Gonna try to win me some cards

I stumbled into this "contest" at one of the card collecting blogs I read.  I love when bloggers offer up free cards as incentive to get more people reading their blog.  In this case Georgia Mindset has offered a free hobby box for anyone who will follow their blog and will give a shout out about the contest. 

Well, Georgia Mindset, your plan has worked perfectly.  I am now following your blog and have added you to my daily-read list.  Thanks for the contest and I hope to be the lucky winner.

And the nice thing is, any other bloggers who are interested can enter the contest as well.  Just head over to the Georgia Mindset website for more details.

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CARD OF THE DAY:  2010 Topps T206 "3-Card Mini". 
I love the ToppsVault store on eBay.  They put out unique (and often times, 1/1) trading card memorabilia on a daily basis and their starting bid prices are quite reasonable.  I've picked up three unique Luke Hochevar cards for my collection from them.   Two of them are labeled 1/1 and all of them have "blank backs".  This particular card is of three T206 mini cards, but they haven't been cut apart.  Also, this card has a "blank back" which makes it interesting and unique (at least to me).

1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner

When I was a kid, I strictly collected basketball cards.  Every once in a while I'd buy a pack or two of baseball or football cards, but my true passion was collecting basketball cards.  And, more specifically, I collected the cards of current players.  

This was for a few reasons.  First, I lived 90+ minutes away from the nearest card shop, which meant that I had little to no access to previously released cards.  Second, it was cheaper and more fun to try to pull my favorite player's card from a pack.  Also, by constantly buying packs of cards, I had a nice stockpile of cards to use as trade-bait with my friends.  Third, vintage cards were too expensive for a kid to try and collect.  The best I could hope for was to find some old cards in my grandparent's basement, and that never happened, unfortunately.  In all the years I collected as a kid, I cannot remember ever buying an individual card.  I always felt that I could get more bang for my buck by playing the lottery of ripping packs of cards.

Yet, as a modern-day basketball card collecting kid, I still knew of the legend of the 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner baseball card.  This card was the first "short-printed" card of importance.  For one reason or another, very few Honus Wagner cards were printed for this series, with some estimating that as few as 200 cards were produced.

Fast forward 80 years to when I was a kid, and these rare cards of a famous and important baseball player were the most highly coveted cards in the industry.  Whenever I was thumbing through a Beckett Magazine for updates on the value of my modern cards, I would always check out the vintage cards to see how valuable they were, and this card always took the cake. 

Today the news spread like wild-fire throughout the card collecting world that another one of these cards had surfaced and was up for auction.  Apparently a man had one of these cards in his safety deposit box since the 1930s and left it to his sister, a nun living in Virginia, after he died.  Current bidding for the card is currently at $180,000, even though the card is in less than mint condition. 

Sadly, I was born many years too late to have my card collection increase in value like past generations have enjoyed (damn "Junk Card" era).  But it's cards like the 1909-11 Honus Wagner T206 that make this hobby so much fun. 

And cards like the Honus Wagner are one of the main reasons why I love tracking down cards that are serial numbered 1/1.  I love knowing that I am the only person in the entire universe with that particular card.  If I can't own a piece of history by shelling out thousands of dollars for a vintage card, then I'll make my own history by owning a unique modern-day card (like the one below), which makes me very happy indeed.
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SONG:  "Hometown Glory" by Adele



CARD:  2010 Topps T206 Bronze "Blank Back" Luke Hochevar, serial numbered 1/1

MOVEMBER:  In the past two days I've received $150.00 in donations, which means that I'm halfway to meeting my personal goal of $300, and MOvember hasn't even started yet.  I couldn't be happier.  Thanks to my wife, my mom, and my cousin Darcey for their donations.  You guys are the greatest!

MOvember 2010 Slogan Pitch

It is almost November, which can only mean one thing:  MOVEMBER!!!  That's right.  Everyone's favorite mustache-growing charity is about to kick off.  For the uninitiated, here is a quick explanation of MOvember from the MOvember website:

The Mo, slang for moustache, and November come together each year for Movember. 

Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st  clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month.  The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men.  Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days. 

Yes, I will once again be growing a mustache for 30 days (although I usually start early, since my facial hair growing skills are less than stellar).  You may ask yourself why I would put myself through such an ordeal?  To raise money.  "How will the money be used?" you ask.  Great question.

The funds raised through Movember’s US campaign benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

The PCF uses the money raised by Movember to fund research that is accelerating the discovery of better treatments and ultimately finding a cure for prostate cancer.  One such program is the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center’s research, which has recently made a significant breakthrough.  They identified 24 different kinds of prostate cancer and how aggressive each is.  This should enable scientists to soon be able to answer the agonizing question facing men with prostate cancer: does their cancer need immediate treatment, and if so what is the best treatment, or can it be left alone?

LIVESTRONG uses the money raised by Movember to fund important programs to support young adults and their families battling and surviving cancer.  These programs include:

•     Fertile Hope, an initiative dedicated to providing reproductive information, support and hope to cancer patients and survivors whose medical treatments present the risk of infertility.

•      My Planet, an online community of peer support that allows young adults to find and communicate with other young adults whose lives have been affected by cancer.

•      Continuing Nursing Education program on Young Adult Cancer Survivorship. LIVESTRONG encourage nurses to know the warning signs of cancer, understand what types of cancer for which young adults may be at risk, and learn about cancer screening.

The success of Movember can be directly attributed to the more than 627,000 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas who have supported our cause since 2003.  Movember is sincerely grateful for their efforts and appreciates all they do.

For those of you new to Movember, we challenge you to join us in changing the face of men's health.

 This is my favorite charity to support.  It's a serious issue being addressed in a fun and unique way.  In addition to growing a really creepy and lame mustache, I thought I'd help the MOvember people out by coming up with some catchy slogans that they may or may not want to use in the future.

• MOvember, because every man looks better wearing a lip sweater.

• MOvember, because the 5K-fundraiser idea was already taken.

• MOvember, because it's not like there is anything better to do in November.

• MOvember, because no politician approved this mustache.

• MOvember, invented by drunk Australians.

• MOvember, because Justin Bieber can't.

• MOvember, a trending topic on Twitter since 1987.

• MOvember, the only holiday that Hallmark hasn't bastardized.

• MOvember, because a month with a mustache is easier than being stuck in a Chilean mine with 32 other dudes.

• MOvember, at least it's not "Merkin-vember".

• MOvember, because a month with a mustache beats receiving text message pictures from Brett Favre.

• MOvember, recommended by 1 out of 2 members of Hall and Oates.

• MOvember, because your nose hairs need a friend.

• MOvember, if it's good enough for Tom Sellak, it damn well had better be good enough for you.

Hopefully the fine folks running MOvember will take these into consideration.

If you or someone you know would like to join our team, "MOrthern Colorado," go here and sign up:
http://us.movember.com/register/121110

Last year Team MOrthern Colorado raised over $700.  This year our goal is to raise over $1000.  

If you or someone you know would care to donate to me and my Mo, go here:   
http://us.movember.com/mospace/138927/

Last year I raised $266 for the cause.  This year my personal goal is to raise at least $300.
 
Thank you in advance for your support, whether you choose to donate or grow a Mo.   Every dollar counts and every dollar is important in the fight against prostate and testicular cancer. 

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SONG:  "Feeling Alright" by the Black Crowes

Honesty is the Best Policy

Let the record show that I do not enjoy nightly walks with my wife and my dog.  It's not the wife and dog part I do not like (indeed, I like them very much), it's the walking part.  I am a 29 year-old man who does not enjoy walks.  I know I had previously posted on this blog that I enjoy evening walks.  That was not true then and it is not true now.  I said those things in an attempt to make myself look good.  Thank you for your time and I will work harder to be at all times honest within my blog posts in the future.

