The Barron Blog

Thursday, 31 December 2009

Top Ten Songs Of The Decade: 2000 To 2009

In a decade marred by great evil from terrorists (e.g. 9/11), the environment (e.g. Katrina) and business (e.g. the recession of 2008 and 2009), it was good to know there was a higher power that we could turn to for protection. That's why "Jesus Take The Wheel" is in top spot.
Individuals, governments and scientists can only do so much to assist mankind's survival. Luckily, there are spiritual stewards over the Earth who can make things go right.
In second place, I selected the hope-filled message of Aselin Debison's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow/Wonderful World".
The others are great songs that I feel will be remembered 30 years and more from now:
Jesus Take The Wheel/Carrie Underwood
Somewhere Over The Rainbow/Wonderful World/Aselin Debison
How Long?/The Eagles
I'm Gonna Getcha Good/Shania Twain
A New Day Has Come/Celine Dion
I Kissed A Girl/Katy Perry
I Dreamed A Dream/Susan Boyle
Bad Day/Daniel Powter
Baby One More Time/Britney Spears
Home/Michael Buble
I also managed to find a list of the decade's top ten worse songs. It was a hoot. I hope you'll have a laugh too.

Posted by qualteam at 2:45 PM EST

Updated: Thursday, 31 December 2009 4:27 PM EST

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Monday, 28 December 2009

My Top Events Of The Decade: 2000 to 2009

Life Magazine: "The Decade That Changed The World" is not available online, so here's a link to "Life 2009 In Pictures".
There were many wonderful and not so wonderful events that happened from 2000 to 2009. Of course, this is my blog and I'm emphasizing what is most memorable to me.
There are no sports events or movies on this list. Canada winning another gold medal at the Olympics isn't earth-shattering news. Big box office movies with state of the art special effects are not big surprises. This just indicates progress in the delivery of high tech productions.
I didn't emphasis natural disasters or wars either because they've been with man since day one.
Just about everybody would have a different top ten list on this subject. Feel Free to make a comment on this list or any other you may have encountered.
Below is a list of "happenings" in this decade that grabbed my attention the most.
Wikipedia replaces Britannica as the world's top reference source. In this blog, I have many links to Wikipedia articles and none to Britannica.
Blogs replace diaries as the main source of self expression and personal life documentation. This includes Facebook, MySpace and Twitter which are different kinds of blogs. With the use of the hyperlink, blog words or phrases can reach other websites on the internet. For example, Ann Frank's life during World War Two can be examined on this website.
Most of you know, that 9/11 was the big news story of the decade, but added to that are 9/11 conspiracy theories which make you think and wonder.
I was moved to tears by Michael Jackson's funeral. I was surprised to find out that he had contributed so much to so many charities.
Last year I wrote an article entitled "The Top Ten Poster Boys Of The Financial Crisis". It makes you wonder what kind of "Work Ethic" permeates the world of investment banking.
All capitalists don't come from the same place. Warren Buffet set the best example of the decade by donating 36 billion to charity.
Despite the publicity given to Itunes and Napster, free music downloads still occur from Limewire and Bittorrent(for now).
Without any expensive music video or hype, middle-aged Susan Boyle obtained stardom from a YouTube video which you've probably seen.
Just being the first black U.S. President doesn't put Barack Obama on this list, but what he did recently with health care reform puts him there. He achieved something that no politician has been able to do in the history of the U.S.
Corner Gas has become the most popular Canadian TV series of all time. Sure it's stupid, but sometimes very funny. It's definitely not as stupid as "Trailer Park Boys". Life in Canada can be wonderful.

Posted by qualteam at 12:18 PM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 29 December 2009 11:15 PM EST

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Friday, 25 December 2009

Giving For Christmas And Throughout The Year

A few days ago, I heard someone from "The Scott Mission" talk about their charity work which included meals for the poor. I remembered that many years ago, the Scott Mission helped me out when I was going through hard times.
In the past, I contributed to "The Yonge Street Mission", "The Salvation Army" and "The United Way", but never to The Scott Mission which helped me more than any other charity.
On Dec/24/09, I made my first donation to the mission. It felt very good doing this.
Christmas is more than just the season of partying and gift-giving. It's a time to give back to those who helped you out and to create a strategy to help others less fortunate than yourself throughout the year.
Put a little love in your heart.

