​I’ve always had a strange relationship with music. I’ve never really been the kind of person to listen to a lot of the popular music most people would recognize. I find certain bands or artists that I like and end up just sticking with their body of work, without going out of my way to listen to a lot of new bands or songs. I rarely, if ever, liked the popular music of any era growing up. I hardly ever listened to the radio and bought even fewer CDs, and still tend to just stick to things that I know and enjoy. In fact, I’ve been to one concert my entire life. Music is a big part of my ability to focus as a writer, but even that is very specific in terms of what works and what doesn’t when trying to capitalize on the emotion. I’m sure it’s a lot easier for most people to come up with their 10 favorite bands, but I actually struggled a bit. Not because I have so many I like, but rather because I listen to so few on a regular basis.
 
I’ve never been one of those people who say “Music is my life.” and I’ve been okay with that. Though as an adult, and wanting to try and unlock a deeper sense of self and creativity, I’ve been learning how to create music of my own.
 
For this list, I decided just to stick to bands and not include people like Ennio Morricone or Clint Mansell, who are most well-known for movie scores. I also left off genres of music that I enjoy but that I couldn’t specifically pinpoint artists. I’m referring to things like “Retro Wave” or “Ambient Space Music”. This is usually the kind of stuff I listen to while writing, depending on the mood of the story.
 
Each entry on the list will include a song that I find to be their respective best or personal favorite. For some of them, it changes day to day, but it’s what I would consider “my favorite” at the moment of writing this.

10. Lacuna Coil: Starting off, I decided to go with a band that not a lot of people have probably heard of. They’re an Italian Goth Rock band that has never really had a major hit in the US. I discovered them thanks to the game Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines, which I talked about on my favorite games list. The soundtrack for that game was great and Lacuna Coil had one of the more memorable songs on it. They probably have the lowest playtime for me in terms of bands on this list, but I still enjoy it when I do listen. It’s not something that has aged incredibly well, but it’s very heavy and dark sounding while not bordering too far into the metal genre, which I'm not a fan of.

09. Yngwie Malmsteen: : Another one that not many people might have heard of and I might be cheating a bit here because I’m including him as a “solo act” and not any of the bands he’s been associated with. But for those who may have not heard of him, he’s who I believe to be the greatest electric guitar player of all time. The things the guy does with a guitar are insane and that’s why he’s on my list, even though I’m not huge on “Glam metal” genre that most of his stuff would fit in. What I enjoy most is when he’s done Neoclassical metal, which is heavily influenced by classical music. ​

08. Die Antwoord: By far the most unusual choice on my list, the South African hip-hop duo is unlike anything else that I listen to or enjoy. But I think the reason that I do enjoy their music, even though it’s incredibly ridiculous, is that they’ve built this image of foolishness around themselves that you can tell borders on parody. They’ve also mastered a very unsettling, unique imagery that I think speaks volumes to their creative talents, even while raping about off-the-wall topics. They’ve got a huge following around the world, but haven’t exactly hit it big in the US, so I’m not sure everyone here even really knows what they are all about. Though you might have seen the movie they made called Chappie. ​

07. Deadsy: Another lesser known band from the early 2000's who have only recently gotten back together, they’re fronted by the son of Cher and an Allman Brother. They had a very unusual theme visually and their music would fall somewhere between Industrial Metal and Synthwave. I don’t remember where I first heard them, but I have been listening to them for a long time and owned a few of their CDs back when they were still a group. I dig how they mix the metal with the sci-fi sounding synths and the vocals are surprisingly deep in a lot of their tracks. I hope that whenever their new music drops, it follows the same kind of theme.​

06. A Perfect Circle: While the majority of fans of Maynard James Keenan would say that Tool is their favorite band led by the front man, Tool fails to even make my list. To be fair, APC has had a decent number of hits and a lot of people would recognize their music thanks to being featured in movies and getting good playtime on the radio. Maynard is one of the most talented musicians of all time and a genius when it comes to songwriting. However, I’ve always felt like Tool was a bit too “droning” even though it’s very well done. A Perfect Circle had the quality without the “slow” factor that put me off of Tool. The songs have depth, the lyrics are powerful, and they’ve managed to update their sound with every album. APC (and most of Maynard’s music) has always had a lot of religious allegory and symbolism, with their new album set to come out later this year seemingly even more focused on that theme.​

