The general idea of this end theory is not mine, I read it, but I really like the concept and it makes me feel better about the entire ending and experience. I’ve expanded a few things.

Technically, the Flash Sideways of this final season was just an extreme flashforward, a hint of the proto-afterlife/purgatory. Despite all the flashbacks and different storylines, the absolute main character has been about Jack Shepard. This flash sideways was his “staging reality”, created between his death and his admittance into the afterlife.

During the course of the season we did get glimpses of other people’s “realities” such as Sayid being with Nadia but not as her husband as he did not feel worthy of her. Or Kate’s where she proclaimed her innocence and was finally able to help Claire. In Locke’s, he was with Helen and had a relationship with his father. Hurley is able to find good fortune and the love of another, Libby. Desmond is successful and has the approval of Penny’s father, Charles. We never see the full stories but we see many of the main characters come to grips with what they were missing most of their pre-island lives.

It all comes back to Jack however. In order to move on, he had to come to terms with any issues he had, primarily whether he could be a good father and finding peace with his own father Christian. Because this was Jack’s “reality” the people and places (primarily in the finale) are as he remembers them:

* He never knew Sayid with Nadia, only with Shannon, which is why they were true loves in this scenario.
* He only knew Aaron as an infant, so that is how he appeared.
* He felt a connection to Juliet at first, but at the end knew she was Sawyer’s love.
* He ends up with Kate, who he has loved all along.

Jack’s son, David, only existed in this staging reality to resolve an issue and was not needed to “move on.” Also why Jin and Sun’s baby was not there as Jack never knew the child first hand.

It is also why some people: Richard, Lapidus, Daniel, Charlotte were not in his final scene because they weren’t as important to him in his life. Each person’s “staging reality” may be different. You may be in my reality because of your importance to me, but I may not be as important to you and therefore don’t appear in yours.

Jack REALLY did become the protector and REALLY did die in the same spot he started his island journey. From the moment his eye closed, start the flash sideways from that point and it would be chronologically correct.

As Christian said, everybody died at different times. Some before, some after. The biggest evidence of that is Hurley and Ben’s interaction where they said “You were a great #1.” and “You were a great #2.” It’s clear they have lived together and experienced things together up to their own deaths when they reached this point. Likewise, everybody who escaped the island on the plane (Richard, Lapidus, Miles, Sawyer, Kate) could have lived far into their old age. We don’t see that however because it is in Jack’s perspective. Another example of this is when Kate says to Jack “I’ve been waiting for you for so long.” indicating she may have lived her own long life and never forgot about him.

While we didn’t get all the answers from their real time on the island, that’s because Jack never knew those answers either. Nobody ever gets all the answers in life and it’s just as frustrating as some fans feel that they don’t know why Walt was “special” or why The Man in Black became a smoke monster. The mysteries of life are taken to the grave. And I am okay with that. Could any explanation truly satisfy your curiosity? Why was there a polar bear on the island? They probably had several types of animals in cages to do experiments on and it escaped. Does it make you feel better? I don’t think it mattered in the overall retrospective of life, just like when you are close to passing you won’t wonder about the small mundane things that occurred during your time.

So the finale truly indicated the final death of Jack, who ironically enough was supposed to die in the very first episode, but other people lived on and had experiences past Jack. We should appreciate the journey we shared with Dr. Shepard, his life, and all the amazing people he met along the way.

Let me immediately make the disclaimer that the game has come out yesterday and I’ve only played it for a few hours. That being said, I have some opinions.

Super Powers of the Plains.

The number of bugs and problems with the multi-player aspect of the game is beyond reasonable and borderline unplayable. Often times players, horses, guns are completely invisible on the screen and 4 out of 5 times you receive an error message stating network connection has been lost when you attempt to join a friend’s game. The potential for a great experience is there. Myself and multiple friends raiding a gang hangout has been something we’ve been dreaming about for… about two days since we decided to get the game, but the dream burns strong. There has already been a patch released and we obviously anticipate more from a high quality developer such as RockStar, but we’re impatient until then.

The Extinction of the Wild in the Wild West.

