ROAD TRIP!

Jenn, Allie and I are driving down to South Carolina to visit my Dad, Step Mother and grandmother. My little sister that lives down there just had her second baby a few weeks ago, so this trip works out perfectly. We bought a dual screen portable DVD player for the car so my daughter Allie can watch Elmo while I drive the 780 miles over two days (and my wife can play games). I'd normally do the drive in one day, but she'd never make it.

I'm sorry that I haven't been by to many of your blogs in the past week or so. Things have been crazy over here in the Maniacal houshold. I'll explain when I have more time. We'll see you when we get back.

Double whammy!

Today is my one year blog-iversary and also happens to be my 100th post. I decided to make a list of ten groups with ten items in each (obviously totaling 100). All except for the last group are in rank order. It was difficult to come up with many of these, but I think I finally got it right. So without further a-do.................here's my "Top Ten-Top Ten":

Bands:
1. Led Zeppelin
2. Pink Floyd
3. Queensryche
4. Alice in Chains
5. Ozzy Osbourne
6. The Beatles
7. Guns n’ Roses
8. Metallica
9. Van Halen
10. U2

Albums (Greatest Hits don’t count):
1. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin (I)
2. The Beatles – Abbey Road
3. Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
4. Metallica – Master of Puppets
5. Queensryche – Operation: Mindcrime
6. The Cars – The Cars
7. Guns n’ Roses – Appetite for Destruction
8. Steely Dan – Aja
9. Alice in Chains – Dirt
10. Van Halen – Van Halen (I)

Songs:
1. Led Zeppelin – Kashmir
2. The Who – The Real Me
3. Metallica – Master of Puppets
4. Black Sabbath – War Pigs
5. Queensryche – Eyes of a Stranger
6. Alice in Chains – Would?
7. Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears
8. Whitesnake – Still of the Night
9. Yes – Roundabout
10. Soundgarden – Outshined

Movies:
1. The Cannonball Run (DUH!)
2. Star Wars Saga (“Empire Strikes Back” being the best)
3. The Lord of the Rings Saga (I’m sorry, but I can’t separate these)
4. Smokey and the Bandit
5. Goodfellas
6. Pulp Fiction
7. The Godfather Trilogy (Godfather II being the favorite)
8. Ghostbusters
9. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation
10. Grease

Movie Quotes (How can I pick just 10!!):
1. “I don't care what you smell!” – Han Solo (Star Wars)
2. “Ssssh. Listen. Do you smell something?” – Dr. Ray Spangler (Ghostbusters)
3. “You get nothing! You lose! Good day sir!” – Willy Wonka (Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory)
4. “You’ve committed one of the classic blunders……never go up against a Sicilian, when DEATH is on the line!!” – Vizzini (The Princess Bride)
5. “Why’d he call me shorty? ‘Cause you’re small, small, S. M. All.” – Fenderbaum & Jamie Blake (The Cannonball Run)
6. “Funny how? Like I’m a clown? I amuse you? I make you laugh?” – Tommy DeVito (Goodfellas)
7. “I gotta stab her three times? NO! You don’t gotta stab her three times, you gotta stab her once!!” – Vincent Vega & Maynard (Pulp Fiction)
8. “There were horses, and man on fire, and I killed a guy with a trident.” – Brick Tamland (Anchorman)
9. “What? Over? Did you say over? Nothing is over until we decide it is!! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?............” – John Blutarski (Animal House)
10. “He’ll keep callin’ me……..he’ll keep callin’ me until I come over. Thi…….this is ridiculous. I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I'll go…………..SHIT!” – Cameron (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off)

Women (My wife is not included in this list. That wouldn’t be fair to the other women):
1. Alyssa Milano
2. Elisabeth Shue
3. Diane Lane
4. Jennifer Aniston
5. Charlize Theron
6. Christina Applegate
7. Christine Taylor
8. Marissa Tomei
9. Alicia Silverstone
10. Mena Suvari