Sincerely,

The Writing Staff of 87 Murphy Squirrels

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SONG:  "Grey Street" by the Dave Matthews Band



CARDS:   my recently completed 2010 Topps Chrome Luke Hochevar "rainbow."

Treasures from my Grandma Eva

A few years ago, my Grandma Eva began asking what items from her house we would like to have once she had died.  While none of us were looking forward to that inevitable day, I believe it gave her comfort to know that some of her worldly possessions would be in the homes of her family.

The only item I asked my Grandma to give me was her dinning room table.  Of all of her possessions, this one carried with it some of my fondest memories.  In my mind, if I could no longer enjoy a home-cooked meal from my Grandma (man, that's a tough set of words to type out), then I want to forever be able to sit at the table where those meals were presented.

After Grandma passed away back in July, my wife and I stayed in Grandma's house the nights before and after her memorial service.  It was a bittersweet night.  It was tough because she was no longer there with us, but it was a very important way for me to cope with her death.

After Grandma's memorial service, my parents mentioned that my wife and I should take a few items home with us if we wanted.  That night before bed we took a moment to look through the house and picked out a few items to take home with us.

First we selected a set of blue canisters.  For as long as I can remember these four canisters sat on Grandma's kitchen counter holding her flour, sugar, and other cooking items.

We would later find out that these canisters were made by L.E. Smith and are quite the collector's items.  Since we found these canisters, the wife and I have tracked down a few other L.E. Smith items, including these:

Another item I picked out that day was the candy jar that always sat upon Grandma and Grandpa's refrigerator.  I always loved sticking my little arm deep inside this jar and pulling out a treat.

 
As you can see from this picture, this jar will continue to house my favorite candy treats.

When I went back to Colorado for Grandma's memorial service after her remains were cremated, the family spent a few hours at her house digging deep into her closets and cabinets and I discovered some other gems that I brought back to Nebraska to enjoy.

I added a few more glass items to our collection.

I also laid claim to this glass container that Grandma always kept vinegar in for use at the dinner table.  Whenever Grandma made "California Blend" for dinner, I would douse the veggies in vinegar using this jar.

While digging through Grandma's bedroom closet, I stumbled upon this picture of her and her parents and siblings.  I love this picture and will display it proudly.  Grandma Eva is in the center of the back row. 

I also found this electric football game in her basement.  I found out that my father and his brothers would spend hours playing this game when they were kids.  My Dad said that the only thing missing from the game was the piece of metal that was used to kick field goals.  It will look so cool in my "man cave".

Finally, my sister and I found this notebook in Grandma's kitchen.  Inside it were pages and pages of hand-written recipes.  What an amazing piece of family history.  I can't wait to recreate some of the foods for which Grandma was so famous.

Grandma Eva was not a wealthy person, but being able to have some of her possessions in my house is more than priceless.  These items would be worthless to anyone who was unfortunate enough to have known her, but to me they contain a lifetime's worth of memories.

For My Sister

These are songs you might like.

MODERN

Edwin McCain, "Walk with You"




Stephen Curtis Chapman, "Cinderella"



Carrie Underwood, "Mama's Song" (kinda works)




Darius Rucker, "It Won't Be Like This For Long"






Tim McGraw, "My Little Girl"





Sheryl Crow, "Sweet Child O' Mine"




Loudon Wainwright, "Daughter"







Rodney Atkins, "Cleaning This Gun"  (for a good laugh)



Ingrid Michaelson, "Maybe"




CLASSIC

Stevie Wonder, "Isn't She Lovely"




Bob Carlisle, "Butterfly Kisses"



Joe Cocker, "You Are So Beautiful"

To be or not to be

This week "My Wife Asks..."

Based on your love of theater in high school, did you ever consider doing something professionally in that area?

When I was in elementary school, I was certain I was going to be in the NBA.  I spent hours at the basketball court across from my house practicing to become the next John Stockton.  My friends and I would spend hours having dunk contests on their back yard basketball hoops.  Our junior high basketball team was pretty good.

