The Ten Coolest Things of 2010

And finally... after 11 months and 29 days, here are the ten coolest things of 2010...

The 10th Coolest Thing of 2010:  "Toy Story 3"
Its a cartoon, right?  You keep telling yourself that, and remember that when you are wiping your eyes if not for the scene in the trash conveyor belt, then for the ending scene with Andy and Woody and little Bonnie.  "Toy Story 3" is one of the best overall films to come out in a long, long time, and probably one of the best 3rd parts to a trilogy ever.  And Lotso Huggin' Bear makes a great villain.

The 9th Coolest Thing of 2010:  "Hey Soul Sister" by Train
This song was everywhere... in commercials... in movies... on the radio... on television shows... and in my car too, via the iPod (44 plays in 2010).  And talk about a singable song!  Hey ay... hey ay ay ya ay... hey ay hey ya ay... With any luck, thats in your head right now.  My favorite song of the year.



The 8th Coolest Thing of 2010:  The GMAC Bowl
With his kids, and now with mine own child, time spent with my best buddy of 18 years is scarce.  We do try to make it happen with a dinner here and a lunch there and a hang-out time over a televised football game, but with life in general, it doesn't happen often.

So in December of 2009, when Wook Fu called me up and said, "Hey you silly Mexican, my Wookette got me a pair of GMAC Bowl tickets in January, with Troy playing Central Michigan (the Chippewas), so you up for it?  I want to take you, holmes."  Of course, I was like, "Si!  Si!"

I love me some college football, especially live and in person, and it was my 2nd bowl game.  My first was the PapaJohns.com Bowl some years back, but the GMAC was my first for overtime, and my first ever double overtime game.  Unfortunately, the Chips won 44-41 on a field goal at the far end of the field, which Wookiee and I couldn't see, but still.

Anyway, it was a great night, Wook Fu set us up at the glorious suites of the La Quinta Inn, and after the game, we drowned our sorrows in a big plate of Denny's.  And the next day, we spent most of the morning touring the USS Alabama battleship and just enjoying ourselves.  I took a ton of pics, but unfortunately, I can't find a single one of them.  I know, I know, bad friend.

Love my Best Mate Wookiee.

The 7th Coolest Thing of 2010:  Disney in December

Who doesn't love Walt Disney World at Christmastime?  We were honored to even be invited to stay with the Zarzaur family at the DVC rooms in Animal Kingdom Lodge, which were glorious.  We got to see the Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, we introduced the Z Family to Via Napoli, which is now one of their family favorites, see lots of characters, ride lots of rides and essentially, have an incredible time.

The 6th Coolest Thing of 2010:  "Inception"
Holy smokes, what a movie. I think there are two camps when it comes to "Inception"--those that love love love it (me) and those who hate hate hate it (not me)... there are very few people in the middle.

I don't even know how to explain this movie in a way that, if you haven't seen it, you will understand what an incredible ride the film takes you on.  Its all about dreams and stealing dreams and implanting ideas in your subconscious and there are incredible visuals and amazing effects and so on and so on... and for the first time perhaps ever for me, I saw Leo DiCaprio not as Jack Dawson on the Titanic, but as Dom, the leader of the literal Dream Team.  The excellent ensemble includes Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, Cillian Murphy, Ellen Page as Ariadne (who names their kid Ariadne?  Olive would be better than that!) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Arthur, one of the coolest supporting characters in recent memory.  And the fight in the spinning hallway is one of my favorite scenes in any movie in all of 2010.

Someone commented on this YouTube clip that "don't ask me what's going on, I was too confused..."

Once it passes the minimum 2 year time period from release, which will be some time this summer, "Inception"  will find itself clearly planted in The Dave100, somewhere very, very high, like Top 30.  And that's big.

The 5th Coolest Thing of 2010:  My Big Screen
Not much I can say about this beyond... my big screen tv rules.  Though sometimes the remote signal doesn't reach as far as I'd like it to.  First world problem.

The 4th Coolest Thing of 2010:  The Z Family

The Z's... Chris and Melanie in the back, Special K, The Zach Attack
and Jay-Z in the front

I speak of course of the Zarzaur Family.  The dad, Chris, who owns Chris Z's, drives a Daddy Caddy and grills like a motha.  Good guy, very loyal, very generous and has an uncommon (these days, anyway) high value of family.  The mom, Melanie, who I've mentioned alot here, and I'll get to in a minute.  There's Jay-Z, the oldest, probably the most like me (which is good.  and bad.  and good.  and bad.  let's move on) in his jokes, his mannerisms and what he spends his time enjoying.  He's like the "independent, do his own thing" kid.  When we all get to Disney World, he's just as happy touring the park from ride to ride on his own, could care less if anyone is with him.

Then there's Special K, the only girl, the middle child.  You can tell that when she grows up, she'll be very pretty, but right now, she's in that "not an grown up, but not really a kid stage".  She's very good at volleyball, and she's got this dry sense of humor that will sneak up on you.  Finally, there's The Zach Attack.  Whereas Jay-Z is a free bird and Special K is definitely a daddy's girl, The Zach Attack is by far and away his mama's child.  He's funny, he's random, he's pretty good at karate and he is a genius at Words with Friends.

Put them all together, and you have five close knit wonderful individuals that have been nothing short of amazingly giving and generous to my own family.  Whether being excellent company at Pablos or great traveling partners at our several Disney trips together.  You may have noticed that this family pops up alot over the 100 Coolest, and with good reason... the Z clan has become embedded in our lives, and now is beginning to be as such with Campbell Isaiah.  The Lovely Steph Leann and Chris are like kindred spirits, easy going, laid back, and at Disney, partners in slow walking crime, while Melanie and I... well, that's...

The 3rd Coolest Thing of 2010:  Melanie

...she's my friend.  If My Best Mate Wookiee is my best dude, then Melanie is my best chick.  I've talked about Melanie off and on randomly and for various reasons, but mostly because we, as people, tend to discuss what's important to us in our lives at that moment.  (Yes, yes, I know, I don't talk about my faith enough, and thats important, but that's an entirely different issue.)

Back to the point... here's what I wrote in a randomness blog in July:

At a Christmas gathering (I think...)

...I see Melanie an awful lot, most of that at work, but many times at family outings and such.  (seriously, we aren't stupid--its not like me and Melanie slumber parties at our respective homes or anything... its called boundaries, so stop your worrying) 

That being said, let me brag on Melanie for a second...  Well, she's awesome.  She's gorgeous and she's funny and she's a great mom and she's cool and she's hot and she's all those things... plus, she's one of my very best friends.  So yes, I do bring her up frequently on the blog site here, mostly because she's involved in half of my stories I have to tell.  


We do have our moments, mostly when in the midst of battle behind the counter in a busy coffee war, but overall, she is one of the most loyal and dependable people I know.  I know for a fact that I can count on her for anything.  Ask The Lovely Steph Leann--takes a lot to put up with me daily (heck, ask Wookiee, he'll tell you--he lived with me for the equivalent of about six years), but she does it in fine fashion.  What can I say?  I love me some Melanie.

Oh, and it doesn't hurt that she's hot.

The 2nd Coolest Thing of 2010:  My iPhone
Thaaaat's right... I freakin' love my phone.  No joke.  I love being able to check my email, or Facebook, or a score, or look up something on Wikipedia anytime I darn well please.  Its addicting, and its probably not good for me, but I love it.

Here's what I wrote in August of 2010 in a post entitled "Pawn Stars, iPhones, Roller Derbies and Cryptosporidium (and other random things)":

Finally got me an iPhone.  Not that I needed one... truly, who actually needs an iPhone?  I mean, if you think about it, do we really need portable phones?  I got by for 28 years without one, and sure, its nice to be able to call someone and say, "Hey, I'm on the way" or send a text really quickly to say, "Remind me again what time the movie is" or "Can you pick up some milk?" but really, do we need one?