Posted by qualteam at 10:12 PM EST

Updated: Friday, 25 December 2009 10:31 PM EST

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Monday, 21 December 2009

My Top Ten Favourite Christmas Songs
Mood: lyrical

Some of my top ten songs are presented by the original artists like Dean Martin, Bing Crosby and Josh Groban. The others have interesting animation or background pictures which enhance the great melodies.
There are other great tunes that didn't make this list, but they can easily be found on YouTube. This includes "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree", "Jingle Bell Rock", "Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer" and many Christmas carols.
Please enjoy these Christmas musical videos. They were made with love from the people who created them:
Christmas In Killarney by The Irish Rovers(above)
Run Rudolph Run by Chuck Berry
Have A Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives
Here Comes Santa Claus by Gene Autry
Marshmellow World by Dean Martin
O' Holy Night by Josh Groban
It's Beginning To Look Like Christmas by Perry Como
Silver Bells by Johnny Mathias
Winter Wonderland by Pat Boone
White Christmas by Bing Crosby
On the lighter side, you can check out some novelty Christmas songs on this website.

Posted by qualteam at 5:48 PM EST

Updated: Monday, 21 December 2009 10:29 PM EST

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Sunday, 20 December 2009

Poker After Dark, The Cash Game
Mood: incredulous

I have nothing against high stakes poker games but most players would not be able to afford them.
Over the last two weeks, I've watched "Poker After Dark, The Cash Game" with Phil Hellmuth, Tom Dwan, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Patrick Antonius and Gus Hansen.
The poker was good and sometimes outstanding, especially from Dwan and Ivey. They moved their game to a higher level with practice in big cash internet poker games. Negreanu referrred to this in his recent blog entry:
"Ivey, Dwan, and Patrik just play at another level. In order to compete with them you have to work very hard, play lots of hours, and study your weaknesses. I'm willing to admit they are far better than I am at no limit cash games, but I think Hellmuth actually believes he is the "best no limit hold'em player in the world by far," (his words not mine). He's either lying to the public when he makes those statements, or, he genuinely believes that. Either way, he's either lying or completely delusional."
There was much to learn from their play. Unfortunately, the cash game was degraded and trivialized by "poker prop bets" and a few "table all ins". How can one establish the top cash players in the world by random "coin flips" and "card calling"?
With a basic stake of $100,000, one player went up $500,000 and the losing players went down $100,000 each time they did this. Why not just give the money to charity, rather than making it part of a high stakes poker game?
Obviously what is needed is a high stakes poker tournament where the minimum by-in would be $100,000. Why not go global with such a tournament and see who the best cash players are? Limit rebuys to $300,000 per individual per table. Each game would run for a week and the person with the most cash would move to the next table of winners.
On a personal level, I had a great November playing poker, but a lousy December. For the year, I'm probably down $40 or $50.
For the rest of 2009, I'm playing for only play money which I'm doing well at: five first place finishes out of nine games with two seconds.
While there's no limit on how much you can win at poker, you have to decide beforehand how much you can lose (for entertainment purposes, of course). You have to control the game or the game will control you.(i.e. Know your limit and play within it.)

Posted by qualteam at 5:40 PM EST

Updated: Sunday, 20 December 2009 8:21 PM EST

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Tuesday, 15 December 2009

A Prayer For Assistance On Global Warming
Mood: special

Climate change is a difficult subject for everyone including the delegates at the environmental conference in Copenhagen. Reducing CO2 emissions is expensive for all especially the poorer nations.
It's good to see so many people involved in this subject, but agreed upon solutions are hard to come by.
Personally, I feel we need divine help more than ever on climate change and international agreements covering it.
The prayer below is my contribution to "The Copenhagen Conference"
"Global Warming is one of the biggest challenges facing mankind at this time. That which may not be possible with man is possible with God.
I pray that a positive agreement towards reducing CO2 emissions will result from the present Copenhagen conference.
I pray there will be breakthroughs in alternate energy sources like solar, wind and geothermal which will lead to cheaper production of energy for all nations.
I pray that environmental leadership will be found in all the countries of the world.
I pray that other prayer warriors will join the "Green Crusade" and focus on making the world a cleaner, safer place for the generations to come."

