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Readers Top Songs of 2015 #SOTD

@iAmAviG

January 5, 2016

Our top two guessers in the Top Songs of 2015 contest, who both correctly guessed all 10 songs, had the opportunity to submit their own top songs lists of 2015.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THESE LISTS ARE TOP 10, BUT NOT IN ANY PARTICULAR ORDER
Any commentary next to them are my own, and denoted in GREEN…and not necessarily in agreement with the author of each list.
My blog, my rules 🙂

Thanks again to both of them, and the other participants as well, in the Song of the Year contest. Let’s hope for some more fun this year!

Sara N.
*See You Again by Wiz Khalifa ft. Charlie Puth
*Beautiful Life by Nick Fradiani — This made a #SOTD list earlier this year!
*Fight Song by Rachel Platten — #8 on my list
*Love Me Like You Do by Ellie Goulding — Was edged out by On My Mind on my list…I tend to stay away from more than one per artist
*Burning House by Cam — Heard this song a few weeks ago for the first time, and it is indeed really good!
*Renegades by X Ambassadors
*Irresistible by Fall Out Boy ft. Demi Lovato — This song narrowly missed my Top 10
*I Bet My Life by Imagine Dragons — THIS SONG WAS RELEASED IN 2014 — My disappointment in this selection should end there…
*Victorious by Panic! At The Disco
*Cheerleader by Omi — Just to be clear…this song would’ve made my list had I done a “Worst Songs of 2015” list — and… THIS SONG WAS RELEASED ORIGINALLY IN 2012

Shoshana M.
*Die A Happy Man by Thomas Rhett — Shoshana note: Honorable mention to his other song Crash and Burn
*Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran — THIS SONG WAS RELEASED IN 2014
*Irresistible by Fall Out Boy ft. Demi Lovato — This song narrowly missed my Top 10
Like I’m Gonna Lose You by Meghan Trainor — A solid choice on my lists, but didn’t make the final cut
El Perdon by Nicky Jam ft. Enrique Iglesias
On My Mind by Ellie Goulding (or as Shoshana correctly put it: “Avi’s Bae”) — #5 on my list
Here by Alessia Cara — #10 on my list
Style by Taylor Swift — THIS SONG WAS RELEASED IN 2014
Smoke Break by Carrie Underwood — #9 on my list
Hello by Adele — #6 on my list

Superstore – Review

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January 4, 2016

Superstore starts for real tonight on NBC, as Episode 4 airs at 8PM.
The first two episodes had a one-hour Special following the voice in November, and episode three debuted online shortly after.

Labeled as “Family Guy meets The Office” this show does a good job at tiptoeing through some jokes, taking some jokes way to far (to a point where they become funny again) and flat out making all of our work environments feel silly.

The story is about a Cloud 9 superstore whose newest employee Jonah (played by Ben Feldman (Mad Men) gets introduced to his coworkers and experiences the daily struggles of a “Walmart”esque store.
Mark McKinney (SNL) and America Ferrera (Ugly Betty) star as Jonah’s manager and supervisor.

This show has a lot of good laughs, and has a ton of potential (hopefully more than Ben’s previous show A to Z had) and is overall a 7 out of 10.

Joy – Review

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December 29, 2015

Joy came out in theaters this past weekend and stars Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.

It revolves around the true story of Joy Mangano, a divorced mother who uses her last monies to invent the Wonder Mop and promote it on QVC in a last stitch effort at making something of herself. You should be moved at the ebbs and flows of Joy’s life, from family emergencies to product troubles and patent issues are thrown at her.

But in the face of it all Joy stands up for herself, putting her foot down against those trying to boss her around and control, and when it’s all said and done she aims to create an empire for herself.

Never speak on my behalf, about my business, again.

When it all failed, due to a bad salesman, Joy stands up and markets herself, her true self and not the one being forced on her by the likes of Joan Rivers (played be Melissa), and sells a brand new mop, made by a working mother, for working mothers.

This movie is enjoyable, and has been nominated for multiple Golden Globes.

Overall it is a 7 out of 10.

Top Songs of 2015 – #SOTD

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December 28, 2015

Here is my list of Top Songs of 2015.
Thanks to all those that played our guessing game, with the winners both correctly identifying all 10 songs!! I can safely say that most people had a lot of fun with it (and one person totally over-stressed on it).
The list is simple enough…the only restriction is that it needed to be released in 2015 and I generally won’t repeat an artist twice in the Top 10.

