24 Is Cancelled

This isn't news. I actually said it was coming back in January on this blog. It's really unfortunate, because I believe that 24 has been one of the best action shows over the past 8-9 years. Sure, it strays a bit too far from reality (how many bad days can Jack Bauer/America really have in a few years?) but that's part of the excitement of the show.

The show is being cut because it's not bringing in the ratings it used to. How could it - the storylines are getting weaker because they're running out of things to do. There's a mole on the inside every season because it's so hard to string 24 episodes together. They need something to carry it over. Most TV shows are only 15-18 episodes (even less if your on Premium channels) so 24 being 24 episodes really pushes it towards its limit. The story has to stay within the realm of "real" but not necessarily "conventional."

The other interesting thing about 24 was how the first season happened after 9/11 - obviously the worst terrorist attack our country has and hopefully will ever see. I don't like to get too metaphorical and read into something that isn't there, but it wasn't a secret that the American psyche was shaken. It needed it's confidence back. I'm not saying that Jack Bauer/24 was that hope, but they definitely were a positive light during a negative time. (Of course, The Rising was the best positive thing to come from 9/11 - thanks Bruce!)

Regardless, Jack Bauer is awesome. He is always able to overcome any and every situation for his country. Things that have happened to Jack while on the job:

He lost his wife.
His daughter constantly is getting into trouble and endangering her life.
Jack became addicted to heroin.
He played Russian Roulette trying to save a prisoner that he would be a double agent for.
He faked his own death and had to hide it from his daughter and the woman he loved (Audrey)
His best friends Tony Almeida, David Palmer, and Michelle Dessler were slain because of him.
Entered Chinese Consulate to capture terrorist containing information of national security.
He captured and tortured the President of the United States to reveal him as a fraud, but was taken away by Chinese consulate and tortuted for a few years.
After being bartered for to return to the US, he was handed over to terrorists who were to kill him had he not escaped. His country gave him away.
Following his return, he learns his brother and father are involved in a conspiracy plot against the United States, and leaves his father to die while having to save his nephew.
Secretary of Defense told him he would have to leave his love alone because of the torture and life he put her through.
Was tried and arrested for breaking interrogation rules in attempts to save his country from terrorist attacks.
Almost sacrificed his life several times on behalf of his country to save the President.
Was infected with a pathogen bomb and could barely function.

Sure, it's not all real. It all can't possibly happen to one man. But it's awesome. Jack is the best example of a patriot. Someone who gives everything he can and has for his country. He lost it all and still is playing the game. Unfortunately, this season will be the last go around, although there is a supposed movie.

I'm starting to ramble, but I'm just trying to emphasize how great 24 is and was and how great Jack Bauer has been for America.

LOST - What Richard Alpert Taught Us

Wow, what an episode. Easily the episode that reveals the most about any single character (and the Island) and answers some of the questions we've been curious about now for quite some time. In that sense, I would argue it was the best & most revealing single episode we've seen.

However, as always, there's still more questions to be answered.

First a continuity error that I question:

At the beginning of the Incident, we see the Black Rock on the outskirts of the Island. MiB and Jacob sit and converse, talking about humans coming etc. The sea is calm, it's a beautiful day. But when the Black Rock actually comes, it comes in a gigantic storm, powerful enough for it to run into Jacob's statue. While it's easy to see that happen (can Jacob/MiB control the weather?) it didn't seem to make sense. In the long run, it's not as big of a deal, but it's still interesting to note.

Okay, so now it's game time - What we learned and new theories:

The cork-in-the-bottle metaphor that Jacob was the single best explanation we've ever had regarding the island, Jacob, and the Man In Black. But what exactly is the cork? Is the cork Jacob? Because one would think that since Jacob is dead, Man In Black would be gone by now. Or maybe his cause is to kill all candidates (but it seems like he personally cannot do that) before he can be free. That is who's "coming" in reference to the end of Season 5.

It's abhorrently apparent that MiB is lying and manipulating about everything and always has. He tried to manipulate Richard, and he's done the same thing to Claire, Sayid, and trying to reach out to Kate and Sawyer. He promises something to accomplish his means, following Jacob's statement that MiB tries to tempt others and prove that human are corruptible. What does this mean when he gets off the Island? Because as we already know, humans are corruptible (see Anthony Cooper, Sawyer, etc.)

Jacob seemed different in this episode. He wasn't the calm, poised man we've seen. He was yelling at Richard, almost making fun of him, very much the Dexter side of him we've seen from Mark Pellegrino before. We learn about how Jacob doesn't want to interfere and allow humans to come to the Island "to have a second chance" - something almost all of the Losties needed on 815.

INTERESTING QUESTION: How do/did the others live on the Island? When the Black Rock was shipwrecked, Smokey killed everyone but Richard, and looked into him the same way he looked into Locke and Mr. Eko, then left, then takes the form of a loved one (but as far as we know Isabella was never on the Island, making it unusual for him to her shape - possibly changing the rules we previously thought) Regardless, if Smokey kills everyone when they get there, how did the others ever "survive"? And how do they/Ben get the ability to somewhat summon Smokey as a "security system" as we see in Season 4? Jacob mentions in last night's episode that everyone previously brought the the Island is dead, and I would assume that is because of Smokey. Maybe Richard was the beginning of human civilization on the Island (plus Jacob allowing Dharma to have the appropriate sonic fences to keep Smokey out.)

Another question: The killing of Jacob/MiB. We find out that Dogen was in fact not lying regarding letting them speak and it's over, as MiB says the same thing. So how is Ben able to kill Jacob? As leader? As he is inside the Temple? Need to know more about the rules here.

Overall, the episode confirmed much of previous speculation regarding Richard, although told through a compelling and somewhat heartwarming story that now re-focuses the effort for everyone to stop Locke from leaving the Island. I would love to see more episodes on even more of Jacob/MiB's history, during the Dharma period and so on, but we're just running out of time (que Jack Bauer)

Facebook = Social Media Spam AKA The New MySpace

I used to really like Facebook. Now I'm starting to see it more like just this random clutter. Literally, it's spam from your "friends."

Over the weekend I've gotten Fan Suggestions, Event & Group Invites to things like:

Vote for X at X High School
Can I have your phone numbers?
Have Jason Derulo come to my high school!!!!
Run for BU Student Office
Buy my condo!!!!
Qdoba Boston
New Product Survey
Please take my survey!
Some dumb politician
Become a fan of people who hate becoming fans of random events
Talking on the cellphone while on video chat!!!!!
ETC

You get my drift. About 98% of these don't interest me at all. I don't go to your high school. You didn't have my number in the first place, why would I give it to you now? I can't run for student elections, I'm a senior.

It's become such blind spam. Invite everyone you know, even if it doesn't relate to them at all. Invite your friends who are studying abroad to a birthday party next weekend in Boston. Heads up: they're not coming.

My biggest question is: why? Why invite me to an event that doesn't relate? I'm not coming to the sorority hottest man on campus event. I understand that it's a way of spreading the word about events, but wouldn't it be best to target your audience to people you know are interested and actually want to come? Put some effort and say "Yeah, Pat probably wouldn't want to come to the hottest men event, but instead my friend Jane likes men, I'll invite her." Wow! What brilliant thinking!

Or I have a better one. For BU's 100 days party, everyone was invited who was friends with the creators. Nothing against them, but it's supposed to be a seniors-only event. Don't invite juniors or people who have already graduated. That defeats the purpose of not only the event but also the invite. Or the 50 Day Party - It's called 50 days until graduation. I checked on the invite, people were invited that aren't seniors. STUPID.

My favorite funny thing is people who click not attending and then write on the wall "Sorry guys I can't make it!" Thanks for the update!

But then regarding the Fan pages. Why do I need to be a fan of Qdoba Boston? I eat there sparingly. Don't tell me to become a fan. By inviting me to become a fan of a politician, your essentially telling me your political views, and that I should follow them. Don't shove it down my throat. Let me have my own politics. That's also why I hate politics. I don't care at all about health care reform, but everyone's going nuts.

The worst thing about it, is that I'm being spammed by people who are my "friends." I can actually go through and see who sent it to me. And I scratch my head and say, 'why would I be invited to attend the bake sale?' And honestly the invite is from people who are just that - "friends" - not really my friends, just people who I'm "friends" with. They're basically using me to get a higher number of responses for their event. I'm being used by people who are my "friends."

I guess I'm being cynical. They got my attention. That was the goal. I would think for 98% of the events/groups/fan pages, they don't actually get me to join. But now I'm skeptical about everything I'm invited to that is outside of my close group of friends. I'm not going to reward my "friend" who hit "invite all friends" to this page unless I really believe in the event. It takes no effort. It's impersonal. It's rude. If there was a way they could send a message along with it, a "Hey, this is so-and-so and it means alot to me if you became a fan of it because of X" then maybe I'd consider. But I don't even know what half the things I'm invited to are because no one explains them. I have no clue what TEDx at BU is, so how can I justify going? And I looked through trying to figure it out, and just got frustrated because nowhere does it tell me what exactly TED stands for. I need more than a broad, stock explanation of "changing the world ideas" - tell me more than that. Convince me that I should come and why I should care.

It reminds me of MySpace, which was cool when it first started in 2003, but it quickly became too much, for me anyway. I understand the power it has for musicians. But outside of that, I really see it as another case of spam. Fake accounts, making your page so random that you can't navigate it, it's obnoxious. So I got out of MySpace, as many people did, and switched to Facebook. It was cooler, at that time it was more exclusive, and it was more of a controlled environment. Remember when your wall was at the bottom right corner of your page, instead of the focal point of your entire profile? What a revolutionary concept.

Maybe it's our own fault. We all friend people we aren't really friends with to begin with. The people I was friends with freshman year aren't necessarily my friends today, but according to Facebook we are. Or I'm friends with my friends' friends who I've never met. I'm really considering going through and de-friending people I don't speak to, or people who I've never spoken to, or don't speak to anymore. What's the point? So we can mutually see pictures of each other? Do I really care what my freshman year floormates are doing? So they can randomly invite me to "Need phone #s please!" ? Maybe they can see that I'm single?

Part of the blame has to be on the people creating these pages however. Everyone says that their company needs to get on Facebook/Twitter/The next big thing - but to spam me? That's not how the game is supposed to work. I'm supposed to find them, after they generate good enough content worth my time to view it and become a fan. Not just to become a fan of a random company like a Qdoba Boston without telling me why. How many groups and pages are you a fan of where you have no participation in the group? Then what's the point? I can't say I'm not guilty of that too, but the system is flawed.

I still like Facebook. I like keeping in touch with friends that aren't in Boston. It's still fun, but I get easily annoyed by people who don't really know me or care what I think.

AS I TYPE THIS I GOT INVITED TO: BECOME A FAN OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY 2010 COMMENCEMENT. NO. PURELY BECAUSE IT'S SPAM. IT'S ALL SPAM.

Sorry for yelling, does anyone else feel my pain?

What Am I Paying For?

