sylar says:

1. Heroes
2. American Idol (what can I say? it’s so bad that it’s good)
3. John Hughes films
4. My Crackberry
5. Big Box stores

I won’t get into the whole Heroes vs. Lost debate with you, except to say that I can’t understand what you people see in that show that makes you alright with losing an hour of your life to it each week.

I’m curious about what your other four choices are. I’m assuming that you’re going to reveal one per day?

lori says:

big box stores? you geek out about big box stores? man, you need to get out more.

as for answering the question myself:
1. will wright
2. magic: the gathering
3. wii
4. devo
5. joss whedon

E. Christopher Clark says:

ah, John Hughes films… where all the honeys were top-shelf, but all the dudes were whiny pussys. Except for Judd Nelson, of course, who was fuckin’ harsh.

Sylar - Yes, I’ll be revealing one per day.

Lori - You excited that Spore finally has a release date? Did you ever read that article on Wright in the New Yorker from a year or so back? Lemme see if I can find the link…

Here it is: http://tinyurl.com/yrmvhp. That’s definitely worth checking out.

Joe says:

Judd Nelson was fuckin’ harsh, wasn’t he?

Here’s mine: Transformers, Guns n Roses, 80s basketball, Brat Pack vs. Frat Pack, eccentric/unexpected cover tunes.

Stacey says:

Ok.. My five things would be:

My family
Music
The Universe
My friends
Love

Did I just cheat on this.. mine are categories.. not people..

E. Christopher Clark says:

No, you didn’t cheat. I think that the way I phrased my question (”...for the rest of your life") might have been too intense. Basically, I just wanted to get a feeling for what people would write/talk about on a blog like this, if they had to pick only five things. Specific, or non-specific—it doesn’t really matter.

Thanks for sharing, Stacey!

Monica says:

Hey Chris,

I tried doing this last night and well coming up with 5 things was too hard. So I am trying again:

1) LOST (I could not get into Heroes. Thought it was stupid)
2) Strange phenomenons/theories
3) Somewhat in line with #2, ghosts....I love to hear about ghosts. Not stupid ghost stories but real ghosts. I am not cracking up...yes I believe in ghosts
4)Travel - I love to hear about new places or even places I have already been. Bahamas sounds nice right about now…
5) HGTV - I could sit and watch that station (and I have) for hours and hours and hours on end and never get sick of it. There is actually only one designer I can’t stand (I forget her name) but she is so annoying and her work is really crappy.

Ok I think that is it for me

Beth says:

1. Mr. Trent Reznor would be on my list as well.
2. The Boston Red Sox (sub-obsession: baseball pitchers)
3. The New England Patriots (sub-obsession: Tom Brady)
4. Joaquin Phoenix
5. photography / Flickr

E. Christopher Clark says:

Monica, your list (particularly #5) made me think that I should get Stephanie to answer the question. She’s never been a regular visitor to any of my sites, but I think she might have some interesting answers. I can guess what they might be (she used to watch home improvement, HGTV-type shows a lot, before we gave up most of our cable lineup) but she might surprise me.

Beth, I wish I’d thought of putting photography/Flickr on the list. I think that might be one of my “Geek Force Reserves” (topics that I’ll cover when news and opinions on the other five topics are slow-coming).

Mary Ann says:

1~ My Daughter
2~ Music
3~The Financial World,both personal and business
4~My fondest memories
5~Friendships

This was an interesting one Chris, you keep my mind ticking! So my daughter, though I refuse to believe I am a mom, and I apoligize for anyone I have made sit through pictures and videos of what I deem the cutest little girl ever she must be in my top 5. Music I think is a given in my life. Finances because without the knowledge of what your money is doing my new home could be a cardboard box. Fondest memories because who doesn’t like to reminise about “the good times” and friendships, they make life worth while.

Greg says:

1. Anything Apple
2. Star Wars (episodes 4,5, and 6 to be exact)
3. The work of John Waters
4. Dian Hanson
5. Podcasts and hopefully eventually podcasting

Bethany says:

1. MacGyver
2. writing fiction
3. my family and friends
4. Beverly Hills 90210
5. movies

I’m going to trust that it’s okay that I made my final five a very open category. After all, I just confessed to everyone that I still love 90210!

E. Christopher Clark says:

Thanks to everyone for keeping this going. This page is getting a lot of traffic. I hope that all of the people who have stopped by so far and not shared will share sometime soon.

Bethany, I think you make up for the 90210 confession with your inclusion of MacGyver. At least I think so.

