The Coolest Things of 2007... 50 to 41

After a week break, our countdown continues... but before it does, here's a few things to chew on...

My friend Ambre Lake is on Vh1's "Rock of Love 2" with Bret Michaels. More on this to come.

We're moving! Finally, after hunting and searching for months and months, we found a house we like, and we close on February 8th. Move day is on February 9th. No doubt, this is the number one contender for The Coolest Things of 2008... and more on that to come, too.

Now... on with the show...

50. "The Soup" starring Joel McHale
Never do I laugh as much as I do when "The Soup" comes on. New episodes premiere on Friday night, but you can catch them all weekend and off and on all week. The show is simply a clip show, featuring the best... worst... of Britney, Paris, Oprah, Tyra and all reality shows. With segments like "Reality Show Clip Time", "What The Kids are Watching" and "Chat Stew (so meaty)", its the host Joel McHale that makes each clip funny. His expressions and one liners are snappy and witty and perfect, with the perfect angle of sarcasm, and its great that he laughs along with us at the stupid nature of celebrities.

Any show that uses the phrase "Oprah's Va-jay-jay" (which led to the creation of the Vajapocalypse), and can still make me laugh is good with me. Here's the full story on The Soup.

49. Justin Timberlake

My favorite Justin tune? "Rock Your World", but it was in 2007 when I got a hold of "FutureLove/SexSounds", which is a feeeeee-nominal CD. Not only did he create a whole new catch phrase ("I'm bringing sexy back!"), but his videos are pretty darn fun, and its great to hear him just be so darn funky.

Back in my day, when I was in middle school and high school, it wasn't very cool to like Jordan Knight, or Timmy T or Joey McIntyre or The New Kids on the Block. Even in the late 90s, it wasn't really macho to be fans of N*Sync or The Backstreet Boys, at least if you were a guy. But somehow, someway, Justin Timberlake made it okay to like him. To root for him. To be a JT fan.

And most everyone I know is... people who like rap music, people who like country music, people who like R&B music, people who like rock music, they are somehow cool with Justin. My buddy Mikey loves JT. My buddy Shawn loves JT. People at work love JT. A friend of mine, Melanie, loves her some Justin.

Truly, though, why not? He's been with Alyssa Milano, Janet Jackson (back when she was kinda hot), Cameron Diaz and Scarlett Johannsen, among others, and if I'm Justin, I'm looking back on my break up with Britney, and getting on my knees everyday thanking the Lord my car was not in front of that train wreck.

You know who else loves JT?

48. K-Dub
I played saxophone in high school, and was friends with a fellow saxy girl named Kelli White. She was this cute little chick who was like, I dunno, 13, when I was a senior in high school, so before you get Chris Hanson ideas, nix that.

Well, Kelli has a little sister that before the last year or so, I vaguely remember ever meeting. Her name is Kasey, and somehow, we started chatting on MySpace and then Facebook. She went to Troy, she's married now, and she reads the blog (which alone makes her cool). Anyway, we're 'net buddies and she truly is the biggest Justin Timberlake fan I know. Colin Firth is to The Lovely Steph Leann what JT is to Kasey White Ward... or K-Dub, as she's come to be known on the blog.


I mean, I guess I could say that I wish I had known her in high school, but K-Dub would have been, what, five? That's creepy.

47. "300"
This movie freakin' rocked. I mean, it was nothing that I was expecting, but kept me glued to the seat.

When King Xerxes demands that Sparta respect his authoritah, King Leonidas gathers 300 of his best soldiers to go kick some Persian butt. What follows is battle after battle where Leonidas and his 300 boyz take on the Persians, the Immortals and everyone else who comes along.

This is not a brilliant film by any means, nor it is really a ground breaking motion picture, but its worth noting that it was made for a relatively little sum, but made around 210 million dollars, and its DVD flew off the shelves when it was released at the end of July.

What do I like about it? Its fun. Its full of color and wonder, its exciting without being too deep, its a manly movie that can be brainless without being stupid, its violent in a cartoony fashion... Lena Headey, who is a knockout--and is portraying Sarah Connor in Fox's next Terminator series, and of course, Gerard Butler is a pimp. Plain and simple.

46. Jonathan Taylor
In 2006, Emily Taylor appeared on the 100 Coolest Things List at #15, for her performance of "Voice of Truth". Well, its hubby's turn in 2007.

He's on this list because without him, we would probably not be able to get online very much. In August, we busted out the money to get a laptop, a router, a external hard drive and more, and when we tried to figure it all out, who did we call? That's right, Jon, our own personal IT department.

He came over, set it up, hung out for a while and when asked what we could compensate him with for all his time, he simply said, "Nothing. I like this stuff, and I love helping out friends." And that makes a very cool guy, and a very cool friend. I wonder if he knows we're moving...

45. ESPN College Football Insider
One of my favorite tunes is the theme song to ESPN College GameDay. At the end of August, when the music started for the first time, it warmed my heart. My breath got a little shallow, and I was in love. College football was back.

And everyday, Monday thru Friday, I spent 20 minutes listening to Andy Gresh host the ESPN College Football Insider on iTunes. It was a quick rundown of college football news, then discussions with ESPN analysts Todd McShae, sometimes Ivan Maisel and Beano Cook and even more... and if ever there was a season to hear about the upsets and news in college football, it was 2007 (see #69 for more info). Yes, yes, I finished outside the DFC playoffs, so perhaps the news didn't help me, but if ever there was time I wanted to read the Rammer Jammer Blog, it was this one. Thanks Scotty Latta, thanks for selling out to the man.

44. "1776" by David McCullough
What a brilliant book. Seriously. McCullough is a historical writer, author of the biography of John Adams (to which "1776" is a companion piece), and this time he takes on George Washington and the Revolutionary War. Washington, throughout history has been declared a hero, a leader and a visionary, and he was obviously all of those things, but according to McCullough, he was indecisive, sometimes wavering in his leadership, and seemingly forced into the situation he finds himself in.

The book takes you through the battles of Dorchester Heights, Long Island and Trenton, which is where Washington made the famous crossing of the Delaware, and where the Americans ambushed and defeated the British and Hessians.



There are lots of names to keep up with, as McCullough spends a lot of time on King George III, General Howe and Nathanael Green, but the book reads quickly, and McCullough does a great service... he makes historical immortals like Washington seem very human and fallible, and he makes sometimes boring historical events seem fascinating.

43. "Superbad"
Along with the Lifetime Movie Network, Michael Bolton music and vinegared beets, "Superbad" is something I immensely enjoy, but know deep in my heart I really shouldn't. This is not a movie for the faint of heart, with the language and... well, more language... and lots and lots of drawings of... um...

Really, the whole film boils down to Seth and Evan, and their quest to get chicks. Toss in Seth Rogan with a cool 'stache, a very cute Emma Stone as Jules, and the best nickname of the year, in the form of a nerdy geek named Fogell who gets a fake ID with one name: McLovin.


McLovin. Now that's funny, I don't care who you are.

42. "Trapped in the Drive Thru" by Weird Al Yankovic
I was one person who was entertained by the pile of poo that is R. Kelly's "Trapped in the Closet", a self promoted hip-hopera. And I was even more entertained when Weird Al put forth is own hip-hopera... "Trapped in the Drive Thru".

It tells the simple story of a husband and wife making dinner plans. And it takes up 10 minutes and 35 seconds to do so. Told in two parts, part one contains a hilarious conversation/argument about what to do for dinner, with meandering lyrics discussing chili, tuna, Olive Garden, Burrito King and more... and mimicking R. Kelly almost perfectly, the song crescendos as they approach the drive thru...

...then it gets a little slower... as part two commences.

And then they're in the drive thru, as the husband fights a battle on two fronts... the voice on the speaker, and at the same time, the wife in the seat changing her mind. As wives do. Watch the link, enjoy.

41. The trailer for "Cloverfield"
Its kinda funny that I'm getting to this entry, because after 8 months of seeing "01-18-08" splashed on a black screen, after the trailer has shown.

It looks like its shot on handheld video, we open up at a party, one that could be anywhere. Looks like DeuceFest, only in the upper west side. You hear some crashes, the camera takes you outside in a jerky motion, because the guy is running, only to see an explosion. People are running around everywhere, and before it goes black, what flies out of the sky but the head of the Statue of Liberty.

I don't remember what movie this appeared in front of this past summer, but I do remember the whole audience gasping, Mikey shrieking "YESS!!" a few seats down, and over the next few weeks, the question "Dude, did you see that trailer where the Statue of Liberty head comes flying down the street??? What is that??" popped up more than once.

Over time, we started seeing more and more of the film, as the trailers became more revealing, and learned it was really nothing more than a monster movie... though with JJ Abrams, the brain behind Lost and Alias, I hope Cloverfield will be a good monster movie... at least as good as the trailer says it could be.

Coming soon.... Rush smacks up Harry Reid... Ann smacks down Liz Edwards... Harry smacks out Voldemort... and lips are smacking at Archibalds.

The American Idol Audition Checklist, Part II

Its night two of the first week of 2008 American Idol! Remember our rules, right? And its back to Dallas, TX, home to Kelly Clarkson, the American Idol #1. So says White Fruit Booty Ryan Seacrest (thats a joke from last season, fyi. I just like typing 'white fruit booty').

There's actually a chick who went into labor while waiting in line. From the looks of that line, she might have carried the kid through a full third tri-mester, then went into labor.

Single, former meth addict Jessica, mother of two, and apparently a Pro-activ user, is up first with a backstory, complete with an anecdote of singing "Jesus Take the Wheel" (by American Idol Carrie Underwood) during a recovery group session. Holy crap, Idol, PLEASE let this chick be good.

Taking on the Pretenders, she... is... good. Whew. And we have the first "pitchy" of the year, from Randy Jackson.

Next up... White guy. Redneck. Fat. Dancing. Never a good sign. Bad, bad times. The Lovely Steph Leann is hiding her eyes and sighing. And the guy is talking. And both The Lovely Steph Leann and I are hiding our eyes. He's singing... no, wait, talking with a broken tone... "Waiting for You" by Elliott Yamin. And for the first time of the night, and certainly for not the last, we have a "Make it stop..." from The Lovely Steph Leann.

