You know, through all this Mess, the geeky, chubby 13 year old boy inside of me has been saying "This is a job for ninjas!"

I will never dispute my own inherent ridiculousness. May you, at least, find solace in laughing at me.

That was a brilliant fucking speech last night. Kudos to the writers. I'll never vote Republican, but, goddamn, that was some right fancy oration.

So, anyway: hi there. Not to trivialize the Mess at all, but one undeniable story in all of it is the media itself. Specifically, I find it interesting to watch the aberrations that spring up as tv reacts. Here are some things I've noticed"

- The power went out in the NBC studios last week, while we were still deep in the beginning stages of the crisis. I think it was Dan Rather (I will always get Rather and Brokaw confused for some reason, but I'll just stick with Rather because I'm fairly certain it was him) reporting at the time. Power was finally restored, and Rather finished his newscast. Just before signing off, Rather said "We apologize for the problems we had with the power. During the break, I went out and paid the electric bill." For him to say that in a time like this was great. Hilarious, and I admired it.

- This past Monday, when most of the major broadcast stations returned to their normal programming, an interesting choice was made in the first Simpsons episode of the day that the Fox programmers decided to air. It was the episode where Burns hires all of the baseball greats to be ringers on the company softball team. This is significant for at least two reasons. First, when establishing the scene where Burns makes the million dollar softball bet with his rival, we see a shot of the building in which he does so. This establishing shot consists of a sign that says something like 'World Trade Building," but it's clearly not the WTC. The shot lingers there for a moment, and then quickly pans up to the top of the tower. Interesting, don't you think? Also, the baseball theme of the episode corresponds with the return of major league ball that very night.

Now, I'm not saying that there's some kind of conspiracy here or anything, nothing of the sort. But I do know enough about television to know that the people who make the decisions of what airs and when don't just throw stuff down from the satellites randomly. They air the prohibition episode on St. Patrick's day, and the Lisa/Ralph episode on Valentine's Day, for example. I just wonder what the motivation was in this case, and whether it was intentional. Also on the Simpsons front, I doubt we'll be seeing the episode where they go to New York any time soon, as the WTC and the plaza play such a huge role there.

- This last thing isn't so much a tv abnormality as it is just something interesting a journalist said on Letterman. I don't remember his name, but this journalist was telling Letterman about how he went to Afghanistan a few years ago to interview Bin Laden. He said that he was shuttled around from camp to camp, and then finally led up a rocky mountain pass to meet the terrorist. When he settled in for the interview, which would be conducted through a translator, the journalist decided to open by saying this: "You know, for a guy whose money comes from construction, you really would think there'd be a better driveway coming up here." Wow. This guy sits down in the middle of a terrorist camp surrounded by American hating thugs with AK-47s, and cracks a joke at Bin Laden's expense. Wow. The response that came back through the translator? "Moving right along..."

Besides WWIII, there have been a few other things on my mind lately. One of them is heartburn, and, Sez, baby, I literally feel your pain. I, too, in my old age, have come to experience the horrors of this dread condition and I thought I was alone. One day last week it was terrible. I am afraid the days have come where no longer will I innocently and naively say "What's going on? All I had was some pizza." Instead, when I feel my chest burning and the gasses gassing, I will knowingly lament "Oh, I had pizza." Damn. Since when was I supposed to get old like the rest of these people? What have I done to you, O Lord?

Oooh, also: I start my final semester of school next week. Sixteen weeks and I'll be a free chap with a degree in televisionology. Dandy. Better go buy some notebooks. Do they still sell Trapper Keepers?

Ah, yes: I did quit my job. There was little to no drama. My last day is next Saturday. I called in yesterday as I realized I had accumulated 11 paid time off hours. Now I get to go back to being a grungy lowlife college student, and I won't have to embarass myself by wearing khaki to school.

And, finally: Today I go back to 'What About Joan.' I'll toss a kiss to Mz. Cusack for you. I'll be on the set in about six hours. Do you know how much I like saying "I'll be on the set"? Very much, very much indeed. I'll be on the set, if you want me. Ahh....