In Preparation for OscarMania....

Anyone who has any doubts on how much sway the media holds over our lives, should cast their mind back to the last time they discussed, remembered or mourned the tragic passing of Reeva Steenkamp. Been quite a while for most of us, right?

Well, that's all about to change fleetingly for the month of June 2013.

In the next few weeks or so, Oscar Pistorius will return to court to face charges on the killing of his then girlfriend and as with anything which is bound to attract intense media attention, it will automatically drill a space in our minds and hold us sufficiently captive from start to finish.

Old boils will itch to be lanced and uncomfortable truths(and untruths) will surface, to add to the already potent brew of uneasiness. Women groups are clearly in rehearsals waiting to unleash their disdain for their fallen hero, whilst supporters of the tainted Olympian are sharpening their defense tools to ensure the other side do not win the PR war (imperative in any media-saturated event).

The poor families involved will have to listen to excruciating details about their loved ones, but in the same vein, aspire to observing all manner of decorum. South Africa as an entity, will have to watch as it's dirty laundry is washed  for global dissection and knowing the SA people like I do, they will come out fighting on all formats of media attempting to preserve some national pride.

June and Barry Steenkamp, Reeva’s parents, at their home in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

For those who are not in the know as per the horrific murder statistics in that part of the world, I believe they are all about to be educated on the numbers and most importantly, the variant shades of how those figures affect different demographics in the country. For instance, I found out through reading a Vanity Fair article that "intimate femicide" is the country's leading cause of violent death among women....wow!

The more you hear about the situation in the Cape, the more you realise how similar it is to America in the 60's. The racial division, the sporadic use of firearms, the machismo, the rampant crime and the all-round sense of danger.

Could it all be real though or is it all being pumped up to paint a picture of an environment where fear for one's life, is a feeling hanging permanently in the air? I only ask because I know tons of people who seem to want to spend their summers in that part of the world. Of course it will be nice to hear from the horses' mouths and know how the locals perceive the state of their nation, although judging by Oscar's and his father, Henke's accounts, the situation (from their perspective anyway) is not too far from the picture I paint in the previous paragraph.

But in truth, all the above is a red herring. There is a murder charge to be faced because a vibrant young woman's life has been violently truncated. Furthermore, the person in the dock is probably only second to Mandela, as the best known South African of all time. The nature of the murder, the fame of the accused and the loss of the victim, are all events which have created insane forces of nature which are now bound to collide in a Johannesburg courtroom.

The cavalry is already rolling into town,as Hilton Botha, the initial investigating detective who was one of the first on the scene that fateful night, is bursting at the seams for his day in court. Evidently irritated by his demotion from the case, but buoyed on by the fact he will be subpoenaed to give evidence at the trial, he is letting anyone who cares to ask him what side of the fence he sits.

The resulting debris will be seen from faraway distance and the noise, unbelievably deafening. In the end, the dust will clear and the din will fade....what will be left behind though, will be tragic in nature....no matter what side of the fence you sit.

Everybody loses.

And the Oscar goes to......BailRunner.

And so the Oscar Pistorius saga drags wearily on, as the superstar paralympian was given bail a few minutes ago.

I had noted in one of my previous articles on this blog, that this month of February 2013, had already thrown up a few bizarre occurrences, from the Pope's resignation to Oscar's Valentine fatal present to his now deceased girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

But can I get an Amen, when I say nothing prepared me for the bombshell concerning the investigative officer's potential attempted murder trial! Why didn't someone within the ranks of the SA Police or Justice department, pick up on this little fact?

Could it be true that there was an intentional sabotage of the prosecution's case, and if true, who would be behind such self-sabotage? Is an inquiry ever going to be carried out to flush out the truth or at least investigate the resident shoddiness within the SA Police ranks? Or maybe, we should remember that after all is said and done, we are still in Africa!!

In any event, I guess we need to ask ourselves exactly where we are.

Firstly, it is imperative we all remember a precious life has been lost in this inexplicable tragedy. To that end our collective prayers should go out to the Steenkamp family. Secondly, what now for Pistorius? Yes, he has successfully got bail and adjudged not to be a flight risk, but what quality of life will he really now anyway? Lastly, where does this case leave the image of the police in South Africa? 