10. Here by Alessia Cara

I would rather be at home all by myself not in this room
With people who don’t even care about my well-being

9. Smoke Break by Carrie Underwood

He said, “I don’t drink”
“But sometimes I wanna pop that top”
“Take a swig and make the world stop”
“And watch it fade away”

8. Fight Song by Rachel Platten

This is my fight song
Take back my life song
Prove I’m alright song

7. New Americana by Halsey

Survival of the richest, the city’s ours until the fall.
They’re Monaco and Hamptons bound but we don’t feel like outsiders at all.

6. Hello by Adele

At least I can say that I’ve tried
To tell you I’m sorry for breaking your heart
But it don’t matter it clearly doesn’t tear you apart anymore

5. On My Mind by Ellie Goulding

You didn’t love me, no, not really
Wait, I could have really liked you
I’ll bet, I’ll bet that’s why I keep thinking about you
It’s a shame, you said I was good

4. Cool For The Summer by Demi Lovato

Take me down into your paradise
Don’t be scared ’cause I’m your body type
Just something that we wanna try
‘Cause you and I
We’re cool for the summer

3. Hold My Hand by Jess Glynne

Darling, hold my hand
Oh, won’t you hold my hand?
‘Cause I don’t wanna walk on my own anymore
Won’t you understand? ‘Cause I don’t wanna walk alone

2. Love Myself by Hailee Steinfeld

I’ll take it nice and slow
Feeling good on my own without you, yeah
Got me speaking in tongues
The beautiful, it comes without you, yeah

1. Lean On by Major Lazer & DJ Snake

Blow a kiss, fire a gun
All we need is somebody to lean on

End of a Toys R Us Era – Times Square

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December 24, 2015

Only a few weeks remain before the Times Square Toys R Us store shuts down for good.

This store is their flagship location, and features a giant indoor Ferris Wheel, loaded with cars and other popular kids toys (like the Mystery Machine Van and fire trucks).

Previous years the store was open 24-hours a day in the lead up to Christmas, but with less snowstorms across the country this year (leading to less impact on their sales) and with the rise of internet shopping, they skipped that tradition this year.

Earlier this year Toys R Us shut down the famous FAO Schwartz store on 5th Avenue (as made famous in BIG) after buying them out six years ago. FAO Schwartz products are still carried in Toys R Us stores.

Both closing are being attributed to rising prices of real estate in NYC.

Movies In 2016

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December 23, 2015

Here are some movies that I am looking forward to in 2016 (likely in order of excitement):

X-Men: Apocalypse – May 27
The X-Men come back to wrap up another awesome trilogy…and of course we shall see some more of Jennifer Lawrence.

Suicide Squad – August 5
I love most of these superhero movies (although don’t care about Batman v. Superman) and this one has potential with a huge cast.
Will Smith. Jared Leto. Margot Robbie. Cara Delevingne.
Deadshot. Joker. Harley Quinn. Echantress.
Among many others. Awesome.

Captain America: Civil War – May 6
The last Avengers movie was incredible, and the trailers for this one are insane. Captain America vs. Ironman with everyone taking sides…Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson!!), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen!!), Agent 13 (Emily VanCamp!!) and possibly even a Marisa Tomei appearance!!! Can you tell I’m excited?

The Jungle Book – April 15
One of my favorite movies as a kid is being redone, with Bill F. Murray as Baloo!!! Add in Scarlett Johansson and Christopher Walken, and we are all gonna sing The Bare Necessities.

Finding Dory – June 17
Just keep swimming, over and over on repeat, would be reason enough to watch this film.

Deadpool – Feb 12
What’s that? Another Superhero movie, this time staring Ryan Reynolds? Okay, I can go for that.

The BFG – July 1
Another great book (Roald Dahl) that I read growing up (and promptly forgot about until this moment), I’m excited that Spielberg is turning it into a real life movie! Starring Bill Hader, Rebecca Hall and Mark Rylance.

TMNT: Out of the Shadows – June 3
I did not grow up watching the episodes, but I loved the first movie in this series, and the second one should be just as fun!

