Banality

Cancer is curable. Banality is invariably terminal, if you don't look away. I've had two near death experiences the past two mornings.

Sam's enamored with watching The Today Show in the mornings. I don't know why, but I'm sure I do things that annoy and baffle as well, so I don't bother asking. I just watch and flip to Sportscenter intermittently. Anyway, yesterday morning, The Today Show hosted Bill O' Reilly. Matt Lauer cloaked O'Reilly with the gravitas typically reserved for political pundits or, at least, serious investigative journalists. Lauer, with misplaced earnestness, posed the fashionable political questions of the day. I wasn't sure if it was this insipid two step, or my plate of egg whites and oatmeal, but I thought I might hurl.

Listen: O' Reilly doesn't seem to understand that a woman probably doesn't want to exfoliate her nether regions for his amusement. So the complexities of the geopolitical sphere are just a bit out of his reach. His answers were predictable. In fact the only thing interesting about them was the choking arrogance. I thought I would either laugh, or throw up. I thought I might do both at once. That would've been vastly more interesting. Well, I have to admit, as banal as this charade was, there was an interesting aspect. Why was NBC trying pass off this would be Marquis de Sade as a serious poilitcal pundit? I don't have the answer, but it's somewhat interesting to consider. I tossed the remainder of my breakfast in the garbage. I would have been happy to see this segment of The Today Show joining my sorry excuse of a breakfast.

As if this wasn't enough, though, guess who was The Today Show's touchstone guest this morning? Britney Spears. I didn't watch. On the heels of yesterday, it was just too much to ask of me. I saw the trailer. She was crying and sniveling about her and hubby not having the privacy and respect they deserve. Spare me. Spare me the pity party. Spare me the theatrics. But, especially, spare me the banality of watching some multi-millionaire boo-hooing about having exactly what she wanted. Celebrity. Just fuck off.