In honor of me turning 30, I’m compiling 30 different top-30 lists on a wide variety of topics ranging from trivial interests of mine to meaningful life moments. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for these lists. They were composed by a panel of one—me.
I have lived my entire life in Erie, Pennsylvania. In Erie, our summers are full of blissful, Presque Isle postcard-ready sunsets and free, live, outdoor music. Our winters are full of soul-crushing combinations of snow and cold that we begrudgingly accept and even embrace. As a community, we roll our collective eyes as other areas of the country declare “a state of emergency” for one day of bad weather that we endure for months at a time.
Last week, as Erie enjoyed its first stretch of above-freezing temperatures in 2015, I couldn’t help but smile at the melting snow and ice all around me, especially the thick layer of arctic refuge that had engulfed my driveway since shortly after Christmas. It was a subtle reminder that spring was coming, and that even if Erie’s snowfall total isn’t yet finished for this season (we know better than that), brighter days lie ahead. Living in a four-seasons state has its perks. Even if sometimes the seasons feel less like winter/spring/summer/fall and more like winter/post-winter/summer/pre-winter, there is a comfort in the cyclical nature of the seasons.
I am a creature of habit. In addition to living my whole life in Erie, I’ve spent the vast majority of my life as a student and/or teacher, which means my personal/professional life has been shaped year-by-year by the academic calendar. Yet every year as the calendar turns to March, my mood instantly perks up, and it has nothing to do with the impending spring break. The time changes, the snow melts, and, most importantly, the madness begins.
March Madness is the ultimate annual event. From the buildup of the conference tournaments to the anticipation Selection Sunday to the frenzy of the opening weekend to the spectacle of the Final Four, March Madness has it all. Collectively, it is unrivaled. But how many of the various stages of March Madness actually rank among the top 30 on my list of favorite annual events? (Spoiler: the list is sports-heavy). Read on to find out.
In honor of me turning 30, I made mix CDs of my favorite songs from each of my 30 favorite musical artists/groups. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for this list. They’re simply my personal favorites. Coming in at number 8 is Wyclef Jean.
Wyclef Jean first became famous as part of The Fugees. Teaming with Lauryn Hill and Pras, the group’s second album The Score won the Grammy for Best Rap Album in 1996. It’s a great album that I eventually bought, but the first Wyclef album I ever owned was actually his solo debut The Carnival in 1997. I remember it well because it was one of, if not THE, first album that I was allowed to buy with a “Parental Advisory” label on it. It’s somewhat ironic since Wyclef’s rap style is more insightful than inciting. But I remember having the discussion with my parents about how I was old enough and mature enough to know that just because someone else uses explicit language, it doesn’t mean I should. Those who know me know that to this day, I rarely swear.
The Carnival was a revelation for my just-about-to-be teenage ears. Although Wyclef typically gets lumped in as a rapper, his hip hop style was so much more than rap alone. On “Gone Til November” Wyclef delivered a smooth groove featuring the The New York Philharmonic Orchestra. On “Staying Alive” he rapped over a Bee Gees disco sample. On “Mona Lisa” he crooned with The Neville Brothers. The album was unlike anything I had ever heard before, rich with different flavors and textures. Some of the songs weren’t even in English, which brought Wyclef’s background as a native Haitian to the forefront. Wyclef’s was a minority voice I hadn’t been exposed to before, and it felt like I was getting this sneak peak into another world that I previously didn’t know existed. Continue reading 8. Wyclef Jean→
In honor of me turning 30, I made mix CDs of my favorite songs from each of my 30 favorite musical artists/groups. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for this list. They’re simply my personal favorites. Coming in at number 9 is Jason Mraz.
“Yeah the Mr. A to Z, they say I’m all about the wordplay,” Mraz sings on the song “Wordplay,” a self-aware song of saccharine pop music in which Mraz explains the twists and turns of his lyrical acrobatics. Although that song didn’t make the cut for my ultimate compilation, Mraz’s lyrics have left an indelible imprint on my life. Over the past decade or so, Mraz has combined cocky, clever wordplay with introspection and sentimentality in his songs. His ability to vacillate between ice cool confidence and heart-on-his-sleeve vulnerability—plus his ability to turn a phrase—is what makes Mraz a top-10 favorite of mine.