College has become commonplace for almost everyone to go, thanks to loans and the abundance of colleges. It's no longer for the "rich kids." I don't want to say that anyone can go, but it's gotten so much easier. So now, a college degree is common.

The concept of college is to learn about what you think your career path may be, then assuming you'll go get a job in that career, or some require further education. Mine is public relations - so I'm taking PR classes. BU's tuition is around $50k including room and board. So I'm paying $50,000 a year. For four years. $200,000.

So for $200,000 you would think that I would be getting so much more than I feel like I'm getting. Instead, I feel like BU is literally nickel-and-diming me every step of the way - and I'm still not getting my money's worth.

For example, I live in an on-campus apartment in South. It's a relatively nice place. Given how much it's rained this year, we've had some water leaking into our apartment. When me and my roommate called B&G, they said "We're getting a lot of complaints, we'll get to you when we can." When they came about 3 hours later, all the did was bring a bucket. We had a bucket. We didn't need another bucket.

A few days later another B&G guy came in and I showed him where it was leaking. Since it had stopped raining, it wasn't leaking. He said "I can't do anything about it if it's not leaking."

Fast forward a few weeks later, when monsoon season hits Boston, and it's leaking in my apartment again. But not just the same location, literally in three different spots. Then it started to get moldy. I called B&G again, and no one's been here. It's been a week. Then I read in BU Today that there were over 600 on-campus leaks reported. I tweeted to Dean Elmore, he said "I'll have someone come over." Really? No one came. And the last time they did, they did nothing.

How can you have 600 on campus leaks? I understand the rain was much more than we've had in quite a while, but 600 seems too high. It's probably leaked last year, and they were told, and still did nothing. What the hell am I paying $50,000 dollars for when my place is disgusting.

Some other fun facts about my apartment - there is no internet port in my room. Or a cable port. They changed the window structure in my building so that air can't get in, making my room a hell hole even when it's 20 degrees out. The walls are so thin I can hear everyone. In every way. The fridge is smaller than the one we had last year. When we moved in, the fridge was broken and they didn't fix it for a few days. We didn't have a mirror. It took weeks to get a mirror in the bathroom. We kept calling and filing requests for a mirror and got none. We gave up and bought our own. The sunlight in my room lets me wake up at 7 am everyday. Everyday. EVERYDAY.

Or I could talk about the print quota fiasco, where BU, who last year gave us a 500 page quota this year, gave 100. Then, told the professors to not make copies of hand-outs, instead make us print them out, making us use our reduced print quota. In my political science class, our teacher had well over 20 uploaded articles that spanned as high as 56 pages. Half of my quota is spent on one article for one class. I took four classes and it was all the same. So therefore I have to pay money just to print my things that last year would have been free. But my tuition goes up. And all we get from BU is stock quote straight up bullshit. "We're going green" "We're cutting costs" "We found that students don't use their print quota." Then they removed the computer labs that were located at different locations on campus. They brought them all to the library, so it's still available, but it just seems inconvenient and inefficient.

Then I went to the Career Center, where I wasn't offered much help in finding a job. I said "How can I work for a Public Relations firm in Philadelphia?" Their response: Use CareerBuilder and Google. I'm so glad that I pay $50k to be told to use Google. I never would have thought about Google. Thanks guys. They did help with cover letters and my resume, but overall, I don't feel like it was all that helpful. I got better help from my internship in the fall. Their career fairs don't apply to my industry at all - but most of the people there seem to be worthless too. For instance, companies like the FBI and Abercrombie & Fitch would be there. That's not where I'm going. Call me picky. I know PR is kind of a different thing, but no help at all? Really?

It should be MANDATORY for every student to take a class about the job process. How it works. Resumes. Cover letters. Etc. Make it specific towards everyone's major. Give each student a CAREER ADVISOR. I have an academic advisor, but combine the two. Make some kind of mandatory check-in every few weeks. Talk about plans. Brainstorm. Help us. Isn't that what college is ultimately about? To learn and to use what you learned in the world. Help us see through the second part. I don't want my hand held, I want to meet half way. It shouldn't be totally on me to find a job on top of taking four classes and having an internship 2.5 days a week. There's too much going on for me to find a job too. But by incorporating it into class, it's helpful.

I have friends at PSU who have a career advisor and they help them have a plan for internships and jobs. I could go to PSU for $14k a year. Do the math.

To me, the college process has become much more of a business than an education. People can spin it any way they want. At the end of the day, it's about making a profit. The President of the University makes A LOT of money. I can't seem to find the number, but I found this article where the old President made $6.2 MILLION two years after he retired. WHAT THE HELL DOES HE NEED $6.2 MILLION DOLLARS FOR AFTER HE RETIRES.

I know that not all of my money goes into his severance pay and that BU has a pretty good endowment. But that seems absurd. Instead, if they spent $6.2 million, surely our tuition could be a little lower, or we would have something helpful. Nah, give one man $6.2. We don't need to help our students.

I pay $50,000 a year and honestly, what am I paying for? A leaky apartment? 100 pages to print with? Classes that aren't really teaching me anything? To be told to go to Google? I've learned so much more from my internships than from class. Am I paying to get a job? Indirectly, but BU isn't doing a damn thing to help me and act like they care.

Why Why WHY would I want to give any money to BU as an alumni? For the BU Class Gift, they're asking for $20.10. While I understand and like the concept of a class gift, I believe you give gifts as a thank you or because you appreciate someone. What am I thanking them for? The advice of Google? I pay $50k a year. That's your thank you gift. I honestly don't know anything about my financial situation whether I'll be in loans or not, but I don't feel like this entire experience was worth it. Maybe I didn't make the most of it. Maybe I "settled." I made great friends and I had a great time - but I think that would happen anywhere. But I want my money back - because I'm paying for a product that isn't what it was advertised as. I didn't pay $50,000 to live in a moldy water logged apartment. Or to have to find my own job. Think of it as a customer client relationship. I'm a customer, and I'm being deceived.

I don't know if this posts counts as a rant, or maybe I'm just too frustrated with everything. I feel overwhelmed and just like a number.. It's leaving a sour taste in my mouth for the final weeks, and it's unfortunate. Everyday I say "I can't wait to be out of here" and everyday it gets closer and closer. But I've also realized that the world is a lot of shams and lies, and you have to wade your way through.

How MLB Could Realign the Teams

This post is copied from my other blog I'm doing for class "Texts from Left Field" - where I focus mainly on baseball and social media and the intersection they cross. I haven't decided if I'm keeping the blog, but thought this post would be a good one to share on both of my blogs.

The other day I read this story regarding MLB talking about a floating realignment for teams that aren’t “ready” to compete or whatever the case may be. So, as the article states, a team like Cleveland, who clearly isn’t in any position to win this year, would rotate into the “East” so they could benefit from the crowds that the Yankees and Red Sox. And they can choose which division they want to be in from year to year.

…………

Let it sink in for a minute…..

………….

I don’t know about you, but I think this program is asinine. Another example of the stroke of stupidity that is Bud Selig, the man who called a tie for an All Star Game.

Teams shouldn’t be able to just rotate whenever the hell they want. Instead, I’ve spent the past few days coming up with my idea for what would be a potentially better idea for teams and the playoffs. It makes sense in my head, I hope I can translate it out onto text here.

THE NEW PLAN

I don’t claim to know everything about the European Premier League Soccer, but I understand that it’s split into two divisions – the “elite” teams and the “non-elite” teams. At the end of the season, the bottom X elite teams rotate with the top X elite teams IF THE RECORD OF THE “NON-ELITE” TEAM IS BETTER THAN THE “ELITE” TEAM, assuming that they will be able to “compete” with the “elites.” So not every year a team may switch.

I think this could work with the MLB – with a twist.

So let’s break it down
AL has 14 teams. NL has 16. 7 and 8 for each.

Let’s do the 7 right now based off last years standings
AL Elite: NY Yankees, LA Angels, Boston, Texas, Minnesota, Detroit, and Seattle
AL Non-Elite: Tampa Bay, Chicago White Sox, Toronto, Oakland, Cleveland, Kansas City, and Baltimore.

Outside of Tampa/Seattle, that list shouldn’t surprise any of us. Maybe make an argument for the White Sox pre-2009 season.

NL Elite: LA Dodgers, Philadelphia, Colorado, St. Louis, San Francisco, Florida, Atlanta, Chicago Cubs
NL Non-Elite: Milwaukee, Cincinnati, San Diego, Houston, Arizona, NY Mets, Pittsburgh, Washington DC

Again, this list shouldn’t surprise us. The NL is also characteristically weaker than the AL in my opinion.

So here’s my suggestion:
Keep the teams in their current division for traveling purposes. BUT have less divisional games, and let the teams in their respective elite divisions play each other. So instead of the Nationals and Phillies meeting 19 times a year, they only meet for 10 times, and let the Nationals have three more series versus their non-elites, and make the Phillies play three more series against their elite peers (preferably not within their division I.E. Braves/Marlins)

So in this instance, the Nationals would have 30 less games against the ‘elite’ inner division competition, which one would assume should be another 15-25 losses for the Nationals. Instead, they play several more series against other teams that are more in their skill level.

Let’s also lower the amount of times that teams outside their division play each other – right now I believe it is at 3 series per year. Cut it to two per team – one series at home and one away. The remaining X series will be against teams in their “elite” or “non-elite” brackets. Even MORE games against equal competition.

So, let’s look at the past few years to see how this would have played out, using the AL as our petri dish.

2004 AL Elites: NY Yankees, Boston, LA Angels, Minnesota, Oakland, Texas, Chicago White Sox — Top 2 Non: Cleveland, Baltimore
2005 AL Elites: Chicago White Sox, Boston, LA Angels, NY Yankees, Cleveland, Oakland, Minnesota — Top 2 Non: Toronto and Texas
2006 Al Elites: NY Yankees, Minnesota, Detroit, Oakland, Chicago White Sox, LA Angels, Toronto — Top 2 Non – Boston and Texas
2007 AL Elites: Cleveland, Boston, NY Yankees, LA Angels, Detroit, Seattle, Toronto — Top 2 Non – Minnesota and Oakland
2008 AL Elites: LA Angels, Tampa, Boston, NY Yankees, White Sox, Minnesota, and Toronto — Top 2 Non — Cleveland and Texas
2009 AL Elites: NY Yankees, LA Angels, Boston, Texas, Minnesota, Detroit, and Seattle — Top 2 Non — Tampa and Chicago White Sox

There’s quite a few teams that are competing ALMOST EVERY YEAR (Angels, Yankees, Minnesota, Chicago White Sox, Boston.) Doesn’t it make sense that they should paly each other more during the year?

Let’s look at which teams would rotate in and out year to year – starting from the 2004 season record
After 2005: Cleveland would switch with Texas into the elites for the 2006 season.
After 2006: Cleveland is then knocked out – along with Boston – and replaced by Detroit & Toronto
After 2007: Minnesota and Oakland are knocked out and replaced by Cleveland and Seattle
After 2008: Cleveland, Detroit, and Seattle knocked out. In comes Minnesota, Chicago White Sox, and Tampa
After 2009: Tampa, Toronto, and Chicago White Sox are out. Texas, Seattle, and Detroit are in.

