Tag Archive | godaddy discount codes

Go For Two: NFL Week 16 Games To Watch – Packers addition

Look. I’m not gonna lie to you. Losing last week sucked. It sucked so bad. We lost in every phase of the game. We lost spectacularly. A safety on the last drive of the game was the cherry on top.

It was a team loss. Aaron Rodgers made some pretty awful throws. Aaron was lucky he came out of that one with only 2 interceptions, there could have been at least 2 more on top of that. Receivers, I’m looking at you Davante Adams, didn’t even turn around for some of the passes. Jordy Nelson dropped one, which, that will happen, but it stings because it was such a big play. Just lay off Jordy you all. Special teams allowed a return for a TD and a blocked kick. Oh, and then there is my favorite defensive coordinator, Dom Capers. I want everyone who keeps trying to say the defense held the Bills to field goals to STFU. Oh, yay! The Bills didn’t get a touchdown. Yeah, well, you allowed four, FOUR field goals. There is nothing awesome-o about allowing four field goals. I’m not entirely sure who to blame for the safety. All I know is I’m sitting there like, put the whole game behind you, guys. It’s okay. We just need one touchdown — we can do this. Remember Miami. And …. plop, the ball is on the ground, in the end zone. Safety.

Wow.

There is a scenario where we do not make the playoffs. You gotta be kidding me.

That’s why, this week, the NFL Week 16 Games To Watch is a Packers addition. I know, I know — pretty selfish of me, but these are selfish times, thanks to our biting loss to Kyle Orton and my second least favorite defensive coordinator, Jim Schwartz. I hated seeing Jim Schwartz on the sidelines as the Bills defensive coordinator. It is entirely possible to just hate looking at someone’s face.

Philadelphia at Washington (Saturday 4:30PM EST): As a Packers fan, we need the Eagles to lose to Washington. That’s not necessarily off the table. The last time these two teams met, Washington only lost by 3. Kirk Cousins. He made 30 out of 48 passes and gained a total of 427 yards. My Michigan State alumni had three touchdowns and one interception. As we all know, Cousins tanked after that, but all I am saying, is it is in the realm of possibilities. So make it happen.

Lions at Bears (Sunday 1:00PM EST): Okay. We all saw MNF (more or less … okay, less. I only watched two plays and baby Cutlet got sacked two times in a row). This is a bit of a stretch; Bears need to win. However, if the Bears couldn’t turn it on for MNF after all the news came out about the internal team backstabbing, then I don’t know that they can. The Lions are the number 2 seed. They are going to turn it on. I’m hoping they get really big heads, think they have the game locked up, and a miracle happens. Maybe they all get a little chilly at the Bears stadium. Maybe Angelina Jolie visits Detroit and gives the team chickenpox? Look, I don’t want anyone seriously ill or anything, but maybe a catering company can cause the team to have food poisoning? Honestly, I’m desperate. I don’t see the football Gods sending a “W” on the wings of a dove down to Soldier Field. But I wish they would.

Colts at Cowboys (Sunday 4:25PM EST): Colts need to win. I don’t want our chances of going into the playoffs based on some random tie-breaking rule. Cowboys and Pack did not play a head to head game. The next rule is best record in conference. It may actually come down to best record in common games, the 3rd tie-breaking rule for the wild card. That is so sketchy, I don’t like it. Good luck, Luck. I root for the caveman on Sunday.

Seahawks at Cardinals (Sunday 8:30PM EST): This would be the game of the week for everyone watching football week 16. In particular, for the Packers, we need the Seahawks to lose. Anyone that is in playoff contention needs to lose. It will help with home-field advantage as well. Seahawks can taste home-field advantage. Everyone in the NFC playoff race does not want Seattle to get home field. It’s in everyone’s best interest if Seattle loses this game.

Of note, if the Cardinals win this game, it very well may happen that the Cards go to the Super Bowl at home. I’m not sure this happens with the 3rd string quarterback Lindley. The good news is, Stanton may be back in time for the playoffs. Which, at the beginning of the season, who would have thought having Drew Stanton as your quarterback in the Super Bowl would be a good thing?

