I'm Starting to Panic! (But Not At The Disco!)

It sort of hit me tonight. I say sort of because it wasn't strong enough to change my life, but just to give me more perspective. In a little over two weeks, it's all over. After over 22 years, I will be done with the academic system and sent out into the "real world."

It's scary. It's real. It's coming up too fast. I'm not sure anyone is ever really ready. How do you know you're ready until you do it? That's what happens, you make mistakes and learn from them, or you flourish and keep developing.

I'm a big fan of the loss of innocence metaphor. It's the prime theme of some of the greatest novels of all time. Catcher in the Rye comes to mind. Holden Caulfield is the perfect example. This is the complete loss of innocence. No more living in fantasy land. No more summers where I can screw off and hang out on the beach all day as many days as possible and relax. No more.

It's depressing and exciting at the same time. I've really enjoyed the time I've spent - it's had many highs and many lows. Sometimes I'm not sure I want to give it up. It would be great to be a beach bum and make just enough money to get by but enjoy the time you have. I know people that have done it. I don't think that's what I've spent my time in college to do, so I think it's more of a fantasy "if I lived in an alternate reality" (or a flash sideways *LOST REFERENCE*) situation. It sounds lovely though.

You never know when you're ready to grow up. It just happens. I'm not saying that by graduating I'm growing up. I don't know when exactly it happens. It just does. I don't believe you really transition until you're out for a few years. And I mean really out, not living with your parents or some kind of convoluted program.

I'm not really sure the point of this blog post - this isn't supposed to be my diary. I'm sure that someone reading this can sympathize with me. I really want to enjoy the final 18 some days. I'm hoping I can find the perfect job that still allows me to be myself while learning and growing. I've got a few irons in the fire with job, but not enough. It's a big dive into the deep unknown. Who wants to jump with me?

iTunes Is Unreadable

Apple's taken over the world since the launch of the iPod and iTunes. It started off slow, just with music. Then it got music videos, then movies, then TV shows, then Apps, then books. What's next? Can I buy a headache? I think it's free.

Seriously, iTunes has become so much to navigate that I can't figure out where ANYTHING IS. It's actually painful. Apple has too much content to distribute.

I don't even know where to start, because I can't navigate the home page. How can I find new music? I miss the old artist pages where I could comprehend and learn a little about these artists, and see their top-10 (which sounds cheesy, but that's how I usually find new music by seeing what other people are listening too) It doesn't feel like the top-10 is relevant as much anymore - it's what iTunes wants you to think is relevant.

For example, this is what I see when I visit Green Day's Artist Page (I would take a picture, but the thing is so long that it would take 3 screen shots. I don't love you guys THAT much.)
Albums
Songs (based on Popularity as default)
Music Videos
Movies

Too many things! Have tabs for each one!

Honestly, my ideal solution would be to edit the tabs along the side of the iTunes bar (where there's library and playlists.) Tab for Music, tab for Video, tab for Music Video, tab for Podcast, tab for Apps, tab for Headaches. etc. PLEASE

Apples become too much of a mega-distributor. We've all bought into and eaten the Apple pie and now we're stuck. I don't see any way out, so I'm just hoping they can clean up a little bit, soon, because I hate it right now. And I don't say hate that often.

My Social Network "Friend" Rules

This post was powered by last Wednesday's episode of South Park focusing on social networking, specifically Facebook. South Park always does a good job of providing some kind of perspective on current event issues. I may not always agree with their message and may not always laugh at how obscene/bizarre their jokes are, but I think there is a message.

Anyway, the concept was how people take Facebook/social networks too seriously. How many friends you have vs. me, why am I not friends with you? Who are you poking? ETC. Sometimes we take it too seriously. People joke about it, but we do.

I was thinking about social network friends while I was at the gym (yes, the gym. I'm really cool I promise.) There's so many, dare I say too many, social networks out there, all with varying and different purposes and "rules" to follow. It's kind of getting obscene, isn't it?

So I thought I'd post how I'm *trying* to follow the social networks. These aren't really "new," but just my opinions.
Facebook - About two weeks ago I wrote another post about how frustrated I am getting with Facebook and how it has spiraled into spam. I'm really thinking about purging most of my "friends" - people I don't talk to anymore (or ever.) I don't care what my friend count is or if I can see people's pictures of what they're up to - I'm tired of the spam. So, SO, tired.

I'd say Facebook should really only be people you know and have a decent connection with. Not someone you just met last night and may never see again. Definitely not people you've never talked to before but seen in class/work/life. Andddd I think you have to put your foot down on old high school friends or ex-flings etc. No deal. There's too much information that they can see. I'd stray away from co-workers too. Too much potential for problems. That's not how it is at where I work, but every place is different.

Oh and also - remove the "invite all" button from events, cause it's gotten so annoying.
Twitter - Simple, any and everything. BUT they have to have something interesting to say. You don't deserve to be followed by anyone if you tweet stupid stuff like "Ugh I'm so tired all day" or "I'm eating ice cream" or emo lyrics about your emotional relationship problems. Smart tweets. Conversational tweets. Sharing RELEVANT information, not worthless information. It's hard, but it makes Twitter actually worth it.
LinkedIn - It's talked about as "for professionals" but as a college student, how does that work? I won't have a big network if I exclude my peers in school, because even if I meet some "professionals" I probably will not have enough of a connection to be "linked." And who do I link to? My bosses? People working at other firms in the area? How do we classify a link. This is still very much to be determined as far as I'm concerned.

Foursquare - This one is the most interesting to me, because it's so new. What's the policy? I don't know. However, I do know that I don't really want to be friends with EVERYONE. A kid from high schol (who I NEVER spoke to) sent me a friend request on Foursquare. Why? I could care less where this kid is. I really believe this should be almost the most exclusive network of the four. I only really want to know about people who come into my day-to-day contact. I don't need to know where my freshman floor-mate is. I probably never will. So let's not be friends.

While typing this post, I just thought about the entire concept of "friending people." I've actually almost become anti-friend requesting anyone anywhere but Twitter. I don't need to be your Facebook friend for us to be friends. Just cause we work together doesn't mean we could/should be LinkedIn. I also think it's kind of weird to find someone on these networks and friend them. It crosses over from being "friends" to stalking. I've also grown cynical.

But what about when you get a friend request from someone i.e. co-worker/parent/ex/random hook up/the random person you met last night/the significant other you're seeing/the dork from high school/the quiet girl from class/AND SO ON. What do you do? When is it okay to say no? In the situation of the kid who friended me on Foursquare, I actually clicked no the first time. Then he sent it again. AGAIN. How desperately does this dude want to know where I am? That's why it's weird.

But in the situation of like Twitter, someone's said to me "why don't you follow me back" and I straight up said "because I don't find your tweets interesting." It sparked a debate, and I didn't cave in. Still don't follow that person. And their tweets still aren't interesting. Situations like that are so unbelievable and frustrating because it doesn't matter. We don't have to be friends. It won't really change my day. It's awkward to say no though. It should just be normal.

It would be really nice to just have one network. That covered everything. It could of been Facebook, but people like options & different things. Tweets are the same as Facebook updates. Facebook chat is the same as AIM/Gchat. But nothing it's not all connected. You can contact someone in 17 different ways. It's too much. It's like that scene in He's Just Not That Into You, but not in a romantic sense. Too many methods, all with too many rules.

I want to hop in the DeLorean and go back to 1985. A time when people had to talk to each other in person or over the phone instead of text. Sometimes it is just TOO much.

OMG WHAT IS GOING ON IN LOST

It's starting to get serious. Really really serious. There's only like 300 some minutes left, and we still have SO MUCH TO FIND OUT.

Let's get started gang!!! (True Life - I'm Peter Klaven)

1) Flash sideways SLASH Desmond

Can't really figure out what is the deal here. The OT Desmond seems to be calm, collected, and care-free. He knows Locke isn't Locke.

I think (but it's a stab) is that Desmond is "aware" of the flash sideways timeline. He knows that something else is going on - and that he's the key to merging the two or some how affecting the outcome. So far, we've only seen people realize their alternate realities via near-death experiences, love, or constants.

Desmond is trying to help everyone realize their other selves. He helped Hurley follow Libby (which was such a corny storyline) and is doing something to Locke.

1.5) WHY DID DESMOND HIT LOCKE

There's a few potential reasons that I'm pondering.

a) My original thought was that the timelines are connected. If Locke dies in the flash, he dies in the original. That doesn't sync up though, because Locke is already dead. Smokie has only taken his shape, not his body. So that doesn't totally work.

b) Locke in Flash Sideways needs to remember the island, so he can become "self aware" - the best way to make that happen is to have something traumatic happen to him, similar to when his father threw him out of the building.

c) Locke will have surgery from Jack, and their touch/interaction will spark the memories of them on the island - which will then lead Jack to become Jacob, and preserve the Island.

