Reality Check

I have to admit, I love reality shows. Not all of them, of course. Heck, if I watched them all I wouldn't have time to produce a pair of clean underwear, much less work a full-time job, write books, and keep a Sheltie entertained. But there are several that I really like.

It's all American Idol's fault, as that's where it started. Now, I didn't watch the first season. It just didn't call my attention until I saw clips of Simon letting the contestants have it. Then I thought "THIS could be interesting." And interesting it is. Sometimes people at work talk about AI and some can't stand Simon. They think he is "mean." I just look at them and say "If those kids can't take what Simon is telling them, then they have NO business pursuing any artistic career." Do people really think that all agents, editors, song producers, movie producers, art gallery owners, etc. are kind (mostly do to the drugs) like Paula Abdul? Now, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of very nice people in those industries, I'm sure. But there are also a lot of very busy people who don't want to waste your time and don't want you to waste theirs. Nothing wrong with that. The last thing I think professionals ought to do is encourage someone who is nowhere near ready for public consumption. Does that mean people will quit - some will, and probably they needed to. But others will just work harder to get better, and that's what it would have taken anyway.

I love Hell's Kitchen and So You Think You Can Dance, too. And I find those choices very interesting as they all represent something I can't really do. I mean, I can sing in my car with the best of them, but I only do it while I'm alone. I often say I play an instrument because I do NOT sing. I can't carry a tune and know it. As for cooking....yeah. Let me just say that given a detailed recipe, I can prepare food very well. But as for creating in the kitchen, uh, no. Creating a mess, maybe.

And the dancing......to quote Jeff Foxworthy "I ustacould." Not sure what happened. Weight gain, age, joints that I wore out on motocross. All I know is that I got one of those exercise videos that's Latin Dance to try out. Those women have great abs and legs and they're not rail thin, so I thought THAT'S what I want to look like. I immediately found out why Latin dance looks so different than other dance - it moves your upper and lower body in the exact opposite directions of what would otherwise be normal. I have NO idea what I was doing to that video, but I'm certain of two things: it wasn't dancing, and I scared the dog. If anyone had a video of that scene, they could extort money from me until the Alzheimer's kicked in.

So what about you? Any favorites in the reality show realm? Everyone has to have a few, right?

Deadly DeLeon