The answer?  We do now.  Its become an integral part of life.  We'd survive without it, but why do we have to?  That's like saying, "Well, yeah, we'd get by if every Baha Burger or Chipotle closed its doors forever" but why would we want to do that?


Racing home, I found it sitting on the end table, as The Lovely Steph Leann was home for lunch while the FedEx guy stopped by.  I tore it open like a kid tearing into a Christmas gift, pulled out the box, opened it with my teeth and picked up my black 3GS iPhone... and plugged it in.

Went to church, as we came back, turned it on, no service.  Figured we'd go by the AT&T store, get it solved.  Well, the store closed at 7pm.  And its 754pm.  Called AT&T, and was told that I had to go back to the store upon which I purchased the phone.  So, at 9am, I have to go.  Until then, no service.  No phone.



I did end up getting service, the very next day... and never looked back.  Rock on.

And finally...

The Coolest Thing of 2010 is.... RED ROBIN

From November 21st, 2010, in "Just Don't Tell Dave Ramsey"...

I ask to test drive the KIA Soul.  He goes and gets the keys, and we pull out of the lot, a car with 31 miles on it.  Its... its just cool.  Its just fun.  Its bright red, a color that I usually associate with 21 year old guys in Mustangs or convertibles to pick up chicks, and higher insurance rates, so I ask about other colors, and am assured that if I want this car, they'll get me whatever color I want.  Of course they will, its a car dealership.

I've already done some research on the KIA Soul, and have liked what I'd seen... its quite safe, it holds appreciation well, its sporty, its not too expensive, its roomier than most cars of its kind and so on.  And in driving it... its fun.  I like this car.  And this is not good, because this thing is brand new!   This thing is costly!  There's no way we're going to be driving away with a KIA Soul.  The Lovely Steph Leann won't allow such a mockery of Dave Ramsey Justice!  Right?  Right?

I noticed something as we walked around a little afterwards... the KIA Rio is about $1200 more than the KIA Soul.  So... if we wanted to get the Rio, which The Lovely Steph Leann liked, then... wouldn't the Soul make more sense?  Its bigger... and cheaper?

Smashcut to a half hour later... we are sitting in Gene's little cubicle and he's in front of us, hands clasped, elbows on table, telling us that he wants us to drive off the lot in a new car.  Of course he does.  This is a car dealership.

The Lovely Steph Leann and I listen to his pitch, and both simply tell him, "No".  It was too much.  Too much down, too much in car payments, car payments that we were trying to avoid all together.  He had written down the details on a piece of paper, and they only would pay $500 for Toni Rocki Honda, which was a travesty in my own mind.  Sure, she needs a $1000 repair in air conditioning, but I am pretty sure I could get a grand for her on Craigslist or even the paper, but $500?

And I watch the car salesmen tricks unfold... "Okay, what if I do this?  What if [crossing out the number 500 and writing in pen] we give you a $1000 [writing the number 1-0-0-0] for your Honda?"  We say "No".  "Okay, well what if I say you don't have to put this much down [crosses out the amount down] and you only put this much down [writes down another number] and we say "No".

He says, "Okay, let me go run some more numbers", and runs off to do a credit check, leaving The Lovely Steph Leann and I alone.  We start chatting quietly about what we are going to do, and suddenly, getting a new car, the bright red KIA Soul, is a distinct possibility.  A real possibility.

The Lovely Steph Leann is the budgeter in our family, the "Nerd", is Ramsey speak.  I am the "Free Spirit", the one who spends a little more than he should, so I'm leaning on her, my wife, heavily to help me through this (isn't that the way it should be, really?).  She says one single "No way, we can't do this", then I'm not going to fight her for it.  I tell her straight up that there is a certain threshold of savings I want to keep in there, and no matter what, we don't go below that.  She tells me what the reality is of our budget.  

Gene comes back with another set of details and agreements.  I smile and simply say, "Okay, man, listen... this is a great deal.  We have talked about it, and we agree this is a great deal, but we just don't think we can do it.  We weren't looking for car payments, we don't want to kill our savings and really, if we have to say yes or no at this very moment, we'd have to say 'no'."  Gene tells us, "I understand.  But let me just tell ya, we haven't sold a car today.  I'm going to do what it takes to get you into this car."  He gets up and runs out.

Gene comes back in, with the same piece of paper, folded over, with words written in Sharpie at the top, saying "XMAS COMES EARLY HO HO HO", with some details on the bottom. And the details are... (read how it unfolds by clicking here)


So there ya go.  The 100 Coolest Things of 2010, about a year late.  What say we do The 100 Coolest Things of 2011 list a little quicker this time, eh?  

Oh yeah... honorable mention...

Brad Latta

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

Facebook readers... there are videos here, so click over to the Mother Ship and read there.  Plus you'll help me on my quest to get to 75,000 readers.  

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

Ranking Harry Potter

Tomorrow, at 1130am, I will be sitting in a Rave Motion Picture Theater awaiting the beginning of the commercials that will proceed the trailers that will proceed the movie "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2".  Its the end.  The last Harry Potter movie.  And much like the completion of the last book, which for me occurred about 18 hours after the 2007 summer midnight release, it will be a bittersweet occasion.

Both my darling wife and one of my best friends are Potter Fanatics, so
I really have no choice but to be the same. 

I actually am seeing it twice this weekend... the original plan was to possibly see it at midnight--but because of The Lovely Steph Leann has a real job, she can't do it.  So, we are going to see it on Sunday afternoon.  However, my dear friend Melanie invited me to come with her, Special K and The Zach Attack to see it Friday morning... after about, oh 3 seconds of deliberation, I said "YES".  I could have gone at midnight or tomorrow alone, but this one is a film you want to see with people, with fellow Harry Potter enthusiasts. 

Its the end of the era.  I was working at Carmike Cinemas at the Summit when the first movie came out, back in 2001.  I had not read the books at the time, and didn't start reading them until 2003, when the fifth novel, Order of the Phoenix had come out.  I devoured all five books released at that time in a matter of a few weeks, and have seen every movie released on opening weekend.

I even attended a Potter Party Release for the last two books, getting them both at midnight at Barnes & Noble.   Yep, I'm a Potterphile.  I said it.

The movies themselves have been hit or miss... none of them are bad, and in fact, several are great adaptations--the problem is, the books continued to get longer and longer, and that forced screenwriter Steve Kloves, who wrote all eight screen adaptations, to cut more and more out of the movie to keep them from being 7 hours long each--though to be honest, I probably would have sat through 7 hours to see Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix and especially The Half-Blood Prince to be done... well, for lack of a better word, better.

From first to last, this is how I rank the books:

1) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5)... The creation of Dumbledore's Army is awesome, plus the intense Ministry of Magic battle makes for a great final 100 pages

2) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)... The linchpin in the book series.  This is where it goes from kid books to dark books.

3) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2)... Perhaps the most underrated of the books, I really enjoy this one... the exposition is done, and its a quick read

4) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)... I do miss time at Hogwarts, but the final battle is exhilarating and yet heartbreaking at the same time.  I do have issue with the fact that once its over, we don't see The Weasley's talking to Harry... it just kind of... well, ends.

5) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1)... Its where it all begins, the introduction of characters, the opening of the world that JK Rowling created.

6) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3)... The introduction of Sirius, but my main issue with this one is the fact that the whole bad turn at the end could have been avoided by either Lupin or Sirius saying, "Hey Harry, listen, this is what's going on..."

7) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)... The Lovely Steph Leann loves this book, perhaps more than any other, though I didn't like Harry being stupid at the beginning, plus all the back story part.  The Harry Kisses Ginny part really makes it worthy, though.

That's the books... as for the movies, here's how I rank the movies, from last to first.  Now, understand, like the books, just because its last doesn't mean I don't like it... its like ranking Pixar films... well, now that "Cars 2" is out, that might be a bad analogy...

...okay, its like ranking Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.  Cherry Garcia is my definite favorite, but if you offered me some Chunky Monkey or Phish Food, I'd take it and love it.  So just because its 7th, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it...

7) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)... there are a number of problems I have with this film, as spelled out in my letter to Steve Kloves.  The main issue, though, is the Harry/Ginny debacle--and the fact that that scene in the book is one of my two or three favorite scenes in all seven books, the way it was done can truly be described as a "debacle".   I also didn't like the Snape "I am the half blood prince" revelation towards the end... seriously?  He doesn't mention even being slightly suspicious of Harry's work the whole book and then he says it? 

Not my favorite of the movies, but it is
one of my favorite posters

6)  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)... This one would be more classified as a "Harry Potter Guilty Pleasure" film if anything.  Its remarkable how young the kids are, and the acting is a bit silly.  This is the last one Chris Columbus directed, and I'm cool with that.  Enjoyable, though, as Kenneth Branaugh's Gilderoy Lockhart is hilarious.  Also the first appearance of Dobby and Jason Isaac's brilliant Lucius Malfoy turn.

5)  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)... Everyone raves about Alfonso Cuaron's direction, and perhaps that's just because its different than the kiddie style that Chris Columbus took... it is better, I'll admit, but all the changes to the story are a little maddening.  David Thewlis is perfect as Professor Lupin, however, and is one of my favorite of the movie characters.  I still am bothered by the fact that at the end, when Ron, Hermione, Harry, Lupin and Sirius are all in the Shrieking Shack, all Lupin or Sirius has to even say is, "Okay, give me the rat, its an animangus, its actually Peter Pettigrew, I'm not going to kill Harry, I'm after Peter..." but he doesn't say that, it builds the suspense, Snape comes in, and all Ensley breaks loose.  Just seems like it could have been avoided, that's all. 

Plus... and maybe I'm in the minority here, but I liked Richard Harris' old Dumbledore over Michael Gambon's hippie Dumbledore.  Just sayin'.

4)  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)... This is where it all started.  Man, these kids look young--which, I guess they were.  Working the theater when this premiered was insane, as I had to hold back three hundred kids, moms and dads, and after the show, the theater was literally so trashed, I used a leaf blower on a backpack, started at the top and blew trash to the bottom so the lazy high school students could do their best and not work.  Great movie, though.

3)  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)... This movie is where it sets in that in order to tell the cinematic story, they have to remove half the book.  Granted, taking out Hermione's S.P.E.W. subplot, arguably the weakest in the entire series, was great, but still, it was tough when the movie started on what was around page 110 in the book.  It was a time thing, though, and the Triwizard Tourney was awesome.  It was also great seeing Robert Pattison as Cedric Diggory, not as some gay sparkly vampire with commitment issues. 

2)  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I (2010)... Last year, I did a full recap of this movie on this here blog site, and discussed first a spoiler free, than a spoiler filled recap, though there is plenty of notice before the spoilers start.  The more I think about this addition to the series, the more I like it... here's what I wrote:

Essentially, the film version, at least Part I, of "The Deathly Hallows", is a little like a table of contents.  You see a live action snippet of each scene that is fully fleshed out in the book itself,  something is allowable because the 140 minutes of the movie covers only about 300 pages, not 500 pages.

1)  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)... My favorite book is my favorite Harry Potter movie.  Again, its not perfect, only due to lack of time, but I think it does the best job of making the necessary cuts to the book to fit the film.   It brings to the forefront Luna Lovegood, my favorite of the movie characters, and perhaps the only character I like in the movie over the book version, and of course, Ginny Weasley, one of my favorite characters overall. 

The Ministry of Magic battle happens and it looks brilliant, with Lucius Malfoy playing a key role.  And of course, the formation of Dumbledore's Army looks better than I imagined it when I read it in the book.  If it has any weaknesses at all, its the use of Professor Umbridge... one of the key moments in the book is when she tortures Harry by making him write with an evil pen, one that etches in the back the writer's hand as they write.  Harry makes it a point to not complain, even though there is scarring by the end.  In the movie, you see Umbridge making many of the students use such a pen, and it somewhat dilutes the torture given to Harry.  Just my own thoughts.  Anyway, my favorite of the movies.

But where will "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" rank among the other films?  I'll find out in about... 12 hours. 

Oh, if you missed a movie, or have forgotten what happens, here are The Fine Brothers on YouTube recapping all seven movies in seven minutes, in one take.   By the way, all the "We have no idea!" questions are legit questions if you have only seen the movies, but answered if you have read the books... for the most part, anyway...

  (there is a bleeped out F-bomb 3:22 in)

The Summer of Blogging Day Thirty Seven

The 100 Coolest Things of 2010... #50 to 41

And we continue with the longest running list, not counting The Dave100, on this blog site... that being the 100 Coolest Things of 2010.  I won't bother with the recap just yet, you can find it to the right under archives...

50... Harry Finds a Hallow
After what I considered to be a disaster, though one I can still bear to watch, of the last movie (the post I wrote, by the way, "A Letter to Steve Kloves" is one of the most read posts on this here bloggy site), my expectations for "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part I" were lower... but still slightly high, nonetheless.

Here's what I wrote on November 30th, 2010:

First and foremost, it holds a huge, huge advantage over any of the previous six films, and that is simply that this movie covers only half the book. The reason "Goblet of Fire" and "Order of the Phoenix" cut out almost half of their respective books is simply a time factor... you would have a six hour movie to cover everything ("Goblet of Fire" skipped the S.P.E.W. subplot, and was one of the few things I enjoyed about the movie versions over the books).

Essentially, the film version, at least Part I, of "The Deathly Hallows", is a little like a table of contents. You see a live action snippet of each scene that is fully fleshed out in the book itself, something is allowable because the 140 minutes of the movie covers only about 300 pages, not 500 pages.

You can read the full post here, but it continues to talk about the movie, first spoiler free, and then second, spoiler filled (though there are several alerts to tell you to stop reading if you haven't seen it).  I finished the post by saying, "Anyway, I really enjoyed the film, and have intentions on seeing it again. I said before my favorite movie character is Luna, but my favorite book character is Ginny Weasley... but I'm not sure I dig Bonnie Wright. I also think Fenrir Greybeck is fantastic in the book, but in the movie he's so marginalized and relegated to a second tier character.  Go see the movie, irregardless of whether you've read the book."

49... Via Napoli

Don't let the angle fool you.  This pizza is a monster, and this is taken
after four adults had just about had their fill...

What can I tell you about Epcot's newest restaurant?  Its in Italy, its authentic Italian, and its delicious.  I've eaten there twice, and its got some of the best pizza I've ever had, not to mention some of the best desserts I've eaten in a while.

Their food is a little pricey, but let's face it, its Disney, and all prices are a little higher than normal.  They ph-balance the water to match that of water found in Italy, as well as authenticate other ingredients to give you the freshest, purest form of Italian food... and their large pizza, $40 as it may be, will feed at least six people, if not more.  Its pretty awesome. 

48... Christians Like Stuff
So, Jon Acuff writes this blog, aptly titled Stuff Christians Like about being a Christian, and he asks tough questions like, what to do with the Christian version of "Freebird", or the problem with unrated movies on DVD... he's the author of several books, including one named after his website, and its a great read pretty much every day. 

