Archive for January, 2009

The RAN3.net 2008 Year In Review

Posted by Robbie on January 22nd, 2009 | 3 comments

I haven’t done this in a while, the last one may have been 2005 or 2006, I’m too lazy to check out the archives and find out for sure.  But anyway, this is something I definitely enjoy doing, it’s a great change from the usual “this is what bar I went to this weekend and partied like a rock star”.  This year I have put quite a bit of work into my year in review, in fact, it’s taken me about 3 days just to get here, actually writing the post (which has taken some 2 weeks worth of time, hey, I’m busy).  I wanted to do some research on all of the stuff I was reviewing to make sure I had everything right, not to mention get pictures and so forth. A lot of research comes from Wikipedia and random internet searches. Just a note on the “Favorite, Most Hated, Most Hottest, etc. People of 2008″, they are listed in no particular order. I worked hard on this so leave me some comments and enjoy!  Without further adieu…

My Five Favorite People of 2008

  1. Heath Ledger – Give me a break if this guy isn’t on your list either. The unfortunate story behind this is that Heath was found on January 22nd, 2008 in his New York apartment unconscience in his bed by his housekeeper and he didn’t make it. The coronor report states that he died from an apparent accidental overdose of a cocktail of perscription medications. Perhaps Ledgers most stunning piece of work is his role as the Joker in 2008′s “The Dark Knight” the sequal to “Batman Begins”. Heath portrayed an incredibly dark Joker and really twisted this film into a new realm as far as Batman movies are concerned. His acting was so spectacular that it has all of the Oscar community buzzing with a possible first posthumous Oscar since Peter Finch won for “Network” in 1976.  *Editor Note* Today Ledger was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for TDK, I hope he wins!
  2. Sarah Palin – “What’s the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull? Lipstick.” Sarah Palin is the current Governor of Alasaka and was John McCain’s 2008 vice presidential running mate in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Election. My assumption is that before this election many people had never heard of Sarah Palin, I know I didn’t. This lady was awesome though, she completely energized the republicans at the 2008 Republican National Convention with her witty jokes, her winking eye, and her Alaskan accent. There is a lot of talk that Sarah Palin  will run for president in the not-so-distant future, but she has a lot of work to do. During the campaign she came under fire for not being as knowledgeable as the other candidates, but if she works hard for the next 8 years or so she could certainly pull off a good run as her family is the definition of average American family.
  3. J.J. Abrams – I don’t think I love and hate someone as much as I do J.J. Abrams. This guy is brilliant, he is one of the best writers I know (also director and producer). He brought me, quite possibly, my most favorite television show ever, “LOST” which had one of it’s best seasons. Last season was filled with answers but of course for every one answer you receive from J.J. you get 20 questions so it’s a winless battle really, but I guess that’s what keeps people coming back. Last year Abrams also wrote the highly anticipated new monster movie, “Cloverfield”. I caught this on DVD and it was better than I expected, if you haven’t seen it, it’s worth the rent. J.J.’s newest project that started up in time for fall T.V. programming was his new television show, “Fringe”. Critics are loving this new show and it earned a full season pick-up which makes me happy because I too very much enjoy it. Finally, Abrams is currently working on a remake of StarTrek the movie (to be released in 2009). This movie will highlight the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise in their younger years before they launch into space and is getting a lot of buzz already.
  4. Robert Downey Jr. – The last “big” movie Downey was in was probably 1994′s “Natural Born Killers”, some people will argue it was 2007′s “Zodiac”, however, I didn’t see this movie and really it wasn’t around a long time nor is it not a classic like “Killers” is. This all changed in 2008 for Mr. Downey as he roared back into the movie scene in the highly anticipated Marvel classic “Iron Man”. Downey plays super-smart, playboy millionaire Tony Stark, the CEO of Stark Enterprises which builds and manufactures weapons for the army. I saw this movie last June in the theatres when I was on my summer vacation in Michigan with the Grock Star and absolutely loved it. Robert nailed the role, he was cocky, he was funny, he was smart, and he looked good in the red and gold Iron Man suit. Downey was also in another blockbuster in 2008, “Tropic Thunder” staring alongside Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Nick Nolte. Downey’s current projects include “Sherlock Holmes” and “Iron Man 2″.
  5. Barack Obama – Before all of my conservative friends and family fly off the handles on this one let me explain. I don’t love this guy, in fact the only thing he’s given me hope on thus far is getting a playoff system in college football (don’t we all wish?). However, I have never seen one man energize so many people, he is a fantastic speaker, he has a cool, calm, demeanor, and he’s more popular than Tom Cruise jumping on couches at Oprah’s. He overcame inexperience, a funny name, and a racial-divide to become the United State’s of America’s 44th and first African American president. If you can’t tip your hat to the guy then you aren’t human. Granted, I voted for the other guy, but Barack won and he is now my president. Unlike all the left wing lunatics that did nothing but attack Bush all 8 years he was in office and fail to back him up; I will be behind this man and I will give him a chance. Lord knows he has many difficult challanges in front of him so let’s all wish the guy some luck. Afterall, this is our country we’re talking about here.

