In a world where 50 is the new 30, online dating has become increasingly popular among older generations. Whether divorced, widowed or never married, lots of people are looking for love – and above all, fun – later in life than ever before.

Before I get into my personal experiences on the site, let me first explain my reasons for signing up. I’m nowhere near 50 years old, but in no way am I cougar bate either. Yes, there are lots of senior citizens on the site in their 60s and up, but there are also lots of people between 45 and 55 who are just as active as people my age, and look just as good.

Realistically, I didn’t think I would find the future Mrs. Soloman, but I wasn’t going to rule it out, either. I know the whole May-December thing doesn’t always work out (Ashton and Demi, Finch and Stifler’s mom, Cher and the bagel boy), but stranger things have happened.

The Good:
When one hears the word “senior,” one automatically pictures elderly people who like to knit and play bingo, but Senior FriendFinder members are far from it. I’ve met women who like hiking, biking, dancing and even hand gliding – things I don’t even do.

I also like the general tone of the site – very welcoming, and friendly. As soon as I joined I was welcomed by several members – male and female- who invited me to their interest groups and chat rooms. I also really like the clean design and easy-to-use interface, which I would imagine is easier to navigate for older seniors who may not be as tech savvy as their younger counterparts.

There are also lots of features, which many of the members use to stay in touch. Instant messaging, 2-way webcamming and interest groups are just a few of the tools available to help seniors come out of their shell.

The best part about the site is it seems to have more success stories than I’ve seen anywhere else. In the chat rooms, I met several couples who met on the site and stayed on because they enjoyed the friendships they made so much. I found several more that moderate their own Interest Groups and write their own blogs giving other members advice on how to succeed on the site.

The Bad:
The only bad thing about the site is because the members are older, they tend to die off more frequently. Over the past two months, four members I became friendly with passed away. It’s to be expected with older people, but that doesn’t make it an easier.

And I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing (depends on what you’re looking for, I suppose) but there’s a surprising number of people also looking to “hook up.” Hey, at least they’re staying active and getting their cardio in, right?

Though I haven’t found love on the site, I’ve met some great people looking for a second chance at love.

SPOILER ALERT: This review contains several spoilers. You have been warned.

Something about Iron Man always makes me wanna build a robot suit out of sheet metal and prance around saving lives and destroying bad guys. Then I remember I’m not Tony Stark and move on to something I know I’m good at, like drinking.

Of everything in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Iron Man series is easily my favorite. I’m a huge fan of the characters, the action and the hot chicks, but most of all; I’m a fan of Robert Downy Jr. If you ask me, no one in the world is better suited for this role.

(Fun Fact: Tom Cruise was originally tapped to play Iron Man, but was reportedly dropped from the film dude to “creative differences.” Man, I bet there’s a good story there!)

The Movie

The beginning of Iron Man 3 finds Tony Stark where he usually is – toiling away in his lab, working on new suits, and playing house with his beloved Pepper Potts. Still traumatized from what happened in New York (at the end of The Avengers), he’s not nearly as cocky as he once was, trading in parties and the fast life for one that is much more secluded.

While immersed in his projects, a new villain (The Mandarin, played by Ben Kingsley) surfaces, threatening the world at large and forcing Tony Stark out of his man cave.

With lots of action, and the great writing audiences have come to expect from the Iron Man franchise, this movie is nothing short of superb. Especially considering Jon Favreau plays such a huge part in this installment, making Marvel geeks like myself cheer with glee. When I heard he wouldn’t be directing this sequel, I initially planned not to watch it in protest, but if he likes it enough to become an important part of the story, that’s good enough for me.

The one thing I thought seemed a little too predictable was the action sequence in which the army of Iron Men swooped in to save the day, but surprisingly, it ended up being my favorite part of the movie. Pepper even gets in on the action, coming back from a fiery grave to beat up a few bad guys herself, which was a nice change of pace considering we had only seen her in heels and dresses up to that point.

