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Lost finally has ended. After many years of wondering, fans of the show finally have all of their questions answered…or not. Anyway, it didn’t take long for Lost addicts to come out and eagerly defend or blast the finale. Some of these people seemed crazier than the folks on the island. In honor of those people, Jeremy Crittenden and I have put together a list: Signs You’re Too Addicted to Lost:

(Warning: Spoilers present)

- You change your phone number to (481) 516-2342

- When you see actors from Lost five years from now movies, you still call them by their Lost names

- You call Child Services to make sure Ji Yeon is taken care of

- You actually know who Ji Yeon is

- You cried harder during the final scene than at your grandmother’s funeral

- You’re not at work today because you’re too depressed to leave the house

- You claim to actually understand the show

- You look like Hurley, unintentionally, but now you embrace it

- You ask all Koreans if they know Sun and Jin

- Your ringtone is “You All Everybody”

- When you hear a train you hide in fear it’s the Smoke Monster

- One of your theories involved Richard having a long lost son, Adam Lambert

- You pray for a spin-off comedy about Hurley and Ben’s wacky adventures as Island caretakers but you’d even settle for a show about Nikki and Paulo

- You were actually disappointed when Michael shot Ana Lucia

- You started watching Fringe in hopes that J.J. Abrams would do a time warp crossover

- You replicated the four-toed statue in your backyard out of chicken wire and paper mache

- You won’t shut up about Walt [Guilty!]

- You call every female convict “Freckles”

- You find Hurley attractive

- You became a commercial airline pilot just so you could freak people out saying, “This is Captain Frank Lapidus speaking, welcome to Oceanic Flight 815″

- You felt robbed when you found out Daniel Dae Kim could actually speak English all along

- Before putting away your groceries, you paste Dharma labels over all the can goods

- You have no idea Nestor Carbonell (Richard Alpert) was in The Dark Knight

- You haven’t cried this much since Zack and Kelly’s wedding

- When a promotion comes up and your boss tells you you’re a “candidate” you kill the competition and mark their names off your office wall

- You sleep in a khaki jumpsuit in between Vulcan sheets

- You started a Sawyer’s Book Club in you neighborhood

- You actually waste half a day sitting on Facebook creating a list about Lost addiction

- You can’t wait to re-enact the finale with your cats

- You develop an attraction for all escaped convicts guilty of murder

- You called your airport to see when Lapidus’ plane was arriving

- You accuse William Shakespeare of thievary for using the name Juilet

- You try to summon the Smoke Monster when someone speaks badly of the finale

- Every time you see a Virgin Mary statue you smash it thinking there may be heroin inside

- You call your friends Boss, Doc, Chief, Mr. Miyagi, Lardo, Staypuff, Deep Dish, Jungle Boy, French Chick, Sweetcheeks, Puddin’, Shortcake, the Hero, Cowboy, Mr. Clean, Moonbeam, Freckles, Jumbo Tron, and Chachi

- Instead of a Bible, you carry a large stick engraved with Scripture to church

- You’re convinced the Man in Black also won the 1st season of Survivor

- You still sport a jheri curl hairdo with mutton chops just in case time travel does exist

- You think the Lord of the Rings trilogy is just Charlie’s flashback

- You tattooed Not Penny’s Boat on your hand

- Every time you and your roommates have an argument you boldly remind them “If we can’t live together, then we’re going to die alone”

This post might offend some people. If it does, just try to hear me out before you get angry and vow to never read my blog again. I have this theory that there are a lot of things that are popular in this culture simply because we think we’re supposed to like those things. For instance, when I was in high school, some friends and I made up a fake band and started raving about them to some of our other friends. Within a short time, some of our oblivious friends were raving about how awesome that band was. They even claimed to have all their albums and songs. Unfortunately, that band was made up. They simply liked them because some of their friends did.

Just because something makes this list does not mean that you’re a poser and only like it because your friends do. In fact, most things in life are “liked” because of a chain reaction. I truly believe that there are genuine fans of these shows, movies, products, etc. The following list (in no particular order) contains things that I think our society has overrated, simply because people think they’re supposed to like those things.

1. Coldplay
And here come the hateful comments. I do think a lot of people like Coldplay for their music. However, I think a lot of people buy into Coldplay because “everyone” thinks Coldplay is “cool” and let’s face it, we all want to be cool.