Side note, yes. The Packers need to beat Tampa Bay on Sunday. I sure-as-shit hope that happens, cause if it didn’t …

~Madeline Fresco is a novelist who lives in San Diego. She is the author of CROSSED THE LINE, available for Kindle at Amazon.com, for Nook at Barnes & Noble, and as an ePub at other eBook retailers. You can also listen to her novel as a free, serialized audiobook at madelinefresco.com. Her second book THE CHOICE, is available on Kindle at Amazon. Her third book ANGUISH, is available for Kindle at Amazon.com

Go For Two: NFL Week 14 Games To Watch

Dec3

What games should you watch NFL Week 14?

Seahawks (8-4) at Eagles (9-3): For me, this is the game of the week. The Seahawks, while a little sluggish there for awhile, have really worked out the kinks. Seattle beating San Francisco in such spectacular fashion was awesome. Not only did it help Seattle in their playoff hopes, but it seems to have stirred the bear in the Niners camp. That loss was locker room poison for the Niners. Now the GM is apologizing for his daughter’s tweets, people are calling for Harbaugh (Michigan just fired Hoke) to be traded, and now Colin Kaepernick is the worst quarterback and sucks. Jeez. I bet the Raiders would love to have the “problem” of having Harbaugh as their coach. He took them to the NFC championship game three years in a row. Colin Kaepernick? The kid has been using his legs this whole time with his happy feet and therefore is a little slow on the staying in the pocket curve that other quarterbacks have learned since Kid Kap has entered the league. He will learn his check downs.Yet, in the meantime, I fear the Niners playoff hopes have been dashed because of their internal inability to see the larger picture.

That’s what makes this game so important. With a Seahawks win and a Cardinals loss, the Hawks will be tied in the division. The Eagles will then be 9-4 and will be in jeopardy of sharing the lead with the Cowboys should they win against the Bears. The Bears, while terrible, are not an automatic win. Should the Cowboys lose the Eagles will have a little bit more leeway.

Eagles had an impressive win with Mark Sanchez over the Cowboys. Cowboys better get their act together because wins won’t come easy against the Bears and Colts, plus they have to face the Eagles again on Philly turf.

That’s what is so exciting about this game. It’s the time of year in football where so many scenarios can be played out. A loss for one team can mean a playoff for another. I love this time of year.

Ravens (7-5) at Dolphins (7-5): These two teams are both fighting for a chance to enter the playoffs. Right now, they are in a battle for the wild card. That could change with a Ravens and Steelers win. The Ravens still have a shot at being the North champ, but will still need this win to at least enter as a wild card. Dolphins, in my opinion, are only playing for a wild card. I like Tannehill … a lot. I hope for a Dolphins win.

Steelers (7-5) at Bengals (8-3-1): This is still anyone’s division in the AFC North. Both these teams have had their ups and downs this season. One week they look fantastic, and the next, awful. This is a game for those AFC North fans. It’s a good one to watch.

I don’t care who wins.

On a side note, your Go For Two writer as of Thanksgiving weekend now lives in San Diego. I won’t ever stop being a Green Bay Packers fan, but have always looked forward to rooting for my “hometown”. Sadly, that has never, ever happened for me. I did not like the Lions, even though I was born in Detroit. Then, I moved to San Francisco and abhorred the Niners. At least with the Lions I enjoyed going to the games and if the Packers weren’t in the playoffs, I could be happy about the Lions doing well. That never happened with the Niners. They are too ridiculous. Now, sadly, my home team is the Chargers. Ugh. Why? Why Phillip Rivers?I have been very vocal about disliking the completely unlikable Phillip Rivers. Once Rivers is out of a job, I may be able to become a Chargers fan. Yet, until that day, I am still unlucky in my home teams.

Go For Two: NFL Week 10 Games To Watch

Nov5

Week 10! I feel like the season is going by so fast!

Week 9 had some interesting games. That does not mean that they were necessarily good games, just interesting.

