Listosaurus Rex

Don't worry -- Sex and the City is NOT on this list

Romantic movies don’t, in general, have a good rep with guys.  It’s not like we don’t get emotional — just catch one of us watching Rudy.  And we’re even okay with romance in movies, when it’s well done.  What guy doesn’t like the end of Rocky?

But we don’t do chick-flicks.  The term was invented as derisive and inflammatory term towards the type of hyperfeminine film that usually has a dramatic and unrealistic take on love. Romantic comedies? Nuh-uh.  If its primary thread is a love story, then we don’t want it.

Nonetheless, there are exceptions, and I am here today to provide the public service of sharing a few of these.  These are the kind of movies that are so well done or creative that they’ll pierce through that shield of a testosterone and manliness that hides the part of us known as “feelings” or “emotions.”

Are these widely known?  Yeah.  Pretty predictable picks?  Sure.  You’ve probably seen or heard of these four recent stories and one classic.  But the holidays are a romantic and sentimental time, plus Valentine’s day is just around the corner.  You ladies can always use a reminder for what to show us to keep the atomosphere romantic and sweet for both us.

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Let’s face it: I’m a young man in my 20’s.  I’m too young to be an expert on all of rock and roll’s back catalog.  And there is so much good music that has been produced that as soon as I start falling in love with a song or an album or an artist, it’s time to move on to the next one.

With the year coming to an end, people are focusing on the music that came out this calendar.  I’m here to take a look at a few of the songs that took a full hold of my attention, even if they didn’t come out this year.

Here are ten of my most-listened and most-appreciated songs this year, in no particular order.

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Weezer is a fantastic alt-rock band that I have loved since I first heard “Buddy Holly” on the radio a decade ago.  Since then, I’ve taken the time to get to know their music.  I own every album and just about every EP and single, so I’ve observed the band’s evolution from misunderstood rockers to pop curiosity of recent years.

Though I in no way qualify as a “hardcore” Weezer follower, I am certainly a pretty big fan, and here is my opinion as to the twenty-five greatest songs they have recorded and released on major albums.

My ranking is of the studio versions, and no live tracks, B-sides, special editions, or unreleased material has been included. Particular care has been taken to judge the songs on their musical merit, and not consider them based on music videos or other factors external from the albums themselves.  Plenty of singles have been included, but some haven’t been.  Don’t be surprised to see an album track or two fighting their way up there.

Here’s a little bit of background on Weezer if you want to brush up.

Of course, these picks are just my educated opinion.  Feel free to disagree (and let me know in the comments).  Before I start, I also want to say that just about any track from Weezer’s blue album or Pinkerton could have pushed for a spot on this list.  I love both of those albums in their entirety.  And, without further ado, my picks.  Enjoy!

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Pretty much every major video game site or blog put together big “best-of” lists for the last major console as the next generation of games started to come out.  The most interesting of these was the Gamecube lists, for a few reasons.  First of all, it had the fewest cross-platform games, making the lists the most insular.  Next, the Gamecube games continue to live on because of the backward compatibility and ‘Cube controller compatibility of the Wii.  Finally, Nintendo has always had the most obsessive, hardcore fans, the type of fans who will compulsively rank and debate their favorites because they love them so much.

I found a few lists I liked across the net and decided to assemble them into one ultimate, comprehensive top ten list.  There was a suprising amount of consitency, though nearly every list had its unique picks not seen on the other lists.  With some number crunching and weighting in a spreadsheet, I was able to come upon a final order for the games.

Without further ado, the lists, and my tabulation of the concensus Top 10 Greatest Gamecube games.

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I watched The Shawshank Redemption for about the fifth or sixth time last night, and I still love it. What a good movie. That ending never fails to pump me up.

I’ve decided that the best part of the movie is the script. It ranks right up there with Pulp Fiction, Casablanca, and Annie Hall as my favorite scripts ever. There are so many brilliant moments in the script.

This got me thinking. What exactly are the best moments of this exceptional script?

After several hours of combing through the movie and pulling out the best moments, it is my pleasure to present what I believe are the greatest quotes from the script.

Let it be known that this post is a SPOILER WARNING! If you haven’t seen Shawshank, don’t read this post. In fact, don’t read anything else about the movie. Just go see it as soon possible, it’s a mighty fine movie.

Without further ado, I present my twenty-five favorite quotes and exchanges from The Shawshank Redemption.

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