Cars (Manual Transmissions whenever possible please!):
1. ANY original Shelby Cobra
2. 1967 Chevy Camaro RS/SS
3. 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo
4. 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am
5. 1994 Ferrari 512tr (Testarrosa)
6. 1996 Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo
7. 1969 Dodge Charger R/T
8. 1966 Pontica GTO
9. 1968 Chevy Chevelle
10. 1955 Chevy BelAir

All Time Favorite TV Shows:
1. Seinfeld
2. Night Court
3. Friends
4. Happy Days
5. The Sopranos
6. The Dukes of Hazzard
7. Gilligan’s Island
8. Knight Rider
9. Batman
10. Brady Bunch

Places I Want to visit:
1. Australia
2. Italy
3. Ireland
4. England
5. Hawaii
6. Alaska
7. Greece
8. Germany
9. Egypt
10. France

Things about me:
1. I’m legally blind in my right eye. (Born that way)
2. Was at Yankee Stadium for Game 4 of 2001 World Series (NY vs. Ariz.)
3. My mother and I have the same birthday.
4. Been married three times (I’m very happy now, but learn from my mistakes. If you have any doubts, there’s probably a reason!)
5. Drove from NJ to California in 3 days 5 hours.
6. Got my first speeding ticket on my 17th birthday. (69 in a 45mph zone)
7. Had my first accident the day after my 17th birthday. (totalled the car 15 hours after the ticket)
8. Drove from Dallas, Texas to Northern NJ in 25 straight hours in a minivan with 5 other people.
9. Sang lead on five songs with a full band on stage at a club in Northern NJ.
10. Drove a stock car 165 mph on the Pocono Raceway for eight laps.

Would you expect these?

After reading this post by David Amulet, it got me thinking about my record collection. I have some albums that that you may be surprised about, and some I’m afraid to admit. Here’s a few of them:

Men without Hats – Rhythm of Youth
Jerry Reed – The Essential Jerry Reed (Yes, Snowman from "Smokey & the Bandit")
Prince & the Revolution – Around the World in a Day
Duran Duran – Seven & the Ragged Tiger
Alvin & the Chipmunks – Christmas with the Chipmunks Vol. 1
Olivia Newton John – Totally Hot
Chuck Mangione – Feels So Good
Hall & Oates – Big Bang Boom
Rick Springfield – Working Class Dog
Little River Band – Greatest Hits

Do you have albums in your collection that you’re semi-ashamed to admit, but won't get rid of?

Also, Thursday is my one year blog-iversary (or whatever it’s called), and will also be my 100th post. Hopefully I'll have my post ready for that day!

Unexpected Cover Tunes

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about cover songs and which version you all felt was better. I now have a slight twist on that topic. I have come across some songs that were covered by rock bands that you would not expect. Here's a few:

1. Van Halen covering Linda Ronstadt's "You're No Good" (with slightly modified lyrics)
2. Faith No More covering Lionel Richie's "Easy"
3. Type O Negative covering Seals & Croft's "Summer Breeze" (this one really threw me when I first heard it)

Can you think of any other unexpected covers?

What's the big deal?!?!

Apparently, the town of Bloomfield, NJ is having issues letting "The Soprano's" shoot the final scene in their town because the show depicts Italian-American's in a negative way. WHATEVER ASSHOLES!! It's a TV show! I'm of Italian decent and I don't give a fuck! People need to be more relaxed about things and not take everything so damn personal!!!

On a separate note, has anyone else seen the preview for the show "Drive" on Fox? It seems to be loosely based on my favorite movie (and my blog's name sake), "The Cannonball Run". From what I understand, it's not just a cross country race to get $32 million, but for some people an answer to a question, like "My wife is missing. What happened to her?". Since it's obviously going to be about driving fast and have some drama thrown in, I may have to give it a shot.

Just two things........

My wife and I have some news. Go check out our post at Dad Said, Mom Said.

Also, I got tickets to see The Police at Giants Stadium! I can't wait to see them.