First off, to the San Francisco 49ers …

You guys got beat by the St. Louis Rams — couldn’t have happened to a more deserving team of douchebags. Kaepernick walked off the field like he wanted to kill someone for not simply allowing his team win. What a pompous tool.

4-4. God, I love it.

As for the rest of the week, meh. San Diego got their asses handed to them, which is always exciting.

Monday Night Football?

Absolutely boring. They really, really need to do something about that. They need to start flexing the Monday night football games.

Then there was the game of the week, Denver versus New England. That ended up being so one sided I turned the game off. I didn’t want to see my beloved Peyton Manning lose in that fashion. It was hard to watch.

That’s about it for week 9.

Now for week 10.

Dolphins (5-3) at Lions (6-2): Dolphins have been on fire lately. They destroyed the Chargers last week and made them look like a little league team. As for the Lions, good news for them — Week 10 marks the glorious return of Calvin Johnson plus the Honolulu Blue are coming off a bye week. These two items should add up to success.

The Lions need to win this one. This is the start of a three game test for the Lions with Arizona and the Patriots to follow. Out of all of those games, this is the one that, at least on paper, is the most winnable.

I think the real way the Lions win this game is keeping Stafford under control, which won’t be hard to do now that Calvin is back. However, it is important to note that when Calvin is playing, Stafford seems to forget that he has other targets, namely Golden Tate. The Lions are still missing their tight ends which limits the blocking and the third option for the pass. Reggie Bush comes back this week, but I’m not so sure that even matters. He’s been less that spectacular this season.

The Lions have only faced one team, the Green Bay Packers, with a winning record. Therefore, let’s see what happens to the Lions when they face an actual opponent.

I think it’s the defense that wins this one.

Lions win.

Niners (4-4) at Saints (4-4): Ugh. I felt the need to pick a second game to watch this week, and, sadly, this will be it. It’s obvious I do not like the Niners. I also do not like the Saints. The real competition here is between Kaepernick and Sean Payton for who has the worst prissy, snotty-ass face of the game. It will be a tough, tough call.

I will also be forced to listen to Kaepernick at the line of scrimmage calling out plays like he is shitting a bear out of his ass. For the love of God, shut the fuck up.

Kaepernick also sounds like a petulant child in his post game conference this week. Here is the link I could find.

Both teams are not where they should be. Clearly though, the Saints are moving in the right direction where as the Niners are doing their best nose-dive. Niners need to be concerned as the Cardinals are running away with the NFC West division and the wildcard spots in the NFC will be very difficult to obtain this year. There will be a lot of movement in the NFC as the rest of the 2014 season shakes out and this game will for sure impact NFC wildcard playoffs.

The Saints have the number 2 offense and the Niners have the number 2 defense. As we’ve seen, defense wins games, but the Niners offense needs to step it up. I give the edge to the Saints.

Games I should care about?

Browns (5-3) at Bengals (5-2-1): I should care about this game. The AFC North is in a heated battle to see who will win the division. The Browns, who have been the worst-of-the-worst for long actually has a winning record. Yet, I just don’t care. I’m an NFC gal, and these two teams just don’t excite me. I’ve tried to get behind the Bengals for a few years now, but they always just seem so mediocre.

Bears (3-5) at Packers (5-3): I obviously care, but the rest of the world outside of Chicago and Green Bay do not. However, one has to be careful though with Chicago. On paper they still have a good team. You never know when the Bears might decide to show up. Also, it will be important to see how Aaron Rodgers hamstring does in this game. It will be noteworthy to see how he moves in the pocket and how he executes his throws — if he can go through the entire throwing motion.

Rams (3-5) at Cardinals (7-1): This is a division game, and while I give strong kuddos to the Rams for beating the Niners, this is still a 3-5 team playing a 7-1 team.

Ah, Jerry Jones …

Tony Romo suffered two separate transverse process fractures in his spine against the Washington Football Team. Not only did the Cowboys put him back in the game against Washington, they have now flown him across the pond to London for the Cowboys game against the Jaguars.

