Growing up, I loved watching TV. I would make sure my homework was done, and I tried to have the evening dishes done before Jeopardy! ended on week nights so I can sit in front of the TV for three solid hours. I was supposed to go to bed at 10PM, but I had a TV in my room, so I can watch hour dramas like ‘ER’ on low volume so my parents would not know.

Today, I don’t have a TV. If I did, I probably would not have cable. Thanks to Hulu, Netflix and other URLs, I can watch many of the shows I want and also watch junk just by keeping a tab open on my laptop.

The socialness of TV makes me want to watch. Twitter, Facebook as well as GetGlue and Miso are the new watercoolers for discussion about TV shows.

I have watched the pilots of three new shows so far and here’s my quick and dirty review:

Playboy Club: This show was heavily anticipated by the folks at NBC, but I have a feeling it won’t last much longer than last season’s ‘Lone Star’ which was a better show. The main problem with the show is that they basically stole a story line from ONE episode of ‘Mad Men’ which features the same actress, Naturi Naughton, as a Playboy Bunny. They moved the show to Chicago, added Hugh Hefner voiceover and bad impression of Don Draper by Eddie Cibrian. I bet Eddie watched the last four seasons of Mad Men on Netflix this past summer like I did. a better premise would be to steal the Mrs. Blankenship story line back when she was a young lady. I would have enjoyed that immensely.

Up All Night: This show should “pull a Netflix” and split into two shows. I would like a comedy starring Christina Applegate and Will Arnett about raising a baby. However, I would also like to see ‘Ava’ a sitcom that parodies an Oprah-like talk show host starring Maya Rudolph. She should have a coterie of quirky assistants and Queen Latifah could be her co-star.

The New Girl: This show has introduced television critics and entertainment journalists to the word, “Adorkable”. For that reason alone, I kinda hate this show. The truth is that Zooey Deschanel’s character Jess is neither adorable (Leslie Knope on ‘Parks and Recreation’) nor dorky (Any male character on ‘Big Bang Theory’). Jess is AWKWARD. She is awkward like Awkward Black Girl. Jess is kinda like J. in “White Face”. The writing on The New Girl is “meh” so far. The best joke is the douchebag jar. Every group of friends should have one. I would even download a “virtual douchebag jar” if they made that into a smartphone app. Product placement opportunities are endless!

Back in 2006, I was quoted in a Pittsburgh Post Gazette about cupcakes, and I said, “It’s very happy food”.

Today I am quoted in the Miami Herald and I said, “Cupcakes are not a fad or trend because people relate cupcakes to happiness — happiness is not a fad.”

I didn’t realize until I read the latest quote that I basically said the same thing twice, but in a different way.  In the almost seven years of blogging about cupcakes, I have been defending their existence as if my life depended on it.  In a way, it does. I’m like a cupcake lobbyist.  More and more, I realize that bakery owners across the country have to defend cupcakes to bank loan officers, journalists, publicists, foodies, friends and family.  There’s so much evidence that cupcakes are here to stay, but if you don’t get it that’s fine.  That just means more cupcakes for the ones who do. BTW, if you do love cupcakes, come on the Cupcake Cruise next August. It’s gonna be a blast.

Karma is defined  as the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.  Sometime I do things for good karma. Sometimes I do things because being kind feels natural.  I got a free phone at an event two years ago, but I never used it. Last month, I was perusing the FreeCycle and saw that someone needed a phone.  I met up with the girl at a coffee shop to give her the phone.  I didn’t do it for karma points, but to alleviate some of the clutter.  A few days later I was offered a Droid Charge, a new Samsung Android smartphone.  I already have an Android but this is one is new so I took it for a spin.  What a difference!  The latest Android operating system and the 4G network is great for using apps. I have been able to easily check-in on Foursquare and use Evernote more effectively. I have shown the phone to a few friends who have the iPhone 4 and they are impressed with the screen resolution and how light it is.   Honestly I really like this phone. This reception is good. The apps are useful and the battery life is super.  Disclosure.