To no one’s surprise, The OC is dunzo. The season finale in February is also the series finale. Expect a lot of hilarious plot twists (the ones they were sitting on for the last few years), and in all likelihood a wedding AND a funeral before this thing is over. I feel much the same that I did about West Wing‘s demise last year–I have enjoyed this show despite some serious problems in the middle of its run, and I think this is the right time to blow it up. I’m pretty sure that Josh Schwartz, the show’s wunderkind creator, will never have another hit again. Oh well.

I’ll probably write about the show again before it ends, if only out of a misguided reverence for what it never really was, but in the meantime let’s all just be happy that it lasted long enough for Marissa’s death scene.

Home Depot CEO Robert Nardelli suddenly stepped down today.

Analysts said Nardelli’s surprise resignation was almost certainly due to the fact that he had become a lightning rod for critics of hefty corporate executive pay. They said the Home Depot board was under great pressure to make a change.

At a disastrous Home Depot annual meeting last May, Nardelli, the only director present, refused to answer questions or respond to criticism from shareholders about the hundreds of millions in pay, benefits and stock options he had pulled down since he took over leadership of the chain in 2000. During his tenure, Nardelli earned some $240 million in salary, bonuses and stock options.

. . .

[Nardelli] will walk away with a severance package of $210 million, the company announced.

Well, that should certainly quiet the critics.

Full story here.