Why All the 'Oscar' Fuss?

Why any human being would sit at home on a Sunday night and watch a bunch of zillionaire Hollywood actors and actresses pat themselves and one another on the back is beyond me. But there they were last night, parading before the cameras on 'Oscar' night at the annual Academy Awards.

I mean, I do get it for the actors and actresses themselves, of course. Almost every industry takes time out during the year to recognize and honor those in each profession or business who excelled during the previous year. Dinners are shared, toasts are made, speeches are given, trophies and plaques are handed out.

But while the nation's leading architects, novelists, construction workers, police officers, firefighters, bankers, small business persons, mass transit employees, entrepreneurs, secretaries, priests, and many others receive their honors in near-anonymity surrounded by family, friends, and colleagues their exploits are almost never celebrated in front of a television audience.

Why would any office worker, home maker, student, or businessperson care who took home what trophy for some movie that the vast majority of them have never seen and likely will never see? Why should I care what kind of dress Sandra Bullock or Meryl Streep wears as they walk down some red carpet and into a theatre to receive their awards?

Frankly, I don't. Which is why I never watch a minute of the Academy Awards, the Emmy's, the MTV Music Awards, the Grammy's, the Espy's or any other awards show. The fact of the matter is that James Cameron, Kathryn Bigelow, George Clooney, Jay-Z, Koby Bryant, Fergie, Ray Romano, Jay Leno and every other celebrity could care less about me beyond whether or not I spend my hard-earned money on one of their products or artistic endeavors. They wouldn't watch a police awards show if their lives depended on it.

This all falls in line with my similar thoughts on television shows such as 'TMZ' and 'Entertainment Tonight' and 'Extra' as well. Why should any normal, regular, hard-working, family-raising American give a damn about what is happening between Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and Jennifer Aniston? Why do you care how many African babies Madonna is adopting this year? Why should you be giving up your valuable time to watch a bunch of paparazzi stand around and bust on some borderline star who took their baby for a walk in the park today while wearing giant sunglasses and an unflattering sweat suit?

You shouldn't, and that is the point. Now I can just hear the celebrity addicts who do watch these shows whining now. "Who are you to tell someone else what they should like or enjoy, Veasey?" Legitimate question for sure. And of course the answer is, I am no one. So why are you reading this in the first place? Why do you care what I think about anything?

My advice is simple. Stop watching these pieces of trash, junk television shows. Stop caring about Halle Berry and Sarah Jessica Parker and Tiger Woods personal lives. You want to spend your money to enjoy their music, their movies, their sporting contests? That's a whole other story, and a valid method of entertainment and enjoyment. But caring about what dress they wear or who they are sleeping with this week? I don't and never will get it. Why all the fuss?

ARod: What More Could He Want?

Reports have surfaced in recent weeks of a marital split and pending divorce between New York Yankees superstar 3rd baseman Alex 'ARod' Rodriguez and his wife Cynthia (the couple pictured left in happier times.) Now big stars getting divorced has, unfortunately, become common place in today's American culture. But this one is proving to be a doozy. For years, ARod publicly tried to cultivate a family-man image, and even his personal trainer recently commented on Good Morning America as to that former mind-set for the baseball star. However, in the divorce papers being filed, Cynthia alleges numerous affairs by ARod over the years, and now claims that one most recent affair was "the last straw." That suspected affair was with none other than pop music mega-star Madonna, who at age 49 is sixteen years the senior of ARod (he turns 33 at the end of this month.) Cynthia claims to have found what is being described as "love notes" to the Material Girl from ARod, and there are also allegations that Madonna may have lured him with her faith in Kabbalah, the mystical branch of Judaism. There were initial rumors of an affair between Cynthia and singer Lenny Kravitz, but they appear to have blown over. Kravitz is apparently a longtime friend of the couple, and allowed her to stay at his place in Paris for awhile to get away from the pressures. ARod and Cynthia have been married for 5 1/2 years and have a pair of daughters, 3-year old Natasha and 3-month old Ella. Cynthia further claims in the divorce papers that ARod has "emotionally abandoned" her and the kids. All this makes you wonder what it takes to make someone happy. Alex Rodriguez is living the dream of almost every American male. He is a baseball superstar, playing for the highest profile team in the Yankees, as the highest-paid player in the game at roughly $28 million per season. He is married to an incredibly gorgeous woman, has two beautiful little girls (one a newborn), and never wants for anything material. Why people who have everything still want and need even more is beyond me. Madonna has vehemently denied any sexual relationship with ARod, but he was seen going to her Manhattan apartment a number of times, and it is fairly obvious that there is some type of relationship between the two. Madonna is prepping for a new world tour to begin soon, one in which Britney Spears is scheduled to be featured, so this publicity certainly won't hurt. But back to ARod: what more could the man possibly want in life? In a way, it's a microcosm for us all, everyone who has ever had a family, a career, a home, and yet was still searching for more and more. Not that he will ever know or care, but my advice to ARod is 'be happy'. You already have everything you need, more than most will ever have. Make amends, put it back together, and let yourself and your family be happy. This search for 'more' simply is not worth the price you are paying, and will continue to pay.