I’ve been a fan of reality TV since before it had a name. I first tuned in back in 1992. That was the year MTV aired it’s first season of The Real World. 

While I readily admit this trait, I feel compelled to qualify: I do have some limits. For example, I tune in to every season of Amazing Race. Bravo TV’s Top Chef is one of my favorite shows. On the other hand, I wouldn’t ever watch The Bachelor (although, I have been known to catch an episode of Beauty and the Geek). America’s Next Top Model? No. Project Runway? Yes.

I mention this affinity for three reasons - 1) the realization that the current television writers’ strike won’t have a significant affect on my viewing habits; 2)  the fact I told GT publisher Fran Gallagher long ago that his life would make great fodder for a reality series; 3) the receipt of a recent email in which GT distribution specialist John Wroblewski - who’s known Fran for 20-plus years - told me he had independently come to the same conclusion about the potential for a Fran-centric show.

In my imagination, the show would revolve around GT’s Global Headquarters in Yardley, Pa. Fran would be at the helm - sort of like The Skipper on Gilligan’s Island. Since about half of the GT staff (including me) telecommutes from locations around the country, we’d be “seen” as disembodied voices emanating from a giant speaker in Fran’s office. It would be like the reality version of The Office.

I’d tell you more, but I’m pressed for time. Kitchen Nightmares is about to start. I have to tune in to see Chef Gordon Ramsey let loose on yet another hapless restaurant owner.

Lisa Matte, Editor in Chief, Global Traveler

My sister called me last night to tell me a mutual friend (someone she loved deeply and I knew and loved) had died — alone and quietly in his house just steps from the beach. 

Those of you who read this blog and the magazine will know that the beach is my favorite place in the world.

To me, “the beach” is not necessarily a warm tropical place with white sand and palm trees (although I do like that particular scenario). To me, the beach is a real place — winter or summer — hot or cold — it’s where I find peace of mind. It’s where I watch the ebb and flow of the tide and think about the ebb and flow of life.

I was at the beach with my sister on Sunday — an unseasonably warm New England afternoon we could not resist as our “last chance” this year. We ate lunch, walked for nearly an hour, basked in the sun and even dipped in the ocean. It was cold, but I was determined to set a personal record of Oct. 21 - last day of the season in the water.

Our friend, who was loved by more people than he ever understood or accepted, may have been gone while we were savoring our last day of summer. He died because he succumbed to his own demons – demons he couldn’t push away even though he was buttressed by the love of too many people to count.

His death will leave a hole in my life, but it will forever affect our mutual loved ones.  I’ll remember the good times - dancing at a party (my bad knee collapsed and he was mortified); offbeat singalongs (he declined to take center stage, but always sang along); and a kiss on the cheek the last time I saw him — in mid-August at a gathering where I was assembling an antipasto — he picked at the plate and gave me a hello kiss as I swatted his hand.

I realize my fellow GT bloggers write about travel. I seem to be drawn to reflections on life. Thanks for indulging me.

The number of years since your birth doesn’t necessarily reflect your true age. Consider the options — chronological age versus emotional age or physical age. A 30-year-old couch potato may be “older” than a 50-year-old fitness buff; a mature 10-year old may be “older” than an emotionally bankrupt 40-year-old. We have labels to define age groups — Baby Boomers, Gen-Xers, Gen-Yers — but not of all us fit neatly into one category.

Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success, in conjunction with researcher Margaret Weigel, developed a test to help people determine their “real” age — at least in terms of where they fit according to standard definitions of Baby Boomer, etc.

Take the test and figure out where you fit. 

Do you have your own web page? (1 point)

Have you made a web page for someone else? (2 points)

Do you IM your friends? (1 point)

Do you text your friends? (2 points)

Do you watch videos on YouTube? (1 point)

Do you remix video files from the Internet?  (2 points)

Have you paid for and downloaded music from the Internet? (1 point)

Do you know where to download free (illegal) music from the Internet? (2 points)

Do you blog for professional reasons?  (1 point)

Do you blog as a way to keep an online diary? (2 points)

Have you visited MySpace at least five times? (1 point)

Do you communicate with friends on Facebook? (2 points)

Do you use email to communicate with your parents? (1 point)

Did you text to communicate with your parents? (2 points)

Do you take photos with your phone? (1 point)

Do you share your photos from your phone with your friends? (2 points)

TALLY YOUR POINTS

0-1 point - Baby Boomer (born between 1946 and 1964)

2-6  points - Generation Jones (a BB subcategory; born between 1954 and 1965)

6- 12 points - Generation X (born between 1964 and 1980)

12 or over - Generation Y (born between 1978 and 2000)

 - Lisa Matte, Editor-in-chief

I daydream about being a guest judge on the Food Network’s Iron Chef America. It’s not that I’m a “foodie” by any means. I know this for a fact because I’ve dined with bonafide foodies and they’re much too serious. For me, the experience would more about learning than judging. I get a kick out of watching the show’s world-class chefs — the Iron Chefs and their challengers — pull out all the stops to wow the sometimes jaded panel of judges. I love the burst of energy that follows each episode’s revelation of the “secret ingredient.” I’ve even picked up a few tricks I employ in my own kitchen (granted, I’m more apt to try out a recipe when the main ingredient is something mainstream like lobster or beef as opposed to sweetbreads or tripe). I’ve dined in some of the world’s most renowned restaurants and I’m game for my next challenge. Food Network, I’m waiting for your call. In the meantime, “allez cuisine!”

 - Lisa Matte, Editor-in-chief

You and I are related. It’s not as far-fetched as it sounds. According to an article in yesterday’s Boston Globe, scientists are hot on the trail of DNA analysis that can trace the route a person’s ancestors traveled from

The Genograhic Project, a research initiative conducted in partnership between the National Geographic Society and IBM, uses laboratory and computer analysis of DNA to map how Earth was populated. The five-year study, which commenced in 2005, is expected to result in a public database that will house one of the largest collections of human population genetic information ever assembled.

In their initial report, released last June, researchers revealed the results of the analysis of genetic data collected from 78,590 participants. Interested in discovering the route your ancestors took from the cradle of humankind in East Africa ― east through Asia and perhaps across the once ice-covered Bering Strait into the Americas, or northwest through Europe and eventually across the

The study is open to the public. Participation information is posted on the Genograhic Project Web site. There’s also an interesting video that tracks the results of DNA tests conducted on four individuals selected at random in

Look around. That’s your long-lost relative sitting across from you.