What's Eating Crowe?

Apparently it's tough, stressful business being a multi-million dollar movie star in Oscar-winning films. Just ask Russell Crowe, who blew off a little steam at the expense of a hotel concierge's cheekbone the other day.
After seven hours in the pokey for throwing a phone in the concierge's face, Crowe --wearing a jacket promoting "Cinderella Man" both during his arraignment and on the David Letterman show -- apologized for losing his cool.
That's after his publicist released an early statement blaming the victim for supposedly having "attitude." It's been a busy week for celebrity arrests for the NYPD. Crowe's comes on the heels, as it were, of the bust of a less-successful actor, Christian Slater, for groping a woman on the street in some kind of fit after an argument with a female companion.
Some might say any publicity is better than none for these actors, but I doubt facing jail time will sell many "Cinderella Man" tickets (even if it is a boxing movie) or revive Slater's flagging career.
It seems to me that being rich and famous really does take a toll on one's psyche. Look at all the child stars driven to dysfunction by early fame. After all, our minds are designed to reach and aspire and to dream. Like a mountain climber who puts all his energy into the ascent, what do you do when you reach the top?
A prime example: Bill Clinton, elected leader of the free world, from humble origins, in his 40s. Maybe an impulse deep inside made him want to crash and burn, and he nearly did, because something made him fear that he wasn't up to the task, and even more so fear what he was going to do when his eight years in office were up.
Michael Jackson is surely another case in point. When was the last time you heard any news about Michael that had to do with an album or concert? It's been one bad turn after another until the point he may well end up in jail. Clearly he's been driven mad by his absolute absence of aspiration. All of his actions point to a desire to go back to his childhood, when the kind of behavior he's exhibited might be more acceptable.
Maybe the subconscious desire of the climber is to retreat down the mountain a bit, to a more breathable altitude.

There's Nothing Funny About Child Abuse
"What does Michael Jackson order for lunch?" Jay Leno asks. "Tater tots. In fact, he just tells the waiter to keep the taters, just send the tots."
Hilarious. Leno, who had a soul earlier in his career as tonight show host and would reject certain kinds of jokes, now seems like he couldn't give a damn what's on the cue card. The jokes about child molestation, which often include visuals, have been going on for years, ever since Jackson was first accused of impropriety with kids. Conan O'Brien also dabbles in those jokes, though not as often. I haven't seen David Letterman or Jon Stewart or any of the other late night hosts sink that low.
Not that I'm sticking up for Jackson (a lost cause, if ever there was one) but there's simply nothing funny about child abuse or even someone being accused of it. It may be easy enough if you're removed enough from it to laugh. But I doubt any parent of a kid who has been anywhere near that kind of nightmare (thankfully, I am not one) or the kids themselves would slap their knee or simply wave a finger and say "ah, cut that out" if they heard that kind of joke.
You could argue that the basis of humor is taking that which frightens, sickens and confuses us and making into a simplistic joke, something we can understand. But it takes something out of the indignation we should have as a society about this kind of crime if we treat it as a laughing matter. The fact that Leno not only makes these jokes but gets an uproarious laugh each time is a troubling sign.