47... Little Sister Ashley Gets a Ring
What can I say... my own adopted little sister (I got the looks in the family) got a ring on her finger from her hometown sweetheart, Brandon.  Apparently, he'd pined for her for years and years and years, and she gave him the cold shoulder... but one day, she woke up and said, "Whaaaa...?  I... like this guy!  No!  I love this guy!"

At top, its Brandon and Lil
Sister Ashley.  The bottom pic
features The Honorable Rev'rn
Ty "Sharpton" Coffey and Lori
Anne, bride to be.

She stopped by my store and flashed the ring, then I immediately commanded her to go to The Cabana and show The Lovely Steph Leann, which she did. 

And this past May, we were able to attend the wedding, which I'm sure you'll read about in The 100 Coolest Things of 2011... at this rate, some time around September 2013. 

Which leads me to...

46... Ty Gives a Ring
Here's another engagement that rocks, and gets the slight edge over Little Sister Ashley's big moment if only because I was involved in the proceedings...  The Honorable Rev'rn Ty Sharpton called me up and asked if I would participate in his little engagement get-together, which involved me taking the ring from him and setting it up in Samford's chapel. 

It was a little intimidating, holding a ring that cost more than Toni Rocki Honda, my little car at the time.  He asked me to not open it, not to look at it, he wanted Lori Anne to be the next one to see it, and I obliged.  I was to place it on the podium of the chapel at a certain time, then hide when Rev'rn Ty and his bride-to-be, Lori Anne, came in. 

While I was waiting for the word from Ty, people came in and out of the chapel--Samford had a football game going on in the stadium across the street at the same time--and I sat off to the side in a pew, probably looking like an old creeper.  I held the ring box tightly until I got the text that said, "In chapel yard".  I was nervous about letting the ring leave my sight, but I put it on the podium then slipped out a side door.

I walked around the student break area until I finally got a text that said "ITS DONE"... upon my return, there was a big smile from Revr'n Ty, and a bigger smile from little Lori Anne, and the ring almost blinded me.   And I was also able to not just attend, but be a part of their wedding, which you'll probably see in The 100 Coolest Things of 2011 as well.

45... B.o.B. Professes His Love
By the summer of 2010, there weren't a ton of songs that had really piqued my interest, especially in hip-hop areas... cause really, they all kind of sound alike.  So, here comes "Nothin On You" by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars, with this profession of love for his boo, telling her that there are chicks all over the place, and that sure, they might be cute or he might say hello... but ain't none them ho's got nothin on you.  Nothing.

"Beautiful girls, all over the world, I could be chasin', but my time would be wasting, they got nothin on you baby (nuh nuh nuh nothin on you... nuh nuh nuh nothing on you)... they might say hi, I might say hey, but you shouldn't worry about what they say cause they got nothing on you, baby (nuh nuh nuh nothing on you... nuh nuh nuh nothing on you)... nothing on you baby..."

Keep in mind, this was the summer that both B.o.B. and Bruno Mars emerged, so I don't feel bad in telling you that for the longest time, I couldn't tell who was rapping and who was singing.  Perhaps I'm still not sure.

44... The Books Get Read
My love of audiobooks is well documented and deep, with probably 100 or more in my collection... I keep most of them, about 110 gbs worth, on an external portable hard drive, but on my iPod that I have with me about 97% of the waking hours of my day, I have at least 30 or 40 that I take with me, just in case I might want to jump into a random book, be it Kristen Chenoweth's biography (or Andre Agassi's) or maybe some Glenn Beck, or even a chick lit novel by Emily Giffen...

And then, I finally joined Audible dot com.  The way it works is, you pay one price per month and you are given "Credits".  Then, you can download audiobooks for a credit, or for larger audiobooks (like the Walt Disney biography I initially got, which was 35 hours--it was two credits, but I got it free for joining).  Every month, for $14.95, I get another credit...

Essentially, its buying an audiobook for $15 per month, but when you consider they are running anywhere from $25 to $50 per book, its a pretty good deal.  Also, for members, you get special discounts on books, sometimes half off, sometimes huge percentages off, sometimes free... I just downloaded "Go the Heck to Sleep" children's book (warning:  NOT Emmy Turnbow safe), narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, for no charge whatsoever...

And the selection is pretty great too.  I managed to get The Pixar Touch for less than $7, I got Patton Oswalt's comedic book for about $6 and downloaded "ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun" for May's selection for one single credit... regular price, $26. 

Randomly, just for thought, here's my current wish list, or, books I'll end up downloading or purchasing if they go cheap--in the order I'm going to get them:  "The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called Dreamworks" by Nicole LaPorte... "Decision Points" by Dubya... "Bossypants" by Tina Fey... "Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Musical Rent" by Anthony Rapp... "Your Only As Good As Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films and 100 Films For Which I Should Be Shot" by Michael Medavoy

And if you think this was just a reason to go all Ron Burgundy and say, "Hey everyone!  Come look at the cool stuff I've been reading!"... well, you may be right.  Though if anyone has thoughts on any of these books, then I'd love to hear them--besides the predictable recoil by Brad Latta, Atty at Law, at the mention of Glenn Beck or Dubya. 

43... A Dragon Gets Tamed
Here's what I wrote about "How To Train Your Dragon" on June 6th, 2010...

"How to Train Your Dragon" follows the story of Hiccup, who lives in a Viking village where the life of a Viking is to hung and kill dragons of every size--and they are aplenty in this movie. Hiccup is a loser that is made fun of by most of the clan, mostly because his heart is not into hunting anything, much less dragons, but to please his father--who happens to be village chief, no less--he does what he can.

Hiccup ends up taking down a rare Night Fury dragon, but upon finding it in the woods, cannot bring himself to finish him off... and there, the adventure takes flight, pun intended.

I loved it. I loved every single second of this movie. I loved the main character, Hiccup, I loved his love interest, a spry pixie named Astrid, I loved the dragons, including the main one nicknamed Toothless, I loved the setting, I loved the creativity, I loved the story... I thought this movie was brilliant. This was the first time I'd ever seen a non-Pixar animated movie and thought, "This should have been a Pixar film."

The Lovely Steph Leann loved it too. As the credits began to roll, she piped up and said, "Wow. DreamWorks finally got it right." (full review is found here)

By the way, I watched this movie a few days ago on cable... it is just as good, great even, as the first time I watched it.  And that is a true test of a good movie.

42... A Town Gets Covered
Wow this is a big book.  Perhaps Stephen King likes to release a 1000 page behemoth every year, or maybe I just tend to read one--in 2009, it was "It"... and in 2010, it was "Under the Dome".

In the fall of some year after 2012, Dale Barbara, known as "Barbie", is trying to leave the small town of Chester's Mill.  Before he can get very far, however, something odd happens.  An invisible, indestructible barrier--a dome, per se--is dropped over the town, keeping everyone who's out of town out of the town, and everyone who is in the town, in the town.

Big Jim Rennie, second selectman, takes over the town, appointing his corrupt friends and sick, twisted son Junior as town officials, and does his best to try and contain the opposition, which includes Barbie and newspaper editor Julia Shumway.   Slowly but surely, the town's government falls apart as Big Jim's rule becomes more and more stern, and as his ego--and paranoia of losing control--spiral out of control.

Efforts to destroy the Dome fail one after the other, and everything from civility to law to just common sense begins to fall apart, piece by piece, little by little... its not a slippery slope so much as a straight up and down cliff. 

