On this episode of…

I have lots of favorite things. Booze, ghost hunting, Qdoba, giving free bjs to elderly men at bus stops…………….and, Jon & Kate Plus 8!

As I may have mentioned, I got hooked on Jon & Kate Plus 8 after watching a marathon with one of my good friends as we waited to hit the concerts at Summerfest. If you have not heard, Jon & Kate Plus 8 follows the Gosselin family, who live in Central Pennslyvania. Jon and Kate, a couple who needed fertility treatments to have children, first had a set of twins. Then, when they tried for one more baby with the same fertility treatment, they ended up pregnant with sextuplets, having turned down the doctor’s offer to “reduce” the amount of fertilized eggs. The twins are now 7, and the sextuplets are 4.

I’m not really the type that goes all to pieces over babies–in fact, I’m sort of awkward with kids, as I am with you know…humans. But these 8 are pretty damn cute, and I think Jon and Kate are really funny and good parents, and so it makes for a nice half-hour of brainless TV every now and then.

I’ll not mention how Forth is pretty sure Aaden is erm…”not all there,” but will make it a point to say that Forth, a boy, very willingly watches Jon & Kate Plus 8 with me. How sweet is that? This is what makes me feel better about reproducing: the world could use more kids brought up like Forth and I (though perhaps of purer heart than I…) Anyways, I think Hannah is my favorite, then maybe Alexis. Hannah is more like I used to be–all about holding dolls and household chores. And she’s quiet. Alexis is simply hilarious with her speech impediment, boy-like tendencies, and penchant for reptiles.

I feel like most people watch the show and laugh at the kids and everything, but are like, “Yes, they’re cute, but I wouldn’t want that many.” The show actually makes me want one. Now. Not SERIOUSLY now, but for me to admit that a kid would be nice is for a normal married couple to be like, “LET’S HAVE TWELVE.” Angelina Jolie-style.

One bored night, I did some net-surfing and found out that there’s a lot of negative stuff that gets thrown Jon & Kate’s way. Apparently people who meet up with the Gosselins in real life think that both Jon and Kate are rather cold towards fans. Some people in the Gosselin’s hometown balk at the lack of activity the kids have in child-geared events that the town puts on, and others are upset with the amount of free things that the family gets–like clothing from Banana Republic and Gap, for instance. Also, when the Gosselins speak at churches, apparently they sell autographed pictures for $20 a pop and the church also takes up a special collection for the family, which some people have a problem with. Besides all this, other people are angry that the Gosselins get free trips to Hawaii, Utah, Disney World, etc. There is also speculation over Jon’s job. Apparently he had a job, got a new specially-made government job with Pennsylvania, quit that in favor of more flexible hours working for his friend, and then quit that to “ride the gravy train his kids have created.”

To most of this stuff, I’d like to tell people to get over it: the Gosselins were offered an opportunity to make something out of their less-than-favorable situation. Not many people get two sets of multiples thrown their way, and they were offered a chance to help deal with it. Since it happens to make TLC a lot of money, they caught a lucky break. Some people do, some people don’t. Parents bitch because Jon and Kate are getting paid to be parents, but they’re also dealing with an extraordinary amount of kids, all at the same age. It’s sort of the same with that Jesus-freak idiot family with 18 kids or whatever. Now THAT is fucking sick, and I would like to pay them to STOP breeding.

Jon and Kate have a TV show. They’re famous. Famous people get free things. Famous people don’t have to work normal jobs. The parents that complain about the Gosselins certainly cannot deny the fact that they would quit their jobs too, if they didn’t have to work. As long as they realize that at some point, their 15 minutes will be up, it’s a nice ride for the time being. Kate seems pretty grounded, and it’s about as “real” as you can get, so I don’t see what the problem is. They only film 3 days a week, the family functions as normally as they ever have, the kids are no worse for the wear, and Jon and Kate can devote all of their time to raising smart, decent kids. As far as I’m concerned, the folks of Survivor and The Surreal Life, do a lot less for more money than Jon and Kate, so haters can suck it. Not to mention, the Gosselins are very into the God thing, and repeatedly (and genuinely) state that not a day goes by where they don’t thank God for what they’ve been handed–and considering the number of churches they speak at–I believe them.

That said, I’m really looking forward to the episode where they go to Hawaii. And if Mady would just shut her bratty little trap every now and then, the show would be a good time for all.

**Back.