Tag / Angelina Jolie

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Prolific Authors – 22 Books

It is time once again to take a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, I’m once again on pace to set a new record for books read in a year, so I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August of this year. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 1xx books, so there should be some movement over the past two years.  Without further ado, it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much over the years.  We conclude today with the sole author I’ve read 22 times, a level unseen two years ago.

Jeffery Deaver

In 1999, the first entry of Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series, The Bone Collector, was adapted into a film starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.  Around that time, I picked up a paperback copy, which I read in 2000.  I slowly added additional titles as I would find them as remainders, picking up new hard covers for $3 or $4.


Things increased in 2015, when I started picking up titles on deals through the Amazon Kindle store or from the library, leading to 17 additional books added to my read bookshelf.  In August of last year, I finished off the Lincoln Rhyme series with The Broken Window.  There is still room to grow, as I have three remaining entries of his Kathryn Dance series, although my local library does not have them available in an electronic format, and what looks to be a new series where he has teamed up with Isabella Maldonado.

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Fifty Years Of Music – 1981

Fifty years ago, I made my first appeared on the Earth.  In celebration, we are going to take a look at the year-end Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for each year of my life and see what songs resonated with me at the time and if they continue to do so to this day.

We continue our look back at the music of my lifetime with 1981, the year I moved from first to second grade and turned 7.  This year, we start to see songs that I remember from their original release, though, in this case, it is due to movies and television.  Only twelve of the Hot 100 are familiar to me now, with nine of them appearing in my collection in one way or another.

#94: Devo – Whip It
iTunes stats: 22 plays

The new wave classic spent 25 weeks on the Hot 100, peaking at #14 in November of 1980.

#76: Billy Squier – The Stroke
iTunes stats: 13 plays

Squier’s first and only single to hit the pop charts, it topped out at #17.

#71: The Police – Don’t Stand So Close to Me
iTunes stats: 11 plays

Reaching #10 on the charts, the song took home the 1982 Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

#65: Queen – Another One Bites the Dust
iTunes stats: N/A

At 31 weeks, it was the longest charting song of 1980, spending fifteen weeks in the top ten, thirteen weeks in the top five, and three weeks at #1.

#62: Neil Diamond – America
iTunes stats: 16 plays

Featured on the soundtrack to Diamond’s film The Jazz Singer. the song reached #8 on the Hot 100 and was Diamond’s sixth chart-topper on the Adult Contemporary chart.

#46: Pat Benatar – Hit Me with Your Best Shot
iTunes stats: N/A

Peaking at #9, the song, which Benatar no longer plays to protest school shootings in the US, was her first Top 10 hit in the US.

#25: Juice Newton – Angel of the Morning
iTunes stats: 14 plays

Written by Angelina Jolie’s uncle in 1967, the track, which earned Newton a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary-Pop Vocal Performance, Female, reached #4 on the Hot 100.

#11: Joey Scarbury – Theme from The Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)
iTunes stats: 28 plays

Quite possibly the first single I even owned, the song spent a total of 18 weeks in the Top 40, peaking at #2 in mid-August.

#9: Dolly Parton – 9 To 5
iTunes stats: 12 plays

The theme song from the movie of the same name, the tune was released as a single in November of 1980 and reached the top of the charts in January.

#6: Kool & the Gang – Celebration
iTunes stats: 16 plays

A wedding reception staple for the last 40 years or so, it was the band’s first and only single to reach #1 on the Hot 100.

#5: Rick Springfield – Jessie’s Girl
iTunes stats: 19 plays

In one of the slowest climbs to the top of the charts, the song spent 19 weeks on the Hot 100 before reaching #1.

#1: Kim Carnes – Bette Davis Eyes
iTunes stats: N/A

Originally recorded by Jackie DeShannon in 1974, this cover by Carnes spent nine non-consecutive weeks atop the charts on its way to winning 1981 Grammys for both Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

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Prolific Authors – 18 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school. This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through October. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 118 books, so there could be some movement over the past two years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  Today, we finish things off with a new leader, the lone author I’ve read 18 times, a level unseen two years ago.

