Just got in from recording our podcast, The Deucecast, Episode X: On Stranger Podcasts. Have you heard our show? Then let me tell you about it, so you'll know...
So not too long ago, maybe March or something like that, Mikey sends me a text that simply says, "I think we should do a podcast. Call it the deucecast. what do u think?"
Immediately, I smiled... a podcast? A real, true life, on iTunes podcast? I was down with it, completely. Mikey is one of those guys that, when he is all in, he's all in. He's totally in. He's behind it a billion percent. And this idea had been perculating around his mind for a little while, to the point where he started prepping for it before he even asked me about it. Probably because... well, he' knew I'd be in.
After doing this website for just shy of six years now, I had been thinking of the next step, the next progression. Heck, I had decided a year or so ago that a podcast would be a great idea, one of my own where I could talk about what I want, having guests of all calibers to discuss and debate--don't know if it would have been interesting, but at least I would have enjoyed it.
Problem was, I knew nothing of a podcast. Nor did I have the equipment to even start with it. But Mikey... he had the equipment, or at least some of it. He needed me to kind of put a frame work on the show, maybe segments, games and so on. What we would talk about, do a "rundown" of sorts.
But how to get the show running, the techie stuff? Enter Tommy Mac and Shawn Sharp, who both have a great idea of how this stuff works.
Though Mikey was ready to do an hour plus show the first week, I knew we'd have to build. We met on a Wednesday night about a week or so after our initial conversation, and figured we'd put down some audio, talk about whatever, and that would be that... and after 90 minutes of playing with earphones, wires, sound levels, microphones, filters and so on, Mikey and I finally began to talk with Tommy and Shawn producing.
And it was dreadful. Part of the show is unintelligible due to a bad buzzing noise, the other part was just that we had no idea what exactly we were doing. I don't remember exactly what we talked about (I've never made it entirely through that particular episode on playback), but I do remember thinking that, "Well, that sucked... but it didn't suck as bad as it could have."
The next week rolled around, and this time, I actually brought "show notes", and a written "rundown". The rundown was just the flexible schedule we were going to go by, the show notes were typed out notes for my own use to get my own thoughts out a little easier.
Mikey's brother-in-law, and hubby to Mikey's sister Snipp, Matty, began listening from the beginning. Living in Chattanooga, he would email and text us both some thoughts and suggestions on making the show better... so it didn't take long before he became a "guest contributor", and then into a full fledged co-host.
So the three of us, Matty, Mikey and myselfy have hosted The Deucecast now for what was our 10th episode last night... well, thats 10, but we also did 4 "negative" episodes... meaning we took 4 weeks and did shows as a rehearsal of sorts.
You know how a big attraction at a theme park, or even a big store location has a grand opening, but before that, they do "soft openings" to work out the kinks? This was us. We took four weeks to work out the audio problems, to get our style down, to figure out segments that did and didn't work, games that needed redefining... and by Episode -1, we got it down. In fact, that is one of my personal favorite episodes!
We even called in some "guest contributors" like Hurricane Rhett and The Good Dr. Earl to come in every few weeks and add something different to the show. Perhaps Rhett's Rhants is one of our more popular segments, I'd say. We had best selling author Justin Fisher in-studio to discuss his book as well (and if you haven't read it, shame on you.... its great... book review coming soon enough) for our first in-studio interview.
So, you are asking, what's The Deucecast about? I'll admit, we aren't for everyone. Not that its bad language or anything, but some people (re: chicks) might find us dorky and boring... we talk about movies and music and celebrities and pop culture stuff for an hour every week. Mikey does a music segment where he brings up new music from sometimes obscure bands, and Matty and I make fun of him. Matt does a "smorgasbord" where he discusses whatever, though alot of times it revolves video gaming.
Seagal is all things to all people. And by "all people", I mean Matt Rector.
I do a bit called "Buried Treasure" and discuss movies that you may have forgotten, movies like "Boomerang" with Eddie Murphy, and wrestling film "Body Slam", and sometimes music, like Hootie's "Fairweather Johnson" CD.
There several in-studio games we rotate through from week to week, like "Name That Crap", where everyone has to name the song being played, usually something along the caliber of early Michael Bolton or Lisa Lisa & the Cult Jam... we do a game called "Faux or Show", where we discuss horrible television shows from the past... and a great little movie game that keeps us laughing and bewilders us about how much random crap we know.
We also do an homage every week to actor/lawman/activist/humanitarian/musician/jack of all trades/master of all trades Steven Seagal, mostly catering to Matt's possibly unhealthy obsession to the guy.
And in our "Roundtable", we just talk about whatever. Star Wars is a popular topic, as is Charlie Sheen and I like to discuss Amy Adams (whom I'm in love with), but we cover everything from topical headlines to books to anything else. Just a random free for all, almost like we are sitting in the living room just tossing stuff out there... cause thats actually what it is.
Overall, its a fun show. I think its funny, but again, its not for everyone. However, if you haven't listened to it at all, take a listen.
You can find the website at http://www.thedeucecast.com/ and listen there, or go to iTunes and search for "The Deucecast".
So, before you write us off, give it a listen. When you find out we are actually unfunny hacks who just laugh at our own inanity for an hour a week, then you can write us off. But you have to listen to a show first. Heck, even Amarylis by Morning (up from san antone) thinks we are hacks--but thanks anyway to Painted By U for being a sponsor.
Okay, well, they arent really a sponsor, and legally, our show and her business have nothing to do with each other, and anything we say and do are not representative of the views and opinions of her or her business in any way (and vice versa), but if we DID have a pottery paintin' sponsor, Painted By U would totally be it, and if Painted By U wanted to sponsor a podcast, then... The Deucecast is it! (summer of blogging, day 10)
There are several videos on this post--if you reading this in Facebook, then click over to Clouds in My Coffee, so you can see everything properly. Then come back to Facebook, search Clouds in My Coffee and become a fan! We're 111 strong! Let's be 115! Yeah!
90... Dairy Queen Real Deals Imagine my surprise when I walked into a Dairy Queen and saw a big square on the menu. Three cubes on top, three on bottom, one on each side, and in the middle, the words, "2 for $3 or 3 for $4 or 4 for $5!". So, for $5.40 (after tax), I can get a hot dog, a cheeseburger, a medium drink and a small sundae with anything from caramel to butterscotch (have to ask for that one) on it. The marshmallow sundae is much better than it sounds, by the way. I've eaten at DQ more in the last six months that I think I have in my whole life, including the year or so I worked there in 1995 at Troy's DQ.
89... Stuff You Missed In History Class I dig on podcasts and audiobooks. I like listening to comedy, fiction, sports, nonfiction and... history. There's this great little podcast from the website "How Stuff Works", which itself is a fascination podcast. Well, "Stuff You Missed in History Class" has two hosts who essentially discuss... well, history. In a fun way. Usually its about stuff you dont know much about, or topics you've heard of, but don't know the whole story... some I've listened to recently include, "Why was Davy Crockett king of the wild frontier?" and "How the Berlin Wall worked" and "How the Emancipation Proclamation Worked"... now, don't ask me to remember any this stuff--I have the absorbing power of a concrete block (unless its about useless information, like what actually happened with the Montreal Screwjob), but nonetheless, its quite entertaining.