Now let’s talk about the playoffs.
Same rules apply as now – divisional leaders get in. The wildcard however comes from the best team in the “non-elite” division. If the winner of the division is not in the “elite” league (like Tampa in 2008) then the second best team in the “non-elites” (which would have been Cleveland) would take the wildcard spot. Playoffs still play out in the same way as they always have – DS, CS, then WS.

HEAR ME OUT AS TO WHY THIS WORKS: I understand and personally love how the wildcard has determined the playoffs from the past several years. In 15 years of the wildcard system, only 4 teams have won the whole thing (97 Marlins, 02 Angels, 03 Marlins, 04 Red Sox.) A little under 33%.

Now if the elite teams were to play each other more during the regular season, the teams would have clearly defined which team is better. No more scrub games for Minnesota against the Royals. The Cardinals don’t get to beat up on the Pirates anymore. Instead, the Twins have to play more games against the Angels and Red Sox. They literally will beat up on each other. Meanwhile, if using the 2010 season as our example, Tampa will get to play the Royals/Athletics/Indians, and prove that they are worthy of competing in the playoffs.

It’s hard to use history to demonstrate this, because the records of each team would be different if 20-30 of their games were played against better teams. Let’s try this though:
In 2007, the playoffs would of been this: Cleveland, Boston, LA Angels, and Minnesota. Minnesota can’t play Cleveland because they are in the same division, so it would be Cleveland versus the Angels and the Red Sox versus Minnesota. The end result may be the same, but that 2007 Minnesota team with Santana, Mauer, and Morneau stood a great chance.

Finally, the system would give more revenue to the non-elite teams. I’m not a business major so I don’t know the numbers very well, but something like 60% to non-elite and 40% to the elite. It’s conceivable that most of the non-elite teams could use the money more for free agents and to re-sign their own talent. Eventually, we wouldn’t need a premiere league and everyone would be equal.

So I know the system isn’t perfect. It could probably use some tweaks (which I’m hoping some comments will help me with) I think it would provide a better, more honest, champion. So in 2009, the Yankees would have to play more against better teams like Minnesota, LA Angels, the White Sox, etc. It would create a level playing field and still give a chance for the other teams to win.

It looks alot better on my paper I’ve drawn out, but I really believe it would work. I’m not convinced we need to change it, but if we did, I would be down.

Time Travel Geek Speak

This post shows off my inner-nerd, and I don't care.

I'm not sure what's up with my time travel obsession lately. Maybe I've been thinking about Lost too much. I've also been watching Back To The Future - all of them - in the past few days. And Hot Tub Time Machine is constantly making me laugh. (ps I think it's going to be the biggest joke since Snakes On A Plane)

Okay, so over the past few days I've seen all three Back To The Future's, and although I LOVE each of them, I realized a continuity error. I don't know if anyone cares, so if you don't, stop reading.

At the beginning of Part Two, Doc, Marty, & Jennifer go into the future. Doc claims they have to change their kid's future.

SO HERE'S MY PROBLEM:

IF Marty and Jennifer were to travel from 1985 to 2015 in time, they wouldn't exist in 2015 because they would have disappeared from the timeline. The 2015 version of the McFly's would be gone. But they're not.

I know it's Hollywood and I also know time travel isn't real (although sometimes I really wish it was,) but it really annoyed me while I was watching it yesterday, and I thought I would share that with you.

Also funny side note, isn't it interesting how they portrayed 2015, but 2015, although 5 years away, isn't going to be ANYTHING like how they thought it would be.

THIS STUFF BLOWS MY MIND

Nomar Garciaparra, The Reason I Love Baseball

Today, Nomar Garciaparra announced his retirement from Major League Baseball. Not only that, he did it by signing a one-day contract and retiring with the Boston Red Sox. If you know me, you know that the Red Sox are my favorite team. While I'm not as flaming as I once was, they're still a huge part of my everyday life.



It's safe to say that Nomar, along with Pedro, are THE reason I'm a Red Sox fan. Although I grew up in Philadelphia, the Phillies were trash post the 1993 World Series team. I was only 5 when that happened, and I was not cognizant of what baseball was or how awesome it was. I think it is safe to say that the 1998 Home Run Chase brought me into the sport, and then watching the Red Sox in 1999 was the tipping point. It was the first time I had gone to a game outside of Philadelphia, and seeing Fenway was just a site to behold. Such a beautiful, majestic, historic ballpark. There was such a passion for their players that you didn't see in Philadelphia (except when Curt Schilling pitched. Hell, Scott Rolen didn't play on Scott Rolen day, and that was the day I turned my back on the Phillies.)

In the late 90's, baseball fans were given a revolution in the shortstop position: 3 great young shortstops: Alex Rodriguez of the Mariners, Derek Jeter of the Yankees, and Nomar Garciaparra of the Red Sox. They were called the holy grail. Fans would argue which was the best. Nomar at the time was clearly the best hitter, winning two batting titles. Nomar was the oldest (a year older than Jeter, two in front of A-Rod) so he a small learning curve ahead of his peers, but he was excellent. The fans adored him. Everyone had a #5 Jersey on. There wasn't much of a better place for someone with a Boston accent to root for a player who's first name ended in R. "Nomah!" He would give his all at every at bat (while adjusting his gloves after every pitch)

Of course, the marriage between the Red Sox and Nomar ended poorly, although that trade lead to the greatest comeback in postseason history, and the end of the 86 year championship drought. It sometimes seems strange to say that it wouldn't of happened without Nomar, but it feels true. Nomar was given a share of the championship and was awarded a ring by his teammates.

