Balloon Boy and The Great Hoax

A 6 year old boy, ironically named Falcon, flew off into the horizon a couple of days ago in a helium balloon.  Or so his father would have you think.
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Xpinionated is of the opinion that this was a big fat hoax.  One for which Daddy Henne should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.  It is no coincidence that there was a recording of the balloon as it floated off.  It is no coincidence that the family was part of a reality show (Wife Swap) and the Richard Henne has been shopping a reality show about a crazy family.  It is no coincidence that Richard Henne was the one to call the news stations and the FAA.

It looks like this guy is simply an attention whore of the worst kind.  One that would employ his kids (ahem Kate, Jon) in his selfish efforts to get a cheap buck on 15 minutes of fame.  Hell, even the kid said, 'It was part of the show'.

On the Early Show this morning, Richard Henne placed a sign on his front door saying 'No more interviews.'  Minutes later he comes out to announce that he would like to hold an impromptu press conference on his front lawn at 10am....with a big announcement he says.

Unfortunately, our media, in its desperate quest for the next big story, will follow up on his press conference.  We will read, listen, watch, and discuss.  And though I doubt Henne will pimp this out into a reality show, he will have at least had his 5 minutes of fame.......
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Documentary Hypocrisy

It was announced that Michael Vick's life will be made into an eight part mini-series on BET.  Needless to say, this has raised the ire of the anti-Vick crowd.

"People who abuse animals don't deserve to be rewarded," PETA's Dan Shannon said in a statement. "They shouldn't be given multimillion-dollar contracts . . . or given the privilege of being a role model."  But directors who drug and rape 13 year old girls should serve no time and live happily in Europe while receiving Academy awards and industry praise?  I wonder which crime our soceity considers worse......

Two points before I go:  1) Most of the more serious serial killers (of humans) have had documentaries, movies, books, etc made on their life.  2) It's on BET which automatically limits it's audience by quite a bit.  Personally, I don't think it's a good move for Vick at this point in his life.  Time heals.  There are going to be a certain set of the population that will thrive on the negative aspects of his life forever.  But the general population will not necessarily forget, but will move on.  By making a movie, you're just keeping the negative in the limelight.

And while I'm talking about Vick, let me make something ridiculously clear -- specifically to my fellow Georgians.  I understand your dislike of Michael Vick in terms of the affect his crimes affected your precious (when they are winning) Atlanta Falcons, but please do not misdirect your anger at Virginia Tech.  Vick did nothing at Virginia Tech.  He was a student athlete with a clean record (yeah maybe not so much for his brother but that's not the point here).  So when you see me rolling in the Mag rockin' my Hokies flag, don't glare at me like I killed your dog.  After all, we don't hate Ohio State University because Jeffrey Dahmer was a student......