SelfAbsorbed.ME : ‘It’s Your Life, We Just Write it Funnier’

Earlier this week, Boyfriend was watching a story about the torture debate on Keith Olbermann on MSNBC, and I was trying to tell him about Lindsay Lohan’s breakup with she-man Samantha Ronson that I was reading about on Perez Hilton. “This is really important,” he scolded. “You should care about this.” “Ummmmm I do freakin care,” I replied. “I read a story about this earlier in the day, and just because I don’t want to listen to Keith Olbermann drone on about it now, doesn’t mean I don’t care. ” I mean, really! Sometimes, after a long day at work, a girl just wants to chill with some sleazy celebrity gossip. Is that such a crime?

I care about important issues going on in our country and around the world and I like to stay informed, so I read my New York Times and USA Today top headlines e-mails every single morning, but every single day, often several times a day, I also read sites like Perez Hilton, People, Pink is the New Blog and TMZ. Celebrity sleaze entertains me and I’m not going to apologize for that. I’m sick of having to feel like I have to to hide my affinity for entertainment news just because I am an “adult” now. Isn’t it possible to enjoy both real news and entertainment news? Why must I choose between the two?

And since I’m being completely honest, I’ll tell ya that I actually prefer the sleazy celebrity news to the so-called “real news.” And why shouldn’t I? The real news is depressing! Entertainment-type news is a nice break from reality. Sometimes don’t you feel like taking a break from reading about death and poverity and disease? I’m not saying be ignorant and pretend it doesn’t exist, but I am saying that it’s ok to take a little escape to get away from it all. That’s actually also the reason I read authors like Danielle Steel, Jackie Collins, Candance Bushnell and Plum Sykes.

So, in conclusion, the next time my co-worker strikes up a conversation with me about the latest auto company rumored to be filing bankruptcy, I won’t frown and nod, pretending to know what the hell she’s talking about. Instead, I won’t be afraid to say, “I actually have no idea what you are talking about, but I’ll google it when I get back to my office. By the way, did you hear about the latest drama with the Pussycat Dolls?”