I guess the next few days, weeks and months, before the trial proper (bail probably means lesser charge), will reveal how the hand of fate will play. In my modest opinion, I do not see Oscar Pistorius going on to live a normal life henceforth. Not that dissimilar to the life which awaited O.J Simpson, subsequent to his acquittal all those years ago, O.L.C Pistorius will now be under such incredible spotlight, that I do not see a palatable outcome for him, bail or no bail.

The Bereaved Steenkamp Family

A life has been lost and unlike some, I am not convinced it was accidental, neither was I moved by the tears, shaking and drawn appearance of the man. He should be all those things if he takes someone's life and more.

As for the triumphant shouts of 'Yes' from his supporters when his bail was announced, I have to confess an uncomfortable echo of the same from Johnnie Cochran, when O.J was found innocent. In both instances, it was inappropriate, especially as the deceased's family were in-house on both occasions. But then maybe it was somewhat understandable.

In the end, whether he gets away with it or not, a cloud will forever be resident around him. God help him, God give the Steenkamps peace and God help us all!

A February named Bizarre.

I have to confess my cynicism for all things connected to astrology, so you can imagine my conceited disdain when some crank cornered us at a festival last month and read out a list of planetary mumbo jumbo about impending strange happenings.

Apparently, Neptune will be entering Saturn and a full moon will descend upon us with Venus, Mercury and Jupiter also fighting for our attention. Wow!!

It was quite hilarious, even more so, when some of my party appeared genuinely enthralled by it all. The crank went on to tell us 2013 was to be a stand-out year, with loads of bizarre happenings. I remember sneering at the time and wondering if this gathering around a weirdo, was the first installment in the prediction.

In the end, I left my pals there and moved to the Vodka tent.....some guy showing everyone how to turn potatoes into alcohol and being nice enough to share the brew for £1 a shot! Genius move, especially with the ambient arctic winter. And even better, nobody needed to predict I would be pissed within the hour.

That was two weeks ago, and today, devoid of the effects of the vodka, I am slowly beginning to realise my 'crank' description may have been totally exaggerated at best, or misguided at worst.

The psychic was bang on....some strange s**t is indeed happening!

So, the list so far:

• For the first time in history, a power outage occurs at the Superbowl.
• North Korea conducts a nuclear test, which we had all been assured was beyond her capabilities.
• For the first time in 600 years, a Pope resigns.
• A meteor (those shooting stars they told us not to worry about) nearly hits Mother Russia, showering and injuring a thousand people in the process.
• Oscar Pistorius, superstar sportsman, inexplicably kills his girlfriend.

Admittedly, all the above is quite unnerving, but what type of world will it be, if we allowed bogus seers to control our every thought? Surely, the whole thing must just be some unfortunate culmination of bizarre occurrences.

I mean, I foresaw Nigeria lifting the African Cup of Nations (even though sadly I have no witnesses). Does that somehow make me qualified to put up a crystal ball tent in forthcoming festivals?

As a blogger, I believe it is my job to introduce some demystification and attempt to bring some mature assessment to the so-called strange happenings. I will do my best to be succinct.

So, here we go:

• Superbowl Power outage - We don't need to overdress this....let us stick with the Beyonce explanation. It will do until an official one is announced.
• North Korea - If the Iraq invasion did not convince us the so-called superpowers don't have a clue what is happening in the world, this event should effectively nail that coffin. Maybe for once, chubbier people will start to earn our respect....they don't call him Little Kim for nothing!
• Pope's Resignation - Shed no tears... let's be honest, he should never have attained the papacy in the first place. Yes, I said it and I am still going to heaven!
• Russian Meteor - In spite of all the American movies telling us different, it appears the Aliens are interested in anywhere, but America.
• Oscar Pistorius - Four shots.....sorry Oscar, no legs to stand on!

It is my fervent hope that these events now look completely ordinary and your fears have been allayed. To be honest, I was getting tired of the collective woahs and wows.

We should get used to it.....S**t Happens!