A great aspect of the single player experience are challenges to kill, skin, find different animals out in the vast, open wilderness. So many challenges that it seems silly to ever let a living creature pass you without trying to shoot it’s head off and skin it for goods to sell back at town. While tiptoeing the line of being an environmentalist nutjob, there are times where I wish I could just appreciate the beauty of a running pack of deer rather then knowing I need to kill 5 of them to get Rank 2 – Master Hunter. If there was a skill such as “Tracker” where it benefited the player to just follow animals or watch them from time to time, it could be a nice balance. In the meantime, if it moves, it dies.

If We Want To Do Anything, Let Us Do Anything.

Last night my housemate spent a half hour riding around on the top of a train and eventually decided to hijack it. By “hijack” it means shooting the four people who were on the train and collecting around $20. This unscripted, totally user driven experience could’ve been much more rewarding by allowing the player to obtain more rewards from successfully getting on the train and holding up its occupants. A simple selection box, while pointing a gun at an NPC, should give a list of options including “Demand Money” or something of that sort. The NPC would then decide if they fork over the dough or refuse and force the player to make the tough honorable decisions the game is based on. There were also several completely empty rail cars that COULD’VE been filled with locked crates that you would have to force a conductor to open with his key, or kill the conductor and take his key for yourself. These adjustments could’ve taken the game to the next level by truly letting you live an outlaw lifestyle outside of the constraints of questing.

Grand Theft Horse.

While old GTA games have you stealing a different car every few minutes, I like the emphasis on maintaining your same horse as long as you can. The longer you have your companion, you “bond” with the animal and it gains benefits to increased stamina which allows it to sprint longer. I’ve named my horse “Friday” and greet it with “TGIF” every time it arrives.

Additionally, little things from the west could be included: You can’t buy cigarettes (although there is chewing tobacco), you can’t appear to “hold up” anyone by pointing a gun at them or store clerks, and I wish there was more interaction with random NPCs around town. A couple lines here and there where they could simply direct the player on progress, “I hear Bonnie is looking for you.” when she has a quest available or “I wish these bandits would leave us alone.” when there is a bounty waiting for you to take advantage of. That would give the world a more lively feel to it then a bunch of zombies walking around ignoring everything else.

The game continues to have potential, and like I said I’ve only scratched the surface, but I already see areas that could’ve taken this game from great to legendary. As of now, I give it 7 rolling tumbleweeds out of 10 and once the multi-player is fixed, it will definitely be higher.

I’ve decided, with the suggestion of a colleague, to begin writing reviews of movies and games. I’ve done this in the past and enjoyed it. Also with my employment at Blockbuster I have the luxury of having access to various types of multimedia. I will not have an exact scoring system, simply state my opinions and if I choose to dictate it some arbitrary number, body part up or down, or multiple meaningless symbols then I shall at my discretion.

Some movies/games I’ve seen that I’ll be reviewing in the next few weeks include (but aren’t limited to):

Iron-Man 2, Gentlemen Broncos, Ice Twisters, The Box, Daybreakers, Legion, WET (Xbox 360), Batman: Arkham Asylum (360), MLB 2k10 (360), NBA 2k10 (360), Red Dead Redemption (360), Assassin’s Creed 2 (360), BioShock 2 (360)

Some reviews will be shorter, others will be longer.

Some will end abruptly.

At what point in our world did the words “need” and “want” become interchangeable. I need that phone, I need to watch that, etc. The continual emphasis that these orders and rules are placed on ourselves is stressful and overwhelming. Who is this unnamed, invisible voice creating all these walls around our freedom?

You don’t need to study for a test. You choose to study for this test because you want to do well on it so you’ll eventually graduate and get a job you want. Will your life end if you fail the test? Don’t be dramatic and say yes, figuratively, because it will not.

My definition of necessity in an action is the direct correlation between the ending of existence. Only at that point is it a necessity because if the correct choice isn’t made, there are no additional choices following it. Eating, sleeping, breathing, all necessities of life. Even shelter, to boost the quality of your life is an essential want of the human race but without a roof it does not mean the immediate end of your survival. If you’re homeless, yes, it will slowly deteriorate your chances of survival and will present you with choices that may eventually reach a “need” status but housing is still a luxury that you should be grateful for every single day you have.