After one listen through his 2002 album, Waiting For My Rocket to Come, I was on board the Mraz bandwagon. Songs like “Curbside Prophet” demonstrated a hip hop influence in terms of the way he put words together, but Mraz would never be confused for Eminem. He’s not a rapper, and unlike Eminem, the man can sing, too. Plus, in place of thumping bass beats, Mraz’s music included everything from acoustic guitars to a brass section to banjo. And for every happy-go-lucky track like “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)” Mraz also had something like “You and I Both”, a tender-hearted love song. Over time, Mraz’s softer side would prove to be his most commercially successful avenue, but it’s his combination of moods that kept him in my rotation. Continue reading 9. Jason Mraz→
In honor of me turning 30, I’m compiling 30 different top-30 lists on a wide variety of topics ranging from trivial interests of mine to meaningful life moments. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for these lists. They were composed by a panel of one—me.
Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and I have my family, especially my parents, to thank for that. My parents had four children born in a span of six years. Given that 2:1 ratio, there must have been holiday stress when I was a child, and I’m sure they could tell me stories of that nature. However, looking back at age 30, I don’t remember any of those stories. What remains is their overwhelmingly positive influence during the Christmas season.
My mom and dad were/are the king and queen of Christmas. Mom decked the halls inside while dad made sure the lights outside were always the best and brightest on the block. Mom teamed with grandma to make the world’s greatest Christmas cookies while dad played Christmas carols on the piano. And so on and so on.
I owe an unpayable debt of gratitude to both of my parents for the love they showered upon me and my siblings growing up. Of course they loved us all year ’round, but they also always had a way of making Christmastime feel special. That’s why, even today as adults, my siblings anxiously await this time of year when we can all be together as a family.
Of all the Christmas traditions that I grew up with, one of the most uniquely Hubert traditions is one that is still going strong as of 2014. Each year since I was born in 1984, my dad has made me a personalized ceramic ornament. For anyone who doesn’t know, my dad is a professional ceramic artist. He has also taught ceramics at Mercyhurst University since before I was born. In the first few years of life when I was an only child, I got spoiled and my dad sometimes made more than one ornament for me. Then, after my siblings came along, the tradition became one ornament per year for each child.
As we grew up and began to have interests, we were able to give input and select what we wanted as our ornament for that year. Each year, shortly after Thanksgiving, Dad would ask us what we wanted. Some years, there was an obvious milestone worth commemorating. Other years it was simply a matter of showcasing something or someone we were a fan of at the time. After everyone submitted their ideas, Dad would begin working on the ornaments. Getting from idea to finished product is a multi-step process that includes hand-sculpting, firing, and glazing each ornament to give it a personalized touch. My dad puts hours of work into each ornament (a time period of days if not weeks during the month of December). Then, either shortly before or on Christmas Day, the new batch of ornaments is revealed to us. At different stages of the tradition, other family members (and, later in life, our significant others) have received a Tom Hubert original, but only the four Hubert children have received one every year.
This photo was taken Dec. 7, 2008, just prior to decorating my brand new tree for the first time living in my apartment. A few of the ornaments pictured here would be lost 364 days later in a fire.
When I moved out of the house into my first apartment in 2008, my collection of Christmas ornaments was among the first things I packed.
Then, on Dec. 6, 2009, disaster struck. The apartment complex where I lived in Erie caught fire in the middle of the night. Fortunately no one was injured, but the damage to the building and the individual units, including mine, was substantial. Once the shock of that experience had worn off and I knew that everyone had made it out safely, my attention shifted to what was left back inside. I was saddened to think of the loss of my new leather furniture, my TVs, even my extensive CD collection, but I knew those physical possessions were replaceable. In the forefront of my mind, all I could think about were the box of handwritten letters I had from Jessie and my dad’s ornaments.
I was so grateful to receive this basket that morning. Almost every ornament was recovered.
For obvious safety reasons, no one was allowed back into the apartment complex, even after the fire had been put out. There was no official word about if or when the tenants would be able to return to their unit to pick up the pieces and see if anything was salvageable. I just kept thinking that among that wreckage was my freshly decorated Christmas tree and all of my treasured ceramic ornaments, and I wondered if I would ever see them again. That morning my prayers were answered when a firefighter “rescued” the ornaments from my apartment amid the soot and ash after hearing my story from my now mother-in-law.