05. V.A.S.T: Yet another band that might not be very well known, but one that is fronted by a great musician. Visual Audio Sensory Theater is the personal project of Jon Crosby, who plays multiple instruments, does the vocal work, and writes the songs. The music would fall somewhere along the lines of alternative to ambient rock, and has very deep lyrics often focusing on love or lost love. A lot of people might recognize their biggest hit (Touched) which seemed to be included in every single early 2000's drama.​

04. Eric Burdon and The Animals/War: I’m going to state an opinion now that I think might upset a lot of people. Eric Burdon was the greatest talent to come to the States during the British Invasion of rock during the 60's. Yes, even better than The Beatles. His voice has more soul in it than any other singer in the history of music. This might be another cheating entry, since it's actually two different bands, but it fits. The Animals were way ahead of their time when it came to the powerful messages most of their songs had. Many of their songs became ballads for the men fighting in Vietnam. Burdon would go on to create the funk rock band War, which broke both racial and cultural boundaries at a time in which things like that weren’t common. War is a much different sound, but Burdon’s powerful voice and soul comes across and mixes well with the other members of the band.

03. Puscifer: Maynard James Keenan’s third, and probably least well received by fans, band started off as a personal project that was meant to be much different from what it ended up as. Maynard had planned on a creating a kind of “super group” with Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails that would allow them to bring in other musicians and do things that neither NIN nor Tool/APC were doing. Things didn’t work out scheduling and creatively with them, but Maynard didn’t want to just shelve the idea and moved forward with different members. It would almost become his own "solo" project that involved new members every time. Early Puscifer albums were very…strange. They mixed a lot of different ideas and sounds, including heavily themed country and religious songs. None of it made any kind of sense, but was so well made that it’s still good to listen to. Even when trying to be chaotic with his sound and themes, Maynard managed to create something that was better than what most could do. As Puscifer grew, new members came and went. The current version (which has Corina Round, Mahsa Zargaran, Mat Mitchell, and a few others) is by far my favorite era. The Money Shot album has become one of my favorites of all time. While the lyrics are still a bit disjointed and chaotic, the music and the way those lyrics are implemented created something that I find to be artistically beautiful. Puscifer also tends to piss off and annoy die-hard Tool fans who feel like it takes away Maynard’s time from working on Tool, but that just makes me appreciate it even more.​

02. Karnivool: ​An Australian group that is sadly not very well known in the States, they started as a nu-metal band that very clearly could be more, and grew into a progressive rock band with some of the most meaningful and powerful songs I’ve ever heard. Their more modern music is so incredibly good that it’s shocking to me that more people haven’t heard of them. They are one of the few bands who I feel have created “perfect records” that don’t have a single weak song on them. The lead singer has a strong voice (Ian Kenny) and Drew Goddard writes compelling and dynamic lyrics.

01. Nine Inch Nails: Trent Reznor is one of the greatest musical talents of all time, and he has become that by constantly evolving his music to create new eras of the band that stay modern. NIN might be best remembered for the very industrial heavy metal music and disturbing imagery that made them popular in the 90's, but with every album since then, the band has become something different for the better. He’s a masterful lyrical writer and builds music that is so technically strong that it puts others to shame. Reznor has beaten addiction, kept the band relevant for decades, and has even won an Oscar for his musical talents. NIN was the first band that I really became what I would consider a fan of, and one of the few that I made an effort to buy albums of. They are also the only band I’ve ever gone and seen in person, which was during a rough time in my life and very much needed. It would not be hard for me to sit down and name 100 Nine Inch Nails songs that I love to death, with the only hard part keeping it at 100 and ordering them by favorites. Trent is in his 50's now, has children, is an award winning composer, and still finds to create modern day NIN music that kicks just as much ass as they did in the 90's.

Honorable Mentions: Sevendust, London Grammar, Darling Violetta, Pearl Jam. No dishonorable for this list, since it's really easy to just not listen to music you don't like.

I, like most Americans my age, grew up playing a lot of video games. My family had one of the original Nintendo systems from the 80s, and I played N64 all the time as a teenager. As an adult, I swayed towards PlayStation and then eventually the PC. I’ve wasted a lot of time playing video games, but at least I’ve had fun doing it. This list probably isn’t totally accurate, but it’s games that I am fond of and have spent the most time playing over the years.