Jeffery Deaver

In 1999, the first entry of Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series, The Bone Collector, was adapted into a film starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.  Around that time, I picked up a paperback copy, which I read in 2000.  I slowly added additional titles as I would find them as remainders, picking up new hard covers for $3 or $4.

The Midnight Lock – Jeffery Deaver

Things increased in 2015, when I started picking up titles on deals through the Amazon Kindle store or from the library, leading to thirteen additional books added to my read bookshelf, with The Burning Wire, which I read earlier this year, being the most recent prior to the start of this countdown.

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You Ought To Be In (15) Pictures

Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  Given those guidelines, it is time once again to look at the now 107 actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1.

We continue today with the twelve actors that have starred in exactly 15 movies that I have seen, an increase of three from 3 years ago.

Amy Adams

Amy Adams made her first appearance on my screen in 2001, when I watched the repurposed television pilot that became Cruel Intentions 2.  She returned in 2008, starting a run of eight films in four years.  After a five-year absence, she returned in 2022 with the previous year’s The Woman In The Window.

Jamie Lee Curtis

My first experience with the former teenage scream queen was likely one of the first two Halloween films, the franchise that is responsible for nearly 47% of the films on this list.  After a seven-year lull, she returned with the latest reboot/continuation of the Halloween franchise, culminating in 2022’s Halloween Ends.

Will Ferrell

The SNL alum first streaked on to the list of film actors I’ve seen in 2003 with Old School.  Since then, his appearances have been pretty consistent, with 2012-2013 being the longest streak of him not appearing on my screen.  The most recent film of his I’ve seen was 2013’s Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, which I finally saw last year.

Anne Hathaway

Like most of America, I first saw Anne Hathaway on the silver screen back in 2003 in The Princess Diaries.  In the intervening years, she had been a steadfast presence on my movie (or television) screen, including three films in 2005 and four in 2009.  Things have slowed a bit this decade, with her latest appearance being 2019’s The Hustle, which I saw in 2020.

Angelina Jolie

Her last appearance on my screen is still in 2012, when I saw her in Changeling.

Steve Martin

The last starring role of his that I saw remains 2005’s Shopgirl, which I saw in 2009.

Julia Stiles Continue reading →

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Prolific Authors – 14 Books

Way back in December of 2011 (and again every other December since), we’ve taken a look at the authors I have read the most, dating back to high school.  This year, since I’ve far surpassed my reading output of any year on record, I thought it would be nice to take a deeper dive into those books I’ve read through August. Since our last check-in, I’ve read an additional 60 books from 54 different authors. There shouldn’t be much movement over the past 2 years, but it’s time to take another look and see if my “favorite” authors have changed much in that time span.  We continue today with the two authors I’ve read 14 times.

Jeffery Deaver

In 1999, the first entry of Deaver’s Lincoln Rhyme series, The Bone Collector, was adapted into a film starring Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.  Around that time, I picked up a paperback copy, which I read in 2000.  I slowly added additional titles as I would find them as remainders, picking up new hard covers for $3 or $4.

The Vanished Man – Jeffery Deaver

Things increased in 2015, when I started picking up titles on deals through the Amazon Kindle store, leading to 10 additional books added to my read bookshelf, with The Cold Moon being the most recent prior to the start of this countdown.

Stephen King

I first read King’s work during my freshman year of high school.  In fact, I remember reading Pet Sematary after finishing my Biology final at the end of freshman year, waiting for the class to be dismissed.  My total reached 9 novels by 1993, but then college and other pursuits got in the way and King fell out of my favor.

Stephen King – 11/22/63

That changed in 2012, when the release of 11/22/63 brought me back in to the King fold.  I’ve added 5 of his more current work, most of which has been through the Hard Case Crime imprint, which limited, but did not completely remove, the horror elements.

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Midseason Review – Fridays

old-tv-set1Our final look back at the new fall season gives us Friday’s amazing slate of shows.

7:00

The Blacklist – The seventh season for the show will deal with the repercussions from the end of season 6, which I haven’t completed as of yet.

I’m about ready to move on, whenever they are.

Hawaii Five-0 – The tenth season promises that someone, whoever took the mysterious bullet that ended last season, will be leaving the show.