Greg, what kind of podcast are you thinking about starting up? My plan is to do a podcast for this site at some point, once things get rolling. Maybe you can get involved with that.

Mary Ann, I’m with you when it comes to music. If there’s anything that I sort of regret being really specific about on my list, it’s music. I love Nine Inch Nails, I really do. But I love soooo much music that it’s going to be hard to just focus on one band.

Bethany says:

Hmm, is there a way we can edit our entries? Because I clearly forgot Buffy. (Thank you to the person who reminded me by putting Joss on their list.) And no, this doesn’t mean I want to take 90210 off!

lori says:

how do you forget about joss?

just kidding…

Greg says:

Hmmm that’s my problem. I haven’t found my podcasting angle yet. Part of me wants to put together a show similar to Dawn and Drew’s although still try and make it uniquely mine. However this website is perfect fodder for a podcast. You could spend hours dissecting people’s top five. And of course we could have Geek Force Five rumbles where different top fives go head to head. No real way to determine a winner, but it would be fun listening none the less.

scott says:

1. baseball (any team I don’t care)
2. 80’s music
3. lizards
4. My 2 M’s (MA and Maggie)
5. movies

Garen Boghosian says:

1. Automobiles
2. The Who
3. Knight Rider (the original from 82-86)
4. Seinfeld
5. Advertising

Derek Jay Steen says:

7. Photography / Video Production
7. Technology
7. Life / Friendship
7. The Universe
7. iJustine

Jon Martin says:

It’s tricky, as I tend to be a bit of a free-range geek, but if I had to pick five things to talk (too much) about…

1. Music.  Be it My Website - Songs That Saved Your Life, going to gigs, little indie bands, or what have you. There’s nothing more important in my social life (that’s right - not even you).

2. Literature.  It’s what I do.  I tend to split my time between early-modern/late-medieval and the late twentieth century.  *shrug*

3. Sci-Fi TV shows.  Battlestar. Trek. Sarah Connor. Lost.  What can I say?  “I used to live in a basement.” - That’s what.

4. Philosophy / Literary Theory.  Life is better when you pick it to tiny pieces. (Much like Sci-Fi TV, I fear.)

5. The Red Sox.  What else can make you feel like a little kid every night of the week, and comes along with beer and peanuts?

E. Christopher Clark says:

bethany: no way to edit the entries currently, but your correction is duly noted. what would you knock off to put Buffy on the list?

greg: all good ideas. we’ll definitely have to talk when i get the podcast going.

scott: 80s music! absolutely. i have yet to find an 80s song that doesn’t have at least something minutely redeeming about it. 80s music rules, and anyone who thinks otherwise needs a stern talking to, and a mix CD/iTunes playlist made by me.

garen: favorite who song? i’m just curious.

and, lastly, djsteen: thanks for stopping by! i think you’re the first international visitor to one of my websites that wasn’t looking for pictures of lindsay lohan in comprising positions (my old site used to get 75% of its daily traffic from this one picture i posted of Lindsay Lohan vs. Allison Stokke, a pole vaulter who was getting all of the attention that she didn’t want, but that Lindsay seems to crave).

ahem, anyway, good choices djsteen. as i said over on viddler, it’s hard to avoid becoming obsessed with iJustine. who doesn’t love a girl who is literally the Internet.

everyone else: if you haven’t checked out djsteen’s work on Viddler, it’s a real treat.  i particularly recommend the MealToday where he cooked a 4-slice cheese sandwich and the one where he visits Pancakes on the Rocks.

E. Christopher Clark says:

Jon! We were typing comments at the same darned time. Good choices. How is Sarah Connor? I’ve been meaning to check it out, and I have no excuse not to, seeing as Apple/iTunes gave me a free copy of the first episode. I heard the kids at the comic book store talking about it being a bit uneven, but that was only after one episode.

Oh, and are you getting your Lost fix in a timely fashion over there in jolly old England, or are you having to wait?

everyone else: Songs That Saved Your Life is definitely worth checking out, as well. and i’m not just saying that because i’m a(n infrequent) contributor.

Bethany says:

I’d take “writing fiction” off my list and substitute Buffy. Fiction’s important, but, I mean… Buffy!

I gave up on Sarah Connor but then came back to it two weeks ago. Why? Brian Austin Green! That’s right, it all comes back to 90210, baby.

Mary Ann says:

Chris… without opening an entirely too large bag of worms, and risking ridicule from you and others as to my lack of knowledge when it comes to things “hip” (which would explain why I just used the word “hip") can you briefly explain the obsession with “Nine Inch Trent”???

