Month: April 2009

Random Thoughts 2

Why can’t all these Hollywood types adopt American babies?? I guess there wouldn’t be enough publicity if they did a mundane thing like that.

 

There’s a difference between being holy and being holier-than-thou.

 

If you’ve managed to make someone smile it’s been a good day.

 

RIP Pontiac

 

A prerequisite for throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game should be the ability to get the ball from the mound to the catcher. No one is expecting some pseudo-celebrity to groove a 90 mph fastball on the outside corner of the plate, but come on…..my 10 year old nephew could get the ball it’s required distance.

 

I miss Burger Chef. And Rally’s.

 

Sometimes the things I see online puzzle and frustrate me. But they also provide fascinating insight into humanity and its brokenness.

Let’s Talk About God: Value

We’ve all had that experience of getting a song stuck in our head for hours or even days for no apparent reason. I’ve had two songs running through my head off and on for weeks now, and I finally figured out why. The two songs are Blessed Assurance and Victory In Jesus. I grew up in and still attend a small country church with a fondness for the old traditional hymns. It’s not that we, or I, are unwilling to venture outside the box. I’m not against some of the newer, more modern, rockin’ “contemporary Christian” music. Some of it is quite good. But there’s just something about those established and timeless tunes. Anyway, I want to specifically look at one section of each of the two songs I mentioned.

Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine
Heir of salvation, purchase of God
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood


O victory in Jesus
My Savior, forever
He sought me and bought me
With His redeeming blood


When looking at those stanzas, something really jumps out at me. There are two phrases..…”purchase of God” and “”He sought me and bought me”…..that leap off the page.

We all shop, right? We buy groceries, computers, birthday gifts, and a plethora of other items on a daily basis. When we pay our hard earned money for things we demand value. We want our food to taste good, our clothes to fit and be comfortable, our cars to work properly so they can get us where we need to go, and our entertainment to be…..well, entertaining. We demand value for our money. So why would we expect God to want anything less?

Now I know what you’re thinking…..salvation is a free gift. That is a true statement in that it is free for us if we so choose to take it. However, it is only free to us because the price was paid by Jesus Christ. God purchased us, sought us and bought us, not with dollars and cents, but with the currency of His son’s blood. So the question becomes…..what do you do if something you buy doesn’t work or isn’t up to your standard? If you’re a nice person like me you very politely return the item and exchange it for a new one. If you are a bit more aggressive you may become angry and have some heated words with a salesman. Either way, we demand value.

God wants value for the price He paid too. He wants us to be the very best we can be. He wants us to honor and worship Him and keep his commandments. He wants us to read and study His word and live in a manner befitting someone who has done so. He wants us to tell the world about Him. He wants our life in exchange for the life of His son. Fortunately for us He doesn’t expect us to die. Actually, He wants us to live. He just wants us to live a life dedicated to the things He stands for rather than the empty, shallow, meaningless things that the world stands for. That doesn’t mean we can’t laugh and have a good time. On the contrary…..we can enjoy our life knowing that we are living for something substantial, something that matters, something…..eternal.

Knowing how upset we get if our pizza arrives cold or our brand new television works improperly or our luggage gets lost in transit, how can we so nonchalantly disregard God and the hurt He must feel every day that we don’t live for Him and give value and meaning to the sacrifice that was made for us??

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The Not Quite Top 100 Movies – Honorable Mentions

I mentioned in my introduction to this series that I am taking my task a little more seriously the second time around, and that one rule that I’ve imposed upon myself is “no ties”. This is a difficult tenet to follow and necessitates an Honorable Mention List. These films, for one reason or another, just didn’t quite make the cut. That doesn’t mean they aren’t good, they just aren’t quite good enough. Nevertheless, I do enjoy them and feel compelled to give some love.

 

 

All the Right Moves
A 1980’s ode to high school football, and one of Tom Cruise’s earliest (and best) performances. Friday Night Lights years before there was a Friday Night Lights. Plus, if I may be perfectly candid, there’s a love scene involving Leah Thompson that by today’s standards is rather docile, but it sure was seared into the minds of all preteen boys of that era.

 

American Wedding
You’ll see the original American Pie in The Top 100. And while the bland second part of the trilogy doesn’t even merit a second thought (or a second viewing), this conclusion of the adventures of the hapless Jim, his obnoxious friend Stifler, and Jim’s well intentioned but clueless father (played perfectly by Eugene Levy) is an admirably amusing effort.

