Greatest Movies About Racism

The best movies that explore the themes of racial/ethnic equality and inequality. I'm sure there are plenty great ones that I haven't seen, but these are the ones I have, indicating the races/ethnic groups being featured.

1. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) - White vs. Black
2. Schindler's List (1993) - Aryan vs. Jewish
3. The Searchers (1956) - White vs. Pawnee
4. Do the Right Thing (1989) - White vs. Black vs. Asian
5. Gran Torino (2008) - White vs. Hmong
6. Dances with Wolves (1990) - White vs. Lakota (Sioux) vs. Pawnee 
7. Glory (1989) - White vs. Black
8. Apocalypse Now (1979)  - White vs. Vietnamese/Cambodian
9. Matewan (1987) - White vs. Black
10. The Great Dictator (1940) - Aryan vs. Jewish
11. Hotel Rwanda (2004) - Hutu vs. Tutsi
12. American History X (1998) - Aryan vs. Black
13. Malcolm X (1992) - White vs. Black/Muslim
14. West Side Story (1961) - White vs. Puero Rican
15. Lincoln (2012)  - White vs. Black
16. Gangs of New York (2002)  - White Americans vs. Immigrants
17. The Pianist (2002)  - Aryan vs. Jewish
18. Crash (2005) - Everyone vs. Everyone Else
19. Life Is Beautiful (1997) - Aryan vs. Jewish
20. A Bronx Tale (1993) - White vs. Black
21. The Mission (1986) - White vs. South American
22. Ip Man (2008) - Chinese vs. Japanese
23. The Jackie Robinson Story (1950) - White vs. Black
24. Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Aryan vs. Jewish/Black
25. Django Unchained (2012) - White vs. Black
26. Borat (2006) - Everyone vs. Everyone Else
27. La Bamba (1987) - White vs. Chicano
28. The Boys from Brazil (1978) - Aryan vs. Jewish
29. Pocahontas (1995) - White vs. Native American
30. Ulysses (1967) - White vs. Jewish

Greatest Movies About High School

I've been out of high school now for a few years, but there's still something so appealing about a good high school movie. And that's not just my opinion, because a great many of these films have transcended generations.

1. The Breakfast Club (1986)
2. Back to the Future (1985)
3. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
4. Pretty in Pink (1986)
5. Hoosiers (1986)
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
7. Superbad (2007)
8. Sixteen Candles (1984)
9. American Beauty (1999)
10. American History X (1998)

MLB Power Rankings

Power Rankings through 4/24/2013

1. Atlanta Braves (15-6)
2. Colorado Rockies (14-7)
3. Boston Red Sox (14-7)
4. Texas Rangers (13-7)
5. Oakland Athletics (13-9)
6. San Francisco Giants (13-9)
7. St. Louis Cardinals (13-8)
8. Arizona Diamondbacks (12-9)
9. Milwaukee Brewers (11-9)
10. Cincinnati Reds (13-9)
11. Baltimore Orioles (12-9)
12. Pittsburgh Pirates (12-9)
13. New York Yankees (11-9)
14. New York Mets (10-9)
15. Kansas City Royals (10-8)
16. Detroit Tigers (10-9)
17. Washington Nationals (10-11)
18. Tampa Bay Rays (10-11)
19. Minnesota Twins (9-8)
20. Los Angeles Dodgers (9-11)
21. Los Angeles Angels (8-11)
22. Cleveland Indians (8-11)
23. Toronto Blue Jays (9-13)
24. Chicago White Sox (8-12) 
25. Philadelphia Phillies (9-13)
26. Seattle Mariners (8-15)
27. Houston Astros (7-14) 
28. Chicago Cubs (6-14)
29. San Diego Padres (6-15)
30. Miami Marlins (5-16)

A review of TV's Twin Peaks

            As a mystery, it’s flawed, possibly horrible. As a strange exercise in surrealism, it may be unmatched.

            Twin Peaks is a series that aired for only two seasons, from 1990 to 1991. It was created by Mark Frost and David Lynch. The latter is the respected filmmaker of such avant-garde masterpieces as Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet.

            To describe the series while doing it justice is a very difficult task. The most popular teenage girl in a small town in Washington is murdered and an FBI agent is brought in once another high schooler shows up after being kidnapped, raped, and tortured, and falls into a coma. However, the series isn’t truly about the mystery so much as it is about the people of this town: Twin Peaks, population 51,201 (though this is supposedly a typo on the sign which should read 5,121).

            The series is clearly well-made, with Hollywood-level production values and some outstanding acting and directing, but I still am not sure what to think about it. At times, it’s fairly dull, slow-moving, and plays out very much like a soap opera. At other times, it’s borderline supernatural horror. It plays for quirky comedy many times, and usually hits its mark; there is something about the way Kyle MacLachlan plays protagonist Special Agent Dale Cooper that  results in a great deal of laughter.