The loss of Jorge Garcia has taken away a bit from the levity of the show, but I do enjoy seeing locations from my vacation to Hawaii last year.

9:00

Blue Bloods – Returning guests highlight the tenth season.

Sad to say, but this one has also kind of run it’s course.

In the spring, we can look forward to:

Lincoln Rhyme: Hunt For The Bone Collector – Based on the Jeffery Deaver of the same name, the show looks to create more a lasting impression than the Denzel Washington/Angelina Jolie film did.

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You Ought To Be In (15) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of July 1st.

Today, we continue with the 5 actors that have starred in 15 movies that I have seen, down 2 from 3 years ago.

Cameron Diaz

After a 3 year gap following 2011, Diaz returned to my notice in 2014 and again in 2015 with The Other Woman, rising 2 slots.

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson moves up one spot thanks to 2015’s The Kingsman, which I saw in 2016, breaking a 6 year drought.

Angelina Jolie

Her last appearance on my screen is still in 2012, when I saw her in Changeling.

Steve Martin

Continue reading →

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You Ought To Be In (15) Pictures

Movie_Reel_22Many years ago, using the weekly TV guide that came with the Sunday Chicago Tribune, I started keeping track of all of the movies I had seen over the course of my lifetime.  The guide would list the two main stars for each movie, and that is a tradition that I’ve carried on in my database ever since.  So, given those guidelines, it is time to look at all of the actors that have starred in at least 10 films that I have seen, as of May 30th.

Today, we continue with the 7 actors that have starred in 15 movies that I have seen.

Matt Damon

In 1994, Matt Damon made his first appearance on my personal movie screen with his role in 1992’s School Ties.  He disappeared for a while until reappearing in 1999 with 3 different films.  From that point on, he has been a pretty regular entrant in my watched films, including a four year run from 2005-2008.  The last film of his I’ve seen was in 2012, when I saw the previous year’s Contagion.

Robert DeNiro

My first experience with Robert DeNiro was back in 1988, when I saw Angel Heart.  He then went quiet to me for 8 years, coming back in 1996 with Sleepers.  2000 was my high water mark with his work when I saw 3 of his films.  My most recent experience with him was 2011, when I saw him in both Machete and Limitless.

Angelina Jolie

The first starring role of Angelina Jolie’s that I saw was 1995’s Hackers.  2005 was my most prolific Jolie year, when I took in 3 of her films.  Her last appearance on my screen was in 2012, when I saw her in Changeling.

Steve Martin

Continue reading →

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The Year In Movies – Part 1

For many reasons, 2012 was an off year in movie watching for me, which may not necessarily be a bad thing.  I managed to watch only 62 movies last year, my first year under 100 since 2005 and after having averaged just over 131 movies over the past 5 years.  Many things contributed to this, chiefly my attempts to do more exercise and read more books and the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching.

Here’s a look back at the first 50 movies I did manage to watch last year and what recollection I have of them, if any.  The films are listed in the order I saw them.

Hatchet II (2010)
I remember thinking this was better than the first Hatchet film, but that isn’t exactly saying anything.

The Hangover Part II (2011)

Nowhere near as funny as the original, but still a worthwhile effort.

Changeling (2008)
Angelina Jolie’s search for her missing child.

Drive Angry (2011)
Nicolas Cage has some bills to pay, and schlock like this is how he plans on paying them.

Moneyball (2011)
One of the most controversial books in the world of baseball hits the silver screen, chronicling the new approach taken by the cash-strapped Oakland A’s to field a successful team.

’92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card (2011)
A short about a screw-up who sells his brother’s Alonzo Mourning rookie card.

Tanner Hall (2009)
A pre-Dragon Tattoo Rooney Mara stars in this school girl drama.

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
A disappointing sci-fi romp through the old west.

The Rock-afire Explosion (2008)
A documentary looking at the house band of the former Showbiz Pizza.

The Hunger Games (2012)
My first trip to the movie theater this year was for this adaptation of one of the best books I had read the year before.

In Time (2011)
Justin Timberlake continues to impress as an actor.

The Avengers (2012)
Continue reading →