 

Austin Powers Series
Thus far there have been three Austin Powers films, and I suspect there are more to come. I’ve never watched an entire James Bond movie, nor any of the other spy flicks that Austin Powers apparently spoofs. But that doesn’t distract from the enjoyment factor for me.

 

Broadcast News
History shows that this film was released at about the same time as Moonstruck, Good Morning Vietnam, Wall Street, Three Men & A Baby, Throw Momma From the Train, and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles..…and during the Thanksgiving/Christmas holiday season…..so it’s not surprising that it seemingly got lost in the shuffle. Still, it’s an amusing look at the TV news business with a scene stealing performance by the vastly underrated Albert Brooks.

 

Deep Impact
In 1998 two blockbusters were released within a couple months of each other, both of them about an asteroid destroying Earth. One was the Bruce Willis/Ben Affleck film Armageddon, the other was Deep Impact, whose biggest stars are Morgan Freeman and Robert Duvall. But despite the lack of star power aimed at the younger demographic, Deep Impact is a better movie.

 

Fever Pitch
Fever Pitch is based on a British book, and there was a British film made as well. But the movie I am referring to is an American version of the story in which Jimmy Fallon plays an obsessed Boston Red Sox fan and Drew Barrymore is his new girlfriend. Is it high art? No. But it is a pleasant diversion, and almost every film I can think of in which baseball is used as a backdrop offers some level of amiable pleasure.

 

Grumpy/Grumpier Old Men
I am including both films here. The legendary screen pairing of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau did most of their work together before I was born or atleast when I was too young to notice. But these two movies, about bickering neighbors in the frozen tundra of Minnesota, brought their charmingly hilarious magic into my consciousness and onto the radar of a whole new generation. Appreciation must also be shown to Burgess Meredith, best known to movie audiences as the crusty old manager of underdog boxer Rocky Balboa, who steals every scene he’s part of in these two movies, both made when he was well into his 80’s.

 

Liar Liar
It may be heresy to admit, but I’m not a huge Jim Carrey fan. He’s amusing to a point, but few of his movies are really that good in my opinion. Liar Liar is my favorite Carrey comedic performance hands down. He plays a lawyer forbidden to lie for an entire day (it’s not important why), and hilarity ensues.


MASH
Traditionally when television shows are created based on feature films it’s a bad idea. However, one shining example of a television show which was actually better than its big screen predecessor is MASH. But that doesn’t mean that the movie is subpar. It’s actually quite good.

 

PCU
I detest political correctness, so it’s no surprise that a movie that takes it to task would be to my liking. This little seen early 90’s gem (starring Jeremy Piven and Jon Favreau) draws comparisons to Animal House, but it’s not really a fair association. Animal House is just a rollicking good time. This movie tries to weave in a message. Whether or not that’s a good thing is a matter of personal discretion.

 

Rain Man
It almost made The Top 100, it really did. But one of the things I take into consideration is repeated viewings. There are those movies that one has seen literally dozens of times, and if it happens to be on TV one just automatically stops and watches. With Rain Man neither of these applies. I don’t see it on television much, and if it were to be on I’m not sure I’d jump for joy and immediately cease whatever else I might be into.

 

The Comedies of Adam Sandler
I’m lumping together a half dozen films here – 50 First Dates, The Wedding Singer, Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison, The Waterboy, and Big Daddy. Admittedly Sandler flicks aren’t targeted at a mature and educated audience, but they are fun in a gratuitously dim-witted way.

 

Smokey & The Bandit
I LOVED this movie as a kid. It was funny, plus it featured fast cars and chase scenes. When you’re a small boy that’s all you need in a movie. It’s still amusing 30 years later, but it doesn’t hold up well enough to make The Top 100. Even back then I didn’t understand what the big deal was about driving a truck full of beer from one state to another, and now that frame of reference is completely obsolete.

 

The Spiderman Series
Out of all the movies on this Honorable Mention list, this was the toughest selection. The Spiderman movies achieve a rare feat….they are popular and made a ton of money, plus they are well written and critically acclaimed. It’s probable that my affection for all things Batman clouds my judgment when it comes to other superheroes. However, I have to be honest with myself, and I just don’t put these movies into the category of “must see” in my universe. Your mileage may vary.