Following the fire, I moved back home with my parents. My dad remade a few of the most notable ornaments that were unable to be recovered. The whole experience only added to the significance of the ornaments in my life. When I next moved out/moved in, it was to live with my wife Jessie. She’ll be the first to tell you that my favorite part of Christmas preparation each year is putting up the tree, specifically decorating it with the many unique ornaments he has made for me over the years.
Truth be told, each ornament has some level of special significance to me. At the very least it was meaningful enough to me at the time to represent that year for me. But I’m going to try to do the impossible and rank my top 30, keeping in mind that I have had slightly more than 30 ornaments in my 30 years since I got spoiled during the pre-sibling era of 1984-86.
In honor of me turning 30, I’m compiling 30 different top-30 lists on a wide variety of topics ranging from trivial interests of mine to meaningful life moments. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for these lists. They were composed by a panel of one—me.
The day after Thanksgiving has been overtaken by Black Friday consumer culture. And while I crazily did find myself among those early morning shoppers a few times in my younger years, I now prefer to spend the day after Thanksgiving kicking off the Christmas season.
Although I hate winter, Christmas is my favorite season of the year. I even make an exception and appreciate snowfall on December 24th and 25th (and then pray for a heatwave on the 26th). Growing up, my family had a lot of special Christmas traditions, and many of them still go on in some form today.
Every Christmas Eve features a visit to my Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rich’s house, which is highlighted by the legendary “Grab Bag.” The first step is finding the letter. The letter from Santa is addressed to the family, and Santa always gives a shoutout to each family member to prove that he’s been watching closely all year long. At the end of the letter, Santa makes reference to the Grab Bag that he hides somewhere inside or outside of the house. The kids search for the bag, and once they find it, the real fun begins.
The Grab Bag is filled with small, unique, often silly gag gifts. Uncle, plays the role of Santa’s helper, doing his jolly best to read off names in entertaining fashion as each wrapped present is handed/tossed/thrown to its recipient. By the time all is said and done, the family is laughing hysterically and usually wearing something goofy such as fake glasses, bandanas, oversized sunglasses, or matching boxers over their dress pants. After the Grab Bag portion of the evening ends, the music gets turned up, more Christmas cookies get eaten, and the gang typically heads to the basement for a pool tournament that goes on for hours. It’s zany Christmas fun, and it’s my favorite day of the year.
Another Christmas tradition that is really special to me is the yearly ornament I get from my dad. Every year since I was born my dad has made a ceramic ornament for me. (Truthfully, I think I got spoiled with more than one ornament for the first few years when I was the only child.) Once I could think for myself, my dad gave me the option to request an ornament of my choosing. From Big Bird to Hulk Hogan to Bo Jackson to Adam Duritz, I have some of the most unique Christmas ornaments you will find on any tree. Over the years, my dad has made hundreds of ornaments for my siblings and I as well as ornaments for cousins, significant others, etc. I’m still thinking about what I want for 2014, but whatever I decide, I know it’ll be something I treasure for the rest of my life.
Clearly I have a soft spot in my heart for these and other traditions that I have grown up with. They are a huge part of what has made Christmas special for me. I know that, in time, as me and my siblings start to have to children of our own, old Christmas traditions will change or stop and new ones will be formed. I can only hope that I will be able to create such love-laden memories as my parents have for me.
Another thing that I love about Christmas are the movies. There are so many great Christmas movies, and my family seemingly has seen all of them. I typically don’t have time for the Christmas season movie marathons, but there are a few that I make a point to watch at least once every Christmas season. With that in mind, I thought, what better way to kick off the 2014 Christmas season than by putting out the list of my 30 favorite Christmas movies. I’ll admit, 30 is a big number. As many good Christmas movies as there are, I had to reach a bit for a few of the selections I included. I promise the top-10 are well worth it though. If you watch nothing else this Christmas season, check out those classics, and you’ll undoubtably be feeling the Christmas spirit. Continue reading 30 at 30 List #9: Christmas Movies→
In honor of me turning 30, I made mix CDs of my favorite songs from each of my 30 favorite musical artists/groups. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for this list. They’re simply my personal favorites. Coming in at number 10 is Jamie Cullum.
Jamie Cullum’s Twentysomething and “Twentysomething,” the album and the song, respectively, were among the most important musical influences of my past decade. Fittingly, the album was released in 2004 when I was turning 20 myself. As I traversed the decade I found myself relating to many of the ideas sung about in that song as well as themes found elsewhere on the album.