Beth Maddox is hoping to be the next Kelly Clarkson. She's a singing waitress at a fondue restaurant, and she says she's been compared to Kelly. I think the mirror in our guest bathroom just shattered, and I have no clue what she was singing. She's trying "Beautiful Disaster", though I don't know how beautiful it was. Not very.

After a montage of terrible auditions, including some classic Shai, here comes Alaina doing some Faith Hill. And 16 year old Alaina makes it look easy... but Simon says, "I don't think you are as good as you think you are". Alaina say, "Really? Shoot." But she makes it Hollywood, amidst the squeals of her loved ones outside, while the country music plays outside.

Gregory and Mia Tobias. I have no idea what they are doing. But Simon, Randy and The Lovely Steph Leann are wide eyed in amazement, perhaps because of how horrendous that was, perhaps because no one has shot these people yet.

Bruce, 19, is ready... he's in line. With his dad. He's never kissed a girl. He's never had "relations". He wears a key around his neck. Which matches a heart that his father is wearing... his father will give that heart necklace to this kid's future bride. Simon says, "Why?" He's trying one of my Top 20 Favorite Songs of All Time, "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers, and almost does it, but not quite. He hits Rule C.

You knew this would end badly because "Right Here Waiting" by Richard Marx in the background.

Pia has a mohawk, and is trying to bust up some Gladys Knight... and wails. This chick has style, even with the mohawk. And she's through.

Brandon, 21 from Mississippi (your first clue), has a hobby. A collection, you might say. In a bag, he saves his clipped fingernails. Like, thousands of them. Clipped fingernails. He keeps them in a bag in his pocket. Ah... and we have the Rule I! He wants to be a positive voice for the world! And he's even singing Hall & Oates, and doing it decent justice. She's a rich girl, and its gone to far, cause you know it don't matter anyway... Simon says no, Paula says yes, Randy says yes too... so Brandon (finger)nailed it, and is headed to Cali! (Ryan just made the same joke, after I did)

I'm noticing lots and lots of young mothers in this city... Kayla Dawn Hatfield, 24 (who looks 45) has a heartwarming story about a car wreck, trapping her in the car, and ended up having to have reconstructive surgery on her face. So that's why she looks 45. I feel about 4.5 inches tall. And when Kayla Dawn Hatfield starts singing Janis Joplin, The Lovely Steph Leann not only sat up, she slapped me. She's just so darn happy and fun, and grateful to be alive... and Simon says... yes? What? And Paula says no? Simon is pleading Kayla Dawn's case... what the heck American Idol? Randy says yes, Kayla Dawn is going to Hollywood, The Lovely Steph Leann is perplexed and I'm going to go light myself on fire.

Another bad montage... and finally, we have a Celine butchering! By a white fat guy, no less! Then someone who tortures Aretha! That's Rule E!! This means, of course, we have a great voice coming up soon. And here comes Kady Malloy, 18, from Malloy, TX, who does vocal impressions, and is nailing Britney (the music, not the shaved head, panty-less freak out). I like the name "Kady". Kady Dollar. How about LaKady? D'Kady? Hmmm....

Anyway, she was really good. And Simon says "The best so far this year"

Train Wreck Alert. That would be Douglas, 28, from Austin. He read an article by Christina Aguilera about singing, then starts going into this rambling thing about his father hating him and... I don't even know. "Living On a Prayer" by Bon Jovi. I only mentioned that in case you wanted to know what that evil, terrible sound was. The Lovely Steph Leann's response? "Make it stop." She even just whispered it. And Rule J just happened.

(the low, pleading, whispering voice behind me) "...make it stop... please..."

Angela Riley just got married. But Riley isn't her new name, but she kept Riley to sing with. Chad's her hubby. Chad picks up "Baby Love" for Angela Riley to sing. The Lovely Steph Leann says, "She's like... show choir". I would have never picked that up, but that's why I keep her around.

Chad then picks "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", and Randy and Paula says "Fire away!". Angela does. There's a halogen lamp right behind our television. I'm thinking that Angela looks about as smart as that lamp. I would say bright, but the lamp is on, and I don't want you to get the wrong idea. And Chad holds her as she cries down the stairs.

Not only can Kyle sing, he has good character, and just busted out Rule I. Or so, he says. And he also says he wants to be the governor of Oklahoma. He's apparently a politician at heart... and he's got to be better than Hillary or Obama. There's a halogen lamp right behind our television. I'm thinking that lamp would be better than Hillary or Obama.

Kyle is trying out "Somebody to Love" by Queen. So... both The Lovely Steph Leann and myself are a little... shocked. We actually didn't expect this guy to be decent. And Simon says, "You weren't as bad as I thought you would be. Yes to Hollywood". Wha...? Randy says no, but Paula says yes, and I looked at Steph with a "what the heck just happened?"

...(yawn)...

...huh? what?....

....sorry, I just dozed off. This chick Tammy is on tv talking and... she's a contestant and... she's got the most monotone voice ever... she says she's singing "Power of Love" by Celine, but starts with "If You Asked Me To", and yes, as a guy, I knew that right off. Tammy's expressiveness extends to her arms moving about four inches to the left and right, and her hands moving in tiny circles. Tammy is... just so... blah. Like, a cure for insomnia, like CSPAN or something.

Colten Swon, a musician, busts up some Little Big Town, and heck, I like this guy. He sounds like the lead in a group like... well, Little Big Town. And his name is Colten. That's a great name, but only if you are in Texas. LaColten. D'Colten. Maybe not. And he goes to Hollywood.

There's a transvestite trying out. I'm not sure I have a joke here. And then a fat guy in a dress singing Bonnie Tyler.

Here's Drew from Satillo, Mississippi. And he's a farmer. "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" is playing while Drew is haulin' the hay, and sangin'. I like this guy... I really hope he's good. He's like a manly Garrett from last year.

Here comes some George Strait. The Lovely Steph Leann just smacked me, saying "Wow, that's tone!" Simon says no, Randy says yes, and Paula... she says yes too. I think Drew might be one of my favorites so far.

Another Daughtry spawn, Kyle, who wears eyelin... I mean, guyliner, sounds like a gruff chick. He's a counselor from Illinois, and he has a poster with his counseled kids. This might be creepy, but I'm not sure. He's singing Kelly's "Never Again", which would be my answer if The Lovely Steph Leann asked me when I would want to hear Kyle sing. And here's Rule J, once again.

Yet another terrible montage, this one with a whole bunch of people that shouldn't be singing singing "Since U Been Gone". Simon says "I now officially hate that song."

Nina Shaw, from Burleson, TX, home of Kelly Clarkson, walks in. Finally, some Whitney! Nina is singing "Run to You", one of my top Whitney songs, and it wasn't bad. But it wasn't great. She then sings Nina Simone, and that gets a yes from Randy and Paula, but a no from Simon.

They've been showing the clips of this little Asian dude in a cape and a crazy white get up for the entire show (including the teaser for tonight on last night's show), and finally, here he comes. This is a producer's dream, really. "I wan audition bee caz this is preeve-ledge. I want American Idol to geeve hope to people in deesparr" I didn't make that up, KT, I promise.

The Lovely Steph Leann says "Freak in silver cape coming down the hall". This is Rule A, times 45 BILLION. He's singing an "Ar-iginal campo-zishun... we're brudders for aver". Renaldo is 44, and is more understandable when he's singing then when he's talking.

When Paula mocks you, its over. And when Simon joins in, its really over. William Hung 2.0. Randy actually goes to get Ryan from the hallway, then asks Renaldo to sing again. And he's singing--and has been--the same four lines over and over and over. What has more talent this Renaldo? I can't think of anything!!

Well, there is this halogen lamp behind our television...

The American Idol Audition Checklist

We'll keep going with the Top 100 Coolest Things of 2007... but first... its the beginning of American Idol 2008!!!!

No other show, except for maybe Lost, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and maybe Heroes, and also Survivor, and of course Amazing Race, and Grey's Anatomy, and awards shows, and oh, anytime the AFI has a Top 100 Movie list... but besides those, no other show has captured the attention of both myself and The Lovely Steph Leann like American Idol. And after last's season being a total disappointment, this season promises to be much better--fewer "mentors" like Jon Bon Jovi and Gwen Stefani, the fact they can audition with instruments now, and hopefully, the return of Baylie Brown.

Here's what you can expect to see in any American Idol audition... at least one of the following:

(A) Somebody in a weird outfit that cannot sing

(B) Somebody who cannot sing that will be bleeped later telling Simon what he can do and where he can go

(C) Somebody who legitimately can sing, but will be refused Hollywood because they aren't "it"

(D) Somebody totally weird, bizarre, whacked out that cannot sing (anyone remember "Panther"?)

(E) Somebody will butcher Celine, Whitney and/or Alicia

(F) Somebody will attempt a Stevie song that should not attempt a Stevie song

(G) Somebody who really is so sweet and nice and you want to be able to sing, but just can't do it, and you feel bad for them....

(H) Somebody who gave up everything to come audition, but will absolutely suck

(I) Somebody who says "I want to sing to share my voice with the world"

(J) And somebody who will sing another song, badly, unprompted, after its very obvious that the first song was terrible

We open up the season in Philly, with crowds reminding me of DeuceFestDeuce in 2001. And then... here we go...

An Anthony Federov knockoff (ie, a contestant with a heartwarming story and odd glasses) is up first, this guy having lost over 200 pounds. He's "ready to do dis". He's doing "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5, a band that I didn't like to begin with... but am liking more and more as we go along. And Joey, the guy in question, isn't bad. And we start off with Joey going to Hollywood!

Ah, the yearly foreign guy, this one who loves listening to "Mr. The Bee Gees", who wants a girl with hair to... the navel? The nivel? The nipple? I dunno. And Paula can actually walk through the gap in this guy's teeth. He's singing "Mr The Bee Gees" song "How Deep Is Your Love", including doing his own harmony. Steph Leann is laughing loudly... we can check "G" off of our list.