 

The Upside of Anger
A perfect example of the term “hidden gem”. Take a poll of 1000 random people and I’m betting less than 20% have even heard of The Upside of Anger, and even less has actually seen it. The film stars Kevin Costner (in his best performance since Tin Cup nearly a decade before) and the underrated Joan Allen as two neighbors with only one thing in common…..their love of booze. He’s a retired baseball player (imagine that), and she’s a mother of four lovely daughters who is dealing with all the inherent responsibilities and stress that comes with that role. Her husband has apparently ditched her and taken off with his secretary, so she bonds with Costner’s character and a relationship evolves. The characters are nicely developed and the actors are top notch. The ending is one of those that you don’t see coming, and I like that. The Upside of Anger doesn’t make The Top 100 yet because it’s a fairly new movie that I just caught for the first time a couple of years ago. We’ll see how my affection for it grows over time.

 

Very Bad Things
This is a really peculiar film, one that takes the concept of “black comedy” to a whole new stratosphere. It’s got an outstanding cast – Jon Favreau, Cameron Diaz, Jeremy Piven, Daniel Stern, Christian Slater. In a nutshell, the story revolves around a raucous bachelor party that goes wrong…..very, very wrong. I cannot stress how badly this party and its aftermath goes for all involved. I guess one has to have a certain type of macabre sense of humor to really appreciate Very Bad Things and I suppose I have that mentality on occasion.

 

Wall Street
Sometimes a movie isn’t necessarily remembered for the actual story as it is for one truly memorable character. Michael Douglas won an Academy Award for his superb turn as Gordon Gekko, the man who etched in our minds the life lesson that “greed is good”.

 

We Are Marshall
Okay…..so I’m biased. Marshall University is my alma mater. But I’m not TOO biased…..this movie didn’t make The Top 100 because as a film it could have been better. I understand that the powers-that-be needed a big name to sell the product, but I’m unconvinced that Matthew McConaughey was the correct choice. Meanwhile, the other Matthew..…Matthew Fox of Lost and Party of Five fame…..gives an understatedly moving performance. We Are Marshall is an emotional tale for those of us who know the real life story well, but I suspect that the average moviegoer was underwhelmed.

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50 Reasons Christ Came To Die

Jesus on the cross

Jesus Christ

Some of the most important questions anyone can ask are “Why was Jesus crucified?”, “Why did he suffer so much?”, “What does this have to do with me?”. Why did Jesus suffer and die? The central issue of Jesus’ death is not the cause, but the meaning–God’s meaning.

I ran across the following list online. It is based on a book called The Passion of Jesus Christ by John Piper, which I’m assuming is pretty decent since it has a 4.5 star rating on Amazon. I have made the decision to no include the actual text of the verses referenced because I feel it a worthy task for each individual to dig into the Word of God and study it personally.

* To Absorb the Wrath of God
– Galatians 3:13, Romans 3:25, 1 John 4:10

* To Please His Heavenly Father – Isaiah 53:10, Ephesians 5:2

* To Learn Obedience and Be Perfected
– Hebrews 5:8, Hebrews 2:10

* To Achieve His Own Resurrection from the Dead
– Hebrews 13:20-21

* To Show the Wealth of God’s Love and Grace for Sinners
– Romans 5:7-8, John 3:16, Ephesians 1:7

* To Show His Own Love for Us
– Ephesians 5:2, Ephesians 5:25, Galatians 2:20

* To Cancel the Legal Demands of the Law Against Us
– Colossians 2:13

* To Become a Ransom for Many – Mark 10:45

* For the Forgiveness of Our Sins
– Ephesians 1:7, Matthew 26:28

* To Provide the Basis for Our Justification
– Romans 5:9, Romans 3:24, Romans 3:28

* To Complete the Obedience That Becomes Our Righteousness
– Philippians 2:8, Romans 5:19, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9

* To Take Away Our Condemnation – Romans 8:34

* To Abolish Circumcision and All Rituals as the Basis of Salvation
– Galatians 5:11, Galatians 6:12

* To Bring Us to Faith and Keep Us Faithful
– Mark 14:24, Jeremiah 32:40

* To Make Us Holy, Blameless, and Perfect
– Hebrews 10:14, Colossians 1:22, 1 Corinthians 5:7

* To Give Us a Clear Conscience – Hebrews 9:14

* To Obtain for Us All Things That Are Good for Us
– Romans 8:32

* To Heal Us from Moral and Physical Sickness
– Isaiah 53:5, Matthew 8:16-17

* To Give Eternal Life to All Who Believe on Him – John 3:16

* To Deliver Us from the Present Evil Age – Galatians 1:4

* To Reconcile Us to God – Romans 5:10

* To Bring Us to God – 1 Peter 3:18, Ephesians 2:13

* So That We Might Belong to Him
– Romans 7:4, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Acts 20:28

