Questionable celebrity

Notoriety isn't something I covet.  I prefer to be in the shadows, always out of the limelight.  But there are people, whether because of their profession or because of some psychological need, who crave fame.  That's their choice and I wish them well.  But along with that celebrity comes an invitation to scrutiny that private persons don't necessarily deserve.

I've pondered this question when watching movies or television shows.  Sometimes I'll notice someone and wonder how on earth he or she made it this far.  I blame Jerry Seinfeld for this.  If he hadn't convinced a network to televise a show about nothing, these people might never have made it.  The following is a list of people and my questions about how they reached the limelight:

Jennifer López:  I know how she got this far, practically speaking -- she was a Fly Girl.  But like Taylor Swift, she isn't that talented as a vocalist, and at least Swift is a good songwriter.  Again like Swift, she can act, but beyond that her fame escapes me...unless we're talking about the dress:

P-Diddy/Sean Combs/Puff Daddy:  How in the heck did he make it this big?  I mean, aside from dating women who wear garments like López, for what is he famous? 

Cameron Díaz:  Another person who has marginal talent as an actress, but she's no beauty and doesn't possess any other discernible talent.

Andy Dick:  Anyone possessing that name either is a doofus for choosing it or a doofus for not changing it.  Again, here's another person with no discernible talent who's made a boatload of money.  He's not funny.  He's obnoxious in the extreme.  I just don't get it.

Bill Murray:  As a fellow Cub fan I probably shouldn't say this, but I really don't understand Murray's celebrity.  He tries too hard to be funny most of the time and when he is funny, he overdoes it so as to ruin what he's accomplished.  I know he's tried his hand at serious acting and he's done some credible work, such as in Lost in Translation.  I just don't like his schtick as much as other people, I guess.

Paris Hilton:  So if you're the heiress to a family fortune, make sex tapes and con a network into airing a reality show about your life, you become famous?  She all but gave Kim Kardashian the blueprint for how to make money without really doing anything. 

For now, I'll leave this list short.  There are plenty of others who deserve to be on it in my opinion, but I have a much more pressing task at hand:  How to cook snapper without ruining it.

(c) 2012 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles