Top 5 - Movies that Would Be "Cancelled" Today

Here's a list of my top 5 movies that are too politically incorrect to be made today:

1. Tropic Thunder - Take your pick of character. No way that could be made today not even to mention Tom Cruise's cameo.

2. Dune: Part 2 - Keep wondering how a movie so overtly about Muhammad and Islam can be made without a fatwa against Timothy Chalamet or Dennis Villeneuve.

3. Dodge Ball - Watch it some time. Funny but sometimes you feel bad for laughing.

4. 10 - Rewatched it about a year ago and it it so cringe worthy.

5. A new all-girls Ghostbusters - the Hollywood equivalent of a double-negative. The all-girls remake was so woke to be unwatchable and now who would touch bankrolling a new version with a ten-foot pole.

Top 5 - Nick Saban and the 5 Values He Wants His Program to Have

Here's the 5 values Nick Saban tries to instill in his football program at Alabama. These 5 values could work in any competitive setting or your own daily life. 

1. Discipline

2. Commitment

3. Toughness

4. Effort

5. Pride

From this Daily Coach thread where they go into more detail on each of the values.

Top 5 - Last 5 Books I Bought

Here's the last 5 books I bought.

1. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel. Haven't started this one yet. 

2. Atomic Habits by James Clear. One of those books I think everyone should read at least once. Have already bough another copy as a gift for a loved one.

3. The Metaphysical Club: A Story of Ideas in America by Louis Menard. Currently reading. Has already changed the way I think about and understand some of the history of this country both pre and post Civil War.

4. A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman. Haven't started this one yet. Too close in content to another book I recently read and I like to vary subjects

5. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli. Enjoyable book. Fan of the way Rovelli writes and will probably read all of his books

These aren't the last 5 books I've read as I often just decide to re-read some of the books in my collection like The Thin Man by Dashielle Hammett or the Harry Potter books. Currently also re-reading The Lord of the Rings.

Top 5 - Musicians Who Have Choked to Death On Their Own Vomit

Thought it was time to revisit this post which has become a bit of an annual tradition. Jimi Hendrix headlines a list of musicians who choked to death on their own vomit.

1. Jimi Hendrix - guitar god
2. Bonn Scott - original lead singer for AC/DC
3. John Bohnam - drummer Led Zepplin
4. Tommy Dorsey - bandleader and brother of Jimmy Dorsey
5. Mamma Cass - rock myth has her choking on a ham sandwich which technically isn't vomit but since she really died of a heart attack anyway - I thought I'd toss her in at #5 just to round off the list.

Even though everyone knows how Bonn Scott died - his death certificate actually says "death by misadventure". Maybe that's because it was unclear if he choked on his own vomit. You can't dust for vomit you know.

PS - My goal in life is now to have "death by misadventure" be my official cause of death. 

PPS - If it was just "musicians who have choked to death" Michael Hutchence from INXS would have been very high on the list. (Too soon?)

Top 5 - Red Sox Thoughts

With the baseball season more than 10% done - here's my Top 5 thoughts on the Boston Red Sox so far.

1. Boston is in a three-way tie for first despite the fact that their team ERA is 24th in all of baseball (4.37). If the pitching staff had just an American League average ERA then they'd be in first place all by themselves (they currently have an ERA+ of 95).

2. Boston is in a three-way tie for first despite the fact that the team is hitting a dismal .234 (20th in all baseball). The team has an OPS+ of just 92 (100 is league average). Does anyone not believe this team's offense will heat up as the temperatures rise?

3. If the Red Sox are to retire the number 26 - I predict that it will be for Brock Holt and not Wade Boggs. The super utility man is leading the team in batting (.424), OBP (.441), OPS (1.017) and OPS+ (184) while having played 5 positions so far (SS, 2B, 3B, LF, and CF). Big fan favorite is Brock Holt.

4. Not only do I predict that the Boston offense will heat up - I predict the Red Sox will lead the AL in HR by the time the season is over.

