Category: List

Top 50 Movies in My Lifetime (My Opinion)

Movie TitleTop 2 StarsYear
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance KidPaul Newman, Robert Redford1969
Citizen KaneOrson Welles, Joseph Cotten1941
RockySylvester Stallone, Talia Shire1976
All Quiet on the Western FrontLew Ayres, Louis Wolheim1930
DraculaBela Lugosi, Helen Chandler1931
Animal HouseJohn Belushi, Tim Matheson1978
Witness for the ProsecutionTyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich1957
Duck SoupGroucho Marx, Harpo Marx1933
The GodfatherMarlon Brando, Al Pacino1972
Nicholas and AlexandraMichael Jayston, Laurence Olivier1971
GoodfellasRobert De Niro, Ray Liotta1990
The Grand Budapest HotelRalph Fiennes, Tony Revolori2014
John WickKeanu Reeves, Ian McShane2014
You Only Live TwiceSean Connery, Donald Pleasence1967
Airplane!Robert Hays, Julie Hagerty1980
The Last SamuraiTom Cruise2003
CasablancaHumphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman1942
Bull DurhamKevin Costner, Susan Sarandon1988
The Good, the Bad and the UglyClint Eastwood, Eli Wallach1966
The Naked GunLeslie Nielsen, Priscilla Presley1988
Death at a Funeral Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence2010
Once Upon a Time in HollywoodLeonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt2019
The CandidateRobert Redford, Peter Boyle1972
The Best ManHenry Fonda, Cliff Robertson1964
CasinoRobert De Niro, Sharon Stone1995
Road HousePatrick Swayze, Sam Elliott1989
Margin CallKevin Spacey, Jeremy Irons2011
Raging BullRobert De Niro, Joe Pesci1980
The Good ShepherdMatt Damon, Angelina Jolie2006
DownfallBruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara2004
Glengarry Glen RossAl Pacino, Jack Lemmon1992
Bonnie and ClydeWarren Beatty, Faye Dunaway1967
High NoonGary Cooper, Grace Kelly1952
City HallAl Pacino, John Cusack1996
HeatAl Pacino, Robert De Niro1995
Scarface (1932)Paul Muni, Ann Dvorak1932
Wall StreetMichael Douglas, Charlie Sheen1987
Too Big to FailWilliam Hurt, Billy Crudup2011
Casino RoyaleDaniel Craig, Eva Green2006
Fatal AttractionMichael Douglas, Glenn Close1987
The Dirty DozenLee Marvin, Charles Bronson1967
All the King’s MenBroderick Crawford, John Ireland1949
Advise and ConsentHenry Fonda, Charles Laughton1962
The Last HurrahSpencer Tracy, Jeffrey Hunter1958
The Ides of MarchGeorge Clooney, Ryan Gosling2011
RoninRobert De Niro, Jean Reno1998
Mission: Impossible – FalloutTom Cruise, Henry Cavill2018
The Thomas Crown Affair (1968)Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway1968
The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo1999

I collected this list in about an hour’s time. I’m sure there are movies I would add/subtract to my top 50 if given more time and reflection. These are movies that I would view again and again. I know that most of these movies are older and were enjoyed when I was younger. Just about all these movies had compelling storylines that I enjoyed.

My Political Life 1952-2024

Best Presidents 1952-2024

  1. Barack Obama
  2. Bill Clinton
  3. John F. Kennedy
  4. Joe Biden
  5. Harry Truman
  6. George H. W. Bush

Best Unsuccessful Candidates

  1. Robert F. Kennedy
  2. Hillary Clinton
  3. Al Gore
  4. Mitt Romney
  5. John McCain

Worst Presidents 1952-2024

  1. Donald Trump
  2. Richard Nixon
  3. Jimmy Carter
  4. George W. Bush

Best Political Orators

  1. Barack Obama
  2. Bill Clinton
  3. Martin Luther King Jr.
  4. Ronald Reagan
  5. Hillary Clinton
  6. Michelle Obama

Legacy Killers

  1. Donald Trump: January 6, 2021, election denials, coronavirus, corruption
  2. Richard Nixon: Watergate coverup
  3. Jimmy Carter: Iran hostage
  4. George W. Bush: “weapons of mass destruction”, Iraq
  5. Lyndon Johnson: Vietnam

Overrated Lists (1996 and 2024)

I ran across an article from GQ magazine in 1996, where they created a list of overrated people, things, trends and media. In that vein, I decided to try to update their list based on similar criteria. The list is shown below for your entertainment.

1996 GQ Overrated List2024 EAB Overrated List
Alan GreenspanBitcoin
Shaved headsWomen’s tattoos
CNBC Talk ShowsAnything on Fox News
Amusement ParksDisney World
Sex that lasts four hoursSex that lasts for half hour
LongevityQuest for Eternal Life
Anyone Dubbed the Sexiest Man AliveThe Bachelor
Middle Relief PitchingPitch Count
Demi Moore’s bodySports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition
Agassi vs SamprasJosh Allen vs Patrick Mahomes
The Baseball Hall of FameThe Baseball Hall of Fame
Home schoolingCollege
Martin LawrenceKevin Hart
Absolutely FabulousEveryone Loves Raymond
Cruise ControlTesla

2023 Predictions

I am late for making 2023 predictions but this is mainly a fun exercise as no one is very good at figuring out the future. Based on my mediocre abilities to pick winners in my NFL pool, the reader should not expect great foresight here either.

