Step right up with Publicity Stunt Week!

I'm not sure who declared April 1-7 to be Publicity Stunt Week, but we know many somebodys out there will milk it for everything they can.

In this era of soundbite indigestion, we're inundated with outdated and overrated publicity stunts. And now, reality shows have gone over the edge. Just how much reality can we handle when we're trying to escape reality?

Was that sentence based on fantasy or reality …

I admit, I did watch the second half of American Idol a couple years back when whatshisname won, oh, yeah, Taylor Whatshislastname. I also admit I watched it with the critical eye of a social observer trying to figure out why the callers and judges select the performers they do. I also admit that I looked at the reality of the situation that this guy had only one style week after week, and I knew that would not bode well when the Idol footlights dimmed.

And while he's a talented and nice guy, I knew he would fade rapidly, and unfortunately he has. That's tough to be on top of the world and then slide into near oblivion. Is that why it's accurately called 15 minutes of fame?

So, I haven't been back to Idol. I only watched Dancing with the Stars for a couple of shows when actress Jane Seymour was on last season … or was it the season before that … Hmm, it's amazing how reality flies. And while I could have watched Cloris Leachman because I've always liked her, I've been more entertained by the soundbites about her tell-all book being released. Not bad for 80-something, huh? I knew years ago that she would be a funny dirty old woman.

Alas, I must confess that there is one reality show to which I have succumbed, and I'm still not sure why because it has whiny, rude, arrogant people on it sometimes, and I wonder why I waste my reality time on them. No, I can't understand it except that my husband seduced me into joining him one night in front of the tube. I was hooked, though again, I think it's because I'm still the social scientist trying to understand human behavior.

However, this show has led to some feuds in our household, basically the reality that whoever gets to the TV room first gets the most comfortable chair. But it's a project we can't run away from, though we have tried. Well, at least I think I've tried a little harder than my hubby.

Sew, I mean, so, I guess it's guess it's fashionable and fitting that we have adopted just this one pattern of behavior in our household. We don't want to be too far out of style because I guess reality TV has become part of our society's fabric. I'll just never confess which show it is, and I've zippered my lips shut.

Now, excuse me while I try to design my own seamless event for Publicity Stunt Week.