Seven Things

The Lovely Steph Leann and I have always been told, "You guys will be great parents!" in some form or fashion... either she was told she'd be a great mom, or I have been told how great of a dad I'd be, or collectively, as a parental unit, we've been discussed under the mantra of ideal parents.

When talking about this particular line of conversation that we keep having with people, and mind you this was some months ago, maybe even last year, The Lovely Steph Leann remarked, "Do these people even know us?"

Well, whether they do or not, she and I... we're going to be parents.  It's almost a big unnerving, and certainly is enough to weird both of us out.  I mean... a parent?  Like, there is a kid coming that will look to The Lovely Steph Leann as he/she's mommy?  Well, that is actually not a bad thing, and upon reflecting on it, its a great thing.  She's awesome.  However, that little mush of cells will call me daddy at some point, and that is kinda scary.

So anyway, rather than waxing poetic about finding out, and who knew and all that, I wanted to look ahead to our kid getting here... its been noted on this here website that we'll go with Campbell Isaiah for a boy, calling him "Camp", though I'm wondering if his friends like Will Fisher and Willy Roose and Colin Robinson, or his lady friends like Mattie Sherman or Clara Tuck or Sunshine Ray will call him Cam... for a girl, we'll go with Lorelei Addison, calling her simply Lorelei, and yes, that was the name of Lauren Graham's character on "Gilmore Girls", and yes, that is part of the inspiration, but no, our daughter will not be named after Lorelei Gilmore.

Looking ahead to Camp or Lorelei being here, I came up with a few things that we really want to instill in our child.  Obviously, like any parents, we want to make sure our kids understand things like responsibility, accountability, respect and the like... but also like any parents, we might place a higher value on some things than other parents would, and vice versa on other things...

So, I came up with a short list of things that, thanks to Daddy over here, Campbell or Lorelei (I say "or"... its really an "and" because we'll teach this to all our children) will be familiar with at the least, and deeply ensconced in at the most--Mommy will help with some, others I'm sure she'll leave to me...

1) THE LOVE OF JESUS
That's any Christ Following family's prayer and hope, that their children will grow up recognizing the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  While we will never force God on our kids, we will make sure they are fully aware of Christ, His death and Resurrection and we pray that one day, Camp and Lorelei will decide for themselves that a life with Christ is immensely more satisfying than a life without.

We'll also hopefully engrain in them how wonderful and meaningful a church family and church fellowship will be, so when Camp is 14, he has somewhere to go for help after he comes out, and when she's 16, Lorelei will be able to minister to her prison boyfriend.  Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

2) DISNEY 

This should come as no surprise to anyone who has any knowledge of us and who we are... we will give our kid plenty of Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, Pluto, Lightnin' McQueen, Mater, Belle, Hercules, Cinderella, Mulan, Rapunzel, Simba, Genie, Princess Gisele and so on and so forth.  I've already had people tell me that they are holding open debates on how soon Lorelei and/or Campbell will head to The Most Magical Place on Earth, and even though I always said we would wait until our kids are at least potty trained and able to walk on their own, who am I kidding?  We'd probably deliver the child on Main Street USA if there was a way to do so.

Gotta get Mike and Sulley into the kid's life early, and often

I have often said that The Lovely Steph Leann will be heartbroken if our daughter isn't into the princesses, or at the least, into Daisy Duck and Minnie Mouse.  I fear the day when our child declares that she loves Shrek and has forsaken The Mouse.  It is then that we will question our parenting, and perhaps will give the child up for adoption for fear that we can no longer raise them right.  Its the least we can do.

Actually, I think I'd like our kid to be exposed to "Monster's Inc" relatively early... monsters can be scary until you realize they are terrified by human kids... I plan on putting my stuffed Mike Wazowski with my child soon to let them know Mike & Sully are awesome. 

The moment I hear my own kid singing the words to "Hannah Jane",
my favorite Hootie song, that's the moment I know I did it right

3) HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH
I say "Hootie", but you can also add on Sheryl Crow, Blues Traveler, Boyz II Men, Pre-Skank Mariah, Pre-Crack Whitney, Journey and their ilk.  I will be feeding little Lorelei or young Camp a steady diet of 80s and 90s music all throughout their childhood. 

Yes, I know, I know, there will be Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in there, and I'm sure they'll pick up other kiddy songs along the way, be it The Imagination Movers or some crap on Nick Jr, but you are darn tootin' my offspring will know something about "Hold My Hand" or "Only Wanna Be With You", or how awesome "Motownphilly" can be at high volume in a Kia Soul. 

4)  THE WWE
This is the one I get the most pushback on... but so?  I can't wait for that day when I curl up with mine own youngling in my arms, and we take in an episode of WWE Raw, and I let them know to cheer for John Cena and The Rock and to boo for the likes of The Miz, CM Punk and Sheamus. 

"I am not having my daughter watch the WWE," declares The Lovely Steph Leann.   I would guess that she'll want a night off at some point, and I'll do my best to make it Monday night.  But if its Friday night, then WWE Smackdown will suffice.

5)  STAR WARS
Another one that The Lovely Steph Leann is pushing back on, though perhaps not as hard as #4 above.  But as a young boy myself, Star Wars became an integral part of my life--I saw The Empire Strikes Back as a five year old, and from there on out, my childhood was partially defined by a love of not just Luke, Han, Leia and Vader, but also a love of the imagination, creativity and passion that came behind it. 

Kids love Jar Jar.  My son will probably dig Darth Maul too.  A dad
can only hope, anyway.

Ten years ago, I was afraid Star Wars might become irrelevant.  It would be the loved and influential movies of the 70s that only people who are around my age would value and cherish... but with the three prequels and now the award winning The Clone Wars: The Animated Series out, there's no reason for Star Wars to fade as a memory.  It is prime to influence mine own children with the likes of George Lucas' fine creations.

Now, I'm not saying that I'm going to bust out some dark "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" fresh out of the womb (that one might be a decade down the road), but "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace" or "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" isn't out of the question in the first six months of life.  Kids love Jar Jar.  For that matter, kids love Ewoks, so "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi" might also be an option.

6) DAVE RAMSEY
Never too young, I always say.  Okay, I don't always say that.  In fact, I just started saying that.  In more fact, I just said that really for the first time, "never too young", at least in reference to the starting age of Dave Ramsey's financial peace.

I want Lorelei and Camp to both grow up never knowing debt.  I want them growing up not only know the value of a dollar, but the value of earning it.  I want them growing up thinking that if they want something, they have to do what they can to get it, and never expect things to be handed to them. 

Now, I'm not saying that we won't give them gifts, or buy them things all along, I mean, there are things I'll see all the time I'll want my kids to have... but I don't want them ever expecting things to just be handed to them all time.   I like th FPU way of teaching your kids chores--some they do because they live there are are expected to do, and some as a way to earn money... and out of every dollar, 10 percent of that goes into a jar that say "Giving", another 15 percent goes into a jar that says "Saving" and the rest can be used for whatever. 

