2016 has hit its halfway point, and we mark the occasion with a picture of Angelina with the giant Superman statue in Metropolis, IL from last year’s Elvis trip.
Tag / Superman
iTunes Top 200: #79
3 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 continue with the next grouping of 10 songs tied for 79th place with 21 plays apiece since late 2007.
#79: Mexican Cheerleader – American Nice
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 9/12/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked
The song that serves as a ringtone for the band’s singer on my phone.
#79: Me First And The Gimme Gimmes – Rainbow Connection
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 8/9/2014
Previous ranking: #58
A punk cover of the quintessential Muppets hit.
#79: The Lonely Island – Dick In A Box (ft. Justin Timberlake)
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 8/21/2015
Previous ranking: #76
The SNL Digital Short premiered on December 16, 2006 and became a viral hit when the uncensored version was posted online the following day.
#79: John Williams – Prelude and Main Title March
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 12/18/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked
The iconic theme song to the original set of Superman films.
#79: Hole – Doll Parts
iTunes stats: 21 plays, most recently on 8/16/2015
Previous ranking: Unranked
The hit from Courtney Love and company also appeared on Volume 16 of my mix tapes.
#79: Hole – Celebrity Skin
Continue reading →
2016 Calendar
Now that Christmas has come and gone, we can unveil the cover to this year’s calendar gift, given annually to my mom and sister, made up of pictures I have taken throughout the year. Once again. this year’s calendar was produced by the good folks at Shutterfly. As in year’s past, we will unveil each month’s photo on the first day of the month throughout 2015.
This year’s cover is made up of 12 pictures, each featuring some combination of Angelina, Danny, and Michael. We start with the shot above of all 3 riding a camel at the Memphis Zoo from our Elvis trip back in May.
Continuing counter clockwise is another shot of all 3 standing in front of the famous ivy on the outfield wall at Wrigley Field from the Season Ticket Holder Appreciation Day conducted by the Cubs this summer.
Ho Ho Ho
Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, and I wish you all a Merry Christmas.
2015 New Fall Season – Mondays
It is time once again to dive in to the new fall lineups for the television season that kicks into gear tonight. We start this year, thanks to last night’s Emmy Awards, with Monday night’s offerings, which features some returning favorites and a few new potentials.
7:00
The Big Bang Theory – For the second year in a row, The Big Bang Theory moves back to Mondays until late October to accommodate the NFL. The show continues to be a ratings powerhouse, so I assume the move won’t shake things up too much.
Supergirl – Once The Big Bang Theory returns to its Thursday perch, the latest DC superhero show, from the fine folks who brought us Arrow and The Flash, takes over, bringing Superman’s cousin to the small screen. The early presentations that I saw look interesting, so I’m going to give this a shot.
Gotham – After a slow start, the first season kicked into a higher gear as the police and mob of Gotham faced off against one another. I’m hoping for more improvement in season 2.
7:30
Life In Pieces – I’m not sure about this show, but the cast has a few people worth checking out, so I’ll give it a shot.
8:00
Jane The Virgin – One of the surprise hits of last season, I’m a little concerned about how they will continue the story now that the baby has arrived. Similar to Ugly Betty, I fear that I will quickly tire of the show in its second season.
9:00 Continue reading →
Vacation Recap: Tupelo
When we left off last time, our group of intrepid travelers had arrived in Tupelo, Mississippi on a Sunday night after having spent the day in Memphis taking in the Elvis sights, including Graceland and Sun Studios.
Monday morning started with a trip to Tupelo Hardware Store, a present day Ace Hardware where a 11 year old Elvis, in 1946, purchased his first guitar. From there, we headed to the 2 room house where Elvis was born and lived until his family moved to Memphis in search of a better life in 1948. Also on the site are the Assembly of God church, where the Presley’s worshipped while living in Tupelo.
After leaving Mississippi, we headed north towards home, but decided to make a detour towards Metropolis, IL, which has made itself the symbolic home of Superman and, at least according to the travel guide, home to the world’s largest Dippin’ Dots store. Sadly, the Dippin’ Dots store had closed and was replaced by a gift shop filled with DC merchandise and a cooler in the corner that did supply said Dippin’ Dots. In the center of town is a giant Superman statue and a museum, which we decided against going through.
After that, it was time to head home. After a few stops for dinner and gas, we arrived home around 10 PM. Overall, we visited 5 states, 3 of which were new for Michael. Now I’m looking forward to my next trip, which, sadly, hasn’t been planned yet.
