Ross is love.

Comedy.

I was going to post items both amusing and insightful on the dual topics of Don Imus's firing and Sanjaya, both of which I've spent an odd amount of time ruminating upon in the last couple of days. Unfortunately, it was free ticket night at the stand-up comedy place around the corner, and I'm a bit too drunk to do so. And on a Thursday, no less.

Stop judging me.

And stop pretending you don't know who Sanjaya is. Some interesting comments to my previous post on the topic: on the one hand, giving props to the kid seems an open-hearted gesture, an acknowledgment of pure pluck and charm. On the other hand, we're reminded that others, perhaps far more talented, suffer for Sanjaya's progress. In the pop culture world we live in, is it more important to be talented, or iconic? There are doubtless many insights into the modern American mind to be dredged from the two seemingly pedantic topics of Sanjaya and Don Imus. But to have to sort this all out on a day when I drunkenly mourn the death of KV is far too much. To the sober amongst you, I say: discuss, by God. Discuss. My ass is going to bed.

Kurt Vonnegut.

Kurt Vonnegut passed away last night, according to the New York Times. Even though he was 84, that doesn't seem right.

In other booky news for David Sedaris fans, Slate.com's Jack Shafer has a rather boneheaded article taking on the author's acknowledged propensity to exaggerate. This line seems to cut to the heart of it, if you'd prefer to skip it:

"Sedaris and company want to erect a penumbra that shields humorists from criticism when they blend fiction into their nonfiction but still insist on calling it nonfiction. The logic behind this is difficult to follow. If writing fiction is the license Sedaris and other nonfiction humorists need to get at "larger truths," why limit this exemption to humorists? Let reporters covering city hall, war, and business to embellish and exaggerate so they can capture "larger truths," too."

The article seems so strident that it almost seems like a joke itself, but I don't think so. I just don't get it.

Sanjaya.

So, I just caught my first ever ten minutes of American Idol. I found out recently that my mom has a strong opinion about the Sanjaya controversy, and flipping through the channels I couldn't resist the description "Jennifer Lopez Elimination". Turns out, it had nothing to do with J.Lo's poo, but I digress. Anyway, this Sanjaya person is currently "safe", much to the shock and outrage of the live American Idol studio audience.

Does anyone else have a strong opinion about this? Am I rooting for this Sanjaya person, or no? It appears to be one of the great pop culture brouhaha's of our time (our time being this month or so) and it makes me feel old to not have an opinion. He's Indian or something, so I guess that's good, right? All multicultural and what have you? I can't keep up, nor should I be expected to.