Wish someone, anyone, had taught me the discipline of Three Jars. 

7) COMMON SENSE
Going along with the above "Dave Ramsey", I just want my kids to be responsible.  Responsible for their own actions.  Teach them how to give, but to take care of their own house first.  Teach them that the government is not the answer, they themselves are.   Teach them that this is the great country in the history of the entire free world, teach them that this country is the good guy.  Teach them that not everyone in the world, or even this country, will be nice to them, teach them that some people will be downright mean and hurtful, teach Lorelei that not all guys will be good and teach Camp that chicks can be overwhelming and over-dramatic, teach them that a life as a Christ Follower, things won't necessarily be easy, and sometimes might downright suck (though I'll try to use another word) and teach them that you know what, life just isn't fair...

...but also teach them that God is a wonderful God, and He has a created a beautiful world around us, teach them that there are great people in the world, and teach them that those people are created in God's image and that everyone deserves respect (until they don't) and everyone deserves for someone to be nice to them (until they don't). 

And yes, when they get older, if Lorelei and Campbell want to be Democrats, that's fine... but they had better be able to tell me why they believe that way.  They need to know that  Rush Limbaugh can be believed (mostly because if they pay attention, it makes sense) Keith Olbermann is full of crap (mostly because if they pay attention, he makes no sense) and finally, yes they will get spanked on the backside when they are bad, regardless of what is politically correct.

I think I'd also like Lorelei to be familiar with Audrey Hepburn movies, and Campbell to know about DieHard, but that's later. 

I'd like to say we're going to be great parents, but The Lovely Steph Leann would say, "Have you met us?"

The Summer of Blogging Day Twenty Four

35 Things for 35 Years

"And the white line's getting longer and the saddle's getting cold, I'm much too young to feel this dadgum old.  All my cards are on the table with no ace left in the hole, I'm much too young to feel this cotton-pickin' old" -- Garth Brooks


So, as I sit here in my easy chair in The Cabana, new big screen playing one of my favorite movies of all time, the time has passed, that time being 815p.  I'm now officially 35 years old, officially in my mid-thirties.  The years have been good to me, I'm blessed beyond any form of measure, from my upbringing, to my mother taking care of me, to my grandparents adopting me and giving me all that I needed (and a few things I wanted)

So here's my rundown, year by year, of some things I'm blessed with and happy for in all my 35 years.

1975
My mother giving birth.  And keeping me.  That's awesome.

1976
The year that Stephanie was born.  Yeah, I could go with her later on, since I won't meet her for another 25 years, but I'm pretty happy for 1976.

1977
Star Wars is released.  What a great film, what a great

1978
"Garfield" makes it debut.  Who doesn't love Garfield?

1979
The Muppet Movie.  The Muppet Show.  And my affinity for the Muppets begins.

1980
The Empire Strikes Back, one of the greatest films of all time, and one of my first real movie-going experiences.

1981
Adoption is a great, great thing.

1982
"A Dog Called Kitty" by Bill Wallace.  Released in 1980, this was my favorite book as a child.

1983
Scarecrow & Mrs. King.  Man, I loved this show.

1984
Samson, baby!  From Austin, Texas, to what would become my own little home town....

1985
Chris McCall, my first real Samson friend at Samson Elementary School. 

1986
Tonya Windham.  Had to mention her. 

1987
Greg Avant.  Completing my Triad of BFFs in Samson, Greg and I go waaay back.  I saw a ton of really crappy movies with him, riding in this little LTD Ford that, were you to wash it and remove the clay and dirt, would leave nothing but two seats and a steering wheel.

1988
Rush Limbaugh hits the airwaves as a nationally syndicated radio program.  And good thing too, because not only was Clinton around the corner, but He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected was down the pike.

1989
Hollywood Studios!  Yay! Even though it was 18 more years before I could visit, at least it was open!

1990
Discovered the Interweb, sitting at Greg Avant's house.  He had this thing on his little black screened, orange lettered computer called "Prodigy".  We looked up movie reviews.  It tapped into his phone line.  Completely weird.  We were on it for like, five hours.  And I'm sure the phone bill that month at the Avant house was larger than normal.

1991
What a year for movies!  "Silence of the Lambs"... "New Jack City"... "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves"... "The Last Boy Scout"... "T2: Judgement Day"... "Beauty & the Beast"... "Boyz in the Hood"... "Dead Again"... and I'm sure I saw a bunch of them with Greg at some point.

1992
"I'd Die Without You" by PM Dawn is released, off of one of my favorite random album, the soundtrack to the movie "Boomerang".  This would be my favorite song for the next 16 years, only to be slightly replaced by "Possession" from Sarah McLachlan.



1993
Troy State University!  Go Trojans! 

1994
Wookiee.  Wookiee.  Wookiee.

1995
A few days into the year, I met up with Reggie McAllister at a Farmhouse Fraternity Party.  And there, the seed was planted... and a few hours later, in my bedroom at 3am, I accepted Christ as my own Savior.  And the road has been awesome. 

1996
The BCM.  And this is where I would meet some of the most important people in my life, like Jenn Mullturp, Shelby, Troy Mac, Rad a Tad, Hinson and more. 

1997
Farmhouse Fraternity.  Never been a Greek kind of guy, but I did love the social aspect and brotherhood in my frat.

1998
Birmingham!  I just figured out, like, just now, that I have lived in Birmingham, AL, longer than I have lived anywhere else in my entire life.  Seriously... Orlando for two or three years, Austin for about five or six, Samson for nine, Troy for five

1999
Valleydale BAPTIST Church.  It has always been an sbc fellowship, however. 

2000
The Deuce is founded.  Life changing experience.

2001
Common Ground.  It was a church ministry for those in-betweeners who had just left college and really had nowhere to go, and for those in college.  I guess "College & Career" would be more like it, but "Common Ground" sounded better.

2002
WalkAbout.  The drama team of middle schoolers that have enhanced my life in every possible way.

2003
Starbucks.  I loved my job then, I love it now.

2004
Married my life partner, soul mate, best friend. 

2005
My iPod.  Has revolutionized how I listen to music, and finally introduced me to podcasts. 

2006
This site.  Now, I know it started in 2005, but it really got going this year. 

2007
Dave Ramsey.  What can I say?  His plan is difficult. But it works.  We're proof.

2008
Disney.  I loved that job.  I miss it. 

2009
Steven & Calah Ray.  We love these guys, always good for dinner at Mellow Mushroom.

2010
MZ.  My manager and very, very dear friend, and I count it a blessing and honor to have her as both.

This is by no means a comprehensive list... there were a dozen things or more in some years I could have listed.  So, there are 35 things for 35 years, random things I like, love, count as blessings and favorites. 

I'll leave you with this... the video for Toby Keith's "Ain't As Good As I Once Was"...