My 5 Most Hated People of 2008

  1. 50 Cent – Why 50? Why? In 2007 “Fitty” got into a verbal exchange with Kanye West and announced that he would sell more albums of “Curtis”, his third album, than Kanye’s “Graduation”. Both albums were set to drop on the same day and unfortunately for 50, Kanye blew him outta the water. With that in mind, 50 was looking for a 2008 comeback as he was all set to release his fourth major album, “Before I Self Destruct” late in the year. I can sum up this album with one word, dissapointing. I’m not even sure I want to get into the specifics of this album, but I will say this: the production was sub-par, I don’t need Tony Yayo on more than one track ever, and I never want to hear 50 and Lil’ Kim do a track ever again, and I don’t even mind Lil Kim! To review, 50 hasn’t put out a great record since his 2003 breakout, “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” which may hold a record for longest time a CD has occupied my car stereo, seriously. The problem is 50 has become saturated and fallin into the main stream current.  Except this “stream” is more like a river, like the mighty Mississippi, someone throw him oversized XXL floaties please.
  2. Bernard Madoff -Madoff is the former chairman of the NASDAQ Stock Exchange and currently one the most hated men in America. On December 11 at 8:30 AM F.B.I agents arrested Madoff and charged him with one count of securities fraud. On the day prior to his arrest, Madoff told senior executives at the firm, which included his sons, that the management and advisory segment of the business was “basically, a giant Ponzi scheme”. Madoff was then arrested based on a tip-off from his sons, Andrew and Mark. This scheme brought his firm an estimated FIFTY BILLION U.S. dollars and caused banks outside the United States to lose billions of dollars. Other notable figures that lost money due to Madoff include Kevin Bacon and his wife, actress Kyra Sedgwick, as well as actor John Malkovich. Since the arrest, Madoff and his wife had to surrender their passports, they have a 7 P.M. curefew, and Madoff has to wear a ankle bracelet, oh yeah, and he has received numerous death threats. First of all, wow bro, sucks to be you, you’re going to jail for the rest of your life and second of all, how bad does it feel to have your own flesh and blood turn you in? Thus far, the F.B.I has found no other evidence implicating Madoff’s family.
  3. The Detroit Lions – This is harder for me to write than most people will think. Growing up in the “D” I have had the opportunity to see many Detroit teams excel, such as the Red Wings and the Pistons. I’ve also had the pleasure to see teams dig themselves out of the gutter, like the 2003 Tigers who amassed 119 losses and only 43 wins, earning them a place in MLB history for most losses in a season (.265 winning percentage). However, three short years later the Tigers blew Detroit out of the water when they had one of their most memorable seasons ever making it to the 2006 World Series, unfortunately they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals. Although, there is one Detroit team who continues to perform on a consistant basis season after season.  The Detroit Lions. The problem is they aren’t winning, they’re losing, and they’re losing bad. The 2008 season began with the hope that this year would be the end of the Lion’s losing ways as they went undefeated in their preseason. They started the regular season off quickly, going 0-3 and getting blown out in all three games. Towards the end of September it came out that Bill Ford Jr. (Bill Ford, the owner’s son), wanted president Matt Millen out of the picture but the decision was not his to make. Only a few days later Millen got the axe (finally), as this was something Lions’ fans have been begging for continuously for the past, oh, 5 seasons or so. Unfortunately, for the Lions even a Millen-less organization continued to stumble in the wrong direction. Just 14 weeks later the Lions accomplished the unthinkable (let me rephrase: unthinkable everywhere else, except Detroit) and went 0-16, the first time EVER in NFL history. At the end of their “historic” season William Clay Ford, Sr fired head coach Rod Marinelli; his record with the Lions after three seasons was 10-38. The Lions just hired former Tennessee Titan Defensive Coordinator, Jim Schwartz to take over the head coaching gig, we’ll see how that goes eh?
  4. Reverend Jeremiah Wright – Fascist. Rascist. Ultra-liberal. This about sums up Reverened Jeremiah Wright, the former head of Trinity United Church of Christ, a megachurch in Chicago, IL that has about 8,500 members. This guy is a real piece of work, he is the man responsible for nearly destroying Barack Obama’s chance at becoming our current president. His beliefs and preaching manners came under scrutiny in early 2008 as Obama was a former member of his church. This is the preacher who once said blacks should not sing “God bless America” but “God damn America”, he is also the preacher who asserts that America’s own terrorism brought on the 9/11 attacks on America. I mean, what more do I really have to say about the guy? If you have never seen his sermons I urge you to google him or look him up on You Tube, I’m certain that one video clip will have you thinking that if anyone is keeping prejudice alive in the United States it’s this man.
  5. Barney Frank – Frank is an American politician in the United States House representing Massachusetts’s 4th congressional district since 1981 and is one of the most energetic defenders of civil rights issues. In 2007, Frank became the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee which oversees the housing and banking industries. Conservative’s have criticized Frank for campaign contributions from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for around $42,350 between 1989 and 2008. They further claim the donations influenced his support of their lending programs, and have partially blamed Frank for not playing a stronger role in reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac regarding the Economic crisis that occured in 2008. The reason why this guy sucks is because time and time again, Frank insisted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in good shape. Five years ago when the Bush administration proposed tighter regulation of the two companies, Frank was adamant that “these two entities, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are not facing any kind of financial crisis.” When the White House warned of “systemic risk for our financial system” unless the mortgage giants were curbed, Frank complained that the administration was more concerned about financial safety than about housing. Because of this Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac failed, the housing market went under due to subprime mortgage lending thus causing our economy to tumble deeper into a recession. A few months ago Frank was on the Bill O’Reilly show on Fox News and wouldn’t come clean that he was fully aware that Mae and Mac were in trouble, because of this ass millions of American’s lost a ton of money and our economy is doing worse than ever.