Melanie Nyema, who used to sing backup for Taylor Hicks, sings a little Natasha Bedingfield's "Unwritten". And she does well enough to make it. And the guy after Melanie Nyema? Bad suit, bad voice, Steph Leann and Randy Jackson are both hiding their heads. And let's mark "J" off of our list.


And in a throwback to the "Creepiest Idol Auditions Ever" catagory... both Steph Leann and I miss Nick Zitzmann.

One that should have made our list was "Somebody will butcher Unchained Melody". And someone just did. And here's a guy, a black guy no less, singing Elton John... and doing it justice. And one of my people (Hispanic) doing something in Spanish, and doing it well. And stepping right out of a boy band, here's one more doing his thang. Black Elton, Jose and Boy Band Crakkah make it to Hollywood.

Never, ever, ever bet on a big chick named Temptress, and one that plays football. No, I didn't just make that up. She's a flippin' middle linebacker. No, seriously, I'm not just making that up cause she's a big chick (Katie Roberts, seriously, I didn't make this up!). Chalk up another "G". I think my ears are bleeding. The best part about this entire segment is that Paula is wearing a see-through shirt. And that's not saying alot... I mean, its Paula, not Kate Winslet.

Steph Leann just suggested "Temptress Dollar". Not sure I like that. I do like The Sport's Guy take on baby names though... it seems that when a mama puts a "La" or a "D'" in front of a name, then that makes the kid athletic. Like, we're thinking of the name "Campbell" or "Collin" for a boys name... so "LaCampbell" or "D'Collin". I can dig it. Or heck, if we name our little girl "LaLorelei D'Addison", then she's destined to play basketball for the Tennessee Vols and win a title.

Here's another foreigner, Udi (oo-dee) trying to dance, and actually using the words "Elvis" and "pimp look" to describe himself. When asked the question "Who do you sound like?", its NEVER a good sign when the guy says "Oh, Sinatra, some people say Manilow...", cause they will NEVER sound like those guys. Steph Leann says, "Stop him! Okay! Stop him!" I mean, if I may name is Udi, I'm getting my band together, and calling them the Blowfish.

Here's a montage of people singing "I Love Rock & Roll" by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. We just knocked out both "A" and "D" several times over, including seeing several faces that we saw last year.

Ah, straight from the Waffle House, its Alexis Cohen. Covered in glitter and incense, and the fact she's from Allentown and just said "Oh, there's a song written about Allentown, I think it was done by Bon Jovi..." means she's not very smart. It was Billy Joel, genius, written about 8 years before Bon Jovi got popular. Waffle House Alexis just gave us a pep talk before going in to sing... and you know what's coming. She's comparing herself to Pat Benatar, Grace Slick and Janis Joplin... which means she'll be terrible. And guess what? She actually sounds like Grace Slick... Simon says "It sounded possessed." I think we just got "C" and I have a feeling we're about to see "B"... and yep, here comes lots and lots of "B".

It always makes me laugh when someone goes off on Simon, when truly, no one wanted Waffle House Alexis to go to Hollywood. She has aspirations though... she says she wants to pursue "actressing". And she leaves us with the old reliable "I'm going to hit it big, and then I'll show all of you that you shoulda picked me!", which is also funny, because I don't know a single artist popular now that can say "I was rejected by American Idol, but I made it big anyway!!"

Oh boy... here comes the heartwarming story. Angela's daughter has a degenerative disease that is slowly taking her life. Darn it... Angela has to be good! American Idol can't show this kind of story, and then Angela not be good! And she's trying Stevie... and she signs, she seals, she delivers!!! Honestly? I love this chick... she's through to Hollywood! I have an early favorite!

Some chick named Elyse just kicked Nina Simone's "Feelin' Good" on the ground, and the puked on it. Very sad. Another chick, Teresa, just took 15 seconds to sing one note. And yet another chick just killed Heart, which saddens Steph Leann, who loves Heart.

An old guy is here, wants to sing a song "No Sex Aloud", as a message of hope to the young people of the world. Milo, from NJ, writes songs that "need to be heard by millions of people". The Lovely Steph Leann is hiding her head. We haven't put up all of our Christmas ornaments yet, which is good, because I just grabbed one and stuck it in my eye.

Here's a chick named Christy Cook! I went out with a chick named Christy Cook in college... she turned out to be a lesbian. No, I didn't date her, because had I, she wouldn't be a lesbian now... um, anyhoo... And no, its not the same Christy Cook. She's a cage fighter! And its actually Kristy Lee Cook. Sounds good, and she's off to Hollywood!

And with Ben, we have "A" and "D" wrapped up in one. A grown, chunky man wearing a Princess Leia bikini outfit. I wish I were kidding. Then, the montage of "**** you, Simon! **** you, Idol, you suck!" when they're rejected." Then, a creepy guy singing to Paula Abdul. I almost expect to see Chris Hansen come out, just on principal. The Lovely Steph Leann is shrieking in horror and fear. And hiding her face. He manages to use the words calk, chalk, stalk, walk, balk and Peter Falk all to describe his affection for Paula.

Hot chick alert! Beth Stalker (what a last name... I wonder if she has a cousin named Jennifer Restraining Order) is a mom, 28 and ready to blow us away. Simon doesn't liker her, she's in danger of becoming a "C", but Randy and Paula send her to Hollywood.

So Ben Haar, the Princess Leia bikini guy, took Paula's advice when she said "shave your chest and come back". So he did. And, in an example of a guy who is only interested in being on TV, trys to sing "Don't Cha", and gets approximately "Don't cha..." before he's stopped. And kicked out.

Chris, with dreadlocks, comes in, to which The Lovely Steph Leann says "Look at those cheekbones!" And he sings Uncle Kracker, which is kinda fun, and he sounds good. He is going to Hollywood, and rightly so.

I'm disappointed... no Celine... no Whitney... no Alicia... no bad Stevie... what is this? American Idol from another world?? Here comes a chick named Christina, wearing Princess Leia hair buns, and wearing a Star Wars belt buckle. I'll be honest... I think I'd rather see Ben Haar in the Princess Leia bikini than this chick. She looks like Sara Sidle crossed with... I dunno, a monkey? Weird.

So, Christina wasn't doing so bad until, well, maybe four seconds after she started. Then it got terrible. Really terrible. Steph Leann is silent. So is Simon. She reminds me of a not-as-fun Scooter Girl from a few years ago. Christina on American Idol, not Steph Leann.

And finally... its Brooke White, from California. Who has never seen a Rated R movie... she said it, not me. And a very, very good voice. Randy says "pure", while Simon says "sincere", and Paula says "Yes!". Welcome to Hollywood!

All in all, 29 from Philly heads to Hollywood. And Christina the weird Princess Leia chick is bitter. Tomorrow they head to Dallas, TX, where we perhaps will finish our checklist. I'm waiting for the bad Celine...

The Coolest Things of 2007... 60 to 51

Here's the next entry in our 100 Coolest Things of 2007....

#60. The Amazing Race All Stars
Back in the Spring, the pulled together the finest teams from The Amazing Race to... okay, did I say finest? Well, when you have a team that befits the best of the PG-13 nickname, "Team Bats***", plus teams that I nicknamed Eric & The Boob and Gay Miserables, and of course, Rob & Amber who are in a competition with Omarosa for the most reality shows ever, then you have one heck of an entertaining show.

I was rooting hard for Dustin & Kandice, two of my reality show hall of famers, but they only made it to third. Here was what I thought on February 20th:

I still love Dustin & Kandice. I can't tell them apart, but the fact that no one likes them because they are so competitive makes me root for them. I'm also pulling for Uchenna and Joyce, though I'm sure going on a trip around the world is the perfect solution for a troubled marriage due to infertility.

#59. "The Shining" by Stephen King
What a creepy book. I once said that this was the most frightening book I had ever read, and since I shot through several Stephen King books, both ones I'd read and ones I hadn't, I thought it a good time to get The Shining again. And I learned something... this book isn't that scary, or at least as frightening as I remember it. However, the book is about a hundred times better than I remember it being.

Its so easy to get influenced by the Stanley Kubrick version of the book, the one where Jack Nicholson plays the Overlook Hotel caretaker, Jack Torrence. This movie in itself is a great, creepy film, but it does so much gouging of the actual book--from leaving out the hedges to the fate of Dick Halloran to the true meaning of "The Shine"--it is not far removed from being a different film altogether.

At its heart, "The Shining" is a book about a father, Jack, who has been a failure all his life and will give up everything to succeed as caretaker, and his son, Danny, who loves and idolizes his father so much, it almost costs Danny his own life. Both Jack and Danny, and mother Wendy, and Dick Hallorann are so rich in character, its a marvel just to read their stories... and the other character is The Overlook, the sinister hotel high in the Colorado mountains. King writes The Overlook as if it had feelings, as if it had anger, love, emotion, jealousy and so on, because truthfully, it does. It comes alive to manipulate Jack into getting what it wants.

This is where the movie misses out. In the movie, its just a haunted hotel and a crazy man, but in the book, you watch the hotel slowly take over the Torrence family. In my favorite scene in the book, and one of the scariest in any book, the hedges slowly come alive to try and take Danny into the hotel's soul, and they try to take Jack as well.

I rented the mini-series that came out a few years ago, with Steven Weber and Rebecca DeMornay as Jack and Wendy and it... well, it was terrible. It was given a modern day feel, but still tried to use the verbage and language from the 70s, when it was written. It highlighted much more than Kubrick's "The Shining", including key parts like the croquet mallet, the furnace and the hedges, but its just acted so poorly.

Anyway, this was a great book, one that I highly recommend picking up over a weekend. Keep the lights on. Re-watch Kubrick's "The Shining" only after you've finished the book, and steer clear of the mini-series.