I used to be Hell on wheels... back when I was younger man, now my body says 'You can't do this boy', but my pride says 'Oh, yes you can.'  I ain't as good as I once was, that's just the cold hard truth.  I still throw a few back, talk a little smack when I'm feeling bullet proof.  So don't double dog dare me now, 'cause I'd have to call your bluff.  I ain't as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was.


Maybe not be good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was...

Goodbye, Dear, Old, Undependable, Unreliable, Unfaithful Friend

I bought a car in 2000. Nine years later, I gave it away.

I wrote some general reference notes about my sad, sordid vehicular history, which includes three accidents, more than one (or two) tickets, an arrest (a tale that must finally be told... one day) and a whole lot of breakdowns.


The final day with The Sable... I would guess that many memories of me held by friends involve this red car

The 1999 Mercury Sable Pezochit lasted a lot longer than I ever thought it would, as I took it from 41K to 138K in the time I had it. I actually had this car longer than the Olds, the Buick, the other, cooler Olds and the Blazer put together...

Quite simply, I was driving a 1988 Chevy Blazer in 2000. It was a great vehicle, I was paying for a little at a time--the payments were reasonable, the truck was comfortable, it has character, lots of room and a few fun quirks, like when you plugged in a CD player into the lighter, the radio stopped working, leaving only the tape player. Or was it, the tape player stopped working, leaving only the radio? Who knows.

My issue with the Blazer was that the tires were bald (I remember sliding across a lane as I turned onto Lakeshore Parkway from the Parisian building) and the steering column moved. Literally, I could move the steering wheel up and down, and the entire column moved with it. Oh, and there was once when the truck wouldn't turn off. I drove it to the mechanic, and when they asked me where the keys were, I laughed and handed them over. Then he asked me, "Why is it still running, if I am holding the keys?" I smiled and replied, "And thats why I'm here."

I got a call from the dealership where I purchased the Blazer, telling me that if I wanted to upgrade in car, I could go see this guy named Carl at Jim Burke, and they would get me into something better. What should I have done? Said, "Yeah, no thanks. I'm going to pay off my truck, get it fixed somehow and be done with it." Granted, it would have cost me, I dunno, probably $1500 to get four tires and a steering column that stayed in place... but it was better than the alternative. Which is what I went with.

"Sure!" I said, thinking about upgrading in car. I'm thinking a Dodge Avenger, or a Honda Accord, or maybe not just a Chevy Blazer... but a Chevy TRAIL Blazer. Yee-ah boy! And somehow, I got roped and wrangled into a 1999 Mercury Sable. A family car. A four door. I can handle it, though, because it means less insurance money, right?

Yeah, I guess... but the payments were just too much. Of course, when you do the math with my salary at the time, it actually worked out. I wasn't on a budget though, so when you did the math with my salary, plus my eating out, plus my social life, plus my four credit card bills, plus my rent, plus my other things I'm having to pay for, there was nooooo way it was going to work. So what did I do? I signed the contract, bought the car.

It was about $13,000-ish, maybe a little more, a little less.

Random trivia... my first passengers? Jenn Then Pritchett Now Glenn, and Emily Etheridge, a mutual friend of mine and Amy Valdmanis (I love Valdmanis!).

It drove fine for a while. I made payments for a while. Of course, I was so broke, I couldn't afford to pay the much higher tag fees, so I had the "Jim Burke Auto" tag on my car for the first, I dunno, 7 months or so... which got me in trouble bigtime with Johnny Law. Once again... another story, another day.

But over the course of time, things began to wear down on the car... you know, after a few months. After a year. After another few months. Starters, alternators, fuel pumps, water pumps, headlights, batteries, brakes, brakepads, rotors, motor mounts, sparkplugs, oil leaks, pipes, cords, impounds, tow trucks, speeding tickets... before The Lovely Steph Leann, during our friendship stage, during our off and on and off stage, during our dating-then-seriously-dating stage, during our engagement stage, during the married stage... I feel like there was a breakdown for every stage of our relationship (thats the car, not our relationship).

I actually haven't had a working heater for over three years. It just crapped out. I always figured that Alabama winters aren't really too harsh, so I would survive, and I have, though not having heat in my defrost is pretty miserable when its cold. I would use cassette tape plastic covers to scrape ice, before I got an actual ice scraper, but it would still leave a thick layer of fog on the windshield that was impossible to get off. Many times I pulled off into a stray parking lot to wipe fog and frost off of the windshield.

It was also annoying that the driver side door lock didn't work. I had to go to the passenger side to unlock the car, which was worse when it was a cold January rain, because not only was I wet, when I got in, I had no heat, so I remained cold. Not good times.

Enter Dave Ramsey and FPU, ushering in a new era of fiscal resposibility for d$, with The Lovely Steph Leann playing more than a small part, and we started to saving, knowing that a car purchase was immenent. At what point does a car break down so much that you just have to say "pssshaw!" and do something else?

It broke down on the way home from Starbucks one afternoon... driving down Hwy 280, mid afternoon traffic... I felt it go... I knew it was going... you know how you just know. You know how you can just tell when you're on borrowed time when it comes to your car? Something isn't quite right... I spotted a National Tire & Battery, so I was hoping to make it there. I got into a turn lane, to turn onto the service road and drive on up to NTB. At least get out of this 4pm traffic... and it died, right there as I was about to turn left to the service road.

A Starbucks co-worker called me... "Hey dude, I just drove by and saw you... you need help?" I replied, "No, I just called Triple A. They are on their way. Until then, I will just sit here and blcok traffic", which is exactly what I did. A few minutes later, I get a call from my buddy Croyle, who said that Britlicious, his wife, had just called him... apparently she had also just passed by and had seen me--bear in mind this is one of the busiest roads in all of Alabama, so it wasn't as if anyone could easily pull of and assist... besides, what could they do? Well, Croyle came.

At a green arrow, we pushed the car, not realizing the slight incline that existed there, right as we came off of 280. We got it off the highway, though, thanks to a motorist that was in a nearby parking lot jumping out and giving us that final "umph". The tow truck came, got it jumped off, and I tried to get it down the road... and it died in the turning lane to actually turn into NTB. The tow truck gave me another quick jump, and I finally got it into the shop.

And Croyle? Just a testament to the good guy he his--he just said, "Dude, just drop me off, and borrow my piece of crap car. I'll drive Britlicious' car tomorrow." So I did.

Anyway, long story short (too late!), this past fall Toni Rocki Honda joined us at The Cabana, taking The Sable's spot in the garage, and putting The Sable outside on the curb. Since September.

A month or two back, I was driving it around as Toni Rocki Honda was in for a tune up, it completely shut down on me in the middle of turning left off of Valleydale Road onto Highway 31, a major intersection, one where you just don't want to freeze up. And yes, it was time to call someone.

The final straw came in the power of the Homeowners Association as they sent a "You'd better listen to this" kind of letter, saying "Hey, get that car out off our lovely Beaumont streets!". The Lovely Steph Leann finally turned to me and said, "We gotta call someone and get this car gone."