10. Vampire - The Masquerade Bloodlines: Thanks to not having to pay taxes, pay for food, or have time to do anything, I managed to save up a decent amount of money after fighting in Iraq. One of the things that I bought after getting back was a gaming computer that cost me a couple grand (because 20 year olds make great decisions) and this was one of the first games that I got with it. I’ve never really been into the whole “vampire” thing, other than liking the Underworld movies (mostly because of Kate Beckinsale). But this game seemed interesting enough to give it a shot. Back then, it was a buggy, unfinished mess that just left me disappointed more than anything because I kept running into game breaking bugs. The soundtrack was great and the game had promise, though, and I decided to give it another shot after finding out that fans had released an unofficial patch that fixed a lot of the issues. It’s short, but has a lot of cool writing and a unique feel to it.

09. The Elder Scrolls – Oblivion: I’ve always been more of a “sci-fi guy” rather than “magic and blades” but it was hard not to get wrapped up into this game when it first came out. I had originally tried the Elder Scrolls Morrowind but found it to be too hard and confusing. Oblivion fixed a lot of the issues I had and ended up being a very memorable experience. I got emotionally attached to my created character and the world around me. I spent probably 100 hours on just one save and stayed up until 4 in the morning one night to finish the main quest. The girl I was dating at the time was staying over and “ruined it” a bit by waking up right as I was fighting the end boss to complain that I was still up. Most people would consider Skyrim to be a better game, but it never hooked me like Oblivion did.

08. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: As I mentioned in my last list, one of my favorite Star Wars characters is the “star” of this game and who you control. This (and its sequel) was one of the few games on the original Xbox that I actually enjoyed a lot. I was a Star Wars fan and getting the chance to create a character and become a Jedi exploring new planets was a blast. The combat is kind of odd (you click buttons and watch the game actually do the action) but you eventually get used to it. The storyline is great and the freedom you get to make choices that affect the story meant that you could play it multiple times and have it all feel new again. Easily the best Star Wars game out there, even if it doesn’t have any of the movie characters in it.

07. Battlefield 1942: I once spent an entire summer vacation doing very little other than play this game until all hours of the night (and also Team Fortress Classic, another game). You could set up all kinds of intense historical battles from all fronts of the war and the amount of carnage was insane for the time it came out. There was ground combat, ground vehicles, and planes. It was everything a fan of military history and games could have asked for. If you take all the other games in the series into consideration, I’ve spent in insane amount of hours playing Battlefield games. I sometimes even boot up 1942 and still play against computer players. While the A.I. hasn’t held up all that much, it’s still a good time.

06. Dragon Age Origins: Another fantasy game that I initially wouldn’t have given the time of day, but happened to buy it after it had been out for a while and discovered that it was a great game. The voice acting and story was top notch and it made you really want to drudge on and finish it. And the version of the game that I got included all the great DLC that they released with it, so I spent hundreds of hours on this game. It is a shame that every single Dragon Age to come out since has been underwhelming, because I’ve been wanting the same kind of experience in this world as I did with the original game.

05. Perfect Dark: I’m far from a Nintendo fanboy, but I always felt that the N64 was a lot better than the original PlayStation. It didn’t have long loading times and those cartridges were far more durable than CDs. A lot of people would say that Goldeneye was the best shooter game on 64 (and I do have fond memories of playing that at sleepovers with my high school buddies) but Perfect Dark was just a bit better. The single-player story was groundbreaking for its day, the music was really good, and the graphics were really pushing the limits of that system. I also spent a lot of time just playing the multiplayer against the different kinds of bots. The controls are kind of clunky when you go back to play it now, but it’s still enjoyable enough to make it worth it.

04. Fallout 3: I went into this game really knowing nothing about the series at all. I had never played the originals on PC and had no clue that this one was so different from those (a top-down RPG vs. 1st/3rd person RPG) and I think that is why I probably liked it as much as I did. It was a whole new experience in this interesting world that I got hooked on. The music was great, the gameplay was challenging but fun, the exploration was intriguing, and the amount of content was mind-blowing. The only downside was that the main story was a bit short and uninteresting, but all the DLC and side-quests made up for it.