It was truly a great moment, and I feel sad that Nomar wasn't there to be a part of it. Honestly that may of been the happiest few weeks of my life, and still is. I can think of a few great days over the past six years, but not a period of time where I was that happy. I'm not sure if that speaks to how baseball-obsessed my life has become or how pathetic my life is, but I wouldn't take it any other way.

Now I'd like to share my two favorite Nomar moments:

1) June 21, 2003. Red Sox vs. Philadelphia. During the beginning of the Intramural league process, the Red Sox always came in for a weekend series against the Phillies. I typically attended all three games, wearing my Red Sox attire in full force (which at the time was really just a Nomar shirt and this one hat that I wore from 1999 until 2004 - the thing was gross after I was done with it) Anyways, in this game, although the Red Sox lost, Nomar went 6 for 6 - tying a club record. It was truly something special to witness. There are few games I remember before that, but that was one of the special ones. I remember sitting in the 600 level with my dad along the third base side at the old Veterans Stadium. Another great part of that game was watching Pedro pitch - always the most exciting pitcher in the game of that time.

2) The 1999 All Star Game. Obviously I couldn't attend the game because I was still in Philadelphia and wouldn't be able to afford a All Star ticket. Nomar didn't do anything special on the field, but it was Nomar as ambassador of Boston, carrying the torch of tradition as Ted Williams was strolled out onto the field, he talked to Nomar first. Red Sock to Red Sock. Unfortunately I cannot find an image to capture what I'm talking about, but it was so powerful to me. It showed how the game went beyond just playing. I know it sounds dumb - an 11 year old believing in such a thing, but I'm totally convinced.

Now, two of Nomar's more embarassing moments:

1) The Mia Hamm commercial where he says "Thanks Beautiful." Not that I'm not condoning expressing your gratitude for your loved one, but not like that. That was brutal. Mia Hamm was great for soccer. I'm sure she's helped Nomar's life alot, but, that ad was just too much.

2) The end of Nomar's career in Boston. July 1st, 2004.

It was almost like a fiction novel. The Holy Grail of shortstops were now together on one field, although A-Rod was now playing third for the Yankees, and Jeter at short, and Nomar at short for the Sox. Although Nomar had been hurt most of the time, the Yankees games were when players had to deal with their injury and play the game. Nomar didn't. He played on Saturday, the 30th, but not on Sunday. And meanwhile, Jeter ran into the stands to grab an out, sacrificing his body for his team and to make a play against his rival. It was like a metaphorical death of the grail. Nomar was no longer the premiere shortstop for the league. The torch had passed. It felt like he turned his back on the team and the fans. People couldn't understand why Nomar was so great, but they weren't totally sad to see him be traded either. It was the beginning of the end.

Nomar went on to be relatively insignificant the rest of his career, playing for the Cubs, Dodgers, and Athletics. His body had worn down too much to keep playing at short, so he would rotate between 1st, DH, and I'm pretty sure he played 3rd a few times. Regardless, that night marked the end of his career, and the rest of his time was just Nomar as a corpse. I still rooted for Nomar, and tried to see him play when he came into Philly.

So this marks the end of the Nomar journey, and it has been great. I've read books about the history of the Sox and Nomar had definitely defined his legacy with the team. I don't believe he was good enough to have his number retired, but he may go down as the best Red Sox shortstop. I hope he continues the great tradition of former Red Sox players helping out the young kids, as I'm sure he can be helpful towards their cause.

Thank you Nomar, for everything.

A few more Nomar links for those still curious:
Nomar through the Years
Top Five Numbers about Nomar
Press Conference Log

I THINK I KNOW HOW LOST WILL END

It's Tuesday after 10, and I'm home on Spring Break. There isn't much else to do BUT blog.

BEFORE WE GET INTO TONIGHT'S EPISODE -- I watched last week's again at the 8PM slot and it said that Smokey had recruited Kate. CHANGE FROM PREVIOUS BELIEF.

So tonight's Lost was VERY subliminal. Alot of things were said but not alot of time was given to the time to analyze. But I believe it was very revealing at the same time.

What we learned:

1) Jack is learning his importance (as Jacob believed he would following the Lighthouse incident) and is gaining confidence in his abilities and wants to stand up for the fight. That's why he was so confident that the dynamite would not explode.

2) The Flash Sideways is quickly becoming the timeline of people getting a second chance to help those they care about - but from a distance. We saw it last week with Sayid. We see it this week with Ben. He wanted to help Alex so badly he didn't blackmail the principal. I'm led heavily to believe that he blackmailed Widmore previously to get off the island. I'm still not sure how this applies to Hurley being lucky, but that's just how it seems.

The question is how much to the Losties know the difference i.e. if Ben is given the chance to bring Alex back to a normal life, does he live knowing the consequences that he can never be her father? Or does he just have some unconscious attraction to her that he can't explain? Similar question for Sayid and Nadia.

P.S. Alex looked SO MUCH HOTTER than she ever did on the Island. I'm not sure if she's growing up or it was make up or what, but I was surprised. ALSO --- WHERE IS DANIELLE IN THIS EQUATION?

