"During a commercial break on the set in the mid-1980's, the band was playing so loudly that it was impossible for Teri Garr, one of Dave's favorite guests, to make herself heard. When she all but shouted at him "How are you doing?" Letterman grabbed a pad on his desk, scribbled a note and passed it to her. "I hate myself," it read. Garr was a bit stunned. But when she tried to reassure Dave that he was, in fact, truly a wonderful guy, Letterman grabbed the note, underlined "I hate myself" twice and passed it back."

Late night television hosts are people too...

I have been completely drawn into the latest Late Night scandal with Obrien and Leno. I usually dismiss celebrity news and scandal with tyipcal anti-TV smugness, but for some reason this one pulls me in. I've been trying to decide why this particular episode is so interesting and I think it's because the stories are so real, the feelings of these people are so authentic. These aren't cocky, overconfident men, they are passionate people who are full of flaws and self doubt but who nonetheless worked toward their dream. Obrien, like Letterman before him, dreamed of hosting the Tonight Show since childhood. Both literally spent their adult careers working toward this one thing. Leno seems like a villian, not just because he's now been given the show twice over those who objectively seem to deserve it, but because he's not driven by this dream, he's just...driven.