*Reading and watching news and photo/video coverage from Haiti is a reminder of journalism and journalists at their finest.

*Rest in peace, Teddy Pendergrass, wonderful soul singer, who spent the last half of his life in a wheelchair after an auto accident, yet never stopped making beautiful music.

*Jimmy Kimmel is emerging from the midnight shadows and coming up big in the wake of the NBC-Leno-O'Brien fracas. Kimmel scored on his own ABC late night show with a Leno impersonation, then guested on Leno's program the next night with more biting material.

*If you thought the U.S. Senate moved at a snail's pace last month, when the Democrats held a 60-40 edge, imagine what it will be like if the Republican wins next week's special election in perennially liberal Massachusetts.

*Now that the Jets are in the NFL playoffs, Gotham TV newscasters become cheerleaders, not reporters. Same as when any of the other New York teams make the post-season.