Then came my freshman year of high school and everyone around me got taller while I remained short and skinny.  Everyone became faster, stronger, and better than me in sports.  This was a very unwelcome wake-up call to me that my dream of playing professional basketball would remain just that, a dream.

During my sophomore year, on a whim, I auditioned for the school drama club Fall production of M*A*S*H.  I had no illusions of getting a role.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that I hoped that I was rooting that I wouldn't get a role.  I am pretty sure that I only auditioned because my cousin Brian was trying out and I was with him at the time.  Yet, for some reason, the drama teacher cast me in one of the lead roles as Hawkeye Pierce.

And somehow I was good.  And I loved being on stage.  I loved getting laughs.  I loved the costumes and learning lines and rehearsing with my friends.  I especially loved being able to escape and hide behind all of the characters I played on stage.   

As high school progressed and I still wasn't growing as quickly as my peers, I found that in drama, my size and speed and strength were irrelevant.  I found that I had a previously undiscovered knack for theater.  And my insecurities were dulled with this success.  On stage, my wise-ass, theatrical, do-anything-for-a-laugh personality was not only encouraged, but I received praise and accolades.  It was a win-win situation.

The summer before my senior year of high school, my friend Brad and I put together an improv/variety show with members of our community.  As much as I loved scripted drama and comedy, I really found my wheel-house with improvisational comedy.  I loved thinking quickly on my feet.  I loved being able to showcase my wit and sense of humor without being restricted by a script (even though I would often go off script during drama productions just for fun and to see how my co-actors would react).  We continued our improv acting in college when we put together a show with some fellow thespians.  It was great fun and my love for getting a laugh never waned, even though it would end up being my last stage performance.

Yet in all of those years, it never occurred to me that I might be a wise decision to try to earn a living in theater after college.  As with sports, acting was always just something fun for me to do.  So while I still enjoy comedy, going to the theater for the occasional performance, and might dabble in community theater sometime down the road, I am certain that I'll never have the drive or ambition necessary to do it professionally. 

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SONG:  "This" by Darius Rucker from his newly release album, Charleston, SC 1966.  A great song from a great sophomore solo country album from Darius.

CARD:  Luke Hochevar 2008 Bowman Chrome Magenta Printing Plate, serial numbered 1/1.

Card Chase, the Dexter Fowler Edition

Last month, while The Wife and I were busting boxes of 2010 Topps T206 baseball cards, she noticed that one card was really cool.  It was a Dexter Fowler Piedmont Mini card.  Here is the card:

One aspect of the T206 series of cards is that they put the player's last name followed by the location that the player plays.  In this case, it was "Fowler, Colorado" which, oddly enough, is the name of my hometown.  At that moment, I knew I must start collecting Dexter Fowler baseball cards.

I liked the idea because Dexter is a relatively young player (which means he doesn't have a ton of cards already out, which means it should be easier to get caught up), he's not a big name player (which means his cards aren't out of my price range), and he plays for the team I rooted for as a kid, the Colorado Rockies.

I looked through some of my older cards and found that I already had one of his cards, a 2009 Topps T206 Piedmont mini.

I then found a handful of his cards on eBay, which I quickly bought using some of the money I made with the sale of my Stephen Strasburg printing plate card.

While browsing through eBay, I noticed that Dexter is one of the players who have Autographed Patch Letters in production, which I've always wanted to collect, but have never had a reason to do so.  So far, I have three of the letters of his last name.  I can't wait to have his whole name.  It will look great on my card collection wall.

I'm very glad to have a new player to collect, thanks to my wife's eagle eyes.

What I Like and Dislike

Things I really dislike a lot at this moment:

Public Service Announcement commercials;
Jillian Michaels;
press conferences;
flavored iced tea;
sweet tea;
Allison Krauss;
the phrase "on a scale of 1 to 10";
my alarm clock;
national holidays that fall on a Monday;
carrier pigeons;
the word "whom";
GoDaddy.com commercials (especially ones that star Danika Patrick);
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition (especially Ty Pennington);
picking up Brodie's boom-booms;
one-word text messages;
ball-point pens;
Yoko Ono;
people who don't hate cancer enough;
exercising;
60 Minutes;
diet soda;
every other person in the grocery store;
GLEE;
humidity;
the "Green" movement;
Sean Hannity;
Keith Olberman;
facebook memes;
John Lennon's song "Imagine".

