Photo from source, Dickipedia
Yesterday, I stopped at the Von's supermarket on my way home to pick up some diet sodas, since they're on sale (have you noticed how expensive soda pop has gotten?), and a few other things. True to form, I got stuck in a line behind people who have apparently never shopped at a grocery store before. They've also never heard of "debit cards," and still use an archaic thing known as a "cheque book" which they do not extract from their bottomless pocket books until the very last item has been rung up. Not to mention after every coupon (for every item) has been scanned. And then the inevitable, "Oh, darn. Can I borrow your pen?"
So, I had a mini-eternity to examine the Bubble Yum, Altoids, Tic Tacs and Bic lighters. Bored quickly, I scanned the magazines. My GOD are there some shitty magazines at the checkout. The National Enquirer and The Star have been joined by OK! and several others I don't remember. But the one unifying feature was an apparently unhappy couple named Jon & Kate.
Being a former fan of gossip, I am aware of the trend in these rags to call "celebrities" by only their first names, sometimes shortened in overly-familiar ways, sometimes even smooshed together. But Jon & Kate really go by those names on their reality show, Jon & Kate Plus 8, a horrific-sounding program that has apparently been on for several seasons. I'll cop to a vague awareness of this unlikely phenomenon, though one that has hit my peripheral vision only in the past few months or so.
I've watched my share of trash TV, though I've weeded out the truly crappy things in the last few years. And I will admit to really enjoying Kathy Griffin: My Life on the "D" List. But Kathy's a comedienne, and I was already a fan. How do these nonentities develop a following? So they had invitro fertilization. This is a talent? A reason to be famous? And now the husband has been trying to make a few more kiddies, the old fashioned way? Who cares?
I'm not the only one wondering, as the excerpted article below can attest.
[Excerpt]
Jon and Kate Gosselin
Jon and Kate Gosselin (married June 12, 1999) are an all-American couple who have eight children, an exploitative reality TV show, and quite possibly the most miserable marriage America has seen since Kim Bassinger and Alec Baldwin. Though both Jon and Kate possess no charm, charisma, or talent aside from the ability to successfully combine sperm with eggs (with the help of a fertility doctor), approximately 10 million Americans tune in weekly to watch them emotionally (and fingers crossed--maybe in the 2009 season finale?--physically) scar each other little by little, in 30-minute increments. . .
Read more at: Dickipedia
