Friday was yet one more week-ending snoozefest, the sort of day when the patient trader might have reaped greater satisfaction watching Room Raiders than monitoring the tickertape. I was engrossed in the former, imbibing the traumas of the teen dating scene, such as it is. Reality TV has provided a good way for young adults in heat to hook up, and even to have millions of viewers rooting for them on their first date. Room Raiders brings horny lads and lasses together by letting them first explore each others’ bedrooms, unannounced. One such snoop-fest yesterday turned up the diary entry of a girl who confessed to having her “best pee ever.” That was an instant disqualifier as far as her would-be suitor was concerned. In the end, he chose the girl who’d left a tube of suntan lotion on her bed stand. “I could never stand going out with a pasty girl,” he explained.

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I switched the channel to MTV expecting to find something equally vapid to help relieve the tedium of market-watching, and lo, there was Anderson Cooper interviewing college kids on spring break. At first glance, though, these kids seemed rather more subdued than the usual throng of drunken fratty boys and girls gone wild. For in fact this was no rutting ritual of the type we associate with vacationing students at this time of year, but rather an outdoor prayer meeting of sorts. Recruited and organized by various church groups, these students had come down to New Orleans to pitch in, donating their time and efforts – not to mention, their Spring vacations – to the still-urgent task of rebuilding Big Easy. A few who were interviewed by Cooper said they were surprised at how, seven months after Katrina, New Orleans is still such a mess. What would they like to tell the folks back home? asked Anderson. “Many more volunteers are needed,” said one of the students. Perhaps when the springtime revelers have seen repeats of this segment, they too will come.

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Vacation Schedule

Please note: I’ll be on holiday next week, far from wireless connectivity at times. This will therefore be the last scheduled commentary until Tuesday, April 4. However, I will be updating the Touts section and inside pages as warranted, and there will be a Q&A session as usual, with details to be announced within the next few days.