Refreshing Honesty at Night

My last week at E! was (predictably) busy, but the anxiety was brought to climatic upheaval because of the recent death of Anna Nicole Smith. All around me people were cursing her name due to the added amounts of quick turnaround work dealt their way by her passing. Because of my leaving I was left out of all but the urgent projects, so my mindset tackling each job was different and not so personal.

And it was sad, watching the people around me.

I might have said this before, but E! Entertainment is to TV like MacDonalds is to a well-balanced diet. It's quick, mindless, and not healthy for you. Despite the good gloss it has going to make it look respectable (like popular host Ryan Seacrest), it still- deep down- is no better than the National Enquirer. I have worked on projects that have picked at and scrutinized people SO MUCH (for everything from physical looks to personality to talent) that the average person without "celebrity status" would have had good cause to file harrassment claims- and WIN, no less- against the channel. It's quite bad, and emotionally unstable people (like Anna Nicole), who obviously need some personal time and space to deal with their problems, are batted around viciously without the blink of an eye for the hopes of "good ratings" .

My coworkers (and probably me as well, if I had not been quiting) instead of having some sense of respect for the dead, sat on the day of Anna Nicole's death and cursed her name... and the work they were responsible for making aided to more public speculation and scrutiny of the now dead ANS by the millions of viewers who gobbled up the gossip that night.

Like a black hole, I guess.

Anyway, Pete showed me something quite refreshing today. Craig Ferguson from the Late Late Show recently opened an episode with a different kind of monologue - a heartfelt one, dealing kinda with the same issue that I just mentioned. You can see it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bbaRyDLMvA

It's nice to see. Chris told me once that my work at E! was not pointless... otherwise "how else would you have known how stupid all that stuff was?"

Better words were never said, sir. If I had never worked there, I would still be watching that tripe today. Maybe that's why I've become so 'environmentally & politically boheme'. :)

Random:
- Speaking of boheme, I've applied for an environmental activist job where I'd be making brochures and speaking to people to raise public awareness about ways to cut down on pollution (and to get their votes in for new regulations!) in the state of California. If I got it, I would be a Vegan Environmental Activist. Weird. James put it nicely: "You would be the most annoying person on earth." Haha.
- It's weird that once I get out of the daily grind Angel gets into it. Let's hope the tables completely turn and I get an exciting travel job!
- Started character outlines & bios! As soon as these are done (shooting for friday) I can start writing the first draft of the book! HELLZ YEAH!