The 100 Coolest Things of 2010... 40 to 31

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Guess we should finish this list up, ay?  Okay, so let's do a quick recap of all things cool in 2010... here is the list thus far, from #100 to 91... then the numbers 90 to 81... then you can click to see the 80th to 71st... then, onto the 70th through 61st... and how bout reading the 60th coolest to 51st... then finally, to catch up, the 50th to 41st....

Then you are ready for the 40th Coolest Thing of 2010 to the 31st Coolest Thing of 2010

40. HIDE YO KIDS, HIDE YO WIFE
At this point, Antoine Dodson is a complete punchline... well, honestly, when Antoine was released unto the world, he was pretty much a punchline, but when this video premiered, it was HILL-AIR-EE-OUS.   This chick in the poorer part of town has her home broken into, and she's assaulted--no, not funny yet--but then, the camera focuses in on her brother.  And off he goes, telling us that, "wail, obviously, we got a rapist up here in Lincoln park...".   And it is brilliant.



All I could think of was the guys in the NBC editing room, watching this footage, laughing until they could barely breathe saying, "THIS.  IS.  COMEDY.  GOLD."  Cause it is.

So then, The Gregory Brothers took the news footage, put some beats to it, and created "The Bed Intruder Song", which then became the most watched non-official music video on You Tube in 2010.  And even now, it makes me laugh.  And laugh.  And laugh.



So you can run and tell that, run and tell that, run and tell that homeboy, homeboy, home home homeboy...

39. "FIRESTARTER"... 
Another Stephen King book, another one that was far better than I remember.  Andy, the dad, and Charlie, the daughter, are on the run because the government is chasing them.  And the reason the government agency known as The Shop is chasing them is because Andy took part in an experimental program in college, where he meets Victoria and leaving them both with special powers.   They have Charlie, who displays incredible pyrokinetic powers--starting fires telepathically.

As the book progresses, The Shop gets closer and closer, aided by the manipulation of John Rainbird, a cold blooded killer who befriends Charlie with the motive of strangling her when The Shop has what they need from her.

Stephen King writes a great story here, one that is never scary yet very tense through most of the book.  Its hard not to like, or at least empathize with Charlie, who is a mere 6 or 7 years old and wants to protect her Daddy at all costs.  And if you've seen the movie, its only a partial representation of this fantastic story, almost like the "highlights" of the story.  And I daresay that John Rainbird is truly one of the great underrated villains in King lore, maybe behind only those great ones like Pennywise, Randall Flagg and Barlow the vampire.

38. DISNEY GETS HOT 
So, we had always said we wouldn't do Disney in the summer time, because of the heat factor.  We went the previous year in June, with St'Ray and C'Ray, and though we had a great time, we realized how stinkin' hot it is.  But, in 2010, Disney released news that they were doing The Summer Nightastic Fireworks and the return of the Electrical Light Parade.  Plus, they were doing a summer-only extra special set up on The Hollywood Tower of Terror.  Now, was a fireworks show, a old timey classic parade and some extra lights on a thrill ride enough for us to plan a special trip to Disney World?

The Lovely Steph Leann, d$, Mama Ruthless and Big Daddy Ron

Abso-Mickey-lutely.

So, we talked the in-laws, that being Big Daddy Ron and Mama Ruthless into joining us for a special five day trip to The Most Magical Place on Earth.  Yes it was hot... honestly, though, it was hotter the previous June with The Rays, so this particular July was bearable.  Okay, on Monday at Animal Kingdom, it was a little hotter.

The addition to The Hollywood Tower of Terror wasn't all that great, just a few lights and a few special effects that didn't actually work the night I went, but the Electrical Light Parade was everything I had hoped.  So, so awesome.  And Summer Nightastic Fireworks was completely worth the trip as well.

Until... THE ATTACK OF THE LEFT EYE...

37... RAPUNZEL LETS HER HAIR DOWN
Here's what I had to say in December of 2010

We were able to meet Rapunzel and Flynn on our February trip.  However,
Flynn Ryder is no longer available to meet and greet on normal park days.

When The Lovely Steph Leann and I finish a movie, I always look at her as the credits roll and say, "Whaddya think?" and she tells me "I loved it!" or "It was cute" or "Eh".  Then she asks me what I thought, and my answers are a bit more varied... and this time I said, "It was pretty good."  Typically, this means to The Lovely Steph Leann that I didn't like it at all.  Not true... I said the same thing about "The Proposal", and ended up really liking that movie quite a bit.  

And like "The Proposal", the more I thought about "Tangled", the more I liked it.  As pressure to not be princessy built over the year, Disney changed the marketing strategy of this film, even cutting a new trailer that concentrated on the hero, Flynn Rider, more so than the actual subject of the film, that being Rapunzel... but when you see the movie, in the first thirty seconds of the film, Flynn Rider tells you straight up, "This story is not about me...", smashcut to a tall tower where our heroine has been kept locked away.  The story is, and has always been, about Rapunzel.