88... "Toy Story in 3-D" Double Feature I'd been hearing about this for a long time, and thought The Lovely Steph Leann and I own both Toy Story movies, there is just something about seeing a movie on the big screen, especially a great film like both of these are.
As far as the 3-D goes, ya know... it doesn't impress me as much. I mean, it was good, but not unbelievable. I sort of think that if you don't really notice the 3-D, then it might not be worth it (hence my review on "Avatar"). We saw it with family, which was fun, and its was just such a good time. The problem came in, though, when The Lovely Steph Leann wanted popcorn and candy for the second film. No biggie, right? Go during the intermission... only, during the intermission, they decided they would show trivia, outtakes and other fun stuff. So I missed a bunch of it.
I've known Alissa Kelly, the younger of two daughters of Pastor Calvin (Valleydale Church, an sbc fellowship), for at least 10 years, maybe more. And I knew her before she was dating Joey, and then met Joey when they finally got together. And then watched as they got engaged, and finally as they got married. Perhaps I've not been really tight with either for years and years, but I felt like I've watched them both, especially Alissa, for a long time. So, naturally, it was great watching their wedding, and it was great at their reception. Beautiful bride, great groom, hilarious minister (Andy Murry, student pastor at Valleydale Church, an sbc fellowship) who said "Awesome" about fifty four times during the ceremony. Congrats...
86... "The Smiley Face Commercial" This ad just started coming on television not too long ago, and it hooked me immediately. Its clever, its inventive, and it makes me think of driving... there is a semi-circle crack in the windshield of Toni Rocki Honda, just below my direct sight line of my driver's seat. When I pull up behind someone, if I close one eye and cock my head just so, it makes a mouth to the brake light eyes, and it makes me happy. Its the little things, really.
And I love the music. Too bad its a great commercial concept for a credit card. That's sort of like... well, I'll save the He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected potshot for later... Speaking of...
85... Joe Wilson Speaks What We Think September 9th, 2009. As He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected is spouting off, declaring how his amazing health care reform plan will save this nation, I watched this clip several times, and really, even though Joe Wilson (R-SC) yells "You lie!" at the 1:22 mark, he really could have yelled it at any point. He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected is lying about "death panels" being a fabrication, about tax dollars not being used to fund abortions, about illegal immigrants not being covered under this plan and about tax dollars not being used.
And what happens? Wilson gets censured on the floor for "being disrespectful". Heck, I'm glad that at least for one few shining moment, a Republican actually got passionate and stood up to He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected. Cause in most speeches I've heard from He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected, "You Lie!" would fit. And now you know. And knowing is half the battle... Go Joe!
84... Paepcke Gets Told Speaking of politics... let us turn to NBC Investigative Reporter Jon Paepcke, who is a former co-worker and a friend. On October 28th, 2009, Birmingham's fine mayor, Larry Langford, was convicted on everything from bribery and embezzlement to tearing the "do not remove" tags off of his mattresses. So, he does what he does best... mug for the camera.
Langford is doing a press conference about his innocense, when somewhere in there (its not in the video), Jon Paepcke actually asks Langford what he thinks this will do to Birmingham's Olympic chances in 2020. When I saw that, I thought I was going to absolutely pass out. Langford has been saying for years that the Olympic Games should come here--and he speaks as if this city not only has a shot, but a real shot.
(FYI... whoever loaded this video put their own commentary on screen--its the only copy of the video I could find to post, so please 'scuse)
So then, Langford them proceeds to go off on Paepcke, calling him a snake, the worst reporter of them all, and so on. It was great. I couldn't see the face of the blond reporter standing in front of Paepcke, but I can't imagine how priceless her awkward expression much be. When he came into The Happiest Place in the Mall a few weeks ago, I ribbed him about it, and told him that video would be on this list. He seemed proud.
83... "Men of a Certain Age" I really dig this show. And I would say the diggedness of this show is in no small part to the main three stars, Ray Romano(that "Ray" show), Scott Bakula(that "Leap" show) and Andre Braugher(that "Homicide" show), three guys I have always enjoyed in just about everything they've done.
Essentially, the plot is the friendship between three college friends – Joe, Owen and Terry – who are now in their late 40s/early 50s. Joe (Romano) is a slightly neurotic divorced father of two (Brittany Curran as Lucy, and Braeden Lemasters as Albert) who hoped to become a pro golfer but now owns a party store. Owen (Braugher) is an overstressed, diabetic husband and father, who is a car salesman at his dad's dealership. Terry (Bakula) is a struggling actor dating a much younger woman.
Ten years ago, I wouldn't have really enjoyed this show as much, mostly because I just wouldn't have understood it. But the very first scene we see Owen in, when he's sitting up in bed, slightly overweight, looking frumpy and tired, sighing because its just another day... well, that I can identify with. Its rated MA for language.
Is it bad that I feel like in ten years, this show will be about me, my best mate Wookiee and Mikey? With the Good Rev'rn Ty "Sharpton" Coffey tossed in?
82... "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" I'll be honest, I wanted to see this film from the moment it came out. I knew it would be bad. I figured it would be bad. I mean, its got Kevin James portraying... A Mall Cop. The previews made both The Lovely Steph Leann and I laugh out loud, but they looked a little formulaic, a little cliched, and I thought, "Wow, that's going to be terrible." And then a few weeks ago, I watched it via Netflix's Watch It Now Option.
...aaaaannnnndddddd........
I thought this movie was great, it made me laugh and was a good, shallow movie to sit back and enjoy. I liked it because it didn't try to be anything that its not. I liked it because Kevin James has a knack for being the guy who represents all of us kinda dorky guys who learns he only has to be his dorky self to be awesome. I liked it because Jayma Mays, the ingenue/love interest, wasn't this unbelievable knock-out supermodel that would unrealistic to approach, she was this cute, down to earth girl that any of thinks we could at least talk to, and I liked it because the movie wasn't dirty, it didn't wallow in crude humor, it just told its story, made me laugh, then rolled the credits. Yeah, yeah, its a little unbelievable that a group of robbers could take the mall on skateboards, but go with it...
...and this is unlike the other mall cop movie, "Observe & Report", with Seth Rogan, which might be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Here's what I said on June 5:
...I saw "Observe and Report" tonight at the $1 theater with Mikey. It was pretty terrible. It was a random (not in a good way) movie, it didn't go anywhere, it veered off into fifteen different directions, it wanted to be a comedy but still wanted to be taken as "smart" comedy, which it wasn't. Out of every character in that movie, including a usually reliable Seth Rogan's Ronnie, Anna Faris and several other "that guys" and B-listers, including Ray Liotta, the ONLY character in the entire movie I actually liked was that of Nell, the Cinnamon Bun stand worker, played by Collette Wolfe... otherwise, the movie was really lame...