            The appeal to the show is that virtually every character leads a double life. The amount of secrets floating about Twin Peaks would put a Hitchcock film to shame. This show certainly succeeds in atmosphere, with its looming score and mysterious happenings. I especially like the retro feel of the show. Though it’s set in 1989, many of the actors and actresses perform like they’re in a noir film from the ‘40s or ‘50s.

            A lot of the characters are great. The aforementioned Agent Cooper is my favorite, but I also love the complexity shown by Audrey Horne, Donna Hayward, and Catherine Martell. Many of the smaller roles have their great moments, too, and I love anything that has Billy Zane in it, even if it’s for only a few episodes. I think my favorite performance of the entire series is Ray Wise as Leland Palmer, father of the murdered. This isn’t without its dull characters, however, as I find Leo Johnson and Andy Brennan mostly a waste of time. Also I really don’t get Nadine and wish they left out the whole thirty-five-year-old-woman-loses-her-memory-and-thinks-she’s-in-high-school-but-also-has-super-human-strength-so-she-wants-to-compete-in-wrestling-and-also-wears-an-eye-patch subplot.

The thing I like least about the film, of course, is the mystery plot. It’s set up to be quite a good one, but it ultimately disappoints as it breaks every rule imaginable. Of course, the mystery isn’t really the show’s purpose, but I can’t be the only one who doesn’t think there should be any kind of supernatural element in a murder mystery. I’m not 100% sure if I’d say the supernatural element ever pays off, either. In the series, Cooper relies on solving the murder by following strange intuitions and dreams rather than collecting all the clues that they actually find. As someone who loves a good mystery story or film, this does bother me, and I do believe that Lynch’s experimental methods occasionally hurt the series as much as they help it.

However, I truly think that Twin Peaks is something you’ll have to formulate your own opinions about. It’s only thirty episodes, so it’s considerably shorter than most series that are worth watching. You may find you love how dark and idiosyncratic it is, or you may find you hate it. The series starts out really strong, with the first three episodes probably being the best in my opinion, and it goes downhill after episode seventeen or so.

100 Greatest Beatles Songs

Only Beatles original songs are included, with the writer(s) credited in parentheses. 

1. Eleanor Rigby (Paul)
2. A Day in the Life (Paul/John)
3. Yesterday (Paul)
4. Ticket to Ride (John)
5. Help! (John)
6. Hey Jude (Paul)
7. Let It Be (Paul)
8. Strawberry Fields Forever (John)
9. With a Little Help from My Friends (Paul/John)
10. A Hard Day's Night (John)
11. Something (George)
12. Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown) (Paul/John)
13. Nowhere Man (John)
14. You've Got to Hide Your Love Away (John)
15. Can't Buy Me Love (Paul)
16. All My Loving (Paul)
17. While My Guitar Gently Weeps (George)
18. I Want to Hold Your Hand (Paul/John)
19. Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! (John)
20. Day Tripper (Paul/John)
21. Eight Days a Week (Paul/John)
22. She Loves You (Paul/John)
23. Long, Long, Long (George)
24. And Your Bird Can Sing (Paul/John)
25. I Saw Her Standing There (Paul/John)
26. You're Going to Lose That Girl (Paul/John)
27. I Should Have Known Better (John)
28. Revolution (John)
29. I've Just Seen a Face (Paul) 
30. Love You To (George)
31. Happiness is a Warm Gun (John)
32. All I've Got to Do (John)
33. If I Fell (John)
34. Please Please Me (John)
35. Taxman (George)
36. When I'm Sixty-Four (Paul)
37. Here Comes the Sun (George)
38. For No One (Paul)
39. I'll Follow the Sun (Paul)
40. I Am the Walrus (John)
41. Drive My Car (Paul/John)
42. She Said She Said (John)
43. Helter Skelter (Paul)
44. Come Together (John)
45. Tomorrow Never Knows (John)
46. Here, There and Everywhere (Paul)
47. Hello Goodbye (Paul)
48. No Reply (John)
49. Dig a Pony (John)
50. It Won't Be Long (Paul/John)
51. Any Time At All (Paul/John) 
52. Oh! Darling (Paul)
53. In My Life (John) 
54. Blackbird (Paul)
55. From Me to You (Paul/John) 
56. Octopus's Garden (Ringo)
57. Two of Us (Paul)
58. Lovely Rita (Paul)
59. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Paul)
60. Good Day Sunshine (Paul)
61. Every Little Thing (Paul)
62. If I Needed Someone (George)
63. We Can Work It Out (Paul/John)
64. I Me Mine (George)
65. Get Back (Paul)
66. Birthday (Paul/John)
67. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds (John)
68. I Wanna Be Your Man (Paul/John)
69. Do You Want to Know a Secret (John) 
70. I Want to Tell You (George)
71. I Feel Fine (John)
72. Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey (John)
73. Martha My Dear (Paul)
74. She's Leaving Home (Paul/John)
75. She's a Woman (Paul)
76. Golden Slumbers (Paul)
77. Don't Pass Me By (Ringo)
78. Back in the U.S.S.R. (Paul)
79. Penny Lane (Paul)
80. Love Me Do (Paul/John)
81. Tell Me Why (John) 
82. I'm Looking Through You (Paul) 
83. All You Need is Love (John)
84. Hey Bulldog (John)
85. The End (Paul)
86. Magical Mystery Tour (Paul)
87. Ob-La-Di Ob-La-Da (Paul)
88. Wait (Paul/John)
89. Yer Blues (John)
90. Fixing a Hole (Paul)
91. Got to Get You Into My Life (Paul)
92. Think for Yourself (George) 
93. The Fool on the Hill (Paul)
94. Mean Mr. Mustard (John)
95. Tell Me What You See (Paul/John)
96. What You're Doing (Paul)
97. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise) (Paul)
98. I Call Your Name (John)
99. The Long and Winding Road (Paul)
100. Doctor Robert (Paul/John)

