Tuesday, July 7, 2009

A new perspective.

Having the day off gives me some perspective on what people who have every day off have to endure. Daytime television. Regis and Kelly. Regis seems like a guy caught in a party where he's the only guy and awkwardly tries to make conversation with people with whom he has little in common. Kelly is the ringleader, the Head Yenta as it were, and an audience full of them eats up every stupid comment. Regis sips his coffee and counts the checks.
Thank God for the Tour de France. Coincidentally, there's something on TV this week in the morning. It isn't for everybody, but it's the anti-Christ in a world of daytime blather television. There is so little to offer that Versus runs it continually during the day, and again in prime time. That should tell you everything you need to know about daytime television.
Michael Jackson is dead. Unbekownst to me, today was his memorial service. They held it at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, presumably because the L.A. Coliseum was booked. Tickets were going for as much as $3,000. I find some dichotomy to charging people to attend a memorial service. I don't know what the face value (Michael Jackson pun) was, but ten dollars would seem to be a bit high. Whatever, the Dead Celebrity treatment is in high gear, and probably just now picking up steam. Al Sharpton wants Jackson put on a postage stamp. Which face would they use? So many to choose from. Soon will come the CDs, DVDs, books and whatever the marketing arm of his grieving family can dream up to keep them all from having to work for a living.
The magnitude of the Dead Celebrity treatment varies with the level of celebrity. With Elvis and Michael Jackson it has and will see it's epoch. Today's Memorial Service was over the top. It was on at least 4 stations locally and at last check had gone on for about 3 hours. I don't think Michael would have had the stamina to sit through his own memorial.
Fans are fascinated I suppose, because they realize they've seen or heard the last of them, and grope for whatever image or sound they can get to preserve the legacy.
Locally, the Harry Kalas book that Wawa is selling makes me cringe a bit. I figure, if it isn't something that would have been done when the celebrity was alive, it might not be fitting to do after they're dead. It strikes me as someone profiting from death and taking advantage of people's emotions.
It's a little like Christmas.

1 comment:

junior alien said...

Pity no-one commented on this once again well-written post. It's so sharp-edged, I guess one is in danger of cutting oneself while reading it.
Aren't there any satire magazines where you could publish your stuff? A daily or weekly column - it's what you're doing anyway! It would be more than justified to pay you for this. I keep repeating myself but you have the the brain and the writing ability to come to the core of things.
_________

Not having to go to work doesn't necessarily lead to being forced to watch television. It doesn't necessarily lead to brain shrinkage.
I just lost my job, and although I feel a bit uneasy because I don't know where to find the money for the rent, for me and the two kids, the feeling I have right now is more like the feeling Lester Burnham in "American Beauty" had when he quit his job. In my case I no longer feel like "a whore for the education industry".
So presently I've decided to learn Dutch, which had been on my mind for some time. The Netherlands' border is only one hour's drive away from where I live, so why not learn the language?
You see, the pronunciation drives me nuts, and that's one of the challenges: Ik moet nu helaas weggaan. Doei!