Brian B

Brian B
Location
Thunder Bay, Canada
Birthday
November 14
Title
Devil's Advocate
Company
The Sort of Company your mother warned you about
Bio
A Work in Progress. When not doing the devil's work, I'm the single parent of two great young men, living playing and working in beautiful Thunder Bay Ontario. That's at the western end of Lake Superior - the North end of Highway 61. from here, you can just drive all the way to New Orleans, though I have yet to do it.

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Salon.com
MARCH 14, 2009 1:45PM

Guilty Pleasures: Amanda Knox

Rate: 6 Flag

Some of you have heard of Amanda Knox, others, more fortunate, perhaps not. She is the 21 year old American exchange student on trial in Italy, accused of murdering her room mate after a threesome gone wrong. The motive is variously alleged to be drugs, sex or money.*

 So certain television networks love to glorify every detail of the proceedings.

 Now, normally , I am pretty good at avoiding tabloid or trash tv, even when it poses as news. I have a remote, and I'm not afraid to use it. 

 I  value news, but abhor sensationalism - under a corollary of Gresham's Law**, the bad items crowd out the good ones. Soon, everything resembles the lowest common denominator. I have muted OctoMom, and channel hopped away from Michael Phelps. With a major economic crisis on our hands, "news" programming should be about important things. If I want entertainment, I can switch to BSG, Dollhouse, or Chuck. Or the Foodporn Network...oops, I meant the Food Network. 

 However, just a quick teaser about Amanda Knox, and I stay glued to my seat. I don't even reflexively caress my mute button.

 I don't really know why. Is it fascination with the legal process? Pondering how or if pure evil could lurk inside such All American girl next door  good looks?

 

Or am I just a dirty old man?

 

*I'd link to pics or clips, but that would almost inevitably violate somebody's copyright, so here's the wikipedia link if you want background:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Knox

 

** Gresham's law is commonly stated: "Bad money drives out good." see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gresham%27s_Law

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gossip, news, television

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I remember why I didnt post on this.. I had to go look for a picture of this girl.. because the damn wiki page only had pictures of the dead girl that i noticed.. then .. i got distrated by my okcupid account and my music.. and... then trig was posting about im chats with traci lords.. and theres cool whip somewhere begging to be used..
I have the attention span of a 2 year old sometimes.

but Im commenting now.. and all I really have to say is.. never heard about it.. and shes not that cute..
Barbra anne
March 14, 2009 02:53 PM
so...Barbra... you ARE saying that I AM a dirty old man?
Brian B
March 14, 2009 03:15 PM
I recall hearing about this case a while ago, how bizarre it was. I couldn't quite wrap my head around an opinion ... it didn't add up then and it doesn't now. It has everything -- a threesome with college coeds, drugs ... and the odd twist of the female assailant being an American college student and justice being served in a foreign country. Has nothing to do with your being a dirty old man however ;)
cindy capitani
March 14, 2009 06:17 PM
If you think OS gets crazy there are a handful of blogs out there devoted to the Amanda Knox/Sollecito trial and some are against her, and some not so much. They have wars with each other, posting back and forth. If the grisly murder of a lovely young woman (Meredith Kercher) weren't involved it would be funny.

I HAVE found it fascinating to gain some understanding of how Italian law works. Very interesting.

I wish I could believe that the pretty girl from Seattle is guiltless but there are a lot of bits that just don't add up to innocence for me.
Ablonde
March 14, 2009 06:27 PM
i don't think you're a dirty old man for this. maybe for other things though. :) i don't know anything about this case but i've gotten overly involved in murder stories before. for me, it's those family annihilators, the ones who kill the familya nd then themselves. these have gotten to be because they're so sick and so pointless and because two of them occurred in oregon adn this is a weird place. i think most of us get hooked at one time or another on something like this. okay, being quiet now. for me, it's mostly guilty pleasure tv shows now since im' on a news fast. love love love and gratitude, except that now i need to go read about this!!!
Theodora L'Engle Knight
March 14, 2009 06:41 PM
Cindy: so I just love a twist?
Ab: isn't perhaps part of the fascination the very transient meaning of "innocent". Original Sin and all.
Theo: isn't sex even more fascinating than family?
Brian B
March 14, 2009 06:50 PM
I think it's a combo. Personally, I'm a sucker for everything legal, as it pertains to murder trials. When the murder has sex involved? You cannot tear me away.

There was the guy who had the women buried in barrels - the so called "slavemaster". Fascinating stuff.

Another, sans sex, was the West Memphis 3.

Not dirty - just a fascination into the hows and whys and WTFery of murder. And law.
AnniThyme
March 15, 2009 02:35 AM
Anni...thanks. I feel better after reading your comment.
Brian B
March 15, 2009 09:09 AM
brian.. havent you learned yet i have a sweet soft spot for dirty old men
Barbra anne
March 15, 2009 09:02 PM
now, now, Barbra Annnnne...don't be silly...drugs, sex and murder are serious issues...well, murder is...so don't be a knotty girl.
Brian B
March 16, 2009 09:14 AM
What do YOU think? Are you just a dirty old man? :) (how old, anyway?)
Michelle Fergenson
March 17, 2009 11:36 AM
gee, Mich...you're the second person recently to ask how old I am, which is only noteworthy because I have mentioned it in several posts.

i am 17 for the third time, which makes me 51.

I don't think I'm "just" anything...
Brian B
March 17, 2009 04:16 PM
I think shes a whack- job ... and I agree with barbra, shes not that cute.
AmbrosiaRainn
March 19, 2009 05:01 PM
My favorite line, "I have a remote, and I'm not afraid to use it."

I love your sense of humor- muting, and channel hopping. You have a way with words.
tai
May 30, 2009 01:09 PM
Perhaps, it is just the bizarre nature of these wacky stories that we are intrigued by.
tai
May 30, 2009 01:11 PM
naw, tai, I think its the purient appeal of hot kinky sex for me...
Brian B
June 06, 2009 10:17 AM
I am fascinated with this case. Does that make me a dirty old woman? I have watched it since the onset. My college age son told me about it when it first happened and my 27 yr old daughter knew about it immediately, too. First off, we lived in Europe so they understand the American in Italy thing. We have been to the town where she lived. All of my children are world travelers and they also understand when in Rome, do as the Romans do, and not just in Italy. When you are in other countries you go by their laws and it can get very scary.

I watched the footage of Amanda right after her roommate was found murdered, where she is standing in the arms of her boyfriend and thought then, she reacted strangely. Her confiscated diary had bizarre entries about how many letters she was receiving telling her how beautiful she was. So many strange twists and turns to this tale.

Do you think she did it? I believe she had some involvement, but I'm not sure how much. And why did the one guy take off to Germany? The entire story is bizarre. I also think the Italian police may have screwed up the investigation.

But, along with you.... I think she is beautiful. I cannot imagine being her parent and living through this horror.
MiddleAgedWomanBlogging
June 06, 2009 10:30 AM
MWB : one thing I've learned is that I'm usually wrong at guessing whodunits, but i agree she isn't the "innocent" she looks and plays at being, which I think is part of the fascination...
Brian B
June 07, 2009 10:58 AM