saluting dad

On this Memorial Day, as another reminder that its not all BBQ and Mythbusters Marathons on Discovery Channel (not that there is anything wrong with either of those, though I'm glad that  Travel Channel isn't having a Samantha Brown marathon--I wouldn't move for 12 straight hours), I thought I'd post a couple of pictures I came across...

When visiting my Mama over Easter weekend, I went through several boxes of things that pictures that belonged to me, yet I had forgotten I had... and I thought it was awesome that I found a few pictures of my Dad.  Well, he's my grandfather, if you read this post you'll understand, but I grew up calling him Dad, and that's how he shall be remembered.

He served our country in World War II and Korea as an airplane mechanic.  Not sure he saw a whole lot of combat, but anyone who served in WWII is someone I consider part of a group that "saved the world".  Saved the world from the Germans, saved the world from tyranny, saved the world from the bad guys.  Saved the world.

I do believe John Dollar retired a Sergeant Major in the Air Force,
with a full military funeral when he passed in August of 2000

In a picture I had never seen before, this is Dad working
on one of the many airplanes he fixed.  Handy, that
one was.  On the back is written "In my work clothes"

Thought this was a hoot... the back of the picture, in his
messy scrawl, says "the chow hound".  I can only assume
that is a bottle of Coke he's holding, and in the 40s, I'm
guessing that is a fantastic bottle of cola.

Caption on the back writes, "Me under the nose of an attack plane".  Can't
help but think of Brad Pitt in "Inglorious Basterds" wanting him some
Nah-zi scalps

Caption on back says, "A few of the planes here for Air Force Day, 1947". 
Not sure where "here" is.

"My squadron in flight.  The 41st".  Yes, it took me a few minutes to figure out that the plane formation said "41".   How great is this?

And finally, no date or caption written on this one.  But
I thought it was still a great shot.

So that's my Dad, back in the day.  And like all the rest who serve, he was a hero.  No, he didn't die in a gunfight, or a roadside bomb, or saving the lives of his fellow Air Force countrymen, or in some dramatic fashion... he died of old age from many of the problems that plague older gentlemen.  But he was still a hero.

Thanks to my younger brother Shawn who was/is a Marine, to my cousins Steven and John, thanks to The Big Wasyluka, thanks to Gemini & Heather King, thanks to Joey the Marine Husband, thanks to Kirk (Tiff Abbott's boo), and thanks to all the service men and women who do what you do, voluntarily.  And thanks to the families who give them up and let them serve, who sit by the phone and stare at pictures missing their loved ones and constantly pray for safety. 

U-S-A!  U-S-A! 

The 100 Coolest Things of 2007... 30 to 21

30. "Mythbusters"
This show is very, very addicting. I mean, very addicting. I think I've seen just about every episode at one time or another, and sometimes I even watch them over when there's nothing on.
For those of you not familiar, "Mythbusters" is a science reality show hosted by special effects and stunt experts Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, and assisted by Tory Belleci, Grant Imahara and Kari Byron, who is on the short list of "Hottest Chicks In the World Not Named Steph Leann or Ashley Judd."

Bottom line is, they prove or disprove common everyday myths, Hollywood myths and urban legends, such as proving that despite what you see in the movies, you can't kill someone in the head by shooting through a sniper lens, and you can't shoot a hole around your feet and fall through the wooden floor, but you can in fact fold paper more than seven times... if its big enough. Great show, Wednesday nights, Discovery Channel.

Interestingly enough, Mythbusters was the 95th coolest thing about 2005. Its really grown on me over the years.

29. "Ratatouille"
I didn't know what to expect when this film came out, but I knew it was coming from Disney and Pixar, so I thought it might be good... even though it was about a rat who liked to cook in France. But seriously, how good can a movie be, when its about a French cooking rat? As good as toys coming alive, as good as bugs who talk, as good as a lost fish, as good as monsters who scare kids in closets and as good as cars with eyes in their windshield.

Remy is a rat who gets seperated from his rat colony, after being discovered while he watched a cooking show in an old lady's house. He ends up befriending a young man, Alfredo Linguini, with no cooking talent, and takes it upon himself to live the cooking dream through Linguini. Of course, there's a conflict involving the restaurant, Remy, Linguini, the restaurant's chef, and a chick that Linguini has taken a liking to, Colette (voiced by Janeane Garofalo, in a role finally befitting the fantasy she spews on Air America).

I walked out smiling, happy and excited I had gone to see this movie... even more so, I was so pleased at how much I liked this flick, when I didn't know anything about it. Check it out, enjoy it, and if you dig the Pixar, you'll dig this one too.

28. Jason & Katie Roberts
You know, there are just some people you connect with... as in, just some people you just naturally get along with. We discovered this in our Sunday Sch... er, Life Connection, when we became good friends with James & Jessica Hawbaker (the #22 coolest thing about 2006), among others. We miss our Hawbakers, 'cause they began attending another church, and we just don't get to see them enough.

Enter Jason & Katie Roberts, who also joined our Sunday Sch...er, Life Connection class at Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship), and somehow, we just connected. As you're supposed to do in life. Life Connection. Right, you get it, I know.