5. The Red Sox Magic Number is now 145. Today is the running of the London Marathon. There is also the Grand Union Canal Race held in May which is a 145 mile ultra-marathon that also finishes in London. Here's a useful piece of advice when running either a marathon or ultra-marathon.

Top 5 - Questions for a Sunday Morning

Five questions I'm wondering about this Sunday morning:

1. A perfect baseball game is 27 straight outs. I wonder if there's ever been the opposite of a perfect game - 27 straight hits?

2. If David Hasselhoff came out with a book of poetry - would Germany name him Poet Laureate?

3. Just a reminder during the Iraq / Iran war the US remained on the sidelines hoping both sides wiped each other out. Why not the same strategy in Syria?

4. I wonder how many people who were so upset when it looked like Twinkies were going away have bought some since they returned?

5. Will the Patriots cover the 10 points today?

Top 5 - Memorable Things that Happened on the 4th of July

Happy 4th of July. Here are the top 5 things that happened in US history on the 4th of July. Don't forget that July is American Beer Month.

1. 1776 Colonies declare independence
2. 1826 Presidents, patriots, rivals and friends John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both die on the same day
3. 1863 The surrender of Vicksurg to General Grant (the town of Vicksburg would not celebrate the Fourth of July for 81 years)
4. 1831 James Madison, last of the founding fathers, dies
5. (tie) 1804 Lewis and Clark celebrate first 4th of July west of the Mississippi (tie) 1939 Lou Gehrig gives his "luckiest man alive" speech at Yankee Stadium

Top 5 - The 70's

Here's a Top 5 of things that were big in the 70's but now - not so much...

1. Burt Reynolds movies
2. People on TV in danger from quicksand. Did global warming dry up all the quicksand? When's the last time you saw someone on TV who had to be rescued from it? Used to happen all the time in the 70's.
3. The word "ghetto". Nobody uses the word "ghetto" today unless it is in the title of some bad black porn.
4. Mood rings
5. Columbia House Record Club mailings

Top 5 - Peter Gabriel Songs

Today is Peter Gabriel's 58th birthday and in his honor here are what I consider his top 5 songs.

1. Solsbury Hill
2. Red Rain
3. Here Comes the Flood (Shaking the Tree version)
4. In Your Eyes
5. (tie) Big Time (tie) I Have the Touch

Just missing the list San Jacinto, D.I.Y., Come Talk to Me, Love to be Loved and Don't Give Up. For your enjoyment - here's Peter singing Here Comes the Flood.

Top 5 - Pink Floyd Songs

Today is David Gilmour's 64th birthday. In his honor here are what I consider Pink Floyd's top 5 songs.

1. Wish You Were Here
2. Shine on You Crazy Diamond
3. Time
4. Have a Cigar
5. Comfortably Numb

Top 5 - Songs with the Word Run or Running in the Title

1. Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen

2. Running Down a Dream - Tom Petty

3. Run Like Hell - Pink Floyd

4. Running on Empty - Jackson Browne

5. Running to Stand Still - U2

Honorable mention:

Running with the Devil - Van Halen
Run Through the Jungle - Credence Clearwater
Running Up that Hill - Kate Bush
Run with the Pack - Bad Company

And a blast from the past:

Keep on Running - Spencer Davis Group

Top 5 - Michael Mann Films

Today is Michael Mann's 64th birthday. So I thought I would rank Michael Mann's top 5 films that he directed.

1. Heat
2. Last of the Mohigans
3. The Insider
4. Manhunter
5. Ali

Top 5 - Quotes from the Movie Groundhog Day

1. "Don't drive angry."

2. "Who wants some flapjacks?"

3. "I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster and drank pina coladas. At sunset we made love like sea otters. *That* was a pretty good day. Why couldn't I get that day over and over and over..."

4. It's the same things your whole life. "Clean up your room.", "Stand up straight.", "Pick up your feet.", "Take it like a man.", "Be nice to your sister.", "Don't mix beer and wine, ever.". Oh yeah, "Don't drive on the railroad tracks."

5. This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather.