Greatest Cartoon Character Bracket - Round 2

Well, Round 1 is in the books and we're down to 32 characters now.  I appreciate all those who took the time to vote and I encourage you all to vote in Round 2, which runs through Friday.

Here are some observations from Round 1:

• Both Simpsons characters, Homer and Bart, were eliminated in the first round.  I'll admit Bart had a tough first round matchup against Donald Duck, but I thought Homer would breeze into the next round going up against Foghorn Leghorn.  I guess Foghorn's classic appeal was too much to handle.
• Woody Woodpecker won a close battle with Speedy Gonzales.  I totally underestimated Speedy's popularity.  In my opinion, Woody is one of the all-time greats and I think he should easily breeze into the Elite Eight, if not the Final Four.  Apparently, others don't share that opinion, as there was strong support for little Speedy.
• Barney Rubble upsets Underdog.  This was one of two 14 over 3 upsets, but Transformers over Porky Pig was not as big a shock as this.  Underdog has a balloon in the Thanksgiving Day parade for crying out loud.  I really did not see Underdog getting bounced so early.
• Chip and Dale won pretty easily over the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  If I had to predict the matchups, I would have thought the Turtles would win this matchup.  This is another example of the old school beating out a newer cartoon.  Personally, I like it.
• Sentimental favorites like Grape Ape, Hong Kong Phooey, and Secret Squirrel all lost their opening matchups.  I'm a little sad that neither of those three made it to the second round, but I will admit they were not the most popular of the Hanna-Barbera cartoons.

And now some Round 2 analysis:

• Pluto was the only Disney character not to advance to Round 2.  I think at least two more will bow out in this round.
• The Barney Rubble-Chilly Willy matchup ensures that a double digit seed will advance to the Sweet 16.
• The Animaniacs had a strong performance in Round 1 and I expect them to have another strong showing against Fred Flintstone in this round.
• I predict that at least one, if not two, top 2 seeds will lose in this round. 
• There are eight matchups that pair animated animals.  There is only one that matches up two animated humans.

It will be interesting to see how Round 2 plays out.  Keep voting everyone and check back this weekend for more thoughts and analysis.
http://cartoonvote.info/
Password: toonmadness

Greatest Cartoon Character Bracket

Well, March Madness is here and everyone's got bracket fever, including me.  I love watching the NCAA tournament and filling out a bracket.  But this year I thought it would be fun to create my own bracket.  So I did.

I created a Greatest Cartoon Character Bracket.  I'm pitting 64 of the all-time greatest cartoon characters against each other to see who really is the greatest.  I'll admit it was quite difficult narrowing down the list to 64, and seeding them was even more difficult.  Some of you will undoubtedly be upset that one of your favorites didn't make the list, and you're entitled to your opinion, however wrong you may be.  I looked very closely at nostalgic appeal and iconic impact, so the list is comprised of mostly older characters.  Those of you who know me well shouldn't be surprised.  I then went through an extensive seeding process that will remain secret to protect the sanctity of the bracket.  But ultimately, I tried to prevent matchups of characters from the same studio for as long as possible.  That proved quite difficult with the amount of Hanna-Barbera characters in the field.  I think it came out pretty fair though.

Here is where this bracket is different from others.  YOU get to vote.  Thanks to my good friend, Steve Turri, we have a website devoted to the bracket where users can pick who they think should win each matchup.  Each round will last four days and winners will advance until only one is left.  I will provide commentary and thoughts throughout the tournament through this blog so check back often to hear what I have to say, or to procrastinate from doing something more important.  But here's all you have to do to vote:
Go to this site: http://cartoonvote.info/
Enter the password: toonmadness
Keep coming back to vote in each round.

I hope you all enjoy!

Best Songs of All Time

I realize it's been quite a while since I've posted anything.  I just haven't exactly found the inspiration to write anything.  But as I was listening to music at work today, I started thinking about which songs would be my top five of all time.  So I decided to make a list.  I don't really have specific criteria for how I created this list other than the fact that I chose songs that are easy to listen to and which evoke some sort of emotional response.  Those who know me well know that I am a big fan of hip-hop and 90s music, so you may be surprised to see neither of those two genres represented in this list.  But as much as I like hip-hop, I couldn't justify putting any hip-hop song in the top five.  Nothing evokes that strong an emotional response or has the melodic harmony to outweigh any of my picks.  But maybe I'll do another list of top hip-hop songs to recognize those as well.  I realize there will be some disagreement, but I've included the songs for you all to listen to before you pass judgement.  So without further ado, here are my top five songs of all time:

5. "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys had a lot of great songs and I debated over which one should take the fifth spot on my list.  Ultimately, it came down to "Surfer Girl," "Sloop John B," and "Good Vibrations."  I went with "Good Vibrations" because, well, I just did.  It's a great song and I felt it deserved a spot on my list.