* To Give Us Confident Access to the Holiest Place
– Hebrews 10:19

* To Become for Us the Place Where We Meet God
– John 2:19-21

* To Bring the Old Testament Priesthood to an End and Become
the Eternal High Priest
– Hebrews 7:23-27, Hebrews 9:24-26, Hebrews 10:11-12

* To Become a Sympathetic and Helpful Priest – Hebrews 4:15-16

* To Free Us from the Futility of Our Ancestry – 1 Peter 1:18-19

* To Free Us from the Slavery of Sin
– Revelation 1:5-6, Hebrews 13:12

* That We Might Die to Sin and Live to Righteousness
– 1 Peter 2:24, Hebrews 13:12

* So That We Would Die to the Law and Bear Fruit for God
– Romans 7:4

* To Enable Us to Live for Christ and Not Ourselves
– 2 Corinthians 5:15

* To Make His Cross the Ground of All Our Boasting
– Galatians 6:14

* To Enable Us to Live by Faith in Him – Galatians 2:20

* To Give Marriage Its Deepest Meaning – Ephesians 5:25

* To Create a People Passionate for Good Works – Titus 2:14

* To Call Us to Follow His Example of Lowliness and Costly Love
– 1 Peter 2:19-21, Hebrews 12:3-4, Philippians 2:5-8

* To Create a Band of Crucified Followers
– Luke 9:23, Matthew 10:38

* To Free Us from Bondage to the Fear of Death
– Hebrews 2:14-15

* So That We Would Be with Him Immediately After Death
– 1 Thessalonians 5:10, Philippians 1:21-23, 2 Corinthians 5:8

* To Secure Our Resurrection from the Dead
– Romans 6:5, Romans 8:11, 2 Timothy 2:11

* To Disarm the Rulers and Authorities
– Colossians 2:14-15, 1 John 3:8

* To Unleash the Power of God in the Gospel
– 1 Thessalonians 1:18, Romans 1:16

* To Destroy the Hostility Between Races
– Ephesians 2:14-16

* To Ransom People from Every Tribe and Language and People and Nation – Revelation 5:9

* To Gather All His Sheep from Around the World
– John 11:51-52, John 10:16

* To Rescue Us from Final Judgment – Hebrews 9:28

* To Gain His Joy and Ours – Hebrews 12:2

* So That He Would Be Crowned with Glory and Honor
– Hebrews 2:9, Philippians 2:7-9, Revelation 5:12

* To Show That the Worst Evil Is Meant by God for Good – Acts 4:27-28

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Top 5′s (Thanks For The Inspiration Facebook)

Ok…so…the rage on Facebook these days seems to be listing one’s Top 5 this and that. However, because I am a nonconformist, and in an effort to bring new readers to The Manofesto so they may have the privilege of discovering my brilliance, I am just going to do all my Top 5’s here at the same time. This also affords me an opportunity to pontificate on my choices, and if there’s one talent in the universe I have (atleast one that I can discuss publicly) it is most certainly pontification.

Movies – I’m not going into that right now. I’m doing a whole series on my Top 100 Favorite Movies, so you’ll just have to read that.

Books – The Bible, The Sherlock Holmes Canon, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn/Tom Sawyer, Zen & The Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Animal Farm. I could go on all day. I’m a bookworm. Love to read. I like classic literature, biographies, nonfiction…..it’s all good. I did not include the works of Shakespeare because I think Shakespeare is better experienced in a live performance. I also did not include The Lord of the Rings trilogy or The Godfather because, while the books are outstanding, they are the rare case where the movie actually outshines the book. I’ve tossed around the idea of doing a Top 100 Books series, but I take reading much more seriously than I do movies so it would take much more critical thought and consideration, more effort than I’m willing to put forth at the moment. Besides, there is The Bookshelf feature here at The Manofesto.

Sports Teams – Pittsburgh Steelers, West Virginia Mountaineers, Marshall Thundering Herd, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Penguins. I’ve been a diehard Steelers and Pirates fan since before I even started kindergarten. I grew up in northcentral WV, which is Mountaineer country. Marshall University is my alma mater. I include the Penguins only to get to five. I’m not really much of a hockey fan.

