And what is up with that?

I have problems wrapping my brain around the fact that the Husband is addicted to TMZ. You have to understand that the Husband doesn’t watch much TV (The Simpsons, King of the Hill and Adult Swim - that’s about it).  He doesn’t even follow celebrity gossip.  No tabloids, no Entertainment Tonight or Inside Edition.  No Perez Hilton.  Nothing.

Except TMZ.  He can’t get enough. He watches it almost everyday, visits their website and even has a TMZ quick link on his Blackberry.

Is this normal?  Do other men suffer from this affliction?  Please let me know I am not alone with a TMZ-addicted spouse!

Top Chef has got to be my favorite reality television show.  There was a time I never watched reality TV.  I still have never seen a full episode of Survivor, Big Brother, or any of those other shows.  And while I know this has been said plenty of times - there is nothing “reality” about all these shows.  Not eve Top Chef. But I love it just the same.

They were quick to get to eliminations this season, with one going home after the Quick Fire and then another with the Elimination Challenge (if you don’t know what these are, watch the show at Bravo on Wednesday nights 10 pm/9 pm Central).  As I am posting this before the West Coast gets to see the show, I will not ruin the surprise of who was eliminated.

I have not decided who will be the chef that I will be pulling for this season (though I like the two European guys already).  I am proud to say that whoever I choose has always made it to the finals.  But that is no guarantee I will pick right this time.  However, there is a prize in correct picks this year.  Bravo is running a Top Chef Fantasy Game this season (similar to those Fantasy Football games).  I missed the sign-up time for picking a team for the first episode, but I will have my team ready for next week.

There are a couple of observations that I must make about this season already.  I counted about a dozen times where someone said “I have never made this type of food before.”  While I can understand someone never making a Russian dish before, but Italian?  Chinese?  These people are chefs and they don’t try different cuisines?  Maybe that is why I am a cook and not a chef.  I do a little bit of every thing but I am an expert at nothing.  And I like it that way.

And I won’t even discuss a problem that rears its head every season.  OK, I will - half of them will not be able to do desserts.  And they will say it is because they are not pastry chefs.  When you go on Top Chef and you plan on making it to the finals, you know you are going to have to do more than one dessert.  Just plan on it.  Practice them and come prepared to do a couple of basic, simple dishes you can expand upon.  I can be no where near the internet or a cookbook and can still whip up the tastiest brownie you’ve ever had.

I am excited to see another chef from a restaurant I have already eaten at.  Jamie is Executive Chef at Absinthe in San Francisco, which I was at back when I was in law school.  Is it just me, or does she look a bit like Candace Cameron from Full House?

Overall, I think this season there are a lot of great chefs and I am excited to see what they can create this season.