While the Dome is the central key to the novel, it is what happens to the town that becomes the book's plot.  The breakdown in civilization, the loss of respect and democracy... that's the book's central storyline.  When Big Jim realizes that not everyone sees it his way, its then that he begins doing whatever, and I mean whatever, is necessary to ensure his own rule is followed. 

King stated in an interview that he thought of Dubya when he was writing the character of Big Jim, but honestly, all I could think of was He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected... who gives a rip how it affects anyone, this is what I think is best, so this is the way we are doing it. 

Anyway, its a huge book, but I'd rank it up there as one of King's modern classics, and one I'll probably read again in the next year or two (it stays on my iPod just in case...)

41... Z's Serves the Burgers
Sometimes the best food you can find is in a nondescript hole in the wall place you've passed by a thousand times but never noticed its existence... and that would be Chris Z's to a tee. 

Nestled on a corner near St. Vincent's hospital, sharing the same block, if not the same wall, with the empty building that used to be Golden Rule BBQ (take a left off of Red Mt Expressway/Hwy 31 as you are facing St. Vincents), it doesn't have very much parking, and in fact, the best way to get to it is to drive past it, turn left at the light and come around the entire structure.

Walking in, you can see immediately that its family owned and operated... covering the walls in almost every space are frames, frames with single pictures of family, frames with duo photos of more family, large frames with collages of a dozen or more pictures of family and friends.  Being my close friend Melanie's husband, you'll see pictures of Melanie and Chris together.  You'll see the Z kids, Jay Z, Special K and The Zach Attack.  You'll see lots of people that sort of look like their family, and you'll see friends that you might recognize... or not.  

The cafe itself is set with not more than a dozen tables, mostly because there is no room.  Come at lunch time, you'll be hard pressed to find an open chair, but if you are an experienced Chris Z eater, you'll know this and will plan for it--either come earlier or later, or get it to go, or just stand and eat like many patrons do.

The menu is typed out in a familiar Comic Sans font, with some scribble with a marker and some tape over certain things, those manual corrections that the owner doesn't have time to make in the form of a new menu... no, there is too much food to make.  And the food is aplenty.

Hot dogs cooked to perfection, topped with everything or nothing at all, your request.  And the cheeseburgers are fantastic... my personal favorite is a Chris Z burger with mayo, mustard and ketchup, and cheese splashed all over the fries.  The Chris Z burger was actually recently named by a local magazine to the be the best burger in town, and its a well deserved distinction.

And then there is dessert... a family owned recipe for cheesecake pie.  That piece of pie kinda deserves its own ranking among the coolest things of the year, almost like a #40 1/2 spot... its amazing.  I've had cheesecake in six different states, ranging everywhere from the Carnegie Deli in Manhattan to the Baltimore Harbor... and its the best cheesecake I've ever had.

Anyway, if you are in the St. Vincents area, and you find yourself hungry--or even if you just want to find something new, check 'em out.  They also serve breakfast, which is excellent too... and that's not to mention their Middle Eastern menu they have the first Friday of every month.  Its good, good stuff.  (you can click here for more info)

Coming up... Hide yo' kids!  Hide yo' wife!  Its more of the best of 2010, now that 2011 is half over!  Yeah!  More Disney!  A DFC Champion!  And startin' fires...

The Summer of Blogging, Day Twenty Two

The 100 Coolest Things of 2010... #70 to 61

The Coolest Things of 2010, 100 to 91
The Coolest Things of 2010, 90 to 81
The Coolest Things of 2010, 80 to 71

70... Facebook DeFriended
Sometimes, you just want to be narcissistic.  Sometimes you get on Facebook and you notice that you have 2 less friends than you had yesterday.  And then, another day later, you gain a friend.  Could it be that people have dropped you?  Could it be that people deleted their account, then recovered their accounts?  If you delete your account, can you recover that account again? 

Either way, Facebook Defriended will take care of your narcissistic needs.  Buy the app for a buck, and you can hook it up to your account.  Then go into Facebook Defriended, and it will tell you your friend list activity over the last few days... who dropped you, who added you and so on. 

Why do I need this?  I don't.  Its a ridiculous app meant to only feed my ego and fuel my wonder of why someone would drop someone as awesome as I am (I say that with a smile and a wink), but still, I check it a couple of times per week.  Because I'm me. 

69... "Love the Way You Lie"
Overall, I'm not a fan of Eminem.  I respect what he does, and his mastery of wordplay and how he sings/raps, because if you just listen to how he does what he does, he's amazing.  What he actually says, however, is quite alarming and discouraging, because he has a ton of pent up anger and aggression in his lyrics, many times towards his own ex-wife.

Sometimes, though, he does get one out there that really makes me smile, one that I really enjoy.  "Without Me" was one a decade ago, while "Lose Yourself" is one that everyone likes.  And in 2010, a collaboration with Rhianna led to "Love the Way You Lie", which has this infectious, memorable opening riff--"Just gonna stand there and watch me burn... that's alright... I like the way it hurts..."

And the video, starring Megan Fox and Dominic Monaghan (Charlie from LOST), is just awesome.

Note... Eminem is not a clean guy, so please don't take this as an endorsement of his music.  As in, if you go and download this song, at least the explicit version, and are offended by the language, then don't blame me.  Listen at your own risk.  The album version of this song is not Emmy Turnbow Safe. 

68... Danno Gets a Reboot
I was never a fan of "Hawaii Five-O" in its original inception, not because it wasn't a good show, but because when it when it came on in 1968, I was a few years away from life.  When it ended in 1980, I was five.  When I saw re-runs in syndication, I barely remembered it.

So, when CBS decided to reboot the television show for the 2010-2011 television season, I had low expectations for the show.  Truth in advertising, I have low expectations for many shows when they premiere, because networks now rarely give most shows a chance to catch on... both Seinfeld and Cheers were low rated when they first appeared, but after catching on, they were awarded further seasons, and both went on to become television classics. 

The Lovely Steph Leann and I chose three shows to watch this time around, trying to watch them week by week via DVR, and those would be "No Ordinary Family", "The Event" and "Hawaii Five-O".  All three shows were good, but to me, "Hawaii Five-O" was exceptional.  It was funny, it was well written, and the cast is well placed.  Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan lead, with Daniel Dae Kim (Jin from LOST, and its hard to see him as anything beyond that) and Grace Park, and it also stars, of course, the Hawaiian coast line, the volcanoes and the culture.

Well, we stopped watching all three show on DVR, just because we got too far behind... and I'm quite alright with that for now, because "The Event" and "No Ordinary Family" are gone.  The former is in EW's "Danger Zone" and the latter is just scrubbed (which is sad, because it was also a good show).  However, "Hawaii Five-O" made the cut... and we'll put it in a category with "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and "Grey's Anatomy"... watch it on DVD and get through a season in a few days.

67... The Fury Goes Crazy
Anyone who reads this blog for longer than a few days will know I'm a big Stephen King fan.  And in the early 80s, there was a "Quad-fecta" of novels that I really, really enjoy.  "Firestarter", "Cujo", "Pet Semetary" and "Christine", about a car, a '58 Plymouth Fury with a mind of its own, and evil side, one that cannot be stopped and is raging with jealousy and anger.

Arnie Cunningham is a loser in high school, best friends with Dennis, who happens to be kinda cool, and important enough at school to keep Arnie from getting beat up daily.  This, however, begins to change when Arnie "meets" Christine, a rusty old 1958 red and white Plymouth Fury sitting in a junk yard.  The car has many secrets, a horrible, evil past and slowly begins to change Arnie's life--for the worse, especially when Leigh Cabot, this beautiful chick who moves into town, goes out with him... enraging the car.  Yep, I said that and meant it. 

