Which cities are likely to host next Democratic Convention?

Last week, the Democratic National Committee invited 15 cities to bid for 2016 Democratic National Convention. Here are the list of the cities that received invitations, as well as my opinions on each city's likelihood of being chosen. Each of them have until June 6 decide whether or not to submit a bid.

1.Atlanta-Yes

The Peach State might be more purple than you think. Georgia's changing demographics could make it's 16 electoral votes up for grabs in 2016. This fall Jason Carter, grandson of the 39th President, has a real shot at following his grandfather's footsteps towards the governor's mansion, while Michelle Nunn is leading all her Republican opponents in her bid to win her father's former Senate seat. A win by either Democrat will definitely help the city's chances.

2. Chicago-No 

While the Windy City has held several democratic conventions in the past (the last one bering in 1996), having the convention in the home city of the incumbent President doesn't really scream "moving forward". Mayor Rahm Emmanuel's poor relationship with labor unions also makes a Chicago selection seem unlikely.

3. Cleveland-Yes

It's in Ohio, the state that put Obama over the top in 2012. Nuff said.

4. Columbus-Yes

Like Cleveland, it's in Ohio. Yet Columbus is much larger and has already created a YouTube video and a website for it's bid, while Cleveland hasn't. Columbus has also been described as one of the best cities in the country in terms of LGBTequality.

5. Detroit-No 

If the Motor City can't afford to pay its bills, how could it afford to put up $50 to $60 million to host the political equivalent of the Super Bowl? Plus Michigan will remain blue in 2016, no matter who the Democratic nominee is.

6. Indanapolis-No 

Obama won the Hoosier State by the slimmest of margins in 2008, yet four years later it went sharply back to the right. Mayor Greg Ballard has also said the city is unlikely to submit a bid.

7. Las Vegas-Yes

Nevada is trending blue, if not already a sold blue state thanks to it's growing Latino population. Vegas unfortunately doesn't have any sports arenas, so it's luck might depend on if the expansion of the Mandalay Bay Convention center will be done before the summer of 2016.

8. Miami-Yes

No Democrat has won Florida since the 1960s without winning Miami-Dade County by at least 90,000 votes. With it's 29 electoral votes, the Sunshine State is the biggest electoral prize in the next election.

9. Nashville-No

Not even Al Gore could win his home state of Tennessee.

10. New York-Yes 

The most convenient choice for Hillary should she decide to run, the Big Apple would have no problem providing wealthy donors to help fund the convention and hotel space for convention goers and party leaders. Mayor Bill DeBlasio's "tale of two cities" campaign theme on income inequality might give a New York convention an economic populist message that could help fire up the base.

11. Orlando-Yes 

Like Miami it's in Florida, the biggest electoral prize in the country. Being the location of DisneyWorld shouldn't hurt.

12. Philadelphia-Yes 

Once a hard-fought battleground state, Pennsylvania is starting to become solidly Democratic. The city of Brotherly Love is also the fifth largest city in the nation. Popular former Mayor and former Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell is already trying to raise $60 million from Philadelphia's business leaders for a bid, along with U.S. Representative Bob Brady.

13. Phoenix-Yes 

Though it has only gone blue one since 1948, Arizona's 11 electoral votes might be up for grabs in 2016 due to its rising hispanic population.

14. Pittsburg-Yes 

Though not as big as Philadelphia, this other Pennsylvania city might be chosen due to its leadership on developing environmentally friendly buildings. The city is also home to nine Fortune 500 companies, which may help it to raise money for a convention bid.

15. Salt Lake City-No 

The only reason SLC is being considered is because it's one of the top 51 gay-friendly cities in America. Other than that there's no reason for the Democrats to hold their next convention here. The eventual nominee will certainly lose Utah, as has been the case in the past 50 years.

Questions Remain About The Mother in "How I Met Your Mother"

Unlike a lot of other How I Met Your Mother fans, I am actually OK with how the series finale turned out.

However, I am not OK with the fact that there are still lingering questions about the mother.