4. "Just My Imagination" by The Temptations
This is my favorite Temptations song.  I think it is just plain amazing.  Plus, everyone can relate to it.  We've all been lost in a daydream before or let our imagination go crazy.  The Temptations are another group that had a slew of hits, but this song is the most harmonious and melodic.  I don't really know if I'm using those terms correctly, but, again, my list, my rules.

3. "Midnight Train to Georgia" by Gladys Knight and the Pips
Very few songs tell a story like this one.  You can feel the emotion in Gladys Knight as she sings this song.  Add in the smooth background vocals of the Pips and you have a musical masterpiece.  I get goosebumps everytime I listen to this song.

2. "Trouble Man" by Marvin Gaye
Any list of top five songs of all time could easily consist of five Marvin Gaye songs.  "Ain't no Mountain High Enough" is my favorite song of all time.  "What's Going On" and "Mercy Mercy Me" are both powerful songs in their own right.  But I chose "Trouble Man" because of its diversity.  There is so much going on in this song and it all blends together perfectly.  Then you add in the powerful lyrics and you have perfection. 

1. "People Get Ready" by Curtis Mayfield and the Impressions
Everything about this song is beautiful.  The lyrics, the melody, the composition, all of it.  You can't help but have an emotional response when listening to this song.  It delivers a great message and does so in such a harmonious way that I challenge anyone to find a more well put-together song.  All I can really say is just listen.

Again, I realize that there may be some disagreement with this list, but that's what makes this fun.  I welcome your comments and thoughts.  Let me know which songs you think I should have included or if you think I nailed it on the head, which I think I did. 

What's the deal with hotel pillows?

I recently returned from a trip where I stayed in three different hotels over three consecutive nights.  All three hotels had crappy pillows.  This strengthens my theory that all hotels have inadequate pillows for my sleeping needs.  Now I realize that this is just a personal preference as some people might like flat, mushy, unsupportive pillows.  But why do ALL hotels think that ALL people like the same type of pillow?  That's just not considerate.  Hotels should provide a variety of pillow types in each room.  They already put four pillows on each bed, so why not put four pillows of various firmness so guests can sleep more comfortably on a pillow that suits their needs?  I don't want to be that guy who brings his own pillow when he travels, but these hotels are leaving me no choice.  I know there has to be some of you out there who feel the same way I do.  If so, join the fight for pillow equality.  No more sleepless hotel nights because of pillow inadequacy.

What defines a Christmas movie?

Every year at this time I get into the debate about what defines a Christmas movie.  I have always said that Die Hard is a Christmas movie, but very few people agree with me.  So let's examine this more closely.

First, for a movie to be considered a Christmas movie, it has to take place during the holiday season.  Die Hard takes place on Christmas Eve.  Check.

Second, many Christmas movies include a staple of the holiday season, Santa Claus.  Die Hard doesn't have an appearance by Saint Nick, but many other holiday classics don't either.  Christmas Vacation has no Santa.  White Christmas, no Santa.  A Christmas Carol, also no Santa.  And those three movies are three of the most popular holiday movies of all time.  So, the inclusion of Santa is not necessary to be considered a Christmas movie.  Therefore, Die Hard is still in the running.

Third, there needs to be classic holiday music of some sort.  Die Hard includes the Christmas classic, "Christmas in Hollis" by Run DMC.  Plus the movie ends with a rendition of "Let it Snow".  Another check for Die Hard as a holiday classic.

Next, most holiday movies teach some sort of lesson or moral or give advice of some sort.  A Christmas Carol teaches to not be so greedy and Scrooge-like.  It's a Wonderful Life shows the importance of each person in the larger world.  Home Alone stresses the importance of family.  Now I know what you're thinking: what lesson could Die Hard possibly teach?  Well first, Die Hard gives the excellent advice that making fists with your toes helps relieve apprehension about flying.  That's good to know.  Second, it shows that being the right guy in the right place at the wrong time can lead to heroism.  Or maybe it's the wrong place at the right time.  Or wrong place at the wrong time.  Oh, you get the point.  The bottom line is that there is a valuable lesson to take away from Die Hard.  Another check for inclusion in the holiday canon.

Finally, Christmas movies always have a happy ending.  What happier ending could there be than a terrorist plummeting to his death from a skyscraper, hostages being saved, and a man and his wife rediscovering their love for one another?  And Die Hard wins again.

So, anyone who argues that Die Hard is not in fact a Christmas movie need only look at the evidence.  And with that I say, "Merry Christmas and Yipee Ki Yay!"