What fools. That is your franchise quarterback. Protect him. You are playing the Jaguars. If you can’t beat the Jaguars with your backup quarterback you don’t deserve to go to the playoffs.

NFL.com states that Tony Romo made the trip to London but that “there will be some obvious discomfort he needs to play through.”

He has pain? No shit, Sherlock.

The Cowboys have a bye next week. If you had left him in Dallas you would have given Romo over two weeks to recuperate.

Idiots.

* This blog is made possible thanks to GoDaddy coupon 149scott. Get your own blog for just $1.49. Also check out these Petco coupons. Get your cat or puppy something nice.

~Madeline Fresco is a novelist who lives in San Francisco. She is the author of CROSSED THE LINE, available for Kindle at Amazon.com, for Nook at Barnes & Noble, and as an ePub at other eBook retailers. You can also listen to her novel as a free, serialized audiobook at madelinefresco.com. Her second book THE CHOICE, is available on Kindle at Amazon. Her third book ANGUISH, is available for Kindle at Amazon.com

World Cup Thoughts

Jul2

This blog is brought to you by Godaddy coupon 199scott. Get your own blog for just $1.99.

I’m sad! I can’t believe that the USA is out of the World Cup! I was so enjoying our team still being in it!

Here are some of my thoughts about the game we played yesterday.

Our time of possession was awful the first half and most of the second. I don’t know how at the end we had more time of possession, 53% to 47%. The ball was on our side of the pitch almost the whole game!

I felt that our midfield did a horrible job of maintaining the possession. We kept making poor passes, sloppy, really. We did not seem in sync.

I also couldn’t stand Michael Bradley. He never seemed to be marking a man, just aimlessly running around. When he did get a ball, he made, most of the time, poor passes. Or when he did try to set something up, it was always off. He did have a few shinning moments. That was almost more annoying. If he would have just played to his potential, I really felt like the game would have been more winnable.

I thought DeMarcus Beasley did a great job defending. Just excellent. I also really enjoyed the play of Yedlin and for the briefest of moments, obviously, Green, as he scored our goal. I feel really good about future World Cup play with Yedlin and Green on our team.

The man of the match though, by far was Tim Howard, the goal keeper. He is the oldest guy on the field, and he did the most outstanding job. Belgium had 38 shots on goal. Tim Howard made 16 (!) saves. 16! That is a heck-of-a-lot.

That’s also where it highlights how over-matched USA was. We only shot on goal 14 times. It speaks volumes as to how much we actually had the ball on offense.

Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted. Now, I root for Les Bleus and Costa Rica. I don’t think Costa Rica has a chance, but my friend is from Costa Rica, so why not?

Yay World Cup

Jun26

Love him

This blog is brought to you by Godaddy coupon 199scott. Get your own blog for just $1.99.

I am absolutely loving watching the World Cup. It is so much fun!

In some regards, being in the “group of death” has been super interesting. No one thought that team USA would make it out of group play. There was even interviews with the coach, where HE said that we wouldn’t win World Cup.

It almost made these last few games that much more interesting.

We (team USA) played great games against our nemesis Ghana and Portugal. Portugal was the real heart-breaker. We had that game won up until the very last second, literally. But man, was that fun to watch.

Now, for the second World Cup in a row, USA has made it out of group play. That is a spectacular stat and should be celebrated. It’s also such a triumph that we won in our group at all, so these are all really, really good things.

Plus, more importantly, we get to watch more USA soccer!

This has been an interesting group play. a lot of the big powerhouses are already out. Who would have thought that Spain, Portugal, Italy, and England would all be out of the World Cup already? Certainly not in

Love him too

a world where USA was still in it!

I do have a few concerns. I don’t want team USA to be caught off guard again. I did not enjoy our team getting scored on so early in the game by Portugal, and then so late. Plus, no matter what the announcers say, I’m not very impressed with Michael Bradley. He is not first to the ball, his passes are errant, and he overshoots his targets. Of course, he can make these critical errors up to me and the rest of the fans by doing SOMETHING of merit in the next game against Belgium.