When a person puts these needs and have-to’s on their back, its a weight they shouldn’t have to carry. They have to be honest with themselves and ask “What do I want?” If they want to play video games instead of study, they need to understand the consequences that come with that choice. If they only make “want” choices in the short term they may not reach the point they want to be. Keep perspective that life is a marathon (as cliche as that is) and if you sprint ahead in the first mile, you may not be there in the end. Pace yourself.

Next time you’re in a tough situation or are faced with an overwhelming task, remember you’re in control of yourself and your own actions. What do you want out of that situation and out of life? Look big picture. You may not enjoy doing dishes, but you want to live in a clean and healthy environment. You may not feel motivated to go to work, but you want to earn a living to achieve other desires in your life.

If your wants take you down a path where you’re unsuccessful and harmful to yourself and others, that’s the type of person you truly are. You have to look at yourself in the mirror and have nobody else to blame but yourself. Take responsibility. Most “good” people want to be around other “good” people. People whose ‘wants’ take into account other people’s ‘wants’ as well. Those who don’t fit that category will quickly be on the outside and decide to prioritize their desires in life to not be as self fulfilling or they will remain happy and isolated.

All we need in life is to do what we want. Once you know what that is.

The power was out, a few glowing emergency lights remained. If there was still electricity to power these emergency lights why wasn’t there backup power to keep the office running? It’s one of those “why isn’t the whole plane made out of the black box material” type questions. There is probably a logical explanation to those who are informed on such material, but to the common man a decent question.

Without power, means no internet, it means no phones, no connection to the outside world. It suddenly makes you realize that the majority, if not all, of your job takes place virtually. Why do we even have an office? If I was on my couch at home right now I could be more productive. I could be doing the same job.

I suppose it’s because at home there are distractions. Television, family, friends, pets, neighbors, ice cream sandwiches in the fridge… but couldn’t you argue, even if those distractions cut off an hour of productivity from your regular day, you could make up for it with lack of commute time? Crawl out of bed, no shower, no change of clothes, log on and boot up and you’re at the office. You can IM coworkers and discuss last night’s sports fiasco or mundane office jargon about having memo X in email inbox Y by deadline Z.

Perhaps it’s because people don’t want to fully admit that face to face interaction isn’t even necessary anymore. Physical contact may still seem the correct course of action for old school businessmen but if your deal is hindering on the firmness of a handshake then are you sure you want to go into business? Hell, someone invent a handshake strength tool. It’ll plug into your USB slot and you can have your firmness grade listed on your LinkedIn profile.

Physical desks are breeding grounds for clutter. Clutter of useless items that may be useful later. Clutter for items that use to be useful and are now forever useless. Post it notes with privacy passwords for secret documents. The most security being that you hope nobody knows what “BossMan82” is used for. Xbox alias for some late night Halo deathmatch? No, it’s your email password. It’s either too hard to remember so you write it down, or it’s so easy to remember I can ask your birthday and youngest child’s name and probably “hack” my way in with a few keystrokes.

The office is dying. The brick and mortar costs are unnecessary expenses for most when very little happens there that wouldn’t be improved by occurring online. Wake up at 7, be in a conference meeting in Washington at 7:15, have an eggo from your kitchen at 8, discuss profits with shareholders in Denver at 9 and have a lunch meeting with friends from Miami at noon.

All while wearing bunny slippers.

Last night, let’s just say I expressed a little… frustration… to anyone who would listen. The reason behind that is Comcast. Before I share my experience, let me make it clear that I’m in no way indicating this is the worst possible thing to happen in the world. The anguish experienced over setting up a luxury item like cable television is laughable comparable to everyday dilemmas for 98% of the global community. Nevertheless, here it is.

Since we set up our cable internet, also through Comcast, a few months ago we’ve had (what I believed) was basic television channels. Channels 2 through 60 or so. No premium movie channels, high level HDs, just what you’d expect to find flipping through. These, from what I was told by our initial setup technician, were all included with our internet package. We had no desire to spend extra money on television since I only watch ESPN, Ryan is rarely home and Dean despises television. Since it was all included however we couldn’t say no.