#58. MLK Weekend at the Beach
Spending the weekend at the beach is a great thing. Spending the weekend at a friend's house, when it doesn't cost you anything, is a better thing. Having a bunch of good friends with you is the best.

Because The Lovely Steph Leann never gets to see her BFFs, DeLisa, Lesley & Susie, from school, late in '06 we started planning (and yes, I was one of the initial developers of this great idea) to all get together for MLK three-day weekend. There was Suzie & Mike, who owned the house we'd be staying in... there was Lesley & Jason, who lives in Crestview, parents of twins (who stayed with grandparents)... there was DeLisa & Nick, who live here in town, but we never get to see because even when you live in Birmingham, its so big it might as well be another city... and there was Mike, one half of the Mike & Ken guy duo that hung out with them. Mike brought his fiance-now-wife Daphne... or perhaps it was his wife already. I don't remember...

In the back, Mike & Daphne, Jason & Leslie. In the front, there's Nick & DeLisa, me and The Lovely Steph Leann and in the bottom right corner, Susie and Mike.

Anyway, it was a good time. We just hung out, we went shopping the next day at San Destin, we grilled out, watched sports, and just had a good time. Mostly, it was good to see Stephanie reconnect with BFF Suzie, BFF DeLisa, BFF Lesley and BFF Mike. We were going to try to do it again this year, but that didn't work so well...


#57. Tyler Graduates
I've always talked about Tyler, the Sexy Beast of the Clouds in My Coffee Blog, in a great way, cause he's really a good kid. He's my brother in law, The Lovely Steph Leann's youngest brother, and truly fun to be around.

So, naturally, it was a good time when we got to see him graduate, along with my other friends Stephen Hunt, Trey Cartledge and Garrett Cheney... and of course, like last year's graduation with Kourtney Kelley & Kandice Kelley (which ranked #20 on the Coolest Things of 2006), it was a good time to have fun with some of the names.... names like Robert Alan "Case of" Heinke, Elijah "Soy" Chai Ngaruiya, Zack Bedgood and Rizwan Poonwalla (the new Chest Rockwell and Brock Landers), and of course, The Gurley Man and the Priddy Boy.

You can go back and read the entire graduation blog here.

#56. The Lovely Steph Leann's One Liners
Sometimes, perhaps more often than not, Steph Leann is really, really funny. For whatever reason, she waited until this year to start popping off the one liners...

Me, sitting at Purple Onion, listening overhead: Is that Lional Richie I hear? At a Greek restaurant?
Steph Leann: Hey, Lionel Richie is universal.

(you can read the full story here)

Me, watching some show with Elvis on it: Elvis was really a pimp
Steph Leann: Honey... Elvis invented pimp

Me: (I don't remember what I said)
Steph Leann: There are not dust bunnies in my belly button!!!

You get the idea. Funny, funny stuff. (I'm going to regret that last one)

#55. STOMP!
What a great show. We saw it in December with Andy & Kristy Murry, who'd never seen it before (this was my fourth time). It's always great to see it with people who haven't.

Anyway, STOMP! is the percussion show where the cast makes great music with advanced instruments like brooms, dowels, rods, balloons, plastic sacks, newspapers, trash cans, trash can lids, keys and everything else you can imagine. Its a marvelous show that obviously takes a long time to prepare for... totally worth the cost.



You know, what kills me is when I was in 6th grade, I had the chance to join the band. I thought about playing drums, which would have been cool, but I waited, picking up alto sax in 9th grade. But what if I would have started on the drums in 6th grade, then in 8th grade, turn to my fellow drummers, saying "Hey, why don't we get some brooms and such, and make some music? It might be cool." I'd be a freakin' millionaire. I chalk this right under Build-a-Bear in the "why the heck didn't I think of that??" catagory.

I would highly recommend getting Stomp Out Loud on dvd. Its a tv version of the show, lasting about an hour, and there's some stuff in it that you only see on tv.

#54. "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King
Unlike "The Shining", I had never read "Salem's Lot", and unlike "Cell", I didn't know what Salem's Lot was about... well, except for vampires.

Alongside "The Shining", "The Stand" and "It", "Salem's Lot" is considered one of Stephen King's masterpieces. Written in 1975, it tells the story of Jerusalem's Lot, or 'Salem's Lot, Maine, a town that is slowly dying--or, disappearing, rather. Ben Mears, a writer, moves back into town after his wife dies, strikes up a friendship with local doctor Matt Burke and sparks a relationship with old friend Susan Norton.


He's back to write a book on The Marsten House, the local "haunted house" (because every small town has one) that gave him nightmares as a child. Things are not well at The Marsten House, which of course, why would they be--this is, after all, a true horror story.
The build-up is fantastic... you don't even know its a vampire story until at least halfway through the book. The payoff is even better, as lots of people start dying, lots of vampires start attacking and lots of goose bumps start bumping. You can even read the "bookends" of the novel, two short stories that appear in Stephen King's "Night Shift", with "Jerusalem's Lot" set before "Salem's Lot", and "One for the Road" set after.

I've never seen the original movie adaptation, but I will say like "The Shining", steer clear of the Rob Lowe starring made-for-tv adaption. Its just terrible.

#53. Transformers.
We all loved the afternoon cartoon, and some of us remember the guilty pleasure that was and is the mid-80s animated Transformers movie, the one where Optimus Prime not only curses, but dies. So, we were pretty excited when we heard that Michael Bay (the director) and Steven Spielberg (the producer) would be involved in a 2007 update of the great kid toy line.

I'll be honest with you... there's nothing about this movie I didn't like. As in, I liked EVERYTHING about this flick. There's not a throwaway line, there's not a wasted scene, even Bumblebee going from old school VW Bug to a classic Camero didn't bother me like I thought it would. The Year of Shia LaBeouf continues as he's perfectly cast, while Megan Fox lives up to her surname. And of course, you have the Autobots and Decepticons, which every guy--and some girls--were so jazzed about because it took us all back to when we were 8, raging the battle of Cybertron on our front lawn.

The ending battle through the city is phenomenal, as is just about everything about the movie.

#52. Seth Rogan
Wow this guy is funny. Who knew? Althought I saw "Knocked Up" first, I can see where his reputation started to build after "40 Year Old Virgin". And then, in "Superbad", with the crazy 'stache, as a moron cop, he's hilarious too.

I'm so diggin' the Fu stache. I'm trying to convince The Lovely Steph Leann to let me grow on.

I'll end up having to put "Freaks & Geeks" on my Blockbuster Queue, where he started on TV.

#51. Facebook
MySpace used to be the place to go, until they opened up Facebook to the world, instead of just college students and business networks. I know, I know, there are some who wanted to keep it only for college students and businesses, but I, for one, am glad they opened it.

I mean, how else can I keep up with my friends Katy Boo, Leslie Ailsworth, Sam Allison, Amy Anderson, Blair and Matt Andress, Hannah Armstrong, Andrew Atkinson, Bobbi Jo, Shawn Baxley, Lauren Beam, Fish, BCM Brad, Binkley, Curtis Black, My Little Perfect Daughter, Jana Blackwell, Shelby, Katie Bolt, Tyler Bolton, Malinda Nichols, J-Bo, Meredith Brazzell, Wendy Brobst, Crush, Nikki Brown, Mike Brunson, David Bullock, Rob, Jessica & Kathy Compton, Sister Golden Hair, Cara Caillouet, All the Gfeller girls, Shiloh, Chad & Ashley Campbell, Tyler, Michelle Carr, Jamie & Trey Cartledge, All the Long Girls, Big Ben Caver, Karen Chapman, Lacey Chappell, Christi Chastain, Garrett Cheney, Paige Cheney, The Clark Girls, My Little College Freshman, Carol Anne, Marcus Clement, Jason & Andrea, Ty & Donette, Megan Bryan "was almost Dollar" Collins, Jordan Craddock, Jonathan & Amanda Cranston, Steph Crisp, Logan Crook, Shelley Streed, Josh Crosby, Brittany & Chris Croyle, Brooke Culpepper, Cassidy Curles, Jeremy Davis, Tama Davis, Tobi Davis, Wendi Deckermiller, Laura DeGH, Jeff Dickey, Sharon Dobbins, Ellen Donze, Luthor, J-Dotson, Beverly Earman, Liz Beth Earman, Clint Ellis, Adam Ellis, Deena Emaish, Jenn Ersnt, Lindsay Mims, Aaryn Figert, Joanna Finch, Jared Fincher, All the Fine Kids (minus Aaron), Kelly Fisher, Stacey Francis, Susie Franks, Caroline Franks, Wook Fu, Sammi Funk, Chase Garner, Mollie Garrigan, Louie Giglio, Lane Gilmore, Courtney Glicken, Abbey Gore, Emily Lovinggood, Kim Graham, both Zack and Kara Graves, Devan Grayson, Katie Green, Stephen Greer, Little Jaci, Matt Grimes, Tony Griffies, Jordan Grubb, the elder two Guthrie children, Alyssa Guy, Lora Haghighi, Ashton Hale, The Hall, Steph Halpert, Leah Hamel, Kyle Hanson, Anna Banana, Tamara Harper, Sarah Hasha, Philip Hasha, Drew Hataway, Haley's Comet, Jessica Hawbaker, Kelcie & Danielle Hicks, Jeff Herring, Annaka Hindman, Joey Hinson, Jess Hodges, Aleicia Hornsby, Julie Howell, Dan Howard, Whitney Huff, Stephen Hunt, Ink Hwangpo, Rachel & Sarah Jacks, Molly, Jill, Marie & Sybil Johnson, Joy JohnsTon, Megan, Chris and Jeremy Jones, Gabe & Giselle Josef, Stefanie & Stacy Jovanioviahnivhich, Andrew Kallus, Cari Kates, the Entire Kelley Family, Alissa Kelly, Lara Kolmetz, Gretchen Krisher (wait... who? Oh yeah, Gretchie!), Launi Larrabee, All three Latta boys and their women, Manda Laughlin, Kelsie Lawson, Alyssa Lehr, Jon Lenning, Ann Marie, My Little Muffinhead, My Little Muffinhead's bro Brad, Laran Lofton, Ashley Lovell, Deb Lowe, The Mackeys, Mama P, Erin Magonigal, Eazy E, Jonathan and Jennifer Marbutt, Morgan Marks, Paige Martin, Josh Martin, Crystal Martin, Meredith May, Ryan Mays, Chris McCall, Kasey McCarver, Keri McLendon, Jennifer McShea, Big Eddy Mac, Little Eddy Mac, Krista Mac, Jesalyn McCurry, Shannon Megan, Vicki McGee, Courtney McGough, Bradley McGuffey, Jonathan McKenzie, Tommy, Amy & Bruce McLeod, Paul McRae, Chad McRee, Mateo and Cherene, Karina, Steph and Kellen Miller, The Downeaster Alexa, John Milton, Jennifer Mims, Super Dana, Kelly Mize, Amanda Abbott, Drew Morris, Justin Moseley, Porcia, Andy Murry, Mikey Nipp, Katie & Alyce Noland, My Twinkie Adrianne, Trey O'Neal, Angie Mark Pilgrim Osborne, all three Osborne kids, Kelli Parks, Christy & Ricky Parvin, Rick Paschal, Andrea Payton, Leigh Pegg, Tina Pilgrim, Pinky, Bradley Pinkerton, Laura Parker Posey, Kevin Price, Hannah Pruitt, McQ, Rebe Raffini, Dave Ramsey, Jeremiah Rastegar, Matt & Steph Rector, Mary Reed, Alan Renfroe, K-Swiss, Amanda Rials, Ashley Rials, Destiny Richards, Jessica Rogers, Jenny Ross, Heather Rowland, Kevin Sanders, Melinda Schauland, Petey & Jenn, Kasie Secrest, Audrey Senkbeil, Beth Sentell, Shawnifer, Rene Sheppard, LP Sherman (42 Wallaby Way), Brain Sherrell, Christine Shores, Whitney Shores, Shrop, Kristi Simmons, Cindy Skipworth, Tallahassee, Shawn Smallwood, Steve, Justin and Jason Smith, My Little Sister, Rocky, Butters, Savannah Stamps, Beth Stanley, Gweer Stanton, Dave Stephens, Sgt Stone, Paulie Sutton, Kat Switzer, Ginny Temple, Saratara, Katytara, Lolo, Joey Thomason, Julia Thomason, Abby... excuse me, Abigail Thomason, Joey Thornell, Diva Trent, Courtney Trippe, Trinity Tucker, Haley Turnage, Jennifer Mullins Turpin, Amy Valdmanis, Julie Vance, Todd & Brooke Veleber, Luke Vogel, Nick Wade, Jessica Walker, K-Dub, Kyriae Warner, Sarah Warren, Michael Warren, The Wasyluka, Meredith Watkins, My Little Bobblehead, Maisha Watson, Weaver, Derek Weeks, Ashley Wehunt, Kelley Whatley, Erin Whidden, Molly White, Sierra Wiginton, Jordan Willcox, Jessica Williams, Leah Williams, Chase Williams, So Very Kari Wilson, Theresa Wilson, Alisa Worley, Angela Wren, Devon Yarbrough, PauYau! and Claire Young?

