Saturday, January 02, 2010

Charlie Sheen, Tiger Woods, Elin Nordegren, meet Elizabeth Grattan

Elizabeth Grattan's a name you've probably never heard of until now. But after today, she holds a place in American Culture not far from Charlie Sheen, Brooke Muller Sheen, Tiger Woods, and Elin Nordegren.

Elizabeth Grattan is a 39-year old WGN Chicago radio personality who's low-level sex scandal made the Chicago Sun Times after she was charged with "criminal damage to property, resisting or obstructing the police and battery to a police officer", all misdemeanors. But what happened beyond that really started because she blogged about the whole horror story. Elizabeth Grattan's upset that an anoymous writer used her blog comments area to make fun of her situation.

At her blog Elizabeth Grattan, she writes:


For the first time in my life, I saw the worse in another and rather than holding out hope that the better would win, this time, I became completely indifferent.

Because this time, it was as if I simply didn't even know them.

There were no reasons for the duplicity I witnessed. There was nothing rational or excusable.

There wasn't even confusion.

It was as if the pretty package I'd held in my hand for months on end was opened, and inside the ugliness ran.


What happened was that Elizabeth Grattan went to a party thrown by her ex-boyfriend and later caught him with a new woman in his bed. Grattan claims that he physically threw her out of the apartment and onto the street. Or in her words:


So, I decided to take him up on the invitation he had already given to me. To visit the party he threw. There were people there I had met that I wanted to see. I knew it could be either more ugly or something fantastic. And I wanted to risk the chance that my friend still existed.

So, I knocked on the door, and was welcomed in. By his brother, no less. It turned out that my old lover was already asleep. And there were some people there winding down. And we laughed a bit. And it was a good while I was there. And it was actually a pretty fine evening. And then the evening winded down, and I took a look at the sink. And there were the dishes scattered all over the kitchen I'd spent so many times cleaning. So I wanted to do them. And I was asked why. And I said: "this is what I do for him. Because I have cared for him. And I know in seeing this, I still do care for this man." And then his brother suggested I should leave.

So I opened the bedroom door, where I'd spent every night or so for the last four months. Where I had stripped some sheets. Just asking the one request at least: Please if you are going to find a new love someday, don't use our sheets...

And with that, he and she mocked me. He bragged about her sexual ability. And so, I, like any other woman in the world tossed my drink in his face and told him he was a disgrace.

With that, he picked me up and carried me and threw me out his front door. Hitting the brick wall near his steps. With no coat. In temperatures near zero. My wallet was inside. My phone. My things. And they wouldn't give them to me.


And that's when the second part of her horror happened, because she alleged the Chicago Police did not read her rights to her. Folks, that's a common happening that is not taken seriously by the courts. Grattan blogs:


I told the police how I was assaulted and thrown against the brick. That for two months I lived in that home with a key. That I had been invited over and then thrown out without my things.

They said it didn't matter. And with that...

They told me I wasn't under arrest but were handcuffing me. I asked for my rights. They said they weren't necessary. I told them they needed to charge me or let me go. They threw me on the floor and handcuffed me, then threw me in the wagon and from that point on, I experienced the corruption of Chicago police.


Hindsight is always 20-20 but her story is but one more example of why it's never a good idea to let anyone get to you. Grattan should have called the police first, but because her terrible ex-boyfriend did, she lost. Blogging the matter, rather than using a video camera, doesn't help. But what's done is done.

The Chicago Sun Times picked up the story, and her blog, and didn't contact her. She's been flamed online, wrongly linked to Rush Limbaugh, and called a "Wild Sirius Radio Producer". Moreover, she says the Sun Times got the story wrong, but doesn't explain why. Instead, she writes:

People have written to me to say that my blog was irresponsible. That I should just keep my mouth shut and not risk it. Excuse my language here, but, bullshit. If I am anything it is vocal. I won't apologize for my passionate personality. I won't apologize for those who don't give a shit to attempt understanding. And I won't apologize for my rants and raves and rages at times. I won't apologize for my angers or joys or extremes. Life is messy. And I don't sweep a mess under a rug. I fight to scour it clean.

And she doesn't understand why people are interested in what happened to her.

The reason is that first, she's a media personality. Second, she reportedly (even by her own words) acted so aggressively toward her ex-boyfriend that the Chicago Police were called. Third, she blogged about it, thus revealing what is... Fourth, a personal sex scandal.

