Promotional gimmicks bare the bizarre

The husband was having morning coffee at his laptop when I asked if he heard Madonna was in the news again.

"She's in the nude again?" he asked, without looking up.

"No, she's in the news. But she could be in the nude, too. I don't know. They're kind of one and the same for her, aren't they?"

"Oh, that's right," he said. "I heard she did something to her face."

"She tied it all up in leather. And then she posted pictures of famous people with their faces tied up in leather—Jesus, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela."

"Why did she do that?"

"She's promoting an album—and when you've already promoted yourself by showing everything you have to show, shaking everything you have to shake, and your cone bra is so old it's headed for the Smithsonian, the only thing left to do is tie up your face. And if you don't get a big enough reaction tying up your own face, then you start tying up faces of religious icons and civil rights leaders."

"She's not claiming they sing with her, right?" he said.

"No, it's just Madonna being Madonna. I think if we all give her a nod, we can move on."

"Move on to what?" he said. "Justin Bieber. He's in the news again, too."

The husband was silent.

"I knew you'd be excited," I said. We both yawned. Then we high-fived each other and the husband made toast.

"Bieber is under contract as an underwear model for Calvin Klein," I said. "I wonder how that looks on a resume?" the husband asked.

"Maybe it's the kind of thing you work in during the pre-interview chitchat," I said. "You know, 'I have dynamic business experience in the music industry. I can take your company to the next level with my background in special events and I can model underwear.'"

"If someone walked up to you at a park and said that, you'd call the police."

"Naw, I'd probably pepper spray 'em. Bieber's already met the police," I said.

" I wonder what human resources does with credentials like that?" the husband asked.

"Probably flags them as potential lawsuit material. Bieber said he's officially part of a legacy.'"

"Wearing boxer shorts now constitutes a legacy?"

"Apparently. Seems philanthropy, personal sacrifice, public service, devotion to family and friends just aren't what they used to be. That's sure something, isn't it? A guy thinks walking around in his underwear will be a lifetime achievement."

Nothing to see here, folks. Nothing at all. Move along, move along.

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Lori Borgman is a newspaper essayist, author and speaker. Her newspaper column, appearing in more than 300 newspapers, touches on a wide array of topics ranging from the truth about nagging to the hazards of upper arm flab. She is also the author of the popular essay, "The death of Common Sense ".