Blade runner with an edge

For those of us who remember Oscar Pistorius's outraged reaction in an interview given immediately after this shock defeat to Brazilian Alan Oliveira in the Paralympics last year, there was always that hint of slyness and egomania brimming away underneath.

He is not the first South African sporting hero to come under such a cloud either - there was cricket captain Hansie Cronje who infamously accepted bribes to alter the course of a Test match, as well as fast bowler Makhaya Ntini who spent some time in prison for rape.

If O.J. Simpson's example is anything to go by, Oscar Pistorius is in for some painful few months (or years) ahead.

Good Things: 26

Shops

Those that are still with us at the moment.


 

Oh God

My initial shock and disappointment of Pope Benedict's resignation is tempered on reflection. It's actually quite a noble and conscientious decision (and perfectly legal in Canon law) to step down, and Benedict himself well knows the effects of old age and deteriorating health, as witnessed by the declining years of his predecessor John Paul II.

First the UK tows the line with gay marriage. Now the Pope himself has resigned.

And then that very evening, St. Peter's basilica was struck by lightning. Is it not just me that's upset about this, but someone else too?!

Pulp is no Fiction

Of all the discreet, respectful observance in Hollywood of the horror of the Sandy Hook school massacre, the figure who has been the least unreserved has once again been Quentin Tarantino. It's no coincidence that for generations the rise of American cinema has been synchronous with that of its increasing obsession with guns. (The very first Hollywood films were Westerns because of the proliferation of cowboys and gunfighters from the Wild West.)

Up till now, the most infamous case of film violence inspiring real life violence was that of John Hinckley, who actually went out of his way to build a personal arsenal and attempted to assassinate an influential politician (President Ronald Reagan) just like Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, out of their mutual obsession for Jodie Foster.

The argument that movies are movies and real life is real life is starting to wear a little thin, particularly in the case also of the horrific massacre earlier this year at a Colorado cinema (before the opening screening of The Dark Knight Rises - see below). This was not just someone influenced by the romance of violence in films, but by a particular film.

Filmmakers have a responsibility, not only to the past (where history is often rewritten to suit American tastes), but also to the present, to show this society in, if not a whitewashingly positive light, then certainly not such a dark, negative one.

Is publicity like this supposed to entertain, or to give bad people bad ideas?

Saville and the Sixties

By an unpleasant coincidence, in the same week that both the Beatles and the James Bond films are celebrating their 50th anniversary, this week also sees another child of the 60's in the news, for rather more scandalous reasons. A product of the pop scene and the "free love" era of the 1960's, "Sir" (for how long I wonder?) Jimmy Saville must surely now rank as one of its most blatant examples of philandering committed under the dazzle of celebrity, and one of the biggest turnarounds in a man's reputation since Oscar Wilde. Oddest of all, was that this dark secret wasn't really so secret at all.

For those who ever watched Jim'll Fix It or the countless other TV programmes and events that he was involved in, there was always that slightly seedy look to him. Maybe it was this obviousness that blinded people to the nastier undertones. His popularity and enormous accumulated wealth - and if we're honest, the love in which this man was held - seemed to have bought him a few liberties.

It is sometimes said that the good deeds of men outweigh their flaws. Death does not improve the character, but nor I think should it totally destroy it. A certain amount of care should be taken to totally demonise the man or to undo his charitable work (even though this, most despicable of all, was a cloak under which he could commit further abuse). It would be hypocritical of the nation (as hypocritical as Saville's own bad behaviour) to turn a perceived saint into a devil so vehemently - but already the lynch mob feeling is rampant throughout the nation, fuelled by a hungry Media eager to catch up on what they missed out on when Saville was alive.

It may be wrong and unfashionable of me to say it, but I still recall with affection his Jim'll Fix It programme (and the time when some lucky kids had their dream wish of visiting the set of the Star Wars films), and how he was a regular contributor to several London Marathons. Such a life is varied, and as we now know, with many sides to it. The Hyde has come out from his Dr. Jekyll. What Jimmy Saville did to young girls was wrong, but what he did away from all that was still right.

If there is a Hell, he may well be sitting there now with a cigar coming out of his mechanical armchair throne.


Jimmy Saville: Erasing the Memory (BBC website)

Tony Nicklinson: And So It Came to Pass

The news that Tony Nicklinson has died of natural causes after his long campaign to have himself voluntarily put to sleep is, in the most charitable sense of the word, a good thing for all concerned.

The debate about euthanasia will rage on, and I must admit I've occasionally felt my sympathies towards that movement (why we put down animals when they're in agony and not humans is a mystery to me), but looking at it from all sides, his case would be the first of many dangerous precedents, if his plea to commit suicide had been allowed in the courts.

Legacies...

The last two slightly unreal weeks in this country are now over, and, excepting the further exciting prospect of the Paralympics at the end of the month, there is much talk of what will be the lasting effect of the 2012 Olympics for Britain. There will be lots of hype for Team GB leading up to the next Olympics in Rio in 2016, a few more potential athletes will be encouraged to train harder, and a few more tourists will be tempted to come into London to see some of the sights.

Personally I was sad not to see some of Britain's own national sports get their chance at the Olympics, such as golf and cricket. In that sense, it felt like an Olympics like any other, that could've been staged in any part of the world.

Ultimately, I don't think it will actually make much difference either way to Britain's sporting fortunes. Britain has always been a spirited competitor for such a small island, in comparison to the size of huge land masses like the US and China. It's the spirit that built an empire.

Thank God also that Al-Qaeda didn't gatecrash the party, after the horrors of July 7th 2005 - whose victims were so movingly commemorated in the opening ceremony.