Down with Valentine's Day!

In the interest of full disclosure I should start off by telling you that I have only ever been in one real relationship, but even then I wasn't a fan of Valentine's Day. My boyfriend and I had a mutual hatred of the day, therefore chose not to celebrate. He felt, as did I that if you truly love someone you should show that person all the time. Why should there be one day of the year when you have to spend money you may not necessarily have or make crazy plans you wouldn’t normally make? So things were all fine and dandy until the first year that I worked in an office. All the women around me were getting flowers and balloons and whatever else and making comments about how saying he didn’t believe in Valentine’s Day was just a way to get out of buying me something. I was young and impressionable, and so was he. He felt like he needed to compete with the other men and I bought into it. I didn’t want my coworkers to think that he didn’t love me. It is sad that we have all been programmed to believe in this crazy “holiday”, and I use this term loosely. We should all take a moment and look up the history of this bizarre day of love and how it became what it is today. As far as I am concerned this day exists only to make the greeting card and candy companies obscene amounts of money. It is an impossible situation for men always having to outdo the last year or the other men around. And if you are a single woman like me, well it can be one of the most depressing days of the year. I have been single for many years and for the most part pretty happy about it. However on February 14th I can’t help but feel like a complete loser. I am almost thirty and alone. It is so frighteningly depressing to watch everyone around you get all these things that are supposed to represent love. I hate it! The commercialism and exclusivity of it all makes me sick. I know this probably sounds like the pathetic ramblings of an old bitter spinster, well that’s probably because it is. I truly don’t believe in this holiday though and am curious to know how many of you agree with me.

NBC Ruins the greatest television franchise in history!

As a self proclaimed "night owl" I have been watching late night television since I can remember. Some of my earliest and fondest memories are of the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. I am 29 years old so I was only 11 when he retired. That was an incredibly sad day, but Jay Leno took the helm and made the show his own. I enjoyed watching him for many years as well as Late Night with Conan O'Brien. I'll admit I had my doubts when NBC hired a virtually unknown talent to be David Letterman's replacement. However, Conan quickly found his niche and changed my mind. I have been a fan for 15 years and will be for life. I can't believe that NBC even suggested moving the Tonight Show to 12:05 am! I agree with Conan, it just simply wouldn't be the Tonight Show anymore! I know that Jay Leno is a workaholic and that NBC also screwed him in this whole ordeal and I have been a fan for years, but I will NOT watch the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He had his run and if he knew his prime time show was going to be a disaster he should have walked away then! Conan was only given 7 months to build an audience with a crappy lead in. He did great for what he had. He also has to deal with the fact that DVR and the Internet are how most people watch television now days. I am no expert so I have no idea if these mediums are figured in the ratings calculations, I am just saying they weren't even an option at the beginning of Jay Leno's run. Conan could continue to host the show and get paid, but he is looking past whats best for him and looking out for whats best for the show. He also realizes the effect the move would have on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and he refuses to do it. I respect the man immensely for that! He didn't strike a deal until his staff, almost all of whom made the move from New York to LA with him, were taken care of. Even opting to pay them out of his own severance. He is a class act and a hugely talented man. Friday will be a very sad day for television, it will be, in my eyes, the end of the Tonight Show. Wherever you end up Conan, I will be watching.