My 5 Hottest Women of 2008

  1. Yelena Isinbayeva – Normally I’m not a fan of Russians, I take exception to this one though. Yelena is a Russian pole vaulter and is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist (2004 and 2008), and she was named Female Athlete of the Year by IAAF in 2004, 2005, and 2008.  At the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics she needed only 2 vaults to beat her own world record of 5 meters, she cleared 5.05 metres to set her 24th world record.  If you saw her at all at the Olympics this year you don’t need me to tell you why she’s hot, she has a rock hard body and she looks unbelievable in her pole vaulting outfit – enough said.
  2. Hayden Panettiere – I don’t care what anyone says, I think this “cheerleader” is smoking hot. Hayden plays Claire Bennet in the NBC hit TV series, “Heroes”, now wrapping up it’s 3rd season. Hayden started her TV career back in the day on some soap operas such as “One Life To Live” and “Guiding Light”; she also is a singer and recieved a grammy nod in 1999 for “A Bug’s Life”. Currently Hayden is dating her “Heroe’s” on-screen brother, Milo Ventimiglia who plays Peter Patrelli.
  3. Yvonne Strahovski Yvonne is currently in one of my other favorite TV shows, “Chuck” which is on NBC prior to “Heroes” on Monday nights. She plays Sarah Walker, Chuck’s “girlfriend”. She actually works for the CIA and it’s her job to protect Chuck as he knows many of the government’s top secrets. Yvonne was born in Maroubra, a suburb of Sydney, Austrailia and can speak fluent Polish which she shows off in an episode of “Chuck”. If you can catch one episode of this show you will see just how smoking hot this girl is, she even look’s great in her fake job on the show working at a ice creme yogurt shop.
  4. Alicia Sacramone – Find me one dude that watched the Olympics this year and didn’t think that Alicia was one of the hottest girls on the US Gymnastics Team, seriously. At the Beijing Olympics Alicia grabbed a silver medal for the all around team competition, getting ousted by the cheating Chinese team (don’t get me started on that). Alicia became a member of the U.S. national team in 2003. Since 2005 she has been a key member of the U.S. team, and has won two World Championship titles and seven World Championships medals in total. She also has a cornucopia of fan sites on the internet and a ton of Facebook Groups that praise her, both for looks and gymnastic ability of course.
  5. Megan Fox – Why I love Megan Fox: Because she looks SO hot bent over a 1976 Chevrolet Camero, she is a gamer and loves Guitar Hero, she reads comic books, and she owens a pig whose name is Piggy Smalls…really! True, Megan didn’t have a big year in 2008, however, her 2007 was massive with the live-action “Transformers” movie that pretty much catapulted up into the A list world. 2009 should also be a big year for her as the release of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” is set to be released this summer.

My 5 Favorite Hip Hop/Rap Albums of 2008

  1. Atmosphere – “When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold” – I know at the beginning of this post I say that I list stuff in no particular order, however, Atmosphere being number one on this list is no mistake. This album was probably my most played album in 2008 and if you have ever heard it you would know why. This is Atmosphere’s 6th studio album and it’s loaded with impecable beats from Atmosphere producer, Ant, who is a genius at really making you feel the music and experience what Slug is rapping about. The album is split into 3 categories, Us, You, and Me