About a week ago, all channels above 22 now read that we had to contact Comcast for a digital upgrade. I remembered a bill passed by Bill Clinton long ago that all television broadcasts had to be upgraded to digital and apparently this is what had just occurred, so we only kept our basic channels now. Curious about the change, I called Comcast customer service.

Having worked in customer service before I’ve always been patient and even tempered with this process, quite possibly the most despised courses of action in American life, so after being on hold several minutes I got ahold of a representative. After explaining my situation and wanting to know more about the cable packages they have, she said she would have to transfer me because she was in ‘activations’. We had a similar setup in my customer service career where Activations was it’s own department and did nothing except press “CREATE” and refused to answer actual questions. However, during this transfer process I was disconnected and had to call back in. Same situation where I get to activations and they have to transfer me, luckily I get through and I get to a gentlemen named Charles. This guy was a dream come true, great service, understood what I was saying, listened to my situation and we settled on a basic package where I would get the channels I had before and my bill would only modestly climb an extra $20, I would get a converter box for our TV in the living room and an adapter for the television in my room. They’d come in the same box and only cost me $10 shipping one time. He explained the box would be simple “plug and play” (direct quote) and I wouldn’t need to activate it or call into customer service again. Follow the instructions in the box and good to go. Seemed win-win for everyone. The guy even gave me his personal extension for any further information.

Fast forward to yesterday evening, I receive the box and open it. It only has one converter in it. Well, maybe the other one will come in another box or maybe my cable upstairs will just automatically work. I read through the instructions, it says that I will need to call in to activate the box once it’s all plugged in. Apparently it’s not plug and play as it was described, but maybe it’s just like cell phones, all automated you press 1 press 2 and it’s good to go.

I hook everything up, call in and am placed on hold for 5 minutes waiting for an activations team member. The woman comes on and asks me my name and address to verify my account, all standard procedure, asks me the basic questions to make sure everything is plugged in, says okay she will be sending the box an “activation signal” and it should power itself off/on in a few seconds and be good to go. I wait…. and wait… and nothing happens. I tell her everything appears the same. She then says the procedure may take anywhere from “a few seconds to 45 minutes.” …. What’s with these time ranges? How can they not narrow it down any further? That isn’t accepted anywhere else in society. When will the presentation be done? It’s on your desk already… or 2012.

The woman says to not touch anything for 45 minutes and I will be receiving an automated call back in an hour to check and make sure it’s working so I won’t have to call back into customer service. Sounds like a good idea. I hang up and find something else to do.

About an hour has passed, the green light on the cable is still a solid green and the television screen remains black on channel 3. No change, still no call back.

It’s an hour and 10 minutes now, I decide to call back in to customer service and see what they can do. I wait 15 minutes for an agent to answer, but they do. I explain situation, verify my name and address, and ask what they can do. The girl asks me to unplug and plug back in my box. I do that. She then says she will be sending another “activation signal” and the box should restart itself in a few seconds. Again, the green light remains stubborn and doesn’t waver. I tell her that. She says she will have to get me to their tech support department. I understand sometimes that happens and am willing to wait. I’m on hold for around 10 minutes waiting for a tech when the hold music stops playing, I look at my phone and it’s my home screen. Call was disconnected. I sigh.

At this point I look online for other options, I voice my frustration on Twitter and get a quick response from a Comcast customer service rep named Bonnie who asks me to direct message her my phone number, which I do. She says she will take a look. I call back into customer service and wait for 20 minutes until I finally speak to another agent. She apologizes for my frustrations and says she will help me and asks me if my phone number is this and if my address is that… giving out my contact information isn’t a great business practice but I could care less at this point, I confirm and explain again what I had done previously. She asks me if I have a splitter for my cable. I say yes, I do, I have internet service so it’s the only way I can have TV and internet at the same time. She tells me confidently that it is the problem and I should have the wall plugged straight into the box, and the box to the TV. I confirm, so I should unplug my internet? She says yes. I turn off the internet just as I get a message from Bonnie on Twitter saying she is sending me another magical “activation signal”.

