Wind Down

This weekend was Accepted Students weekend at the college. I have no idea how it went or what the incoming class looks like, though in the case of the latter it doesn't take much imagination to imagine the typical wide-eyed Loyola prince or princess. Instead I spent much of my weekend off campus, catching up with alumni friends, and actually going house hunting with one of them. I learned routes to areas in and around Baltimore that I have always known of, but never been to. I got a better understanding of how the city fits together, and what to expect of life when I'm out on my own. Combined with my recent job interviews, the last month has been like a small step towards the door that opens up to that so-called "Real World", and should I be hired by someone in the next month, the door is going to fly open, and there will be no turning around to go home.

Its curious to have these thoughts at the same time that teenagers not much younger than me are starting their own new chapter in life, the same chapter I'm just finishing up. All of the experience they've yet to have, while the things I'll soon encounter haven't even dawned on most of them. I talk to my 18 year old brother, and it never feels like we're that far apart in terms of maturity and responsibility. Yet there he is running around figuring out his high school graduation, while I'm looking to pay for the rent and get my own insurance. I've met many good freshman during this year, and as said year winds down I find myself spending my time around other seniors, people in the same boat as me. For those freshman, the end of spring requires no more hassle than to pick classes and find some girlfriends to live with. Meanwhile I know others looking to buy their own house.

Only a week a ago I visited the doctor for a physical, and in our discussion she mentioned how the difference between 18 and 22 may only be four years, but really it feels like ten. I laughed at the time, but already I feel I agree (though I'd add that it goes by like it was only two). And still, how wided eyed and excited I've been these last few weeks. The changes may be different, the responsibilities greater, but ultimately this was my own version of Accepted Students Weekend (let's call it "close to accepted" for now).

Funny how time works.

American Dad

I'm still of the opinion that Futurama is one of the best comedies of the last decade. Yes, its true that you have to be a real geek to understand all of the jokes, but even then they are often so clever as to make the braniest of the bunch have to think a bit to see what's going on. The "simpsons wannabe" was in truth anything but, and it still saddens me to see that it never got a second chance (I'm not waiting out for those rumored movies).

Now most Futurama fans would continue this tirade by complaining about how wrong it was Family Guy that got renewed instead. As much as I dislike that show, I can understand the reasoning - ratings numbers are very easy to read after all. Instead I'm going to ponder an even worse show; American Dad.

I just watched a full episode last week, and I'm left simply puzzled. There is so much wrong with the show I often wonder if it is serious. It takes the same setup as Family Guy - crazy father and talking nonhuman pal on wild adventures - and takes it even further by making the rest of the characters even more worthless. The jokes are the scraps of pop culture quibbles that weren't good enough for Family Guy, and the "crazy ignorant American" schtick that the show seemed to be based upon was hardly in effect that night. It quite literally feels like the dumping ground for all the bad ideas Seth McFarlane throws away, and despite what some TV critics might say, that's not at all better than the output from other shows.

Let's put it this way - American Dad reminds me of the show "That's my Bush", a show made from the South Park fellas for shits and giggles, not to shake the ratings world by storm. It got canceled, and somehow I believe that was the whole damn point. How American Dad avoided this fate is a mystery.