(no subject)

MOST MORNINGS, I wake up before Molly and when she wakes up she shouts "DADDYCOMEHERE I'M IN THE BACK BED ROOOOOOOM!!!", s I go get her and we talk/play in the bed for about a half-hour before getting dressed for the day.

SOME MORNINGS, she cuddles up to me and we sleep in, waking up at the same time when she says "Good morning, Daddy" in the sweetest and smile-filled way possible.

AND THEN THERE ARE MORNING LIKE THIS, where she wakes me up kicking me and shouting "GET UP! Go make me breakfast!" like some caricature of a housewife in curlers with a cigarette hanging out her mouth.

Hells, Nightmares & Masters

I really like Gordon Ramsay. One of my "Completely Obtainable And Barely A Dream" dreams in life is to eat at one of his restaurants. My first exposure to him was on the American Reality/Competition show "Hell's Kitchen". It lead me to discover the US version of his UK show "Kitchen Nightmares", which lead me to the original UK version of Kitchen Nightmares and now, finally, his new show "Master Chef".

The problem with the "Hell's Kitchen" show is the voice-over guy. Typical episode of Hell's Kitchen could be done in 20 minutes if not for scenes like this:

ANNOUNCER: Chef Corky is about to present his dish, a Lobster Bisque, to Chef Ramsay...

CHEF CORKY: "This is my dish, Chef Ramsay... it is a Lobster Bisque."

ANNOUNCER: Chef Corky has just presented his dish, a Lobster Bisque, to Chef Ramsay. But how will chef Ramsay react?

CLOSE-UP OF CHEF RAMSAY TAKING A BITE.
DRAMATIC MUSIC

ANNOUNCER: Stay tuned for the most DRAMATIC reveal in Hell's Kitchen HISTORY, and you won't BELIEVE what happens NEXT!

FIVE MINUTES OF QUICK-CUT SHOTS, MOSTLY BLEEPED SWEAR WORDS AND GARBAGE CAN KICKING.

The US version of Kitchen Nightmares is pretty much the same thing. 70% announcer hyperbole and recap, 30% actual show. The UK version, however, is so much cleaner and crisper. NO ANNOUNCER VOICE-OVER.

With the new show, "Master Chef", they seem to have hit a pretty good balance. They still have an annoying Voice-Over person, but her part is reduced to after-commercial recaps and end-of-episode summaries. They've taken out the dramatic camera work and dramatic music. And they're really focusing more on the food and the people who are cooking it instead of manufactured tension.

I think I like it!