Anyway, JR and KT don't replace James & Jess by any means... its not as if they are the Hawbakers 2.0 or anything, they are just two great people that we really get along with, that we really enjoy being with and I think we find alot in common with. He's into Dave Ramsey, she digs Scrubs, and they are both going with us to Stamford, CT, in March for a mission trip.

What I love about them is that they are so real, and they know they aren't perfect, and they are okay with that. They are good folk... in face, two of the coolest people of 2007.

27. "Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix"
The most anticipated movie of 2007, as I stated in January. Its my favorite of the books, with my favorite all time scene of any of the Harry Potter, which is the Battle at the Ministry. The book is feeee-nominal, and the movie is good. Great even, but not as great as I wanted it to be.

Its not as great, but I don't know how it could have been... the book is forever long, so a movie closer to the book would have been, like, nine hours long (not that I would have had a problem with that), but I know that's not feasible. It does cut out much of the book, but the movie is still well worth the effort... in no small part due to Evanna Lynch, who plays Luna Lovegood. Very few characters and voices I like better in the movie than I do in Jim Dale's brilliant audiobook series, but I loved Evanna Lynch in this film.


Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood, looking at thestrals

I will say, though, that I hope that Bonnie Wright looks older in the new flick, "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince", because when she and Harry kiss, I don't want it be all creepy and stuff, 'cause Harry looks old.

26. Dinner at Archibald's
Here's what I said on November 9th:

If you're in Tuscaloosa and you want some BBQ, don't go to Dreamland. Go to Archibalds. I was helping train new Starbuckians for the new store in T'town last week, and decided to visit my brother-in-law Tyler on campus, and his roomdawgs, Trey, Jonathan and Stephen.

After killing time and watching two or three episodes of "Family Guy", we were hungry. I suggested Archibalds. I don't know where I'd heard it, but I had heard it was really, really good. It was later I realized that I had seen it on ESPN's College GameDay, where Todd Blackledge has a weekly segment where he visits local restaurants and such.

Anyway, after Tyler drove us around in circles for 30 minutes, we found it. It's this hole in the wall restaurant, where Archibald, this large, old black man, serves BBQ out of the pit that's actually in the wall. The building itself is really not bigger than a regular trailer.Stephen, Jonathan, Trey, Archibald, myself and Tyler. Oh, Archibald is the big black man in the middle. But the food was cheap.

And FANTASTIC.

For just over 8 bucks, I got a big plate with four ribs and a BBQ pork sandwich, and a 20 ounce Mountain Dew. None of us, not me, nor Stephen, nor Jonathan, nor Tyler, nor Trey said much as we chomped our food. Seems the place has been around for at least 47 years, when he took over for his daddy. He laughed heartily, and seemed to enjoy the fact we were a bunch of young bucks--even me--eating in his restaurant. A good time was had by all. And I was full. And it was nice.

25. Chris Hansen & "To Catch a Predator"
Its a series of reports on Dateline NBC, they do a show called "To Catch a Predator", where they have guys come in to a kitchen, expecting to find a little girl or boy to... well, to get freaky deaky with.

Working with law enforcement in the area, plus Perverted Justice, what happens is someone pretending to be 12 to 14 years old goes into a chatroom... never do they approach anyone, but usually they are inundated with chat requests from older guys. Once in a chat, they never bring up sex, but usually it leads to that, from whoever the old guy is. The "child" agrees to meet the older guy, with the intention of gettin' it on, and when the guy shows up in the home, Chris Hansen walks out, simply saying, "Hi, why don't you have a seat right there?"

Very seldom do they run... they usually sit down, to which Hansen replies, "Wanna tell me what you are doing here?" which is met with something like, "Oh, I'm here to meet a friend", or "Um, I'm here looking for work" or "I wanted to come warn them about the dangers of the internet!"... yes, I've heard all of those.

Then Hansen says, "Do you know how old she is?"
"Um... 18, I think..." or "Oh, she didn't say" or "She said 14, but I knew she was lying..."

Then, Chris Hansen pulls out the transcript. One thing leads to another, Hansen talks to them for a while, usually they end up begging to be let off the hook, sometimes they say they've never done this before, or will never do it again, or how they weren't going to do anything, and this is wrong what's happening...

You know, I hear sometimes that what Dateline and Perverted Justice does is wrong, perhaps borderline illegal, how they "trap" these guys, or how they "lure" these guys in... seriously, though... these are guys who going into chat rooms for the expressed purpose of having sex with a girl--or boy--13 or 14 year olds old, then they agree to come to the home of this said child to meet them and do just that very thing. There is no "trap" or "lure". These guys are sick. And its enjoyable as heck to watch them get nailed.

It can be disturbing, though... there was one guy who brought his own three year old son on a rendezvous with who he thought was a teenage boy, and another older guy who was a rich, successful doctor, calling his wife to say, "Honey... I've been arrested. Call the lawyer. No, I'll explain it to you later."

