Fifty Times Fifty
Thursday, March 31, 2011
50 Favorite Movies
Monday, March 21, 2011
50 Favorite Novels (In No Particular Order)
Devices and Desires by PD James
Brendan by Fredrick Buechner
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fennimore Cooper
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad
The Deerslayer by James Fennimore Cooper
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
The Body Farm by Patricia Cornwell
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
City of God by EL Doctorow
The Last Precinct by Patricia Cornwell
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis
The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
The Optimist’s Daughter by Eudora Welty
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by JK Rowling
The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
Martha Peake: A Novel of the Revolution by Patrick McGrath
The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K LeGuin
The Farthest Shore by Ursula K LeGuin
The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Tehanu by Ursula K Leguin
To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K LeGuin
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Death in Holy Orders by PD James
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Tinker, Taylor, Solider, Spy by John Le Carre
Smiley’s People by John Le Carre
The Horse and His Boy by CS Lewis
The Two Towers by JRR Tolkien
The Return of the King by JRR Tolkien
The Firm by John Grisham
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
The Maytrees, by Annie Dillard
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
The Dead Hour by Denise Mena
Blue Shoe by Anne Lamott
The Telling by Ursula K LeGuin
Saturday, March 5, 2011
My 50 Favorite Athletes Of All Time
Friday, March 4, 2011
50 Presbyterian Churches That Have Played A Role In My Life
Thursday, March 3, 2011
My 50 Favorite Guitarists of All Time
Jimi Hendrix
Eric Clapton
Jimmy Page
Pete Townshend
Lindsey Buckingham
George Harrison
The Edge
Brian May
Angus Young
Chuck Berry
David Gilmour
Neil Young
Mick Jones
Joe Perry
Mark Knopfler
Peter Green
Carlos Santana
BB King
Jeff Beck
Mick Ronson
Billy Gibbons
Steve Howe
Robert Johnson
Andy Summers
Randy Rhodes
Eddie Van Halen
Alex Lifeson
Bo Diddley
Johnny Ramone
Kurt Cobain
Keith Richards
Duane Allman
Paul Simon
John Lennon
Steve Jones
Karla Bonoff
Steve Miller
Dave Davies
Jane Wiedlin
Rick Nielson
Keith Strickland
David LaMotte
Jimmy McCullouch
Peter Buck
Marco Pirroni
Prince
Joe Walsh
Joan Jett
George Thorougood
Tim Farriss
Al Stewart
Saturday, February 26, 2011
50 Things That Are NOT on My Bucket List
Skydiving
Cave Exploration
Cliff Diving
Space Travel
Tightrope Walking
Eating Rattlesnake Meat
Surfing
Freestyle Rock Climbing
Scuba Diving
Ski Jumping
Hang Gliding
Parasailing
Butchering Meat
Committing a Felony
Camping in the Amazon Basin
Competing in a Triathlon
Herding Cattle
Competitive Fishing
Yacht Racing
Attending the Masters Golf Tournament
Learning to Yodel
Going Through Basic Training
Attending an Autopsy
Selling Door to Door
Bull Riding
Taking Ballet
Serving as a Model for a Drawing Class
Competitive Eating
Working in a Mine
Lumberjacking
Embalming a Corpse
Scaling a Building
Visiting China
Bungy Jumping
Attending a NASCAR Race
Touring Napa Valley Wineries
Ghost Hunting
Pearl Diving
Hot Air Ballooning
Living on the Beach
Traveling to the North Pole
Traveling to the South Pole
Ocean Kayaking
Working on a Fishing Boat
Being Tazed
Fire Fighting
Attending the US Open Tennis Tournament
Taking Karate
Fly Fishing
Performing the National Anthem at a Sporting Event
Thursday, February 17, 2011
My 50 Favorite Sports Teams of All Time
2. Houston Oilers/Tennessee Titans (NFL)—Who can forget Earl Campbell and Billy “White Shoes” Johnson? Or Warren Moon? Or Steve “Air” McNair? Or Eddie George? Or Chris Johnson? Obviously I can’t.
3. University of Tennessee Volunteers Football (NCAA)—Especially now that Lane Kiffin is gone.
4. San Antonio Gunslingers (USFL)—Rick Neuheisel was the starting QB.
5. Memphis Southmen (WFL)—Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, Paul Warfield, Danny White: not bad for an upstart league.
6. Memphis Pros/Tams/Sound (ABA)—Would have become the Baltimore Claw if the ABA hadn’t merged with the NBA.
7. Trinity University (Texas) Tigers Football (NCAA Div. III)—Pulled off one of the great plays in football history—16 laterals to score on the last play of the game against Milsaps College in Mississippi.
8. University of Memphis Men’s Basketball (NCAA)—Were tied with Bill Walton and UCLA at halftime of the 1973 NCAA finals.