2. Dane Cook
He’s not funny! But somewhere along the way, someone really popular said he liked Dane Cook. And the snowball effect has taken place.

3. Lost
Too soon? I will admit that I’m a fan of Lost. However, sometimes I think Lost gets overhyped because people think they are supposed to be obsessed with it. It’s a great show…but some go just a little bit overboard with it.

4. The New York Yankees
You either love them or hate them…and a lot of people that love them came to love them by jumping on the bandwagon. They’ve almost become more of a fashion accessory than a baseball team. If you see someone wearing a flat-billed cap turned sideways, chances are it’s a Yankees hat.

5. Avatar
It was in 3D. It featured blue people. But is it really a “great” movie? Is it Golden Globe worthy? Academy Award worthy? I think the media made a lot of us buy into this one.

6. Lady Gaga
People call her a freak, yet her music sells. Someone must be buying it. I guess she could be the very opposite of this last and everyone buying her music is a closet fan afraid to admit it.

7. The North Carolina Tar Heels
This one is tough to put on here because I’d like to think of myself as one of the biggest Tar Heel fans on the planet. (I even came home from the hospital wrapped in a Tar Heel blanket when I was born.) However, much like the Yankees, the Heels have become a bandwagon-ridden team. This is mostly in part to Michael Jordan. Nonetheless, there’s a lot of Heels fans out there who are Heels fans simply because they want to fit in with their peers and culture.

8. Kim Kardashian
I’m pretty sure she’s only popular for being popular. Yet Kim, as well as any other “reality-TV” celeb on the E! channel have become overnight sensations. Their shows and stories are pitiful, materialistic, and vain, yet their popular keeps growing. Do we really like this people, or do we simply like them because our friends like them?

9. Hot Wings
This probably applies to guys more than anyone. Wings are a “guy’s” food. And to be honest, they’re good. But there’s a level of pride in guys that says they have to eat the hottest wings possible to keep their standing as “one of the guys.” Anything mild makes them a wuss. So even though they’re mouth is on fire, they’ll swallow their pride (literally) and pretend like everything is fine.

10. Rap music
A lot of people truly enjoy rap music. But a lot of people only listen to it because their friends are listening to it. You know who I’m talking about too. They’re very easy to spot.

11. Alcohol
If none of your friends drank alcohol, would you? Even more, if all of your friends thought alcohol was disgusting and detestable, would you touch it? Probably not. You’d have no need to.

12. The Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is much more than a game these days. It’s 2 weeks of media coverage, and a 3 hour social gathering for most people. There’s nothing wrong with that. In fact, it’s fun for people to get together for the game, even if they care nothing about the game. But since a lot of people show interest in it just to blend in with the crowd, it makes this list.

13. MMA
UFC has a huge following, as well as the rest of MMA. It’s a sport that’s on the rise. But in a sport that’s becoming so popular, you know there has to be a large chunk of the audience that only watch because it’s the “cool” and “manly” thing to do. Also, wearing Tapout and Affliction t-shirts fits in here too.

14. Abercrombie & Fitch
Why do people buy overpriced clothing? Because they’re friends are buying overpriced clothing and because the media says that is what we need to wear to be cool.

15. Dave Matthews Band
See Coldplay

16. American Idol
For many of us, we watch because our friends and co-workers watch. After all, we don’t want to be left without a word during the talk around the water cooler.

17. Political Activism
Whether it’s a fight for social justice or politics, a lot of people take a side they know nothing about and march, protest, complain, etc because that’s what everyone else is doing. This really seems to spring up around election time. If you really want to see it in action, wait until October 2012. Whether people love Obama or hate Obama, they will be out in full force…with absolute ignorance as their guide. Any guesses on how many of those people actually read the newspaper or watch Fox News and/or CNN regularly?

18. President Barack Obama
I’m not bashing or endorsing the president here. However, in many circles, it’s fairly obvious that people make up their opinions about the president based on the opinions of their friends or others in their “social group.” Very few people actually know how to think politically for themselves. Instead, they either hate or love the president based on what they think they are supposed to do to be accepted in certain circles.

19. Twilight
Need I say more?

20. Michael Jackson
It’s sad that Michael Jackson died at an early age. It’s amazing how many people became fans after he died. Some people just couldn’t stand to fall behind a trend.

Thanks for those that contributed. I want to give you credit, but I don’t want to put your name down if you wished to remain anonymous. So, feel free to claim your submission. If there’s anything to add, feel free. If you disagree, I would love to hear about it.

