Pribek

This past week was full of sad obituaries. We lost some good ones; Ahmet Ertegun, Peter Boyle and Lamar Hunt.

Ahmet Ertegun, the co-founder of Atlantic Records, was another one of the behind the scenes heroes of the music biz. Check out this list of artists; Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Cream, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers, John Coltrane, Ornette Coleman, Charles Mingus.

Of equal importance was the Atlantic production team of Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin and Tom Dowd.

I have always listened to anything that I came across that had the Atlantic imprint, knowing that evn if it wasn’t my cup of tea it would be of high quality.

Peter Boyle had a unique quality. When he came on screen I would think “I know a guy just like that” and it didn’t matter if he was being funny or serious. When an actor can make a character believeable, the audience can take the ride.

Lamar Hunt, owner of the Kansas City Chiefs, coined the term “Super Bowl” and was a man of vision. He was elemental to the growth an success of the N.F.L. I know several people who met the man and all have had nothing but kind things to say. That is rare of a man in his position.

Judith Regan has been fired by Harper Collins, which is owned by News Corp., which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, over the O.J. Simpson fiasco. I guess that she is the person with a high enough profile to be a scapegoat.

“I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” Murdoch said in a statement. “We are sorry for any pain this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.”

I have said this before, as the saying goes “A fish rots from the head.” Murdoch holds the ultimate responsibility here and it is sad that he thinks that using a corporate play-book is a means of absolution.

This is funny. Tigers pitcher Joel Zumaya, who can throw a baseball 103 miles per hour, hurt his arm playing Guitar Hero. He hurt it bad enough to miss three playoff games. That is a pretty valuable appendage to be risking on a video game. Throwing a baseball is one of the most damaging things you can do to an arm but, not as risky as Guitar Hero.

I spent an evening with my stepson and his buddy mostly watching them play the game. There were several times when they would take a break, shake their arms out, and then continue. I tried it, by the way, and couldn’t suck enough. I would have a better chance picking up a real guitar and trying to make through “War Pigs” by foggy memory.

Even though Fox has pulled the whole O.J. campaign it appears more and more disgusting.

Rupert Murdoch owns Fox; Fox owns Harper Collins; Harper Collins owns Judith Regan who was to be the publisher of the O.J. book.

In an earlier post, based on some lawyerly language from O.J.’s camp (Yale Galanter), I supposed that the book might be ghost-written. It turns out to be the case. The writer, Pablo Fenjves, is listed on the Harper Collins website under the authors section. Thus, I am surmising that Fenjves is either on the Harper Collins payroll or this book was a work for hire in their behalf. An intersting side note here is that Fenjves was a neighbor of Simpson in Brentwood and also a witness during the trial.

Above and beyond the slime factor inherent in who got paid what for what is the fact that Murdoch and Fox are in the business of manufacturing news.

There has also been a lot of carping from the likes of Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera in an effort to try and maintain some degree of separation between Fox News and Fox Broadcasting and Murdoch. I am not buying it. Two old sayings apply, a fish rots from the head and, you are judged by the company you keep.

The growing slimeball list now officially includes:
O.J. Simpson
Rupert Murdoch
Judith Regan
Yale Galanter
Pablo Fenjves
and peripherally Fox News, Bill O’Reilly and Geraldo Rivera

This O.J. Simpson stuff is really bugging me. I thought he was guilty from the day I saw the infamous white Bronco incident. I know people that, as the trial was proceeding, said they thought he was framed and I recall having some pretty heated discussions with some of them. I saw a poll yesterday that says ninety percent of Americans now believe he was guilty. I remember watching in disbelief as the verdict in the criminal trial was announced.

I think that O.J. Simpson is a sociopath. What is really bothering me is I can not understand how someone could knowingly enter into business with a sociopath.
I am speaking specifically about Rupert Murdoch and Judith Regan.

Ms. Regan (interviewer/publisher) went so far as to describe Simpson as a sociopath several times in her recent press release. She also says that she did not pay Simpson for the publishing deal. The story I am hearing is that the deal was in the 3.5 million dollar neighborhood and was arranged by a third party. Ms. Regan technically may not have payed Simpson but, she knows where the money is going. Shame on her.

Rupert Murdoch is planning on airing the interview with Simpson on the Fox Network, in prime time. The point here is that the news value of this item could easily be reported on without a two night placement on an entertainment network.
Murdoch is trying to cash in with a big rating during sweeps. Even if all the sponsors pull away, the network will still profit from a big number. Shame on him.

I’ve also got problems with Simpsons attorney, Yale Galanter. Mr. Galanter says he had “no knowledge of Simpson’s involvement in the project”. I don’t know what the implication is here. Was Simpson writing and shopping book without his personal attorney’s knowlegde or, was the book ghost written and Simpson’s name tacked on? The wording “involvement in the project” sounds to me like it is the ghost writer situation which, is possibly even more reprehensible. Mr. Galanter also says that the money involved is not an issue because in the end it will go to Simpson’s children. This is a crock. That money, which is rumored to already be invested in Florida real estate, can be manipulated a thousand ways and those kids could easily never see a dime. So, shame on Mr. Galanter as well.

All of these slimeballs are aiding in the travesty and tragedy and, are of their own free will in cahoots with a sociopath.