25A. "To Catch a Predator: Protecting Your Kids From Online Enemies Already in Your Home" by Chris Hansen (the book)
This is the companion book to the Dateline NBC series, written by Chris Hansen from his own experiences as host of these reports.

The book goes a little more in-depth, from the early shows when they weren't working with law enforcement to the later shows, when men were getting arrested left and right. It addresses controversy from the critics, and tells more of the stories of the men (and using all the language, so be warned).

What gets me, though, is the story of police sergeant Rick Woody, who thought he was doing everything right with his kids... only to find out that his daughter Kacie had been talking online to a 17 year old named Dave from California... who was actually a 49 year old who stalked, kidnapped from her own bedroom and killed Kacie. Its a painful story to hear...

The book is very eye opening, with lots of stats and such, and considering its from the DNC-TV, that being NBC, its pretty good news.

24. "The Holiday"
I loved this movie. I really did. The more I watch it, the more I like it. It's kind of a silly premise, really, where two women--Kate Winslet at her most beautifully natural and Cameron Diaz, whom I've never been enthralled with but still looks charming here all the same--on different sides of the world both get racked by love.

Meeting on the internet on some swap-houses kind of deal, they agree to swap homes... Iris (Winslet) flies to Los Angeles to stay at Amanda's (Diaz) home, and Amanda flies to Surrey stay in Iris' little cottage. And of course, both find romantic interests, Amanda with Graham, played by an utterly charming Jude Law, and Iris with Miles, who is played by Jack Black.

Yes, that Jack Black... whats great about Jack Black here is that he's not so serious that we can't take him seriously, but he's just serious enough that we aren't laughing at him the whole time... in other words, he's perfect.


Somehow, the words "Jack Black" and "Romantic love interest" don't seem to fit... but here, they do

Anyway, the movie is funny and cute and sweet and all of the things you need to keep your chick happy, but filled with enough fun stuff to keep the guy happy too. Yes, its a Christmas movie, but really, "The Holiday" can be enjoyed anytime. Plus, its got Kate Winslet, and I luvs me some Winslet. I mean, had God worked it out differently where The Lovely Steph Leann would have gone out with Colin Firth, then I probably would have dated Kate Winslet.

23. Troy Whups Oklahoma State
Here's the highlights:

• Troy is 2-0 versus the Big XII at home
• We met Chi Omegas
• We discovered Sweet Sweetback's BadA******** Song
• We shouted "Boomer Sooner" to the OK St team

And here's the full blog, if you're interested

22. Ann Coulter vs. Elisabeth Edwards
So, on June 26th, I'm sitting in the room flipping channels and I come across DNC-TV, aka MSNBC. There sits Ann Coulter, and anytime I see Ann Coulter, I stop flipping and start paying attention. I love Ann Coulter. She says what we're all thinking.

She's on the show with Chris Matthews, and they are talking about the recent shot she took at John Edwards in calling him a "faggot". Actually, at a Conservative Political Action Conference she said, "I was going to have a few comments on the other Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards, but it turns out you have to go into rehab if you use the world 'faggot' so I -- kind of an impasse, can't really talk about Edwards." Kinda wrong. Funny but wrong.

Anyway, she's on Matthew's show, "Hardball", and she's talking about it, unapolagetically, when who calls in to argue? Well, John, of course, right? He's got to call and defend himself. No, no, its John's wife Elizabeth.

And it went something like this:
Liz Edwards: I'm calling you … in the south when we -- when someone does something that displeases us, we wanna ask them politely to stop doing it. Uh - I'd like to ask Ann Coulter -- if she wants to debate on issues, on positions -- we certainly disagree with nearly everything she said on your show today -- um but uh it's quite another matter for these personal attacks that the things she has said over the years not just about John but about other candidates -- it lowers our political dialogue precisely at the time that we need to raise it. So I want to use the opportunity … to ask her politely stop the personal attacks.
Ann Coulter: OK, so I made a joke -- let's see six months ago -- and as you point out they've been raising money off of it for six months since then.
Chris Matthews: This is yesterday morning, what you said about him.
Ann: I didn't say anything about him actually either time.
Liz: Ann, you know that's not true. And once more its been going on for sometime.
Ann: I don't mind you trying to raise money. I mean it's better this than giving $50,000 speeches to the poor.
Liz: I'm asking you
Ann: Just to use my name on the Web pages…
Liz: I'm asking you politely…
Ann: …but as for a debate with me, um yeah, sure. Yeah, we'll have a debate
Liz: I'm asking you politely to stop personal attacks.
Ann: How bout you stop raising money on the Web page then?

What she's getting at is simply how the Edwards went crazy over a joke, then proceeded to use Ann Coulter and her joke on every fundraiser letter and website they could, to raise money for the upcoming presidential race.

So, let's see... if you're a Democrat, you can call Rush Limbaugh listeners "legally retarded" (as posted on his Wikipedia page), you can call Justice Clarance Thomas a "handkerchief-head, chicken-and-biscuit-eating Uncle Tom" (Spike Lee) or say that "Uncle Tom [Colin] Powell Stumps for Massah Bush" (The Daily Kos, a liberal news site), you can call Condi Rice "Brown Sugar" (liberal cartoonist Garry Trudeau), you can call our military murders, killers and rapists (John Murtha and John Kerry, who incidentally served in Vietnam) and you can call our president a nazi (George Soros, a liberal fundraiser and Clinton backer)...

