The American Idol Effect

Just returned from the Talent Show at Daughter's elementary school. Same as every other talent show I've been to: the 'coolest' teacher hosts and cracks lame jokes; first graders are paraded on stage to mumble This Old Man to four moves of choreography; musicians bust ass to no applause; popular girls getting standing ovations for singing off-key and waving to friends.

The best act by far was the advanced Pop & Lockers, but I'm biased because Daughter is a beginner in the class. Last fall, when Daughter's friends were taking up cheerleading, she came to me with a permission slip to join a dance class, a popping/break-dance class. I was so stoked she preferred this, and she seemed to really enjoy herself. We were screaming and yelling for all the older kids in the class while they performed. They were pretty awesome.

One thing that I noticed was that I found myself so bored after only a few brief moments of each act. The kid would start, I would be get super into it, then I'd mentally evaluate the kid's skills. Twenty seconds later, I was ready for the next act. It was always the same, even when they were good. I blame this on American Idol and scrolling news headlines. My attention span is shot. Seems nothing is enough to sate me these days.