So I'm 23. Yawn

So I turned 23 on Sunday. Big whoop. Honestly, I had a good birthday because I had my favorite dinner with my parents, siblings, and grandparents, played some Euchre, and had a really good time. I also got some great presents, including The Golden Girls Season One from Michael. Yay! But the actuality of turning 23 wasn't all that exciting. I didn't lose any sleep in anticipation of the event, or really give it much thought as it came and went. I couldn't wait for the big 21st. I happened to be in Wales for the 20th and Colorado for the 19th. That was fun. I had a huge party for my 22nd because it was my last year in college. But 23, well, it just doesn't seem that big of a deal. Am I part the point where every birthday is a big day for me? Probably. Am I sad about it? A bit. Ah, well. Life goes on, and you keep getting older, even after 23.

Qop!
"Of course I'm happy. I have an international rock star babysitting my kids." ~ Jimmy Smits as Sanots on The West Wing, after a crazy day on the trail when Bon Jovi takes over kid watching duties

The Return of Chef

Aren't you guys lucky? I've been updating a lot lately. Today's topic: The Return of Chef. If you missed South Park last night, I am so sorry for you. I'm sure they'll rerun it. Here's the rundown of why it was so great. Isaac Hayes, who has voiced Chef for the nine seasons that have aired thus far, quit the show a week or two ago because South Park made fun of Scientology in a recent episode. Granted, the show makes fun of all religions and Hayes has never had a problem with it, until now. I guess he hold his religion to a higher standard or something. I think he's a big jerky hyprocrite for quitting the show over it, but that's just me. Oh, I know he says that wasn't the reason exactly, but everyone can read between the lines. Trey Parker and Matt Stone put together an amazing episode to transition to a series with no more of Hayes's Chef. The episode was called "The Return of Chef" and it ran last night. They faked a 'previously on South Park' where Chef ran off to join the Super Adventure Club. In last night's episode he returned, but started acting differently. He now wanted to turn his love making charms onto little children, such as the kids he serves lunch to at school. The dialogue was badly edited Hayes dialogue from other episodes, which made it all the funnier that something wasn't right. The boys discover that Chef was brainwashed by the Super Adventure Club. The Adventure Club climbs mountains and such, but the Super Adventure Club travels around the world and molests children. Ensuing is a parallel between the beliefs of the SAC and Scientology that never even tried to be subtle. It was hilarious. And in the end Chef chooses to stay with the SAC anyway, then is promptly impaled then torn apart by a mountain lion and a grzzily bear. The episode ends with a funeral in which Kyle proclaims that they should remember the wonderful man Chef was and not the crappy brainwashing he got sucked into (i.e. Isaac Hayes and Scientology). The coda reveals the SAC has put together a Chef Vadar, with a big reveal and a new voice, allowing the character to continue in a fun new way without Hayes, and as a villian. To top that off, Tom Cruise threatened not to promote MI3 for Paramount if they reran a certain episode last week, so they had to do different reruns instead of the scheduled ones. Paramount claims they switched reruns to honor Hayes, but again, the public knows better. Was that cool or what? Six more episodes left this season! I can't wait.

Qop!
"Oh my God, they killed Chef!"
"You bastards!" ~ Kyle and Stan, "The Return of Chef"

Random TV Mouthoff

Ok, so the string of shows that I try to keep up with have been frustrating me recently, so hear goes the mouthing off in no particular order. Audrey is not a villian, and they had better not kill of D.B. on 24. Can't wait for Michelle Forbes on Prison Break, and I think Mexican guy is gonna save the day on the execution. Why isn't Ted chasing after his girlfriend, or at least hooking up with Robin on How I Met Your Mother. I am sorry Lost but I am sick of your damn reruns. The West Wing has only three episodes left. I'm glad Toby is getting his focus and I hope he gets cleared even if he doesn't deserve it. Josh had better get back with Donna. Oh, and I hope they find Ainsley-Hayes in the basement. Grey's Anatomy continues to deliver consistently. Take a cue Desperate Housewives, whose place it has switched, although DW has it's moments. The Loop is good, Free Ride is ok, and Sons & Daughters is on it's last leg with me, even though it just premiered. I miss Joey. One episode back and it's gone again. Maybe it's for the best. Four Kings is back and good, Out of Practice is almost back, and where did Crumbs go? I couldn't care less about American Idol anymore. Mandisa is going to lose and there's not really anyone else great left. Sorry Paris. On Will & Grace, I am disappointed Taye ended up being such an ass. Well, Grace will get with Leo and Will will get with the policeman and Jack will be disappointed, but keep chasing. I am already showing that I watch too much tv, aren't I? If it weren't for the actors on Bones I would have stopped watching, although it is good. And Veronica Mars is going to have a thrilling end. Can't think of anything else. Thank goodness these shows aren't on every week or I'd be dead.