Politics:

  • Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump will run for president in 2024.
  • The leading candidates as 2024 Presidential nominees will be Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida (who will be helped by vaccination scandal, see below) and Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan.
  • President Joe Biden will pardon Donald Trump in the fall of 2023 as a result of multiple convictions against Trump. Biden will say that the pardons were initiated “to promote national healing and unity.” The pardon and subsequent agreements not to imprison Trump and members of his family will be a result of negotiations and agreements between the Department of Justice, the New York Attorney General, the Atlanta Attorney General and Trump’s attorney team. Disgraced, Trump will fade from public view.
  • Melania Trump will divorce Donald Trump.
  • In retaliation for the conviction and imprisonment of January 6 conspirators, a devastating domestic terroristic attack will occur and kill thousands of US citizens.
  • Vladimir Putin will suffer a “health issue” mid year and negotiations between Russia and Ukraine will begin in mid 2023.

Photo by Virgil Cayasa

Sports

  • The Phillies will finish as a wildcard team in 2023 but they will not make it to the World Series.
  • The Eagles will make it to the NFC championship game against the 49ers and will lose due to key injuries in the offensive line and defensive secondary.
  • Tom Brady announces retirement after Tampa Bay loss in NFL playoffs.
  • The 76ers will lose in the second round of the NBA playoffs. 4 games to 1. This will be James Harden’s last season with the team. Joel Embid will request a trade at the end of the season. Doc Rivers gets fired.

Business

  • The Dow will finish at 36000 on 12/31/23; NYSE at 4300.
  • Twitter files bankruptcy.

Science

  • Scandal and controversy regarding the rollout, safety and efficacy of the various Covid vaccinations.
  • Frenzy will occur when an UFO sighting is witnessed by thousands and documented through video and radar.
  • No progress in finding treatment or prevention of Alzheimer’s.

That Was The Year That Was (2022)

2022 remembered in headlines. I prioritized the headlines by impact…

Ukraine conflict: Fighting rages near Kyiv after Russia invasion (2/24/22)

Supreme Court has voted to overturn abortion rights, draft opinion shows (5/2/22)

At least 19 children and two adults were fatally shot at an elementary school (Uvalde, Tx.), the worst school shooting since Sandy Hook nearly 10 years ago. (5/25/22)

Cassidy Hutchinson provides explosive testimony during the Jan. 6 hearing (6/29/22)

Election takeaways: No sweep for the Republicans after all (11/9/22)

Jan. 6 committee condemns Trump as ‘central cause’ of insurrection in sweeping report (12/19/22)

FBI Raided Donald Trump’s Mar-A-Lago Resort, Former President Says (8/6/22)

Academy Condemns Will Smith for Slap at Oscars and Opens Inquiry (4/28/22)

Social Security benefits to jump by 8.7% next year (10/13/22)

2022 World Cup: USA’s win over Iran caps tense, emotional build-up that had turned bizarre (11/29/22)

News: Most Influential vs Most Thoughtful

My list is decidedly different. I chose people whose contributions, judgement and commentary I respect.

Mediaite’s Most Influential in NewsEric Burleigh’s List of Thought Leaders in Media
1. Suzanne Scott Fox News1. Kara Swisher
2. Elon Musk 2. Andrew Ross Sorkin CNBC
3. Chris Licht and David Zaslav3. Maggie Haberman NYT
4. Tucker Carlson Fox News4. Maureen Dowd NYT
5. Joe Scarborough, Mika Brzezinsski MSNBC5. Jim Acosta CNN
6. Sean Hannity Fox6. Chris Wallace CNN
7. Matt Drudge7. Bill Maher HBO
8. Lester Holt, Norah O’Donnell and David Muir8. Jonathan Karl ABC
9. Maggie Haberman9.  Karine Jean-Pierre White House Press Sec
10. Greg Gutfeld10. Sam Harris
11. Ben Shapiro11. Charles Barkley TNT
12. Jake Tapper CNN12. Nicole Wallace MSNBC

Running on Empty

As I get older, there is a growing list of things that I can longer do or have lost interest in doing them…

Image by publicdomainpictures from pixabay
  • Playing basketball
  • Sex
  • Jogging or running
  • Ability to focus on a televised sporting event or show
  • Enjoy dining out
  • Patiently waiting in lines
  • Doctor appointments
  • Driving at night
  • Driving long distances
  • Children parties
  • Commercials, advertisements, public address notifications
  • Traffic
  • Politicians
  • Talking politics
  • Elections
  • Donald Trump
  • Eating apples
  • Religion or talking religion
  • Feigning interest in conversations or with people where I have little compatibility

Soundtracks of My Life

Most movies, documentaries and TV shows skillfully incorporate musical soundtracks to highten various scenes or stages in a story. If I made a movie about my life, here are the songs I would include as the soundtrack.

Solitary Man Neil Diamond (Title Theme for my Life—fatherless boy goes it alone)

You Belong to the City Glenn Frey (growing up in Camden)

What’s New Pussycat? Tom Jones (My lullaby to get my sister Monica to sleep and not cry when she was a baby.

Break My Stride Matthew Wilder (High school days)

I Can’t Stop Dancing Archie Bell and the Drills (playing basketball)

Love Her Madly The Doors (college dorm life)

Ohio Neil Young (Vietnam politics)

Superstar The Carpenters (first love, lost love)

Honey Please Can’t Ya See Barry White (discos and trying to find a girlfriend)

Christine Ben Jelen (girlfriend and wife found)

You Take My Heart Away Bill Conti (wedding)

Theme from Rocky (running, tennis, basketball)

She Believes in Me Kenny Rogers (wife’s faith in me as I struggle)

I See Your Smile Gloria Estefan (Sandra’s death)

Running Down a Dream Tom Petty (career struggles)

The Lonely Bull Herb Alpert (going it alone)

As Good as I Once Was Toby Keith (getting older and accepting limits)

I Am a Rock Simon and Garfunkel (protecting myself from hurt and disappointment)

The Greatest Love of All George Benson (self reliance)

One Moment in Time Whitney Houston (achieving a dream)