***Madeline Fresco is a novelist who lives in San Francisco. She is the author of CROSSED THE LINE, available for Kindle at Amazon.com, for Nook at Barnes & Noble, and as an ePub at other eBook retailers. You can also listen to her novel as a free, serialized audiobook at madelinefresco.com. Her second book THE CHOICE, is available on Kindle at Amazon. Her third book ANGUISH, is available for Kindle at Amazon.com

Game of Thrones: NFL Edition — House Lannister

Jun18

Last week at Eligible Receiver, we brought you GoT House Stark. Well, this week, it’s House Lannister.

This post contains every single spoiler known to man.

1. Tywin Lannister is … Bill Belichick.

One can not start the Lannister house off without beginning with the patriarch, Tywin Lannister. Tywin is cunning. He plays the game of thrones with expert precision. He takes no prisoners. He is not above breaking the rules. He will let anyone go if they do not serve his purpose — even his own family. Tywin sets up his own son, Tyrion. He uses Jaime’s love of Tyrion against him.

Belichick is ruthless. He doesn’t care who he lets go. Randy Moss? Gone. Okay, while we can see that one, what about one of their own? One they shouldn’t let go? One that even golden boy Brady doesn’t want to see let go? Yup. Bye-bye Wes Welker. Belichick plays for keeps. Belichick and the rules? Doesn’t matter. We all remember Spygate.

2. Jaimie Lannister is … Tom Brady.

Female perspective here, Jaime Lannister is hot. Tom Brady is hot. They are both extremely skilled in their position, Brady as a quarterback, Jaime as a warrior. Jaime questions his place in history, has he really been a good warrior in the Kingsguard. Brady questioned himself when he didn’t get picked high in the draft. People love and hate Jaime Lannister. The same can be said of Tom Brady.

3. Cersei Lannister is … Jerry Jones.

First off, yes, Cersei is gorgeous, and Jerry is not. However, Cersei is a highly skilled master manipulator. The same can be said for Jerry Jones. Really? America’s team? That alone is a great manipulation of the media. While both have lofty expectations and an abundant amount of ego, they never really come out on top, do they? The Cowboys are not exactly winners, and Cersei has lost quite a few family members, and the ones she wants gone, are still alive. They both are blindly ignorant to logic.

4. Joffrey Lannister is … Roger Goodell.

Joffrey is pure evil. He enjoys torturing people just to watch them suffer. He is juvenile, wicked, and petulant. Joffrey doesn’t listen to anybody, almost takes pride in it. Sound like a certain commissioner? I could list the numerous amount of things Goodell is at fault for. One, namely, the referee strike and the types of replacements that he allowed to ref games.

5. Tyrion Lannister is … Wes Welker.

Keeping it in the Patriots family, Wes Welker displays a lot of the characteristics of Tyrion. Small in stature, but big in heart. Both are often underestimated … both equally surprise. Both have a love hate relationship with their “father”. In this case Wes Welker with the patriarch Bill Belichick. Wes thought that he was part of the Patriots family, until, well, he wasn’t. Wes Welker (and Tom Brady for that matter) got a little too cocky with their status in the family, and Wes Welker was out the door. Tyrion is known for his wit, but sometimes, he overestimates himself, and that very wit gets him into some serious trouble. Both Tyrion and and Wes Welker should have known their place. Wes Welker found himself out of a job in the Patriots organization. Tyrion was warned to do what he was told, but could not help himself on judgement day, and went off on the people of King’s Landing and on his father. Yet, Tyrion, like Wes Welker, always find themselves on top. Wes Welker found himself with the very good Denver Broncos, and Tyrion, well, he found himself not dead and on a boat.

This blog was made possible thanks to GoDaddy coupon 199scott. Get your own blog for just $1.99 by clicking the link.

Eligible Receiver Game of Thrones: NFL Edition

Jun11

The Eligible Receiver gang currently has a new obsession aligning with the rest of the world. For those living under a rock, Game of Thrones is the HBO adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s novel series titled A Song of Ice and Fire. So of course, we felt it was our duty to recast the show using beloved and hated NFL characters.

