There's a little bit of Sheen in all of us...

If I could have your attention for just Two and a Half seconds:

A lot has been floated in the media recently regarding embattled Hollywood (hero? Anti-hero?) Charlie Sheen.

I'm not above writing about his activities of late either.

But is any of it actually newsworthy? Well, this is one of those times when the public makes that call. 

Truth is, the average person has an insatiable appetite when it comes to the perceived falls-from-grace of Hollywood Stars (note: I just Googled 'fall from grace' and the first hit was a Sheen story). That's what has kept tabloids at grocery checkouts for so many years.

You may not ever pick up or buy those gossip rags (or read quickly-pieced together celebrity dirt stories like mine on the web), but don't pretend you're not interested in Sheen's antics. Even those people who are criticizing Sheen, or making comments like "I couldn't care less about him"– well, they have just expressed an interest in some form or another.

Truth is, Sheen represents the human condition; we can all see some aspects of ourselves in him. His free-loving ways, drinking, drugging, lashing out, and wild partying are all things we've imagined we'd like to take part in at some point (as if we haven't already).

It's the same principle that makes people see movies like The Hangover and call it "awesome". They put themselves in the character's shoes, and think, "Wow, wouldn't it be great to let go – I mean, really let go – for just one night?"

As it turns out, Sheen seems to have 'let it go' many nights.

That being said, like many, many others I'm a fan of his sitcom (which is currently on hold), Two and a Half Men, which seems to mirror his life. 

Why do I like the show? Because his character lives his life the way he chooses to live it. He is witty. He is funny. He is 'winning'.

But there is another side to this man that some of the more 'responsible' folks can relate to. After he joined Twitter recently and posted a picture of himself alongside one of his 'goddesses' (as he calls them), he also updated his million-plus followers about the status of his twin boys, who were taken from him by police after his ex-wife claimed foul.

After thanking all the Twitter users who followed him and wished him well – "In all sincerity... Thank you Twitter community for the warm reception" – he posted, "Pardon my absence.... My first concern is my kids... Back soon..!"

He has also reportedly backed off on demands for a pay increase for appearances on the sitcom, while advocating for the show's crew to get its payout for cancelled episodes. 

Does that sound like a man who has completely forgotten all responsibility and courtesy? Is he an antisocial monster like some media outlets seem to paint him as?

I don't think so. 

As my wonderful wife-to-be (love you Gooberstix!) said about the male fascination with Sheen – "I think men who are generally decent have a hard time looking away from stuff like this, like Charlie is showing you the 'other' way of being a successful guy."

That sums it up better than I ever could. 

Thanks for reading. Now back to real news – for example – radical change in the Middle East.