81... The Amazing Race This was the 15th edition of The Amazing Race, and the 11th that I'd watched. Unlike Survivor, The Amazing Races all seem to kind of run together (ie, I couldn't name or even describe more then say, two winning teams in all 11 I've seen, excluding the last one), so it's always the contestants that make it for me. And you're telling me that this one has two members of the Harlem Globetrotters named Flight Time & Big Easy? Sold.
I would love to be on Survivor, but The Amazing Race would be awesome too, because its not so much a social game, as its a "get there as fast as you possibly can" game, which is awesome... sometimes, The Lovely Steph Leann and I will sit and watch together, usually picking out the challenges that she or I would do... though I told her that if we came to a 80 foot waterslide, one that was located in a resort, not in a tropical rain forest, and whooshed into a big pool, not a pirahna infested lake, and she refused to go down it--much like Mika did, while Canaan begged and pleaded for her to just let go of the bar--I think we'd get counseling. It didn't help that Flight Time & Big Easy showed up, told her how scary it was and talked her out of it. Mika & Canaan were in fact eliminated.
The big feud was Flight Time & Big Easy against Sam & Dan, brothers were both gay, and really, were just annoying and seriously a couple of jerks. Naturally, though, the couple that fights and whines the most ends up winning, and thats exactly what Meghan and Cheyne (pronouced "shane", though not spelled the same for some unknown reason... perhaps they have a propencity for extra letters in their names. Kinda like if I spelled my name "Dahyvedd". I like it.)
Coming up... A new "Bohemian Rhapsody"... Kate Wins... and more Pickles! And later, could one of my friends be the next American Idol?
Here we go... by the way, there are several videos on this post--if you reading this in Facebook, then click over to Clouds in My Coffee, so you can see everything properly. Then come back to Facebook, search Clouds in My Coffee and become a fan! We're 110 strong! Let's be 113! Yeah!
#100... Pixar Fulfills a Wish Simply put, a little girl's dying wish was to see "Up". Pixar heard the story, and they sent a representative to the little girl's house with a copy, before the movie was even released. With her eyes unable to even open, her mom described for her what was happening--her mom, who had no idea the movie itself dealt with a death. The rep left lots of Disney and Pixar swag, and after the movie, left with the copy. The little girl died later that day. And I love this story because Pixar didn't announce it, they didn't publicize it, they only did it because it was the right thing to do. The mom told the story. You can read the full story here... its sad... but its great that a company in today's day and age would be so kind.
#99... "Fireflies" by Owl City I've heard its about a dream... I've heard that maybe its some sort of trippy drug reference... me? I remember an area of Troy's golf course, an area that, when visited after dark at a certain time of the year, its just full of buzzy fireflies, too many to count. My friends and I called it Firefly Junction. Never slept out, there, though--the dew was too much. Anyway, this song makes me smile, whatever its about. MZ told me its her favorite song of the year... its not mine, but it does make the list. Here's the sample(it will ask to open iTunes if you have it, otherwise you can hear it on the Apple page)
98... A Real Life High School Musical Just like in the south, there are high school rivalries everywhere. This one pitted Shorewood High against nearby Shorecrest High in a video contest up in Seattle--Mindy D'A! Why didn't you tell me about this?!?!
The rules were simple... film a music video (lip sync, now termed a "Lip Dub"), one single take, one single shot, and involve everyone. Shorecrest struck first, with a rendition of "Hey Ya". You know, its pretty good... its kinda funny, with some guy in a Power Ranger costume, among other random things. They seemed like they practiced quite a bit for it, and a bunch of high school chicks (Paging Wooderson, paging Mr. David Wooderson) shaking it like a Polaroid Picture.
Then Shorewood did theirs. And in my mind, there is no contest. After seeing "(500) Days of Summer", they elected to go with a video of "You Make My Dreams Come True" by Hall & Oates. I don't know how long they practiced it, but according to the story on Obama-TV, "Shorewood responded by popping open a can of "Hall & Oates" whoop-a**". (That's just a fun line, ain't it?)
They filmed it, then played and synced it BACKWARDS. So the paper airplanes are flying backwards, everyone is jumping up onto their chairs backwards, people are walking forward, which means they are walking backwards in real life, the swimming team in speedos (!) is running backwards, people are singing BACKWARDS. This is brilliant! The lead guy spent tons of time learning the lines backwards and getting them lined up with the music. The link to the first one is above, you can watch it, then watch the one below, and judge for yourself.
Oh, and challenge yourself... try NOT to smile and sing along. Its quite difficult.
Come on Samson! Can't you challenge Geneva, or Kinston or Zion Chapel in a Lib Dub Throwdown? Let's do it, Tigers!
And, just as I'd like to find ways to use the phrase "Read the rules, shankapotamus", I also would like to find a way to somehow "Pop open a can of 'Hall & Oates' whoop-a**" in real life. Ah, dreams.
97... "The Hammer" As I watched about 50 movies this year, they are abundant on this list. And this is the first of 25 on the list, not counting actors or performances.
This was written and produced by Adam Carolla--you might remember him from "The Man Show", a show that I never really watched (any show that featured women called "Juggies" probably wasn't a show that I really should have made appointment TV), but that doesn't take away from the fact Adam is hilarious. His podcast ranks high on this list, and I had heard about his movie, so I got it on Netflix.
Its really a simple story of a Jerry, a carpenter who was a former boxer, and was brought back into the ring to train and try and make the upcoming Olympic boxing team. He's going up against several much younger prospects, including Robert, a rising boxing star. He's also up against the manager, who sees Jerry as nothing more than a sparring and training partner for Robert, who he really wants in the Olympics. There's also a small love story plot, featuring Heather Juergensen as Lindsay, though that side story is small, remains cute and doesn't distract from the overall Olympic boxing theme.
I really liked this movie... as Carolla has ranted about on his own podcast, the movie is Rated R, but for no good reason. It's listed as "violence", but its a BOXING movie. I think there might be one single F-bomb, maybe two, but I don't remember... other than that, its probably a movie that I'd watch with Campbell Isaiah if it came out, without much worry about bad things happening onscreen.
Just in a sidenote, Carolla is opposite Juergensen, and in one scene, they kiss, just like many movies feature. Well, Carolla is good friends with fellow writer Kevin Hench, who is married to Juergensen. This would like me writing a movie with my buddy Mikey, then starring and (stage)kissing his wife Ashley. That would be weird. I mean, good for her and all, but weird, nonetheless.
96... Steak Tartare at the Stadium Love this commercial, mostly because of the last three seconds, which always make me laugh
This is a movie that really, only Clint Eastwood could star in. Clint plays Walt, a gruff, tough widower who has been living in his house forever, and isn't too happy to see the Hmong Asian family move in next door. He warms up slowly, mostly due to the persistence of Sue, the teenage girl, and her brother Thao.
The family sees trouble when a local Hmong gang pressures Thao to join them, going to the point of assault and threats. Walt gets involved, against his better judgement, and a whole lot of bad things happen before the final scene of the movie, including one that made me sigh, and thank heavens that The Lovely Steph Leann didn't see what I just saw.
Excellent film, but full of language and violence.
