The 10 BEST or X # of the BEST seems to be extremely popular for bloggers and other folks, too. For example, I recently overheard a couple of moms at Homegrown on Merrimon Ave. ranking the BEST places for childrens’ entertainment. How about the non-profit mailer reciting the 12 BEST reasons to donate? Or, a recent robust chat about the BEST local bakeries – City Bakery vs Geraldine's vs Short Street Cakes. ( I volunteer to do the taste testing.) Anyway, realizing this is not a mind-alerting issue in and of itself, these rankings do lead me to wonder: Is BEST always BETTER? And whose opinion is it? If I am going to do, buy, go, or anything whatever because it is ranked the BEST is that always my BEST bet, if so sez who and why? Consider this, you say Mela is the BEST Indian food, but I prefer the communal atmosphere of Chai Pani. So the BEST Indian food for me is, in part, determined by the environment. When you tell me it’s the BEST movie you have seen this year, was it an independent film shown at The Grail Moviehouse or a box office sensation at the iconic Fine Arts Theatre? In both cases we relied on the selection criteria of our local film purveyors (who I think are “the BEST”) . Where’s the BEST place to shop? The first question to ask is, what do you want to buy? If it's wine, Trader Joe's may be BEST, or if you want to buy soft drinks, Harris Teeter has great "Buy two, get three free" offers. BEST, then, may be determined by what you want to do combined with retailers’ positions in the marketplace. My point is this: If you look only to others to give you their subjective opinion of BEST to establish your criteria, you are abdicating your own personal desires, needs, and preferences. AVL is rampant with choices! Establish your own criteria and determine what outside factors will be important to you to guide your considerations. Case in point: On an evening out, there are bound to be several attractions of interest. Deciding is a dilemma, but don’t stress out… determine which outside criterion will you weigh: ticket price, hassle of getting there, uniqueness of the event, or whatever! Most of us have a "No Go" Button based on external criteria that may override our subjective preferences. Knowing what is BEST for you makes things easier, more pleasant, and less stressful. This doesn’t preclude you seeing for yourself why something is rated the BEST—but then YOU rate it according to YOU. In fairness, I need to cite a reason to consult BEST lists. Wanna try something new for a change? Check in to a reviewing or ranking system, to locate top rated subjects. For example, Trip Advisor ranks restaurants, and perhaps I wanted to try a new cuisine. They ranked The Korean House on College St as # 136 (out of 809 restaurants) not bad! Food excellent—and check out their lunch buffet! A favorite quote of mine is “Only Connect” (E. M. Forster). Our town offers a mosaic of connections to people, places and things for you to explore, to expand into, and to experience. Cultivating new “pods of people” can only make you Better to be your BEST. Sez YOU! It is all about connecting dots – yours to others! So sez me this is BEST for you cuz I’ve lived here for 12 years & I am probably older than you! (not that it should matter)