2) The Boy

WTF. Seriously. This was a different kid than we saw in The Candidate, but imdb says it's the same actor. The hair is definitely different for a reason though. Makes me think of a young Jacob/Smokie. But Desmond saw him too - is Desmond a candidate? Or is he just special?

The boy could be Aaron, or a young Desmond. Or maybe it's the higher power that Jacob and Smokie adhere to. More on that in another post.

3) The Well

Before I talk about the well, how the hell are we seeing all these things this year that the losties never found before? The lighthouse, Smokies cave, the Temple, this new well. How does that happen? I thought Sayid was some kind of explorer.

The Well HAS to be something, but what? Smokie mentioned the electromagnetism - similar to that in the Hatch/Orchid? Can Desmond move the Island or dig deeper to find the pocket to kill Smokey? (PS - Smokey or Smokie? I can't decide. Smoke is a strange word to say. Try it.) WHICH BRINGS ME TO ANOTHER IDEA ---> When the hatch detonated, shouldn't that have done something to Smokey? It's clear he can't get past the fence, so if a large pocket of electromagnetic energy is emitted, I would think this would do something to him.

random unimportant point - can Jack Bauer just come and drop an EMP ? Wouldn't that do it?

The well has some purpose. It's not just to hold Desmond until he's out. That's foolish. I don't think it's another donkey wheel - how many of those can we have? I think it's just a temporary prison until next week.

4) The Whispers

I'm REALLY unsure about this whole thing. It supposedly can't be Smokie - so far as Ilana knows - because he's supposedly stuck in his current form. Some questions I have:
Why is Hurley the only one that can see the dead people on the island?
Why wouldn't Libby come around to talk to Hurley?
They aren't just stuck on the Island - Hurley saw Ana Lucia off the Island.
It doesn't explain Yemi.
How is Isabella on the Island?
Why was Walt able to do the same things? Where is Walt?
Where/How do these spirits determine when to come out and be visible and where do they go?
Charlie was off the island playing checkers with Hurley. How.

So I don't know what Michael is doing, but I feel like it's not legitimate. I'm not convinced the plane is the way off the Island. Last I remember, it was broken in the cockpit, probably doesn't have enough fuel, and the runway most likely isn't long enough. ALSO HOW DID BEN KNOW TO MAKE A RUNWAY IN THE FIRST PLACE - INTERESTING STUFF.

Maybe if Smokie were to leave, the dead spirits would be free as well. OR another thought - maybe Desmond ignites an electromagnetic release that would stop the plane from crashing - bringing his purpose full circle. He brought 815 here, now he would bring the plane that would destroy the world down.

So what's the point of Michael coming out now? Hurley's been back on the island for a little bit now, but then again I don't know how you count the "being in 1977" thing on the time line.

Lastly I was so souped by the Bruce references - Spanish Johnny's and Rosalita. Good work by the writers - as if I need another reason to love the show.

Conan to TBS

Well, Conan finally found a new home, and apparently it's going to be TBS, also known as Turner Broadcasting Station, also known for holding the tag line "very funny".

This move strays from the conceived thought that he would end up at Fox. I feel like Fox would have never worked out. Too many affiliates would have to rearrange their schedule to pull it off on a real risk/gamble.

I think I like the move. Certainly Conan has to go SOMEWHERE. He can't just stay on this tour. He won't make it. TBS provides him with an outlet that is relatively visible (most people have at least basic cable) and he can come in with NO expectations. Fox would want him to knock off the main broadcasting stations. He won't. He can't.

By being on TBS he gets to be a little more risky than the national channels. He can be who he was at 12:35. But at 11. Again, with no expectations, he can do whatever. If he flops, it's not an issue, if he succeeds, TBS looks like geniuses.

I'm curious to see how the deal is structured with money and years. I would think that eventually Conan would like to be back in the national spotlight (Letterman's job???) and I hope he doesn't get stuck in this deal doing that.

What is also interesting is the growth and development of cable television. Outside of the HBO/Showtime, most cable stations don't generate nationally-recognized original content. Most of their shows would be syndicated. Family Guy is on every channel. Slowly we're starting to see that shift however. Obviously the big winner is Mad Men, but there's been other great shows that are starting to develop/have developed as well, like Breaking Bad, The Shield, Nip/Tuck, etc. I think it's great - the ability of options. No longer do we have to watch shows that appeal to literally everyone because there are only 5 outlets. I can watch ESPN and you can watch TLC and both be perfectly happy. The options out there (on every outlet, not just TV) is what makes technology so great - everyone can have their niche.