Singers/Musicians/Groups – Frank Sinatra, Van Halen, The Eagles, REO Speedwagon, Boston. I could very easily list atleast a dozen more. I’ve seen all of these five in concert with the exception of Sinatra. I was born probably a decade too late to really appreciate his brilliance while he was still doing live shows. My musical tastes are very eclectic and vary widely depending upon my mood.

Candy – If chocolate is involved it’s all good. No need to narrow it down to a Top 5. However, let me take this opportunity to express my deep affection for some candy bars that aren’t produced anymore or are very difficult to find, making my love for them all the more heartbreaking in a “you always want what you can’t have” kind of way. The first is Bar None, a chocolate bar produced by Hershey’s in the mid 80’s. It was a chocolate wafer, some chocolate ganache-like filling, and peanuts all covered in chocolate. At some point they re-did it so it was two smaller bars in the package instead of one bigger bar. The original was outstanding, the revision still very tasty. Bar None was discontinued in the mid 90’s and I’d pay just about any amount of money for a case of those babies. Mallo Cups are shaped and packaged like Reese’s Cups, only instead of peanut butter the chocolate encases soft creamy marshmallow filling. Mallo Cups are still around, but they are far from ubiquitous. I actually took the step of ordering a case online directly from the company a few years ago, but it’s rather pricey. And finally I want to give some attention to Chunky bars. Chunky is a trapezoid shaped hunk of chocolate with peanuts and raisins. Very unique. And it comes in a shiny silver foil wrapper. Chunkys are still around, but they are even harder to find than Mallo Cups. I used to stumble across Chunky at my local video store, but renting movies is an archaic 20th century task, so I haven’t had one in ages.

Fast Food Joints – Wendy’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Rally’s, Hardee’s. You’ll notice the absence of McDonald’s. That’s because when examining their menu every single item is done better at other places, with the exception of french fries. McDonald’s fries can’t be beat. Anyway, I love love love Wendy’s and eat there way too much. We didn’t have a BK in my area until I was in high school so I felt deprived and put it up on a pedestal of expectation. Then in college my fraternity house was right beside a BK and I have a lot of great memories. Ditto for Taco Bell…..it has a nostalgic place in my heart dating back to the fantastic college years. We had a Rally’s here when I was a kid but it disappeared when I was in high school and I miss it. In & Out and Sonic are two places I‘ve heard great things about but haven’t had the pleasure of experiencing.

Beers – Killian’s Irish Red, Dos Equis, Rolling Rock, Heineken, Corona. I’m kind of a beer snob, eschewing blue collar brews like Budweiser and Miller Lite for the most part. But at the same time I don’t really drink a lot of beer and haven’t been exposed to much of what is out there.

Cereals – Rice Krispies, Honey Bunches of Oats, Raisin Bran, Corn Flakes, Wheaties. I’m not exactly Mr. Excitement when it comes to cereal. I like it basic and old fashioned. Not too sweet, not too cute.

All Time Athletes – Michael Jordan, Terry Bradshaw, “Dr. J” Julius Erving, Dale Earnhardt, Willie Stargell. I’m not a huge NBA guy. The closest team in proximity to my home is in Cleveland, and until recently they were an afterthought. So for me the NBA has always been more about individuals that I enjoyed watching, and in my book there were none better than Jordan and Dr. J. I cheered for the Sixers when Erving was with them and I was a Bulls fan during Jordan’s reign. That’s the closest times I’ve ever come to having a favorite NBA team. Earnhardt was one of the toughest competitors I’ve ever seen and his tragic death was very upsetting. Bradshaw and Stargell were the faces of the Steelers and Pirates during the glory years of the late 70’s, my formative as a sports fan. I limited this to athletes who I’ve actually had the privilege of seeing perform in my lifetime, which is why you don’t see people like Jim Brown or Babe Ruth.

TV Shows – Cheers, Seinfeld, Dallas, The Andy Griffith Show, Taxi. Another case where I could list many many more. I watched a lot of television as a kid. Probably too much. But atleast I can say with confidence that the shows that were on back then were really really good, unlike today where so much is pedestrian and uninspired.