Note: There will be no spoilers if you are caught up on season 3 of Game of Thrones, while trying not to have any season 2 spoilers. This is mostly based on character personalities and/or how they relate to playing style.

Lord Eddard Stark:

The ever upstanding, loyal to a fault, Lord Eddard Stark is Super Dad, Archie Manning. The Manning family is NFL royalty, but they don’t have an official power. The cunning, ruthlessness, and power of House Lannister is lacking in House Stark.

Robb Stark

I am sure you guessed it by now, but Robb Stark is everyone’s favorite Peyton Manning. Peyton is definitely more King of the AFC than King of the North, but either way his leadership and ability to win battles makes this a mighty fine casting.

Lady Catelyn Stark

Lady Catelyn Stark is a character that has had some success capturing Tyrion, while still making some extremely questionable decisions. Also, she could never did manage to get a hold of the North. The same holds true for Andy Reid. There has been much success throughout his coaching career, while still being sprinkled with intermittent failure.

Lady “Sad” Sansa Stark

So the Manning metaphor does not continue here and Sansa may get recast in a later edition. BUT there is one who is the saddest, mopiest little boy in the NFL: none other than Mr. Jay Cutler. He gets abused by everyone just like the lovely Sansa. I am certain Sansa hasn’t deserved her abuse and Cutler only deserves some of it.

Lady Arya Stark

Arya Stark is a tough, small, and often forgotten character. She has a great defense in The Hound, but still can fight and win her own battles. Russell Wilson is the perfect recast for Arya because of their similarities in character, action, and overall awesomeness.

Lord Brandon Stark

Poor “Little Lord Stark” lost his legs, but he remains important(?) to the story due to his continued search for a tree. What is slightly less known that there is a third Manning brother, Cooper Manning. Cooper was a top ranked recruit headed to Ole Miss, but a spinal disease ended his football career. Poor other Stark/Manning. Cooper learned to walk again, so maybe there is hope for Bran. Their roles remain lesser known to GoT and football fans.

Jon Snow

*It wouldn’t be eligible receiver if there wasn’t a shirtless Stark in the mix.

Jon Snow, the bastard son of Ned Stark, was sent to the Night’s Watch where he has both flourished and failed. People at the Wall love him or hate him and sometimes question his loyalty due to his Wildling girlfriend, Ygritte. The only appropriate recast of Jon Snow is Archie’s other son, Eli Manning. Despite a couple of Super Bowl rings, the Giants with Eli at the helm remain a bastardized NFL team due to the tough expectations from their fans. Eli constantly lets fans down, but has his moments just like Jon Snow.

This post was written by Jaqueline and shared by Madeline Fresco. The entire Eligible Receiver team had great fun figuring this all out, maybe too much. We are currently coming up with character equivalents from House Lannister. More good fun on it’s way.

All my Madeline Fresco blogs are made possible thanks to GoDaddy coupon 199scott. Get your own blog for just $1.99.

Get To Know Madeline Fresco Month – Top Ten Lists

Apr29

This week, the final week of Get To Know Madeline Fresco Month, will be dedicated to favorite sports.

1. NFL – the whole thing from preseason to Super Bowl

2. March Madness

3. NBA playoffs

4. World Cup Soccer

5. MMA

6. Wimbledon

7. Summer Olympics

8. EPL

9. MLB – but only to sit in the stadium and eat ballpark food

10. Stanley Cup Playoffs

Good tidbits:

Favorite football team = Green Bay Packers

2nd favorite football team = Any team with Peyton Manning on the team

Favorite NBA team = Pistons, although, they have been so bad lately (Detroit baby!)

Favorite World Cup Soccer team = USA Women’s team

EPL favorite team = Chelsea

NHL favorite team = Red Wings

MLB = tie between Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants.

Favorite tennis player of all time = Andre Agassi

Fondest memory of Wimbledon is sitting on the couch in my parent’s house with my brother every summer watching Wimbledon.