3) Alpert came from the Black Rock (SOMETHING I CONFIRMED EARLIER) -- BUT why this is important is because when Smokey first spoke to Alpert post-Jacob's death, he said "It's nice to see you free of those chains." Meaning --> Smokey saw Alpert as a slave on the Black Rock. Smokey wasn't on the Black Rock because he saw it coming to the Island with Jacob. But he had seen Alpert somehow.

What we need to know:

1) Following off point number one from earlier, Richard said, whoever is touched by Jacob cannot die by their own hand. My initial assumption was then that Michael had to be touched by Jacob at some point. But not EVERYONE that came to the island was touched by Jacob. Hell, Sayid & Hurley were touched after they were off the island the first time. So what exactly does this do? Is Jack/Hurley/Kwons/Kate/Sawyer destined to live forever as long as they stay on the island similar to Alpert?

2) Smokey's real plan

What exactly is his deal? He told Sawyer that the island doesn't need a protector. He told Ben that someone would need to be there when Smokey and his recruits leave. Why the flip flop? Is Ben even a candidate? What's the reality? Why didn't Smokey kill what's left of Illana/Team Jacob? It would be a pretty easy Smoke through. That perplexes me the most.

3) Illana's plan

Illana was furious about Ben killing Jacob, but then she accepted that Ben was mad at himself - with good reason. So now what? How exactly can she protect the candidates from Smokey? She needs more than a gun. But she also mentioned that Jacob was like a father to her, so I'm sure she knows a lot more than we think.

4) The Island in the Flash Sideways

Ben's dad (who is still alive in the alternate timeline) mentioned DHARMA and the Island. So it existed at some point. At some point they left (obviously) and the Island is now underwater. How? Why? What? Who? Hanh? Was it by Jughead being set off that caused the island to implode therefore DHARMA still existed but Oceanic 815 never crashed. The timeline we're in still happens because that was their present. The Flash is what happens if the Island went underwater. Danielle never comes, Alex is therefore not on the Island.

5) Widmore

Obviously this was the bombshell at the end of the episode. How did Widmore find the Island? What's his plan? The line "There's people on the Island, should I stop?" makes me think that Widmore has some plan to destroy the island/self-destruct because the "wrong side" is going to win and Widmore needs to prevent that from happening.

THE KICKER ---> HOW I THINK IT WILL END

I had a revelation that I firmly believed when I first saw the episode. Since then (only a hour later) I've kind of had a change of heart, but I'm still throwing it out there anyway, because it's fun to take a stand. If I'm wrong, I'll edit this post and you'll never know.

What was important in this episode was two crucial things: Jack acknowledging his higher-calling following the Lighthouse, and Smoke Monster's offer to Ben to stay on the Island and protect it. You can almost feel the good vs. evil vibe. It's great. I'm also probably wrong because somehow the Flash sideways is supposed to intercede with the current. But I really believed it.

I think Widmore throws a cog in that potential plan, but every episode I get more and more excited to see how it plays out. It's my anti-drug. So come May, I'll NEED to find a new anti-drug.

NA$HVEGA$

I just got home from part one of my three-part spring break excursion (although the third leg may be falling out) and wow, it was great.

I've never been to Nashville before or anywhere in the south (Disney World doesn't count as "the south") so it was all a bit of an adjustment - but because it's so laid back it was no big deal at all.

Unfortunately I didn't bring my camera out with me, so I can't share any pictures (except for two on my camera phone which maybe I'll upload if I get too bored at home) but it's pretty fun. It's a somewhat average size city with a small-town feel. It feels like there's only a few streets that matter. And it's always relaxed.

The nightlife is pretty stereotypical country, but there's nothing wrong with that. It was a great change of pace compared to the fast-paced, overcrowded Boston scene that I am becoming SO TIRED of. My favorite part was some of the places that referred to as Nashville as NASHVEGAS. There aren't any casinos (at least that I saw) but it was just a fun line that I said probably too many times.

I was around Vanderbilt's campus most of the time - really gorgeous area. Makes me wish that I went to a school that had more of a campus then Boston U's situation - although I do also enjoy the city aspect of it. I flip flop a lot. Couldn't beat the campus and the atmosphere.

Anyways, I saw three Vandy baseball games and a basketball game. It's great to see a sports school that passionate about their teams, rather than BU's lack of fandom - although I'm not part of the problem - but it's much more apparent at a school like Vandy. I think it's a southern thing plus the - again - not being in a city aspect. In Boston there's SO much else going on that a school with poor athletics has no reason to hold any sort of significance - why go watch a bad college team when you could watch BC or the Celtics? It makes sense.

Overall, I'm really glad that I took the weekend to go down. Obviously seeing my good buddy (and the only person that follows this blog COUGH COUGH) was great, but I'm also excited about moving on from Boston. I'm not sure Nashville is the town, but I REALLY want to get off the east coast. Something new, something exciting. Ideally California/West Coast, but life will take you where you were meant to go.

Toodles Bloggas

PleaseDontRobMe.Com

The past few weeks I've gotten messages from a few of my friends (and my mother) regarding the advent of PleaseRobMe.com - the site that tracks you're FourSquare check-ins. If you know me, you know that I'm pretty into FourSquare - I LOVE the potential it has and I think that it really is the next big thing - if people and companies can understand that it's more than just "letting people know where you are."

Anyways, the premise of PleaseRobMe.com is a live feed of when people check into places and therefore they aren't home. I'm not buying it. For several reasons. One, they only list the 15 latest updates. The chances of you being listed as one of the most recent 15 is low. Last I checked, FourSquare has about 275,000 members. So 15 in 275,000. L-O-W. If you stay on the feed you'll get everyone's updates eventually.