03. MLB - The Show: This is a series, not a single game, but I figured that they are all basically the same so I’d just include it as one. Of all the games I’ve played, combined, these ones would probably be the “most time played” of them all. I buy the new game every year and play it off and on for the entire year until the next one comes out. It’s a relaxing thing for me, as I often only play it late at night. The roster management keeps me entertained when it would probably bore most people. I play the Franchise mode and control all 30 teams, and play games for every team. I have a process and it would take a long time to explain every little thing about it. But basically, I like baseball and this is the only baseball game around worth playing.

02. Mass Effect 2: No other game has ever made me care more for its characters than the Mass Effect series. The writing and voice acting is top-tier and the crew that you assemble is the best in video game history. The backstory and quests keep you interested and the action is fun without being repetitive at all. The music is my favorite, as well, and worth listening to even on its own. I like science fiction, and these games created a great new universe to have adventures in. The first game is really good, but the gameplay is a bit hard to get back into. The third game is really good, but the second beats it out for me by just a fraction. Actually, let’s just count the entire series as number two.

01. Fallout New Vegas: Now, though I lumped in all the games from certain series as one entry on the list, I’m going to go ahead and separate this one from Fallout 3. Different people made the games and the quality is noticeably different. Fallout 3 is a great game, but New Vegas is just more enjoyable for me. The environment, the freedom of your choices, and the quests are by far my favorites in video game history. I’ve spent hundreds of hours on multiple characters from both PS3 to PC and still am able to find things that I haven’t seen before when I boot it back up. Last year was the first time that I was able to play it with all the incredible mods on PC and it made me fall in love with it all over again. Writing this makes me want to play it again…

Honorable Mentions: The Witcher 3, Rainbow Six Vegas, Resident Evil 2, and countless others. No Dishonorable this time, because that'd be a crazy long list. Maybe I'll do a "most overrated games" list sometime.

I grew up in a pretty small town in Indiana. There wasn’t much to do other than play baseball and go to the library, which meant that for half the year you could only do one of those two things. The library had a “reading contest” that you could take part in one summer that involved reading a list of books, which would result in a prize of a free book of your own. The first prize book that I chose after finishing my list was a Star Wars book. I hadn’t ever read any of the books, and though I had seen the movies, I wasn’t a huge fan or anything. But out of all the choices, that book seemed like the most interesting. It was the fourth book of a Young Adult series, and hooked me into reading Star Wars books ever since.

The characters that became part of what was known as the “Extended Universe” ended up being more interesting to me than those from the movies. I “grew up” with them as they progressed through the stories and series. I took my time reading them, as I didn’t want to rush through them all, and still haven’t completely caught up. But that is because when Disney bought the rights to the franchise, they declared that the Extended Universe was no longer considered “canon” was now known as Legends. It meant that those characters would “cease to exist” and wouldn’t have any more books written starring them. That means that I’m eventually going to get to the end of their stories, and I’m not sure I’m okay with that after so long. So I’m somewhere in the middle of Legacy of the Force series, with just a couple more to go after.

I’m sure that at some point I’ll finish the rest of the books, but in the meantime, here is a list of favorites from the old Extended Universe/Legends. I am especially fond of the Young Jedi Knights and New Jedi Order series. For the sake of the list, I’ll leave out characters from the movies.
 
10. Kyp Durron: It’s been a long time since I first read the Jedi Academy trilogy that introduced Kyp to the universe, but it’s still one of the best series in the EU. Kyp’s struggle with the dark side and the reclamation of the character at the end is great stuff. His role as a “not like the others” leader in the New Jedi Order series is interesting, as is the brief flirtatious moments with Jaina Solo. His carefree attitude and ability to question the other Masters is rare and a welcome inclusion.

09. Corran Horn: Overall, I find his character to be rather boring, but he makes the list simply for one reason: his showdown duel with a Vong commander on Ithor. It’s an incredibly written battle and one of the best parts of that entire series. It’s just a shame that he could never live up to it otherwise.

08. Alema Rar: Though she was never the focal point of any story, she was always interesting. She had a rather sad character arc all throughout, beginning with the loss of her twin sister during the early part of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. She was part of the Mrykr Strike Team, which resulted in the loss of a number of friends and her love interest. And though she was a great pilot that took part in many of the battles during that war, she would eventually fall to the dark side. I always felt bad for her as a character, and the struggles that she endured. Even when she was completely evil, there was still a part of me that was rooting for her.