Qop! (24)
"Who is your informant?"
"Audrey Rains."
"No!"
"Everyone has their price."

A Date

So I'm going on a date. You know how weird that sounds? A friend from college called me up and asked me out. I said yes. Now I'm going on date. I have not been on a date in fifteen months, and haven't been in a relationship in two years and nine months. I don't know if this will lead to a relationship. I'm honestly not thinking that far ahead. I'm just marveling at long it's been. Granted, it took me a long time to get over the last girlfriend. I went on a few dates last winter, but nothing came of that. I am really looking forward to this date because I have been wanting to get out and go on one in so long. I always have liked girls, and was looking for my future wife in Kindergarten. I never actually got to go on dates or have a girlfriend until college, and by that time I incredibly frustrated because I was getting old. I always figured I would be married by the time I was out of college. That's the kind of guy I am. I'm the 'marrying type', not that date endless streams of women type. But most girls my age want to wait to get married. The average marriage age is 30! That's crazy. I'm going to be 23 next Sunday and I am not at all happy about the status of my love life, and whole I've come to enjoy the single life and have fun doing it, I won't miss it when it's gone. Like I said, I'm not even thinking long term tonight. I am only thinking of tonight, which I guess shows how my mindset has changed over time. Now that I've spilled my guts about something deeply personal over the internet, don't think I'm a loser, and don't say mean things on my blog, ok? :)

Qop! (from Veronica Mars)
Veronica's Father: So how was your date?
Veronica: Simple conversation, nothing much. But the sex was fantastic!
Veronica's Father: That's not funny.

Book Signing

So my book signing last night went fantastic! There were lots of people there. We did a Q&A for about 45 minutes or so, and all the questions were great. The audience ranged from people who had read the book and eagerly awaited the sequel to people who had heard absolutely nothing about the book, which gave me plenty to talk about. Some of my elementary school teacchers were there, which was really cool. There was also a reporter there that is doing an article on me and took pictures and stuff. How exciting is that? I am uber hyped right now, but it's off to school. Have a good day.

Qop!
"You hear the one about the fella who died, went to the pearly gates? St. Peter let him in. Sees a guy in a suit making a closing argument. Says, "Who's that?" St. Peter says, "Oh, that's God. Thinks he's Denny Crane." ~ William Shatner "Denny Crane", Boston Legal

TV Juggle

I don't understand why networks do it. Do you? The TV Juggle. You learn what night and time your favorite shows are, and then they rearrange them for absolutly no reason. Then, while my DVR can handle two shows at once, suddenly there are four shows you want to watch in one time slot, and no shows the rest of the night. Geez! I guess that means I have good taste because I pick the shows they want to put in their best time slot, but in a couple weeks some of those shows will be moved again and then I'll have missed episodes, which I don't like to do. Joey, surprisingly returns Tuesday. Yay! Arrested Development is already off the air after a two hour series finale. It may return on Showtime, but that does me absolutely no good. The biggest crime this season is that The West Wing only gets 5 more episodes to tie up the election and Leo's death. Oh, and Alias is getting less episodes to tie up that series than originally planned. A show that runs for years should get a full season to do a finale! Why do shows get cancelled? 3 or 4 MILLION of us are still waiting for the return of Reunion, which will never happen. How many people have to watch to save a show anyway? Daytime shows run with much less than 3 million. So do late night. Run Reunion then if you have to. I'd DVR it. I can't wait for everything to switch to On Demand, where you just go to the channel and there's a list of all the new shows that week, scroll down and pick one, whenever you want. These channels exist in premium packages now, but not really for the broadcast networks, which is pretty much all I want. Marketability needs to catch up to technology. In other news, Mr. Dailey got nothing done he wanted to do this week because he was too busy searching for when his shows would air. (NOTE: The last line is ficitonal. I have too much to do to figure out when he shows are on)

Qop!
Meg: You believe me, right?
Veronica: You are the last good person here at Neptune High. I believe cartoon birds braided your hair this morning.