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.