ANNA NICOLE SMITH

Reality TV star and former model Anna Nicole Smith was found dead today in a Florida hotel room and I'm more upset than I thought would be about it.

Anna was way too young - just 39 - to die. But it's more than that. Anna was like the super id of celebrities - reckless, daft, inappropriate. She was from trash and yet she brought herself up to "greatness" (Playboy, Guess, "The Anna Nicole Show"). Anna wasn't white-washed and fancy. She wasn't bred to be a star. She was just a hick who struck it rich and wanted to keep the party going forever.

As much as we were all bemused by Anna's antics - marrying the octegenarian, appearing drunk or drugged on television, the little girl voice, the paternity confusion surrounding her newborn baby girl - we were all rooting for her. Weren't you saddened by the death last summer of her son? I was.

And now I'm sad that Anna's gone.
Because even though I was laughing at her, I got a kick out of her.
Secretly, all along - -

I guess I liked her.