The most exciting part (to me, anyway) came after the credits though, when the scene cut to Tony Stark retelling the events to his therapist, who just so happened to be Dr. David Banner. Talk about one hell of a great cameo, huh?

If you haven’t seen this movie yet, go see it! I do recommend watching The Avengers first, however, so you can really grasp what’s going on every time “New York” is mentioned. You also get to see Scarlet Johansson in a cat suit, so you win all around any way you look at it.

I’ve been a FastCupid member for over six years, and in that time I’ve met, dated and made friends with lots of great women. I’ve also reviewed it several times, but figure a new one is in order since they recently re-launched the site.

What originally attracted me to this site was its overall tone. FastCupid members are intelligent, witty and sarcastic – all traits that are definitely reflected in their profiles. It also has a social networking aspect that makes it a fun place to hang out, even when I’m not looking for dates.

When I am looking for a date however, personality has much more bearing on my selections than physical appearance. I know lots of guys say that, but nothing can kill a woman’s otherwise stunning looks faster than a lame personality and the intelligence of an inebriated hamster. Seriously, I know a few, and they all suck. Luckily, that type of lady doesn’t seem to last long on FastCupid, leaving a bunch of cool chicks with razor sharp wit for me to drool over.

The Good:

The design is simple and clean. Profiles are broken down into three sections – Snapshots, In 60 Seconds and In Depth – which pretty much cover everything you need to know about a member’s personality. The questions themselves are pretty interesting, going beyond the usual “what kind of music do you like,” and “what’s the last book you read.” On FastCupid, personal questions include “the best or worst lie you ever told,” “my most humbling moment,” and “the last thing that made me laugh out loud.”

You can also connect with Facebook, which makes signing up and signing in much easier, as you don’t have to worry about forgetting your passwords. I don’t know about you guys, but with multiple online dating accounts, I find it hard to track which password I use for where. This makes it so I don’t have to worry about those things when I’m feeling lonely and wanna peruse profiles and eat cookie dough at 3am.

The bad:

When they re-designed the site, the majority of my profile was deleted, so I had to start over from scratch. It’s not like it was hard to fill everything back out or anything, but I had some pretty damn witty answers on there and can’t remember for the life of me what they were. It’s also not quite as populated as OK Cupid, but since nearly everyone you meet is a quality person, it’s a fair tradeoff.

I also found a few too many hipsters for my taste. I mean, I’m sure they’re all very nice people n’ all, but it’s really hard to keep up with someone who likes cool things before they are cool, then finds them uncool once they actually become cool. Who has the energy for that anymore?

Hipsters aside, however, this is one of my favorite dating sites to use when looking for someone gives good date.

The objective of the game is simple: make your way through levels by popping bubbles that come out of the witch’s cauldron, collecting spires along the way.

Match bubbles up by color in groups of three or more and shoot from a cannon to make them pop. Every break of the bubbles will give you a new spider, but if you fail to break any bubbles two of your spiders will be taken away.

I’ve been playing this game for months now and am completely addicted. While it’s easy to play, it’s also deceptively hard to master. Many of my friends gave up on it because it was too hard, but if you’re up for a challenge, give this a try!

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Produced by: King.com
Category: Casual
Description: Bubble popping

A fellow blogger and I went in search of lunch this afternoon, and settled on Wahoo’s since it sounded healthier than anything else nearby. Normally, Friday is the day we go all out and have a good ol’ artery clogging burger from Jack in the Box, but given the chocolate/carb fest that was my Valentine’s Day, I thought something a little less greasy would be a better option.

I’ve been to Wahoo’s several times over the past few years and always liked the food, but today for some reason, I noticed how good it really is. Maybe my body is telling me it doesn’t want unhealthy food, or maybe it’s just the universe telling me this is cheaper than buying my own defibrillator. Whatever the case, Wahoo’s makes healthy eating enjoyable, so I’m on-board.