Things I really like a lot at this moment:

Chick McGee;
Dirty jokes;
Calvin and Hobbes comics;
Gold Bond Medicated Powder;
Movember;
Justin Timberlake on SNL;
buying polo shirts at thrift stores;
Chris Turkelton and Johnny Dorian;
Brodie eating watermelon;
iced tea;
home-made fruit pies;
pulled pork;
my snowblower;
eBay;
free golf;
Stana Katic;
shredding junk mail;
Modern Family;
Rob Huebel on Twitter;
Charlie Day;
comedy club names;
podcasts on my iPod;
Amazon.com's MP3 Daily Deal;
Tootsie Rolls;
when you go to a Hall and Oates Tribute Band concert and it turns out to actually be Hall and Oates;
President Obama hasn't quit smoking;
YouTube videos of puppies;
1980s Bobcat Goldthwait;
KC Chiefs kicker Ryan Succop;
former NBA player Mitch Kupchak;
Dr. Pepper;
Yakity Sax;
the wagon my wife's draggin';
UFC;
poker;
"Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem w/ Rhianna;
Phil Dunphy quotes.

Gay Marriage and Me

This week "My Wife Asks..."

It seems to me your views about gay marriage may be changing. Is that true? If so, what’s up with that?

 Hmmmm, how to tackle this one?

Let me first tell you where I sit, before I tell you where I stand.  I am a small "L" libertarian, which means that I am a fiscal conservative and a social liberal (the former more so than the latter).  My first principle is to support and promote fiscal responsibility in government: balanced budgets, low deficits, low tax rates, low spending, etc.  Notice I didn't say "no" deficits, tax rates, spending, etc.  I said "low" because I believe in small/limited government (I'm not an anarchist), and even a small/limited government needs money.

My second principle is to support and promote independence, liberty, and freedom, both in society and economically.  I believe that I know how best to live my life and spend my money.  I am a Federalist, which means that I believe that our Founders intentionally created a government where power is SHARED between national and state governments.  I believe that the federal government has enumerated powers expressly laid out in the Constitution (and that they long ago overstepped on those powers).  I believe that our Constitution was created to limit government, not as a tool to limit it's citizenry.  As Edmund Opitz once said, "No one can read our Constitution without concluding that the people who wrote it wanted their government severely limited; the words “no” and “not” employed in restraint of government power occur 24 times in the first seven articles of the Constitution and 22 more times in the Bill of Rights."

Finally, I wish that the Founders would have put the 10th Amendment first (Pop Quiz:  Without looking online, say aloud the 10th Amendment).  If you don't remember, the 10th Amendment states

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

 With all that said, I have come to the belief that there are many, many, MANY issues that are better left in the hands of state governments to handle, and gay marriage should be one of those issues.

In my world view, marriage would be seen by the federal government as a contract between two consenting adults.  In the government's eyes, all marriages would be civil unions. 

I would first eliminate the federal Defense of Marriage Act, as I believe it is an example of the federal government meddling in an issue that is not theirs to decide.

This would then leave it up to each individual state government and their citizenry to define which consenting adults could enter into the marriage contract.  States would decide how old both parties would need to be.  Some states would allow two 16 year olds to marry.  Others would set the age higher.  But it would be up to each state to decide.

In the same way, some (and, I would hope, eventually all) states would recognize all marriages, regardless of the gender of the parties involved (and, hopefully, they would do so legislatively, as Vermont and New Hampshire have done, and not rely upon judicial fiat to decide the issue in their state).  Some states might never recognize same-sex marriage.  My remedy to those gay couples who live in such a state would be for them to convince their fellow citizens to change their mind or, as a last resort, move to a state that does recognize same-sex marriages.  (Similar to how some people leave a state that has too high of a tax rate and move to a state that has a lower tax rate.)