The voice in my ear says she will also be sending me an activation signal and my box WILL restart itself. I stifle a laugh. It does not predictably and we’re back here again. My hand is already on the plug as she asks me to unplug and plug it back in, I tell her this is my 3rd time doing this and my box has been blasted with activation signals all night. She says she knows and would now have to get me to tech support. I tell her I was disconnected last time and she assures me it won’t happen again. I hear 30 seconds of my favorite “on hold” music when it goes dead and the call has been ended a second time.

I mentally sum up the score thus far, approximately 90 minutes on the phone, about only 20 minutes of which was with an actual person, and all they’ve managed to do is break my internet also. I check Twitter on my phone and all I’ve received back from Bonnie is “reconnect your internet dude” (direct quote). I, for whatever reason, decide that I need to call back into customer service. This is their last opportunity.

I wait on hold for 30 minutes, only this time without internet to preoccupy the passage of time, before I speak to someone. As soon as I hear the person I immediately say my name, phone number and address, explain the situation, explain that I’ve already unplugged the box several times and another activation signal might give my box some type of cancer. The woman says she will get me to tech support and I tell her I’ve been disconnected twice and if I get disconnected again I need a call back, there is no way I’m waiting in line again. She said she will stay with me, and to her credit she does for the next 7 minutes before she warm transfers me to a deep voiced woman from tech who interrupts me repeatedly.

Finally speaking to tech support I’m excited for their options and new techniques that may be able to fix my problem.

She asks me to unplug and replug in the box.

I feel my teeth grinding and a twitch in my eye as I comply with her instructions. She says she is sending out an activation signal and I can’t help but sarcastically say “Oh good another one.” When nothing happens for another minute, she tells me my only option is to send out a technician and their soonest time is Saturday. I say clearly, like you said, it’s my only option. She says he’ll be over between 4-7, of which I assume 4 AM and 7 PM, and tells me they value my business and hangs up while I say “Have a nic-…”

The evening afterwards calmed me down, and this morning I could laugh at the absurdity of it all. Just another story, but at 9:11AM while I’m on my way to work I get a call on my phone, unknown number, and I pick it up. I hear an automated voice say:

“Thank you for choosing Comcast! We are calling to confirm your cable has been set up successfully! We value you as a customer!”

I hang up and scream at the top of my lungs.

For those who aren’t clued into the newest “big thing” on the internet (No not chatroulette you perv), Foursquare is a way for users to “check-in” at locations and broadcast (if they choose) to their friends about where they’ve been. If Twitter’s ultimate question is “What are you doing?” then Foursquare’s is “Where are you doing it?”

One of my favorite aspects of Foursquare is the “mayorships.” You become the Mayor of a location by checking into that spot more then anybody else. As I was the only friend of mine who used Foursquare regularly, I was the top dog in all of our local hangouts. At more public locations (banks, stores, restaurants) your mayorship can always be in jeopardy. Nothing is worse then getting a notification that so-and-so is the new leader of your bank drive-thru kingdom. (okay, there are a lot of worse things, but it is pretty traumatic.)

I found myself going out of my way to defend my mayorships from challengers. Going to banks that were further away, choosing where I eat lunch based off if I was keeping a mayor spot or stealing one away. The back and forth is exciting.

Foursquare currently provides several “badges” or little awards for certain accomplishments such as checking into new places, or checking in with friends. I think they should add several new badges that encourage people to compete directly against other users for Mayor recognition. Here are some of my ideas:

Conquerer - Steal away at least two mayorships within 24 hours.
We Must Defend This House – Regain a mayorship after losing it within 24 hours.
Arch Nemesis – Steal away five mayorships from the same user.
Pacifist – Have five mayorships stolen from you.
Lonely At the Top - Be a mayor of a location with at least 5+ checkins with no other users checking in once.

Just a couple… I think the best part of Foursquare is earning badges, and I’ve reached a point where there aren’t many left for me to (realistically) achieve… I would be thrilled to see more reasons to check-in.

All day I was excited for one of my favorite shows, LOST, to air tonight. Come 9PM, I found myself doing something else and chose to not watch. Was this disheartening? Stressful? No, on the contrary, it’s the norm nowadays. Rather then an entire hour sitting on the couch, I can wait until the show is online for viewing and view from my laptop, while doing other things, with only a few 30 second commercial breaks. It’ll save 15 minutes, and I can watch on the same screen as I write, e-mail, chat, surf, etc.

