Discuss Theology

The Lycos 50 Daily Report with Dean

Poker is 2005′s #1 Online Fad…Again
December 5, 2005

One of the coolest aspects of The Lycos 50 is the ability to have a window into the pop culture fads that pulse in and out of our lives. For the second year in a row, Poker takes the number one spot as the most popular fad of 2005. Last year poker fever swept the nation and opened the doors of commercialization, profiting from sales of poker chips, books and gaggle of celebrity championships TV shows. However, this fad may be reaching overload with the upcoming poker-themed movie Lucky You, staring Drew Barrymore. Sorry, we’re gonna have to fold.

Happily this year we say goodbye to the diet fads of Atkins and South Beach. They are replaced by more practical fads like free credit reports and freecycle.org. The renewed interest in free credit reports is due to the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act, which entitles every person in America to a free credit report each year. The credit report is one of your best weapons against identity theft. The reason the report is so important is because it is one of the only ways to learn if your identity has been stolen. If you lose your wallet or someone steals it, you may see the counterfeit charges appear on your monthly credit card statement, but you will never know if this crook has stolen your identity by applying for new charge accounts in your name. That’s because the thief will have the statements mailed to a different address or even PO Box. You might not find out until you apply for a mortgage or loan and get turned down for a bad credit rating. There is only one site where you can get a free credit report: AnnualCreditReport.com

The searches for RateYourProfessor.com have moved to the head of the class. The site is supposed to be a resource for students to visit and rate their instructors. All categories are based on a 5-point rating system, with 5 being the top. The categories include Helpfulness, Clarity, Easiness and a just-for-fun category “Hot or Not.”

The latest music causing a sweaty revolution in the dance clubs and burning up iPods is called Reggaeton. If you’ve been to a hip-grinding dance club lately, you must have heard the sounds of reggaeton. Reggaeton has its origins in the tough streets of 1980′s Panama, and flourished in the dance clubs of Puerto Rico during the 90s. And if Lycos searches are any indication, these sexy, ethnic, rap, dance music grooves are about to explode here in America.

Reggaeton believers feel this is more of a movement than a style of music. The beats, raps and drums speak of urban life for many in the Latin community. But what makes Reggaeton cross cultural barriers is its mix of reggae, salsa, meringue, hip-hop and rap. While the Hispanic population continues to grow three times as fast as the U.S. population on a whole, this unique sound is becoming the anthem for pan-Latin, pan-American youth.

The old adage, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, is evident at Freecycle.org. Searches for this progressive network, which promotes recycling, shot up 184 percent this week. What, you haven’t heard about Freecycle? Put your favorite ‘tree-hugging’ hat on and check out how these folks are making a difference in the world.

Flash back to early 2003, when Deron Beal, a recycling junkie, returned to the U.S. after living eight years in recycling-forward Germany. Beal was so overwhelmed by the amount of perfectly good items being thrown away, that he set up a nonprofit web organization called Freecycle, in order to connect people with items that would have otherwise been thrown away. This simple idea of ‘changing the world one gift at a time’ has evolved into a movement. Freecycle, which has more than 1.3 million members worldwide, is now talking about creating a worldwide gift economy. Imagine eBay without the exchange of money.

Don’t worry. I’m not going to get all touchy-feely here, but his approach of giving away something you’d likely otherwise throw away has made a difference. Each day, these folks keep 55 tons of solid waste out of land fills.

The only rule on Freecycle is that you can’t offer or request stuff that might alarm the community like guns, porn or fireworks. Some of the more interesting requests, however, vary from time machine parts, to half-used paint cans. If you have something that still works but you have no need for, check out Freecycle.org.

Speaking of things that have outlived their usefulness…fads that were hot in 2004 but not in 2005: Reality Shows, Atkins and South Beach Diets.

Here are the Top 15 fads for 2005:

1. Poker
2. iPod
3. RuneScape
4. Blackjack
5. Free Credit Report
6. Yoga
7. Rate Your Professor
8. Texas Hold ‘Em
9. Freecycle
10. Crochet
11. Scrapbooking
12. Kingdom Hearts II
13. Roulette
14. Reggaeton
15. Baccarat