Fondest memory of NFL is 2011 when Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl

Fondest memory of MLB is sitting in Giants stadium with my friend Gail eating hotdogs. 2nd favorite is barely a memory, but of being at old Tiger’s Stadium with my dad.

This blog is made possible thanks to GoDaddy coupon 199scott. Get a blog for just $1.99.

My books are available on Amazon. You can get

Crossed The Line

The Choice

Anguish

Get To Know Madeline Fresco Month – Top Ten Lists

Apr22

Top ten bands that shaped my life.

1. Annie – The Soundtrack. 1982. While others carried around their Cabbage Patch Kids, I carried around a Fisher-Price tape recorder with this soundtrack in it.

2. Billy Joel, An Innocent Man. 1983. Leave me alone. I was 7. FYI, I still know every single word to this album. How do I know? I’m listening to it as I write this blog. Oh, man. I LOVED this album.

3. Air Supply, Greatest Hits. 1983. Power ballads at it’s best. Who knows what the fuck I was singing at 7. I sure didn’t. Making Love Out Of Nothing At All? How is THAT appropriate for a 7 year old to sing? But man, oh,man, did I sing that song at the top of my lungs. My poor parents …

4. Madonna, Like A Virgin. 1984. What little girl didn’t love this album? I especially fell in love with her at the MTV music awards.

5. Daryl Hall & John Oates, Big Bam Boom. 1985. I loved them. Who knows why? Probably because driving in the backseat of my parent’s Oldsmobile I can only assume their many number one hits were on rapid repeat. M-E-T-H-O-D-O-F-L-O-V-E.

6. The Cure, Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me. 1987. Just Like Heaven. One of the greatest songs of all time. This solidified my love of The Cure before, during, and long after.

7. Metallica, And Justice For All. 1988. What happened to me? I used to be so sweet and innocent? Where is that Annie Soundtrack again? I literally wore out the print on this tape. You know what happened. Middle School. That’s what happened. This was my first concert. While some kids went toward NKOTB, I went this way. I told my parents I was staying at my friend Stephanie’s house. Which I did. We thought we snuck away to this concert with her sister and her friends. They let us come we thought, as long as we didn’t sit with them. We found out later Stephanie’s parents knew. They followed us, and sat behind us to make sure we were okay. That’s kind of cool.

8. Faith No More, The Real Thing. 1989. I’m currently switching over from Billy Joel to listen to this album. My God they were so good.

9. Black Crowes, Shake Your Money Maker. 1990. We all know the song on here that we adored. She Talks To Angels. Good album. Good song.

10. R.E.M., Out Of Time. 1991. Losing My Religion was huge, but that’s not what did it for me. I saw some special MTV was running on R.E.M., and they showed footage from R.E.M.’s Green Tour. I think it was called Tourfilm. I heard songs from past R.E.M. albums on there. I made my mom drive me to Kmart to get their previous albums. I had no idea there were so many! I picked Eponymous, a compilation cassette. That’s where my love for my all time favorite band started.

That’s my top ten bands that changed my life, helped me form as a child. 1990 was when I started high school, so clearly it didn’t end there. For example, in 1991, I went to an outdoor music festival and heard Otis Redding for the first time. Changed my life. This list doesn’t go into my profound love of Queen. I was exposed to them during high school on Pom-Pon of all things. We used Queen for almost every pom routine. Pretty cool if you have to be on dance squad. We also wore red ribbons when Freddie Mercury died. Not that it isn’t a big deal now, but then, in 1991? AIDS was still very much shunned. I got the right kind of knowledge about the disease early on. I’m grateful for that.

This list doesn’t touch upon my extreme love of Red Hot Chili Peppers. How I wore out Son Volt’s Straightaways. My absolutely ridiculous white-Detroit-suburb love affair with Dre, Snoop, and Eminem. My silly fascination with the song Kaw-Liga by Hank Williams that, thankfully, opened my ears to his entire collection. My adoration for a young Fiona Apple that seemed to sing to my soul. The fact that I made love for the first time to Sara McLachlan — and that’s not a bad way to go. My sincere appreciation of Missy Elliott’s genius. My knowledge of Aretha, Same Cooke, Louis Armstong, an Elle Fitzgerald only fueled the way my heart fell in love with Alicia Keys – this woman’s voice and lyrics gave me solace during the darkest times of my life — the death of my father and my own cancer diagnosis.