When it came time to assemble the ultimate Cullum compilation, I knew that Twentysomething would factor heavily into the equation. In all, 10 of the album’s 15 tracks made the cut, highlighted by the title track. As the final days of my life as a twentysomething ticked away, I often played this track, singing along “But I’m still having fun and I guess that’s the key / I’m a twentysomething and I’ll keep being me.” The track, which has landed on mixes before, most recently resurfaced on Matt’s Mix 164: 30 > 20, as the track opener signaling the transition into the new phase of life. The album ends with Jay-Z’s “30 Something” and W.G. Snuffy Walden’s instrumental “Thirtysomething (Revisited”).
But while Cullum’s signature song and album no longer apply in name, they will always have a spot in my musical rotation. Twentysomething is a rich mix of original and covers that put Cullum’s ability as a crooner on full display. That term—crooner—is typically reserved for the likes of classics like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, but Cullum is the 21st century’s answer to those legends. Although he skews pop a little bit, Cullum seems to be most comfortable and most effective in jazz mode. From a chill, mellowed out rendition of Radiohead’s “High & Dry” to a jazzy twist on Jimi Hendrix’s “Wind Cries Mary” to the solemn, heart-wrenching version of Jeff Buckley’s “Lover You Should’ve Come Over” Cullum’s covers give the originals a run for their money.
The covers are great, but some of the original tracks are even better, led by “Twentysomething” which may just make a run at the number one song on a future 30 at 30 countdown for individual songs.
In honor of me turning 30, I made mix CDs of my favorite songs from each of my 30 favorite musical artists/groups. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for this list. They’re simply my personal favorites. Coming in at number 11 is John Legend.
John Legend has successfully mixed the hip hop swag of today’s generation with the smooth crooning vocals of classic R&B from years gone by. In fact, the “Legend” part of his stage name was given to him for that reason. Poet J. Ivy said that he had an old school sound like one of the legends and began calling him John Legend. The name stuck, and Legend’s career has made him a legend in contemporary R&B, hip hop, and pop music.
Legend worked his way to get to where he is today. He built his reputation through collaborations, playing piano and/or singing background vocals with/for the likes of Alicia Keys, Lauryn Hill, and Kanye West, among others.
By the time he released his debut album, Get Lifted, in 2004, Legend had found his voice and his niche in the music scene. Few people in modern music have as much cachet with as diverse an audience as Legend. His primary sound is soulful R&B with romantic lyrics that make him relatable to the masses. Yet, he often laces his piano tracks with hip hop back beats. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Legend’s music is approachable hip hip, offering an in to hip hop culture for those who may otherwise be turned off by the genre.
Legend has the ability to produce a throwback track a la Marvin Gaye or mix in a verse from Ludacris, and neither sounds forced nor out of character. John Legend is simply the best at what he does.
In honor of me turning 30, I’m compiling 30 different top-30 lists on a wide variety of topics ranging from trivial interests of mine to meaningful life moments. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for these lists. They were composed by a panel of one—me.
One hour into the month of October, the Oakland Athletics’ heavily anticipated playoff run was over. It ended abruptly in the bottom of the 12th inning in Kansas City against a pesky, never-say-die, smallball playing Royals team that seemed to relish the bright lights of playoff baseball perhaps only a bit less so than their fans did, a fan base that had waited 29 years for playoff baseball to return.
The A’s dramatic fall-from-ahead (three times!) loss added another depressing chapter in the ongoing saga that is being a fan of the Billy Beane-era in Oakland. Moneyball the movie was great, but the real world A’s have proven to write a script too tragic for Hollywood. Their regular season success has been overshadowed by postseason futility. Since 2000, Oakland has now lost seven consecutive winner-take-all games, and has won just one postseason series (a 3-0 sweep of Minnesota in the 2006 ALDS) in eight appearances.
This year was supposed to be different. Oakland was a Major League best 67-42 on Aug. 1 when general manager Beane, who was well aware of the playoff struggles of years past, decided to shake things up and go all-in for a World Series run by dealing slugger Yoenis Cespedes for ace pitcher Jon Lester of the Boston Red Sox. Lester debuted Aug. 2, ironically against the Royals, in a game Oakland won 8-3. However, Oakland’s fortunes quickly took a turn for the worse. They watched a 4-game lead in the AL West over the Angels evaporate, finishing the season with the worst record in AL in the month of September and only clinching the second wild card spot on the final day of the season.
