4 Reasons Twitter Makes My Life Better

Image via CrunchBase

There’s an article i read today (thanks to Lizard) about how Twitter can you a better and happier person.  The reasons listed in the article are:

1. Transparency & Values: Twitter constantly reminds me of who I want to be, and what I want to stand for
2. Reframing Reality: Twitter encourages me to search for ways to view reality in a funnier and/or more positive way
3. Helping Others: Twitter makes me think about how to make a positive impact on other people’s lives
4. Gratitude: Twitter helps me notice and appreciate the little things in life

I find all of these true.  Sometimes i want to post a tweet about my life and i have to reflect about what i’m really doing and how it’s interesting to others.  It often makes me adjust what i’m actually doing – and if i don’t do that then it makes me realize how i’m actually living my life.  In that respect, it’s quite helpful.

14 Movies on my to-see list

I get Esquire magazine and i have to say that i really like it.  The Sports Guy has a rule that he judges how good a magazine is by how long it takes him to read and i have to say that i end up reading Esquire longer than any other mag i get.  I probably spend a good hour to 90 minutes on it every month.

This month’s issue has an area where it has 75 movies that every man should watch.  I have seen most of them (Godfather, Sling Blade, The Good The Bad The Ugly) but there were 14 in there that i haven’t yet seen.   I wrote the list down and what Esquire said about them. I couldn’t be more excited to crack into them.  Here’s the list:

1. In The Heat of the Night. Never before has a man been in more wrong places at the wrong time.
2. Save The Tiger. The nominations for 1973 Best Actor: Brando, Nicholson, Redford, Pacino, and Lemmon. Lemmon got it.
3. Runaway Train.  Existential action flicks are tough to pull off.  But this is the way to do it: just get 2 escaped cons, a chick, an evil warden, and in a helicopter chase in Alaska.
4. Rosemary’s Baby.  You learn there ate bad people in the world
5. Shakes The Clown. A reviewer called it “the Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies.” Faint praise. For every man or woman who ever hugged a toilet all night long
6. Dirty Harry. Sometimes a man has gotta break the rules and hunt the bastard down himself, even if it’s only a metaphor for the next sales call
7. Straw Dogs. Three words: Sam. Peckinpah. Revenge.
8. Giant. The history of Texas in the 20th century, as seen through the anguished lonesome eyes of James Dean
9. Down By Law. Weirdest prison escape movie ever
10. The Verdict. Watch the foray scene, in which Paul Newman is silhouetted against a barroom window, playing pinball: the man is acting with his shoulders.
11. The Warriors. Bloodthirsty mimes, clown-faced baseballers, ad bare-chested men in leather vests. Kind of makes you miss pre-giulliani NYC
12. Stalag 17. Because it inspired a sitcom. With Nazi’s
13. The Misfits. Two drunks and a blonde walk into a Reno bar, get hammered, and embark on a scheme to wrangle mustangs. Starting Clark Gable (who died before it was released), Marilyn Monroe (died 18 months later) and Montgomery Cliff (who died within 4 years)
14. HUD. “nobody gets out of life alive”

Top Albums of 2008

Cover of Evil Urges

Here are my top albums of 2008.  It was a toss up between MMJ and Dylan but when i looked back at my total plays for 2008 in my iTunes, it was no contest – i’ve played MMJ a bunch mor

1. Evil Urges – My Morning Jacket - totally unexpected departure from the Southern rock band but that made it all the more awesome.  There songs are all great.  From start to stop, this album totally delivers.   “Librarian” and “Smokin’ From Shootin’” are my favorites.
2. The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 – Bob Dylan - previously unreleased tracks from 1987 to today.  And they are amazing.  I love both versions of “Mississippi” and “High Water”
3. Consoler of the Lonely – Raconteurs - These guys totally rock.  The title track is one of the best rock songs i’ve heard in the past 10 years and the rest of the songs are good too
   
4. For Emma Forever Ago – Bon Iver – incredibly catchy and chill record.  This got stuck in my head for about 2 months in the middle of the year.  Plus you’ve got to love a guy from the woods of Wisconsin. Love the songs “Flume” and “Skinny Love”
   
