My Current Obsession

I tend to get oddly fascinated by things/people and obsess over them for extended periods of time. I watch or read everything I can about them and talk about them ad nauseum. This usually annoys my friends...especially when they don't share the same devotion (after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows came out, I talked about it so much my friend Annie said "Enough with the Harry Potter already!"), but eventually I get over it and move on to the next thing (well, not with HP, obviously, but you get the point).

So, my obsession right now is Chef/Writer/King of Snark Anthony Bourdain. Bourdain hosts No Reservations on the Travel Channel. His is not your typical travel or food show. He really encourages the audience to get off the tour bus and see the sites; eat what the locals eat; go where the locals go. He has a different take on the places he visits and on the world in general, where food and culture always mix to deliver new and important experiences (he was actually stuck in Lebanon when Hezbollah attacked last year and made a really wonderful, smart episode about war zones and life and what it is to be American in this crazy world). He never takes himself too seriously and always has something hilariously wicked to say (read his rant about Food Network stars. It's awesome).

Helping feed my obsession (Tony knows how much I need him more than once a week), Bourdain is a sometime guest judge on Top Chef and blogs about the show weekly (if you don't watch Top Chef, you really should. Best summer show, if you ask me). He's tough, but so is cooking sometimes, and his appearances always make good TV even better.

I've been obsessed with Tony for awhile now and the obsession just kinda keeps growing, but someday he will no longer be on television or writing books or blogging about the horrors of Sandra Lee, so I guess I'll have to enjoy him while I can.