They’re mostly a load of crap.  Awards and award shows are rarely about the excellence of the people, products and places they profess to honor, rather, a device to draw attention to and raise money for the presenting organizations.  There are now so many of them that once avid devotees have dwindled due to oversaturation.  Even the commercial bump of nominees and winners has diminished significantly to where a single Tik Tok influencer can have a more impactful effect than the spectacle of opening an envelope.  Yet, the culture of the ”Best-Of” announcement persists.  This week’s Tony nominations, (or lack thereof), brought down the curtain on Dancin’, not because the show isn’t among the most delightful evenings you could spend hundreds of dollars on a ticket to see, but because Tony voters determined it wasn’t prize-worthy.  (Not for nothin’, it is…was).

We’ve always liked giving out prizes…fattest pig, tastiest pie, the fastest, or strongest, the smartest, prettiest or most-likely to succeed, (whatever any of that means).  Except for the pig, it’s all bullshit…maybe the “bullshitiest”.  That’s not to say that exceptionalism isn’t to be encouraged and recognized, but the endeavor to be exceptional, to whatever level one may rise, should never be marginalized by a designated winner inferring others are losers.  I mean, come on…the person who tried the hardest?  That’s something to celebrate.

I do kinda like the Halls of Fame recognitions.  Not when they get overly political like the sports ones that won’t honor Pete Rose, but when panels, well-informed as to the full history of the subject at hand, present a class of worthy recipients to be immortalized for their past efforts, all equal, so that future generations won’t forget.  Al Kooper in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…fuckin’-A!