5. Only By The Night – Kings Of Leon - this album isn’t as good as 2007’s Because of the Times which had 2 amazing (5 star) songs but it still rocks. The songs are all pretty good and continues KOL’s rise to be one of the biggest bands in the US
   
6. The Way I See It – Raphael Saadiq – a pretty smooth and groovy album that brought some soul back into my life in ‘08.  The songs “Take a Walk” and “Never Give You Up” with Stevie Wonder are the best of the bunch
7. The Stand-Ins – Okkervil River - a good followup to the awesome The Stage Names.  It’s songs are just as punchy and fun to listen to.  I didn’t get to this until later in the year, otherwise it could have been higher in my list

Honor Roll – these albums have one or two good songs but not enough to be a “top” album of 2008 but i did like them:

• Ra Ra Riot – The song “Dying is Fine” is one of the best songs of the year
• Born Ruffians – very addictive album but also kind of annoying.  Can’t tell if i really like it or not
• Ryan Adams – all the songs are just okay
• Girl Talk – not my favorite mashup artist but still catchy and good for working out to
• Mudcrutch – two great songs in “The Wrong Thing To Do” and “Six Days on the Road”

Related articles:

• Rock List: Readers’ Top 30 Albums of 2008
• Music Review | My Morning Jacket: That’s Some Cheeky Shaman in the Aisles
• Rolling Stone’s Top 50 Albums Of The Year
• Raphael Saadiq = special guest @ the Seaport Friday
• Music Review | Raphael Saadiq and Janelle Monáe: Multiple Visions of Soul Music’s Past and Future

Top 20 Albums of All Time

No, i’m not expressing my opinion but rather i want to post a clever algorithm done by Robert The Radish on Y! blog. Robert comes up with a mathematical way to determine the top albums of all time. The list is based on the American market and “Greatest Hits” albums and live albums were not eligible. Here’s how he did it:

“Album Staying Power Value + Sales Value + Critical Rating Value + Grammy Award Value”

• Sales Value = Sales Multiplier * Staying Power Value
• Staying Power Value (SPV) is: used CD sales data: In the secondary market you can expect to pay around $9.50 for a copy of Rumours (19 mm sold) by Fleetwood Mac, but you would only pay $1.38 for a copy of Cracked Rear View by Hootie (16 mm sold)
• Critical acclaim: multiple reviews for each album from a diverse cross section of music magazines, newspapers and music review websites to come up with the average review number. Ratings Value = Sales Value * Rating Multiplier
• Grammy Award Value and it simply looks at how many Grammy Awards each album has won. This is the least important of the components in our formula

So here’s the list of top 20 albums:

#20. Faith – George Michael
Year: 1987 Units Sold: 10 Million
SPV: $9.19 Rating (Stars): 4 Grammys Won: 1
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $9.79

#19. Appetite For Destruction – Guns N’ Roses
Year: 1987 Units Sold: 15 Million
SPV: $8.81 Rating (Stars): 4 Grammys Won: 0
Calculated value per unit based on the formula: $9.81

You know you’re a Minnesotan if…

My sister sent me this and i found myself chuckling.  Instead of forwarding, i’m just putting it up…

You know you’re a Minnesotan if..

• 75% of your graduating high school class went to the Univ. of Minnesota. (maybe another 10% to Madison)
• You know more than 1 person who has hit a deer.
• People from other states love to hear you say words with “o”s in them.
• You know what and where “Dinkytown” is.
• “Perkins” was a popular hangout option in high school.
• You have no problem saying or spelling “Minneapolis.”
• You get mad at people who think Fargo is in Minnesota
• Your school classes have been canceled because of snow or cold.
• You know what Mille Lacs is and how to spell it.
• You assume when you say “The Cities” people know where you are referring to.
• You know the 2 sports-related reasons why we hate Dallas.

What are the top albums of 2007?