So even if you were to come up on the feed, someone would have to be in your area, and then have to know where you live. The chances of all that adding up seems too low for me. The only people who could rob you would be your friends, and they still have to get into your building (pending apartment) and then into your room. It doesn't seem very logical.

I'm personally not concerned about it. I think it's meant to scare people. People like to panic. For some, it has caused that panic. For the people that understand and can utilize the technology, it's nothing more than another website that will fade away.

LOST - WHAT DID I JUST WATCH

Wow, what a transition from a crappy episode to UTTERLY EPIC. I literally had my mouth open and goosebumps for five straight minutes after the episode. I turned my TV off and sat there. I am supposed to be finishing this PR plan for class, but writing this post suddenly became MUCH more interesting and a worthwhile outlet of my time.

So let's get started gang! (WHAT)

1) SAYID

Clearly, he's not so much infected as he is broken (more on that later.) He keeps trying to get rid of his killer-past and move on and be "normal". As we see, being normal wouldn't let him be with the only thing he really wanted: Nadia. Instead, he keeps having to kill people. It's just in his nature. Even in the sideways timeline, he still has to kill people (Nice addition adding Keamy PS.) It's in his nature. That's what Dogan saw when he determined Sayid was "evil" - because Sayid is naturally an evil man. He tries to be good, but life calls upon him to do other things.

I also think SPECIFICALLY because Smokey said "Hello Sayid" that therefore Sayid couldn't kill him. Dogen made it clear that if Smokey spoke it was over. He spoke. It's over. Smokey used that to turn him against Dogen.

He lost his trust in the people at the Temple, and Smokey must have told him something (besides the "I can get you whatever you want" line) to make him want to kill Dogen. Smokey must have said that by killing Dogen, Smokey can fulfill his mission, and "go home." I don't really believe Sayid is infected, he is just tired of the BS that the Island keeps throwing at him time after time.

Back to the broken thing I mentioned - it seems like everyone from the O6 except Hurley is really broken. Jack obviously. Sawyer lost the woman he loved. Kate is struggling to understand why Claire won't come with her - The ONLY reason Kate came. Sun doesn't count cause she's so brutally insignificant these days that I don't care to justify her.

2) Candidates

It's clear that Sayid's crossed himself off the list. I'm assuming the same for Sawyer - but where is he??

So that leaves us with - Jack, Hugo, and "Kwon" - I'm assuming it's Jin (mainly because I'm sexist - SARCASM.) It's gotta be Jack. It just has to be. It has to be.

3) Dogen

I'm glad the baseball storyline was wrapped up - it really bothered me that this stupid baseball seemed to have some higher meaning - and not that it's not significant, but it doesn't have to deal with the over-arcing issue going on.

But WHY was he the reason that Smokey was staying out - not the ash? Is the ash insignificant? What would the point be of laying down the ash if IT DOESN'T DO ANYTHING? By him dying, Smokey gets into the Temple. What sort of logic is that? I really hope that angle is answered.

4) Illana/Lapedis/The Good Guys

Clearly this is going to be an episode with some form of a backstory that I assume will happen next week. How they got in/How they know/What they know.

It's got to be the room that Illana found is something secret from Smokey. Another special place on the island. And I personally believe that it will do something that can help protect the island or reincarnate Jacob. That's where the ashes that Illana scooped up come into play. There has to be something there obviously, as that's the only play they have left.

To sympathize with Sun (and cause I made a sarcastic sexist comment earlier) - Where is Jin? Claire left him at the tent, or did he get turned? In that case we cross him off the list. Is he with Sawyer?

MEETING BETWEEN 3 and 4 - WHY DOESN'T DOGEN KNOW WHAT ILLANA SEEMS TO KNOW ? Instead, he just kinda mooks around.

RANDOM ---> WHERE'S ALPERT? He clearly hasn't been at the Temple, but he told Sawyer that was the only safe place on the Island, so why didn't he go there? Unless he got caught by Smokey again.

5) Smokey

So what's his deal eh? Unless I missed something, there was nothing that he did in the Temple that he NEEDED to do. He already killed Jacob. He was "free." Maybe the Temple murder was just a revenge thing. A big kick in the guts to everyone that's ever been against him. Seems unnecessary though.

I write this in every post about Lost - something's not right. Team Jacob tells one story, and Team Smokey tells something else. I can't tell who's right or who's wrong. Sometimes I almost want to believe what Smokey is saying is true. Someone obviously is lying. We've been lead to believe that Jacob is the light and the best. I don't know. They're too secretive. Smokey seems so open. Why would he want people to come with him? Why wouldn't he just kill all of them (except for those that he 'recruited'?) Does he really want those who lived in the Temple to switch just like that? Does he expect their loyalty to switch that easily? It doesn't make any sense to me.

6) Kate

Kate doesn't know what's going on. She just wants to save Claire. But by her going with Smokey, she provides an interesting complex. I highly doubt she gets recruited. She's too smart. She's going to find out more - and then will probably run into Sawyer and Jin, and can somehow help everyone. She's definitely on the good side I think. She's too worried about Claire. I know I mentioned this earlier, but that's her sole mission.

7) Now what?

Jack and Hurley clearly are the only ones that seem safe from everything. And with Jacob there to aide Hurley, that's a huge help. Apparently next week Ben "pays for his sins" or whatever the ABC Promo said. Hope it's more interesting than the first 54 minutes of this weeks, but is just as powerful as the last 6.

PS --> Only 12 more hours of LOST. WHAT WILL I DO WITHOUT IT. This blog might actually die when Lost dies. It'll go underwater like the Island. Get ready.