Lester was given the ball on the mound in an attempt to validate why they brought him in. He entered the game with a career 2.11 ERA in 13 postseason appearances, good for top-5 all-time. So when Brandon Moss went deep with a 2-run home run in the top of the first inning, many thought Oakland already had given Lester enough support for them to survive in advance. Instead, the wild card game played out, wildly, like a microcosm of the A’s season. The A’s got off to a fast start only to squander it away in heartbreaking, devastating, typical Oakland fashion.
Lester surrendered a run in the bottom of the first and another 2 in the third, allowing the Royals to play with a lead until the sixth. Oakland’s offense awoke from a month-long drought for a 5-run sixth inning, giving Lester a 7-3 lead. Just when it seemed like Lester was finding his form, the Royals got to him in the 8th, forcing manager Bob Melvin to replace him after recording just one out in the inning. Luke Gregorson came in from the bullpen and struck out the final two batters, but not before the Royals had plated 3 to bring them within a run at 7-6.
Oakland failed to tack on an insurance run in the top of the 9th, and it proved costly as the Royals tied the game in the bottom of the inning. Pinch-runner Jarrod Dyson advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, stole third, and then scored on a Nori Aoki sac fly. The Royals were terrors on the basepaths all night, seemingly bunting runners into scoring position every inning and stealing bases at will.
The A’s had one last gasp in the 12th. Pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo came through with an RBI single to score a run and give Oakland the lead for the third occasion of the evening. But KC battled back yet again in the bottom half. First, an Eric Hosmer triple off the wall. Then, Christian Colon hit an unplayable chopper down the third base line to score the tying run. With two outs, Colon then stole second, the Royals’ 7th stolen base of the night. Salvador Perez stepped to the plate against Jason Hammel. Perez was 0-5 on the night, but he delivered with a rope down the third base line, just under the mitt of Josh Donaldson. And just like that, the game, the A’s season, and (most likely) the Jon Lester era in Oakland were done.
Unfortunately, this is not my first rendezvous with sports heartbreak. The feeling has been all-too familiar in my 30 years of life. In fact, I first wrote about the topic of “the devastation game” back in 2008 following Game 4 of the NBA Finals between my Lakers and the rival Celtics. To see where the A’s collapse ranks on my all-time list, read on.
In honor of me turning 30, I’m compiling 30 different top-30 lists on a wide variety of topics ranging from trivial interests of mine to meaningful life moments. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for these lists. They were composed by a panel of one—me.
The final day of summer 2014 also proved to be the final day of life for my family’s pet dog, Rocket, who would have been 15 in October. Flashback to 1999. When my parents first brought him home to meet the family, I was a student in high school—today, I’m teaching it. Where does the time go?
Rocket was a part of my life for nearly half of my life. And while I haven’t lived at home with him and my parents for a few years now, my fondness and affection for him only grew as he aged.
This unexpected 30 for 30 entry is my way of grieving this loss and memorializing his life. Rocket was a good dog, and he was truly one of a kind. Read on for all that I will remember about Rocket.
In honor of me turning 30, I’m making mix CDs of my favorite songs from each of my 30 favorite musical artists/groups. Read the introductory post for more background information on my 30 at 30 project. Reminder: there is no scientific rationale for this list. They’re simply my personal favorites. Coming in at number 12 is Beyoncé.
I was a Beyoncé fan when BEYONCÉ was still just Beyonce, one fourth of Destiny’s Child. I was a big Wyclef Jean fan, so naturally I gravitated toward “No, No, No Part 2”, the remix featuring Wyclef that became Destiny Child’s first single. As much as I enjoyed the group—I own three of there albums as well as a few singles—none of the group’s tracks are included on this compilation. The Destiny’s Child version of Beyoncé is great for what it is, but it feels like a child version of Beyoncé, which is not far off considering she began with the group when she was just a teenager.
Fast forward to 2014. Beyoncé is a grown woman, the biggest star in music and arguably all of entertainment. She was on the cover of Time magazine’s 2014 list of the 100 most influential people in the world. From her 2011 VMAs performance while rocking the baby bump to the Super Bowl Halftime show in 2013 to the On the Run Tour she co-headlined with husband Jay-Z this past summer, Beyoncé has reigned unparalleled as a singerdancerperformerentertainer. Yes, that’s intentionally one word. She’s in a category all by herself.
