Schadenfreude Department.
Mood:  happy
Topic: Evil Things
My husband and I don't get to spend enough time together, but most workdays we have long, entertaining e-mail conversations. This afternoon we were discussing Paula Abdul and her increasingly shrill, insistent denials to the press that she is addicted to drugs. Apparently the lady is unacquainted with the concept of protesting too much. I am proud to say that I have never seen American Idol, but I understand from Howard Stern that poor Paula is barely coherent.

Ben's take on the situation: These days, drug abuse is a more acceptable explanation than brain damage or sheer stupidity. Sadly, Anna Nicole Smith's public behavior incorporates unmistakable elements of all three.

We have also been talking about Central Coast dry riesling, a 56-year-old Los Angeles attorney who moonlights as a porn star (I find the fact that the guy is appearing publicly naked at his age far more shocking than the fact that he's a member of the Bar), and the "finger in the Wendy's chili" hoax that spawned so many tasteless comments about finger food.

And, of course, we can't mention schadenfreude without bringing up Michael Jackson. Did you hear the one about Michael Jackson, the young boy, and the jar of Vaseline? It would be funny if it wasn't the subject of proposed testimony barred from evidence by the presiding judge yesterday because it was too inflammatory. You can't make up stuff like this. I'm sure that kid could tell us a thing or two about what's inflammatory.