Very, very simple answer: the internet.

Why? Can you imagine writing e-mails by hand, scribbling out your resume and cover letters, taking up the phone line instead of using MSN or (for the college/university students) registering and paying for your courses in person? The internet brings PC Games like Starcraft, Counter-Strike, The Sims; online pool, monopoly, checkers, chess, etc.

And how can we forget the online English papers/discussions that are all over the internet? Remember trying to read Shakespeare and being asked what the theme was? Without the internet, it would take you days to figure out! Now, with Google or Yahoo, just type in “Themes for Hamlet” and away you go. Those boring English essays became easier and for some, copying a few sentences (or paragraphs) from online papers gave you a better grade. Too lazy to read the entire book? The internet has sites with summaries, themes, symbolism, major characters, etc. Don’t know which cell phone to buy? Read the online reviews. No clue how to get to a desination? MapQuest. Wondering what celebrities are currently doing? There are tons of celebrity gossip blogs all over the internet. Looking for someone special? MySpace. Don’t want to shop at the mall? eBay. Want to waste your time watching Mentos being added to Diet Coke? YouTube.

Missed an episode of your favorite show? No problem, the internet has recaps. Missed an episode of your favorite show? No problem, just download it.

Lastly, there are some college/university students who don’t pay attention in class, bring their laptop and watch p-o-r-n. Yes, I know there are some of you out there that do that.

i went, moshed, almost got killed, sweated, and was completely absorbed in the beauty of music. to be precise, i went to a MUSE concert.
besides the kick ass music and the sheer surrealism of being so close to the people who made music which blew my mind, the atmosphere, the vivacity, the crazy people who were also in a MUSE trance, honestly that was the best, friggin fantastic thing to have ever happened to me.

and dammit i wanna do it again!

That is the best thing ever, ever.

Waking up in the morning and putting on a pair of pants you haven’t worn in a long time and finding 5 dollars in the pocket. Not only is this fantastic because you just found money but it happened first thing in the morning so it puts you in that excelent mood all day long.

Well, in case you didn’t know, the world wasn’t created by the Big Bang.

In all actuality, the most Fantastic being of all, Fantastic Guy, was hanging out in his briefs one day, relaxing after several days of pretty tough work in his laboratory genetically re-engineering some nothing into plants and animals and stuff, when he thought, “Eh, I’m bored.”

He looked around in the dim twilight, and wondered aloud, “It’s kinda dark here, I can’t see anything at all.”

And there was a light. In his closet. He went in and fumbled through a few t-shirts with slogans like: “Meat: It sticks to yer Ribs”, “Got Fig Leaves?” and “Good and Evil - Who knew it grew on trees”. Finally, he settled on one of those lame logo shirts hawking some tired old name brand with the slogan “Light of the World”.

That gave Fantastic Guy an most Fantastic idea.

And the rest is history.

Yes I said getting mugged. It really opened my eyes and my life is so much better and different now.

I’d have to say t-shirts. What would you do without them? I can think of quite a few people who I certainly don’t want to see shirtless, so it aids in that sense. And they can be funny, so that’s always good. They are also very very comfortable, which is possibly the biggest perk for me; it’s rare that you’d see me in any torso-wear besides a t-shirt.

you know what else is pretty amazing? free t-shirts on my birthday!! thanks joe!!

To me:
I got a ride from The Dude last summer. Not the actor that played The Dude, the actual Dude. I had to hitch hike on the lost coast in California from Pertolia to Black Sands which is a 2 hour drive over the King Range on dirt roads that are too unstable to pave. He was going somewhere else but decided to change his plans and help me out. Within 10 minutes he was telling me about how his entire live earnings came from growing and selling pot. He had a cool dog and was stopped a couple times when he gave me something to drink and showed me around the mountains. Towards the end of the drive he was asking me about the trip I was leading and how I was in charge of teenagers and had to be responsible and in the right frame of mind. So we decided to forgo the joint but he gave me his contact info so now I have an open invitation to go smoke with The Dude. That was pretty fantastic.

To the universe:
The Big Bang. Hands down. Whatever you can think of, it wasnt as fantastic as the Big Bang. Also anything you can think of was a direct result of the Big Bang happening so it still wins.