Assassin’s Creed – Dec 21
One of the great video game franchises these days gets turned into a movie…how bad can it be? 🙂

Independence Day: Resurgence – June 24
We’ll all watch it to see if it’s any good, especially after the first in the series…but no Will Smith is likely to equal No Good.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny – Feb 26
Theaters & Netflix Simultaneously
This is one of the movies that Netflix has being released on their system at the same time as theaters, as we try to fully evolve into the digital age. I’ll watch it…probably.

The Intern – Review

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December 22, 2015

If you are looking for a refreshing movie to watch, check out The Intern.

Starring two award winners, Robert De Niro (Ben) and Anne Hathaway (Jules), the story focuses on a company created by Jules that looks to hire Senior Interns, and has Ben finding that role while looking for ways to pass time in his retirement.

From sweet “father-daughter” moments, to ones of a company just trying to get through typical issues (shipping mess-ups, cluttered desks, etc.), this story has it all, including a few laughs (thanks in part to Adam Devine and Zack Pearlman).

The Intern comes out on DVD next Tuesday (Dec. 29) and is available now via Digital Download.

This movie is an 8 out of 10.

The Case For Pete Rose In The Hall of Fame

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December 21, 2015

Pete Rose was denied reinstatement by Major League Baseball last week…and they are 100% correct.

Pete Rose erred back in the 1980s and a lot of times since, lied about it, finally came clean, yet still does the actions (which are not illegal) and hasn’t fully atoned for his sins.

Because of all that Pete Rose should NOT be allowed back into baseball. He shouldn’t be allowed as a manager. He shouldn’t be allowed to partake in MLB ceremonies and the likes.

However, he does deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, and the reasoning is simple.

The Hall of Fame is a place for people to go to learn about the history of the sport, and see the greatest players that have played the game. And while Pete Rose may have wronged some people with his actions, he is still part of the history of the game.

None of his actions affected his 4,256 hits, 3,562 games played or 3,215 singles…all of which are Major League records to this day (among other records he holds for At-Bats and Outs).

Three World Series, batting titles, and an MVP and Rookie of the Year Award are all despite his betting on the sport.

Bet all you want, but only talent will make you a 17-time All Star.

Pete Rose – AP via NYTime.com

Book Series’ For Kids

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December 17, 2015

As a kid I read a lot…like a lol…used to win the monthly reading contests back in 2nd grade (I even remember it came down to me and one other kid, and we were racing to the finish…literally hundreds of books a month). But then adulthood came around and free time came to a close, and my attention to books waned as I tend to drift to TV shows.

But there were a few series that I enjoyed as a kid that I kind’ve want to read again…although they are likely well under my reading level…

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley – This 20-book series came out in the mid-1900s and focused on a young boy (Alec Ramsey) and a wild untamed horse, and the bond they formed.
The series went on to focus on the great horses offspring and their racing careers as well.

Oz by L. Frank Baum – Everyone knows the first book in the series The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, but did you know that Baum wrote a 14 book series about Oz and the stories of the land?
This series also had many spin-off books by other authors, that are still being written today, 100+ years after the original.

Encyclopedia Brown by Donald Sobol – These books featured nine-ten mysteries per book, that were up to you the reader to solve. Sobol would lay out the clues and walk Encyclopedia through it all, and after all of it you’d be left with a question on what you thought, with the answers listed in the back of the book.
Sobol also had other series’ focused on short mysteries, such as Two Minute Mysteries.

Amazon Gift Card(s) Giveaway!!! #SOTD #AvisTravels

@iAmAviG

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December 11, 2015

As the year is coming to an end I have already been hard at work on my annual Top Songs Of The Year list.

This year I am running a promo and the winner gets a $10 gift card, with potential for up to $50 winners as well!

All you have to do is simple:

Complete the form below and submit a list of my Top 10 songs of the year. The person who guesses the most correct wins $10.

If someone guesses all 10 songs correctly (in any order) they will win $25!

And if you guess all 10 in the proper order, you can win $50!

UPDATE: If we get 10+ entrants (or 25+ entries) the Top 2 entries win!!

Here is a hint: Think how I think. Consider what music I like and used last year as a hint for what the results could look like this year.
Also remember that to make the list, the song had to come out in 2015.

Disclosures: Multiple entries are allowed (up to 10, any remaining ones will be disqualified) and in the event of a tie, monies will be split amongst the winners. Contest ends when Top Songs of 2015 post goes live!

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