My Lord, what a day. I woke up this morning, checked my Twitter feed, and immediately started freaking the fuck out, because my little sister is currently on a research vessel off the coast of Chile. I called my mom, who’d received an email from her early in the morning saying she was okay, and so then I promptly started freaking out about tsunamis from the earthquake. I twittered about it, and, thank goodness, I had quite a few readers quickly reach out to tell me that the open sea is probably the safest place for her to be right now. I guess ships at sea barely even feel tsunamis — they’re not a problem until they hit the shore. I was incredibly relieved, but my thoughts and prayers are with those impacted in Chile and the surrounding areas. I can’t imagine waking up to this news and not having heard from my loved one in the area, and I know that’s the position other families are in today. And for godsake, people of Hawaii: DO NOT TRY TO SURF THIS. (I know someone will anyway.)

Yet another reason to count my blessings: Marie Osmond’s son, Michael Blosil, jumped from his downtown Los Angeles apartment to his death Friday night. He left behind a note, indicating that his lifelong battle with depression led him to feel he had no friends and would never fit in. This absolutely broke my heart. Any suicide breaks my heart, and it feels like we’ve had so many high-profile suicides lately.

I feel close to this story. I remember when Michael checked into rehab in 2007, and I remember being so impressed with the way Marie handled the situation. I wrote about it back then. “My son Michael is an amazing young man, shown through his courage in facing his issues,” she said. “As his mother, I couldn’t be more proud of him.” I was so very impressed with her grace in the situation, and the way she chose to demonstrate her love for her child. I was impressed with the way the family rallied around their son, how there was no shame or denial, just acknowledgment of his illness and support for his recovery. I’m devastated for her that this was the eventual outcome.

As someone who’s lived through it again and again since my teenage years, I now understand that overcoming depression is a day-by-day fight. I now understand that, when life feels hopeless and dark and cruel, when I feel I cannot and should not have to wake up every day and fight this thing, something sinister inside my mind is lying to me. I understand that I need to reach out to loved ones and allow myself to be cared for and to fight tooth and nail to keep my head above water. It’s still sometimes a brutal fight, and it’s one that I was not in any way prepared for as a teenager, not with all the therapy in the world. I realize today that it is solely by the grace of God that I’m still around, and I feel nothing but sadness for those who lose the battle with such an insidious illness. I wish the Osmonds and Blosils strength and serenity as they navigate this loss.

The Gosselin kids were snapped playing in the snow today and it seems like they had a good time considering it was dad’s weekend. While the kids frolicked in the snow and pretended for a short while that there wasn’t a man with a camera standing on the other side of their lawn snapping their every move, Jon Gosselin looked after them and rode around on some sort of all-terrain vehicle. It’s good to see that they don’t cry all day.

Man, it sucks so bad to be Tiger Woods right now. The CEO of Gatorade told CNN in a statement today, “I can confirm that we no longer see a role for Tiger in our marketing efforts and have ended our relationship.”

Gatorade is the third company to ditch Tiger ever since news broke that he was a freakaleak screwing every young moron in a skirt behind his wife’s back. Gillette and Accenture were the first two companies to decide that the playboy golfer no longer fit their brand image. You know it’s only a matter of time until everyone else who’s still standing behind the golfer follows suit.

Gatorade has not decided to discontinue their relationship with Tiger completely, though. They have said that they will continue to support The Tiger Woods Foundation. Tiger’s people made the following statement about being dumped today, “We have been in discussions with Gatorade, and while we are disappointed they have decided to not continue with Tiger in their marketing plans, we appreciate their continued involvement with Tiger through his foundation.”

Please. Tiger’s lucky that these companies can’t sue him for dragging their name through the mud with his own. He and his people have no right to be disappointed with anything but themselves. True!

Lady Gaga went for dinner Thursday night in London, and God forbid she show up wearing a pair of slacks and a sweater. Instead she wore a suit that looked like a castoff from the Butabi brothers and and some botanical looking horns. Can you imagine sitting in the table next to her and trying to eat your meal? OK, Lady Gaga! We get it! You’re eccentric!

There’s been talk that Howard Stern will be joining the panel of judges of American Idol after Simon leaves at the end of this season, but Ellen DeGeneres has spoken out saying that she wants nothing to do with the shock jock. Turns out the feeling is mutual, and Howard said as much to Entertainment Tonight at the Green Zone premiere in New York on Thursday. “Ellen has said she won’t work with me, but quite frankly, after watching her on the stupid show, I gotta tell ya, I won’t work with Ellen. She’s out if I come in,” he said.

Is Ellen leaving after only one season a possibility? As far as I see it, absolutely. It’s common for a celebrity as big as Ellen to step in to a job like that for one year and then peace out when they realize they’re not the star. Take Rosie on The View for example. I still think the combo of Howard and Ellen would be a clashing of the egos so legendary that it will truly be a tragedy if it doesn’t happen, but if the two of them did a switcheroo, I wouldn’t mind that either.

Tilikum, the whale responsible for the death of his trainer Dawn Brancheau, will continue to live at SeaWorld. SeaWord CEO Jim Atchison said in a statement today that SeaWorld is scheduled to re-open and added, “we will make improvements and changes and move forward.”

Atchison said of the decision to keep Tilikum, “no animal is ever subject to any punishment and Tilikum is no exception.”

What do you guys think about this? I know that SeaWorld has a fairly decent record of taking care of their animals and educating the public about sea life, but deaths like this are a reminder that wild animals are, in fact, wild.