The book is a quick read, its well written and though not overly frightening, has its creepy moments.  I do remember when I was a kid, having just seen the movie when it premiered on network television, walking home from a football game (we lived two blocks from the high school) and being creeped out at 10 at night because some old truck was sitting on the side of the road, staring at me.  I kept waiting for the headlights to pop on. 

Good book.

66... We Figure Out The Tip
I've got over 140 apps on my iPhone, with games and weather and news and email and interweb capabilities and so on, but one of my favorites, one of most useful apps I have ever purchased is one called "The Tipulator".

Its quite simple.  You type in the amount of your bill, say $32.89.  It will automatically tell you your tip amount, then give you a total.  If you have good service, and want to leave 15%, then it will tell you that you should leave $4.93, and you should pay $37.82.   They give really good service?  You can adjust your percentage from 15% all the way up to 50% (which must be incredible service).  If you wanted to leave 18%, then The Handy Dandy Tipulator will tell you your tip is $5.92.  Poor service, but you still want to leave a tip?  You can knock it down to 13%, which is $4.60.  Or 1%, which is 33 cents.

Other settings include the ability to round your tip up or down to the nearest dollar, or your total amount to the nearest dollar, you can split the check from 2 people to 50.   I have mine set to round the total amount to the nearest dollar, with the tip set at 15% or more.   The price is a mere 99 cents, and I would definitely recommend it if you ever eat out. 

65... Denzel Carries The Word
When movies come out in January, they are usually considered "throw away movies", that is, movies that are dumped into the post-holiday season when most people aren't going to the theaters because they spent too much money during the Christmas season.

But every now and then, they dump a movie into January that turns out to be darn good.  I give you "The Book of Eli".  Denzel is the title character, wandering on a mission through a post-apocalyptic United States carrying what, at that time, is a very valuable and rare artifact--a King James Bible.

This is part of my review on the film:

We see right away that Eli is not a guy to be messed with... he's got somewhere to be, and he's headed that way. And when people try to stop him, he stops them from trying to stop him in the most convincing "don't bother me" way possible. Trouble comes when he drifts through a town and its discovered by the town's "ruler", Carnagie (played by Gary Oldman, who excels in this type of role), that Eli is carrying with him last copy of the Bible.


The film is bleak in color, as many of the movies with this setting are, and language pervades throughout. The sexual moments are very few, with only a couple of allusions to it, mostly within the context of the town's danger. Violence is also heavy in this film, so expect lots of knives and gunshots and big armored vehicles. All that is to say that this movie is NOT for kids. I dare say its not Emmy Turnbow safe, but at the same time, I think Emmy Turnbow would like this movie--at least, an edited version that might come on the USA Network in June of 2012 or something.

Written on June 6th, you can read the full review here.

64... Norah Gets a Duet
Norah Jones is only for certain tastes, because the argument is that "all her stuff sounds alike"... and yeah, thats kinda true.  But if you like that sound, you'll love this album.  In her career, she's done several solo albums and has also done lots of work as a part of other bands like The Little Willies, or projects with other artists, like Ryan Adams or Willie Nelson. 

Released in November of 2010, "...Featuring" is a compilation CD of Norah Jones and.  Norah Jones and... the Foo Fighters.  Norah Jones and... Ray Charles.  Herbie Hancock.  Q-Tip from a Tribe Called ?uest.  And several, several others.

My favorite tracks on the CD are a cover of "More Than This" with Charlie Hunter, a cover of the 80s rock song, and a "Take Off Your Cool" with OutKast, as featured on the OutKast album "The Speakerboxxx/The Love Below". 

And if you think I wanted to mention OutKast's album "The Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" because I wanted to seem a slight bit cooler, then... you may be right.

63... Bruno Loves His Woman
Bruno Mars has had quiet a year... among many of the hits he's helped pen, Cee Lo's "Forget You" was a massive hit, as was Flo Rida's "Right Round", and had a couple of hits of his own, including "Grenade" and my 63rd Coolest Thing of 2010, "Just the Way You Are". 

Its a fun little song about loving a woman just... well, just like she is.  She's perfect.  He tells her that, "when I see your face, there's not a thing that I would change, cause you're amazing, just the way you are."

And in interviews, I liked the idea that he doesn't try to go too deep, he just simply says, "I'm a big fan of songs like Joe Cocker's 'You Are So Beautiful' and Eric Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight' - songs that go straight to the point. You know, there's no mind-boggling lyrics or twists in the story - they just come directly from the heart. And to me 'Just The Way You Are' is one of those songs. There's nothing mind-blowing about it. I'm just telling a woman she looks beautiful the way she IS - and, let's be honest, what woman doesn't wanna hear those lyrics?"

62... The Candlelight Processional
One of our several trips to Walt Disney World found us there in December, actually getting a chance to spend a little time with one of my best friends, Melanie, and her family, that being Chris Z (the hubs), and the kids, Special K, Jay Z and The Zach Attack.  And because it was Christmas time, The Lovely Steph Leann was very adamant that we see The Candlelight Processional.

What is it?  Well, at Epcot, its a special Christmas presentation featuring a choir, awesome Christmas music and a reading of the Christmas story--yes, the one from The Bible--by a celebrity.  The small amphitheater, near the American Pavilion, was decorated beautifully, with bright reds and greens all around, and at least a hundred poinsettias adorning the stage and spaces between choirs.

The choir itself consists of mostly Cast Members who auditioned, and
local talents, as well as the orchestra

The Lovely Steph Leann saw The Candlelight Processional in 2009, and just missed Steven Curtis Chapman and ended up witn Anika Noni Rose, voice of Tiana from "The Princess & the Frog"... and this year?  We still missed Steven Curtis Chapman.  He was reading later in the month, but our reader was none other than Ariel herself, Jodi Benson, who I believe is a Christ Follower.

After the choirs filed in, they sang a few Christmas hymns, then Jodi took the stage.  Over the next thirty minutes, music was interspersed with reading from Matthew, and at the end, she spoke briefly on the birth and eventual death of Christ.  And yes, this was all at Walt Disney World, a magical place, but still quiet secular.

Jodi Benson reads the Christmas Story.  We almost had Susan Lucci,
but they moved her around and gave us Jodi, and I was cool with that.

61... "Kick-A**"
Here's what I had to say in June of 2006:

Okay... so, for every reason I shouldn't, I thought this movie was hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. Its title that I feel very uncomfortable saying (and don’t, especially on a website that I like to keep PG), its got the same language you’d find in equally as funny movies like “Superbad”, its got comic-book style violence that still produces blood spatter like crazy, and it’s got a bunch of teenagers trying to get some. There is no redeeming quality to this movie.

Let's be clear here... this movie is NOT for children.  As a Christ-Follower, this movie is a prime example of the topic of "what do you place in front of your eyes?", which is another conversation for another day.  I've tried to give you the rundown on the film as best I can, so now its up to you as to whether to see it.  Cindy Jo is probably not going to see this film.  Hurricane Rhett might go out tonight and catch it.

Read the whole post, including the full review, by clicking here.

Coming up... A great indictment of the NCAA Postseason (what?)... keeping my head and hands warm... and later, hide yo' kids, hide yo' wife

Idols Sing Dame Elton John

In one of the weirdest, craziest, most dramatic ever (sounds like I'm talking about a Rose Ceremony on The Bachelor) elimination shows last week, Casey A was eliminated... voted out by America... saved by the Judges Save before he got one line into his song... then did a collapsing all over the room, on his parents, on the judges, on the Idols, on Seacrusty...

...but that means, no more second chances.  The Judges Save has been used, is gone and is no more.  What America wants, America will get, which sometimes means America does dumb stuff without knowing what they are doing (Obama?)... Now, its over.  The Top Eleven compete tonight, and tomorrow night, TWO PEOPLE get booted.

THIS IS

AMERICAN

IDOL

Seacrusty comes out, and The Lovely Steph Leann pipes up, slowly... "Ryan got... a new do... he got... his hair after all these years the same... now its different... I think... I think... I don't know... I dunno..."  Leave it to The Lovely Steph Leann to keepz it realz.

Tonight, its the music of Elton John, a true legend, and one of my Top Ten Artists of All Time.  I mean, he's an idiot now, he's a little bit crazy, he's got anger issues... but he's fantastic. 

MY ELTON TOP TEN PLAYLIST:
1) "Tiny Dancer"
2) "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" (The Lovely Steph Leann's favorite Elton tune)
3) "Your Song"
4) "Take Me to the Pilot"
5) "Rocketman"
6) "I Guess Thats Why They Call It The Blues"
7) "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
8) "Something About the Way You Look Tonight"
9) "Daniel"
10) "Philadelphia Freedom"

Its a little odd when Uncle Steven and J-Lo are looking at someone bigger and more important than themselves... Dame Elton John.

First up, Deep Voiced Scotty.  He's singing "Country Comfort" a song that is a little obscure, but was chosen because "it has the word 'country' in it..."

Once again, I'll say its not exceptional, but good.  He's seldom exceptional, but he's always really good.   And Uncle Steven says he's very good.  J-Lo says he was awesome.  And Randy the Dawg says, "I feel like I'm at your concert!  You have seasoned so fast on this show!"

Up now, its Niaba Beibaha doing something, as Seacrusty put it, "with a reggae twist".  And I just groan.   She's doing "I'm Still Standing", and so instead of groaning, I'm kind of excited... this might be the train wreck that gets her booted, with no Judge Save!

She says, in bad Jamiacan, "Dees on goes ot to all the peeples of tha worl who are sufferin..."   She sings her reggae swag, and J-Lo says, "I love you" about nine times, and then says she's not sure that this song is good for a reggae turn.  Randy the Dawg agrees with J-Lo, and though he loves reggae, he says the song itself came off corny.   Uncle Steven says, "boom shacka lacka lacka baby..."  He just says "good for you for picking a song that fits you...."  That's like someone wearing a horrible shirt, and having someone say, "You wear that well."

Okay, so when I typed those last words, "...wear that well..." it was 815p on Wednesday night.  I had to leave The Cabana and head over to The Deucecast Studios to do... a podcast.  Our podcast.  Yes, my buddy Mikey, Shawn and Tommy Mac, and also, from C'nooga, Matty R, are doing a podcast called The Deucecast.  We've been taping a few shows over the last few weeks, "test" episodes.  Our first real show is next week.  You'll hear more soon...

So every thing you read following was started on Thursday, 540ish, broken up again by having dinner with Melanie and the family at Pablos...

And we're back...

Up next is Pauly Mac... he's doing Elton John's "Rocketman", a song that he says his band covered before.  With a "How y'all doing this evening?" he strums his guitar, starts softly and dives into the rich, beautiful song.  The only thing more distracting than Pauly Mac's glistening, white teeth is that rose embroidered jacket.  He's one Bedazzler away from being the second coming of Porter Waggoner.

I really enjoy how subdued this cover is.  This would be great in a coffeehouse, as would his entire set.  Randy the Dawg called it a "quiet comfort", that was a bit pitchy, but overall good, but he and J-Lo both think he's holding back a bit.  And I just noticed that his pants match the jacket, with roses up and down.  Steven Tyler comments on this, and I'm really not sure exactly what he just said. 

And now, its Peepee Tuscany with her version of "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me (yeah!)", probably the one Elton John song I'm apathetic about.  I don't hate it, I can listen to it, but its not anywhere on my Elton playlist.  As a matter of fact, when I think of this song, I don't even think of Elton singularly, I think of his collaboration with George Michael (ladies and gentleman, meestah elton jahn!) and how huge that song was back in the 90s.

Peepee was told not to do another ballad, but Jimmy Iovine, the mentor/helper/producer/guider guy tells her if she can do it well, then do it.  And she does.

She walks out in a sparkly dress that most Disco Balls would be quite envious of.  Gotta tell ya, though, Peepee has a great, great voice.  Maybe her personality is not as cool and fun as Casey A or The Straight Adam Lambert, but her voice might be the best in this competition, if you are talking pure vocal talent.  And she gets hotter every week that goes by.  Just sayin'.

Crazy Creepy Uncle Steven loved it.  Ballad or no balled, the judges love her.  J-Lo hollers her praises.  Randy the Dawg defends his "no more ballads" comment, saying "You sing ballads and you slay them, but I want you to switch your gears... you were unbelievable!"

Sometimes songs transcend music alone, and becomes pop culture icons themselves, anthems if you will... "Tiny Dancer" is just that song.  Along with "Your Song", its probably the most popular Elton song you'll ever hear, and its an amazing song.  Everyone knows it, everyone can sing it, and its my 3rd favorite musical scene in all of music when its featured in "Almost Famous", which you read about here.

Stefano Italiano steps up to take on the behemoth that is "Tiny Dancer", a task equal to doing "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney, or "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine.  You do it, you had better get it right.  With Stefano, not so much.  Annie Barrett from EW.com said it best:  "Counting the headlights on the highway is really not as traumatizing as Stefano made it look". 

And at the end of the song, he walks to the judges and does some weird hand extension move to the judges.  What? 

J-Lo said it was really good. Randy the Dawg loved his connection with the audience.  Steven Tyler loved it.  Me?  Not at all.  It was... well, corny, and if Simon were here (and I don't necessarily miss him that much) he'd say the same.  

Howie Mandel in the house!  He's sitting next to Pahpah Italiano, which sounds like a pasta restaurant.

For each Idol, they are doing a "makeover" video, with EW's photo shoot, and America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina gets hers.  And wow she looks good.   Hold on...

(answers door.  Chris Hansen.  He asks me to sit in a stool.  Dang it.)

...and she's singing "Candle in the Wind", a song done for Marilyn Monroe, and then rewritten for Princess Di after her death, a song that was performed one single time by Dame Elton John.  He then swore he would never perform the song again publicly, unless requested by a member of the royal family.

America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina looks, like, fine.  (peer over and see Chris Hansen with a transcript in his hand)... I mean, looks cute.  She cleans up nice. 

Randy the Dawg says it was one of the greatest America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina's best performances so far.  Steven Tyler says, "America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina, I've loved you since the first moment you laid eyes on me..." and then creepily comments on her short dress.  I think its an awesome dress I think its way too short.  J-Lo sings her praises as well. 

And now, The Straight Adam Lambert is ready for fighting... as in, "Saturday's Alright For Fighting".   Ya know, his vocals aren't that great, but he's doing something that many Idols forget to do--entertain.  He's not just singing, he's performing.  Starting in the audience, he is all over the place, running up and down the steps, tossing his mic stand, standing atop the piano, jumping off said piano, then having the piano catch on fire.  That was pretty awesome. 

Steven Tyler yells out, "The Straight Adam Lambert!  You brought the heat!"  The Straight Adam Lambert's hair looks like he did that whole finger-in-a-light-socket thing.  J-Lo loved the performance, and Randy the Dawg loves the fact that The Straight Adam Lambert enjoys himself while singing.  It was a great performance.

The Straight Adam Lambert mentions that with the amount of hairspray in his hair, he was afraid of a "Pepsi Moment" (when Michael Jackson lit his hair on fire in 1985 due to an accident in filming a Pepsi Commercial).   Seacrusty is quick to respond, "This show brought to you by Coca-Cola!" and when they go to break, its a Diet Coke commercial.  Coincidence?  Nah.

Young Thiamegia is going to be singing "Daniel", and the youngling is wearing a dress far too short (settle down, Chris Hansen, I'm being serious) and that camera angle almost gives us more Thiamegia than we could ever ask for.

So, her vocals sound better than The Straight Adam Lambert... but he entertained.  This is rather boring.  Peepee Tuscany just stands and sings, but does is 1000x better than Thiamegia.  So, as great as it sounded, it wasn't entertaining, it was just... a good song.

J-Lo calls it a beautiful moment.  Randy the Dawg says he liked that it was very relaxing, though a little pitchy, and safe, while Steven Tyler loved it.  He loves alot of the songs.

The Safe Casey A is going to have to do alot to redeem himself.  Jimmy Iovine said it best:  "The Safe Casey A went from killing it every week to last week, where he killed himself, and now he's got to come back."  And one of the producers tells him to trim and/or cut the beard off. 

And here he is, the newly shaven, or at least, beard trimmed way down, The Safe Casey A sits on a stool and sings.  It sounds great.  I don't know if this is quite good enough to save him again, because I don't know America's sentiment, but this is possibly the best way he could come back.  Good times.

Steven Tyler loved it.  Randy the Dawg thought it was great.  J-Lo says she doesn't regret bring him back to the show.  Personally, I thought it was the best of the night.

Seacrusty promises us a softer, gentler The Soulful Jacob Lusk, which makes me wonder aloud, is there any other kind?   He's got his pimp suit on, looking like he's joining Nate, Mike, Shawn and Wanya in Boyz II Men, though he could be the fourth member now, because Shawn Stockman left (to do what, you ask?  exactly).

Back to Annie Barrett, via EW.com, she tells that she figures out who
The Soulful Jacob Lusk reminds her of.  Hil-arious.

The Soulful Jacob Lusk is doing "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word", but Jimmy Iovine tells us, "When The Soulful Jacob Lusk does that over-dramatizing thing he does in his songs, he blows the whole thing."  TSJL does well here, though, by not going to crazy.

Steven Tyler loved it.  J-Lo loved it, and the arrangement.  Randy the Dawg loved it, but wanted one spot in a song that has him go all the way up. 

And somehow, Haley Reinhart gets the Pimp Spot.  Maybe the Idol Producers felt that they needed "sexy" on the show, and that would be all Haley.

Fortunately, Haley Reinhart is in another tight dress, laying on a piano.  Unfortunately, she's singing on of my least favorite Elton songs, "Bennie and the Jets".  You know the dress has a plunging neckline when not only can you see the space between the cleavage, you can see the space below it.  Hey, just sayin'.

Haley Reinhart in the sexy dress, in The Pimp Spot, and
atop the piano.

I would love to tell you she sings this song well, but I hate this song.  So, while she sounds good, its a terrible song.   J-Lo loved loved loved it, telling her this was her night.  Randy the Dawg loved it, calling it the best performance of the night.  Crazy Creepy Uncle Steven says it was a well placed chorus, and that "you... sing... sexy..." 

Strong night for the Idols, this Elton night... The only two I truly didn't like was Stefano Italiano and, of course, Nomfoofoo.

The Safe Casey A... The Straight Adam Lambert... Pauly Mac... Peepee Tuscany... The Soulful Jacob Lusk... Deep Voiced Scotty... Haley Reinhart... Thiamegia... Stefano Italiano... Noxema Agralatte

NOW.... THE RESULTS...

We open up with a quiet piano tune, and clips of our Idols getting makeup, hair, getting ready for their night.  But because Casey A became The Saved Casey A last week, we are reminded for the 34,022nd time that TONIGHT IS A DOUBLE ELIMINATION!!!

THIS IS

AMERICAN

IDOL'S

DOUBLE ELIMINATION!!!!

Tonight!  Two People!  Eliminated!   Casey A became The Saved Casey A last week, and so tonight, two people will go home, eliminated.

We scan the stage, and on stage left, we see The Comfort Couch, while ominously, three glistening, doom filled Silver Stools of Suck await on stage right.   Seacrusty reminds us that last night, 98 billion people voted for their favorite Idol, a new record.

Tonight, among what we'll be fast forwarding through tonight, besides the group song and Ford commercial, is a performance with Will.I.Am and Jamie Foxx, and also Fantasia.   But, they are mixing it up a little, on an Elton John themed Idol, we have Deep Voiced Scotty and America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina singing a duet to... "I Told You So" by Randy Travis and Carrie Underwood.  Wait... what?

Seacrusy pulls them to the middle of the stage after their excellent duet, and dim the lights!  After the nationwide vote... both of them get another chance next week, both are going to The Comfort Couch. 

Back from break, and fast forwarding through the Ford Commercial, Seacrusty is talking to the Idols again.  Deep Voiced Scotty and America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina are so relieved.  Seacrusty tells us that the Idols get alot of fan mail, and The Straight Adam Lambert shows off what he got... a replica WWE Championship Spinner Belt with the name "Crazy James" on it.  Cool.

Now, Naima Agrhabobo and The Soulful Jacob Lusk come out to sing Ashford & Simpson's "Solid as a Rock" (fast forward) and then come to center stage for the results.  I'm predicting that The Soulful Jacob Lusk is safe, and Noxamia is in the Bottom Three.  And I would be... right.  As usual.  He goes to The Comfort Couch, she heads to The Silver Stools of Suck.

Back from break, Fantasia. Fast forward.  Home girl has an Elliot Yahmean grill going on, post-Idol!  Braces for the diva!  Her lips may be big, but her talent is bigger.  Wait, who's at the door?  Reverend Al Sharpton?  Dude, she said it, not me!

Now, its a rendition of "Teenage Dream" from Peepee Tuscany, Haley Reinhart and Thiamegia.   The Lovely Steph Leann looks at me and shrugs, telling me, "Why are you watching?  Fast forward."  I do, and now the results.  I predict Peepee and Haley are safe, Thiamegia is in the Bottom Three.  And I would be... right about Peepee Tuscany, as she goes to The Comfort Couch.  And now, we find out that... Thiamegia is in the Bottom Three. Right again!! 

Wait... Seacrusty tells us we lose two people?  When did this happen?

A video clip shows the Idols in different celebrity settings, meeting Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire, and then we see the Idol Mansion that's got a leaky roof.  We see America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina taking a tumble down a few steps, and the Idol producer that helps her up has a butt crack showing.  Eewww.

We see footage backstage from after last week's results show, where he's crying in the hallway and then hugging all of them in the room.   Kinda sweet.  So is Haley's dress.  What?  What? 

And let's fast forward through Pauly Mac, The Safe Casey A, Stefano Italiano and The Straigh Adam Lambert singing a song that I really hate... "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings. 

Results!  First, The Safe Casey A... and he's safe.  And now, The Straight Adam Lambert, who is... safe.  Leaving Pauly Mac and Stefano Italiano, and I'm predicting Pauly Mac heads to The Comfort Couch.  And I would be... Pauly Mac... Wow.  Well, I'm 2 and 1 now, so I don't feel so bad.

We fast forward through two commercial breaks and a performance by Will.I.Am and Jamie Foxx.

Back to results... who is safe?  Pauly Mac is safe!  And Naimeah Agrolabobo and Thiamegia are OUTTA THERE.   The camera cuts to America's Darlin' Lauren Alaina, who is now bawling. 

Okay, so now, it gets hard.  I like all the other Idols quite a bit, in different ways.  Well, I guess we can get rid of Stefano Italiano, but The Lovely Steph Leann protests, because she loves his abs.  Or something.

So, thats the show!