I did some research on the net, asked for some suggestions on Facebook, and finally, I called The Foundry. And a week or so ago, before I left for The Happiest Place in the Mall, they came by.



The Foundry is a ministry organization in the area that works with the homeless, the addicted and other people who just need help in certain areas. They take car donations, get them fixed, and those being ministered to use the cars to get them to their jobs, as they recover from what they've been dealing with.



It was weird letting go. I mean, yeah, its a car... but it had been with me for 9 years. Heck, I dated The Lovely Steph Leann in that car. And Leslie Cordell. That's a good batting average.



I had cleaned out the car already, as many of you might have seen my Facebook photoalbum, "Things I Found In My Car"... I took it to a nearby car wash, got it cleaned up, and as I vacuumed, I found a rubber chicken, over four bucks in change, a dry erase marker, four small stuffed animals, a keyboard, a mouse, a mini General Lee car, a coat hanger, a big thing of bubble wrap, two notebooks, an ESPN: The Magazine issue from 2005, three bags of coffee, a coat hanger, a whole buncha cassette tapes... and even more. And if you think I'm making any of this up for comedic effect, you'd be wrong.



They loaded up The Sable onto a flatbed, and just like that, the car was gone. And what's terrible slash funny about the whole thing is that the list price was $13,000. Because I had so much trouble with payments, and finance fees, and late payments and so on and so on, the price we ended up paying by the time it was all said and done? Around $22,000.

And we just gave it away. Yeah, we get a tax deduction... but not much. So hopefully it will help out whoever gets it, provided its working and the transmission had been fixed.

Thus ends a long vehicular chapter in the life of d$. Hopefully, my Honda auto be better.

The 100 Coolest Things of 2008... 60 thru 51

NOTE: If you are reading this on facebook, click here to see the videos (they will not appear in facebook notes)

Are you new to the blog? Click here to find out what the heck this is all about.

And we'll continue our annual list of the Top 100 Coolest Things of 2008...
The Introduction and Recap
The 100th thru 91st Coolest Things of 2008
The 90th thru 81st Coolest Things of 2008
The 80th thru 71st Coolest Things of 2008
The 70th thru 61st Coolest Things of 2008

WARNING... There are three videos that I would rate as PG-13 on today's blog. You can probably find uncensored versions of them on YouTube, but the ones you'll see here aired on network tv at one time or another--including the "F" word being bleeped about, oh, four dozen times. So, Emmy Turnbow, it might be good to not click on the videos involving Matt Damon & Ben Affleck...

60. Melissa Robillard
She's the WalkAbout mom of the year (last year's honor went to Paula Maddox, one of The Coolest Things of 2007). Anyway, she rocks. I (heart) this chick.

59. "Carrie" by Stephen King
Having been an avid reader of Stephen King since I was in junior high school, I've read just about all of his early works--"Firestarter", "Pet Semetary", "Christine", "Night Shift" and more--but somehow "Carrie" evaded me. Strange, because its one of his thinnest novels, and really, took about two days, mostly because I read 30 minutes here, 20 minutes there and so on.

Carrie is a strange little book. Its almost pieced together like a scrapbook, and were it made into a movie other than the John Travolta/Sissy Spacek classic, it might have been a docu/mockumentary of some sort. Filled with fictional documents, it uses "interviews", "book excerpts", "transcripts" and "newspaper clippings" that give the background of the "tragic events of Chamberlain, Maine", all to tell the story of Carrie White, a lonely 17 year old girl who has special telekentic powers that she is only beginning to understand.

She's tormented by her classmates and even worse, tortured by her crazy mother. Anyway, it progresses on and on, until a prank goes awry and gets carried away at prom, and Carrie decides "enough is enough".

I also said this on November 19th... I dare say despite all of King's bad guys in all of his books, Chris Hargensen may be the most rotten villian overall... she's not possessed, she's not risen from a grave, she's not a zombie... she's just really, really mean.

If you like horror novels, give it a read.

58. Investigation Discovery
The Discovery Channel has lots and lots of offshoot channels on expanded cable, like Discovery Health, Discovery Science, Discovery Kids, Discovery Food, Discovery Global Warming, Discovery Britney Spears and more... but my favorite? Investigation Discovery.

Anyone who has read this blog for very long will know my love for forensic shows and crime documentary stuff... this channel is chock full of them. Twenty four hours a day of shows like "Solved", "Most Evil", "Justice Files", "The New Detectives" and even better, repeats of "48 Hours" (they have relabeled them "48 Hours: Hard Evidence) and of course "Dateline NBC".

The Lovely Steph Leann and I have about 877 channels on DirecTV right now, and a year later, I have yet to learn most of the numbers. I know ESPN is 206. I know USA is 242. I know The Travel Channel is 277. I know the movie channels start with HBO on 501. And I know that Investigation Discovery is on 285. I know this because I watch it often.

57. "The Green Mile" by Stephen King
I know, I know, we've already had a King novel on this same post, and yes, I'll admit, I have read this before (this issue will pop up again later), but here's what I wrote on November 19th:

After I finished "Carrie", for some reason, I immediately went to "The Green Mile". This was a novel that came out in the mid-90s, in a style that was a throwback to the way many books were published... a few chapters at a time.

The first book, "Two Dead Girls", was only about 100 pages and I remember buying it in Troy's Wal-Mart in March of 1996. I was intrigued because it was so small, and figured I could read it pretty quickly--which I did. The next book, "The Mouse on the Mile" came out at the end of April, and so on monthly, until the final volume, Part 6, "Coffey on the Mile" was released in August of 96.

I remember liking the story a whole lot back then, and was excited to pick it up again. And it was amazing. Seriously... I don't remember much of what I re-read, perhaps having seen the movie so many times. By the way, the movie is just incredible too, a Dave100 pick, so I highly recommend it.

But the novel goes into so much more detail, as novels tend to do as they've got a length advantage over movies. You get more backstory, you care more about the characters, and though I still could see Tom Hanks and David Morse in the part of Edgecombe and Brutal, the best... worst... part was Percy Whitmore. He perhaps rivals Chris Hargensen as the meanest King villian, even worse that Wild Bill in the story.

56. Leading FPU Again
I love Financial Peace University. In 2008, The Lovely Steph Leann and I became debt free, and part of it was due to what we had learned from Dave Ramsey's ministry, including what we went through in Financial Peace University, ie, FPU.

Over several years now, we've been able to not only put people through it, but help to lead it in small group settings as well. It seems like each week gets better than the previous, each year gets better than the last. And this year, I was lucky/blessed enough to not only share my testimony, but help guide my friends Croyle & Britlicious. KT and J Rob, Paulie Walnuts & Sammi, but I also got to lead a group that include more friends, including Little Sister Ashley.

The bonus was the new people I met, including sister of Amy Mac, that being Jenn Smith, and her husband Michael. I was able to get Jenn a job later at The Happiest Place in the Mall a few months later, and a friendship was cemented.

Wanna know how the Financial Peace Plan works? Ask. I'd love to see you be debt free too.