However, as a Republican, if you call anyone on the left anything, be it joke, serious, or challenge their ideals, you are racist, you are bigoted, you are sexist, you are homophobic, you are taking money out of the pockets of the poor, you are giving money to the rich and you have stocks in Halliburton.

Oh, here I go again...

21. Tanya Stephens
Back when we were first looking for a house, we were deciding whether to go it alone or get a realtor. We figured it would be best to get a realtor, when we knew that there was so much we didn't know--heck, we didn't even know what we didn't know, especially as first time home buyers.

We bandied about names, got recommendations, and wondered whether it would be a good idea to go with a friend.. after all, if it went south, we would hurt a friendship, right? But on the other hand, we wanted someone we could trust completely, someone with our interests in mind, not just how much their commission check would be...

And so we called Tanya Stephens. We've known her for a long time, she's a single mom who works two jobs to make ends meet, and she has a passion for real estate... and when we asked her if she'd be our realtor, she enthusiastically said YES!


Tanya and I, outside of Moe's

Over the next few months, we would meet up, she would take us to houses, and she began to get a feel for what we were looking for in a home. We went out looking at homes several times, each one either Steph Leann liked, or I liked, or neither one liked, but none that we both just loved. So, when we found The Cabana, which is the new name for the house we're moving into, we were thrilled... and so was Tanya.

We've been able to call her whenever, ask questions, and she does her job--and her love for us helps her do her job better. Along the way, we've watched her grow in her own life, as she's engaged now, and truly, there are few people in the world that deserve as much as Tanya does to be happy.

We love you Tanya!!

Upcoming... Babies! Disney! The Fray! What a list! Mamma Mia!!!

Top 100 Coolest Things About 2005

Okay, so I've thought about it for a few days, and come up with a list of 100 things that made 2005 the best year I've had since 2004. Now, in this list, I've excluded a few things--that being God & spiritual things (because God is always cool).... Stephanie and our marriage (because by default, that would supposed to be #1, right?)... and the Deuce guys, because its hard to rank one over the other, even though we really know who's the coolest out of Mikey, Ty, Tommy, Shawn, Tom, Drew and Wookiee. Now... what defines "cool"? Just something, someone, some place that makes you say "wow... thats really awesome." Maybe its somewhere you want to go again, someone you want to hang out with again, something you want to do again--that makes something cool.

Disclaimer... there are lots of links here to different webpages. I haven't explored all of the pages on each link, so if you see something questionable, let me know, and I'll take care of it.

The Top 100 Coolest Things of 2005

#100. Ashley Judd. Yeah, she didnt really do anything this year, but she is always my Hollywood Goddess. I love Ashley Judd.

#99. "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas. Okay, so how can a song be so addicting, yet be the most annoying thing you've ever heard in your life? Fergie is a tramp, the dudes in the group are total goobers, yet its a song that you can't get out of your head--for good or for worse. You're thinking about it now, aren't you? Whatcha gonna do with all that junk...?

#98. "Pimp My Ride". What a silly show. Who needs a 35 inch television in your van? Who needs four PS2's in your trunk, with four subwoofers and an automatic juice bar? No one needs that crap. Its fun to watch it come together, then watch the kids go grapenuts over their new ride... the its fun to wonder how long it takes for their car to get jacked, and how much insurance goes up for them.

#97. Fish Out of Water from "Chicken Little". It was a funny movie overall, though not one of Disney's best (that would go to "The Incredibles"). However, Fish was one of the best characters I've seen in a long time. Very funny little guy.

#96. "All I Want For Christmas" by Mariah Carey. This song came out over 10 years ago, but still, Christmas after Christmas it is one of the most fun, upbeat holiday songs ever. Can't help but bop along and be happy when she sings.

#95. "Mythbusters" on The Discovery Channel. Adam and Jamie are your hosts, and they use science to prove or disprove urban legends, different myths and general things you've heard all your life... for instance, that "Five Second Rule" when it comes to dropping food... I watched them disprove it last week. Geek stuff. Its awesome.

#94. Michael Chiklis as The Thing in "Fantastic Four". The movie was just eh. Sue Storm was miscast, Dr Doom was miscast and Reed Richards was sort of right... but no one I can think of could have played The Thing like Michael Chiklis (he's the dude in FX's The Shield). He didn't go for CGI, he wore a costume and everything--he was perfect. And very cool.

#93. Barnes & Noble. This year, it replaced Books a Million as my new favorite bookstore. I mean, my Books a Million membership expired, and I didnt care... but I renewed by Barnes and Noble card for two more years. At a higher price. Go B&N!!

#92. Watching a Movie Being Filmed. In NYC this summer, we stumbled upon B-actor Matthew Modine filming a scene on a street corner. While some of us sat and had dessert, we were able to see the set up of a fake phone booth, and finally the appearance of Matthew doing his thing. The movie is called "Kettle of Fish" and its a small independant film that is supposed to be released this year.

