Tag / Boiler Up!

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iTunes Top 200 Artists: #31-40

3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 artists in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact.  So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 artists, based on number of plays from late 2007 through January 1, 2017.

Today we look at the next batch of artists, numbers 31-40, which includes a nice mix of musical genres.

#40: Tori Amos
iTunes stats: 128 plays
Previous ranking: #40

56 new listens for the same 11 songs over the past 3 years enable the singer/songwriter, who I was supposed to see live back in 1998 but missed due to a friend’s wedding, retain her position at #40.

#39: Harry Caray
iTunes stats: 129 plays
Previous ranking: #44

The legendary broadcaster moves up 5 spots in the rankings due to his 2 versions of Take Me Out To The Ballgame, one for the White Sox and one for the Cubs.

#38: Purdue All-American Marching Band
iTunes stats: 135 plays
Previous ranking: #34

The marching band for my alma mater drops 4 spots in the rankings due to only 49 new listens.

#37: No Doubt
iTunes stats: 136 plays
Previous ranking: #42

Thanks to 3 new songs and 65 new listens, the ska band I saw back in college before they hit it big jumps 5 spots in the rankings.

#35: Queen
iTunes stats: 148 plays
Previous ranking: #22

A big 13 spot drop for the band from England due mostly to their dropping off the White Sox victory playlist now more than 10 years removed from their 2005 World Series title.

#35: Metallica
iTunes stats: 148 plays
Previous ranking: #38

The one-time masters of metal manage to go up 3 spots in the rankings thanks to 69 new listens, despite Paul Konerko dropping them as his at bat music shortly before retiring.

#33: The Monkees
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16 Is Sweet

As we head in to the Sweet Sixteen, I have no earthly idea where I’m at in my two pools, thanks to Purdue advancing with two victories up in Milwaukee at the Bradley Center.  3 out of my 4 Final Four picks are still alive, so I may still have a bit of a chance to win something along the way.

A few upsets here have both the #1 and #2 seeds on the outside looking in.  While I lost one of my Final Four picks when Villanova lost, it was worth it to get a Duke loss as well.

Purdue stays alive, but faces a large challenge tonight, facing #1 seed Kansas in Kansas City. Continue reading →

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Fitbit III: Week 7

Another great week, as my streak of 50,000+ steps weeks hits 7, I broke 60,000 steps for the first time since getting back from Universal in June, and my consecutive days over goal streak reached 55.  Things got off to a slow-ish start on Sunday, as I puttered around the house before going to a wake to barely surpass my goal.  Monday and Tuesday came up with similar totals, thanks in part to similar trips to Mariano’s for lunch and trips to Hayley’s hotel to attend to her injured back.  Wednesday was the beginning of the March Madness Jiff challenge at work, where I am on a team with 3 levels of management above me, so I worked in a few extra walks during work to cross the 11,000 step plateau.  Thursday was even better, as a post-work excursion to Milwaukee to watch Purdue in the NCAA tournament helped me surpass 12,000 steps and garner my highest single-day total since the Sprint & Stride in September.  I spent Friday in an all day workshop, but an after-work walk around the neighborhood helped propel me to 9000 steps.  Saturday was split between a trip in to the city to watch rugby with Hayley followed by another trip to Milwaukee for the next round of the NCAA tournament, ending in an 8000 step day.

Total steps: 60,740

Daily average: 8677.1

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Dancing Days

It’s that time of year again, as the nation’s attention turns to the college hoops scene for the next few weeks. I’m down to just two pools this yearone at my mom’s work, and one run by a friend, as the work pool died due to lack of interest.  I will be in Milwaukee tonight to watch the Purdue Boilermakers make their third straight tournament appearance, hopefully advancing past this first weekend.

Last year’s champion, Villanova, gets the overall #1 seed and are my pick to advance to the Final Four.

Purdue ends up as the 4 seed in the Midwest, and I have them going to the Elite Eight, before falling to Oregon.  I have tickets to the first two games, so I hope they can at least win those 2.

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2016: The Year In Movies

Movie_Reel_22

2016 saw a bit of an uptick in movie watching for me, with the vacation over the past 3 weeks of December helping to greatly boost my total to its highest level since 2011.  I managed to watch 88 movies last year, 19 more than last year, though my fifth consecutive year under 100.  Again, many things contributed to this, chiefly the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching, the greater effort made towards going out for walks, and the awful amount of time I spend either at work or getting to and from work.

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

RU Awake? (2015)
A short film starring the lovely and talented Molly C. Quinn.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)
A young kid tries to solve a mystery connected to his father who died in the 9/11 attacks.

The Pact (2012)
A bad horror film starring TV’s Caity Lotz.

Tell Tale (2010)
A short that I have no real recollection of.

Let’s Be Cops (2014)
Two Purdue alums find that impersonating cops is better than their normal lives.

John Wick (2014)
Keanu Reeves returns in a surprisingly good turn about a mourning hitman who returns to work after his former boss turns on him.

If I Stay (2014)
A teenage girl faces a choice to live or die after a car accident puts her in a coma.

Two Night Stand (2014)
A snow storm forces a hookup to last much longer than either participant anticipated.

Hot Pursuit (2015)
Reese Witherspoon is a no-nonsense cop who learns to bend the rules while trying to arrest Sofia Vergara.

Backcountry (2015)
A city couple gets lost in the woods while camping. Continue reading →

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2016 College Football Kickoff

rossadeMy alma mater, the Purdue Boilermakers, kick off their 2016 gridiron campaign tomorrow, looking for their first winning season since 2011.  Time to take a look at the results of the 21 college football games I have attended since the 1993 season, covering 4 different stadiums in a whopping 2 states.