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Pontificating On Memories, Cameras, Old Friends, Dead Relatives, & Recurring Dreams

(The following is a re-post of something I wrote about a year ago)


I’m not a picture person. More specifically, I’m not a picture taking person. I love looking at photographs. I’m kind of a ham, so I love to be in photographs. But for some reason I have always been too lazy to actually carry a camera and take photos myself. I think it was the whole process of buying film, inserting it into the camera, sometimes even having to buy flash bulbs, rewinding the film when it was finished, having to take it to the drugstore to get it developed…it all seemed like such a hassle. No one under the age of 30 has any idea what I’m even talking about, but trust me, it was a rather burdensome process. Besides, my Grandma Mano, who was usually present at any momentous occasion in my childhood and teen years, ALWAYS had her “Kodak”. That’s what she called it, regardless of whether or not she was using that particular brand at the time. So for the first 18 years of my live I could just lay back and relax, cause someone else had the whole “capturing memories” process covered.

Unfortunately for me, this hasn’t been the case for the majority of the second half of my 35+ years on the planet. Yes Grandma still has had the majority of family events covered, but she’s 93 years old and won’t be here forever. Also, as people grow up, other people die, and relatives procreate and form their own branches on the family tree, there are less and less occasions where the whole family is together. As one grows into adulthood there are noteworthy events that don’t involve the family as well. So there have been a lot of things that have occurred over the past 17+ years in my life that are not captured on film to be remembered for time immemorial. For example, my four (ok, four and a half) years in college, what I consider to be the best time of my life, are vastly underrepresented on film. I have maybe a half dozen pics from that glorious era. There is some videotape, because at the time I had a new handycam and thought it was cool to break it out when I was drunk. But even that is underrepresented, as I was pretty much hammered most of my first 2 years there but only have maybe a couple hours total of tape. It makes sense that an 18-21 year old guy concentrating on getting hammered, getting stoned, and getting laid (2 out of 3 of which I accomplished with great acumen) wouldn’t carry around a camera telling everyone to “say cheese”. But it still saddens me that I don’t have photos of my friends and the fun things we did.

Three things have propelled me to rhapsodize on this issue. First of all, I bought a digital camera a couple years back. Those who know me and my situation know that I haven’t had much opportunity to use it the past couple years, but I have used it on a few occasions and I love it. It’s such an improvement over the old days, and I’m looking forward to using it more often in the coming days. Secondly, my father has been going through a bunch of old pics at his house and organizing them into little albums. I’ve really gotten a kick out of looking through them, seeing me and my family evolve over literally six decades, remembering loved ones that long ago left this realm. And finally, I had a dream. Well, actually a number of dreams over the course of the past few years. It’s one of two recurring dreams I have, the first one being me going to school as a teenager wearing no pants. However, that’s a topic to be explored another day. The recurring dream relevant to the current train of thought is one in which I am somewhere important…a reunion of old college buddies, a family event, a long desired trip to Vegas…and I’ve forgotten my camera and am unable to capture the memory on film. I’m sure Freud would have a field day with me on many levels, and especially with the hidden meaning of this recurring dream. I’ve never really studied dream analysis…never really believed in stuff like that. But maybe there’s something to it. I don’t know.

Do I have a point? Not really. Events that have past and were not marked in some tangible way can never be relived and must be remembered only in our hearts and minds. But as I grow older I suppose I get a little more nostalgic and realize the importance of having mementos like photographs to remember events, people, and eras in our lives.

45 Things To Do Before The Age Of 45

Night Panorama of the Las Vegas Strip, featuri...

A friend on the verge of 40 recently sent me a list of things he wants to accomplish before he turns 45. It inspired me. So I have made my own list. The list isn’t as adventurous as his, but I believe it is challenging without being unrealistic. And I guess I’m giving myself a little more time to accomplish everything since I have 10 years to his 5.

 

Things to Do Before I’m 45

 

