The World is at an End

Perhaps my title for today's blog is a bit extreme but sometimes I begin to wonder if the sign of the Apocalypse isn't going to be the Four Horsemen but the continuation of the news that propagates the airwaves these days. I guess in some ways, news about crazy celebrities such as Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan tends to take away from the near constant focus on the war in Iraq, the war in Afghanistan, the state of the economy, the state of some of the other nuclear powers in the world and the fact that there is no end in sight for many of these issues. I guess we have some desire to see that while the world is messed up as it is, there are people in it who are even more messed up than we are. At least that's my theory on why we're obsessed with them and celebrities in general.

Still, if recent events in the news are sign enough that something foul is afoot in the world then I don't know what is. I mean Britney has been through rehab about ten times now (perhaps not that many exactly but you know what I mean) and in that time she doesn't seem to have learned anything. Earlier this week a judge ordered her to clean up her act otherwise he would turn custody of her two sons (are these kids going to be messed up or what?) to her ex-husband, Kevin Federline. That right there is a sign of the coming Apocalypse if nothing else. Not that fathers don't have the rights to their children but that a judge is actually thinking of giving custody of children to an even bigger child. A couple of years ago it was a joke to think that Kevin Federline was anything other than a slacker whose career in rap music lasted about as long as OJ's hunt for the 'real killer(s)' of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman's killers.

At one point in the not too distant past, Federline was viewed as the man least likely to be a good father and now judges in our legal system are threatening to turn full custody of children over to him. Now those kids are going to be really really messed up. Speaking about messed up. What about Paris Hilton and her efforts to create a foundation and home for ex-convict women? I mean she made a vow after doing hard time in her small cell that she was going to take the experience and do it for good. Her partying ways were done and she had a newfound respect for her life and what she had. I guess she lost it again. In the time since going to prison, she's been hitting the partying circuit harder than before though she probably isn't attending as many parties as she previously did. I guess the public isn't supposed to pay attention to that.

And what about Lindsey Lohan? At one time she was touted as the original Dakota Fanning or the new Anna Pacquin or Natalie Portman and now she's more or less just the next Britney Spears. After numerous trips to rehab, court, and other places too disturbing to mention, Lohan continues her efforts to clean up her act and salvage her career. On the set of some of her previous movies she made diva actresses like Jane Fonda look like saints in comparison. Showing up late and getting a stern letter of warning from the head of the studio (that's like a personalized letter from the Principal) regarding her conduct, Lohan has been taking a bullet train to the end of the line. Never a good sign. Still, despite taking drugs while in rehab, some of her fanbase still longingly supports her and fights for her no longer being singled out for bad behavior. She was framed I suppose.

I guess it's like they say, history repeats itself. About ten years ago OJ was making the news for allegedly killing his wife and then taking off in fear that he would be sent to jail. The gloves didn't fit so the jury did acquit. Now he's back in the news again. This time for stealing sports memorabilia from a hotel in Las Vegas. Of course he says he didn't do it despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary but still, he maintains his innocence. I guess the dialogues that Johnny Cochrane had him memorize during his murder trials are still stuck in his mind. I guess that is one skill he learned during his days as a serious actor in the "Naked Gun" series of movies. Still, if this is just one sign of history repeating then that means we will be inundated with more Southern celebrity news. That truly is the newest level of Hell isn't it? Write on that Dante!