I was less than excited about Iron Chef America, and getting a bit annoyed with the constant ads and sudden removal of my Good Eats 11:30 bedtime episode, until I saw that Alton Brown, himself, would be the host. I hope he takes a big bite out of a pepper to start the show, or it just wouldn't be the same. Now I have to watch to cheer on my Georgia boy (even if he isn't competing).

PS - I just noticed this line of the article: "Runners also relay information, and Brown has a PowerPoint presentation on his laptop about some of the more exotic pantry ingredients the chefs employed." That's why I like him, he's a true nerd.

(link courtesy of FARK)

I think everyone from Auburn High School will join me in a collective "WTF?" Erica Hurwitz is marrying Rusty Jones, of all people. Were they even friends in high school? I'd be more convinced if I could find a photo of them together. Craziness.

PS - did they go to senior prom together? For some reason that rings a bell.....

(props to Laura for sending me the link)

Uh oh... Spring celebration sparks riot-- in Iowa, no less. Surely Iowa City is above this nonsense in Ames... right? I'm not going to live near the stadium, just to be safe.

Interesting - 100 Greatest Movie Characters. I can think of a few that deserve to be on there more than some of the nominees... The guys from Office Space leap to mind. You can cut to the chase and see the entire list, but I like that they picked out the defining moment for each character.

(link courtesy of j-walk)

For the two people who read this site more regularly than supercres.net- Patrick linked the most fun site I've seen in a long time (it's virtual bubblewrap, you have to see it).

Yay! Easter day means fun with Peeps. They're repulsive on the gustatory level, but oh so cute on the visual level. Here are some funny parodies linked by metafilter. There are a few more peep parodies here, as well as some facts on the nasty (but cute) little buggers.

Well, the grad school decision must be made by Thursday, the 15th. Since I'm pretty sure I'll go to Iowa and certain that I'll be cold, I've been trying to find a good site that will give me tips on what I need to know to live in the midwest. However, I can't find a darn thing... The best I've got is the AAA guide How to Go on Ice & Snow (catchy, eh?)
I'm not sure exactly what kind of info I'm looking for, but I do know that my coworkers laughed at me for not knowing what snow boots are. Is Iowa far enough into the plains to have dust storms? I know I'm headed into Tornado Alley. Will my apartment complex have a cellar (a la Wizard of Oz)?

The response to my query on facts about Iowa was about nil. So, I'm going to share this list of some of the notable University of Iowa alums:

Mildred Wirt Benson-Creator of the Nancy Drew mystery story collection. B.A., 1925; M.A. 1927, Journalism and Mass Communication

George Gallup-Founder of the Gallup Poll. B.A., 1923.

E.F. Linquist-Co-founder of American College Testing (ACT) Ph.D. Education, 1927

Richard W. Maibaum-Screenwriter and producer who wrote Broadway plays and thirteen James Bond scripts/films. B.A., 1931; M.A., 1932, Communication and Theatre Arts. Died 1991.

Tennessee Williams-Author of A Streetcar Named Desire and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. B.A., 1938.

Gene Wilder-Comedic film and television actor whose credits include "Silver Streak," "Young Frankenstein," and "Stir Crazy." [and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!!!] B.A., 1955, Communication and Theatre Arts.

If I'm going to move to Iowa, I think I need to develop a stronger interest in corn. I'm sure I'd be one of the first lucky folks to buy corn clothes. I'll also have to figure out where Nebraska is, so I can go thank the scientist in the article for my lovely corn clothes.

Professor Snape is too sexy...
I hope this isn't a sarcastic creation, because it means I'm not alone in my infatuation with Alan Rickman. From Sense and Sensibility to Harry Potter to Galaxy Quest and Dogma... he is one of my favorite actors (though I cannot say why I find him attractive, who knows). Meow.

