Genuine TV. No, not reality. Genuine.

Reality TV has its place and time. Like when nothing else is on and you want to watch Rob and Big and their misadventures with a mini horse. Or when you want to make yourself feel superior to the white trash on MTV's "Engaged & Underaged." Or when you find yourself strangely attracted to Bret Michaels's guy-liner... but I digress.

I, along with many TV writers, am afraid that quality TV is dying out. Which is why I get jump-up-and-down-in-my-chair excited when one of my favorite shows comes back for its summer season-- TBS's "My Boys." The stories of PJ, a late-20s female sportswriter covering the Chicago Cubs, and her circle of guy friends, are infinitely easy to relate to. So much so that not only do I want to be their friends, but I can see clear similarities between PJ and myself.

But my favorite part about this show is that the dialog (which I can never figure out how to spell correctly) doesn't sound like the writers are trying too hard to sound current, or hip, or trendy. In fact, the characters sound like real people. There are no contrived sayings, or Sex and the City-style puns and quips. (Not that I don't love Sex and the City, because I do, but come on, the only reason people talk like that is because we've watched too many episodes of SATC.)

For example, in last season's episode titled "The Douchebag Intervention," the crew notices a change in their friend Brendon. He has become more... "arrogant?" "No." "Cocky?" "No, not really." "Douche-?" "Yes, DEFINITELY." This use of one of my favorite, slightly inappropriate terms for what is previously known as a tool, made me feel like the writers had been sitting around a group of my friends.

If you're not convinced, check out this clip from the premiere of the second season. Wait for the scene when PJ and Stephanie are in the airplane bathroom. Notice her mid-sentence ADD ("Oooh, lotion") and her description of how she asked Bobby to Italy ("And then I might have said dude.") When my roommate and I saw this, we agreed that PJ and I are waaay too similar.
Enjoy it for yourself here, and check out the next episode tonight on TBS at 9:30!

My Closet Hippie is Pissed.

I have an alter ego. She is a hippie. She enjoys tie dye, flowy skirts, and being barefoot. She would let the ocean be her hair stylist every day if she could. She has always wanted a brightly colored Volkswagen van, except for the terrible gas mileage.

So imagine how pissed she was to see this ad for the Honda Odyssey. Groovy music, psychedelic artwork, and all for a boring, soccer mom-style minivan. Not cool, man.