I hope you enjoyed this list. I know I did. It’s amazing, looking back, what I enjoyed. Some are what I would now consider refined, others, not so much. But I did love them.

— This blog is made possible by GoDaddy coupon sigler295. Get your own blog for just $2.95 —

Get To Know Madeline Fresco Month – Top Ten Lists

Apr16

Ten foreign countries that I have traveled to in my life — in order.

1. Ireland 1998

2. Paris, France (twice, actually) 1999

3. South of France + Monaco 1999

4. Rome, Italy 1999

5. London, England 2001

6. Edinburgh, Scotland 2001

7. Jamaica 2002

8. Tokyo + Kyoto, Japan 2010

9. Athens + Santorini, Greece 2012

10. Istanbul, Turkey 2012

I have to say, if I had to pick the best places I’ve ever been, I have a top four.

1. Paris, France

2. San Francisco, California

3. Ireland

4. Estes National Park, Colorado

I loved the ease at which I could travel about Ireland. The bed and breakfasts that I stayed at and the castles I got to see were amazing. Most of the people in Ireland were great, save for Kilkenny.

Estes National Park was also amazing. I never felt more at one with nature than when I was there. I stayed at a bed and breakfast that was off the beaten path. The owners gave us great trails to go hiking on. We were one of only a few people on the trails. It made you feel like you were the only people in the park. One of the greatest trips in my life.

As for Paris, it’s everything that anyone has ever said about it. It has a ton of sites to see. The people are fantastic, the food is excellent. The nightlife is great.

In my opinion, what makes a great destination to go to for travel is more than just their tourist area. For example, I went to Athens. While it was great to see the Parthenon, there wasn’t much else to see in regards to sites. As for Jamaica or Cancun, or even Hawaii, the problem is, that once you are done laying around at the pool and the beach — I’m kind of done. And bored.

Here are things that I feel make a destination great.

1. Great monument/structure. For example. Parthenon. Eiffel Tower. Roman Colosseum. Golden Gate Bridge. Statue of Liberty. Stonehenge.

2. Great museums (although, I, for one, don’t enjoy museums). Louvre. Natural History Museum. MOMA.

3. Great tourist attractions. Examples: Fisherman’s Wharf. Central Park. Jardin des Tuileries. Empire State Buildiing.

4. Great food. Could you go for the food alone? San Francisco. New York. France.

5. Accommodations. They need to be comfortable.

6. Day trips. Santorini.

This is what makes Paris and San Francisco my top destinations that I have been to so far. San Francisco is way better than New York City for these reasons.

In Paris you have all of the sites to see. You have the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Les Invalides, and the Arc de Triomphe. There are all the gardens. All the museums. You could go alone just for the food. Just for the shopping. You have day trips like Versailles, Normandy, and Mont St. Michael. Same for San Francisco. You have all the food — you could literally plan a whole week just to eat at great restaurants every night. All the museums as well. Some really cool ones to, like the Academy of Science. Thursday nights they have bars set up and it becomes a nightlife thing. You can drink, listen to DJ house music, and look at amazing creatures. Pretty cool. There are all of the parks — Golden Gate, walking along Crissy Field with the bridge as your backdrop. There is all of the regular touristy sites like Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Alcatraz, Chinatown, and Ferry Building. Yet, you also have lesser known things like running the Lyon Street Stairs, going on an urban hike throughout the city, Fort Funston to watch all the dogs play, movies in the park, and visiting a speakeasy. The side trips are worth it sometimes more than going to San Francisco. Sausalito, hiking in Mount Tam, going to Napa and Sonoma for sure, but also Guernville and Russian River.

** This blog is brought to you by GoDaddy coupon sigler295. The coupon allowed me, and will allow you, to start a blog for just $2.95.