(link courtesy of web-goddess who got it from Moire)

Ahhhhh!!!! This page of scary faces in clothes reminds me of this time when I was 8 (or so) and I stayed up half the night because my Land Before Time pj set was laying on my dresser in such a way that it looked like an evil face. I couldn't close my eyes or it would get me! I still shudder thinking about it. Eek!

(Link courtesy of MetaFilter)

So this is what winners look like??

I'm not bitter.

Just another incident of my Mom may be paranoid, but she can also be right. She never let us go to any of those shady fairgrounds, because she thought the constant assembly and break down of the rides made the bolts wear out. She was so right in this case, it's scary:

"An amusement ride broke open and ejected several passengers at a county fair, injuring seven people including a teenage girl who was in critical condition.

A piece of paneling came off "The Gravitron" while it was running late Friday, Miami-Dade police spokesman Juan DelCastillo said Saturday. The ride spins at high speed to generate centrifugal force that pins seated passengers against its interior wall.

A bolt that held the panel in place sheared, said Liz Compton, a Department of Agriculture spokeswoman."

After a couple of nail-biter showdowns - it's Tech vs UConn for the big game.

Go Tech!

Go Tech! Beat UConn or Dook!

There's some serious celebrating going down on campus. I just hope the firetrucks I hear are just passing by,

The uncomfortable hazards of being a research assistant:

Every once in a while, during our psych experiments, a participant tries to put the moves on one of the research assistants. It hasn't happened to me, but I'd rather count it as a blessing than try to understand why I don't have what it takes to get asked out by random weirdos.

Top Three weird-participant moments:
3. Sometimes they write their observations on their note paper. One such comment: "The researcher is hot, in a nerdy-girl sort of way." The RA in question erased the comment super-fast, but I still read it and laughed at her.

2. "So, what's your sign?" One participant used this line, followed by "Taurus? I'm a Leo, maybe we should hang out sometime." The RA was like "uhhhh, I'm not really allowed to" and hustled him out.

1. Preface: one of our ability tests is the diagramming relationships test. One of our RAs is a FASET (freshman orientation) leader who knew some of our participants through that program. One of those participants wrote her a little love note (with his phone number included):
Becky, when are you and I going to diagram OUR relationship?

UGA fools... I originally thought anyone could see this great UGA spoof. But apparently only on-campus techies can see it at uga.edu, so I grabbed a screen shot for you to enjoy. The academics link went to that basketball test that was all over the news last month, and other academic links went to a kindergarten's website. Of course. "how to give to UGA" went to a page that tells you how to give to Georgia Tech. Clever....

Here comes Peter Cottontail...
At work the other day, a coworker asked why the Easter Bunny exists. Being a know-it-all, I explained that it was a leftover of pagan rituals, adopted by Christians so they didn't have to give up their fun rituals just because they stopped being pagan (it reminds me a little of Jews for Jesus). Anyway, I found some support for my stance here, and some info about why exactly there is a Mr Easter Bunny (a la Santa) here (3rd paragraph). But I still like the theory my coworker had as a child: "I figured when Mary Magdalene went to the tomb, the Easter Bunny was the one who told her that Jesus was gone."

I think the most important Easter question is will my mom remember to put a lot of chocolate in my Easter care package?!?

I would be the first to admit that I had a big crush on Josh in high school. My platonic admiration has grown because I would never have the nerve to do all the great world travelling he's done. However, his new blog tests even my devotion.

I'm just kidding... but I'm also a little freaked out by the chest hair. His interest in Austin powers (as exemplified by all of the references to Austin Powers in his old webpages) suddenly makes sense in terms of identifying with Agent Powers in certain ways.

For several months, I've been lamenting my upcoming (i.e., August) loss of GT cable (I have ten movie channels) since I probably can't afford the kind of cable I want as a grad student (I looooove my ten movie channels). But now, my personal knight in shining armor - Senator John McCain - is trying to get the cable system to offer a la carte programming. How much would that rock? I (heart) McCain. Just make sure it happens before August!