We may finally know her name (Tracy McConnell) and when she was born (September 19, 1984), but we still don't know where she was born, where she grew up, who her parents were, or even if she had any brothers or sisters. We also don't know why ending world poverty was such an important issue to her. Did she grow up in poverty and not want anyone else to experience what she went through? Or is it because she just doesn't like to see anyone suffer? Also, we never found out where Tracy's little yellow bus came from, or why it was so important to Ted that he kept it in his office. Did Tracy make it or did Make give it to her? How did she and Max meet, and how did he die? And where did she get her yellow umbrella? The list goes on.

The creators were dishonest when they said every question would be answered after the finale. We know what happens to all the characters, including the mother, yet they failed to give her as much a backstory as the five other major characters. This is totally unacceptable since her name is in the very title. The show is not called How I Met Robin or How I Met Barney or How I Met Marshall and Lily yet we know more about them than we do about Tracy.

Just because the show has ended doesn't mean we can't get more answers. Back in 2007 right after the release of the last Harry Potter book J.K. Rowling revealed to HP fans during a Q and A session that Dumbledore was in fact gay. Carter Bays and Craig Thomas should do a similar Q and A session for fans of the show or at least reveal information on the HIMYM wiki site. But perhaps the best way the creators can satisfy us fans would be to do a prequel-spinoff series  with Tracy as the main character called How I Met Max. It would take place before she dies and be about her telling Luke and Penny the story of how she met the last love of her life before meeting their father.

Last Forever was supposed to reveal every unanswered question fans have about the show. Bays and Thomas failed to live up to that promise, and until they answer a few more questions about Tracy,  I and other fans are going to be left unsatisfied.

Why "How I Met Your Mother" had to end the way it did

While the ending to How I Met Your Mother was indeed heartbreaking, I certainly wouldn't call it disappointing. In fact, it felt just right.

Yes it would have been nice for Tracy (aka The Mother) to beat her illness and live happily ever after with Ted and their two kids in the year 2030. But having Tracy live would have been a huge disservice to Ted's character. It would have made Future Ted look like a complete douchebag and a total weirdo (what kind of a father would tell his kids about all the other girls he hooked up with while their mother was still alive, even if she was out of town for a few days?). Having Tracy die makes Ted, especially Future Ted, a more sympathetic character than if she had lived.

It also makes Ted's 45 days speech more meaningful since we now know for sure that it's given by a widower who lost the love of his life too soon. If Tracy was alive in 2030 the whole speech would have been pointless since he would have had many more days to spend with her. Wanting those extra 45 days or even 45 seconds with Tracy because she's gone makes Ted and Tracy's relationship, as well as the speech, a lot more special.

Many fans have gone to Twitter to complain about the series finale because it didn't end perfectly. But I think the message creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas were trying to say, the whole point they were trying to make, is that life isn't perfect. Life doesn't always end up the way we want it to, and it can take us through many twists and turns, bringing us places we wouldn't have imagined. I also think Bays and Thomas wanted to send a message about accepting change. The entire series from start to finish is about accepting change and letting things go-Ted letting go of Robin and later Tracy, Tracy letting go of Max, Marshall letting go of his dead father and his dream of becoming a judge, etc.

The only thing I found wrong with the finale was its length. I felt that an hour (or 40 minutes without commercials) was not enough to give the series a satisfying conclusion. It should have been at least an hour and a half, maybe even two hours. That would have made it possible for the finale to go deeper into what happened to all the major characters. For example, while the scene with Barney and his newborn daughter was very touching (and arguably the most touching scene of the entire series) it would have been nice to see Barney raising his daughter and warning her to avoid boys that were just like him. It would have also made it possible to give Tracy a proper goodbye by showing her funeral and Ted grieving over her.

How I Met Your Mother has been one long giant puzzle during its entire nine-year run. Despite all the heartbreak and all the sadness and the unperfect ending I and other fans experienced, the pieces to the puzzle in the end fit absolutely perfectly.