94... "Empire State of Mind" by Jay Z, featuring Alicia Keys I've never been a huge Jay-Z fan, and I've never been at peace just because "a Jay-Z song was on! a Jay-Z song was on!" in a taxi cab. This song, however, is great and its in a large part to Alicia Keys soaring vocals... chick's got some pipes.
Anyone who knows me knows I have a deep affection for New York City, so I really enjoyed this tune--its fairly clean, except for the language that Jay-Z usually puts in his music, and it gives nods to everything from the Knicks to the McDonalds to Tribeca to "long live the World Trade".
Going to a new place to work is never easy, and having traveled the Starbucks roads for almost seven years, I've had to do it many times. When you go to a store that is... well, not reallyclickish, but kinda that way when you get there, its even harder to break through.
And then I got to know Tracy, who is a shift at night. We're about the same age, with much of the same life, and work, experience. In Starbucks, you don't find a ton of baristas over 30, so when you do, you connect with them in a way that its hard to connect with a 19 year old. When you say "A-Team" and they say "What is that?", you know that a connection hasn't been made.
Anyway, without writing a memorium, Tracy has been great to work with this year, and I take my hat off to her for making my transition earlier this year much easier than it could have been.
92... "Blue Harvest" Yes, yes, it took me this long to see Blue Harvest. But it was awesome when I did. You have to be a Family Guy fan to appreciate it, and really, it helps to be a Star Wars fan as well, but I finally downloaded it, and its absolutely hysterical...
91... The Slapchop Rap Who doesn't want them a slapchop after watching this video? I'll be honest with ya... you do a Broadway song to sell a Snuggie, and The Lovely Steph Leann is at Target in five minutes trying to find one.
Vince Offer, the guy in the video, is a pitchman, just like the LATE GREAT BILLY MAYS (written in all caps as a yelling honor to Mr. Mays), and has done the Slap Chop infomercial. There's some controversy surrounding hm, as BILLY MAYS claims that the Slap Chop came after the Quick Chop, which BILLY MAYS advertised, but Vince Offer stole the marketing and the infomercial demo ideas. Who knew there were Info-Wars?
Born as Offer Shlomi in Israel, he's got a track record of bad lawsuits and terrible police run-ins, including one where he slap chopped a prostitute and was charged with assault.
DJ Steve Porter made a music video remix of the original Slap Chop infomercial, dubbing it "Rap Chop". After posting it to YouTube on April 25, 2009, it quickly spread over the internet. As of September 4, 2009, it has been viewed over 5 million times through its original upload, and millions more as it was posted across other sites. It reached #13 as the all time Top Rated and #3 all time Top Rated in Comedy on YouTube.
In July 2009, in an apparent deal between Porter and Shlomi, the "Rap Chop" was made into a real infomercial that began airing nationwide. Porter's original remix included footage from the movie "House Party" and TV show "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air"... however, for the national infomercial, this footage was replaced with that of a woman break dancing and another dancer dressed in a pink bunny rabbit costume.
So there you are... you know now the story of the beauty behind the Rap Chop, making it the 91st coolest thing of 2009.
Coming up... American Express is all smiles... The battle of the mall cop movies has a clear winner... and Miley Cyrus actually have two--TWO--appearances on this list? What? What!?
"I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind. There was something so pleasant about that place. Even your emotions have an echo in so much space." Gnarls Barkley
Hale: "Your out of your mind." Deak: "Yeah... ain't it cool?"
Two more days, and the decade is over. How absolutely crazy is that?
Anyway, not much to discuss... well, that's not true--there's probably a lot to talk about, everything from reviews of "Avatar", "It's Complicated" and "Sherlock Holmes" to what in the world is up with my Go Gators and the Urban Meyer, "I'm resigning cause my heart can't take it no I'm not I'm just taking a leave of absence but is that really the truth maybe I am resigning I'm just saying 'leave of absence' so my recruits will be okay" dance.
But, as it is, its 217 in the morning... and my iPod is syncing, which is why I'm still up. Its a blessed problem, really... "blessed problem" being, I have no reason to complain, I'm only whining about my toys and how annoying they can be, and if I sat back and had perspective, I'd know that I not only have 1 iPod, I now have 2 iPods, and those without would look at me and say, "Quit your whining, you big baby."
I opened up iTunes the other day, and nothing was there. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I sighed, because this has happened before.. my music is right where I left it on my computer, in my music folder, but its as if I had downloaded iTunes for the first time. This means all my ratings, all my lyrics, all my playcounts gone, all gone... now I'll never know the lyrics to Jason Mraz's "The Remedy (i won't worry)" or know whether I rated Garth Brooks' "Wild Horses" higher than Whitney Houston's "Savin' All My Love For You", now my knowledge of how many times I truly listened to "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus or "Steel Bars" by Michael Bolton or "Everything Zen" by Bush was gone! No more ratings! No more playlists! No more 'last played'! No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE!
I guess there are worse things in life... well, I'm pretty sure there are. Cancer... car wrecks... He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected's Health Care Plan... (random song names.. check... random line from "A Christmas Story"... check... potshot at The President for Brad Latta's sake... check...).
The only upside is that I get to re-organize my music, and for a nerd like me, this is a big deal. I have one folder, called "Distribute", and anything downloaded goes there. If I've downloaded the song from a less-than-paid for site, I can do a virus scan on that folder to make sure everything is on the up and up. If I rip a CD, it goes there, as does any audiobooks I get. Over time, and because I'm too lazy and forgetful to move stuff when I load it, it builds up.
This iTunes issue happened last in August of 2008. In 16 months, my "Distribute" folder had collected 245 different artists worth of stuff. It took me about three hours to move music and audiobooks out of that folder into their proper places.
The Lovely Steph Leann did well this year.... she usually does, but this year especially. I got some great stuff, like some books, my "Mountain Soul II" CD by Patty Loveless that I was hoping for, a cute little Mickey Mouse tie, Super Mario for the Wii (more on that later), and in my stocking, I pulled out some candy (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the best, aren't they?), some weird little "put them in water and they grow!" animals that The Lovely Steph Leann got a big kick out of and at the bottom... an iPod Touch.
I held it, I looked at her, looked back at it, then looked back at her smiling face. "You... you got me... got me... an iPod Touch?" I stuttered. Very little leaves me stammering, but this did the trick. She smiled, and told me that she won it at work in some sort of contest... she was quick to point out that, "Had I not won this, you wouldn't have gotten it. Just so you know."
I had kinda been wanting an iPhone, but my issue with that was the phone bill per month would be higher... not necessarily the actual phone plan, but the cost of all the bells and whistles that went with it. An iPod Touch is basically the same thing, just without that pesky phone part. I can connect to the interweb, download applications, load contact info and so on... in fact, I'm not even sure what I'm capable of with it. Tomorrow, I'm going to try to launch a cupcake business and tap into the space shuttle interface.