#91. "Be Cool". One of the funniest, sharpest movies I've ever seen is "Get Shorty", starring John Travolta, Danny Devito, Rene Russo and Gene Hackman. Well, years later, they make a sequel (in which only John Travolta and Danny Devito comes back). This time, its got Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn and an absolutely hilarious Andre 3000 (from Outkast). And an even more hilarious The Rock. Its not as funny as Get Shorty, but its more silly... and its cool.

#90. Year End Lists. Are you addicted like me? I mean, give me any countdown for a year, and I'm there... "2005 Best Movies" or "2005 Best Books" or "2005 Worst Radish Recipes of Hackensack NJ"... I'll watch. I'll listen.

#89. "Trapped in the Closet" by R. Kelly. How stupid is this song? No riff, just him going on and on about some guy being trapped in the closet of the girl he's cheating on his wife with... and chapter by chapter, I'm hooked. Its cool.

#88. Those "Rollergirl" Commercials on A&E. Its this new show on A&E channel (I'm watching it now, as a matter of fact) featuring the Roller Derby, which I used to watch when I was a kid... except these commercials feature the cool, cool song "Ready to Rise" by Vaughan Penn. I only know these words: "Ready to rise... ready to ry-ey-ise.... get ready to rise... ready to ry-ey-ise" but I love it.

#87. College Football. 'Nuff said.

#86. The Fine Girls. Lori & Lindsay Fine... my how they've grown. Both college women now, both truly amazing women of God. Very, very cool.

#85. Lori Land. Another chick I got to know a little this year. She was supposed to come with us to NYC, but God didn't have it in the cards. Still, I enjoy her much.

#84. Fox News. They report. You decide.

#83. "Sorry Mom... and Dad". Its the funniest commercial this year. This guy comes into the bathroom and opens up the shower curtain... only to be shocked that its occupied... he says "Sorry Mom..." then as he walks away, he has a horrified look on his face and adds, "...and Dad." Yuck. Hilarious.

#82. Gwen Stefani. Yes, say it with me... she's bananas, bee ay in ay in ay ess... like "My Humps", a totally ridiculous, yet addicting, song. Even had a song called "cool" this year.

#81. Making fun of John Kerry. That says it all. I'll put him at number 81 before I put him at number 81. You decide, he'll agree.

#80. Garrett Cheney. Gave up tons of time to stage manage the dinner theater in July, and a good part of this year's high school drama team. Has a cool sister too, so that helps.

#79. The Drudge Report. Want to know whats going on? Don't read the New York Times, and be careful of CNN... go check out the Drudge Report. Top stuff, new stories, usually facts of the matters before the libs get a chance to spin it.

#78. Making Fun of Kanye West. "George Bush is against Black People". Sure Kanye. He created the weather machines to target the black poor people in New Orleans. Of course, it was a big mistake that now its being reported that more white people than black people died in New Orleans. Yeah, "Golddigger" was catchy. Kanye, just sing and shut up.

#77. "Red Eye". What looked to be a hokey movie about a bad guy on a plan turned out to be one of the coolest movies this year. Rachel McAdams plays a young woman who is flying home to see Dad... when she meets Jackson, a nice enough guy who turns out to be someone very very bad. Great suspense, both McAdams and Cillian Murphy (he was also Scarecrow in this year's Batman Begins) are fantastic, and a pretty good plot move the movie along... a much better plane flick than Panic Room 2.

#76. The Appt of John Roberts. This guy is good on so many levels... he's young, he's strong, he's a believer in God, and he's moderately conservative. And most of all, he's like a Boy Scout--as in, Democrats can't find much wrong with him, though they've tried. John Roberts, Supreme Court Chief Justice.

#75. Tim Harrington. Big Papa in NYC. He is the father of Annalynn, and the hubby of Geryl, and the family attends Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) and I have the honor of getting to know them in New York. He's an awesome guy, totally in love with Jesus (and the kids there totally loved their Coach Tim).

#74. Sean Hannity. The Hannitization of American continues... I was Hannitized this year, listening to him more and more during the day (usually after Rush) and getting stuff that the media won't tell you.

#73. Stephanie Walker. She's the meterologist for NBC 13, and yes, she's just as sweet as she seems, and yes, she's even cuter in person.

#72. W. I love our President. Does he make mistakes? Yes. Is he fallible? Yes. Has he stood by his convictions, not caring what the polls say, leading this country in a time of war? Yes. Yes. Yes.

#71. "Pledged" by Alexandra Robbins. Do you want to know what sorority life is really like? Alex Robbins went undercover at a sorority in a national big school, covering a year in the life of a few girls, documenting their parties, their lives and the life that is a Sorority Girl--including the snobbery, the hazing, the peer pressure and everything that goes with it. There is language to watch out for, but this is a fascinating book to read.