It would be impossible, really.

Coming up... the Top 50 Coolest Things of 2007, including Weird Al's Latest video, the war in Disney, Fergalicious and, at last, K-Dub.

The Coolest Things of 2007, #70 to 61

Here's the next ten coolest things of 2007, as ranked by me.

#70. Trinity defeats Millsaps, 28-24
I have no words to describe this, other watch this. I just found an even better quality video, an end zone angle.

Oh, it is fun to note former Alabama coach Mike Dubose coaches Millsap College.

#69. The 2007 College Football Season
What you just saw on #70 was really, according to the whole season, was just a blip on the radar. In one of the most amazing seasons ever, we teams ranked in the top five lose to unranked opponents 13 times, not the least of these being Stanford beating USC and Appy State taking out #5 Michigan. We saw the #1 team go down four times, the most in a season since 1990. We saw the #1 and #2 team lose on the same weekend (USC and Cal) for the first time since 1996. Then we saw it happen again later in the season. We saw no favorite as safe, no underdog without hope, and no game that didn't have the potential to become explosive.


Poor Lloyd. Of course, he did wind up beating my beloved Gators in the Capital One Bowl, Lloyd's final game.

I mentioned it before, kudos to whoever the sports programming director is for the tiny network Versus, formerly the Outdoor Channel. Three weeks in a row I watched a game that, when it was booked, was probably insignificant, but when it aired was monumental.... Colorado beating Oklahoma and Stanford beating USC being two of them.

It added to a crazy, thrilling DFC VIII, in which Drew Morris emerged from the wreckage to become the DFC Champion just a few days ago. And last night, LSU proved once again that the Big 10 sucks, and the SEC rules. Because last night, the Big 10 sucked. And the SEC rules.

Which, in a sidenote, is promising for the future. Four of the six major BCS conferences are not only recommending and favoring a "Plus-One" championship style game, in which the top four teams are ranked in major bowls, and the winners go on to play for the title, but after this season, they are looking at calling it The Football Final Four, and even seeding and re-seeding.

The hold-outs? The Pac 10 and the Big 10, which are so bent on how special their Rose Bowl game is, they are resistant to any change, even though this college football nation and fanbase has evolved beyond caring that the Pac 10 champ and the Big 10 champ meet every single season. Some traditions are only important to those immediately involved, but unfortunately, those immediately involved are the ones who impede the path to a possible playoff, or at least a "plus one" format, which is a precursor to a playoff type atmosphere.

Of course, this season was almost crazy enough to make you forget the need for a playoff.

Almost.

#68. Leading Financial Peace University
Someone early in the spring was goofy enough to ask Stephanie and I to help lead Financial Peace University at Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship). Its a 13 week Dave Ramsey led course on financial responsibility, and we've been through it already.

As a "table leader", we did just that... lead a table full of couples, four to be exact. As we went through, week by week, Steph and I got to lead the discussions on where people are financially--some were doing great, others not so great, but thats okay, they were all in there to learn how to budget, how to save, how to get out of debt and how to give. With God's blessing and mercy, we've managed to learn how to do all of this, and are finishing up the debt part this spring.

How great it was to hear stories from people at our table, and in the big room, and know we were there just a few years ago, and I felt like we were able to say "hey, look where we are now... you can get here too, I promise."

With any luck, we'll get to lead again this summer... and if you haven't taken this course, then you are welcome to come through it. We invite you to do so.

#67. Adam Corolla on The Sports Guy Podcast
Every week, you can hear Bill Simmons, aka The Sports Guy, on iTunes, talking it up with sports figures, celebrities, or sometimes, just his buddies like Diehard Yankees Fan Jacko (who TSG called every week during the baseball season to ask "Are you worried about the Yankees yet?"), and his buddy Cousin Sal, who did NFL lines with him every week.

The Sports Guy used to work as a writer on The Jimmy Kimmel Show, and he would collaborate with Adam Corolla. Both Kimmel and Corolla used to work together on The Man Show. So, anyway, Corolla is on The Sports Guy Podcast this one particular show this past September, and he has some movie ideas...

Imagine the US Olympic Team, all sports, is practicing in Colorado and suddenly, terrorists take over. Well, what are these olympians to do? Except, the terrorists didn't anticipate the marathoner escaping, and running to get help, which is approximately 26.2 miles away. The bombs are rigged to go off in 2 hours, 5 minutes and 17 seconds... which would set a new Olympic record. They didn't anticipate the pole vaulter getting out of the large room they are trapped in, because the window is about fifteen feet up. They didn't anticipate their cameras, set 100 meters apart, switching angles every 9.8 seconds... which means for every Olympian to help escape, they set a new record. The title? "Rings of Honor", and the 2 "O's" in "honor" are the two rings in the Olympic Ring logo. Another title Deathcathalon.

The other one? The story of Rush Blitzer (the best possible football name ever), the best long snapper in NFL history, who is disgraced because he gets dazed in a play (and of course, you get the slow motion, foggy visual, where everyone's voices are unintelligible and slow), and long snaps the ball so hard it kills the flanker (his helmet explodes from impact). Living in the mountains in a cabin, drinking hard, full beard, a hound dog, he's approached by the coach from his old NFL team. After being suspended from the NFL for two years, Rush says he's not sure, then you see the montage where he's lost his touch, he loses the ball, the fumbles, he snaps it too high and knocks an airplane out of the sky, that kind of thing.

Suddenly, the mob appears and tells him that he must throw the upcoming playoff game, or they'll kill his 15 year old daughter (who's really 26 in real life with full curves) and doesn't know what Rush Blitzer did. So the mobster guy tells her, while Rush is handcuffed, trying to get out, then the mobster guy does that super creepy guy thing where he runs his hand backwards on his cheek, and though the daughter hates her dad, Rush Blitzer, the whole time, she suddenly pops up and says "My father is a great man!"

So, in the Super Bowl, his team down by 2 with :01 left on the clock, ready to kick the winning field goal, Rush Blitzer must decide... as he looks between his legs ready to snap the ball, does he fumble the snap on purpose, fix the game, take the loss and save his daughters life, or does he long snap it like he knows he can, win the game, but cost his daughter's life? No, instead, Rush Blitzer, with an :18 hang time on his snap, fires it hard into the stands and drills it into the mobster's temple, killing him.

The title? "Snapper: The Rush Blitzer Story". Can't beat that, really. One of the funniest things I've ever heard... you can hear the entire podcast for free on iTunes.

#66. "Cosy in the Rocket" by Psapp.
Psapp is this English band, sort of electronica, that is sometime credited with inventing "toytronica", which is music through use of regular instruments as well as toy guitars, toy flutes and other sound making children's things. Pronounced "Puh Sap", they are known for using humor in their concerts, sometimes tossing stuffed, hand made cats into the audience. Anyway, it was this year that I discovered "Cosy in the Rocket".

Don't know this song? One listen and you will, or you will if you watch Grey's Anatomy. If you want to hear it, you can click here to see a Grey's Anatomy montage set to the song--there are a dozen of them, all kinda the same, none really that great, but at least you can hear the song.

#65. The Golden Compass Bombs.
Ha!

"Hey, let's spend $180 million dollars on a movie based on an atheist-authored book that is based on the premise that God is the enemy, and that in the end of the book, God dies! I mean, we'll leave some of that stuff out, but the Christians in this country are too stupid to make the connection, so we'll get Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig and make a ton of money!"

At the time of this writing, The Golden Compass has cleared $65 million. And its been out for a while, so its not as if this will be making $100 million more in the near future. I wrote about this right before it came out, and I also told Stephanie before it came out "That movie is going to bomb".

This isn't like The Da Vinci Code, where the Catholics protested and honestly, the Christians in this country didnt care, mostly because the movie was terrible, this is about Christ-followers in this country refusing to let their children see a movie that is a slap in the face to all that their faith hold dear, and about a Hollywood society that doesn't understand why Passion of the Christ made over $300 million, why Narnia was such a monster success, why Lord of the Rings was so huge, but doesn't get it when it comes to anti-God and anti-Jesus. Because Hollywood is anti-God, so must the rest of the nation, right?

Again I say, Ha!!

#64. The Blake Lewis Beatbox
This is what I wrote on May 1st, 2007:

Blake Lewis, whom Ashley [Spell] just told me was amazing via text, is up next. He's going to be doing "You Give Love a Bad Name", which is huge, because that's one of those much beloved 80s songs that you don't mess around with, like "Pour Some Sugar On Me" or "Hungry Like the Wolf". Its immortal, really. And... apparently, he's going to be amazing in that he's doing a different interpretation on it, or "rolling the dice" as Jon Bon Jovi says to him.

Okay since the tape is in the other room, I watched the whole thing just now. Wow. Holy crap. Blake Lewis may not be the best singer on the show, and he may not, nay, probably won't win American Idol. But he is hands down, bar none absolutely the best performer on this show, and is the best that has been on it in a long, long time.

So he comes out, does a voice and physical imitation of a coin going in a jukebox, you hear the crackle of the "record" playing, and he launches into it... and the beatbox, for the first time in weeks, almost as if he were afraid to use it before, is in full effect. He sings great, beats great, then has a beatbox/percussion battle with the solo drummer right next to him for about 16 beats. That was amazing. THAT was not just someone singing well... that was a PERFORMANCE.

With good reason, all three judges liked it... all commented on the fact it was a huge risk (it was) and it paid off (it did). In fact, I might go watch it again.

I just watched it again, and that just cemented it as one of my favorite Idol performances of all time... along with George Huff's "Take Me to the Pilot", Amy Adams "Sin Wagon" and Ruben's "Kiss and Say Goodbye".

Read the whole blog from that night right here.

#63. Factor 7 Reunited (and it feels so good)
So, it was excited to see one of our favorite bands get back together... you know, like a reunion tour, some new tunes, mostly old stuff. Again, drawing on a previous blog, here's what I said in April of 2007:

So one of Birmingham's best kept secrets makes it's triumphant return on Saturday night. It's Factor 7, looking slightly different than they did when they played the first DeuceFest back in 2000. It's the final stop before they hit East Asia, on their first world tour, carrying rock and roll and God's love to all.


A blurry shot of Factor 7 in one of their small venue concerts. Its great when a band, used to selling out 20,000 seat arenas, will play in a small room for a session.

Original guitarist David Mark Osborne has gone on, gotten married, and is currently helping to produce and write new material for Chris Daughtry's next album (slated for release in 2008). Its great how they convinced Brad Latta to come back from a moderately successful solo career (two albums later, of course--the first, self-titled album was obviously a trial run, but the second, "No Stone Unturned" was really, really good. The riffs on track 4, "Below My Mind" are out of this stinkin' world) and rejoin his brother Matt, and also their buddy Drew Morris.

You may remember Drew Morris, or at least his name, as he's been touring with All American Rejects, mostly as a "fill-in" guitarist, and sometimes as their opening act when they play small venues. He's also appeared next to Jason Mraz on some of those Vh1 "Best Week Ever" and "I Love the (fill in decade)" shows.

The new faces include Ashley Spell, a local rocker who's style and attitude have been described as "Fiona Apple mixed with classic Joan Jett", and is ready to hit the big time (personally, I think she'll stay with the band just long enough for her solo career to take off, a la Gwen Stefani...)

Meredith Watkins, fresh off of Broadway, also adds some female viewpoints to the group. I say Broadway, though I guess it's really just touring with Rent and Aida, but she did do a few bit roles in some Kevin Spacey play. Her Broadway cd, "Starlight" is also really good... not a fan of her take on "On My Own" but I do like her on "Over the Moon"... but thats just me.

Finally, turning Factor 7 into the 6 that now comprise the group is Scott Latta, younger brother to both Brad and Matt. He's a senior at the Univerity of Alabama, and has recently finished a book called "We Got 12 (Coaches): Why Stallings Was Right, Shula Was Wrong and Every Mistake In Between", discussing the turbulant Dubose/Fran/Price/Shula/Saban saga, one of the most troubling period in Alabama history. Oh yeah, he also plays guitar. He's actually dating Jessikuh Smisson... you know, the Italian model chick? Yeah, struggled to think of her too, cause they all kind of look alike.

Anyway, I got to see Factor 7 do a small jam session in a small arena right outside of the Verizon Amphitheater here in Birmingham. All I can say is, welcome back, Factor 7.

You can read this and get video links and such on the original blog.

FYI, the update: They did play to sold out arenas overseas, and the band reunion didn't last long, with Brad Latta embarking on a southeast tour to promote his latest album, Drew Morris going on to appear in Vh1's "I Love New York 3" (he didn't win, but he should be glad), Meredith is now appearing in Broadway's "Wick'd", Ashley is actually working on her first solo album while also singing lead in another group, The Rick Astley Overload, and Scott and Matt are doing shows together, currently opening for Paramore. David Mark avoided comment on this story. When I talked to Scott, inquiring about a full fledged US tour, he said, "We've discussed it, but it might be a while... our next album is called 'Japanese Democracy', and we've gotten several tracks for it, but there's not any release date in sight'".

And so we wait.

#63a. Scott Latta
Out of all the cool people in the original Factor 7, perhaps the one that has emerged into the coolest of the four is Scotty Latta. The youngest of the Latta brothers, he's a talented actor, musician, and we have kind of the same humor. And since I read his blog, The Rammer Jammer Blog (the blog that ended up #11 on the coolest things of 2006, the highest ranking blog ever on a Top 100 Coolest list), he reads mine. Good guy. Former WalkAbout student. Of course.


If you think I only added a 63A to be able to post this picture of Les Miles... uh, Scott Latta, you'd be right (yes, yes, that's not my joke, its Scott's. But that's why he got a 63A, the first sub-ranking in the history of this Top 100)

#62. Colbie Caillat's "Coco"
I love this album. I've always been a fan of girls with guitars, and it seems like this was just recorded with a chick, sitting on a stool, playing her guitar and singing her songs. Everyone knows "Bubbly" and its "...starts in my toes, makes me crinkle my nose, wherever you go, I always know..." sweet lyrics, but the whole album is just a gem.

She's... 23, I think and I can see her becoming the female John Mayer in the fugure, with a dusky voice and guiding father, Ken Caillat (who helped produce Fleetwood Mac's "Rumours", which is one of the top three best selling albums... ever).

You can hear some of her stuff on the above link, which is the Amazon.com listing, or here on her MySpace page and the video to "Bubbly".

#61. Whataburger!
First had Whataburger! back in 2003, in Fort Walton Beach. Spent some time in the San Destin location a year or two later. Then, magically, one appeared in Alabaster, which caused me to make random trips down there to have lunch. Not many, mind you, because gas prices suck. But sometimes.

Then, they put one on 119. Ah... redemption. I love me some Whataburger!, and I don't know why. I'm not even sure they are all that good, to be honest, but just something about that place draws me in, calling me... "Dave... Dave... eat here! You'll say 'What a burger!'". So I eat there. I mean, what a burger!

Coming up...
One whacked out trailer... Team Bats*** reappears... The Lovely Steph Leann admires Lionel Richie... and Kdub

The Coolest Things of 2007... #80 to 71

We continue our countdown, all the way to the coolest thing about 2007!

#80. Hannah Pruitt. She's a former stage manager techie actress chick from Auburn, who now attends Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) with her husband John. She's in KidStuf now, as Sam, and is a whole lotta fun to be around. Hannah is one of those people I can't help but get along with, just cause we have a lot in common, she's really silly and loves Jesus.


This is one of those shots that Hannah would probably not want posted, but oh well.

#79. Seeing Jenny Ross. One day, I'm working the drive thru at Starbucks. A voice comes on and orders a Caramel Frappuccino. A few minutes later, in the window is a lovely brunette that I hadn't seen in about, oh, eight years. Jenny Ross, from Elba, Alabama (or was it Enterprise?). I made her pull up and meet me outside, to which we gave each other a big 'ol hug. We were buddies back in the BCM, and seeing her that day practically made my entire week. I haven't seen her since (even though she swears she comes by sometime), so I'll just hold dear that one afternoon.

#78. The Patriots Go 16-0. Newly crowned MVP of the NFL Tom Brady has led the New England Patriots to a perfect, undefeated regular season, the first since 1972's Miami Dolphins did it. They went 14-0 that year, several years before the NFL adopted a 16 game regular season. The Dolphins, of course, went on to 17-0, winning the Super Bowl, while the Patriots play host to the Jacksonville Jaguars next weekend. Am I rooting for the Pats to win it all, and be 19-0? Heck yeah... very few times in life do you get to see such a sports milestone, and considering we're still talking about the '72 Dolphins perfect season 35 years later, we'll be talking about the Pats perfect season for at least that long... and we can say we saw the Super Bowl when it happened.

#77. The Amnesty Bill Gets Defeated. If I get into it, I'll get upset. Just know that this bill, pushed forward by Republicans and Democrats alike would have given amnesty--they didn't call it that, but that's exactly what it was--to millions of illegal aliens in this country. And it went down in flames because there was such a public outcry against it, as there should have been. Sometimes we can make a difference.

#76. Celeb TV. "Happening now on Celeb TV...". When I fire up the podcast on my iPod, or on my computer on iTunes, a small screen pops up with either Danni Boatwright (former Survivor winner) or Kelly Zink hosting, giving me the lowdown on such important information like Britney's latest fiasco, or Paris' latest runaround, or Beyonce's losing four pounds or (this just in!!!) K-Fed getting full custody! Seriously, watching this two minute daily podcast is like watching four hours of E! tv, only much less Seacrest. Of course, Celeb TV doesn't have Debbie Matenopoulos, so I do have to watch E! sometimes...

#75. "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson. "If you were falling, then I would catch you. You need a light? I'd find a match. Cause I-I-I-I love the way you say 'good morning'. And you-ou-ou-ou take me the way I am."

Out of nowhere, Ingrid Michaelson comes out with this tender, fun, guitar pluckin' song... not quite a ballad, not quite a rock song, but just a fun song. Not only to give to someone, but to sing. She's already had a number of songs on "Grey's Anatomy", and you can hear this song in particular in an Old Navy ad, a JC Penney ad and for a Chevy Equinox. Two points for the use of "rogaine" in the song... that might be a first.

#74. CarTalk on iTunes. I love Car Talk. Seriously, it might be one of my top five radio programs, like, ever ever. Tom and Ray Magliozzi, better known as Click & Clack, the Tappet Brothers, take calls on car problems and give out advice. But its more than that--they take questions not only about car problems, but marriage problems caused by cars, disputes between friends and family, and sometimes, just the strange (including cars that quack, smoke coming from the dashboard and seats that's shock you--but only if the driver is driving the car). However, to say that Car Talk itself is a 2007 discovery, thereby making it one of the coolest things about the year would be a lie.

I was excited when early in the year, iTunes posted "The Car Talk Call of the Week", a five to seven minute segment featuring the best, funniest call from that week's show. I had gone onto the CarTalk website previously to see if I could download the show... and I could... for $3.95 per show. That's four bucks. That's like, $50 per year. I love the show, but not enough to pay $4 bucks per week to hear it. So, I managed along with the call of the week...

So imagine my delight and enjoyment when I discovered, on iTunes, the entire Car Talk show was available over the summer. I quickly added it to my podcast queue, and started listening... and I haven't missed a show in at least six months.

#73. The Robot Chicken Star Wars Special. Wow this was funny. For the unbeknownst to become beknownst, Robot Chicken is a animated show on The Cartoon Network's late night, more adult oriented cartoons, title "Adult Swim". Its this crude, stop motion animation filled with sketches, made by using action figures like Star Wars, GI Joe, Barbies and so on. And its hilarious. Sometimes crude, but its funny.

One of the creators is Seth Green, actor and well known to his fans as being an avid collector of action figures... especially Star Wars. And this year, they did the official Robot Chicken Star Wars Special.

Included... a light saber standoff between Dubya and Abe Lincoln, a dancing Lobot, and a great conversation with Luke and Vader in Empire Strikes Back, where Luke says "you mean to tell me the force is some chemical crap in my blood?"

#72. Samantha Brown. When those Champion Window commercials would come on, I would always watch with intrigue, thinking "you know, that woman is kinda pretty. Not hot, but kinda hot. I mean, she's not Steph Leann, but really who is, but still... I kinda like that chick."

One day I'm flipping through cable, and stumble upon the Travel Channel, and lo and behold, its the Champion Window chick! Samantha Brown is her name, and she's taken me on a tour of South American, Central America and now Europe, all while enjoying the local fare, the sights, the sounds, the beer and the nightlife.


Here's a snapshot of Sam in the Honduras. Oh, she's the one on the left.

Not sure why I'm fascinated so much by Sam, but somehow I am. She's like my own Colin Firth. You can even get highlights from her shows on iTunes in a podcast.

And recently, we saw a show that had Samantha Brown in Disney World for the holidays, which means it had to be filmed either during, or not too long after we were there. I think I would have passed out had I met Sam, to which Steph would just leave me there out of irritation.

#71. "Cell" by Stephen King. One of his newer novels, perhaps in the last three or four released, its a simple story about a worldwide "pulse" that hits every single cell phone at the same time, and everyone on a cell phone has their brains affected to the point where they become mind numbed, flesh desiring zombie type creatures.

Opening up in Boston, we meet our unaffected protagonist, Clayton Riddell, who soon after joins forces with Tom McCourt and then 15 year old Alice Maxwell, not only surviving, but attempting to make it back to Maine--for Clay, its to find his son Johnny, for Tom and Alice, its a matter of not having anywhere else to go.

The mind numbed flesh desiring zombie type creatures, called "phoners", as our heroes have to battle them along the way, finding a few surprises and meeting a few more people--and meeting more tragedy (one of which actually upset me) as they go along.

I loved this book, because it was true King updated for a computer aged, cell phone using world. If something happened to every person on a cell phone at one given moment, what would happen? This story gives you a possible answer. Its a thick book, but you can get it now at most bookstores on the bargain table, anywhere from five to ten bucks. And who wouldn't be scared of a villain called The Raggedy Man? That's creepy.

Coming up... The wildest play in college football, Brandi Carlisle tells us a "story" and... Kdub.

The 100 Coolest Things of 2007... 90 to 81

Continuing the Top 100 Coolest Things About 2007, according to Dave. Cause its my blog.

#90. Wendi Deckermiller. She was my friend at Troy State back in the day, and she's my friend now. She frequently comments on the blog, and has taken some great photographs as part of her hobby. Bottom line is, she's just cool. Hence, the 90th coolest of 2007.

#89. "Barack the Magic Negro". Before I'm branded as the biggest racist you know, let's get one thing clear... it was David Ehrenstein, a columnist for the LA Times, who called Barack Obama "The Magic Negro". Then, its was Sen. Joe Biden (D-MD) who said Obama was "...the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy...". So what did my boy Rush Limbaugh do? He called up comedian Paul Shanklin, who, impersonating Reverend Al Sharpton, sang a little ditty called "Barack the Magic Negro", to the tune of "Puff the Magic Dragon".

And its one of the funniest things I've ever heard... of course, what's even funnier is that the media, and especially "unbiased" sites like The Daily Kos and Media Matters went nuts, calling Rush every racist name in the book, but never mentioning Ehrenstein (the source) or even Biden (who's comments I would have been totally offended at).

If you know anything about Al Sharpton, the fact that its Al Sharpton singing, plus the fact he's using a bullhorn is absolutely hysterical. Here's a video from You Tube which is equally as funny.

And for all you Democrats who think this is racist, then tell you what... you back off Condi Rice, especially with those "brown sugar" cartoons, (ladies & gentlemen, your tolerant, compassionate, fighting for equality and the poor Democrats in action!) and I won't laugh at Barack the Magic Negro.

#88. "What If?" by Robert Cowley. So what would have happened if Hitler refrained from attacking Russia, saving his army and instead took the Middle East and captured the oil? What would have happened if D-Day had failed? What would have happened in the Civil War if the plans that Robert E. Lee lost, plans that were found by the Union and used to decimate the Confederacy, weren't lost? These and several other questions are asked in this book, and to answer them, historians such as Stephen Ambrose and David McCollough use speculation to give you a present now that could be, resulting from a past that could have gone differently. I personally love to play the "what if?" game, and this book was absolutely fascinating.

My favorite of the bunch is "Unlikely Victory: 13 Ways the Americans Could Have Lost the Revolution", which really paints a picture that truly the Americans didn't win the war, so much as the English bungled it up from the start, and one of more than a dozen things could have gone differently and we might all be speaking the Queen's English, driving on the other side of the road and July 4th wouldn't be as busy at Disney World. Good stuff.

#87. Solitairy. Its a stupid show on Fox Reality, a channel I don't even get amongst the 200 that I do. I only know about it from the free episode that got me hooked... nine contestants are each placed in a solitairy room, and throughout a series of obstacles, challenges, lack of sleep, lack of any good food, and so on, they begin to drop out one by one. The narrator is a chick named Val, who sounds just feminine enough to be a woman, yet still sounds like a robot. She talks to the contestants, pits them against each other and really tortures them--well, by the Democrats version of torture. I'm sure all 9 could be put in Club Gitmo, with their 3 or 4 square meals per day, work out rooms, religious freedoms and supplies and... oh, here I go again.

Anyway, the hilarious part is the winner gets... $50,000. Not a million, like Survivor. Not up to a million like Deal or No Deal. Not $500K or so, like Amazing Race. No, 50K. All this for fifty thousand, of which after taxes, you'll be looking at about $27,000, which is still a lot of money, but not really. The show is funny, and I enjoyed it. Looking forward to season three.

#86. Classic videos on iTunes. So, I'm flipping though the iTunes video section one day, and was startled... I found Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby", AND Wilson Phillips' "Hold On" on the same day, and all this was even after I had downloaded "Hazard" by Richard Marx (the sheriff did it! the sheriff killed Mary, I'm certain!!). All the links, by the way, are to the You Tube videos, which I highly recommend.

However, the coup de gras has to be "Don't Make Me Wait for Love", by Kenny G, from the album Duotones. Just the fact it starts out with a big fro'd Kenny getting out bed, shirtless, in long pajama pants to walk out on the beach porch at sunrise, then to see his silhouette with a saxophone.... high, high, high comedy. What's worse is that this is a rare Kenny G tune where there is a vocalist (Lenny Williams) and you NEVER see him in the video. This might be the best purchase under $4 I've ever made... well, except when I bought Smooth Love Jams of the 90s for $3.99 used. (and I know none of you think I'm kidding... and you'd be right)

FYI, I found this image online. However, I totally have the tape, and remember jamming (okay, can you use the word jamming when talking about Kenny G?) to it while traveling to Enterprise or Dothan in high school.