I'm not sure what the judge will do with this; hopefully drop it.

Elizabeth Grattan is an attractive accomplished woman who fell in with the wrong guy. Rather than focusing on the past, she should ask why she needed such an obviously terrible person and what it says about her. Otherwise, focusing on him will only bring her more undeserved grief.

Stay tuned.

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Jahvid Best leaves Cal-Berkeley for NFL - low first round pick



Cal's Star Running Back Jahvid Best is leaving Cal-Berkeley for the NFL Draft. This is sad news for Cal fans, but I personally understand the reasons for his decision. He's thinking that it's better to get paid for sustaining football injuries in the pros rather than in the NCAA.

Amen.

I'll miss Jahvid Best. His combination of speed and quickness is unique among running backs. From my experience at NFL Drafts and talking with football scouting friends in the past about Jahvid Best, he'll go in the late first round to the second round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

The question about Jahvid will be his durability. How long can he last during an NFL season? That will be the one issue that comes up again and again as we approach the Draft.

He can overcome this by working with coaches that specialize in making college players better for the NFL Combine before the NFL Draft. Helping Jahvid increase his already incredible speed will move him up to the middle or the top 10 in the draft. But he's got to do the work and enter the NFL Combine. I'm sure he will.

Details aside, I think Best will have a great NFL career.

I wish him all the "best."

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Happy Palindrome Day - Sarah Palin is a Palindrome



Happy Palindrome Day folks. As you watch the Alamo Bowl and Texas Tech versus Michigan State, here's a take to make you think while you're watching football.

What's Palindrome? According to Wikipedia, Palindrome is a number, word, or phrase that is the same regardless of whether its spelled backward or forward. Today's date is 01022010; January 2, 2010 is a Palindrome.

It's also estimated that there will be 29 such Palindrome days is the 21st Century. Another Palindrome as a name is Mike Kim. But some Right Wingnuts claim that Sarah Palin is a Palindrome. They're totally correct; I discovered this myself!




Gov. Sarah Palin is a Palindrome

See this is Sarah Palin's name:

"Sarah Palin"

It's not going anywhere at all. Just wandering around the country.

This is Sarah Palin spelled backwards:

"Nilap Haras"

Guess what? It's the same! It's not going anywhere either!



Happy Palindrome Day!

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Sexy photos of female models Tiger Woods legacy; Charlie Sheen factor?

Tiger Woods, the World's Greatest Golfer, enters 2010 with a brand new image; that of having Sexy photos of female models alleged to be his mistress or girlfriend. So far, we have Rachel Uchitel, Jamie Grubbs, Kalika Moquin, Jamie Jungers, Mindy Lawton, Cori Rist, Holly Sampson, Joslyn James, and now Loredana Jolie, Theresa Rogers and Julie Postle.


Holly Sampson

That's 11 women and all the photos that have come with each one. None of this stopped him from being named Athlete of the Decade by The Associated Press.

But all of this is starting to cause the formation of an interesting question in light of Charlie Sheen's much publicized domestic violence charge: Why does Charlie Sheen get a pass on his much more awful alleged behavior where Tiger Woods is being raked over the coals for his admitted infidelity.

I've thought a lot about this and after considering the prospect of cultural racism's role, I considered a hybrid reason that seems to be a theory that fits the facts: Charlie Sheen is a known bad-boy.



We know about his affairs with ladies of the evening and his love for dating super-hot women and because it's all out in the public that image is what we expect from Charlie Sheen.

But we don't expect that from Tiger Woods. Holly Sampson's video "confession" of having slept with Tiger Woods is classic if only because of the reactions of her female friends:



And that's the reason for the reaction. What's happening is that Tiger Woods images is being broken down and remade into something that fits a set of facts not consistent with the image created around him. No one expects Tiger Woods to fool around; everyone expects Charlie Sheen to fool around.

All of this is Tiger Woods and Tiger Woods Management's making and they don't seem to know what to do about it. The say-nothing path has wrecked Tiger Woods multibillion image, perhaps forever, though time will tell.

Meanwhile, Charlie Sheen is still associated with Hanes, while AT&T and Accenture work to distance themselves from Tiger Woods. Charlie's image was already "bad" and he has nothing fear from his current situation at all while Tiger Woods seems to be looking for the other shoe to drop.

Maybe Charlie Sheen should have Hanes sign-up Tiger Woods?

Stay tuned.

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