Posted by qualteam at 1:09 PM EST

Updated: Tuesday, 15 December 2009 1:26 PM EST

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Wednesday, 9 December 2009

Top Ten Doo Wop Songs Of All Time

Rock and Roll wouldn't be Rock and Roll without the great Doo Wop tunes of the late 1950s and early 1960s. "The Doo Wops" and other sounds came from the background singers behind the lead. These harmonies and noises were often as important as the main singer.
Again, I must stress that Doo Wop isn't old or mature music that came from crooners like Perry Como, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Doo Wop was and still is young music.
Much of Doo Wop was repetitive and uninspired. It was replaced on the pop charts by music from the British invasion after 1964.
Hope you enjoy my top ten selections below from YouTube.
Pretty Little Angel Eyes/Curtis Lee
Little Darlin'/The Diamonds
I Wonder Why/Dion and The Belmonts(video above)
Who Put The Bomp?/Barry Mann
The Lion Sleeps Tonight/The Tokens
Footsteps/Steve Lawrence
Lost In The Fifties(In The Still Of The Night)/Ronnie Milsap
Blue Moon/The Marcels
Little Star/The Elegants
Sorry(I Ran All The Way Home)/The Impalas

Posted by qualteam at 10:10 PM EST

Updated: Wednesday, 9 December 2009 11:36 PM EST

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Thursday, 3 December 2009

Roll And Roll On Ed Sullivan And The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
Mood: a-ok

Yesterday, I watched great rock and roll music from "The Ed Sullivan Show" and "The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame".
Despite his geeky appearance, Ed Sullivan actually introduced most of the great rock and roll artists of the 50s and 60s. This started with Elvis Presley and ended probably with The Jackson Five.
It was good to see how many artists got a platform on the Ed Sullivan Show during the 60s. You had to get the four DVDs to view all of the performances. Unfortunately, these DVDs were being sold for $150 dollars on a particular public TV station. 15 minutes of performances were followed by 15 minutes of infomercial. Fortunately, my DVD recorder recorded only the music and not the commericals.
If you want to buy this history and fantastic music, check out Ebay.
It would have been better if the station offered a lower price for the DVDs and CDs and produced the program as an informerical.
The second program was followed by fine performances from The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The McCartney clip is featured above.
All of the musical numbers were original and interesting except for the long boring pitches of Paul Shaffer and others.
I'd like to point out that twister, Chubby Checker, rock harmony king, Neil Sedaka and first female rocker, Connie Francis aren't in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Why? I don't know, but it lowers the reputation of this institution.
While rock and roll musicans may grow older, the music doesn't. Check out my top tunes, novelty songs, rare oldies and anti-war songs. I remember those songs like it was yesterday.
Please enjoy the above webpages for nothing. It's great that you can find so much great music on the internet.

Posted by qualteam at 9:37 PM EST

Updated: Thursday, 3 December 2009 10:44 PM EST

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Monday, 30 November 2009

Movie Review 132: Cinderella Man
Mood: a-ok

This is a true "Rocky Story" about J.J. Braddock who came back from personal injury, negativity and poverty to win the Heavyweight Title of the World.
The despair and desperation of the 1930s were captured accurately in this tale. It wasn't a case of going the distance to earn respect like "Rocky". It was a case of providing for one's family during hard times and paying back debts including "welfare debts".
There were boxing movies that had better fight scenes than Cinderella Man, but few that had the gritty realism and inspirational drama of this one.
An excellent job was done by director Ron Howard and Russell Crowe/ Rennee Zellweger who gave fine performances as the Braddocks. Four Stars.
More reviews can be found at Rotten Tomatoes.

Posted by qualteam at 3:20 PM EST

Updated: Monday, 30 November 2009 3:47 PM EST

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Wednesday, 25 November 2009

Movie Review 131: The New Star Trek Movie

Anyone who reads my blog frequently will know that I'm a big "Star Trek" fan. The last movie review that I did was for "Star Trek: The Final Frontier". Other memorable blogs on the same subject were "Star Trek: Generations"(My favourite ST movie) and "The Science Fiction, Star Trek Portal".
"Star Trek, The Next Generation" is my favourite series followed by Voyager, then the original series. I'm not a fan of "ST Enterprise" or "Deep Space Nine".
The best of Star Trek contains not only great story lines but unique spiritual themes that make you think. This includes virtual reality (the holodeck), alternate universes, sentient androids (i.e. Data) and powerful beings like Q.
Unfortunately, the new Star Trek isn't in the same group as the best in this series.
While there is much to like about the ST reboot (The Introduction of Kirk and Spock in particular), the story line was burdened by an old Spock who looked uncomfortable and out of place in a new ST Universe. If Spock had died heroically in the past or the future, he could have come to young Kirk and young Spock as a ghost like "Obi-Wan Kenobi". This would be passing of the torch similiar to the "ST Generations" story Line.
Most of the reviews on Star Trek have been positive. Mine is simply lukewarm. Two and a half stars.

Posted by qualteam at 2:09 PM EST

Updated: Wednesday, 25 November 2009 4:52 PM EST

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