1. Get married

2. Buy a house

3. Spread my seed

4. Become more well versed in The Bible

5. Complete & submit for sale my movie screenplay

6. Lose about 50-75 lbs.

7. Continue my education (masters degree? law school? film school?)

8. Get a dog

9. Rebuild my nest egg

10. Go to Vegas

11. Fly in an airplane

12. Attend the Super Bowl

13. Read the entire Shakespeare canon

14. Take a ride in a hot air balloon

15. See the ocean

16. Learn about astronomy

17. Write a novel

18. Take a cruise

19. Get a job that I enjoy and can stay at for the biggest part of the next 30 years

20. Study photography

21. Visit NY City

22. Learn about and begin the practice of fasting

23. Eliminate credit card debt

24. Atleast pass thru all 50 states (9 down, 41 to go)

25. Buy a suit specially tailored for me

26. Go to the real 221B Baker St. in London

27. Ride a train

28. Eat caviar

29. Be in Boston down by the Charles River watching the Boston Pops on July 4th

30. Try out for Jeopardy!

31. Spend New Year’s Eve in Times Square

32. Attend the Indianapolis 500

33. Become a decent chess player

34. Visit Italy

35. Become a sufficient, competent, maybe even semi-talented culinary craftsman

36. Volunteer at a literacy organization

37. Attend The Kentucky Derby

38. Learn about home brewing beer

39. Go to Mardi Gras

40. Attend an NCAA basketball Final Four

41. Learn sign language

42. Go to The Jimmy Stewart Museum in Indiana, PA

43. Attend a major college bowl game (Rose, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Cotton)

44. Work for a political campaign

45. See the Grand Canyon

*This list was originally written about a year and a half ago. Since that time I have accomplished two of these items. I bought a dog and I am a literacy volunteer. In a couple months I am tentatively planning on going to Vegas, and that trip has the potential to knock off up to 4 additional things. Some of the tasks listed are an ongoing process that I’m doing my best with.

Introduction to My 100 Favorite Movies

Popcorn - 46/365

Some time ago I published a series of blogs at the old Manofesto about my Top 100 Movies. Since I’m here at this site now I have decided to revise the list ever so slightly and expose it to a whole new audience. My original plan was to only modify and redo the list about every 5 years thereby giving my tastes time to evolve, but this will be a onetime exception to that self imposed decree.

 

I will be doing things a little differently this time around. First of all, I am allowing myself no ties. There were about 120 movies on the original list. This time I am challenging myself to not cop out with ties. Secondly, I am allowing myself one cop out. There are a few occasions where you’ll see movie series or trilogies sharing one spot. I feel justified in doing so with the movies affected. And finally, rather than doing the list in 10 film increments, I will be doing it in 5. This will keep each entry shorter and more reader friendly, or maybe sometimes it’ll give me the freedom to be more verbose if I feel the inclination.

 

Just a little about my “process”…..
You’ll notice that this is a list of my 100 Favorite Movies. This is NOT a list of the 100 Greatest Films of all time. There’s a huge difference. I’m a diverse, eclectic guy. I like a little of everything. A lot depends on my mood. Sometimes I want to laugh and be goofy. Sometimes I‘m deep and introspective. My entertainment spectrum runs far and wide. I’m also a non-conformist. Just because some film critic says a movie is horrible doesn’t mean I might not enjoy it immensely, and just because the masses put a supposedly great work of art up on a pedestal doesn’t mean I will automatically think it’s worthy of my praise. Awards mean nothing to me either. How many Best Picture winners in the past 20 years have really been THAT good?? In my opinion less than half. One other consideration that carries considerable weight for me is time. I’m extremely wary and almost arrogantly dismissive of anyone who says their absolute favorite film is something that’s been produced in the past five years. Greatness takes time. I look at how well something has withstood the passage of the years.

 

We’ll begin with a short list of movies that I like but just didn’t make the final cut. Next time…same bat time, same bat channel.

America’s Pastime??

Barry Bonds in action.

Barry Bonds

I had every intention of doing a full blown 2009 baseball preview. That obviously didn’t happen. Opening Day has come and gone and so it seems a rather pointless exercise.

I remember not that long ago when Opening Day was an event. Everyone, even the most fair weather baseball fans, knew when it was approaching. I suppose it’s still a big deal for a significant amount of baseball aficionados, but it certainly doesn’t seem to have the cachet that it once did. I didn’t even realize it was occurring until I heard it mentioned on the radio in my car about an hour before the first pitch was to be tossed. There didn’t seem to be much coverage of spring training this year, or maybe I just wasn’t paying attention.

There are probably a lot of reasons for the decline in popularity of baseball, atleast in relative terms when compared with our ever-increasing love affair with football. For me personally I’m a Pittsburgh Pirates fan, and they haven’t been anywhere close to competitive for about 17 years. We Pirates fans have no real reason for hope or anticipation and usually quit paying close attention before summer even officially begins. I’m sure this apathy spreads to fans of other teams like the Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals, and Cleveland Indians, whose teams are rarely that good. This can be traced to the lack of a salary cap, something football has and baseball sorely needs. There are also the constant scandals that have rocked the sport for the last couple of decades. I don’t believe it’s out of bounds to hypothesize that the beginning of the end for baseball started with the downfall of Pete Rose about 20 years ago. Then in 1994 there was a players’ strike that cut the season in half and forced the cancellation of the playoffs and World Series. Baseball has never fully recovered from that season and the wrath it instilled in loyal fans. It came very very close to a much desired reconciliation with its public in 1998 due to the excitement involving Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa’s chase of Roger Maris’ vaunted home run record. But during the past 4 or 5 years even that progress has been unraveled as we’ve learned that all those home runs were likely a mirage, the numbers skewed by illegal substance abuse. One by one mighty heroes of the diamond have fallen from grace, from Barry Bonds to Jose Canseco to McGwire to Alex Rodriguez. Even pitchers, chief among them the legendary Roger Clemens, apparently aren’t above cheating.

We also cannot ignore the changing landscape of our nation. We prefer fast and frenetic these days, as opposed to slow and easy. Football appeals to our more modern, chaotic sensibilities, while baseball seems nostalgic and bucolic. Baseball is a relic, a living monument to a bygone era we recall with a certain sense of wistful wonder. It’s a nice place to visit occasionally, but it’s not something we can really sink our teeth into for the long haul. And with its 162 game season plus playoffs and then a World Series baseball definitely encompasses a long haul. Transversely, football season seems much shorter, even though it really isn’t. Close examination reveals that baseball opens in April and concludes in October…..7 months. Football, if one takes into consideration both college and the NFL season which basically overlap, begins in late August and climaxes in early February…..7 months. Of course there is a significant difference when one factors in that each team in football plays once per week, while in baseball your favorite team likely plays 4 or 5 times. Youngsters today consider baseball slow and boring. They have so many other choices…..video games, the internet, DVDs, Ipods. Our culture is on sensory overload, and baseball easily gets lost in the shuffle.

Football has better PR as well. Does anyone think football players don’t use performance enhancing drugs? If you do, you’re more than naïve. But no one seems to make nearly as big a deal out of it. Also, when was the last time you watched or attended a college baseball game? College baseball has an extremely limited following, while college football is HUGE. We are able to follow our beloved football players every step of the way from their recruitment to the university of their choice, through their entire college career, to speculating who’ll choose them in the NFL Draft (does anyone actually watch the MLB Draft? Ummm…no), through their (hopefully) long NFL career. We’re invested in football every step of the way. Baseball…..not so much.

This examination is not meant as an insult to baseball. I’m still a fan. I just find it unfortunate that circumstances have converged in such a way that prevents me, and legions of others, from being a passionate fan. Calling baseball America’s Pastime is nothing more than a marketing tool. It is more a reflection of America’s past.

Happy Anniversary To Me

Today is my anniversary. No, I’m not married, and nothing else cool and wonderful happened on this day. My life was significantly altered on many levels, and though overall the experience must be classified as bad (to say the least), time and distance allow me to see constructive lessons learned.

I was born with spina bifida, which means that I’ve spent my life confined to a wheelchair. That’s a whole other story that will be dealt with some other time. For the purposes of the here and now what is significant is that, as a result of being in my wheelchair many many hours a day attempting to be a productive member of society, I ended up with an ulcer on my tailbone. It was on this day three years ago, April 9 2006, that I went to the doctor after several days of being very ill and having atleast a suspicion of what was occurring. Long story short…I spent 6 weeks in a hospital, then 6 months in a “skilled” nursing facility. Yes, I said 6 months in a “skilled” nursing facility, at the age of 33. That experience will change a person…..forever. After being released from the “skilled” nursing facility I was not 100% healed and spent the next year at home, unable to do anything like drive or work or actually leave my apartment with the exception of twice monthly doctor appointments. I FINALLY had the surgery that should have been performed originally in October 2007, a year and a half after the esteemed “medical establishment” should have been smart enough to do it. After another soul crushing stint at an even more horrible “skilled” nursing facility (but thankfully for only a month this time) I spent the next few months at home again before being cleared to resume, in moderation, normal activities.

It is not my goal to cry “poor me”. On the contrary, I am painfully aware of just how little we as human beings give a damn about anyone but ourselves. My goal is simply to mark this occasion in some small way so that I never forget what I’ve learned about life, family, faith, friendship and a plethora of other things the past few years. I am an entirely different person in many respects than I was three years ago. In some ways that is regretful, but in other ways it has given me clarity and allowed positive growth.