The Sandspur

Issue date: 3/12/07 Section: Life & Times

The media has had a field day with celebrity waywardness within the past few weeks thanks to a pop star's meltdown, a Playboy model's untimely death, an American idol's dark secret, a hotel heiress' repeated run-in's with the law, and of course the 79th Annual Academy Awards. Tune into E! for the latest gossip, or just sign into your respective instant messaging program to have a browser brimming with the "juicy details" shoved into your face. Better yet, simply stand in line at your local grocery store and you will have the pleasure of being surrounded by bold print headlines striving to reel you into the wildest stories to grace our world-even tabloids cannot top these maniacal tales.

So what exactly is the scoop? It all started a little over a month ago on February 5, when Lisa Nowak, a NASA astronaut, was arrested for an attempted kidnapping and murder-the result of a classic love triangle. Two days later, and also in the Sunshine State, Anna Nicole Smith was found dead at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. What followed was a three ring circus of paternity claims, courtroom theatrics, and questionable photographs. Only a week passed before Britney Spears checked into a drug rehab in Antigua, only to ditch the place in less than 24 hours in favor of a tattoo parlor and a sudden fixation with going bald. Before the month was over, Simple Life starlet Nicole Richie was hospitalized for dehydration; Harry Potter cast aside his cloak and wand to revive Equus at the Gielgud Theatre in London; and Paris Hilton was cited for driving with a suspended license. These, of course, are only a few of the eccentricities with which we have been swamped as of late.

Meanwhile, African American History month just passed by without so much as recognition on our TV screens. Anti-Slavery Day (February 28) came and went without special heraldry, even though there are an estimated 28 million slaves in the world ( ten thousand of which live within the United States), 31 tornadoes ravaged the nation from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico in a recent onslaught of bad weather where, in one county in Alabama alone, eight high school students lost their lives. As for politics, presidential candidates have kicked off their campaigns, voicing their opinions on some pretty controversial causes: abortion rights, immigration laws, affirmative action, and of course the war in Iraq. Let us not forget one of these candidates is a woman and another a black man, meaning the long lineage of white male politicians reigning from Washing D.C. might just be broken come voting time. Lastly, the U.S. military death count is now at 3,168 since the war officially began four years ago. This number is up from 3,006 on January 1, 2007, alone

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