#70. Wendy Garner. She and NBC 13 partner Ken Lass, both loved in the community, weren't treated very well. So they walked. And now they are hosting the morning show on WDJC together... I love Wendy Garner. Big crush. I admit it. She thinks its cute.

#69. Ann Coulter. What a great spokesperson for the right wing. She says what she thinks, for better or for worse, and there it is. She thinks all democrats/liberals are pretty much morons, and actually said that we should kill all the opposing armies overseas and convert their leaders to Christianity. Ann Coulter rocks.

#68. "Batman Begins". The first movie, back in the late 80s, with Michael Keaton was good. But the problem was, it was all about The Joker, played by Jack Nicholson. This one, however, is all about Batman, played brilliantly by Christian Bale. Cillian Murphy is genius as The Scarecrow as well, much better than all of the other villians in the 2nd through 4th movies (put together).

#67. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. What a great show. Every week, something new, something fascinating, something thrilling. I think Warrick Brown (played by Gary Dourdan) is brilliant, though Catherine Willows (Marg Helgenberger, who is also in Erin Brockvich, which Tyler & I both found out this week) is great too. And of course, Gil Grissom is da man.

#66. "King Kong". Just saw this movie a few days ago... absolutely brilliant and genius. Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings director) has made another masterpiece, with great graphics and effects, a great story and a monkey you actually believe. And some of the dinosaur scenes are just amazing, especially the brontosaurus pile-up in the valley.

#65. Rick & Bubba. Every morning, if I'm up and moving, I listen and laugh. They kept me laughing all year, and Steph and I buy their new cd everytime they have a new one out. We subscribe to the "Extreme Club", which means we can listen to all shows in the last month, plus hear bits and see video that you can't hear in the morning. Good, funny stuff.

#64. Kara Graves. My little girl has all growed up and in college now. Sigh. Much like the Fine Girls. And very cool.

#63. The Rock. No, not the movie, the action star. I admit it, I have a man-crush on The Rock, in a non-Brokeback sort of way. He was hilarious in "Be Cool" (see #91) and was at his absolute cheesy best in "Doom", absolute crap except for The Rock. I even got his autobiography from eBay this year, which I'm pumped about reading.

#62. Mark & Cindy Warner. She's the logical, level headed one you havea crush on in a Kellie Martin from Life Goes On sort of way... he's the goofy, childish one you enjoy watching blow up movies with. I liken them to Steph & I. Love these guys.

#61. The Freedom of Iraq. Okay, so not only did they ratify a Constitution, they also had parliamentary elections and are now on the verge of taking over their own country and running it... all in three years. No thanks to Harry Reid, Barbara Boxer, Hillary Clinton and the like. No matter what the media tells you, freeing a nation is a good thing.

#60. "Cold Case". What a great show on Sunday nights. The premise is, that a group led by Lilly Rush takes on cases that have been sitting on shelves for years, sometimes decades. Mixed in with cool flashbacks and music from the era, its a great show that keeps you guessing... plus, its got an awesome theme song opening.

#59. "Scrubs". One of the funniest shows ever in the history of tv. Dr. Cox is probably my favorite character, but the whole cast--JD, Turk, Elliot, Carla--makes it worthwhile. The guy who plays the lead, JD, is Zach Braff, who starred in 2004's "Garden State" and also was the voice of the lead character in "Chicken Little".

#58. Michael Luna. I work with him at Starbucks. Theology student, married to a hot chick, strong Christian... all that makes him a very cool guy.

#57. Darth Tater. A Dark Side of the Force spin on the old Mr Potato Head. Mine looks cool.

#56. The Kelley Twins. Like The Fine Girls and Kara, I've watched these two grow up from their very young days to their current status as seniors in high school. Awkward kids to beautiful young women of God. Sigh. I'm getting old.

#55. Sarah Jacks. She comes into Starbucks alot, she's a junior at ASFA, and hopefully will be coming to Valleydale soon to try out the high school ministry. One of the sweetest spirits I've ever been around, plus a big sister that is absolutely wonderful--I hope you get to meet Sarah one day.

#54. Blogging. Livejournal and especially blogspot has been a year highlight in 2005. Through blogspot, I was able to everyone informed with what was going on on the trip in NYC, which I found out later, had a ton more people reading than I ever thought. Plus, here I get to talk to you fine people. And for Lindsay and Lori, it would be you Fine people.

#53. Troy swag. Stephanie bought me a Troy University long sleeve, and Mom in Law got me a Troy fleece pullover. My first real Troy Swag since I bought stuff in college.... I love swag.

#52. "How To Talk to a Liberal (if you must)" by Ann Coulter. She was back at #69, while her book is here. I got the trade paperback for Christmas, and in reading some of it, she doesnt lose anytime telling us how wrong the libs are on practically everything (of course, you knew that)

#51. Making Fun of Tom Cruise. He hopped on a couch, then jumped down shouting about how much he loved Katie Holmes, getting her pregnant and pulling her to the dark side (Scientology) after she grew up a baptist and swore she'd be a virgin until she got married. Then he got on the Today Show, made fun of psychiatry and people who do it, and told Matt Lauer he was "glib". Then he made War of the Worlds, which sucked. What a goob.