Deb says:

1. Lost, I love this show and read up on theories and such…

2. Ghost Hunters- What’s better than plumbers turned ghost hunters?

3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Love the movie and even saw it on Broadway

4. Jason Varitek.

5. Arrested Development...R.I.P.

E. Christopher Clark says:

ah, where to start… i actually plan on doing a series of posts next week that will elaborate on my choices, but here is the (hopefully) short version.

my brother introduced Nine Inch Nails to me during a particularly difficult time in my high school life. both of my grandparents had recently been in the hospital (my grandfather was about to pass away), i was coming to realizations about mortality that i’m still trying to deal with years later, and i was angry. then, i saw their show at Woodstock 94 on pay per view (i was waiting for Metallica and Aerosmith to come on) and everything changed.

the show was an absolute mess—keyboards were failing on them, they were covered in mud—and the performance was more about the emotion of the songs than about musicality. and that didn’t bother me. that was where i was at emotionally, and i’d never encountered a band that spoke to me on such a deep level.

i think the other thing is, at their core, Nine Inch Nails songs are pop songs. and, as we all know, i am a pop bubblegum whore. trent reznor was in a number of new wave bands before recording the first NIN record, and the influence still shows. on the best songs, he’s doing things with noise and sound that i just have never heard before. but the songs almost always maintain basic pop/rock song structures underneath it all, which is part of what appeals to me.

okay, so that’s not exactly a short version, and i definitely need to do some work on it before i post next week, but that’s the gist of it.

E. Christopher Clark says:

deb, our comments must’ve passed each other on the information superhighway. i was typing at the same time you were, apparently.

i’m glad to see we’ve got a lot of lost fans here. hopefully, that’ll make the discussions on those posts really active.

also, i love that you chose varitek specifically and not just the red sox or baseball, in general. there’s a lot to love about our dear catcher, isn’t there?

Deb says:

Oh, captain, my captain...I love him; not only as a baseball player, but as a human being. He’s just a great guy!

garen says:

Chris, to answer your question, my favorite Who song of all time is “The Real Me” from Quadrophenia. In my opinion, it is a perfect song. There is just something about Entwistle’s powerful bass riffs and Moon’s driving drums which compliment Pete’s sporadic guitar so perfectly. Plus, the angry message about coming to terms with your own self is something I have related to on a personal level.

Toby says:

Mary Ann sent me your way....

1. My dog Rudy, everyone who knows me, knows Rudy, spoiled brat.
2. 90’s alternative music. I could recite every song on XM’s Lucy all day long.
3. Dirty Jobs.. Reminds me daily that it could be worse, I could be making poo pots for a living.
4. Sex and the City. Those girls have gotten me through a lot of hard times. We’ve bonded.
5. Sixteen Candles.. Viewed over 300 times and I know every line to the movie.

E. Christopher Clark says:

Garen: don’t think i’ve ever heard that one. i have to admit that i’ve never listened to Quadrophenia. my Who collection is limited to a couple of “Greatest Hits” or “Platinum Collection” type compilations.

Toby: thanks for stopping by! there’s a lot of great 90s alternative stuff, but more than a few stinkers. (but i guess that’s true with every era). do you have a favorite 90s-era band/artist?

Toby says:

Oh, I would have to say Alice in Chains. I plan on naming my son if I ever have one “Layne”. I have a lot of great memories tied to Alice. I also loved the one album wonder of Temple of the Dog. It was such an amazing compilation of who I thought were the kings of grunge. Makes me want to throw on a flannel shirt.

E. Christopher Clark says:

I’ve only ever heard the one big hit that Temple of the Dog had, but that one song is one of my all-time favorites. Those two voices together = amazing.

Jimmy says:

1. What is a peanut butter jelly sandwich--grape jelly or strawberry jam.

2. How come I am the only person who really gets my jokes?

3. How come if baldness comes from your mother’s side, why am I balding?

4. Why can’t I have flame power?

5. Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think? (Why does it need to be ironic and not unforunate?)

E. Christopher Clark says:

Interesting take on the question, Jimmy. Nobody else has answered with questions yet. Very cool.

Now, to give you my answers:

1. Grape jelly
2. Because you don’t hang out with me enough. I get ‘em!
3. Hmm… have to get back to you on this one. But, in the meantime, just keep thinking, “Bald is beautiful.”
4. Have you been to outer space and absorbed cosmic rays? Did your mutant power get wiped out when the Scarlet Witch said “No more mutants”? These are just two possible explanations.
5. It is so ironic that it’s almost like 10,000 spoons, when all you need is a knife.