Even more common, people are simply using their DVRs or “Tivoing” (much how Googling is synonymous with Searching) to fast forward through commercials and just watch the show. With shows and television stations dependent on an advertising income, there still isn’t a solid solution to reach audiences with these products and services. As more people fast forward through shows, or are only subject to a few short commercials online (which can easily be minimized/muted) how do companies/agencies reach their audiences?

I think a trend that is increasing exponentially is in-show product placement. Rather then your favorite show detective answering his cell phone, he is now answering a Verizon Palm Pre Pro. Instead of a group of friends discussing their dramatic lives at a generic coffee shop, they’re sipping Frappachinos at Starbucks.

It requires a high wire act of writing and commercialism. You want to have the product presented positively to the audience, but you don’t want it to be so blatant that the viewer is taken out of the story or supersedes the realistic dialogue. For example, the NBC show Heroes had short scenes from a side-story during broadcasts where the primary focus was the use of a Sprint Phone. I felt it was over the top and embarrassing to watch. It created a negative feeling towards the product and the show.

Another suggestion with advertisements is to shorten the commercial breaks during shows. We all know the attention span of people are very short, which is why individual commercials are only 30 seconds or so long. However, on any given break you view 3-5 spots that just meld together to one large delay of your entertainment. Often times people use these moments to leave the room to get a beverage, or use the restroom. So the viewers aren’t even there. A better method would be to have shorter full-screen breaks (only 1 or 2 spots) at the current “hot times” (:15, :30, :45, :60 etc) and then during the show have relevant advertising at the bottom of the screen. Noticeable but not invasive.  Combine that with the product placement and your Tivo (which already requires an internet connection) and you could see your favorite character on screen, pause the show and be able to immediately go online with your remote to purchase their outfit, cell phone, car, etc.

Go further and you can post/discuss these products on your favorite Twitter, Facebook, Digg, social sharing website. Still, all from your couch, from your remote (or an advanced option with keyboard), and it will be mutually beneficial to the company.

Instant access, encourage spontaneous purchases and with the cutting down of commercial breaks you will have more airtime on networks to fill with additional shows, more local programming, or any other revenue creating streams they can think of.

We live in an “everything, all the time, instantly” type world now. The idea of interrupting entertainment to suggest products is an old and clunky method. It must evolve to work as a team with network programming rather then just the bumbling sidekick.

It’s true. You may say it’s scientific fact that both “The world is flat” and “Pigs fly” are inaccurate statements, but let me change your perspective.

I assume, you’re interpreting the world as the planet Earth, which yes, is round however perhaps I meant the world as in an individual’s encompassing universe of known entities and the “flatness” is an indicator of the emotional well-being of those before mentioned things. Pigs in flight can be seen in several different ways, either a commentary of those people who act “boar-ish”, a member of the pig family, getting ahead in areas of their life (”soaring” as you will) such as up the corporate ladder (let’s ignore the ethical or moral dilemmas) or I could just be a jerk and literally say that pigs have been transported via air travel previously, hence you would describe them as flying.

Let’s not split hairs, the point is even the most obviously wrong statements… are sometimes right.

Finally got to watch some Olympic highlights online. An embarrassing situation for the Canadians with their giant torch not emerging from the ground properly and Steve Nash standing there awkwardly. You gotta feel for them because of the huge pressure they were under to follow the Beijing opening ceremonies which was a combination of breathtaking, inspiring and horrifying.

Besides that doesn’t seem like I’ve missed any huge moments. Nothing like Lezak chasing down Bernard in the Summer Olympics swimming to help Michael Phelps win yet another Gold. Once we get the internet on Thursday I may just watch live streaming curling day and night. The inevitable USA vs Canada showdown in hockey should be on every television in every bar across the nation but chances are there will be old Pirates highlights on Fox Sports Net rather then any international coverage.

Most people I talk to are interested in the Olympics and show some level of pride if they’re told that America did well, but very few that I’ve spoken to have any passion towards it. They don’t seek it out in anyway or have an emotional attachment that I feel when watching highlights.