Its been a learning curve, using both iPods on the same iTunes... yeah, yeah, I know, poor me, pity me and so on. I'm just telling you how it is. The Touch is great, though... the screen is really wide, so I've enjoyed watching music videos and TV shows on it... on a weekend trip to Tullahoma, TN, last weekend, I managed to take in Family Guy's "Blue Harvest" and the first episode of "Mad Men", a show I have a feeling I'm about to plunge headfirst into.
So now, at 253am, I'm reloading my iPod, the 60gig. Essentially, I have to wait for it to unload 54 gigs of music, videos, audiobooks and podcasts in order to then reload 54 gigs of newly organized music, videos, audiobooks and podcasts. Whilst I wait, I watch the last few minutes of "Broken Arrow" on Fox Movie Channel, an incredibly bad, incredibly awesome flick starring Christian Slater as Hale and John Travolta as Deak, awaiting my iPod's new sync of my reorganization of iTunes.
Also got Toy Story Mania for the Wii... it rocks. I'm killer at the Plate Skeet Shoot. I tried Super Mario Brothers. Apparently, there's a glitch in the game that doesn't allow you to go to the first world. This happens only on certain games, though... I looked it up on the interweb, and seems like lots of folks are having this issue, with the only solution being to call Nintendo directly.
Okay, so I'm going to bed. Its too early... late... whatever. "Sweet Thing" by Keith Urban? Fun song. Listening to it now on my new iPod Touch (movie just ended). Why bring up Keith Urban? Cause its 3am, I must be lonely. She says baby, well I can't help but be scared but oh sometimes the rain's gonna wash away I believe it... (that may not be the exact lyrics, but I swear that's what Rob Thomas says...)
Ah, the problems of a guy who owns 2 iPods. I'm going to bed. Right after this Bob Seger song goes off, that is.
FYI... its like, 220 in the morning, I still have two things to do for The Lovely Steph Leann tonight before I go to bed, and I have to be at The Happiest Place in the Mall around 830am... that means that I didn't listen start to finish on all the playlist songs. I will make necessary corrections this weekend... and for you Facebookians... the videos, nor the playlist, will show up. Do the right thing. Go to The Clouds. Bookmark it. Subscribe. You know you want it.
Well, it's been a while since you pulled up Clouds in My Coffee (or "The Clouds" as many, including my Seattle Gal Pal Mindy D'A likes to say) and heard music coming from your speakers. One reader (and I would say her name, but I can never spell it exactly right, and even though the correct spelling is one click away, its late and I'm too tired) kept hers on mute, because she surfs the net at her Pottery Paintin' Place, and now she'll have to go back to it. As always, I run through the list of songs, and why I've put them on this month's playlist--some are repeats from past lists, but the theme of this month is simply "Songs I've Been Listening The Heck Out of For the Last Month or Two".
You know, for whatever reason, you just like a certain song over and over, then after a while, you think, "Okay, I'm done with it" and you drop the CD back into the CD wallet in your car, or you move the song back to the general population and out of your current playlist, to not be touched for who knows how long--could be months. Could be years.
"Your So Vain" by Carly Simon. A Clouds in My Coffee staple. I had some dreams, they were...
"Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. I have played this song enough to learn how to spell the guys name (and yet, I have trouble with Amaryllis Barnett... Amarylls... Amourellis...). Anyway, this is one of two songs I want played at my funeral. You know, if they do that montage of pics showing events of my all-too-brief life, I want this song playing in the background.
"Just the Two of Us" by Bill Withers. Classic. The music is catchy, soulful, it truly is a great song for a rainy day.
"You and I Both" by Jason Mraz. It took a while for me to come around to the Mraz bandwagon, but I really like this guy. At first, he was almost annoying, but after "The Remedy (I won't worry)" and "Wordplay" and "Geek in the Pink", he's got me sold on him. This one is my favorite. The video is both hilarious and awesome.
"My Favorite Mistake" by Sheryl Crow. No doubt, we all have those. Because of the invention of Facebook, and the large number of former classmates and people I would see every day back in the day, I choose not to list My Favorite Mistakes. Okay, fine, Angiejay. But thats only 'cause I'm still bitter. Ha!
"Bye Bye" by Jo Dee Messina. She had one heck of a One-Two punch with this song and "Heads Carolina, Tails California" (another great tune that I almost put on here)... she later did "Bring on the Rain" and "Burn", but not in succession, so I can argue that her One-Two "Bye Bye/Carolina, California" was one of the best back-to-back hits in country music.
My funniest Jo Dee Messina story... so check it out, I was going on missions to New York City in 2002. Right before, though, I had procured Jo Dee Messina tickets, four of 'em to be exact. So I told Wookiee that he could come, and I invited Jill Berthon and her friend Shannon Hanes. Not really a double date, though it is worthy of note that Jill and I had dated briefly in 2000... this time, though she was just my friend. I mean, there was this other girl named The Lovely Steph Campbell that I was sorta looking at and... well, back to the story...
Anyway, I go on the mission trip, I come back, and the concert is that night. So Wookiee, Jill and Shannon and I go, have a great time, we come home, night is over. Jo Dee does put on a great show, by the way... anyway, when I get home, my roommate Tom is furious with me. I ask Michael and Shawn, the other roommates, whats up and they tell me he's mad at me cause I took out Jill. First of all, I didn't "take out" Jill, we just went to a concert together, and secondly, why does Tom give a crap? Well, Michael informs me, because when you were gone to NYC, they've been out a few times. On dates.
Really? Had no idea. So I had to go and talk to Tom and tell him, and make him believe that I honestly had 1) No intentions on pursuing Jill, that it was just a concert, end of story and 2) I had NO clue that Tom was even interested in Jill remotely. That took some talking, but seriously, I had no idea.
Tom and Jill celebrated five years of bliss this past January, by the way.
"My Boo" by Usher & Alicia Keys. I'm not a huge Usher fan, but I really dig this tune. Admittedly, he does have a great voice, and toss in Alicia's sound, and you got a great slow jam.
"Love Song" by Sara Bareilles. For whatever reason, I got hooked back on this song last week, maybe the week before, and I've played it like, 23 times on my iPod. That may or may not sound like alot, but remember, I listen to about five different podcasts during the week, including Adam Carolla, The Sports Guy, PTI, Rush Limbaugh and Car Talk, and even squeeze in some Dave Ramsey when I can.
"When I Get Where I'm Going" by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton. Here's the other song I want played at my funeral. Play Israel's song first, then have this one complete the photo montage and end with the black screen that says "david dollar... 1975 - 21??" You can fill in the question marks with whatever year it actually is. Don't put question marks for my death year. That's strange.
"Clarity" by John Mayer. My favorite Mayer tune, though I've put it on here about four times tonight... I keep finding the versions that end halfway through the song. Hopefully it works.
"Alone" by Heart. Dude. This song rocks. Carrie Underwood rocked it several years ago on Idol, but you'll never surpass the greatness of Nancy and Ann Wilson. Nor will you surpass their waistlines nowadays. Can they not hire trainers with the bajillions they've made? They were 80s kinda hot back in the day.