Fitbit Week 18
Another good week, my fourth straight over 50,000 steps and with at least one 10,000 step day. Things got off to a good start in Memphis on Sunday, where I spent the day visiting Elvis related sights, including Graceland and Sun Studios. Monday continued the Elvis extravaganza, exploring his birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi, before spending the majority of the day driving home, with a small detour to stop and see Superman in Metropolis, Illinois. Tuesday and Wednesday was back to the normal work grind, with the afternoon coffee run playing into the day’s total.
Thursday and Friday benefited from my leaving work on time and getting home at a reasonable hour, thus being able to explore the neighborhood, with Thursday just falling short of 10,000 steps and Friday surpassing it. Saturday looked to be a bust early, but the evening’s trip to US Cellular Field, and a walk down the ramps thanks to a closed Fundamentals area, helped pull up the day’s total.
Total steps: 53,227
Daily average: 7603.9
You Ought To Be In (12) 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. 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 look at the 8 actors that have starred in 12 movies that I have seen.
Jamie Lee Curtis
My first experience with the former teenage scream queen was likely in the first Halloween, the franchise that is responsible for 1/3 of the films on this list. The frequency of my watching her films has slowed down significantly in the 21st century, though my last experience with her was just 3 years ago when I saw You Again.
Morgan Freeman
The first film I saw starring Morgan Freeman was the Kevin Costner vehicle Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves. Starting in 2000, he put together a 6 year streak that covered 8 films. My biggest Freeman years were 2000, 2005, and, my most recent experience with him, in 2008, when I saw both Wanted and Evan Almighty.
Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman first entered my movie consciousness when I saw the original Christopher Reeve Superman. My biggest Hackman years were 2000 and 2003, when I saw 2 of his films. Hackman has mostly retired at this point, so the odds are that the last film I saw of his, Runaway Jury in 2012, will continue to be his last.
Corey Haim
My first experience with Corey Haim was likely 1986’s Lucas. I had seen 6 of his films by the time I graduated high school. The quality of his movies, along with this life, spiraled downward after that. My biggest Haim year was 2000, when I saw 3 of his films, none of which likely ever saw the inside of a movie theater. My final Haim film was 1993’s Just One Of The Girls, which I saw in 2004. Haim passed away in 2010, so he is not likely to be moving up this list anytime soon.
Gwyneth Paltrow Continue reading →
2013: The Year In Movies
2013 was again an off year in movie watching for me. I managed to watch only 61 movies last year, one less than 2012 and my second consecutive year under 100. Again, many things contributed to this, chiefly the insane amount of TV I’ve been watching 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.
The Wedding Planner (2001)
A Jennifer Lopez throwback to start off the year.
Red Riding Hood (2011)
This was not a good movie.
Safe House (2012)
This also was not a good movie. I’m not getting the year started right.
Les Misérables (2012)
A work outing is the only reason I saw this film.
American Reunion (2012)
Sometimes you can go home again. And sometimes you shouldn’t.
Sherlock Holmes: A Game Of Shadows (2011)
Robert Downey Jr. returns as the great British detective.
Young Adult (2011)
Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt team up for this strong tale.
Compliance (2012)
I streamed this disturbing picture on the iPad.
For A Good Time, Call… (2012)
A surprisingly good comedy.
Apollo 18 (2011)
Not good at all.
iTunes Top 100 Artists: #91-100
My latest desktop computer arrived in late 2007, at which point I transitioned all of my music off of my laptop. 2 iPods, 2 iPhones, and an iPad later, that computer is still my main repository of music, with iTunes updating its stats every time I listen to something.
Having already gone through cassette tapes and CDs, and digital music, it’s time to roll everything up with the Top 100 artists that I’ve listened to as of 8/21/2013, according to iTunes. Today we look at the the bottom 10, which includes plenty of rock royalty.
#91: Letters To Cleo
iTunes stats: 26 plays
Split across 2 songs, both of which achieved success due to their inclusion on soundtracks. The band broke up in 2000.
#91: Beastie Boys
iTunes stats: 26 plays
7 different songs make up this total for the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, who have not been active since the death of Adam “MCA” Yauch.
#91: Bloodhound Gang
iTunes stats: 26 plays
2 songs make up this total for the band known for humorous and off-beat, satirical lyrics.
#94: Ozzy Osbourne
iTunes stats: 24 plays
The bumbling TV dad of reality series fame used 5 songs, including a duet with Lita Ford, to compile this total.
#94: K’s Choice
iTunes stats: 24 plays
5 songs make up this total for the arguable one hit wonder from Belgium.
#94: 2Pac
iTunes stats: 24 plays
The slain rapper makes the list with only 2 entries, including his collaboration with Dr. Dre.