Do you know what the top 10 albums of 2007 were?  Seven years ago the top 10 included ‘N Sync, Eminem, Britney Spears, Creed, Nelly, Backstreet Boys, and Destiny’s Child.  These are all mainstream pop stars that everyone’s heard of and everyone knew that everyone was listening to this stuff.  Last year’s top albums were:

1. “Noel”/Josh Groban: 3,699,000
2. “Soundtrack”/ High School Musical 2: 2,957,000
3. “Long Road Out of Eden”/Eagles: 2,608,000
4. “As I Am”/Alicia Keys: 2,543,000
5. “Daughtry”/Daughtry: 2,497,000
6. “Soundtrack”/Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley: 2,489,000
7. “Minutes To Midnight”/Linkin Park: 2,099,000
8. “Dutchess”/Fergie: 2,064,000
9. “Taylor Swift”/Taylor Swift: 1,951,000
10. “Graduation”/Kanye West: 1,892,000

In this list there are kids albums (#2 and #6), an album that went straight to Wal-Mart (Eagles), a country album (#9) and an American Idol (#5).  The top album in 2000 sold ~10 million copies.  The top album here had 3.5.  It really is all niches nowadays.  Nobody is going to kill it the way that GNR and the boy bands did.

10 ground rules for women when watching football

I was hanging out with some girls this weekend who were pretty clueless about the football games going on.  Thus, i thought it’d be a good time to replay an oldie but goodie. Here are The Sports Guy’s 10 Ground Rules for women when watching football with guys.  (i can’t find his link otherwise i’d like to it)

1. No PDA.  If you’re allowed to watch with your boyfriend and his buddies, don’t rub his head, don’t kiss his neck, don’t scratch his back, don’t cuddle…don’t do any of that stuff.  By the way, the only thing that makes guys more uncomfortable than public affection is fighting, so if you feel the need to re-enact the limo scene from “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” do it on your own time
2. There isn’t a single acceptable situation for the question “Is this game almost over yet?”  Not one.
3. When you boyfriend’s buddy calls to discuss a game in progress, don’t shake your head and definitely don’t mutter spine-crumbling comments like “God, I hate your voice when you’re talking to your friends.”  Needless phone calls are a crucial part of the viewing experience.  They remind us we aren’t the only ones wasting our Sundays.  So leave us alone
4. Don’t complain about incessant remote-control flipping on Sunday.  We know when to flip and we where we’re going.  In’s an innate gift.  And we do it for a reason: We’re trying to catch as much football as possible.  Consider yourself lucky to be along for the ride
5. Laugh at our jokes.  Just pretend you’re the bandleader on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.  Guys are easy.  If someone’s laughing with us, we like having them around
6. Don’t belittle our gambling or fantasy football.  Comments like “You have a bookie?,” or “I can’t believe you guys pick players and pretend you’re the coach,” or, my personal favorite, “You guys need to get a life” are all guaranteed to make us hate you
7. We’re easily bribable, so bring something…even if it’s a bag of chips.  If you cook something, even better (Rice Krispies Treats are always a winner)
8. Corollary: Whenever you get up, ask, “Can I get anyone anything?” Makes us feel like manly men. Plus, we don’t have to get up
9. Know your stuff.  the moment you say something like, “Wait, I thought Drew Bledsoe was on the Patriots,” you might as well put a bag over your head. If you’re clueless, keep it rudimentary observations like “That was an unbelievable catch” or “This announcer is annoying.”  Never say, “Jon Gruden’s so cute. He looks just like my old high school boyfriend!” Save that for the next “American Idol.”
10. Along those same lines, an understated approach may just win our eternal respect.  A few years ago, i was in Vermont with some friends.  On a Sunday afternoon, while the boys were watching the Steelers, the girls returned from the slopes with their adorable ski bunny friend (the one who caused us to jostle in our seats to sneak peeks when she wasn’t looking).  The ski bunny notices the game, sits down and asks, “What’s the score?” Typical girl question (right up there with “Who’s playing?”), but since she was cute, we threw her a bone and gave her the score.  Then, she drops this one on us: “How come Tomczak’s in the game? Did O’Donnell get hurt?”     Nobody said anything. We did a collective quadruple take, eyes bulging out of our heads like Marty Mornhinweg.  We were floored.  Finally i answered: “Yeah, he’s hurt.  By the way, my name’s Bill.  Will you marry me?”   Turned out she had a boyfriend.  The great ones always do

Cities of 2007

I was just reading these two blog (here and here) posts about where people have been this year. I thougtht i’d take a moment at look at my travels in ‘07. Here’s what i did (below). Not too shabby. I hope to put some new cities on the list in ‘08.