07. Tenel Ka: She was always a strong, determined presence that fit in well with the rest of the Young Jedi Knight crew: the story in which she believes that her physical ability is more important than her Jedi training and construction of her lightsaber is perhaps the best in the first YJK series. It results in her first lightsaber malfunctioning and the loss of her arm, but instead of having it replaced with a cybernetic one, she decides to go without as a reminder of her carelessness. Her relationship with Jacen Solo is endearing and one of the more realistic in the EU, though it was never a continuous thing. She would end up Queen of an entire cluster and mother to a child with Jacen before his turn to the dark side.

06. Darth Revan: The only non-book character on the list, Revan is who you play as in the Knights of the Old Republic video game. There is a canon version of the character, which could obviously differ from how you decide to play the game, but the first time I ever played the game I actually went along with much of the canon version choices. Revan was a Sith Lord, one of the worst in history in fact, who was betrayed by his Apprentice and eventually saved from the dark side by the Jedi. It’s a great game no matter what choices you make, but the “good guy” version that is canon is a great story and character.

05. Anakin Solo: I never read the Junior Jedi Knights series that starred Anakin Solo, Jacen and Jaina’s younger brother, but he made a big impact in the early parts of the New Jedi Order. Chewbacca sacrificed himself to save Anakin, and Anakin would eventually sacrifice himself to save the Mrykr Strike Team and finish the mission. He was being groomed as the next great hero of the universe, much like his grandfather Anakin Skywalker, before he met his end. He risked his life to save his childhood friend and love interest Tahiri, and his death was a pivotal moment in the series. He was coming into his own and his loss hit me hard as a fan, but it was done in such a great way that it was worth it. And it added depth to Tahiri’s character.

04. Tahiri Veila: As mentioned, she was Anakin’s childhood best friend and would eventually have deeper feelings for him as the two of them aged. He rescued her from being brainwashed completely by the Vong, which only made the two of them closer. He was the only person in her life that she considered family, and never truly felt complete after his death. She also had to handle a deeper part of herself as the brainwashing would sometimes come to the surface and influence her in a way that was totally out of character for her. She didn’t do much in the Dark Nest Crisis series, but would eventually turn to the dark side and join up with Darth Caedus, before being saved by Ben Skywalker.

03. Nom Anor: The only Yuuzhan Vong character that survived the entire series (until the final book, anyway) and also the only one with any real depth. He didn’t act, think, or speak like the rest of his species and his scheming ways were always interesting. By the end of the series, he went from one of the main protagonists to a bit of an anti-hero. He broke the mold of “bad guys” in the Star Wars universe fitting a very small set of common standards, which was a good thing.

02. Jacen Solo/Darth Caedus: Jacen was such a happy-go-lucky character when he was younger, cracking jokes and collecting animals. He loved his family and doing the right thing. This would eventually lead to him questioning the Jedi’s role during the New Jedi Order series and him meeting up with a character that would eventually put him through a trial of sorts. His maturing and eventual fall into darkness is one of the best continuing story-lines throughout the entire EU. I haven’t yet reached the finale of his time, but I do know how it ends, and I feel as though it couldn’t have gone any other way.

01. Jaina Solo: Growing up, I always connected with Jaina’s character personality wise. She was independent, headstrong, and knew that doing the right thing was important. She was strong, determined, and often found herself in tough situations that tested her. Her roles as a Jedi and as a pilot were more important to her than anything, but still found herself the object of affection from many different characters. Very rarely would she ever have moments of weakness, but when she did, she would find ways to overcome and “save the day” when others couldn’t. The brief moments of grief and tease of falling to the dark side after Anakin’s death were important to her evolving as a character, and I was glad that she was able to stay on the right path as "Sword of the Jedi". It made the most sense that she would be the one that finally put an end to Darth Caedus, though I am sure it’s a sad moment for those of us who had known the two of them since they were kids. (Someday I’ll get to that, but I am in no rush.)

Honorable Mentions: Ganner Rhysode (None shall pass!), Raynar Thul, Shedao Shai, Vergere.

Dishonorable Mentions: Mission Vao, Cal Omas, Jagged Fel.

