Awards? Yes. Speeches? No.

So I spent the night watching cable news coverage of the New Hampshire primary (Tim Russert: giddy. Brit Hume: looking grumpy, though he was probably giddy, too). But I flipped for a moment or two to the writerless "People's Choice Awards" on CBS. I only stayed long enough to watch Queen Latifah, alone in a fancy gown and looking fairly sheepish about it. Still, it got me thinking about the way the Golden Globes has been replaced by an hourlong press conference, plus ample coverage of a lot of celebrities going to parties. So we'll get to see their outfits -- which is all anyone really cares about - without having to hear their acceptance speeches. You have to admit: The strike isn't entirely bad.

Right now, however, I'm watching another installment of the Colbert Report, in which Colbert is claiming to be working off a script written on October 29. He must be thinking, "this is going to be a loooong week."