What makes them special?

I expect the Paparazzi are in a free-for-all in the pursuit of some "exclusive" photos of Suri, the newborn daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, and that's just swell. America is done mocking and scrutinizing every single aspect of their relationship, so now let's run to the newsstands and coo over questionably obtained photographs of the offspring of the couple we were just criticizing 30 seconds ago. \nI'm usually baffled by America's obsessive love-hate relationship with celebrities. What's the big deal? So they're in movies and in bands. And a lot of people know about those movies and bands. That's about it. And to be quite honest, it's probably 90 percent luck and 10 percent talent. \nI know Hollywood A-listers and music stars and those who adore them think that they truly are something special and admirable. But really, what makes a star? Reasonably-good looks, reasonably-good acting/musical ability (sometimes optional) and insane amounts of luck (though this may be substituted for the child of a famous person advantage). They are really no different than the waiters and waitresses that are serving their lunches waiting for a "big break." In fact, many of them used to be those waiters and waitresses. They just managed to hit a lucky streak and now make millions of dollars. \nIn fact, they are so above everybody else that they have to name their children things like Apple (Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter), Pilot Inspektor (Jason Lee's son) and Moon Unit (Frank Zappa's daughter). Heaven forbid that their golden children, who apparently don't spit up their milk, stink-up their diapers or draw on the walls with crayons, be given names like the common folk. \nI wish I went to school with somebody named Pilot Inspektor or Moon Unit. Kids would be too busy making fun of them to bother messing with those of us who have ethnic names. \nI don't pick up People Magazine or any of its less reputable tabloid counterparts or browse through the Internet "entertainment" sites (except when I was reading up on the background info for this column!). It's a waste of time. Quite frankly there are a lot more things to be worried about than the famous girl everybody used to call too fat who is now anorexic and considered too skinny. \nShe's fat! She's skinny! She's fat again! He's cheating! They've divorced! Oh my god! They went on vacation! Oh the humanity, they have a reality TV show! She got botox, lord, I'm hyperventilating! The show has been cancelled, I repeat, the show has been cancelled, remain calm! She was skiing and hurt her foot! Her foot, I say! Her foot! \nWhat is so twisted about our society that the public thrives upon lifting up and ripping apart famous people? We must be pretty damn vacuous to fill our time and our newsstands with meaningless drivel about the over-dramatized, over-privileged lives of people who spend their lives playing dress-up.