The cuisine is Mexican inspired, with offerings like tacos, burritos and nachos, as well as rice bowls, salads and sandwiches. What makes Wahoo’s stand out from your typical Mexican restaurant, however, is meals that consist of basic, fresh ingredients infused with Mexican, Asian and Brazilian flavors.

Standout menu items: The shrimp is sautéed in a Polynesian marinade that’s slightly sweet, a little tangy and super delicious. Ask for it as a filling in tacos, burritos and nachos – you won’t be disappointed. I, myself love to order the shrimp quesadilla, as the simple tortilla and cheese combination really lets the shrimp’s Asian flavors stand out.

Speaking of nachos, Wahoo’s offers what are probably the healthiest nachos I’ve ever seen at a restaurant. They’re not low-fat by any means, but the chips aren’t greasy and the toppings (real cheese, fresh salsa, awesome guacamole and sour cream) are super fresh. They’re almost like the kind of nachos you would make at home if you had the time to fry your own chips.

My favorite thing on the menu is the bowls – rice (white or brown), beans, and your choice of meat. So simple, yet so tasty. Especially when topped with a little fresh salsa, mmmm.
If your main concern is cutting calories, I highly suggest ordering the Power Chopper salad with Cajun fish. The salad itself is crisp and full of veggies, while the Cajun seasoning on the fish (usually either Wahoo or Mahi-Mahi) makes it a tasty way to watch your waistline.

Price-wise, it’s a tad more expensive than a regular taqueria (my total for a shrimp quesadilla, steak nachos and medium drink came to $18. 13) but it’s well worth it, considering the quality is way better than anything you’ll find at your typical, hole-in-the-wall place.

One little fun fact before I wrap up this review: I was curious as to how the name “Wahoo’s” came about, so I did a little research and discovered the restaurant was founded by the Wahoo brothers. Yes, that’s their actual last name. I know, I’m jealous too.

For years, love stories about humans engaging in interspecies relationships with zombies and vampires have reigned supreme, so it’s nice to see at least one film within the genre do things a little differently.

I’ll admit I had no desire to see “Warm Bodies” at first, as it looked like another version of Twilight, with zombies instead of vampires. If you follow my blog, you probably already know I can’t stand Twilight, and have absolutely no interest in Jacob, Edward and which of them K-Stew will choose. It was only at the behest of one of my lady friends (and a good review from the Huffington Post) that I decided to give this one a chance.

The plot is simple: Nicholas Hoult plays R, a newly minted zombie who falls for a lovely human named Julie (Teresa Palmer). Through their forbidden love, they unravel a zombie curse, thus ending the Zombiepocalypse and saving the world. Sounds like an average Saturday night to me.

The story, as told through R’s inner-monologue, is full of awkward, dorktastic moments one can’t seem to avoid when in love for the first time. We’ve all been there, when a simple conversation with a love interest suddenly turns us into a bumbling idiot; let’s just say R has this awkwardness down to a science. In a few scenes, I felt so bad for the guy I wanted to feed him lines like Greg did for Peter in an episode of The Brady Bunch. One would think his recent transition into zombiehood would have alleviated his nerves, but apparently it’s one of the few human qualities he has left. Go figure.

While there are tons of lovey-dovey scenes (it is a romantic comedy, after all), the film features some great special effects, and several impressive fight scenes. They even throw in references to a few classic zombie films, which earns big points with an old movie buff such as myself.

In terms of acting, I doubt anyone will take home an Oscar for this any time soon, but Palmer and Hoult have great on-screen chemistry, which makes their love affair all the more believable. They almost remind me of a modern day Romeo and Juliet, but with blood, guts and gore all over the place.

Overall I’d say this is the perfect date movie, as there’s a little something for everyone to enjoy. Plus, it’ll get your date in the mood to cuddle, without putting you in the mood to take a nap. Which is more than I can say for you, Twilight.