#50. The Incredibles on DVD. What a cool flick... everytime I watch it, I like it more and more... but the best thing about the dvd is the "cartoon" of Mr Incredible and Frozone from the 60s, with the actual Mr Incredible and Frozone giving commentary. Hilarious.

#49. Best Buy. Oh man, did I drop some money in this store this past year. I always searched for the Best Buy ads as soon as the Sunday paper became available to me, to see what was "2 for $20" or the list of special dvds that were $7.99 or something. Of course, I was proud of my restraint, but still...

#48. Desperate Housewives. Yes, I watch this show. Get over it.

#47. My Birthday Party. I turned 30 this year... so what did I want? Thats right, a superhero party. Stephanie got me a Fantastic Four cake, and all of my friends came over and we all played a big superhero card game (which I thought up, thank you very much) and then we had a rousing round of Dave Trivia. Still thinking about next year's extravaganza.

#46. "Night Court" on DVD. This is one of my favorite all time shows. It's a silly little sitcom from the 80s that had Harry Anderson (whom I've met... cool guy) as a judge of an overnight misdemeanor court, and of course, hilarity ensues. Steph bought me Season 1 on dvd. I'm pumped.

#45. My RCA Lyra. I entered the world of the technologically advanced by getting an mp3 player. It worked, for a while. Of course, it only held 800 songs, and I was hoping it would hold around 5,000, but 4 gigs will only get you so far. I'm now holding out for an iPod.

#44. "The Wedding Crashers". On second thought, don't see this movie. Its bad. Funny. But bad. I warned you.

#43. Brooke Smith. Yes, that Brooke, the one from the Bachelor Season Two. We became friends at NBC 13, and she's just as wonderful as she seems. We have lunch occasionally (which reminds me, I need to call her) and as a Christian, she's an awesome person to know. Cool, in fact.

#42. The A&E Channel. Its the channel that gave me Cold Case Files, City Confidential, American Justice, Rollergirls, Airline and a whole slew of programs that have taught me how not to commit a murder.

#41. Homestar Runner. Do you know about Strong Bad, The Cheat or Homestar? Click on it, I dare you

#40. Attacktix. Its this silly little game with Star Wars figures, but its so addicting. Girls, you wouldn't understand... it appeals to the inner competitive nature of guys, our natural nature to want to blow stuff up and cause destruction.

#39. Kendall. I think her last name was Phillips... anyway, you'll find me talking about her in my NYC blog. She was a Mississippi gal up there on missions, and she was one of our leaders in our basketball camps and such. Such a cool, cool gal.

#38. DC's Identity Crisis. Let me try to explain... DC is one of the biggest comic companies in the world, doing Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and a host of others. Well, in 2005, they had a series called Identity Crisis, in which one of their superhero's wives was raped and killed. And suddenly, in their investigation of 'whodunit', a host of secrets about Hawkman, Green Lantern, the Green Arrow and many other heroes came spilling out, making for a fantastic story that I'll never forget.

#37. Paula Mackey. She was like the big sis to me on our NYC trip... funny, goofy, always there when I needed a shoulder... to wipe sweat on, that is. We worked hard together, got to see Matthew Modine, hung out at Coney Island and more. Paula rocks.

#36. Survivor. Two editions so far this year, one in 2005 Spring, the other in 2005 Fall... and the show just keeps getting better and better every time around. In the Spring, we watched Fireman Tom outlast Katie, who somehow made it there despite not doing anything, and lanky Ian, who felt it was more important to be friends than to win a millions bucks (Ian, I'd take the million... I've got friends). In the Fall, it was fun to watch former NFL Quarterback Gary Hogeboom lank his way to the final five before taking the fall. Eventually, Danni Boatwright won, despite not being bigger around than my bottle of water sitting next to me. Of course, how could you not root for The Manimal?

#35. Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire. This is the first of several Harry Potter references on our top 100... I reread this book this summer,and forgot how good it was. Order of the Phoenix is still my favorite, the new book is great as well, but I wanted to make sure I was familiar with this one before the movie came out... and it was awesome. Very long, so kick back if you read it, but so much better than the movie, if only because it has so much more in it.

#34. Matt & Stephanie Rector. Our little girl Stephanie Nipp is all growed up this year, getting hitched to Matt Rector of Chattanooga Tennessee. Matt, who looks like actor Vincent D'Onofrio, is an odd bird to speak of, with a Simpsons obsession and a goofy laugh, while we love our Steph and all her quirks. It was tough to let her grow, but our baby had to find her way, eh? They make a great couple.

#33. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Funny how Hollywood can't bring itself to say "hey, this book is about Christian themes", even though the movie itself makes religious references. It was a great flick all over, with fantastic effects, great casting and a White Queen to die for. Tilda Swinson was great as the enemy, with her dreads all hanging down, while the battle scene at the end does rival Lord of the Rings.

#32. My Name is Earl. The funniest new show of the year, with Earl Hickey trying to make up for all the wrong he's done in the past. Gotta love Earl's porn 'stache too, plus his ex-wife Joy and her trailer trash life, The Crab Man who is Joy's new love, Randy who is Earl's overweight brother and more. Oh, and the mexican maid that Earl would date, but Randy called dibs. Such a funny show.