Loved this film.  Read the full review here.


36... HEARTS BREAKING EVEN
The Script's "Breakeven".  Its a good song.  What can I say?

35... SARA GOES UNCHARTED
I've always liked chicks with guitars, which probably explains why I enjoyed (ah, I still do) the music of Jennifer Knapp... toss other instruments in like the fiddle, mandolin and harmonica, and that will explain why I'm such a Dixie Chicks fan.  So it stands to reason that I would be a Sara Bareilles fan.

I would classify her first hit, "Love Song" from 2009's "Little Voice" album, as my favorite song of the last 10 years or so.  Love that freakin' tune, and the 79 plays on my iPod is 2nd all time thusfar.

Her latest album, "Kaleidoscope Heart" is just as good as the first one--while nothing meets the awesome awesomeness of "Love Song", this CD still has a great set of music full of those things I enjoy--guitars, pianos, ukeleles (!), harmonicas and great vocals on singles like "Uncharted", "King of Anything" and "Gonna Get Over You". I wish her well, as she was the opening act for Sugarland at the Indiana State Fair, and had just finished her set and come off stage when the whole thing collapsed, killing 6 people and injuring dozens more (she nor any of her crew were hurt).

Anyway, in my own research, she apparently has a 2004 album, "Careful Confessions" that I didn't even know about... looks like its another CD I'll have to seek out and buy.

You may also know Trey Cartledge by his hip-hop name, Trey Songz

34... TREY GETS COOL
My brother-in-law Tyler had quite a college experience, being best friends with some of the greatest guys you could ever meet, in a Deuce-like house they lovingly called House 23.   In this house, located by the campus of the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, lived such guys as "Long" Jon Thompson and "Fast" Jonny Lenning and Tyler "The Sexy Beast" Campbell and B-Rad "Mr. Pink" Pinkerton and our guy at #34, Trey "Dawg" Cartledge.

Not only did he win the 11th season of The DFC right out from under me, he also does a rockin' version of "Wagon Wheel"... plus, he's just a cool guy.  Probably the coolest cat I know.

33...DOIN' IT FOR VAN GOGH
One of my favorite podcasts is hosted by Adam Carolla, and his two sidekicks and/or co-hosts are Alison Rosen and "Bald" Bryan Bishop.   Bald Bryan, until very recently, did another podcast with his buddy Anderson, called "The Film Vault", and it was probably my favorite new podcast of 2010.

Definitely a podcast for older ears, as there is language, it would cover a different topic every week, counting down each hosts "Top Fives" in topics ranging from "Best Nerds" to "(almost) Awesome Movies)" to "Villians" to "War Films"... they also do a "Flick'fessions", which highlights the movies they watched in the week since the previous episode, which, to be honest, is just an excuse to talk about movies.  We have similar  segments on The Deucecast, that is to say parts of the show that only give us a legit excuse to discuss films that we like--or hate.

Sadly, though, in July of 2011, they took a hiatus.  They've said they'll be back, and I hope that's true.  The title of this particular rank, "Doin' it for Van Gogh", was the line said at the end of every single episode--and by the final episode, I finally figured out its a line from one of Anderson's favorite films, "Blue Velvet".

32... MEXICAN EATING ON A SUNDAY NIGHT
Ah, here we are again with the oft mentioned Zarzaur family... the kids--The Zach Attack, Special K and Jay Z... the pops--Chris... and the best friend--The Statuesque Melanie Z.   One of their favorite restaurants is Pablo's Cantina, as they favor the location down by Lee Branch, with the huge second floor deck and the large tree protruding through it.

Somewhere during the year, they invited myself and The Lovely Steph Leann, and now its one of our favorite places to eat as well.   Sitting on the deck, mostly in the mid-spring and late fall, is just awesome.  Also awesome?  The fish tacos.  Also awesome?  The company.  Also awesome?  The quesadillas.  Not awesome?  The fact it takes me several minutes after my food gets there to get my extra sour cream, but thats kinda standard at any Mexican place.  Awesome, though?  The people we eat with.  The Z Family is awesome. But also awesome?  The fish tacos.

31... MICKEY SPILLS HIS SECRETS
I had actually written about six paragraphs under this particular ranking, and realized that this really deserved its own post.  So I left this post and went and wrote another one, entitled The Keys to the Kingdom, telling you all about how awesome this was.  And you can read it by either scrolling down or just clicking right here.

Coming soon... True Grit as a novel and a movie... Pawn Shops become fun... Cee-Lo tries to forget... and later, the car radio changes forever... 

The Summer of Blogging Day Sixty One