For those of you who have never actually attempted to sit down and make a list of things that you enjoy, I challenge you to try and make a top ten list of favorite television shows without splitting them up by genre. We've probably all grown up watching TV, and to try and condense decades worth of shows into such a small choice was a lot harder than I thought it would be. Easily my hardest list to this point, but still fun to put together. It's a pretty random list of shows, but they are ones that I continue to watch over and over again, no matter how many times I've seen them.

10. Fringe: The newest show on the list, and one that I hadn't really expected to be as good as is it when first watching it. I only decided to start watching because Eric The Actor (my personal favorite Howard Stern Wackpacker) makes an appearance in one episode. I'm usually apathetic towards J.J. Abrams work, but I surprisingly found this show to be really interesting. It stars an actress that I had never heard of, but who does a great job in her role throughout. It has one of my favorite actors from Oz (more on that show later) in the first few seasons, and an intriguing multi-season story-arc. There are even a few episodes that really hit the emotional levels that you don't often see on TV.

09. Saved by the Bell: I doubt this show would make many people's favorite lists, and I'll admit that it's actually pretty bad. It has no continuity, and the humor was usually cringe worthy, but its a nostalgic pick for me more than any other on the list. I still watch it, non-ironically, to this day. Probably the only guilty pleasure on the list, but I'm also one of the few people who liked “The College Years” and that awful movie they made. I never watched “The New Class”, though. Mr. Belding wasn't worth another decade worth of Screech.

08. Star Trek: This would be number one on my Dad's list, but falls a bit short on mine. I'm talking about The Original Series, not any of the sequel shows. The characters are iconic, the ideas were groundbreaking for the time period they aired, and the look of the costumes and sets still work today. It looks “old” but still feels very futuristic. I've always been drawn to characters that share traits with Captain Kirk, and he was the original. I'm named after two characters from Star Trek (James T. Kirk and Christopher Pike) and still enjoy going back and watching personal favorite episodes like The Day of the Dove and The Galileo Seven.

07. Mr. Bean: I never like to be the type of person to say “I liked them before they were big” but I specifically remember staying up late on Saturday night's to watch Mr. Bean (and a few other British shows) on PBS in the early to mid-90's. Bean is a comedy genius in how simple, yet hilarious, his act was. Every episode seemed to be it's own self-contained “version” of Mr. Bean as he'd often have a different house, different tasks for the day, and even a girlfriend and friends who came and went. Every episode is split into two separate parts, and most of them hold up even now in terms of being funny. The movies weren't that good, but the show is a classic.

06. Penn & Teller's Bullshit!: Easily the most unusual choice on the list, yet one that I watch as often as any of them. For those that may not know, Bullshit! was a show hosted by magicians Penn Jillette and Teller in which they would debunk one controversial topic per episode (sometimes two) and would present varying viewpoints on those topics. I'd say that I agreed with them about 95% of the time, and the show was not only entertaining, but also educational. They began to run out of ideas towards the end of the show, but the first few seasons are terrific and P&T are two of my favorite people because of it.

05. Parks and Recreation: I didn't initially plan on giving this show a chance. I don't have “regular TV” so I never really watch shows when they first air. I had bought a season of The Office on DVD that contained a bonus episode of Parks and Rec, and decided one night to give it a shot. Looking back, it's not even one of the better episodes, but was funny enough for me to want to watch more. It quickly turned into of my all time favorite shows. All of the characters are endearing, and the goofiness never felt forced. I also grew up in Indiana, so I always got a laugh out of all the jokes aimed at Indiana's expense. It might just have the best overall comedy cast ever, since there are so many different characters that crack me up in their own ways. The first season was slow, and the last one was just weird, but the rest of the show is wonderful.

04. Angel: The “older, more mature brother” show to Buffy The Vampire Slayer might not beat out the former on many people's list, but I always preferred it. It felt more “real” even though it's just as crazy as Buffy was. Angel went places that Buffy wouldn't go in terms of emotions, and the cast of characters really make you care for them as they develop. The first two season are incredibly gritty (when compared to Buffy) and the interactions between Angel and Kate are really intense early on. My personal favorite character development would that of Wesley, who starts as a bumbling fool who only wants to help, to a torn-apart anti-hero, to eventually just a bad ass to the very end. I watched the entire series during the little time off I had in Iraq. Season 4 is awful, but it's easy enough to just skip right past it and not miss anything too important (other than the aforementioned stuff with Wesley). Season 5, in which Spike returns, is my personal favorite. He added a whole new dynamic, and really brought life back into the show. It's a shame that it ended so quick, however.

