Pre-Ramble:  I am torn. Between the concern and sorrow that I feel for the victims of yesterday’s earthquake in Haiti, and the superficial cattiness that I want to indulge around the new season of American Idol and the current flap in late-night-talk-show-sphere.  The one seems so catastrophically tragic as to be nearly un-discussable, and the other, so trite and meaningless as to be embarrassingly undiscussable in comparison.

It seems somehow wrong to muse idly on about the E! Hollywood quibble-du-jour while tens of thousands of people have been crushed by a natural disaster so significant as to leave only the most random of lucky souls untouched. Satellite views of  Port-au-Prince reveal scene after gut-wrenching scene of collapsed buildings covered in a haunting white rubble.  Many of the injured cower outside hospital buildings refusing to go inside for treatment for fear of being trapped. The Red Cross estimates that 50,000 people or more have been killed. It doesn’t seem fair that people who had nothing to begin with are now left with even less.

And then, a world away, we have the late night smack down, where dueling comedians publically speculate on the fate of their buffeted NBC compatriots. As the situation (no relation to the Jersey Shore) sorts itself out, the prime contenders brandish some of the best material either of them has had in years. Conan O’Brien’s interview with British funny man Ricky Gervais and his bit on the upcoming NBC sponsored Winter Olympics were medal worthy.

The Take-Away:  As much as I want to cut loose and frolic around in the quasi-dramatic absurdity of the late-night circumstances, today is not the day to do it. I will watch Conan tonight and laugh along with his guests at the latest posturing.  But part of me will be standing vigil … waiting silently, … respectfully, … helplessly, … and extending my prayers of hope and healing into the fractured Universe.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS