I started to think about something the other day when I posted something about “Jersey Shore,” aka the greatest television show ever created. I have enjoyed watching The Situation so much, I decided he ranked among the top five people I wanted to have a beer with.

I remember a guy I went to college with telling me that he couldn’t really trust a guy until he sat and had a beer with them. I tend to agree. Even if you don’t drink, the casual attitude at a bar really lets you learn a lot about a person. Plus, a beer takes somewhere between 20 and 40 minutes to drink at a casual pace, so that’s plenty of time to get to have a substantive conversation with someone you find interesting.

The only problem with that declaration was that I don’t recall ever considering what four other people would make the list (inspired by a great storyline on “Friends”). That changes right now. Without further ado, my top five in no particular order:

1. The Situation, formally known as Mike Sorrentino. He has burst onto the scene with his bravado and humor from “Jersey Shore. He has blown me away with appearances an appearance on The Tonight Show and a Funny or Die video which slayed me.
2. Peter Buck, guitarist for R.E.M. He was the driving force in the rock return of Accelerate,the band’s most recent album. He plays in several other groups, including The Baseball Project, and is a total music geek. To top it off, the humor and insight of the liner notes he sometimes contributes to the band’s projects would provide for lots of conversation.
3. Bill Lawrence, creator of “”Scrubs.” My man crush on the man behind one of my favorite TV shows is well known. We almost went to college together. I could have been his right-hand man. Plus, he provides the most refreshing interviews I have ever read. Easily a two-beer conversation.
4. Jason Segal, “How I Met Your Mother” and Judd Apatow movies. He just seems cool.
5. Rhett Miller, singer, guitarist from the Old 97s. Ever since I saw him play earlier this year, I have had a slight obsession with the band’s music. A writer and terrific performer, I would love to swap stories with a guy who wrote a line “My name is Stuart Ransom Miller, and I’m a serial lady killer.”

That’s the list, for now. Like all endeavors in this vein, I will probably think of someone else later, and I reserve the right to change things. I also disqualified people like Tim Quirk and Charlie Todd, who I have interviewed for my dear, departed podcast.