• Minneapolis, MN
• Chicago, IL
• Key Largo, FL
• Boston, MA
• Washington, DC
• Philadelphia, PA
• Pocono Lake, PA
• Westerly, RI
• New York, NY
• San Francisco, CA
• Los Angeles, CA
• Denver, CO
• Las Vegas, NV

International Cities:

• Bucharest, Romania
• Targu Mures, Romania
• Budapest, Hungary
• Vienna, Austria
• Athens, Greece
• Tréguier, France
• Mykonos, Greece

Top 5 Albums of 2007

Here’s a list of my favorites for 2007. I originally wanted to list 10, but then i realized that i hadn’t really listened to 10 albums. I’ve listened to lots of tracks, but not really 10 full albums. So here are the top albums of 2007 for me.

Honorable mentions

• Easy Tiger by Ryan Adams
• Icky Thump by White Stripes
• American Gangster by Jay-Z
• Magic by Bruce Springsteen
• Endless Highway Tribute to The Band by Various Artists
• The Stage Names by Okkervil River

#5: Favourite Worst Nightmare by Arctic Monkeys

The album jams. That’s all i can really say. These guys have good lyrics and they hit hard. You have to be in the mood for the Monkeys but if you are, it’s pretty damn satisfying. As people say, “Arctic Monkeys play a less hooky brand of brat-punk than a lot of their peers and predecessors, but their off-kilter song structures—and Alex Turner’s witty, effusive descriptions of youth culture—make them every bit as unique and vital as their supporters claim.” While the albums is pretty much the same stuff as their first album, it’s still good. I also saw them live this year which increased my enjoyment as i was able to fully appreciate their skills

#4: Because of the Times by Kings of Leon

KOL are weird and strange and shrieking but they really deliver. The two songs “Ragoo” and “Fans” are truly great songs. The rest of the tracks grew on me over time, especially after i saw them live. They have a great sound and they are one of the last true rock bands. Most of the artists today are emo, electronic, pop, or some mix of all 3. These guys are just old school rock.

#3: Oracular Spectacular by MGMT

I was introduced to this by Tiger in December and the first time i heard it, i was hooked. The first track “Time To Pretend” is fantastic. They are rock mixed with electronic so you can jam and dance at the same time. A very, very enjoyable album

#2: The Stage Names by Okkervil River

This album is amazing.  It has depth in a way most others don’t.  It also rocks in a traditional rock ‘n roll way of rocking.  Let’s just say there’s only one CD i bought for someone as a present this Christmas and it was this one.  I like this review:

Usually, we go through life in a hazy bliss, emotionally and spiritually dead to what is going on around us. Sometimes, it takes something glorious to snap us out of this haze. Sometimes, it comes in the form of a new album from a band that is by leaps and bounds becoming one of the best currently making music. Am I speaking nonsense? Maybe, but then again you wouldn’t think so after you heard Okkervil River’s The Stage Names. Yes, this is an “indie” rock album but the layers and substance that fill and encompass it are utterly unmatched. In many ways, this album is the kind of musical collection that could alter your discernment and overall attitude on life.

While that’s going a bit far, it’s still a great album.  Check it out.

#1: In Rainbows by Radiohead

I was never a huge Radiohead fan but i really love The Bends. I was skeptical when the new album came out. That said, this was the one album of the year that i kept playing because it was so easy to listen to. This is what i just read in the AV section The Onion and i agree completely so i’m just going to repost it: “First, Radiohead announced the completion of a new album that few people even knew was in the works; then, the band said the record would be for sale in a week. And the price of this unexpected bounty? Whatever people wanted to pay, be it £100 or sweet fuck-all. After all that brilliant hype-stoking, the biggest surprise was that In Rainbows wasn’t some collection of afterthoughts or off-putting avant-garde exercises, but an honest-to-goodness Radiohead album—and an excellent one at that. Matching the glitchy sound of Kid A and Amnesiac to the fully developed rock songwriting of Pablo Honey and The Bends, Radiohead delivered its best album since OK Computer, renewing its heartfelt exploration of how the organic and the electronic can exist in creaky harmony.” You can download the entire album here.