"Weak" by SWV. I'll set the scene on this song... back in the early 90s, right after Boyz II Men hit it big, there was a rush of three-some and four-some black dude groups that tried to emulate Boyz' sound--Shai, Jodeci (from which KC and JoJo heralded), All 4 One, Hi-Five, Silkk, etc--and on the opposite gender side, En Vogue hit it big, and chick groups popped up... Jade, Zhane and of course, SWV. Personally? I loved me some SWV... Sista's With Voices. Their hits included "I'm So Into You" and the Michael Jackson samplin' "Right Here/Human Nature", and this one, which I think is a classic.
This video? SOOOOO 90s.
"Until I Fall Away" by The Gin Blossoms. Not really a one hit wonder group... they were responsible for not just "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You", but this one and "Allison Road", all from their album "New Miserable Experience". I would consider them a "one album wonder", meaning one hit album and thats it. Their follow up, "Congratulations, I'm Sorry" had "Follow You Down", but thats all they had left. This song makes me think of Troy State University days, and in particular, Allison Hodnett.
This dashing redhead was a year younger than I, and she was just beautiful. Arriving as a freshman in the fall of 94, she was good friends with Mandy Stewart, a fellow sophomore like myself, and who was also my very good friend, and in fact, Mandy kept trying to encourage something between me and Allison... I finally asked her out, and she rejected me. Ah well, life goes on, right? Well, she was all weird around me for quite a few weeks--this is a trait you chicks have and its freakin' terrible, but thats another blog for another day--when one day she calls me up and asks me to come over to Shackleford Hall to see her. Of course I go. Duh.
I roll over there, rollin' in my 5.0, with my ragtop down so my hair can blow and... no, not really. I think I was driving a Chick Magnet Buick Century. Chicks went out with me for me back then, not cause of my wheels, cause my wheels suuuuuuuuucked for many, many years. Anyway, Allison and I stand outside the lawn space separating Shack and Pace Hall, and this is, oh, I dunno, 11pm? Midnight? No good conversations with me ever happened before 10pm. Anyway, she tells me how dumb she had been, and how she thought I was great, and how she was so sorry for acting the way she did and all, and how she didn't know if anything would come of it, but she wanted to see me again. And then...
"So... would you want to go the movies with me this Wednesday?" she said. There was a movie showing every Wednesday night on Troy's campus back then. "Really? Like, as friends, or like, a real date?" I asked with baited breath and nervous anticipation. "I dunno. Friends. No, a date. We'll make it a date. Seriously." "So you are asking me out on a date?" "Well... I guess I am. Will you go out with me?" Now, while I smiled and said, "Sure, I'd love to," with a restraited acceptance, my stomach was now dancing the fox trot with my spleen, and my entire throat contracted so I could barely breath.
Imagine my disappointment when Wednesday afternoon, she calls me. She is not feeling well, she's been sick all day, and we're going to have to postpone our movie date. I'm let down, but heck, she asked me out, right? I mean, she has to be legitimately sick, right? I didn't talk her into going with me, she asked me out.
I went to the movies anyway, with some friends. And of course, she was there. With John Glasscock. I was kinda mad. I called her later, and her roommate, Liberty Leak, answered and wouldn't put Allison on the phone. You chicks are something else, I tell ya.
Now that I think about it, I don't know if that song fits Allison Hodnett... but it was a fun story to tell.
"Anything but Down" by Sheryl Crow. I don't care for her politics, and unlike Sheryl, I wipe with many, many squares, not just one, but I dig me some Sheryl Crow music. She was also heavily portrayed on my Troy State Soundtrack.
"Can't Let Go" by Mariah Carey. I've often lamented about how much I miss pre-skank Mariah. I think it actually all came crashing down for both she and Whitney Houston when they combined to do that really crappy song "If You Believe" featured in the equally crappy "The Prince of Egypt". Perhaps that one recording studio room couldn't hold that much talent all at once, the talents collided, both were altered and neither was ever the same. I miss she and Whitney both. This song takes me back to high school, though no one in particular comes to mind.
"World on Fire" by Sarah McLachlan. I also love me some Sarah McLachlan. I went to a concert of hers a few years ago. Both me and The Lovely Steph Leann observed that Sarah is quite popular with the members of the Lesbetarian Church. Quite the gay magnet, that Sarah, straight as she may be. Amazing video, by the way. This song, not the gay people.
"Impulsive" by Wilson Phillips. I daresay that YOU do not know a bigger Wilson Phillips fan than myself. I will fully and readily admit that this self-titled album and "Time Love and Tenderness" by Michael Bolton are two CDs that most people would hide in shame, but I will gladly annoucned that I proudly own. I will now put on a white hood and stroll through Ensley.
Back in the 90s, if you were a guy, you were either in the Chyna Camp or in the Wendy Camp, like myself. Its not politically correct, or even nice, but is the honest truth to say no one, and I mean NO ONE was in Camp Carnie. Not a soul.
"The Story" by Brandi Carlile. Dunno why, but this song just hits me. Maybe you should play this song at my funeral, but don't show photos of me... show that Grey's Anatomy video that went along with it. Its much more interesting and flows better with the song than my life would.
"Dead and Bloated" by The Stone Temple Pilots. Said it before, will say it again... Scott Weiland, I'm glad he's clean and sober, if he is still, but he was so much better when he was stoned. He sang better. He performed better. He even looked cooler. I might shoot up before I do the next KidStuf performance, maybe I'll draw the crowds.
I have to admit, though, though I love the Pilots, and think "Core" is a pheeeeeenomonal album, the main reason this song is on this page is because I want someone to hear "I AM SMELLIN' LIKE A ROSE ON MY BIRTHDAY DEATHBED... I AM SMELLIN' LIKE A ROSE CAUSE I'M DEAD AND BLOATED!!!" when they pull my page up. Its so enchanting.
"My My My" by Johnny Gill. Let's face it. This song is about sex. I can't butter it up, I can't explain it away, you just have to know this song is about a guy who loves his chick so much, he just can't get over how hot she is. My my my, my my my my... your so doggone fine. Really, ain't that the way it should be? The Lovely Steph Leann... my my my, my my my my...
The Super Bowl was awesome this year... scroll down or click here to read the annual running diary...
One more note... if you are on Facebook, the numerous videos are not going to show up. Click on over to Clouds in My Coffee, then bookmark the page. Then check it daily. You never know what might pop up.
20. Rhett Barnette He's this guy I know in KidStuf, the children's theater program at Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship). He's married to Amarylis, he's got a daughter named Catalina, and Rhett, without going on and on, gets the title for Funniest. Guy. Of the Year.
He's dry, he's a hick kinda guy, he's just hilarious in a room. He's the kind of guy that, when watching The Jesus Painter, stood and made quiet jokes about the program while many were in deep worship. Seriously, funniest guy of the year.
And somehow, this picture fits him perfectly
19. ESPN's Pardon the Interruption Podcast Pardon the interruption, but I'm Mike Wilbon... Tony... the Celtics just won the world champion over the Lakers! How hard did party and who did you party with?
Oh, I partied alone... unless you count that tryist with Bea Arthur!