#31. Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. So, for the first time in 11 years, I became credit card free in 2005. It was such a great feeling, and I do give mucho credit to Dave Ramsey. A Christian, he uses practical and biblical methods for simply getting out of debt and living a debt free life. Steph & I have adopted his methods and are now inching closer to being debt free--then we'll get a house. =)

#30. The Astonishing X-Men. Fantastic comic book. Great series. When Colossus comes back, Wolverine's face--and Kitty's reaction--is simply priceless.

#29. "102 Minutes" by Jim Dwyer and Bill Flynn. Read the upcoming review on my site.

#28. Cold Case Files. DNA, blood, missing people and files going cold... hosted by Bill Kurtis, one of the coolest crime reality shows around. Oh, and dig on Bill's jacket.

#27. Dirty Jobs. Ever want to see a turkey droppings analyst? Or a cheese maker? A San Fran Chinatown garbage runner? Mike Rowe does the jobs you take for granted... and makes me laugh in the process. On Discovery channel.

#26. Kingdom Comics. The shop over on 31 by Pier One, down from Diplomat Deli. Stan Daniel runs the place, and never will you find a more friendly, more fun comic store. See Stan for all your comic needs, he'll take care of you, I promise.

#25. "Behind These Hazel Eyes" by Kelly Clarkson. Here I am, once again, I'm torn into pieces, I hear this song, I sing along, I know Kelly's the one, makes me smile deep inside, you might just hear my voice cry... Behind These Hazel Eyes

#24. Ginny Weasley. When she makes out with Harry Potter, I officially have a brand new favorite character in the series.

#23. City Confidential on A&E Channel. Its like your grandad telling you stories, only instead of tales of corn fields and how it used to be, Paul Winfield or Keith David tells of a small town, USA, its history, its population and... murder. Of course, I just found out he was gay... that kind of ruins it for me.

#22. "As Good As I Once Was" by Toby Keith. Turning 30 this year, I adopted this song as my anthem. I ain't as good as I once was... thats just the cold hard truth. But I still throw a few back, talk a little smack, when I'm feelin' bulletproof. So don't double dog dare me now... or I'll have to call your bluff. My body says "you can't do this boy" but my pride says "oh yes you can".

#21. Natalie Valentine. My NYC Homegirl, my date to Nathan's Famous and my roller coaster queen on the Boardwalk. Love this girl. You would too.

#20. The Soup. Hosted by Joel McHale, its a weekly comedic review of talk shows, reality show clips and much much more. "This week, Marilyn Manson released his new cologne," says Joel McHale with his goofy grin. "Ah... so thats what irrelevency smells like." On E! during the week.

#19. The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe. The movie was at #33... this one is the book. CS Lewis knew how to spin a story, and remarkably, it leaves stuff open for intrepretation. however, whats not open for intrepretation is the question that the media is asking... "is this story really about God?" Duh.

#18. The ESPN Zone Cafe. Right off of Times Square, one of the best places to enjoy a meal (they have $35 dollar appetizers...) but the best? They have screens in the bathroom stalls. You can watch tv and... have a few moments of privacy. They are over the urinals. Josh Blackburn said "Heck, I dont even have to [go to the bathroom] but I'm going anyway, just to watch TV".

#17. Rush Limbaugh. America's anchorman, the all knowing all seeing Maha Rushi. You know what you hear in the media? Find out the truth from Rush. He'll take care of you.

#16. Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The circle is complete... and a saga that no one under 21 or so will truly understand--as in, we know what its like to have the anticipation of the new movie... the new movie being Empire Strikes Back, then Return of the Jedi, then wait 15 years for the Phantom.

#15. The DFC. Congrats to Matt Latta for winning a fine season of the Deuce Football Championships, the 6th installment. VII will be even better when I win the whole thing.

#14. WalkAbout Dinner Theater. It was called Baggage, The Boogeyman and Big Big Bibles. The final WalkAbout theater with me in the lead, for the Valleydale Middle School group. Great performances, including what will do down as one of the Top Ten WalkAbout skits ever, that being the hilarious Mutiny in the Vineyard, starring Tyler Bolton, Josh Blackburn, Joey Thomason and Austin Guthrie.

#13. Carnagie Deli Cheesecake. The world famous Carnagie Deli in NYC has some of the biggest and best cheese cake I've ever had a pleasure to eat. The sandwich was ginormous, first of all, and the cake was--no kidding--about six inches high. I couldn't finish it.

#12. Martyrs & Thieves. Jamie, Kourtney, Megan, Nathan, Garrett, Betsy, Anna, Amanda and Kayla. You guys are awesome, and I'm honored that you'd be a part of the drama team. Wait til we really get going.

#11. Kidstuf. Valleydale Church's (an sbc fellowship)own children's theater, where parents and kids learn together. No kid under 7 knows my real name... I'm Tyler to all of them. And you know what? I'm okay with that.