55. "Grey's Anatomy"
The Lovely Steph Leann and I have a DVD tradition with a few shows, as in, we don't watch them on network tv, we wait until the season comes in, then watch the whole season over the course of a few weeks, as in the case of CSI... or in a few days, as in the case of "Grey's Anatomy".

Patrick Dempsey, a charter member of The Colin Firth Club, keeps The Lovely Steph Leann paying attention, while I can never decide between Christina, Meredith or Izzie... actually, I don't know who is hotter, or if any one of them are even attractive--its The McGriddle Effect in full effect, really...

The McGriddle Effect garners its name from my first time eating a McDonald's McGriddle breakfast sandwich. Its the weirdest thing, because you can taste the syrup filled pancake that makes the sandwich, and you can taste the sausage, and you can even taste the egg, and seemingly all at the same time. And I can't decide if its absolutely amazingly good... or one of the worst things I've ever eaten. There is no in between. Its not "eh" or "alright" or "so-so"... its either delicious or disgusting, and I am just not sure which one it is.

Such it is with Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl and Ellen Pompeo. Personally, Kate Walsh, a one time Ashley Judd Club finalist, beats them all, but she was siphoned off to another show, "Private Practice" that I have tried to watch, but just don't care enough about.


Its the ending to Season 4, which we watched in pretty quick time

54. I'm... Matt Damon/I'm... Ben Affleck
So, in 2007, comedianne Sarah Silverman came on the Jimmy Kimmel Live late night show... she and Kimmel were dating at the time (I think they broke up) and she reveals that she... well, she and Matt Damon were together at one time. And another. And another.

Anyway, the language--lots of it--is bleeped out, which is why I'm okay posting it here... and maybe its bad that I think its hysterical (most things are, really), but wow, its hysterical.

So then, Jimmy Kimmel fires back. And he fires back bigtime... with Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, Harrison Ford, Cameron Diaz and an entire group that resembles USA for Africa during "We Are the World"... and Ben Affleck.

wondering where it is? well, when i post a video, i always make sure i check the quality of the clip on the site before i finish... and so i watched both videos, laughed again, and then noticed after the videos, the description of the video was right there, complete with the F-bomb and everything. i just felt funny leaving that there, so i pulled the videos down... however, if you go to YouTube and search "matt damon sarah silverman" and "jimmy kimmel ben affleck", you'll find it. just remember it is NOT SAFE FOR WORK or Emily Turnbow.

53. "Quantum of Solace"
For the record, I've never been a huge James Bond fan. I guess the early movies with Connery and Roger Moore were decent enough, but I thought Timothy Dalton was a terrible choice. Pierce Brosnan was pretty good, I guess, but it took Daniel Craig to actually turn me into a Bond fan.

"Casino Royale" was excellent. And "Quantum" was just as good, possibly better. Lots of action, very little of the silliness that makes Bond movies sometimes, like the goofy gadgets, the improbable cars and such... and perhaps the hottest Bond girl ever, Strawberry Fields.

Earlier today, I was coming downstairs to DVR the Baltimore/Pittsburgh game only to find The Lovely Steph Leann already setting up the DVR to record some show on Ovation called "Lost in Austen". I thought of Austin, TX, at first, though it didn't look right... then it hit me... Jane Austen. She said it looked like a good show. Imagine my surprise tonight when, while retrieving links for this blog post, I found that Strawberry Fields herself was Elisabeth Bennet in two episodes of "Lost In Austen". Perhaps this is a show we'll watch together.

52. "Bedtime Stories"
I was actually looking forward to this flick, and when it was released on Christmas Day, we made it one of our two part movie double feature (the other was Benjamin Button). I knew it would be silly, and I knew with the premise of the movie--Adam Sandler tells bedtime stories, and they come to life--the plot would be silly, borderline stupid.

You know what? I was pretty much right. And it was a great flick anyway. Its a fun film to watch while shoving popcorn in your mouth, slurping down overpriced Coke and munching on Twizzlers, my candy of choice at the movies.

Its clean, too. No bad situations, no bad language, heck, even Felicity manages to look cute, something she has a hard time doing in my opinion.

51. Ambre Lake on Rock of Love 2
So, I'm surfing through MySpace, and I hit upon the page of my friend Wendi Deckermiller, and her blog is discussing Ambre Lake, my friend from college and according to Wendi, new reality star.


I know what you are thinking... and no, I didn't "indirectly" kiss Bret Michaels. Or did I? Ha!

I flip to her website, and yes, its true... Ambre Lake is going to try and win the heart of Bret Michaels from Poison. Watching the episodes, I came away with three things...
1) I am not sure she initially wanted to win. Perhaps that changed later, but I think she just wanted some exposure.
2) She was actually respectable. That's a big difference from all the other girls on the show, who mostly acted like ho'bags and tramp vamps. Even my friends, the ones who knew and the ones who didn't, liked her the best.
3) Define surreal: Watching someone who you danced with to "You Were Meant For Me" at a fraternity formal over 10 years ago appear on a Vh1 reality show she's trying to win the affections of a rock star that was famous 20 years ago. That's surreal.

And she won.

Coming soon... Doctor Earl becomes an Angel, My favorite song of the year, and someone else gets a Pruitt Award.

My Favorite Tunes (Part II)

Sometime last week, I listed my favorite songs... what I considered to be my absolute, most beloved songs out there... you can read all about that here, in case you missed it.

However, Stephen King made a good point in the back pages of a recent Entertainment Weekly. He said basically that, no matter your favorites, what are the songs you listen to the most?

Granted, I've had my iPod for just over 2 years now, and when I got a new laptop, my playcount reset to 0, but still, I have a good idea of the songs I listen to the most. Keep in mind, the good majority of my time is spent listening to podcasts of: The Dave Ramsey Show, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Car Talk, The B.S. Report and PTI, and sometimes I get to watch a Strong Bad email, Samantha Brown touring South America or Inside the Kingdom's Disney Podcasts.

Taking Stephen's point, though... I thought, "What do I listen to the most?" I made myself a "smart playlist", ie, you can set it up with tons of perimeters. I excluded audio books and TV shows, and set it up to only list the songs I'd played 11 times or more. And this is what it came up with:

Played 11 times on my iPod:
"Cowboy Take Me Away" by The Dixie Chicks. Love it. Call me names, I don't care. Makes me think of Dana Mitchell in that Samford step sing skit many years ago.
"Sorry to a Friend" by Edwin McCain. Yes, yes, his first big hit was "Solitude", but to me, this is a much better song. Of course, now all you hear from Edwin on the radio is "Could Not Ask for More" or "I'll Be". Its a travesty, really.
"Fergalicious" by Fergie. Its actually the video. Originally, before I moved to the laptop, this was closing in on 40 plays. I will now go slam my head in our garage door.
"Learn to Fly" by The Foo Fighters. Speaking of the Foo, the website The Smoking Gun lists celebrity "riders", or contract specifications of bands and artists when they perform somewhere. Sometimes its something simple, like "no shellfish because of allergies" or whatever. Other times, it borders on ridiculous. One band asks for all the green M&Ms to be removed. I bring that up to say The Foo Fighter Concert Rider is absolutely hysterical.


