Alright, guys and gals, it’s time to fess up about those past relationships.  That guy you led on just to get with his hunky friend, that girl you dumped by texting, “iz not u, iz me,” those feuding supermodel twins you juggled over the summer – you’ve been a baddie.

But raise your head high once more, for one man has stepped forward and made your relationship failings a mere speck in comparison, and proven himself to be (among other things) a good ol’ fashioned jerkface – Jason Mesnick, better known as the latest bachelor from the show of the same name.

Never before has one bachelor caused such outrage that morning radio shows like KROQ’s Kevin and Bean take notice or the morning news has continued coverage (yes, you read that right) on the subject, like KSWB (San Diego’s version of KTLA) did this morning.

Feel like you’ve missed the boat?  Here’s how Mesnick went from having the nation pour their hearts out to him, to wanting nothing to do with him.

Mesnick was one of two finalists on the latest season of The Bachelorette.  He lost to a guy that I can best describe as Joey Gladstone from Full House with the ability to snowboard.  Viewers around the nation were floored.  Mesnick was good-looking, successful, and sweet – the “perfect” guy!

But Mesnick got a second chance to find love as the new Bachelor.  Of the finalists, Molly and Melissa, he chose the latter, and they lived happily ever after…

…except not really.

Here’s where the fairytale ends and the drama begins.  The Bachelor season usually ends with a show called After the Final Rose, when the happy couple comments on what happened during the season and what their plans are for the future.  Not so with this season.  Instead, the show was taped on a closed set, and in the first few moments, Mesnick revealed some details that should have probably been discussed with his fiancé first and a national television audience second.  Among them, that he couldn’t stop thinking about Molly and his desire to end his current relationship.  And shortly after, he did just that.  He brought Melissa out onstage, told her it just wasn’t working out, and pointed her towards the limo waiting to take her away.  Yep, we’re talkin’ real charmer here.

And after replacing Melissa with Molly, and mumbling a few appeals to viewers – something to the effect of “the most important thing is that we followed our hearts,” that was that.

Typical viewers were shocked, but for spoiler seekers, this was old news.  For the past few weeks, different Bachelor blogs have predicted this exact outcome, relying on sources “working closely” with the show.  They firmly believe this was planned from the beginning.

It’s common knowledge that the majority of the “relationships” on these shows lack any real depth.  Most of the resulting couples stay together for a few months, then split.  There’s not much draw to watch a show that doesn’t produce the results it purports.  So, conspiracy theorists say, ABC did what most failing shows do – it added some seriously ridiculous drama.

According to popular conspiracy theories, Mesnick, Melissa, and Molly knew about the on-air dumping in advance.  The story goes that Mesnick fell out of “love” with Melissa and yearned for Molly.  To get her back, he was “forced” to dump Melissa on television… and he agreed to it.  During an interview last night on Jimmy Kimmel, he strongly hinted at this “agreement.”

But ABC’s amazing plans may have severely backfired.  Instead of viewers sympathizing with Mesnick, they’ve turned completely against him.  Comments like “I wish I could marry him!” are now being replaced on fansites by a plethora of not-so-nice ones, calling Mesnick everything from “scumbag” to “f*cking a**hole.”  A nation of women scorned by association – now that’s a scary thing.

Of course viewers realize that Bachelor is a reality show first and foremost, but really… low is still low.  But is this the new “reality” for reality TV?  At this rate, soap operas are going to have to spice things up a little.

I bet “Octomom’s” feeling pretty good right now.  Considering today’s response, she’s definitely had some of the heat taken off.

There is a question that everyone must face at some point in life.  A question so bold, it can turn brother against brother, mother against daughter, and friend against friend.  A question that asks the world to look within and define the very essence of “taste” …

…usually in the form of some silly online survey.

Oh yes, I can only mean that dreaded question, “Which is better?  Coke or Pepsi?”

If you’re anything like me, you really don’t care.  While your server is eyeing you with slight apprehension, wondering if you’re one of those people who will erupt at the question, “We have Pepsi, is that okay?” you’re thinking, Eh, same difference.  But although the taste of each of these carbonated concoctions is pretty darn similar, only one appeals to both my taste buds and my love of games – Coca Cola.

Forget buying the planet a Coke and some singing lessons, Coca Cola’s recent commercials transform video game worlds and players with just one sip.

The first game-infused Coke commercial I ever saw was a Japanese Final Fantasy IX/Coca Cola commercial I stumbled upon on a Final Fantasy fansite years ago.  My first reaction was, “HOLY CRAP, THIS IS AWESOME!” and my second was a feeling of insane jealousy over Japan’s superior commercials.  This commercial goes beyond well-loved characters making a cameo appearance.  It’s a meshing of IX’s world and the Coca Cola world.  If you look closely, you’ll notice the kingdom’s inhabitants gaining some pretty snazzy Coke armor, and if you’ve played the game, you’ll recognize a remixed version of Melodies of Life playing at the beginning, before fading into the Coke jingle.  It’s been a few years since I first saw this commercial, and it still causes just as much fangirling in my head.

Coca Cola has also teamed up with World of Warcraft to produce this Chinese commercial.  It’s definitely not the first time the whole “drink this, become powerful and awesome” or “sleazy guy wants more skin” angles have been taken, but it’s no less amusing to watch.  The CG work is really beautiful, as is the battle choreography.  I think I’d rather have something like this than some of the recent U.S. WoW commercials.  Who cares what character William Shatner plays!?

In recent years, the U.S. started to get its own game-inspired Coke commercials.  One of the most entertaining and bizarre came out in 2006 and featured the world of Grand Theft Auto getting turned upside down by the power of a Coke.  I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a big GTA fan, but this commercial is so cleverly done, I love watching it all the same.  I don’t think the future renditions of GTA will include choreographed street musical extravaganzas, but if they did, I’m sure they’d be just as awesome.

The most recent American gaming-meets-Coke commercial debuted in time for the 2009 Super Bowl.  Instead of focusing on one title, Coca Cola chose to focus on game and forum avatars, depicting generic forms of super heroes, catgirls, and “super deformed” characters, as well as hinting at some popular games.  About three seconds into the commercial, look closely at the girl crossing the street in the lower left corner.  She appears to have something hovering over her head, just like someone from The Sims.  About 25 seconds in, a Donkey Kong look-alike appears in the background.  In the final scene, the camera breezes past a character that strongly resembles a certain EverQuest girl and the last “avatar” looks like she came right out of WoW.  This commercial shows the wide range of users, young and old, that are present today, which I absolutely love.  Has Pepsi ever shown the world the secret game and internet goings-on of your fellow townspeople!?  I think not!

So next time you’re plagued by one of those silly surveys and are bored enough to fill it out, just remember, Pepsi may have had Michael Jackson back when he still resembled a man, and they may tout that they’re the “young” choice, but Coke has some the most well done gaming commercials around.

Came for the Vanilla Coke, stayed for the commercials made of pure win.

Over a decade ago, the nerds of network TV came in one flavor – awkward.  They followed the same carbon copy format of ill-fitting retro clothing, large glasses, a difficulty socializing with non-nerds, and in some cases, a disturbing love of cheese.  As loveable as characters like Family Matters’ “Steve Urkel” or Boy Meets World’s “Minkus” were, they were hard to relate to.  On September 24^th, 2007, all that changed.

CBS introduced a new take on the classic nerd with The Big Bang Theory, a sitcom surrounding two nerdy roommates, their two nerdy friends, and the hot non-nerd girl down the hall.  If this show was produced years ago, it’d be pretty easy to guess the weekly formula – nerdy guys pine over hot girl, attempt to woo her with science, “geeky” fandoms, or large quantities of cheese, and ultimately fail in a “golly gee, that’s okay” way.  But Big Bang tosses the clichés out the window and instead presents viewers with different variations to their nerd herd.  And best of all, they’re believable.

From mild mannered Leonard, obsessive compulsive Sheldon, aspiring ladies man Howard, shy-until-drunk Koothrappali to waiting-to-be-discovered-waitress, Penny, Big Bang has a cast of characters that are easy to identify with.  What’s most refreshing is that each of these characters is completely comfortable in his own skin.  This isn’t a nerd-turned-sexy-knockout kind of show.  These characters enjoy marching to their own nerdy beat.

Gamers will enjoy references to Halo and World of Warcraft, but will also be surprised at the attention to detail, like touching on selling in game equipment on auction sites – something the inexperienced MMO gamer might not have thought existed.  One of my favorite gaming scenes is when Penny tries her hand at Halo and proves to be a capable adversary.  Unfortunately, the idea that games like Halo are too difficult for most girls – especially the typical “girly girl” – is still very commonplace.  That’s why scenes like this give the show +50 likeability in my book.  And with references to Star Wars, Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, classic comic book characters, and more, there’s something for everyone.

Still unconvinced?  Watch this…

But even more than the nerdy references, the real appeal of the show is the characters themselves.  They mesh together so well, that after a few episodes, they start to feel like old friends.  Years ago, viewers could expect to see groups of nerdy guys in a school’s math or science club, with the main character wondering what they did to deserve such a fate.  On Big Bang the five friends band together for a variety of causes – from trying to help Koothrappali get over his phobia of talking to women to an intervention for Sheldon when the idea of luminous fish becomes more important than his job.  There’s truly never a dull moment.  And Big Bang is user-friendly.  The episodes don’t have to be viewed in order, and the humor can easily be grasped, no knowledge of Star Trek or physics required.

The Big Bang Theory can be seen Monday nights at 8:00 PM on CBS.  Get clips, cast info and more at http://www.cbs.com/primetime/big_bang_theory/

Want to see it from the beginning?  The complete first season of Big Bang is now available.

Get your nerdy fix before Heroes or 24, and prepare to be hooked.