the target. Jesus worked as a carpenter and a spiritual leader and for the record, you’re not Him. Dylan said it, “You gotta serve somebody.” Come on Daniel, give it a try.

Five Fab Cheerleaders-Linda Theret; a Lifetime movie

Michaela Ward severed her ties with McKinney North High School in 2006 alleging an “abuse of power” on the part of the principal and assistant principle of the school. That’s how it all started, or at least how Linda Theret came to the attention of those outside the community.

McKinney North is dedicated to serving a wealthy bedroom community just north of Dallas but a squad of five cheerleaders apparently ruled the school for years. Drinking, posing for provocative photos, disrespecting and abusing anyone and everyone who got in their way, including their gym teacher.

Michaela Ward filed complaints against Assistant Principal Richard Brunner and Principal Linda Theret whose daughter was reportedly the ringleader of the Fab Five. Despite repeated infractions, and complaints from students as well as Ward, the girls were seldom punished. A fact that left the Fab Five with the confidence to push the line even further and their fellow students with few options.

It’s a case of bullying but it’s more. This is a case of a woman, who wanted everything for her daughter and didn’t hesitate to support the girl and her friends regardless of how far they went or who they hurt. Clearly, the principal loved her daughter. Even clearer, she didn’t understand how to be a parent.

If bullying and attacking others makes us less insecure, then Linda Theret’s daughter had a heck of a high school experience, and a heck of a mother. But if the goal of parenting is nurturing a quality human being who can hold herself with grace and courage regardless of what life brings defines a good parent then it’s hard to imagine a worse failure.

Lifetime is making a movie. Tatum O’Neal will play Linda Theret and come November many of us will be tuning in.

If you love a teenager, they probably shouldn’t always be loving you back. At least not too much. Teen years are formative. In many ways they define who we are and who we will be. Movie or not, they only come along once in a lifetime.

Michael Jackson’s Autopsy Photo and The Pepsi Commercial Fire That Changed Everything

Michael Jackson is dead. Stories abound: Jackson was bald. His body riddled with needle tracks. His autopsy photos are available online. Rumors of end fighting over custody of the children.

One thing that is not in dispute is the 1984 Pepsi commercial taping that resulted in 2nd and 3rd degree burns on Jackson’s head and face. A pyrotechnics display fired prematurely during the carefully choreographed performance ignited his hair. Footage just released shows Michael Jackson dancing and descending a stairway with his hair literally on fire.

It’s reported that friends saw changes in him after that. Was he really “never the same”? Was Jackson’s drug abuse the result of this accident? If so, he wouldn’t be the first troubled heart to find release at the prescription counter. Or maybe the accident shook some sense of security inside him. In some ways, after all, he led a charmed life. Brilliant career, money beyond the wildest of dreams. Perhaps when he found himself vulnerable the fear took hold.

I don’t know what kind of person lives a life like Jackson’s. I don’t know how a 40 year old man sleeps with 5 and 6 year olds or presents a presence so fragile that we watch, mesmerized by the other worldly anticipation. I don’t know what sort of society puts a man on a pedestal because he can sing and dance and doesn’t seem to notice how troubled and unsuccessful he is as a human being. Or, more especially, what it says about us when we hope for an autopsy photo and what it would offer. A chance to see our “hero” at his most vulnerable, most devastated place. Maybe now, in death, Michael Jackson can offer us something more valuable than entertainment. Maybe he offers us a milestone in our society. A time to consider who we are and, most of all, who we want to be.

Gatti Like Kazemi? Arturo Gatti’s Wife, Amanda Rodriguez Arrested

Brazilian authorities have arrested Amanda Rodriguez Gatti in her husband’s murder. The 23 year old apparently gave inconsistent stories to Brazilian police claiming, among other things to have spent 10 hours in the hotel suite with his body before realizing he was dead.

Early reports are that Gatti returned to the couple’s second honeymoon suite drunk. A fight ensued between the 37 year old and his wife. She pushed the inebriated Gatti to the floor and strangle him with a bloodied purse strap. No report as to whether the fight that preceded the murder involved physical aggression on Arturo Gatti’s part.

We’ve lost two athletes in the last few days. Steve McNair and Arturo Gatti were both 37 years old. Both killed by women in their lives, 20 and 23. If 23 year old Amanda Rodriguez Gatti really did kill her husband, what can we learn from it? Was it premeditated? Sahel Kazemi bought the gun days before murdering Steve McNair. I wonder when Amanda Rodriguez Gatti bought the purse.