and each song in that grouping really gives you a sense of what Slug is singing/rapping about. Some of my favorite tracks include “Dreamer”, “Your Glasshouse”, and “Wild, Wild Horses”. Dreamer is a song about a girl who gets pregnant by her boyfriend who ends up leaving her but she keeps working and working to take care of her daughter on her own. Eventually, the boyfriend comes back and get’s her pregnant again and of course, leaves her again, next thing you know she has a son and keeps working to provide them a good life. For music that will make you feel and lyrics that will make you see check this album out!
  2. XV – “The Square in the Circle” – This is the only rapper in my list that isn’t on a major label but probably should be. XV is a rapper from the state of Kansas that I have been following since 2006 when Charlie put me up on his album “Complex” which blew out my speakers for a good month. The Square is a free album online exclusively through XV’s MySpace page, it consists of 20 tracks, which is generally more than I like to have on an album. However, the tracks are pretty solid and from what I understand XV does a lot of his own beats and his lyrics are pretty on point. Track “1997″ is a remake of Smashing Pumpkins – “1979″ which is pretty good, another classic that I like features the one and only Lil’ Wayne called “U Got It”. If you wanna hear a semi-unknown solid rapper with great beats check out XV’s The Square in the Circle.
  3. Rick Ross – “Trilla” – Tha BOSS RICKY ROSS! This is Rick’s 3rd studio album (although his 2nd album really didn’t get a lot of hype, it kinda blew). Depending on who you talk to, they’ll tell you that his first album, “Port of Miami” is better than this one, but I won’t agree. The problem with Port of Miami is again, too many tracks, Trilla is only 15 tracks and has a good flow to it. Some classics on this are “Speedin” featuring R. Kelly, “The Boss” featuring T-Pain, and my personal favorite, “Maybach Music” featuring Jay-Z. This is a classic Miami Dade record with all the type of beats you’d expect to hear and some great Ricky Ross lyrics.
  4. Young Jeezy – “The Recession” – Let me be the first to tell you, I hate Young Jeezy, well, at least I did before this album. Ever since Jeezy’s first album “Thug Motivation 101″ people have been loving the sound that Jeezy brings to his records, I on the other hand really didn’t like it. I’m not sure what it is about The Recession but Jeezy really hit it out the park for me. Charlie says that it’s the same as his last two records, lucky for me I barely listened to his last two albums so I can’t really get down on that level. Jeezy comes real hard on most of this album and his beats kick ass! I find myself working out to many tracks on this on a daily basis. If you weren’t a fan of his first or second albums give this one a shot!
  5. Common – “Universal Mind Control” – I was put up on Common back in 2005 and I have been a fan ever since. Common has never disappointed me with his lyrics that actually mean something and give something to humanity, his production is always diverse so what more can you ask for? This is his 3rd studio album and out of ten tracks (I love the short records if you haven’t figured out) I listen to 8 of them. Common got the Neptunes to bang out some tracks on this album which is a good choice since obviously he’s trying to get some more party/club joints in his life. A lot of people aren’t used to this type of Common since most of his previous work is like a weaving of a heartfelt narrative but if you’re looking for some newer sounds from this guy check out this album.