So begins an episode of ESPN's PTI, via podcast. Typically, the hosts--Michael Wilbon and Tony Kornheiser--start off bantering back and forth on the hot topics of the day, mostly sports but sometimes will dive off into other topics of the day. They will spend about 1:30 on each one, but may go over or under. The topics are listed on a scroll on the side of the screen.
Mike and Tony, discussing the woman who tried to use a fake One Million Dollar Bill at Wal-Mart
Next, they'll usually do "Five Good Minutes" with a guest, or they'll just keep talking sports, but in the middle of the show is my favorite. They'll do various bits weekly, sometimes Over/Under (they predict the over/under of a certain number like "Over/Under on the number of home runs Pujols will hit this season") or they'll do Oddsmakers (guessing the percentages of a certain event happening, like "chances that Roger Federer will win two or more Grand Slams before he retires") or my personal favorite, Role Play... they'll play a few beats of what can only be described as "porn music" and one will assume the role of a sports figure--Mike will "be Aaron Rodgers" and Tony will say, "Aaron, how mad are you that you were booed off the field this week at Lambeau?"
I downloaded it every day, missing very few episodes, and would sometimes go back and listen to a day or so old episode in case I missed something. You can get it on iTunes via a podcast... in fact, I very seldom every actually watch the show. Its always on iTunes.
18. "The Dark Knight" Much to the dismay of my friend Lori Land, there are a couple of films I hold in higher regard than this one, but finishing the 18th coolest thing of 2008 is not too bad.
This was an amazing movie. You've heard the hype, you've heard about Heath Ledger's performance, and you've probably heard the mystique surrounding the film. And I am here to say... its all true and its all deserved.
"Batman Begins" was a re-start of the Batman franchise that succeeded on so many levels, and so the anticipation for "The Dark Knight" was only building to crazy heights. When Heath Ledger died in January of 2008, it only further fueled the anticipation for the movie. And the entire time, I was enthralled by what I was watching.
Ledger's portrayal of The Joker is absolutely brilliant. No attempt is made to really discover where he came from, he's just The Joker, a super villain to Batman. If I had any complaints about the movie at all, it is first that I think the Harvey Dent-into-Two-Face story was rushed... I think he would have been a great villain alone, but he did compliment The Joker well. Secondly, that Rachel Dawes met the fate she met. I mean, its Maggie Gyllenhaal... she's awesome!
Maggie rocks
Did you know that Katie Holmes was set to reprise the role of Rachel, a role she did well in in "Batman Begins"... but she dropped out to make... "Mad Money" with Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah. Yes, Katie, how'd that work out for ya?
Anyway, I'm going on the assumption that just about everyone reading this has seen the movie, so I don't much to add to it, other than it was a slambang awesome film, and Ledger is an incredible Joker.
17. FaceBook Connections I wrote about this not too long ago.. well, it was July of last year... and I said simply, "So, on Facebook, somehow I've managed to find almost everyone that I ever met. Well, actually, I've met a ton of people, so the 508 people whom I call friend on Facebook probably doesn't come close to the amount of people I've met in real life."
Well, since that time, 508 has turned into 774 friends, and just when I think that there can't be many more, another one sends me a friend request. I have now decided that I just don't send friend requests anymore, they can find me...
Over the year, as mentioned in the note from July, I've managed to find The Official Clouds in My Coffee Troy State Crush Tiffany Abbott, The Angel (click to read The Angel Mud Boxer Story), Blair Andress, Dixon Brock, Dayla Ellison, Spring Tolson (also click to read The Spring Tolson Moment) and even more, and though the bigger "friend" news lately is the addition of The Official Clouds in My Coffee Samson High School Crush Julie Wise, that didn't happen until about a week or so ago, so it will be mentioned on The Coolest Things of 2009.
But there's more than that. This seemed to be the year Facebook just exploded, at least to me, from my perspective. More local friends joined--Cindy Warner, Melissa Clark, Emmy & Jason Turnbow--and more Troy friends joined--Amanda Hawkins Casey for one--and more Samson Friends joined--Claudia Sorrells, Jennifer Lambert... Jennifer Herdon--and then there was the Great Rejection of 2008, that being Angiejay, who told me after knowing me for 20 years, "I can't accept your friend request, because I don't know you very well". But I'm not bitter.
However, therein lies the danger, as mentioned last week... I will have to make some slight changes to some previous posts, as now I'm aware of who's on the site.
Also have to say a big hello to Mindy D'A, this incredibly cute and at the time unapproachable Alpha Delta Pi at Troy State, who I had spoken about two words to ever... and now she's a Coffee Drinker. Who knew?
17A. The Official Clouds in My Coffee Troy State Crush Tiffany Abbott McCauley She rocks. Through Facebook, not only have I been able to chat with The Official Clouds in My Coffee Troy State Crush Tiffany Abbott, we were able to have lunch a couple of times as she came through town. She's just as short as I remember, just as cute as I remember, and just another reminder of Garth Brooks' "Unanswered Prayers" song. Anyway, she was worth mentioning. Hope to see you again soon, one day to meet The Lovely Steph Leann.
Found this adorable pic of The Official Clouds In My Coffee Troy State Crush Tiffany Abbott, though it was before I really knew her.
16. ESPN's College Football Podcast Like the PTI podcast mentioned at #19, this was also one I listened to daily. A 30 minute show hosted by Andy Gresh, it gave a rundown of the college football headlines and news to know after a weekend's worth of games, and leading up to more games the next weekend.
The show would start with "The Playbook", which was a report from different ESPN bloggers, each giving news of the six major BCS conferences--SEC, Big XII, Big 10, Pac 10, Big East and ACC--and one blogger, Graham Watson, talking about The Independents & More, which mostly, at least this season, gave news on the sorry state of Notre Dame football and the rise of the Mountain West's Utah, BYU and TCU's programs.
Andy Gresh would have different guests on certain days, like Bruce Feldman on Mondays, Ivan Maisel on Tuesdays, Todd McShay on Thursdays and Mel Kiper Jr on Fridays. On Wednesdays, the show would be hosted by Ivan Maisel and would feature the Dean of College Football, Beano Cook. Personally, though I enjoy Ivan and Beano's take on the games and appreciate their love of the history of the games, I liked Andy hosting much better.
It makes me sad, though, that Andy Gresh left the podcast after this past season and will join Sirius Radio's NFL channel for a new show. You will be missed.
The podcast continues even in the off season--it is available for download every other Wednesday all the way through the spring and summer, to pick back up for daily podcasts in August--presumably with a new host. I'm rooting for Todd McShay.
15. Rush Limbaugh Ya know, I'm not going to do into detail on this one. I don't feel like defending him. I know he's right, and I agree with about 98% of what he says. He's critical of just as many Republicans as he is Democrats. He plays the audio of who you need to hear, he gives you the resources to listen to the entire bite, and honestly, listening to three minutes of his show isn't enough. You've got to listen to it regularly. Only then will you get the humor, only then will you understand what conservatism is, only then will you figure out that really, liberalism fails.
And then you'll be free. You won't be a mind numbed, believe everything the media tells you, if its written in the NYTime or if Keith Olbermann says it it must be true, robot. You'll get it. And we need as many people to "get it" as possible.