Sports truly are the men’s soap opera and the Olympics is sweeps week with all your favorite shows/characters/story-lines combined. U-S-A! U-S-A!

The initial morning and subsequently afternoon is upon us since I abruptly decided to move ahead my move out date by a couple of days. The Snowpocalypse has ascended on the area and after days of shoveling I decided it would be easier to just not attempt to return up the driveway and take some essentials to the new (flat land surrounded) home.

While it doesn’t feel like I’ve actually moved yet, awaiting the mattress and dresser for that, I walked down the main drag of town to a cafe where I am now enjoying free wireless internet and, soon, a meal. These are the types of activities that one can only dream/read about on Dean’s blog archives. On the walk over, I realized that despite the cold and lack of navigable walkways I loved the idea of being within walking distance of something I wanted to do. Perhaps it’s my inner subconscious (can a subconscious be anywhere else?) saying that I have more of an urban mentality. Not that Aliquippa is a metropolis by any means, it is the most densely populated area I’ve ever resided in.

I can understand how people could get lost in thought being surrounded by people so much. It’s a mental marathon seeing so many new faces and without thought have judgement, stereotype, opinion, and first impressions. Luckily, I consider myself a relatively good person and I haven’t seen anyone that I feel negatively towards. Everybody is going about their lives and on occasion they cross paths, even just for a minimal smile or head nod. Those moments are what make up a community apparently, and I’m eager to make my mark on this new one soon.

This is in response to Dean’s post about his top 50 movies. While I haven’t seen roughly half of his list, I’ll agree with him on several that’d share a spot in my top 50. My question for him, and for any other readers, is what makes your criteria for a “top film” ? Obviously tough to compare the dramatic plot complexities of a Crash to the self-deprecating humor of Invention of Lying. If it’s on pure entertainment value of watching the flick, I’d have to throw some slapstick comedy movies on there and movies that got me emotional like most sports flicks.

While I don’t know if I can even name 50 movies immediately, and my list would be forever evolving just based on my current mood. Let me instead present to you five nominees for movie genre categories (in no particular order).

Top Comedy
-  The Hangover, it might’ve just been a better made “Dude, Where’s My Car?” it provides an unlimited amount of laughs while still allowing for a followable plot from start to finish. Zach Galifianakis’ character is one for the ages.
-  Anchorman, Will Ferrell may be the same exact character in every movie but Anchorman was perfection. Every scene had a memorable one-liner that you’d be using with your friends for months after (”Milk was a bad choice!”)
- Spy Hard, Leslie Nielson was making spoof/parody movies before “Scary Movie” made it hip and trendy. Now every other week there’s a new spoof or mocking flick coming out, and they stopped being funny years ago.
- Mean Girls, A dark-horse of the category. Tina Fey is an excellent writer that really captures the exaggerated drama and clique-ness of High School. Plus, it features some of the hottest girls ever to share a screen.
- Zombieland, the American Shaun of the Dead

Top Action
- The Dark Knight, As everyone knows Heath Ledger made this movie and you could just as well fast forward through the scenes he wasn’t in but it’s one of those movies that I won’t giver get tired of.
- Saving Private Ryan, one of the best war movies for a reason
- Die Hard 4, Bruce Willis took a risk continuing the series but this one holds up with the rest… (or so I am told, didn’t see 2 or 3)
- Broken Arrow, I’ve always said that John Travolta makes one of the best villains in any movie. Watch and you’ll know why.
- Fight Club, I am Jack’s unrelenting amazement.

Top Drama
-  The Departed, Towards the top of best overall films. How can you argue with such an all-star cast and an extensive (NSFW) vocabulary?
- Remember the Titans, Out of all the sports movies this one does it best. While any sports movie is rather predictable for the dramatic victory, the scene where Gerry Bertier holds his arms up in triumph, too happy to even make noise, gives me chills.
- For Love & Basketball, a story of childhood friends coming to grips with their feelings and skills of the game. The guy with all the raw talent but no work ethic, the girl who has to work her ass off constantly, shows the differences between men/woman athletes as well.
- Thank You For Smoking, this movie made me want to get into public relations. The scene where Aaron Eckhart’s character is talking to his son about the best ice cream flavor taught me more about debate and persuasive argument then almost an entire  semester of public speaking.
- Crash, the way it all comes together in the end is like a symphony. Everytime the television series “Crash” is on TV I am disappointed it’s not the film.