03. Oz: For those who have never seen the show: it's just as graphic as everyone says it is. But it goes beyond the shock value of violence, rape, sex, and drug use. It's a character study that has never been matched in television history, to date. There were so many moving parts, dynamic characters, and story lines throughout the entire run of the show. Nothing was sugar coated, either. Your favorite characters could, and would, die off at a moments notice. It was “The Walking Dead” and “Game of Thrones” before those shows were a thing in terms of the “No Character is safe”mantra. But beneath all the dark themes were people you learned to care about in spite of their flaws. There aren't many shows that have you rooting for killers and gang members, even so much as to tear up at certain scenes. Oz was ahead of it's time, but will always be one of my all time favorites. Even now, almost 20 years after it first aired, I still get a kick out of seeing actors from Oz appear on other shows. They've somehow hardly aged at all.

02. The Office: Another show that I originally would have never given a chance, I stumbled upon a rerun on TBS one day and got hooked. It's every bit as funny, quirky, and silly as people say it is. It's one of the very few shows that I can start watching, finish, and then start right back over. It's my “most quoted” show in life, and has so many great episodes. The cast of characters, the continuity, and the realism coated in a whimsical charm make it a classic. It hits a wall when Steve Carell left the show, but the final season improved a bit and I think it ended on a good note, if just a couple season too late.

01. Seinfeld: This one may not be a surprise, considering that it would likely be number one on a lot of people's list. I don't remember exactly when I started watching Seinfeld, but it's my all time most watched series. I would just put it on, and go about my day with it in the background. If I was feeling down, I could turn it on and smile. It's starting to feel “old” now, but will always be my favorite series. The style of writing just fits my personality, and the characters play off each other so well. The later seasons aren't as good, but still worth watching. George was always my favorite character, and Elaine was ahead of her time, even in the 90's. No other show has the same charm and appeal to me as Seinfeld, and I'm just waiting for the day that I can get it on Blu-Ray and replace my poor, worn out DVDs!

​-No Honorable/Dishonorable this time, since both lists would be far too long.

10. Jose Hernandez: He was an early to mid '90s Cub who used to play all over the infield, and who had a bit of power. He struck out a bunch, but made up for it will a decent amount of pop for a guy who bounced around the field. I always liked guys who were versatile like that, and Jose was one of the earlier ones that I remember. He spent 5 and a half years on the Cubs, and eventually had to be sat for the remainder of the season one year so that he didn't break the record for strikeouts in a single season.

09. Steve Trachsel: Next on the list is the first pitcher, who only ever had two good seasons for the Cubs. The rest of the time he was incredibly mediocre, but for some reason he was always one of my favorites as a young fan. He started his career in 1993 and spent 7 years with the Cubs before moving on. Then he somehow found his way back to Chicago on that really good 2007 team, only to be awful and cut. It was still cool to see him back in a Cubs uniform, though brief.

08. Randy Myers: He only spent 3 years on the Cubs in the early '90s, but he was the first guy that I really remember being a dominating Closer. And he's the only Closer who made my list. He also once beat up a guy who charged onto the field. So that was enough for him to make my list.

07. Ryne Sandberg: He would likely be much higher on a lot of people's list, as he was a Hall of Famer and had some huge years for the Cubs. But his career was winding down as I was becoming old enough to really gain an interest in baseball. In fact, his final two seasons after he sat out 1995 were pretty forgettable, but he was treated as the legend that he was and had an aura about him that I'll always remember.

06. Mark DeRosa: This next pick wasn't on the Cubs very long, but he was a huge part of two really good Cubs teams in the mid-2000s. The 2008 team seemed like they could come back from down any lead and win, and he was right in the middle of it. He also had the ability to play all over the field, and hit for some power. I was bummed to see him go after such a short time, but he made my list for helping during those two seasons.

05. Anthony Rizzo: Though it seems like he's been around forever already, he's still young and has a long future ahead of him. He's one of the best players in baseball, and the clear leader of a young team. Only one player has been in Chicago longer (Travis Wood at 5 years) and he'll be there a long time. His Home Run swing is a thing of beauty and he does everything on the diamond well.