Warning: This post contains spoilers for those who are not up to date on Lost.

Lost has started to bore me. It’s true. My interest just really isn’t perked like it has been in previous seasons. Yes, I know some of the castaways are off the island. Yes, I know some questions have been answered. But like I said, I’m bored!

 Like many of you, I have been an avid fan of Lost. After missing the first 2 seasons on TV because of college, I quickly caught up through the DVDs and iTunes. In fact, I watched half of Season 2 and all of Season 3 in about 9 days so I could be ready when Season 4 premiered. I loved it!

Unfortunately, Season 5 just seems to be missing it, much the same way the beginning of Season 3 lost its momentum, until later redeeming itself. Here’s how I look at it: Season 1 was spectacular. One of the greatest seasons of any TV show in history. There were mysteries, plot twists, main characters getting killed off, suspense, etc. Season 2 was much the same. Season 3, although starting rough, later redeemed itself. Season 4 seemed to start the downhill turn. At the time, I blamed it on the writer’s strike, and I still think that played a large part of it. Nonetheless, the end of Season 4 was pretty spectacular.

Now here we are in Season 5. I was told Season 3 was a bit boring because the writers didn’t know where they were going with the show. Apparently, since they know how and when it’s going to end, things are supposed to be better. Unfortunately, I’m just not seeing it. Although the writers seem to know how things will end, they seem to be having trouble figuring out how to fill time to get there.

It reminds me a lot of “proofs” we had to do in Geometry (which I was awful at!). We were given the beginning of the proof, and the ending statement of the proof, and we had to find out how to get to that final statement. Since I was horrible at Geometry, I just had to make up some stuff and hope it sufficed for an answer. Sometimes it did, sometimes it didn’t.

I see the same thing happening on Lost. We have a beginning; we have an end. Unfortunately the middle seems to be a bit jumbled. 

Part of this could be due to poor choices in characterization and plot lines. Even though it was shocking, did we really need to lose Ecko, Charlie, and Michael. Not to mention, is Walt still in the picture? The show has also added many new characters since the first season. While I haven’t always minded this (Bernard and Rose and Desmond have been great additions), in some ways it seems a little overdone and takes the central focus off the main characters. By introducing these characters so late into a series, the writers are taking major risks of an audience not jumping on board with the whole idea. For example, I think Farraday plays a great character, but I don’t know if he was strong enough to carry an entire episode on his own.

I’ve also had to shake my head at all the unanswered questions and mysteries. With the first few seasons, this was one of the most intriguing aspects of the show. However, 5 seasons in, we seem to have very few answers and a million more questions. The writers have promised to answer the major questions, but can they really answer them all? If so, can they do it in a way we’ll care? I can’t even remember most of the questions I had in Season 1 because they were never answered or addressed again. Here’s a few that come to my that I still remember:

- What was with the polar bear?
- Does Walt have special powers?
- What was with the 4-toed statue?
- What is the black mist thing?
- Why did Boone die or have to die?
- Who are the “others?” Seriously! 
- Why is Jack’s dad “Jacob?”
- Who is Mr. Abaddon?
- What is the significance of the sequence of numbers all over the first 2 seasons of the show? 

Those are just a few of the questions that were posed at the beginning of the series that are still unanswered. There are hundreds more. I assume some will be answered, but there’s no way they can all be answered. I wonder if the writers created too many mysteries and questions and now they’re stuck in a place where they can’t answer them all.

The time travel thing also makes me shake my head. Anytime there is a problem or trouble, the flash of light conveiniently appears and sends everyone out of harm’s way. When I first heard about the time travel plot, I was okay with it because I thought it was only going to happen once. Three times an episode is a little much for me. Yes, they always find out something new…but it seems more like an episode filler than anything else.

Yes, I know you probably think I’ve bashed Lost to a pulp and I know I’ve offended many. The truth is, it is still one of my favorite shows and I will continue to watch it. I’ve taken this same approach to many other shows, such as 24, when plot lines seemed to go down the toilet.

Feel free to voice your opinion. Just don’t hate me for expressing mine. I’m not a homer and I’m not going to defend the show to the death because other people like it or cause it was once incredible.

My co-worker, Derek Lewis, tells me the writers say things should start looking up and less sci-fi in the next few episodes. I’ll hold out hope and keep watching. I know you’ll do the same.

Btw…give Vincent more airtime!