A modern, mobile version of “Name That Tune,” Song Pop plays a variety of clips, challenging players to name the song and the recording artist as quickly as possible. Each round is scored based on the number of correct answers combined with who answered in the least amount of time. At the end of every round the winner collects three coins, while the loser gets one. The coins can then be used to buy Song Packs for future games.

Music categories include everything from rock and rap to oldies and even 80s tunes. It’s a fun, fast paced game that will have you shouting at your phone in excitement. It’s also pretty addictive; just the other night I decided to play a few rounds before bed and ended up staying awake half the night because I just couldn’t put the game down.

The best part is you can download the app for free via Facebook, iPhone, iPad, and Google Play capable devices. Just make sure you’re prepared to spend a lot more time on your phone!

I’m sure the first thing you thought upon reading the title of this review was, “what’s a city guy like Rascal doing on a farmers only site?”

Though not a farmer myself, my mom moved to a rural area several years ago, so I spend a lot of time near farmland these days. It’s hard to imagine since the Bay Area is known as a more metropolitan area, but I can assure you, on the outskirts of the bright lights and bustling city streets lies a vast farmland of crops, barns, livestock and even a yearly corn festival.
Granted, I don’t put on a pair of overalls every morning and go stack hay out by the barn or anything, but nonetheless, but I do enjoy the peace and quiet of the country.

Despite my frequent trips to the farmland, I hadn’t heard of this site until recently, when I was up watching late-night TV one night and saw this commercial during an episode of Friends. Wait, I mean, uh, Magnum PI. Ya, that’s what I was watching. Anywho, it caught my attention because the ad was so campy, and since campy usually means fun, why not check it out.

The Good:
Sign-up was fairly fast, and the site is easy to navigate. Because it’s targeted towards “country folk,” the premise is simple – search for people you like, then flirt and send them a message. There are no extra features to confuse those who may not be as savvy as your regular internet dater, so taking that into account, the simplicity of the site is a good thing.

One thing that surprised me is how active the site’s members are. The membership is much smaller than most dating sites (thousands of members as opposed to millions), so I figured responses would be hard to get, which isn’t the case at all. I almost always get a response when I send a message or flirt, and in several cases, I’ve gotten messages from women who noticed I viewed their profile.

The Bad:
At $56.95 for a six-month premium membership, it’s a tad pricey considering the site has so few features. The design is also a little too basic for something with a membership fee; the logo is very plain, and the outdated icons look like they were taken from an old MySpace profile. I would also like to see more in-depth questions on the member profiles, as I really want to know more about a person than just their age and what type of farm they have. Some fun questions would liven up the profiles, and give shyer members more opportunities to break the ice.

You should also know that for some reason, every time I hop on the site, the theme song to Green Acres gets stuck in my head. Goodbye city life… and goodbye sanity.

What to expect:
You won’t find a harem of hot farmer’s daughters in Daisy Dukes and cropped plaid shirts, nor will you find crazy, pitchfork wielding hillbillies. What you will find, however, is a lot of honest, hard-working people looking for love.

If you’re looking to slow things down, and maybe get back to nature and live off the land with someone special, you’ll find it here.

Yee-haw.

I visited this restaurant for the first time with a few business associates last week, and was pleasantly surprised by how unique the menu offerings are compared to other Italian restaurants. That being said, I still feel like the food was just…ok.

To start things off, I had a white peach Italian soda and complimentary rosemary bread with olive oil and balsamic for dipping. Both were delicious, so immediately, I had high hopes for the meal.

Next up were the appetizers, which were also outstanding. We had perfectly gooey, crunchy mozzarella sticks as well as a plate of Italian Nachos. Yes, you read that correctly, they serve Italian Nachos. Since I’m sure you’re all just as confused as I was at first, I will explain. The chips are made of fried ravioli skins and are topped with Italian sausage, different cheeses and marinara sauce. It’s then topped with fried tortellini and more cheese. Although I’m fairly sure the indulgence took a few weeks off my life, it was worth it. (Note to self: bring a defibrillator next time, just in case.)