Also, I would like the federal government to switch from an income tax to a consumption tax as a way to eliminate the need for the federal government to get involved in the matter.  This would eliminate tax breaks and incentives for married couples, thereby eliminating the current bias in favor of hetero marriages.

Is my solution perfect?  No.  Are there flaws within my proposed solution?  Yes there are (probably more then I can currently see).  But my solution would be wholly consistent with my libertarian and Federalist principles.

Thoughts, comments, and critiques are welcome in the comment section below.  And feel free to leave your comments anonymously if you would like.

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ALBUM:  Boston by Boston -- with such hits as "More Than a Feeling," "Long Time," "Rock and Roll Band," "Let Me Take You Home Tonight," and "Peace of Mind," it's no wonder that this is the second-best selling debut album of all time.

NETFLIX:  The Ultimate Fighter: Season 11  -- I just finished the first disc of this season, and it was fantastic.  Thanks, in large part, to UFC President Dana White, this series gets better and better with each season.

BOOK:  "Are You Kidding Me?:  The Story of Rocco Mediate's Extraordinary Battle with Tiger Woods at the US Open" by John Feinstein and Rocco Mediate  -- I recently purchased this book on eBay.  I am excited to read the story from Rocco's perspective and compare that to my memories from watching the event on television.

SPOILER ALERT!!!!:  With regard to the television show "Castle," I've discovered that a vast majority of the time, the murderer is the character (who isn't one a regular on the show) who speaks first.  Feel free to try out my theory the next time you watch an episode. 

Gibson.com's Top 50 Guitar Solos

I heard about this list on the Bob and Tom Show last week.  I'm not too sure I agree with most of the list.

As best as I can tell, the Gibson.com Top 50 Guitar Solos list was put together by "musicians Bart Walsh (David Lee Roth) and Jeff Cease (Black Crowes), and Gibson.com’s entire editing and writing staff."

Here is their list.

1. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
2. “Eruption,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
3. “All Along the Watchtower,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
4. “Hotel California,” Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)
5. “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
6. “Free Bird,” Lynyrd Skynyrd (Gary Rossington, Allen Collins)
7. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton, Duane Allman)
8. “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” The Beatles (Eric Clapton)
9. “Johnny B. Goode,” Chuck Berry
10. “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Queen (Brian May)
11. “Crazy Train,” Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)
12. “Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers,” Jeff Beck
13. “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
14. “Hot for Teacher,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
15. “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
16. “November Rain,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
17. “Mr Crowley,” Ozzy Osbourne (Randy Rhoads)
18. “Whole Lotta Rosie,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
19. “Like a Hurricane,” Neil Young and Crazy Horse
20. “Sultans of Swing,” Dire Straits (Mark Knopfler)
21. “Texas Flood,” Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
22. “One,” Metallica (Kirk Hammett)
23. “Cortez the Killer,” Neil Young and Crazy Horse
24. “Rock Around the Clock,” Bill Haley and His Comets (Danny Cedrone)
25. “Sweet Jane” (live), Lou Reed (Steve Hunter, Dick Wagner)
26. “Purple Rain,” Prince and the Revolution (Prince)
27. “Heartbreaker,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
28. “Jessica,” Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts)
29. “Machine Gun,” Jimi Hendrix
30. “Crossroads,” Cream (Eric Clapton)
31. “Time,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
32. “Are You Experienced,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
33. “Race with the Devil,” Gene Vincent (Cliff Gallup)
34. “Don’t Believe a Word,” Thin Lizzy (Brian Robertson)
35. “Purple Haze,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
36. “Besame Mucho,” Wes Montgomery
37. “Sympathy for the Devil,” The Rolling Stones (Keith Richards)
38. “Blue Sky,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
39. “My Sharona,” The Knack (Berton Averre)
40. “Marquee Moon,” Television (Tom Verlaine)
41. “Hitch a Ride,” Boston (Tom Scholz)
42. “The End,” The Beatles (Paul McCartney, George Harrison, John Lennon)
43. “Whole Lotta Love,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
44. “Train Kept A Rollin’” (live), Aerosmith (Joe Perry)
45. “Highway Star,” Deep Purple (Ritchie Blackmore)
46. “Dirt,” The Stooges (Ron Asheton)
47. “Off the Handle,” Rory Gallagher
48. “The Great Curve,” Talking Heads (Adrian Belew)
49. “The Messiah Will Come Again,” Roy Buchanan
50. “Beat It,” Michael Jackson (Eddie Van Halen)

