the talk of the town

i had conversations with at least three complete strangers about the death of anna nicole smith before 6:30 pm yesterday. a phone conversation with a co-worker ended with her saying "hey, didja hear about anna nicole smith?" it was all the talk on the elevators in our office and on the downtown "E" train during rush hour.

with the exception of princess di, i'm not one to be obsessed with celebrity culture. i usually find preoccupation with it a little weird. who gives a rat's ass if brangelina or bennifer or whatever other nickname the tabloids come up with for the flavor of the month do with their time and money? i have enough to do without having to worry about whether britney swings both ways. but you can't deny the train wreck that was the life of anna nicole smith wasn't at least a little bit interesting. she laid bare her tumultuous life for anyone to see: former stripper, playboy bunny, guess? model, trophy wife of an 80+ year old billionaire, diet aid spokeswoman, joyous new mom and grieving mother in the same week, blushing bride a couple weeks later. and now, sudden death.

why the fascination with her death the instant it comes over the wire? afterall, news of north korea's willingness to talk about dismantling their nukes is far more important for society as a whole. there's, like, a war going on. iraq? ring any bells? i think we are obsessed with anyone's misfortune, demise or personal drama partly because it's human nature and partly because it makes us feel better about ourselves knowing the rich and famous have problems, too. but a big part of it is that we can't escape it. when tuning in to just check the weather, we are bombarded by news of celebrity exploits; you need not seek out this information. if you don't live under a rock you can probably name the country madonna just adopted a little boy from.

right about now, lisa nowak is probably breathing a sigh of relief, thanking god for the eclipsing of her 900 mile diapered drive by anna's death.