Ranking the 30 MLB Teams and Their Key Players

Expect a lot to be wrong in the future, but this is what I expect out of baseball this season. In parentheses, I have listed the player who I expect might be the key to the team (not necessarily the best player but someone who will probably need to be at the top of their game for the team to be successful):

1. Washington Nationals (Bryce Harper - the pitching staff is one of the best I've ever seen and Harper can help make the offense a formidable force)
2. San Francisco Giants (Buster Posey - will lead the great pitching staff and be the biggest offensive threat)
3. Cincinnati Reds (Joey Votto - waiting for better power numbers as opposed to the past two years)
4. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Mike Trout - even if he has a sophomore slump, this is the best lineup in baseball)
5. Detroit Tigers (Prince Fielder - the key to it all; if he puts up Milwaukee numbers, Detroit might be unbeatable)
6. Tampa Bay Rays (David Price - one of the best pitchers in baseball)
7. Texas Rangers (Yu Darvish - young and remarkably talented)
8. Atlanta Braves (Jason Heyward - needs to overcome the .280/25 HRs numbers that could define him)
9. Oakland Athletics (Yoenis Cespedes - the most formidable offensive player on an outstanding defensive team)
10. Saint Louis Cardinals (Yadier Molina - as a catcher, he's unequaled, and his offensive numbers have been good lately)
11. Toronto Blue Jays (R.A. Dickey - could be the ace Toronto hasn't had since Halladay left)
12. Los Angeles Dodgers (Matt Kemp - I don't really care, I think the Dodgers are really overrated)
13. Pittsburgh Pirates (Pedro Alvarez or anyone who can step up offensively besides McCutchen)
14. Philadelphia Phillies (Ryan Howard - I'm starting to forget about what a great hitter he used to be)
15. Baltimore Orioles (Adam Jones - I expect him to continue to emerge as one of baseball's best talents)
16. Kansas City Royals (James Shields - the new Greinke?)
17. New York Yankees (Brett Gardner - seriously, if he hits in the .290 range, he'll be one of the best lead-off hitters in baseball and take the pressure off a severely ailed team)
18. Cleveland Indians (Michael Bourn - a great leadoff hitter whose presence could help Cleveland)
19. New York Mets (Ike Davis - power could still be developing)
20. Chicago White Sox (Chris Sale - a solid pitcher)
21. Boston Red Sox (Jacoby Ellsbury - if he's healthy, he'll put up monster numbers)
22. Arizona Diamondbacks (Ian Kennedy - a very good pitcher)
23. Milwaukee Brewers (Rickie Weeks - however he goes, the team always goes)
24. Colorado Rockies (Troy Tulowitzki - not an established cleanup hitter yet)
25. Seattle Mariners (Felix Hernandez - maybe the most reliable pitcher not named Verlander)
26. Chicago Cubs (Anthony Rizzo - had decent numbers in a short season last year, could be more in his first full year)
27. Minnesota Twins (Joe Mauer - I'd love to see him back in the .370 range but I don't think that's happening)
28. San Diego Padres (Carlos Quentin - if he's pre-injury form, he'll be very good. He won't be)
29. Miami Marlins (Giancarlo Stanton - really the only player worth mentioning)
30. Houston Astros (Who cares)

If this were the case, the playoff standings:
American League:

1. Los Angeles Angels (West)
2. Detroit Tigers (Central)
3. Tampa Bay Rays (East)
4. Texas Rangers (Wild Card)
5. Oakland Athletics (Wild Card)

National League:

1. Washington Nationals (East)
2. San Francisco Giants (West)
3. Cincinnati Reds (Central)
4. Atlanta Braves (Wild Card)
5. Saint Louis Cardinals (Wild Card)