They also had their readers create a Top 25 list.  Here are their selections.

1. “Stairway to Heaven,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
2. “Free Bird,” Lynyrd Skynyrd (Allen Collins, Gary Rossington)
3. “Blue Sky,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
4. “Layla,” Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton, Duane Allman)
5. “Eruption,” Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)
6. “Whole Lotta Rosie,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
7. “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
8. “20th Century Boy,” T. Rex (Marc Bolan)
9. “Sweet Child o’ Mine,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
10. “Rude Mood,” Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble
11. “Hotel California,” Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)
12. “Comfortably Numb,” Pink Floyd (David Gilmour)
13. “November Rain,” Guns N’ Roses (Slash)
14. “Back in Black,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
15. “Whipping Post,” Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts, Duane Allman)
16. “Since I’ve Been Loving You,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
17. “Machine Gun,” Jimi Hendrix
18. “Crossroads,” Cream (Eric Clapton)
19. “Let There Be Rock,” AC/DC (Angus Young)
20. “Statesboro Blues,” The Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman, Dickey Betts)
21. “Keep Yourself Alive,” Queen (Brian May)
22. “25 or 6 to 4,” Chicago (Terry Kath)
23. “All Along the Watchtower,” The Jimi Hendrix Experience
24. “Heartbreaker,” Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page)
25. “Landslide,” Fleetwood Mac (Lindsey Buckingham) and “Dreams,” Allman Brothers Band (Duane Allman) (tie)

I liked some of choices on both lists, but there were also some they left off.  Here is my list of the Top 25 Guitar Solos. 

1.  "Free Bird," Lynyrd Skynyrd (Allen Collins, Gary Rossington) 

2. "Eruption," Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen) 

3.  "Have A Drink On Me," AC/DC  (Angus Young) 

4. "Hotel California," The Eagles (Don Felder, Joe Walsh)

5.  "Wish You Were Here,"  Pink Floyd (David Gilmore) 

6.  "Stairway to Heaven," Led Zeppelin (Jimmy Page) 

7.  "Bridge to Better Days," Joe Bonamassa 

8.  "Sweet Child O' Mine," Guns N' Roses (Slash) 

9.  "La Grange," ZZ Top (Billy Gibbons)

10.  "Jessica," The Allman Brothers Band (Dickey Betts)

11.  "Soap on a Rope," Chickenfoot (Joe Satriani) 

12. "All Along the Watchtower," The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Jimi Hendrix)

13.  "Long Time," Boston (Tom Scholz)

14.  "Won't Get Fooled Again," The Who (Pete Townshend)

15.  "Who Did You Think I Was"  John Mayer Trio (John Mayer) 

16.  "I Heard it Through the Grapevine" Creedence Clearwater Revival (John Fogerty)

17.   "You Really Got Me," The Kinks (Dave Davies)

18.  "Purple Haze," The Jimi Hendrix Experience (Jimi Hendrix)

19.  "Black Magic Woman," Santana (Carlos Santana)

20.  "Right Now," Van Halen (Eddie Van Halen)

21.  "Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo,"  Rick Derringer

22.  "Thunderstruck," AC/DC (Angus Young)

23.  "Crush," Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds

24. "Rocky Mountain Way," Joe Walsh

25.  "The Lumberjack," Jackyl (Jesse James Dupree)