Top Guilty Pleasure Films
- The Postman, Kevin Costner inadvertently re-energizes a post-war United States. Some people have this on their Worst Movie of all time list, but I’d never pass down a viewing.
- Tin Cup, see below.
- For Love of the Game, I know three Kevin Costner films might be embarrassing to some. I just think Costner does some of the best sports movies of all-time. The Tin Cup scene where he keeps asking for another ball to make a tough shot is both heartbreaking and inspiring. And in For Love of the Game, it’s a terrific interwoven tale of athletic success, off the field turmoil and how they all are woven together.
- Varsity Blues,  James Van Der Beek delivers one of the best lines of any movie ever.

Worst Movie of All-Time
- Moulin Rouge, A movie that took place in the past but singing contemporary music of today? Weirdly shot, didn’t care about characters, I honestly had to go shower afterwards because it made me feel sick.
- Dirty Dancing, maybe its just overexposure but I feel that it was playing non-stop in my house from age 6-10. I thought Patrick Swayze looked stupid and the girl was unattractive. yes, even at six years old.
- Payback, this Mel Gibson movie had a strange blue tint too the entire thing which became distracting and the story wasn’t interesting.
- Traffic, saw this in the theater in high school and it was confusing, boring and poorly shot.

While there are tons of movies I left off that I absolutely love (Star Trek, Harry Potter series, District 9, Garden State, Invention of Lying, Kill Bill Series, Inglorious Basterds, Lord of the Rings series) these are my current picks. They’d probably change if you asked me tomorrow.

I’ve never been the most logical person. Luckily most of my risks have worked out, at least through optimistic perspectives. Over the next month I fully expect (at least hope) that I will take drastic steps forward towards life progression. Moving out, returning to the  ”real” workforce (no offense Blockbuster and the 12 hours a week you toss my way), and beginning to accumulate collective wealth.

Several opportunities have presented themselves in the last week or so… some large, some small, but I’d like to think that the odds are at least one will work out. While I’d obviously prefer the large ones to be successful, the minor victories keep troop morale above sea level. We arn’t drowning yet. I can tread water for a long time.

Or at least a couple more months.

I’m not an economist. I took one economy class with a great professor named Mookerjee at Penn State but I’d be lying if I said his lectures weren’t like a warm blanket lulling me to the dream market. One thing that most people know about economics is that there are two key features: supply and demand. When supply is high, demand tends to slip. When demand is high, the supply often times struggles to keep up. It’s about creating that balance of consumer urgency but still having the inventory to meet purchasing demands.

The same science could be said for social networking. I can post my thoughts, as I am now, on my own personal web space. It will automatically also post onto my Facebook wall using my subscribed RSS feed. I can also advertise it using my Twitter account, messaging my friends (on Google Chat, AIM, Facebook Chat, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo, or Skype just to name a few) or a mass text message from my smart phone.

My point is, with so many ways to be connected, is the supply flooding the market? I suppose it depends on the product. Myself, while I am confident in who I am and what I can offer, I hold no realistic feelings that my thoughts are desired to be heard, let alone DEMANDED by very many people. (Although you are reading this right now…) Celebrity Twitter users are now commonplace and the novelty may has worn off, it’s reported that Twitter’s user growth seems to have plateaued. Defying all, however, Facebook has continued it’s mind-blowing growth.

The latest trend Foursquare, which allows people to check-in at locations using the GPS on their cell phones, may be over before it even reached its full potential with rumors swirling that Facebook could be working on a “check-in” system of their own.

How far away are we from a push of the button on your phone letting all your friends know your location, mood, and thoughts instantly? And then the next day, the big innovation will be that they take away the hassle of pressing the button.

Dusted off an old design classic for the blog and brought it back. If you hadn’t seen it before, it’s new to you.

Decided for the frequency I update my twitter and check-in with foursquare, why not make it all a central hub on this domain that I’m paying for? In addition, I’ll be looking to create a better online portfolio. I already updated my resume. Take a peek.