9. Memphis Grizzlies (NBA)
10. Chicago Bulls (NBA)—During the Jordan years mainly.
11. Memphis Showboats (USFL)—Coached by Pepper Rogers.
12. Houston Gamblers (USFL)—Jim Kelly was QB.
13. Buffalo Bills (NFL)—Kent Hull, starting center through the four Super Bowl losses is a really nice guy. Jim Kelly was QB here as well.
14. St. Louis Cardinals (MLB)
15. New Orleans Saints (NFL)—Archie Manning! And later Bum Philips coached Kenny “The Snake” Stabler and Earl Campbell there.
16. Pittsburg Stealers (NFL)—They weren’t always a favorite of mine, but then I married a fan and she convinced me to appreciate a great team when I saw one.
17. Indianapolis Colts (NFL)—They weren’t always a favorite, either, but I can’t root against Peyton Manning, I just can’t.
18. Arkansas Twisters/Diamonds (AF2/IFL)—Arena Football 2: fun sport to watch, sort of like human pinball.
19. McAllen (Texas) High School Bulldogs (High School Football)—My high school.
20. Little Rock (Arkansas) Central High School Tigers (High School Football)—My kids’ high school.
21. San Antonio Racquets (Domino’s Pizza Team Tennis)—No, honest. Look them up.
22. Charlotte Heat (Domino’s Pizza Team Tennis)—One of only two championships I’ve ever seen in any sport: San Antonio at Charlotte, summer of 1987. Charlotte won.
23. Tulsa University Football (NCAA)—Good team for a small school, though it is the largest Presbyterian-related university in the country.
24. Oakland A’s (MLB)—In the mid-70s this was a great team.
25. Houston Astros (MLB)—Rooted for them in the 90s.
26. McAllen Dusters (Independent Baseball)—played one, maybe two seasons. The big question was always which would be higher, the number of runs scored or the number of errors committed. Lots of fun to watch, though.
27. Green Bay Packers (NFL)—Got to love a team owned by a city.
28. Davidson (North Carolina) Wildcats Men’s Basketball (NCAA)—Their historic run in the NCAA’s was thrilling to watch. A Presbyterian-related school where my Dad went.
29. Philadelphia Stars (USFL)—Jim Mora coached them.
30. (Tie) Indiana Pacers, New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets (ABA/NBA)—Along with San Antonio, the only remaining former ABA teams, now merged with the NBA.
33. Arkansas Travelers (Minor League Baseball/Texas League)—An historic team with connections back to 1901.
34. Arkansas RimRockers (ABA)—Team began in 2004-05 with the revamped American Basketball League. They played for one year, won a league championship, and then left for the NBA’s Developmental League. One of only two league championships of any kind I’ve ever attended.
35. Tulsa Talons (AF2)—Arch rivals for a number of years of the Arkansas Twisters. I developed a grudging respect for the team.
36. Memphis Mad Dogs (CFL)—Part of the Canadian Football League’s effort to “invade” the US. Pepper Rogers coached the team in it’s only year of 1995. Gary Anderson played his last year of professional football for the team.
37. Hamilton Tiger-cats (CFL)—Our family attended a Hamilton game a couple of years ago (versus Toronto). Great atmosphere and wonderful folks seated in the “family section.” I became a fan for life.
38. Seattle Seahawks (NFL)—Their first few years as an expansion team were fun to watch. Jim Zorn at QB and Steve Largent at WR were among the highlights.
39. Glasgow Rangers (Scottish Football League)—That’s soccer to you and me.
40. Duzcespor (Turkish Football)—I spent a summer in Duzce as an exchange student and attended a match.
41. Arkansas Riverblades (ECHL)—One of two hockey teams to play in Little Rock at one time. This one played in much nicer Alltel Arena in North Little Rock.
42. Arkansas GlacierCats (WPHL)—The other hockey team to play in Little Rock at one time, playing their games at Barton Coliseum in Little Rock.
43. San Antonio Wings (WFL)—Saw them play once, against the Memphis Southmen in San Antonio. San Antonio won the game and the league went belly up the next week.
44. University of Arkansas Razorbacks Football (NCAA)—Proud tradition of great teams over the years.
45. Arkansas State University Red Wolves Football (NCAA)—Trying very hard to make Arkansas a two-team state.
46. New Jersey Devils (NHL)—For some reason I found myself rooting for this team for a year or two.
47. Philadelphia Bell (WFL)—What a wacky name for a pro football team! Got to love it.
48. Memphis Rogues (NASL)—Saw them play once against the Rochester Lancers. Thought they had a cool team name.
49. Cleveland Cavaliers (NBA)—Now that Lebron James has bailed on them I’ll be rooting for them to win a title––someday.
50. New York Knights (AFL)—I saw the very first Arena Football game ever played in Madison Square Garden. This was one of the teams.