"Callin' Baton Rouge" by Garth Brooks. This song is fun to sing, especially when you are so off key, cats and flies are both dying... "aaaaahhhhperator wont you put me on through I gotta send my love down to Baton Rouge hurry up won't you put her on the line I gotta talk to my sweet girl one more time ooooh ooooh ooooh sweet Baton Rouge...."
"Until I Fall Away" by The Gin Blossoms. Oh, where did the Blossoms go? Anywhere they'd go, I'd follow them down.
"Fading Like a Flower (everytime you leave)" by Roxette. You know those bands that have songs that everyone knows, like "The Look" or "Must've Been Love"? And those bands that have songs that really, only their fans would know? Yeah, I give you this song.
"I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston. You ask me why, I repeat the title of this song.

Played 12 times on my iPod
"King of Pain" by Alanis Morissette. The live version from her Unplugged album, which is simply fantastic. This is the song by The Police, but I daresay she improved it.
"Uninvited" by Alanis Morissette. Also, the live version, from the Unplugged album. This is the song that was featured in "City of Angels", a movie that I hope Nic Cage takes solace only in the fact its not "Capt Corelli's Mandolin"
"Full Moon" by Brandy. This is way back before she became a mom and ran people over. Anyway, this song is da bomb dot com... its tight. I don't really know all the words, though, but I'm pretty sure somewhere in here she says, "We can dance if you want, get to crackin' if you like". I'm not sure I want to know what that means.
"Hole Hearted" by Extreme. Before they wussed out on us with "More than Words", they were a rockin' little band. This song takes me back to 8th grade. Way back.
"One Hundred Years" by Five For Fighting. The Lovely Steph Leann really likes this tune, and really, I can't blame her. Its a smooth little ditty.
"The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson. Pretty much the newest song on the entire Played 11+ Times playlist, its also fun to sing. Short and sweet.


"Stay" by Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories. Speaking of fun to sing, this is #1 on my "Favorite Songs to Walk Around and Sing Endlessly" because when you do, chances are someone will join you. And this is one of those songs that, if you ask me to sing the 2nd verse (which, you wouldn't) I couldn't do it without first racing through the first verse and chorus. You can't start in the middle of this song. Go ahead, watch the video. Be entranced. Do it.
"3 AM" by Matchbox Twenty. I consider this my Melanie Jackson song from 1997. That's all I got.
"Chains" by Tina Arena. "Oooh" starts it out, with a finger snap, a couple of beats and a clap. Then another finger snap, another couple of beats and another clap. Its almost like a game... and Aussie singer Tina Arena can wail, I tell ya. I don't think I realized she's kinda hot too, at least, in 1995.

Played 13 Times on My iPod
"Two Tickets to Paradise" by Eddie Money. Looking over my list, this is the most surprising, really. Its just a 70s classic. I liken Eddie Money to Pat Benetar, and a few select others... first, you don't realize how many songs they actually had until you pay attention, then you realize that you like more of them then you thought.
"Barracuda" by Heart. I tried to play this on Guitar Hero a few weeks ago. I got about halfway through it, then fell completely apart. Ooooohhh Barra-cuda.

Played 14 Times on My iPod
"I'll Be Okay" by Amanda Marshall. On my list of saddest songs ever, a few years ago, this one came in strong. Its very, very painful, when you listen to it, but its a deceptive pain. Its not all touchy, feely ballady slow, its actually got a simple beat to it... featured in "My Best Friend's Wedding", its about letting go of someone who wants someone else. See these eyelids? Fire pokers are going through them now.
"Poison" by Bell Biv Devoe. In keeping with the sad, weepy songs list... ha! Contains perhaps some of the greatest, wisest advice anywhere... "Never trust a big butt and a smile..."
"Alone" by Heart. Back in the day, Nancy and Ann Wilson had it going on.

Played 15 Times on My iPod:
"Linger" by The Cranberries. I mean, let's talk about college, shall we? This is the song I remember when I'm hanging out with Miranda Bryant until 3 am (I must be lonely), while waiting for Bobby and Mandy to come back from the golf course, or I remember from wondering what Kathy Hollingsworth saw in Jerrod Whatshisnuts, and why she wouldn't go out with me... "you know I'm such a fool for you... do you have to, do you have to, do you have to let it linger..."
"Someone Saved My Life Tonight" by Elton John. Techinically, my favorite Elton John song is "Take Me to the Pilot", but you know how many times that one has been played? Twice. I will say that "Tiny Dancer", my other favorite Elton tune has a 9 time play record. Still, this one is The Lovely Steph Leann's favorite Elton, and really, I can't fault her for it.
"Clarity" by John Mayer. Not even sure how this ended up being played so many times. Not that its a bad song... its like seeing "Men In Black" 15 times. Its good, but really? Have I seen it that much?
"Loungin' (who do you love)" by LL Cool J. The polar opposite of "Clarity", I'm actually shocked I haven't heard this song more. Just don't ever read the words too closely--much like any song by Janet Jackson--because your minds are too pure. Cool J says so much without being offensive... mostly, anyway. He rocks. This was actually the first dance song at our friends DeLisa and DeNick's wedding. Cool J is part Greek, I think.
"Snow (hey oh)" by The Red Hot Chili Peppers. The 13th coolest thing of 2007, played endlessly for a few weeks, then some here and some there. Catchy.

Played 16 Times on My iPod
"How to Save a Life" by The Fray. I discovered this song before I discovered Grey's Anatomy. Actually, it was Scotty Latta who steered me their way... I remember on his Rammer Jammer Blog (R.I.P.), he mentioned how much he liked this band.

Played 19 Times on My iPod
"Light in Your Eyes" by Blessid Union of Souls. I re-discovered this song last year, and realized how addicted I am to it. The line that says, "...it's been a while since I've seen you, so how have you been? Did you get my letter I wrote you that I did not send..." Freakin' ouch. Seriously.

Played 20 Times on My iPod
"Cable Car (over my head)" by The Fray. I'm noticing how many times the ( ) are used in songs. It's like, you want to give your song a cool title, like "Cable Car" or "Snow" or "Loungin", but you know that everyone is going to call it by the words they hear several times in the song, so just add a ( ) to it, and that makes it okay. Add an (over my head) or a (hey oh) or a (who do you love) and its all better. Is this an overused cliche?

Funny thing is, when I had to reformat iTunes, the #1 song played on my iPod was Reese Witherspoon's "Wildwood Flower", then until I got a laptop, the #1 song was "Cable Car (over my head)". And now, since the laptop, everything started over again, here we are again.

