Congratulations Kelly! Next time we see you at the local Mexican joint, Clan J. will pick up the tab!

Rx- Mrs. Dr. J. and Lil Resident are watching the Grammys, Lil Medstudent’s watching TMNT. I think I’ll read a book.
— The Gormogons (@Gormogons) February 11, 2013

Last night Dr. J. made a snarky comment on teh twitterz regarding The Grammy Awards broadcast. If you aren’t following us, you should especially for our coverage, this month of Benedict XVI’s Popetirement.™

Specifically that Dr. J. found a book (The Magician’s Nephew) more interesting than either the Grammy’s, which the Lil Resident and Mrs. Dr. J. were watching, or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which the Lil Medstudent was watching in another room. First, Dr. J. loathes the over abundance of these self-congratulatory award ceremonies and the narcissism on display that even the grand slam events (Emmy’s, Tony’s, Grammy’s and Oscars) have become a bore.

Second, he may of heard two songs nominated for song of the year, and ‘Call Me Maybe’ may have to be on the top five list of annoying songs of all time.

Third, he looks at all of this with a jaundiced eye because he has a few acquaintances in the music industry that our readers have heard of, has encountered several others in the process of daily living (they shop for themselves apparently and find the Lil Resident quite charming, and even strike up conversations with her and her mom with out Clan J. initiating contact) and has breathed the same oxygen more than once with some others that he hasn’t had the pleasure of speaking to, as he avoids doing so out of respect for their space unless there is an appropriate context for conversation. Yes, Kelly Clarkson likes the same Mexican restaurant we do, and she even stands and waits for a table like everyone else.

New Atlantis, as Dr. J. has said before, is very different than LA or New York and our celebrities are our neighbors, so we treat them as such. Dr. J. has discussed this in the past.

That being said, at least Oscar, Tony, Grammy and Emmy nominees have at least done something to earn their celebrity (even if it is writing, or singing ‘Call Me Maybe’) which brings Dr. J. to the point of this post.

Lil Resident had a regional dance tournament this weekend, her four numbers placed 1st, 1st, 1st and 4th (10 year olds in a 12-14 age category, Dr. J. still has to get the whole story on that one). Now Lil Resident is the captain, and Mrs. Dr. J. is the Captain Mom so they approach tournaments with the gravity of a neurosurgeon and the tactical planing of Seal Team Six. Indeed, when there was a 30 minute traffic delay, Mrs. Dr. J. had Dr. J. re-route her by Google Earth so that she her ‘two-hour early’ arrival time would be no later than ‘1 1/2 hours early.’

So once they were there, they were in a clog of people in one of the hallways trying to get to the locker room, and when they got to the source of the jam, they found the source of the jam to be a mother and her daughter who were featured on but did not win Abby Ultimate Dance Competition, a Dance Mom’s Spinoff. The dance mom with her daughter in tow, was asking participants if they wanted their autographs or to pose for pictures with them, as they were there participating in the tournament. Its one thing if you are being recognized by folks and mobbed, its a whole other thing to be soliciting to give away autographs and photos.

Mrs. Dr. J. glared at the dance mom with a look that could bore a hole in her skull, kindly informed her that this was a tournament and if they’re going to create a jam, they need to take it outside. Folks don’t want autographs and photos, they want to get to their dressing rooms.

When Dr. J. heard the story, he felt sorry for dance mom, more than anything else. Given that there are five hundred channels and nothing on, stations have preyed on people starved for something to fill the void in their lives and offering them the opportunity to become celebrities for doing nothing of note via reality television programing. Dr. J. isn’t necessarily talking about game shows like Amazing Race or Survivor or American Idol (once you get to the final 24), what he is talking about is Toddlers in Tiaras, Dance Moms, the Real Housewives…once these folks get a taste for celebrity, as ephemeral as it is, they keep trying for more, and like a drug they do what they can for their next fix. Actually a number of Survivor players end up attending Reality TV conventions and signing autographs for interested in fans, so they’re not completely off the hook. For a distant runner up dance mom to go to college-town Tennessee and offer herself and her daughter up for pictures and autographs is pretty sad and just another product of participation trophies and the decay of the American culture.

Dr. J.