04. Jake Arrieta: He hasn't been on the Cubs long, but his Cy Young winning season last year might just be the most dominate you'll ever see from a Pitcher. The guy was basically unhittable the second half of the year, and scorched the Pirates in the Wild Card game. He was really good his first full season as a Cub, god-like in his second, and his “down” year this year was better than most teams Ace. I've never seen a guy looked as focused as he does while pitching (besides maybe Andy Pettitte, who I unfortunately had to see a lot in big games growing up) and I'd like to see Chicago sign him to a deal so that he finishes out his best years playing with the Cubs.

03. Glenallen Hill: On a windy Chicago summer, a man named Glenallen hit a ball onto the roof of the building across the street, an estimated 500 feet. When asked about how far it would have went had it not hit the building during a post game interview, Glenallen responded “600 feet.” All the reporters laugned, as the longest confirmed HR was 540 feet by Jose Canseco. Stone-faced, Glenallen's response to their laughter was simply: “No, seriously.” That's by far my favorite baseball story, and he spent two different stints with the Cubs. He never did much other than hit a whole bunch of Home Runs, but sometimes that's all that a guy needed to be entertaining. I may have been the only person wearing a Glenallen Hill jersey in 2016 not named Glenallen Hill.

02. Mark Grace: Playing ball, as a kid, I eventually found myself playing First Base rather often. Not because I wasn't athletic enough to play around the field (which I often did) but usually because I was the only kid not afraid of people throwing at me. I took pride in my defense, and looked up to Mark Grace for being so good at it. He also happened to be a really smooth hitter, who was a rock in the middle of the Cubs order for a long time. I had a Mark Grace poster on my wall growing up, and he'll always be one of my favorites.

01. Sammy Sosa: I was a fan of Sammy Sosa before he was known to the rest of the nation. He was a guy who was both fast and powerful before he spent the summer trading HR's with Mark McGwire in 1998. He also had a cannon for an arm, and played the game with passion. He had the “Sosa hop” and would run full speed out to RF before every game to jazz up the fans in the bleachers. After that magical run, he continued to hit and hit and hit. He put up some incredible seasons, and those memories won't be tainted by anything that happened afterwards. He's one of the greatest sluggers in Cubs history, and he will always be my favorite player.

Honorable Mentions: Mark Grudzielanek, Brant Brown, Will Ohman, Henry Rodriguez, Luis Gonzalez, Mark Prior, Micah Hoffpauir, Sam Fuld, David DeJesus, Mickey Morandini, Scott Servais, Bob Patterson, and probably a dozen or more I can't think of right now.

​Dishonorable Mention: Milton Bradley, Carlos Zambrano, Carlos Marmol, Matt Murton.

10. Kelly's Heroes: You couldn't go wrong with Clint Eastwood movies from this era, and he's as cool as he is in any movie here. The story is unique in that it's less about the war itself, and more about the morality of men involved. Donald Sutherland's “Oddball” character is way out of place for the era, but is still good. The end in which they convince a Nazi Tiger tank Commander to help them break into the bank and steal the gold is also a pretty cool twist. It also get's bonus points for having Uncle Leo from Seinfeld in it, who was a real Army veteran that joined the day after Pearl Harbor was attacked and served in the Pacific.

09. The Bridge at Remagen: I love a good WW2 “Bridge” story and this one is a bit of an underrated classic. It's a highly fictionalized telling of a real battle, but done believably. The lead (George Segal) does a good job in making you care about the mission and the troops involved. It has some nice action scenes, as well. Late '60s/Early '70s WW2 movies always had a more authentic feel to them, thanks in part to not being that far removed from the real war.

08. Inglourious Basterds: Not everyone is a fan of Tarantino's style of movie-making, and I'll admit that some of his choices are weird and annoying and ruin some of the authenticity of his films, but this one makes up for it. The acting is superb from everyone involved (Christoph Waltz and Michael Fassbender especially, as well as Brad Pitt playing his role perfectly). The over-the-top Tarantino violence gets in the way of the battles, but doesn't completely ruin them from being exciting enough. I would probably edit out a lot of stuff from this, and enjoy it just as much, but it's still a fun movie.