Thoughts on Time Travel

I was watching Terminator: Salvation this weekend and it got me thinking about some time travel issues that might arise as a result of Skynet's mission to kill John Connor.  Basically, Skynet has tried to kill John Connor on multiple occasions during various stages of his life.  In the first Terminator, they actually tried to kill his mother, Sarah, to prevent him from being born.  This led to John sending Kyle Reese back in time to protect his mom, which actually resulted in his conception, since Kyle Reese ended up being his father.  Another result of this original time travel venture was the Terminator that was sent back by Skynet.  At the end of the film, Cyberdine Systems ends up with the Terminator arm and microchip, which leads them to develop the technology that would become Skynet.  Therefore, it is imperative that John Connor of the future be allowed to send Kyle Reese to the past forcing Skynet to send the Terminator after it.  If that doesn't happen then Skynet may never exist.  So the attempts to kill John Connor at later times in his life could in fact be destroying Skynet's entire existence.  Unless of course, the sentiment that was introduced in Terminator 3 was to be believed, that you can't change the future, you can only postpone.  By that theory, Skynet would eventually be created and the discovery of the arm and microchip only hastened that creation.

Or you could subscribe to the Back to the Future theory of alternate futures.  If you remember from Back to the Future II, old Biff went back to the past to give young Biff the Sports Almanac causing an alternate future to be created in which Biff is rich and murders George McFly.  In this alternate future old Biff would not have traveled back to 1955 to give young Biff the almanac creating the question of how this future could ever exist if that event never happens.  The same could be said about Connor sending Reese to the past leading to Skynet's creation.  If Connor is killed before this happens, how does Skynet get created?  But if an alternate future is created with Connor's death after Reese has been sent to the past, then that has already happened.  It's enough to make your head spin.

If you're still confused after reading this, I apologize, but I'm convinced that there is no clear way to explain this.  If anybody else has thoughts, please share.  Until then, be wary of time travel, for you may end up in an alternate future.

Sometimes it's ok to cry

This is actually a post I thought about writing last week after a lunchtime discussion at work, but I'm just getting to it now.  The conversation centered around E.T. and how some of us always cry at the end.  Then we started talking about other movies that make us cry.  Obviously, the men and women were on vastly different spectrums.  So I thought I would post about the movies that always make me cry and give reasons why it's ok.

First, the movie that started the discussion, E.T.  I lose it every time E.T. looks at Elliot at the end, and says, "I'll be right here."  It's so sad because Elliot is losing the best friend he ever had.  But at the same time, E.T. is assuring Elliot that he will always remember E.T.  It is such a powerful scene and one that I think most of us can relate to.  Most of us have had to say goodbye to someone or something we love, so we know how hard that is.  Also, we've all been a kid and have probably been so attached to something that we don't want to let it go.  This scene is the heart of what makes this movie so great, and why I can watch it over and over again and still get emotional at the end.

Next up is Field of Dreams.  I know what you're thinking, "Why the heck would Field of Dreams make you cry?"  Well, at the end of this movie Ray Kinsella meets his dad, as a ghost of course.  Earlier in the movie we hear that Ray regrets the final conversation he had with his dad, and also that he refused to play catch with his dad.  Now he has a chance to make up for it.  And how does he choose to do it?  By asking his dad to play catch, of course.  Any boy who has ever played catch with his dad knows how powerful this moment is.  I can probably speak for the majority of men who most likely want to go play catch with their dad after seeing this movie.  It gets me every time and the tears start flowing.

Third, we have Backdraft.  This one doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but it still gets me every time.  At the end of the movie, during the warehouse fire, Bull (Kurt Russel) is trying to save Axe (Scott Glenn) as they dangle perilously from a rafter.  Axe, who has been responsible for setting the fires throughout the movie, says, "Let me go, Bull."  To this Bull utters, "You go, we go," which is the signature phrase of their firehouse.  This simple phrase shows that Bull cares more about saving Axe's life than punishing him for what he has done.  Ultimately, Axe falls to his death and Bull is rescued by his brother.  I have no life connection to this movie, it just pulls at my heartstrings.

Finally, I present you with Finding Neverland.  For those who might not be aware, this movie is about how J.M. Barrie found the inspiration to write Peter Pan.  Johnny Depp plays Barrie (a little treat for the ladies) who starts spending time with Kate Winslet's character and her family, who become the inspiration for the book, or play.  Throughout the movie we see that she is very sick, and most likely dying.  When the play premieres, she is too ill to attend.  So Barrie brings the play to her and presents a stripped down version in her house so she can see how her children became immortalized.  It is such a sweet moment orchestrated by a person (Barrie) who cares very deeply for her and her family.  I love how Winslet so wonderfully portrays the surprise and delight of seeing the play for the first time.  Bring on the waterworks.

So, as you can see, sometimes it's ok to cry.  I hope you enjoyed my list.  Feel free to share your own in the comments.