Anyway, I expect all of you to watch this, then report back to me.

And while we're at it, heck, here's a link to my favorite video of ever all time.... my favorite for so many reasons, not the least of which includes Keanu answering "Have you ever been in love?" with "If I was, I didn't know it..." (if this ever makes it on iTunes, I'd be hard pressed not to put it in the Top 10 Coolest of that Year)

#85. Drive. So, I see ads for this show all during January and February. Something about a man who's family is kidnapped, and the only way to get them back is to win this cross country race. But lo and behold, each and every participant has their own story, and each are forced to win the race to win back what they lost. Its gripping, its exciting, its interesting and... Fox canceled it after only a few episodes. Of course. This show had the potential to be a Top 50 Coolest... but I never got to see what happened. Because they never finished the story. Because either Fox wants "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" to succeed, America wants to watch such shows instead of great programming like "Drive", or both. Sigh.

#84. "The Reminder" by Feist. Yes, yes, she's the chick who sings "1-2-3-4, tell me that you love me more" from the Apple Nano commercials, which gives you a clip of the superb video. It was shot all in one take, if you can believe that. Anyway, Leslie Feist is a Canadian singer who's third album, "The Reminder" has been boosted by that very commercial. But beyond "1-2-3-4", the whole album is a gem, and truly is what I was hoping KT Tunstall's album, "Eye to the Telescope" would have been last year. Favorite track? "Brandy Alexander", right now... its fun, its classy, its talented. You can get this cd at Best Buy for like, ten bucks. Go for it.

#83. Manda Laughlin. One of my kids from WalkAbout, back in the day, who's grown up to be this beautiful young lady, graduating and heading off to college, and ya know, I think we might just be friends beyond "you used to be my student". Do you know Amanda? You're better for it.


Ya know, it was hard finding a picture of Amanda by herself... I had to flip through her Facebook photos--and yes, I realize that might be a little creepy. Anyway, I thought this was a good shot, though I didn't take it... had I've taken it, it wouldn't have been as light as it is, cause I have the cool camera and all and... wait... where was I?.

#82. Boise State over Oklahoma. In possibly one of the best games I've ever seen, and I only say the second half, little Boise State from the WAC Conference took on big bad Oklahoma, from the Big XII, and was, like, a 422 point underdog. And one game, an overtime and a play called "Statue of Liberty", and the Broncos come out 43-42 winners (plus one of the main guys--something Johnson--proposed to the freakin' head cheerleader after the game). This is why I love college football.

#81. Todd on Survivor. Let's face it... the Survivor in the spring of 2007 was really boring. Really boring. I keep watching though, knowing that the time for Survivor is limited, perhaps one or two more seasons left... but this past season, Survivor China, was fantastic. And mostly, it falls on the shoulders of a little gay Mormon named Todd Herzog. He'd been watching Survivor since he was 14, and at the Reunion Show, he laid out for the world everything--he had a game plan, he knew who to bring in, who to betray, who to align himself with, who to get voted off, who to get to vote off who he was getting voted off, who to shift blame to, who to lie to, and it was hilarious. This kid had it down to a tee. And he's a million dollars richer.

Coming up: The stink called The Golden Compass, a movie so bad its Superbad and... Kdub

The 100 Coolest Things of 2007... 100 to 91

Here's the Intro...

#100... Michelle Carr. She's a lifelong missionary, and leads a blessed, faith filled life that most--including myself--could only dream of. My friend Michelle has one of those kind of lives that, when God calls her home, Jesus will say, simply, "Well done, my good and faithful servant. Well done." And that makes her cool in any year.

#99. "The Myth of You and Me" by Leah Stewart. Yeah, its kind of a chick book, or at least, a book about friendship. But its sweet. Its the story of a lifelong friendship, one involving Cameron and Sonia, and its a friendship that has its ups and downs... notably a devastating betrayal by one and a refusal to forgive by the other. I found myself enthralled in the book, a short one that was knocked out in two days, and was happy after I finished it. Then I went and set something on fire just to feel manly.

#98. Tony Dungy. He's the coach of the Indianapolis Colts, who won the Super Bowl. It was his players in Tampa Bay that Chucky won the Super Bowl with back several years ago (2002?) and finally, Dungy took Peyton & the Colts to this years championship. However, its not what he did, it's how he observed it. The hype was all about how Dungy, and Lovie Smith, coach of the Chicago Bears and the Colt's opponent, were the first two black coaches to face off in a Super Bowl... and after the game was over, here's what Dungy had to say about that:

“I’m proud to be representing African-American coaches… to be the first African-American to win this…But again, more than anything, Lovie Smith and I are not only the first two African-Americans, but Christian coaches, showing that you can win doing it the Lord’s way, we’re more proud of that.”


You can read more, and see videos too, at this website I found.

#97. The Air Supply Infomercial. Flipping channels late at night, I stumbled upon the guys from Air Supply. Yeah, that one, the crooners of what I think is the pinnacle of Soft Rock Cheese, "Making Love Out of Nothing At All". Anyway, there they are, hocking the greatest soft rock in history, 11 CDs, 168 songs, and a low examination fee of only $9.95! (You can order here, if I just sold you... personally, I don't know how they got into Paula Maddox's LP collection, but hey...). But its so bad, its so corny, its so filled with cliche and bad music, you can't turn away. Its like... a wreck on tv. You're glued. Its the only infomercial I think I've ever (conscience) watched twice. Wanna see it? I know you do... here is a sample on You Tube, complete with a Gino Vannelli sighting.

#96. Katharine McPhee. That's right. I've still got McPheever. And after a lame season of American Idol, and the flop that is Taylor Hicks national career & autobiography, Katharine still shines. Her album is actually pretty good, with some catchy pop tunes (I mean, don't expect to hear "Singer-Songwriter" used often, this isn't Carole King) and her videos are fun too. Plus, she's in my Top 10 Hottest Chicks of 2007 Not Named Steph Leann or Ashley Judd.

You give me McPheever... McPheever when you hold me tight... McPheever! McPheever in the morning, McPheever all through the night

#95. "Surf's Up". I didn't expect to like this movie, and to be honest with you, the only reason I even saw it was the fact it was the free movie attached to the double feature at the Argo Drive In, when we went to see "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer". And you know what? "Surf's Up" was better than FF:RofSS. It was fun. And funny. And well done. Perhaps its just the Year of the LaBeouf, as the great voices included Shia, Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel and a hysterical turn from Jon Heder as Chicken Joe. Some of it is filmed in "documentary style", which is fun since its an animated film about the Penguin Surfing Championships. Check it out. You'll notice that "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer", though fun, didn't make the 100 Coolest Things of 2007 list, while "Surf's Up" did.

#94. NYCJenni. She was #31 last year, and still makes the list, albeit at #94. Why did she slip? We just haven't talked that much in the latter half of the year, but I still had to include her because we did talk. NYCJenni, one of my favorite blog characters, still has a great shot of making it back in the Top 50 in 2008.


#93. Amy Adams. I didn't rank her higher only because, though I noticed her in "Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby", I didn't really pay attention to her until "Enchanted". Now, I've got "Junebug" and "Cruel Intentions 2" on my Blockbuster queue to check out her other works. I look forward to being fascinated with her for about two more months before I move on.


#92. "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles. Clever pop song by newcomer Bareilles, all about a girl who's trying to write a song about her man, but since she's been wronged, she's not going to write him a love song... and ends up writing him a long song. Isn't it ironic... don't you think? Fun song, good beat, snappy little tune. I dig it.

#91. "Knocked Up". Its raw and raunchy, much like the new Hollywood Gang of Seth Rogan, Judd Apatow, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann and the like are making their movies. And somehow, it works. Starring Rogan and Katherine Heigl (who was in the Top Ten Hottest Chicks of 2007 Not Named Steph Leann or Ashley Judd until I found out she was a smoker, and that ruined it for me), its a family friendly comedy about two people who get way wasted and have a one night stand--for a dork like Ben Stone (Rogan), it would take alcohol to get someone like Alison (Heigl) to sleep with him. And lo and behold, she ends up pregnant.

I'll be honest with you.... this movie was hysterical. Even the Lovely Steph Leann liked it, though she gave her famous "...but I don't want that movie in my house". (see also: Superbad, American Pie 1 thru 3, The Phantom Menace--no one blames her on the last one)

I really like the fact she doesn't consider abortion, and what really makes this movie is the entire ensemble cast, including Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill (who went on to star in "Superbad") and the funny, funny, FUNNY Paul Rudd.

Coming up... The singer of that 1-2-3-4 Apple song... a canceled Fox show... the hottest travel host ever... and K-Dub

The 100 Coolest Things About 2007 (Intro)

What do the Coney Island Cyclone and my iPod have in common? They were both selected as the coolest things about 2005 and 2006, respectively, in my annual countdown of the previous year.

What's the definition of "cool"? Well, since its my list, its my definition. And I define "cool" as... well, something I really like. Something I am proud of, or something I enjoy, or something that makes me happy.

What you might notice is that there are somethings on this list that appeared last year, which means their coolness factor continued into this year, or some things on this list, certain movies, or albums, or songs, aren't even from 2007--but this is the year I discovered them, so this is the year they count.

This is the final year of a three year moratorium on anything related to the Deuce, which means my former roommated Mikey, Tom Johnson, Shawnifer Sharpinous, Wook-Fu, Tommy Mac, Rev'rn Ty or anyone else that lived there won't be eligible to make this list until the 2008 list.

You also won't see The Lovely Steph Leann on this list, because let's face it, she's truly the coolest (and hottest) chick I know, and you'll see very little related to God and what's He's done, because this list would end up being The 94 Coolest Things that God Did This Year and Six Other Things That Were Cool Too, and that's a different list...

So... in the next day or so, we'll start the list. Until then, you can enjoy the previous lists, The 100 Coolest Things of 2005 Part One and 2005 Part Two and the 100 Coolest Things of 2006.