Top 10 US soccer players

Saw a good post over the weekend about the top 10 US players. It was on this blog. I’ve reposted them below

10. Frank Simek, Sheffield Wednesday – Surprise right off the bat, right? Despite a mug that would place him front and center as a villain in an 80s high school movie, the former Arsenal trainee has been a model pro for the Owls. He’s coming off years of 45 and 44 appearances in the rough-and-tumble England League Championship, which says a lot.

9. Carlos Bocanegra, Fulham – A first choice start at Craven Cottage and now wearing the captain’s armband. Can craftily get forward and contribute to the attack on set plays, yet far too often exposed defensively. Still, come a long way since moving to England in 2004 and has now racked up over 100 appearances.

8. Taylor Twellman, NE Revolution — Take away his miserable showing in the US shirt, the “face” from New England is as steady a goalscorer as you’ll find in MLS. Factor in that the Revs are continually among the top teams in the league and his 92 goals in 169 appearances and it’s impossible to deny him. (Perhaps he can even help the Revs win their first trophy — ever — in tonight’s US Open Cup final.)

7. Michael Bradley, SC Heerenveen – From fringe, glorified practice player with the MetroStars to starter in the Dutch Eredivisie all inside of four seasons. Not bad for a guy that just turned 20.

6. Landon Donovan, LA Galaxy – Obviously a lightning rod for any American soccer fan, yet it’s hard to dispute that he’s been the best player in MLS this century. Probably should dock ‘professionalism points’ for quitting Bayer Leverkausen, but that’s frankly become a moot point in my book. It was around three years ago, everyone should be able to move on by now.

5. Steve Cherundolo, Hannover 96 – In a lot of ways, the anti-Donovan. He went to Germany in 1999 and instead of sulking, pining for the beach and locking himself in his room to play video games. Instead ‘Dolo took it upon himself to integrate into Der Motherland and learn the culture and language. (Granted he was 20 and had spend two years in college, while Donovan was 17.) 225 Bundesliga appearances and counting, plus the vice-captaincy and Cherundolo is in a lot of ways the model American ex-pat soccer pro.

4. Clint Dempsey, Fulham — Small body of work, but the Deuce has already made quite and impact at Craven Cottage. His goal last year v. Liverpool likely kept Fulham in the top division and so far this year he had a streak of three straight games with a goal. The biggest knock on the man from Nogadoches, Texas is he can absolutely drift and disappear from games. If I did this list in Sept. 2008, he’s the odds-on favorite for the No. 1 slot.

3. Brad Friedel, Blackburn Rovers — Without question the best American export of all time. Despite just 25 sporadic games, he’s the only first American to play for one Europe’s ‘glamor’ clubs in Liverpool (1997-2000). Since his move to Blackburn he’s probably been aside from perhaps Steven Gerrard and maybe Paul Scholes, the most important player to his club. Friedel has started nearly every game for the club and his command of the area got them through some dodgy times. It’s just a shame he retired from International play after the 2002 World Cup. It’s also a shame he speaks with a fake English accent. Then again, no one is perfect.

2. DaMarcus Beasley, Glasgow Rangers – Let’s throw out the lost season at Manchester City. Beasley, first at PSV and now at Rangers, is the best American in the UEFA Champions League — by a mile. He’s already scored six goals in the competition, which just might be six more than the rest of our country combined. He’s also the only American to reach the competition’s semifinals. When his head’s screwed on straight, the Beaz is probably the most technically sound Yank around. Again, the only knock is he moved to Rangers, but they are a moderately large club and are continually in the Champions League. (Commentor Fan’s Attic points out Jovan Kirovski scored for Borussia Dortmund in the mid 90s in the Champions League, though it’s unclear if he played enough games to garner a winner’s medal.)

1. Tim Howard, Everton — Voted by the PFA into the 2004 Best XI of the Premier League as a keeper, probably the highest non-MLS award ever for an American player. He won an FA Cup that season, too. Of course, this list isn’t about the past. What pushed Howard to the top of the list was how he transformed Everton from a middle of the pack team to a solid Top Four contender when he moved to Merseyside ahead of the 2006/07 season. Yes, he’s prone to the occasional blunder but still has the chance to be the most decorated American player over the next decade, as he’s only 28. Earlier this season Everton locked him up until the 2012/13 season. Can’t see any other American getting that kind of level of commitment.

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Seems like a pretty good list to me. Anyone else disagree?