Bonus list... songs that have been played 10 times and are ready to make the leap:
"Head Over Feet" by Alanis Morisette... "Sister Golden Hair" by America... "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers... "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon... "What a Fool Believes" by The Doobie Brothers... "Rocket Man" by Elton John... "Vehicle" by Ides of March... "Running on Empty" by Jackson Browne... "The Remedy (I won't worry)" by Jason Mraz... "Bye Bye" by Jo Dee Messina... "Rock Your Body" by Justin Timberlake... "Stand Up" by Ludacris... "Holy Roar" by the Passion Worship Band, featurin Christy Nockels... "Baby I'm Yours" by Shai... "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins... "Jimmy Olsen's Blues" by The Spin Doctors... "Drops of Jupiter" by Train... and "La Grange" by ZZ Top.

The 100 Coolest Things of 2007... 10 to 6 (and among other things, a McLachlan vs PM Dawn showdown)

“When you get married, things will slow down a little bit”… “When you get settled in your new home, life will slow down a little bit…” You’d think these things stand a chance of being true, but its lies, all lies.

The 10th Coolest Thing of 2007… Nikki Brown
I love this chick. She’s so great.

Nikki and I have known each other for probably close to 8 years now, me having met her when she was an illegal high school student, and I was a Valleydale Baptist Church (a yet unnamed SBC fellowship) who kept my distance, lest I be named Brinks Part II. (old joke there)
Anyway, we hung out only in big circles and group outings, but in 2007, it was The Year of the Nikki. You could say it was Harry Potter who brought us together, as we bonded tightly over Harry and the like, especially in the days leading up to the release of “Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows”. Beyond that, we just became… well, good friends.

Me and my friend Nikki.

She’s great, with a great big warm smile and a great spirit and heart.  She's awesome.  __________________________________

So, you might have heard that I have taken the management position of the Starbucks on 20th Street & University, in downtown Birmingham. It was offered to me a few days ago, though when I say “offered”, its not as if you can refuse a store when its presented to you. While not my ideal situation, notably because 1) its downtown, and I hate downtown, and 2)parking sucks, its still a great store. The team is top notch, and I’m not walking into a rehab situation, one where I have to rebuild the store—I just have to maintain it.

Sadly, though, I leave Starbucks Cahaba Heights. I take great pride in the fact that I’ve help build that team to what it is, truly one of the best teams in this area, even the state. The team is cohesive, the team is excited, the team is ready to be the best. You might have heard that Starbucks across the country shut down last night for three hours for training… there is a reason for that.

For a while, Starbucks said they were the best. They were better than anyone else, when it came to retail and coffee, and for a while, they were better than anyone else. Well, over time, Dunkin’ Donuts got better, McDonalds got better, retail grocery coffee got a little better and so on, and all the while, while Starbucks is saying “we’re better!”, they weren’t. We weren’t.

So we decided to do something about it. We decided to get better. So I led our team in three hours of intensive training on exactly how to pull a perfect shot of espresso, on exactly how to achieve the perfect foam in a pitcher of milk, and exactly how to make a perfect customer connection. There’s more to making a beverage than just pulling a shot and pouring in some milk—there’s adjusting the grind, there’s timing the shot, there’s utilizing the shot before it dies, there’s aerating the milk just right, there’s plunging the steam wand into the milk at just the right time, there’s looking the customer in the eyes, saying thank you, knowing their name, wishing them well, asking how they are doing… this is what we did last night for three hours.

So if you need a great Starbucks Experience, then head to Cahaba Heights, where we’ll make it right. And better. At least until next week… then head to University and 20th Street, where we’ll make it even better.
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The 9th Coolest Thing of 2007… “Enchanted”
What a great flick. I mean, seriously. I was actually looking forward to it, the more I saw the previews, and this would be a win two-fold… first , the Lovely Steph Leann really, really wanted to see it, so by taking her, I would be a rock star. Secondly, the movie looks really funny, so while making her happy, I get to enjoy it too.

Narrated by Julie Andrews (natch), it starts out animated (and like the Disney princess movies, with a storybook opening) and shows us Princess Gisele doing the normal Disney Princess things, almost self-mocking really. She’s singing, the animals are responding to her, she’s waiting for her dearest love to come and find her, while the Prince is strong, cocky, riding a horse and singing about how great he is, and how he will find his love. Tricked by the evil Queen Narissa, Princess Gisele is pushed down a magical well, only to come out on the other side…

…in New York City. Enter the gorgeously hot Amy Adams, in full wedding dress, playing the live action Gisele, who is, of course, wonderfully confused. Enter Patrick Dempsey, playing the real life executive Robert, father of the precious Morgan, and fiancée of the almost as good looking Nancy, played by almost as good looking Idina Menzel—you may remember her from the movie “Rent”, though most of my readers probably haven’t seen “Rent” (Scotty Latta did say he could relate to the gender bending Angel, not necessarily Angel’s life, but the internal struggle within to be himself in a world that asks you to be someone else… hey, he said it, not me)

Look! A reason to put up a picture of Amy Adams! I'll take it!

Anyway, the Queen, a delicious Susan Sarandon, shows up, wreaks havoc, as does the Prince, a hilarious James Marsden. In one of the funniest scenes ever, the Prince is singing atop a bridge… he hops down onto the path, in mid-song, only to be run over by a bicycle race. I laughed for a long, long time. This is one of those great movies that I look forward to watching again and again, and has a real shot at being in the Dave100, the 2012 edition.
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So, on my DirecTV tonight, after watching all the shows I needed to watch--Survivor, American Idol, Celebrity Apprentice--I came upstairs to blog a little. As I flipped on the tv, I was met with quite a quandry. On at the same time... "DieHard 2: Die Harder"... "The Rock"... "Independence Day"... all incredible guys movies, all with lots of explosions, all with great casts, all movies featured in the Dave100. What do you do?

I lobbyed. I watched "The Rock" the other day, since it was on, but you can't really watch this movie too many times. Ed Harris, David Morse, legendary actor Bokeem Woodbine, Nic Cage and of course, Sean Connery. Then, there's "Independence Day", with Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith. "Shut up about the fat lady, you're obsessed with fat ladies, just get us out of here!"

Ultimately, I decided on "DieHard 2: Die Harder", partly because it features Fred Thompson, and this was perhaps my grief over Thompson's loss in the presidential race.

Also, you can't go wrong with Bruce. Did you know that General Esperanza is from the fictional country of Valverde, the same fake country used in Ah-nald's "Commando"? The first "DieHard" was actually supposed to be a sequel to that movie. Who knew?
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The 8th Coolest Thing of 2007... Dave Ramsey
Live from Financial Peace Plaza, its the Dave Ramsey Show, where debt is dumb, cash is king and the paid off home mortgage has taken the place of the BMW as the status symbol of choice. I am your host, and this is the best in talk radio, service oriented talk radio, talk radio that matters.

And yes, I did that all from memory. Its hard to listen three hours per day, and in fact, I can't remember when I listened to a whole three hour, same-day show, though getting it on podcasting allows me to listen to multiple shows at a time.