Sports Achievements of 2008

  1. Michael Phelps wins 8 Gold Medals at Beijing Summer Olympics – Phelps won in the 400 m individual medley, 4×100 m freestyle relay, 200 m freestyle, 200 m butterfly, 4×200 m freestyle relay, 200 m individual relay, 100 m butterfly, and 4×100 m medley relay beating the record of Mark Spitz (most golds in one Olympics) who won 7 golds at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
  2. Usain Bolt the sprinter from Jamaica broke the 100 metre record at 9.69 seconds and the 200 metre at 19.30 seconds; he then went on to win the 4×100 metres relay at 37.10 seconds. He was the first sprinter to win all 3 of these events since Carl Lewis in 1984 and he was the first man in history to set world records in all three at a single Olympics.
  3. The Philidelphia Phillies win the World Series 4 games to 1 against the Tampa Bay Rays. For the first time in history, game 5 began on Monday, October 27 and had to be suspended due to weather, it was picked up in the bottom of the 6th inning tied 2-2 on Wednesday, October 29th.
  4. Tiger Woods wins the U.S. Open, his third U.S. Open championship and 14th major title by beating Rocco Mediate on the first hole of sudden-death playoff following an 18-hole playoff. It was an unlikely victory for Woods, who played the whole weekend with an ailing left knee, and two days after the championship Woods revealed that he would miss the remainder of the 2008 season reconstructive anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery on his left knee. Just so you know, I’m not a Tiger Woods fan, but this was by far one of the best golf tournaments I have EVER seen and Tiger played more better than I have ever seen anyone play.
  5. The Boston Celtics beat the Los Angeles Lakers 4 games to 2 to win the NBA Championship. The Celtics were by far the better team all through the playoffs, realistically no one challanged them. I hate both of these teams, thus I don’t have much more to say about this one.
  6. Big Brown nearly won the Triple Crown (hasn’t been done since Affirmed won in 1978). Big Brown won the 134th Kentucky Derby, the 133rd Preakness Stakes, and then finally he lost to Da’Tara in 140th running of the Belmont Stakes. Big Brown came in last place. Prior to the race he had a cracked hoof which owner and trainer both said wouldn’t be a factor, apparently they were wrong.
  7. The Detroit Red Wings won their 11th Stanley Cup, their 4th in eleven seasons, on June 4th, 2008 against the Pittsburgh Penguins 4 games to 2. Henrik Zetterberg won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs MVP and the captain of the Wings, Nicholas Lidstrom, became the first European captain to win a Stanley Cup Championship.
  8. The New York Giants stunned the heavily favored New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII and blew their chance at being the NFL’s first team to ever go 16-0 in a season season.
  9. The Kansas Jayhawks won the NCAA Basketball Championships over the Memphis Tigers. The game went into OT on a last second 3 pointer by Mario Chalmers where the Jayhawks went on to win.
  10. The LSU Tigers won the BCS National Football Championships over the Ohio State Buckeyes. The game was (unfortunately) a bit of a blowout, LSU won by 14. Final score: LSU 38, OSU 24.

I hope you all enjoyed!  Leave me some love.  I’ll be posting some new pictures very soon so check back.