All-Time Team Records
Team Name Won Loss Winning Pctg
Penn State Nittany Lions 1 0 1.000
Ohio State Buckeyes 1 0 1.000
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 4 1 0.800
Purdue Boilermakers 12 7 0.632
Northern Illinois Huskies 1 1 0.500
Illinois Fighting Illini 2 5 0.286
Western Michigan Broncos 0 1 0.000
Northwestern Wildcats 0 2 0.000
North Carolina State Wolfpack 0 1 0.000
Michigan Wolverines 0 1 0.000
Indiana Hoosiers 0 2 0.000
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iTunes Top 200 Wrap-Up

itunes_imageLast week, we wrapped up our latest look at the top 200 songs I’ve listened to, according to iTunes, since 2008.  Now it’s time to take a final look at those 200 (or 203) songs and the 109 artists that made them.  The average number of listens was just over 28, with the median number being 20.

Most Represented Band

Foo Fighters – 17
The Beatles – 13
The Cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – 11
Garfunkel and Oates – 8
Garbage – 7
Tegan and Sara – 7

Least Recently Played

7/6/2013 10:15 AM – The Beatles – Paperback Writer
11/23/2013 8:28 AM – Young MC – Bust A Move
4/3/2014 12:26 PM – Goops – Build Me Up Buttercup
5/10/2014 1:33 PM – Neil Sedaka – Calendar Girl
5/30/2014 3:28 PM – Mexican Cheerleader – Do The Stanley

Most Recently Played

12/21/2015 12:09 PM – Boyz II Men – End Of The Road
12/21/2015 12:03 PM – Love Spit Love – How Soon Is Now?
12/18/2015 6:42 PM – Purdue “All-American” Marching Band – Hail Purdue
12/18/2015 6:39 PM – John Williams – Prelude And Main Title March
12/18/2015 6:39 PM – Purdue “All-American” Marching Band – Go Purdue Cheer

 

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iTunes Top 200: #11 – 20

itunes_image3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs in my iTunes library. Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact. So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

We near the end today, as we breach the top 20, which is nearly identical to when we first looked at the top 100 3 years ago.  9 of the 10 songs are the same, with the only difference being one that dropped out of the top 10.  My White Sox victory playlists and school pride make up the majority of this entry.

#20: The Lonely Island – Lazy Sunday (ft. Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 42 plays, most recently on 6/18/2014
Previous ranking: #17

The original SNL digital short put the Lonely Island on the pop culture map and defined the phrase “viral video”.

#19: The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – The Mustard
iTunes stats: 45 plays, most recently on 6/7/2015
Previous ranking: #19

A short ditty from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer about the joys of dry cleaning.

#17: Purdue “All-American” Marching Band – Hail Purdue
iTunes stats: 49 plays, most recently on 12/18/2015
Previous ranking: #20

A more recent version of the Purdue fight song, including the now standard refrain of “Boiler Up!”

#17: Purdue “All-American” Marching Band – Hail, Purdue!
iTunes stats: 49 plays, most recently on 11/7/2015
Previous ranking: #18

An older version of the Purdue fight song, used during my time at the school.

#15: Metallica – Harvester Of Sorrow
iTunes stats: 53 plays, most recently on 7/4/2015
Previous ranking: #15

Released as the first single from the band’s fourth studio album, it was used as the at-bat music for former White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko for the majority of his career.

#15: The Lonely Island – Natalie’s Rap (ft. Natalie Portman & Chris Parnell)
iTunes stats: 53 plays, most recently on 1/22/2015
Previous ranking: #14

The second digital short from The Lonely Island featured Natalie Portman playing against type as a lewd gangsta.

#14: Nancy Faust – Take Me Out To The Ballgame
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iTunes Top 200: #30 – 40

itunes_image3 years ago, we first counted down the then Top 100 songs in my iTunes library.  Since that time, I’ve successfully managed to migrate my music collection to a new PC with the stats intact.  So, I figured it was time to take another look, expanding out the field to the top 200 songs, based on number of plays as of January 1, 2016.

Today, we enter Casey Kasem territory, cracking the top 40 with 10 songs between 27 and 31 plays apiece since late 2007.

#40: Garbage – Androgyny
iTunes stats: 27 plays, most recently on 11/21/2015
Previous ranking: #36

The debut single from their third album that was strangely left off their greatest hits package.

#36: Purdue “All-American” Marching Band – Go Purdue Cheer
iTunes stats: 28 plays, most recently on 12/18/2015
Previous ranking: #76

An impressive increase in the rankings for this cheer for the old alma mater.

#36: Mazzy Star – Fade Into You
iTunes stats: 28 plays, most recently on 11/4/2015
Previous ranking: #76

An equally impressive increase for this biggest hit from Mazzy Star, which appeared on Volume 15 of my mix tapes.

GarbageS07#36: Garbage – Only Happy When It Rains (Live)
iTunes stats: 28 plays, most recently on 10/21/2015
Previous ranking: #58

A live version of the hit from their debut album, this appeared as a B-side on the Shut Your Mouth single.

#36: The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Coda
iTunes stats: 28 plays, most recently on 4/7/2015
Previous ranking: #39

The final bit of cast singing from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

#35: The Cast Of Buffy The Vampire Slayer – I’ve Got A Theory/Bunnies/If We’re Together
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