Dave's just the man, really. He was a millionaire by his mid-20s, went bankrupt because he didn't know how to use his money wisely, and started all over again, making smart decisions, saving, investing and NOT using credit cards. Now that Steph and I are pretty much one single payment away from being debt free--except for the house we just bought two weeks ago--its entertaining and sometimes heartbreaking to listen to the people who call in now.

People with thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt and no concept of what to do with it. It kinda cracks me up to not only hear people who pull in $200K or more per year be completely saddled with so much debt, they are overdrawn at the bank, but also to hear Dave Ramsey say, simply, "You make 200 thousand dollars per year. I just can't feel sorry for you!"

Various websites and columns criticize his methods, including many that say "debt is not wrong!", and you know, debt may not be inherantly wrong. I mean, perhaps its okay to owe other people money. But he speaks to more than just debt... he speaks on how to handle your money. Its not so much paying off all your bills, its changing your habits and lifestyle so that when you get money, you make smart choices with it, and one day, yes, be completely debt free.


Just like you wouldn't take diet advice from a fat doctor, make sure your financial advise comes from someone with money, not broke people with fancy cars and 14 credit card statements per month.

What would it be like to not owe a single person or company one single thing? Of course, we'll always owe the power bill and water and cable and monthly utilities... but to have a thousand or more dollars per month that you previously dedicated to Chase Visa, to Discover, to Fannie Mae Student Loans, to Citi Card... now just used for whatever you want. Save. Retirement. Give some away. Save for that big screen tv and pay cash for it, so when you get it home, its yours.

The other day, I heard a guy call in who makes about $40,000 per year... and he had a $900 car payment per month. And all I could say is... "That's not me. Not anymore."
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By the way, "DieHard 2: Die Harder" ended, and I managed to catch the end of "The Rock". Its worth it just to hear Nic Cage say, "That's how that s*%& works!!"

And, due to the coolness of DirecTV and satellite, even though I missed "Independence Day" on Encore a little while ago, its just coming on now on Encore West. The downside to DirecTV is that sometimes I'm roped into watching crap like "Deep Impact". And if ever you want to watch crap that involved Tea Leoni (a crappy actress), a list of B-grade actors (including Favreau, Ron Eldard, Dougray Scott and Leelee Sobieski given crappy roles), a comet hurling towards the Earth (a crappy plot outdone by "Armageddon") and Morgan Freeman (a cra... well, he's actually a really good actor, but he's alongside all the aforementioned crap), then "Deep Impact" is your crap.
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Tonight, kicked off of Idol was The Yeager(meister), Alaina "The Gap", Robbie Carrico and Alex Andrea Lushington. I could've done without both Robbie and The Yeager(meister), though the latter had a cool nickname, but I liked both The Gap and Alex Andrea.

My favorite thus far? Brooke White. She's a very Carly Simon like singer, and I like Carly Simon quite a bit. KD Malloy is still the hottest, but I would probably buy a Brooke White cd before anyone else. That's not saying I'd buy a Brooke White cd, mind you.

Out of six seasons of American Idol, I own two Idol cds... the one from Pickles, and the one from McPhee. Both are not bad, really. I also have iTunes copies of Taylor Hicks' and Daughtry's cds, the former being not all that great, and the latter being really good. Oh, and Carrie Underwood's first cd is fabulous. Jason Roberts says that Clay Aiken's music is really good, but I just can't buy into it.
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The Tie for the 6th Coolest Things of 2007... "How to Save a Life"/"Over My Head (cable car)" by The Fray
Every year, there seems to be a song that makes my top ten, as if its my favorite song of the year... perhaps years later, I still am enamored with it ("Black Horse & the Cherry Tree" by KT Tunstall, the 3rd coolest thing of 2006), and sometimes years later, I grow tired of it, and am not as taken by it as before ("Behind These Hazel Eyes" by Kelly Clarkson, who ranked 6th on 2005's coolest)

This year really is no different... both of these songs are magical, really, and I can't decide which ranks 7th and which ranks 6th, so I guess I'll just tie them at 6. The Fray is a Denver based band that has been around for a few years, and started out like most bands do... playing locally, trying to get radio play, releasing some self-titled EPs and such, and they worked their way up.

"Over My Head (cable car)" is just so darn singable. "I never knew... I never knew that everything was falling through..." is such a catchy tune, and now that you've read that, its in your head. On the other hand, "How to Save a Life" mostly caught fire because of play on "Grey's Anatomy", but also spent some time played in "Cold Case" and "One Tree Hill", and is also a fantastic tune.

Because of its media popularity, there are actually five videos to this song--the original, the Grey's Anatomy, the original redux, the September 11th version and the Katrina version.

Truly, it all comes down to the piano and vocals of the lead, Isaac Slade. I also remember Scotty Latta saying something on his old Rammer Jammer site about how much he liked The Fray, back before all this Fray momentum began. He always was a trendsetter.

What more can I say? I love these two songs. Tied for 6th on the Coolest Things of 2007.
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Do I put newer songs on my favorite songs list? I used to. But not anymore. Blame that on Duncan Sheik.

I had this theory back in the day that any song had to be at least two years old before appearing on my mental Favorite Songs list. I figured that any song should be heard over and over to ensure that I don't get tired of it. This point was proved when "Barely Breathing" came out in 1996.

I loved that song. It was cool. Duncan Sheik and his guitar had this cool sound, this guitar rock sound and the song was just... well, awesome. I would turn it up when it came on the radio as I drove to Montgomery to work from Troy (I worked at The Disney Store in Monkeytown)... "I am barely breathing, I can't find the air, don't know who I'm kidding, imagining you care..."

My favorite song at that time? "I'd Die Without You" by P.M. Dawn, followed closely by "Piano in the Dark" by Brenda Russell and "Not the Only One" by Bonnie Raitt. I considered fast tracking Duncan to the top five, but decided to wait. I was never one of those people who had a different "favorite song" every week, so I refused to make "Barely Breathing" a favorite song after being out only a few months.

And I was right. Within a year, I tired of the song. Quickly. It just got old, fast. Even ten years later, it's just so-so for me, one that I might keep on if I can't find anything else. So, still, sixteen years after it came out, "I'd Die Without You" still holds my top spot... but just barely.

Over the years, Sarah McLachlan's "Possession" has gained much ground, working its way to the top to not only equal P.M. Dawn's superb song from "Boomerang", but in some ways surpass it. Still, Brenda Russell stays in 3rd, Bonnie Raitt in 4th, and "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears is in 5th, but that #1 spot is a toss up.

Its time to take a stand and make a decision. What should it be? In one corner, from the album "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy", its "Possession" by Sarah McLachlan, currently at #2, having been there for about 8 years. In the other corner, Dave's #1 song, ever, having held that spot since August of 1992, for over 800 weeks, 15 years, P.M. Dawn's "I'd Die Without You"

Follow the links. Listen to them both. What do you think?

Man, that felt good to get that off my chest.