14. WalkAbout Dinner Theater During the 2006-2007 season, I was highly disappointed that the dinner theater we had planned for that June. I was losing talent like Courtney Maddox and Jess Heckman, and I felt not only defeated, but like a failure.
By that time, I had been doing middle school drama for about 8 years, and we had pulled off 5 dinner theater performances. The reason we didn't do the other 3 years is because either I couldn't, or was not doing drama that summer. Some of the kids grumbled, some of the kids understood, but either way, I had no confidence in our team. We cancelled it because really, many of the kids didn't learn their lines on time.
So, when the new team came around, my "seniors" this time were Hannah Robillard, J Pinky, Grace Mintz, Erin Taliaferro, Davis Reynolds, Grant Adams and Emily Griner... one of the strongest line ups we've had since the murderer's row of Scotty Latta, Jana Blackwell, Laura Posey and the like.
We had a great year, and planned for our dinner theater, entitled "By Faith", in July. And it was masterful. It was a one-night-only affair, done in our middle school area known as "the Big Room", and we had a completely sold out audience. Some of our drama moms, including WalkAbout Mom of the Year Melissa Robillard, helped put dinner together, while the WalkAbout Asst Director and Mom of the Year in 2007, Paula Maddox, helped get the show done.
Awesome. Grace Mintz did this monologue called "Unafraid", and brought the audience to tears, but strangely, I think the skit of the show was a little ditty called "Debbie Gibson & the Foolish Chick", based on the parable of building your house on rock and sand. Starring Kimmy Hasha, Hannah, Emily and a special appearance by Matt McG and Algore, it brought the house down.
14A. Paula Maddox She's was given the 20th Coolest of 2007 rank last year, and I went back and forth as to whether have her appear on this list or not... after all, she did get a rank last year. She was on the list of possible nominees for a Hannah Pruitt Cool Award as well, but I went differently with that.
Here's Paula, singing with a very waxy Celine
Anyway, she's awesome. She was totally my lean-on during the WalkAbout season, and my venting post as well (as she vented to me her own thoughts). I'm proud to call Paula my friend and if WalkAbout opens up to high school as well, as we are discussing, I am excited that she'll be back to help out. Well, she and Melissa Robillard.
13. "American Girl" by Estelle, feat. Kanye West Take me on a trip I'd like to go someday... take me to New York I'd love to see LA... I really want to come kick it with you, you'll be my American Boy, American Boy.
I really don't care for Kanye West all that much... and whoever Estelle is, I'm not really sure I'll dig on her music all the much either. But this song? Love it? Got played a ton on my iPod this year, and its just cool. Here's the Wiki on it.
12. "Ironman" Yes, yes, I thought "The Dark Knight" was great. But I am a Marvel fan through and through, so when I found out that Tony Stark would be played by Robert Downey Jr, I was sold. I was eagerly anticipating the film, and was not disappointed at all.
Its got a perfect mix of humor and action, with a great story and effects, and never gets dark and brooding like "The Dark Knight" was. As a matter of fact, I think I liked just about everything about this movie.
In case you didn't stick around after the credits, here's what you missed. Any comic book fan will be elated at this 35 second scene.
Haven't seen the movie? Here's the rundown... Tony Stark gambles at a Las Vegas casino, leaving his deceased father's friend and business partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges) to accept a prestigious award for him. As Stark leaves the casino with his entourage, he is approached by reporter Christine Everhart (Leslie Bibb), whom he charms into a one-night stand at his Malibu house. When she awakens the next morning, she is asked to leave by Pepper Potts(Gwyneth Paltrow), Stark's personal assistant.
Waking up hours later in an Afghan cave, he discovers an electromagnet embedded in his chest, placed there by fellow captive Dr. Yinsen(Shaun Toub). It is powered by a car battery and keeps shrapnel from working its way to his heart and killing him. Stark has been captured by a terrorist group known as the Ten Rings, whose leader orders him to build a Jericho missile for him.
Instead, during the three months of his captivity, he and Yinsen begin secretly building a crude suit of power armor, powered by a miniature "arc reactor" invented by Tony's father, Howard. Finally, the terrorists grow impatient and give Stark 24 hours to finish. Unfortunately, the armor isn't quite activated when the deadline expires, so Yinsen makes a suicidal attack in a desperate bid to buy time. Once the armor is ready, Stark charges through the caves. Near the entrance, he comes across a dying Yinsen, who tells him not to waste his life. Forever grateful to Yinsen, Stark burns all the munitions the terrorists have accumulated and then flies away, only to crash in the desert. Stark survives, but his suit is in pieces. After being rescued by Rhodes, Stark declares at a press conference that his company will no longer manufacture weapons. Stane tells him shortly thereafter that his decision is being blocked by the board of directors of Stark Industries.
Stark focuses his energies on building an improved version of his power suit, while making an improved arc reactor for his chest. Potts gives Stark a gift: his first miniature reactor encased in glass and bearing the inscription, "Proof that Tony Stark has a heart". (courtesy of the interweb)
See this movie!
11. Joining the VCM Way back in the day, Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) had an awesome college ministry. It was called Common Ground, and there were, on any given Sunday morning or a typical Monday Bible study night, anywhere from 25 to 40, maybe more, college and career minded folks. This is the place where I met some of my best friends and most cherish people, like McQ, Valdmanis, Shawn Sharp, Jenn Adams, The Good Doctor Earl, Amy McL and so on...
But over time, and a few various events, things happened here, things happened there, and Common Ground was no more. The subsequent attempt at the college ministry following Common Ground wasn't successful, and for years, our church languished without it. You could go all the way through preschool, grade, middle and high school and have a ton of groups and activities to be involved in. When you are in your 20s and single, or "young married" or beyond, you have tons of things to do. But the gap between high school graduation and your single mid-20s, nothing.
So it was exciting when Philip and Jill Waters, Jillip, was going to re-start the college ministry. The Lovely Steph Leann and I had been reading in our church bulletin that it might be starting up, so in service, I looked over and asked her, "Do you want to help? Should we get involved?"
Sometimes, The Lovely Steph Leann gets excited, sometimes she doesn't, but usually when she is excited, it usually involves choir or singing. Imagine my surprise when she says, "Yes. I think we should go!"
We walked down to the new college ministry room, and were excited a few of the kids there already, along with Jillip, who expressed excitement that we were there.
The Lovely Steph Leann and I talked with the group, and just told how much the ministry had impacted our lives--heck, we met there--and how we wanted it to impact their lives too. Over Christmas, we saw attendence leap up to over 20 per Sunday, and the word was spreading of the fact that Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) had invested in the college groups.
And so The Lovely Steph Leann and I are here now, in the VCM (Valleydale College Ministry). Its a little sad that we have left the Turnbow class on Sunday mornings, because of how many people there we just love, but we're happy to at least be helping in something that we know is going to grow and make a huge impact! Yay God!
So that leaves 10 more spots. And several events that rank among them... find out the Top 10 Coolest Things of 2008...