Then the meals came, and this is where the disappointment set in. I ordered the Penne Rustica – a baked dish of penne pasta, roasted chicken, shrimp and prosciutto in a rosemary cream sauce. Sounds amazing, right? Well, it wasn’t.

The pasta was overcooked, the sauce was bland and I only found two shrimp in the entire dish. I couldn’t even see the prosciutto until I was nearly halfway through my meal. As for my colleagues, one ordered the Primo Pepperoni Pizza, which I tasted and liked way better than my own selection. I almost feel like had I ordered that instead, I would be giving this place a rave review. Another one of my associates had the Ricotta Meatballs & Spaghetti, which looked pretty tasty. Though I didn’t sample that one, my colleague seemed to really enjoy her food.

Service wise, I give the crew five stars, as they were friendly and very attentive despite the fact it was lunchtime and the restaurant was packed. Our waiter was also very knowledgeable about the menu, explaining the different types of Italian sodas to us in great detail.

Even though I wasn’t thrilled with my meal, I will probably still go back, given everything else was tasty and the service was stellar. I definitely won’t be ordering the Penne Rustica again anytime soon, though.

I suddenly found myself craving Red Lobster’s delicious Cheddar Bay Biscuits the other night, so I grabbed my lady du jour and headed for the land of seafood and cheesy pirate décor.

To any seafood connoisseur, Red Lobster may sound more like fast food than gourmet cuisine. To me, as a kid, however, it was the only place I could get my favorite delicacy – popcorn shrimp. Such was my affinity for the breaded treat that my parents even used it as an incentive for stellar report cards. The better the grades I got, the better the chances I would be rewarded with a trip to Red Lobster, to color on the placemats and stuff my little face with golden, crunchy little bites of heaven.

The Experience
Upon our arrival, we were told there was a half hour wait, so we ordered a few drinks to bide our time. My date had the Malibu Hurricane, which is a lighter, less drunktastic version of it’s night club counterpart. With coconut rum, fruit juice and a little Southern Comfort, it was tasty and refreshing. Since she went for a fruity drink, I decided I would as well and asked for a Mango Mai Tai. I’m sure the thought of a grown man ordering a fruity little drink with decorations on the glass may seem comical to some, but I’m secure enough in my manhood to order whatever I want, girlie drink or not. Plus, it tasted like Hawaiian Punch with booze in it. What’s not to like?

Once we were seated, I ordered the popcorn shrimp, since being there put me in a nostalgic kind of mood. Sure, lobster would have been delicious, but it doesn’t have the power to take me back to fond childhood memories of flinging shrimp at my dad before he would get fed up and yell “Would you give it a rest!?” Ah, the good ol’ days.

The dish was just as tasty as I remember, though it looked a lot smaller than it did when I was a little guy. The shrimp was crunchy and delicious, as were the creamy lobster mashed potatoes I ordered as a side dish. My date had the Wood-Grilled Lobster, Shrimp and Scallops, which was also delicious though the plate was practically covered in butter. I was almost tempted to ask if Paula Deen had wandered into the kitchen somehow, as I was certain no other chef could possibly be that heavy handed in the butter department.

Then there were the biscuits. Oh, sweet heavenly biscuits. They were every bit as delicious as I remembered: fluffy and cheesy with a flakey crust, oh my. No wonder my parents loved this place so much.

Service and Such
The young lady waiting on us was superb, with a friendly demeanor and an extensive knowledge of the menu. My only gripe was with the price, which was pretty on par with what I would spend at a nicer place. My date’s choice was a whopping $26.99, while my Shrimp Your Way platter with popcorn shrimp, coconut shrimp bites and regular fried shrimp was $17.75, putting our total well over $75 after tip and drinks.

As a whole, the experience there was great and I’ll definitely start visiting Red Lobster again, but not without clipping a few coupons first. Judge me all you want, but I’m never paying $18 is way too much for popcorn shrimp.