Bethany says:

Who would have thought? It figgers.

Andrew says:

1. hunting - i.e. stories and advice.
2. current events - i.e. politics.
3. evolution - i.e. biology and math.
4. beer - i.e. drink.
5. a.i. - i.e. computational neuroscience.

That is five, but I’m not sure if it qualifies as geeky, or a force to be reckoned with.  My shorter list was:

1. Bears.
2. Beets.
3. Battlestar Galactica.

E. Christopher Clark says:

Hey, Andrew!

I think your list is plenty geeky, although I kinda wish that bears made it onto the main list (I guess a bear could represent your interest in hunting, if you were putting together a hallucinated covert action team like me… or, if it were a talking bear who was a master of six or seven martial arts, then it could represent evolution… uhm, I think I’m thinking too hard about this...)

Anyway, good list. Thanks for contributing!

Beth the Bassist says:

1. Red Sox
2. Mike Doughty
3. Beer
4. Northern Renaissance Art
5. The X-Files

Sara says:

1. Sex & the City
2. Lost
3. Annie Hall
4. In-N-Out Burger
5. Hendrick’s Gin

Perhaps more of a Fox Force Five?

E. Christopher Clark says:

laughing out loud at the Fox Force Five reference… thx for that, Sara.

I have only had In-N-Out twice in my life (and both times were in the same span of 48 hours), but the craving for those burgers lingers with me to this day. The closest I seem to be able to come to that goodness is at UBurger in Kenmore Square, though I hear Bartley’s over in Harvard Square is good.

Beth the Bassist: good choices! people who don’t love themselves some Mike Doughty don’t make any sense to me. you’ve got to appreciate the genius of Soul Coughing’s “Super Bon Bon,” if nothing else.

Jason says:

I know I’m a little late, but here I go:

1. Anything Apple: Macs, iPhone, iPod, iAnything
2. Houston Astros baseball!!
3. Indie Rock-styled music, especially groups like Radiohead, The Shins, Animal Collective, Apples in Stereo, Beck, Sufjan Stevens, etc.
4. Bowen’s Family Systems Theory (What can I say? I’m a Marriage and Family Therapist.)
5. Liberalism/ Progressive Christianity

ChrisClark says:

Hey Jason,

Thanks for stopping by. Coupla questions for you:

1. How are the ‘stros looking this year?
2. Favorite Radiohead song? Album? I’m only a casual fan, but I’m still curious.
3. Progressive Christianity, huh? Well, you’ve piqued this atheist/agnostic’s interest. What exactly does that entail?

Ethical Slut says:

Gambit
Gambit
Gambit
Gambit
Gambit

The world now knows that I am a loser.

Jason Martin says:

1. Stros look better than the last couple of years, butthere are still many question marks. They invested a lot in offense, most of which will probably pay off, but none of their investments are a sure thing. the biggest question is in the rotation. After Roy, the best coming in appear to be Wandy rodriguez and Brandon Backe. Backe has the potential to provide an excellent #2 to complement Oswalt, but he is coming off Tommy John surgery a year and a half ago, and we don’t know what he’ll be this year. Rodriguez has shown flashes of brilliance, but he’s also shown the ability to get lit up, espcially on the road. If he can find a way to translate his home success to the road, then he will be a real threat. That’s basically the short answer.

2. Favorite Radiohead song: Tough call, but I might go with Pyramid Song, but Paranoid Android and Everything in Its Right Place are up there. Favorite album: Another tough call. for years it was Kid A, but In Rainbows is so good, that it might overtake Kid A as my favorite.

3. The conservative Religious Right have hijacked the religious discourse in American politics, and given Christianity a VERY bad name. Jesus was a liberal in every sense of the word. If you read the Gospels (i.e. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), the theme is entirely loving other (even your enemies) and forcing that love to supercede legalism and “the rules”. That’s progressive Christianity. To find out more, google it.

Andy says:

1) Politics

2) Doctor Who

3) Music - NIN, Arcade Fire, Dresden Dolls, Smashing Pumpkins, The Cure, Joy Division, etc.

4) 80’s-early ‘90s computer games.  The other day, I found Dune II: The Battle for Arrakis, and I nearly wet myself with glee.

5) Beers.

ChrisClark says:

Thanks, Jason, for that explanation (and for everything else in your comment). Very cool.

Andy!!! Hey, whazzup? You totally need to explain Dr. Who to me sometime. I don’t think we’ve ever talked about it, in all of the times we’ve hung out.