johndiii's Journal: This is getting a bit surreal...

I don't watch American Idol, though I can understand why some people might like it. But this is getting a trifle bizarre. I've never really been sure why people pay attention to Paula Abdul, and a slot judging a talent show is just the thing for a second- or third-tier celebrity like her. And what's surprising to me about the phone call thing is that anyone cares.

But... She has a reality show about her participation in Idol. That's like some kind of meta-pointlessness. And making a "reality" show about the making of a television show. Isn't that somewhere in the dictionary definition of "irony"?

Oh, and the really good part of the "reality" show is this: it will feature Ms. Abdul playing practical jokes on the people who work for her. It's not enough to have to work for her? You have to put up with her practical jokes as well? Those aren't practical jokes, they're just weird, completely pointless wanna-be comedy stunts. I'm sorry, Paula, playing practical jokes on your employees is not funny.

The other "feature" of the reality show is that it shows how lack of sleep makes her loopy. Yes, you read that right. My guess is that, if that is indeed the case, she has not slept in something like twenty years. :-)

It's not often that I am completely astonished by stupidity. But... Wow.

Update: Nymz made the point that I was harsher to Ms. Abdul than she deserved, and I think that he is correct about that. Whoever released the recording of her telephone call did a despicable thing. My intent was never to support that or condone it. I had two points. First, that the narcissism of the television industry has reached a surreal level of self-absorption. Second, that the proposed reality show is of very dubious quality. In fact, it occurs to me that the show as constituted may be doing her a significant disservice. Whoever is promoting it, in the fashion that I noted, is not doing something good for her.

Ummm

[nizo]

It's not often that I am completely astonished by stupidity. But... Wow.

You and I must live on different planets; sadly I am astonished by stupidity all the time :-)

Ob. Einstein quote.

[tomhudson]

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

And this oldie, which is apropos: "You'll never go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public".

And another one: "Don't you wish there were a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence There's one marked 'Brightness,' but it doesn't work."

Sloan Wilson: "Success in almost any field depends more on energy and drive than it does on intelligence. This explains why we have so many stupid l

good excuse i guess

[denidoom]

I wonder if Martha Stewart is sitting there saying to herself "That's it! Practical jokes!" -- looks at her lawyer, "Why didn't you think of that?"

Might someone think your daily poems are stupid?

[Nymz]

It's not often that I am completely astonished by stupidity. But... Wow.

Defining these types of outcroping behaviors as stupid is rather harsh, I prefer to use the word different. A healthy system or ecology will require a diversity of complimentary models. If no one was a follower, but everyone was a leader, then how competitive and successful do you think the result would be?

Each group (in this case a follower or a leader) may not understand the reasoning behind others actions because of differing v

Might someone think you missed the point?

[johndiii]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by "outcroping behaviors" in this context. I'm going to assume that it means behavior patterns that stand out from the mass.

Different behaviors are in fact good. They contribute to the overall health of a society and culture. Those that do not eventually serve a positive purpose are pruned through a natural evolutionaty process; at the same time new behavior patterns are being thrown up. This is all part of a healthy dynamic. As behavior patterns arise, complementary

Everyone Loves Paula

[Nymz]

Might someone think you missed the point?

I don't think so, but it does appear that I failed to communicate a sufficient answer. Your point was that after witnessing Paula Abdul's recorded telephone conversation, and an adverstisment for her new show, you had trouble understanding what others see in her.

I tend to agree with you, but these behaviors are not in fact "outcropping". Profit and attention seeking on the part of third-rank celebrities are common and tiresome, and (in this case) pretty much with

Re:

[johndiii]

I see. I agree with you that the act of releasing that telephone conversation was nasty and small. It could be intended to do nothing other than cause her pain and embarrassment, and I consider it despicable.

Re-reading the journal entry, I was indeed less kind to her than I ought to have been, and I was wrong in that.

However, criticizing the quality of her profit-making business ventures is not. I was wrong to do so in a less than respectful manner, but I believe that the criticism is still valid. Perha

Re:

[Nymz]

By the way, downmodding random comments of mine because of this is fairly pathetic.

Haha, I'm not flaming you, I'm a contrarian, challenging you and myself. I see someone did mark you down as overrated, perhaps Paula has a /. account? :-)