The One Romantic Movie Guys Don't Hate

When men are forced to watch kissy-face love stories, they barf in their souls a little.

By: John DeVore

From: http://www.premiere.com/

I don’t know a guy who can’t quote The Princess Bride, the 1987 romantic-comedy about pirates, monster rats, and true love.

The Princess Bride is the perfect romantic movie for men because it celebrates virtues that are important to the muddier sex, as well as the fairer. The Princess Bride features one of the greatest sword duels of all time, fought by a hero too cool to say “I love you.” There’s a feisty princess who is a jerk at first, then is just so over it all. Let’s not forget the movie also features the single greatest performance by a professional wrestler in cinematic history.

But the reason The Princess Bride is the one romantic movie guys don’t hate is because it’s a movie about loyalty. It’s about the love between men and women, best friends, and family. This movie isn’t an insipid fantasy where the girl gets the guy just because she’s pretty and put upon. In The Princess Bride love is a contact sport defined by giving, rather than receiving.

Loyalty is one human virtue that men happily celebrate. Underneath the carnage, war movies are usually about the bonds of brotherhood. Sports movies are all about devotion to the team. Even the second greatest romantic movie for men is about a lone cop fighting a gang of thieves in a skyscraper so he can rescue the estranged wife he hopes to win back. In fairy tales, princesses are always waiting for their princes to come, which holds some entertainment value for women. Personally, it’s lame to be told that sitting still and pouting is anyway to become happy. But to trigger the heart tripwires of a man, a movie has to focus on him staying true to his word, whether it’s a promise made to a lover, a comrade-in-arms, or a sick grandson.

Men understand that dating is a negotiation, which is why we sit through movies like Beaches, a movie that could have done with less cancer and more sharks. I was just being nice when I told my girlfriend that I liked The Notebook. While she was dabbing her cheeks while watching this tale of timeless love, I couldn’t help thinking “When is Grandma going to die?” It’s not that I’m dead inside, or harbor a deep hatred toward little old ladies. I was just bored by the inevitability of it all – the star-crossed lovers, the kissing in the rain, the emotional mugging at the end. These movies are all so corny. They stimulate the heart in the way pornography exclusively stimulates sexual excitement. I know I’m not the only guy who was rooting for the Titanic to sink faster.

Now, it should be noted that there’s a difference between a romantic movie and what is popularly referred to as a “chick flick.” Chick flicks are romantic movies without a conscience. They should be renamed “chicksploitation” flicks, as they prey on female insecurities until the final reel, where the frog suddenly becomes a prince with a taste for flies. Asking your man to watch a chick flick is like asking Frankenstein’s monster to watch Frankenstein. The whole time, the monster is thinking “Wait a second, I’m not that bad! I didn’t ask to be stitched together and lit up like a Vegas casino”

It’s odd, but a tongue-in-cheek fairy tale like The Princess Bride offers up a healthy romantic moral: loving someone is about wanting to grant them their hearts wish. Love is life in a foxhole, where one person has the other’s back, especially when the bullets are flying.

For those who have never seen The Princess Bride, seriously what is your problem? Was your mother an evil carny who raised you in a wicker birdcage under the streets of Paris? The Princess Bride starts off as a story a grandfather reads to his sick grandson. The story is about the love between a princess and a farm boy, how these two are torn asunder, and then reunited. The little boy asks a question about the story that most guys secretly want to ask when forced to endure any Jennifer Aniston movie: “Is there a lot of kissing in it?” Of course, there is kissing. But there are also screaming eels, a pit of despair, and an evil genius played memorably by Wallace Shawn. The droll lead, Cary Elwes, has a posse of best friends who kick butt. They’re all in it together. The Princess Bride is sarcastic, instead of sentimental. The flick is about the responsibility that men have to rescue those that mean something to them. That includes a daring rescue from a boring sick day.

Check out The Princess Bride on Blu-ray

Gorgeous Garage Conversion By Shed Architects

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto

from http://www.treehugger.com/

The appropriately named SHED Architecture and Design has done a lovely garage conversion into a 300 square foot studio apartment in a Seattle backyard.

It is hard to call it a renovation, but zoning bylaws would not permit a new building, so they appear to have retained a few sticks. It is another good example of how one can make such a small space not only habitable but lovely to look at. The Architects are quoted in Coolboom:

The project began with a 30 square meter single car garage, built in the 1920's, that was in an advanced state of decay and in need of a new foundation. Local codes would have prevented replacing it with a new building and so the decision was made to rehabilitate it. The overarching goal was to maximize the density and utility of the small 300 square meter lot and this was achieved by creating a studio apartment to generate income for the homeowners, a workshop and storage area in the new garage basement to serve the main house, and by adding terraces, paths, and steps to the backyard.

The garage, elevated above a sunken yard on wooden posts was in need of a new foundation. The building was jacked up so that a new basement could be excavated and built beneath it. The basement contains a mechanical room and a workshop and storage space for the main house. The excavated soil was used to create raised terraces in the back yard.

The loft looks tight but cozy. Access is via a ladder opposite the closet.

More at Shed Architecture & Design

New Wine In Old Bottles: The Greenest Way To Drink

by Lloyd Alter, Toronto

from: http://www.treehugger.com/

Images via Inhabitat

Whenever there is a discussion about wine packaging, TreeHugger comes down on the side of local and refillable. We return often to TreeHugger Emeritus Ruben Anderson's article in the Tyee: New Wine in Old Bottles, where he notes that in France, wine bottles are refilled an average of eight times. Now they even have computerized wine dispensers where you can fill your own jugs with vin de table for about two bucks a litre.

It is much like filling up your car at the self-service gas station, and at 1.45 euros per litre, it is about the same price. (gas in France is 1.41 euros per litre). It isn't a new idea; Dr. Vino writes:

Astrid Terzian introduced this concept that hearkens back to a bygone era when wine would arrive in Paris shops in tonneaux and consumers would bring their own flagons to fill. But today, Terzian says, she started this scheme in fall 2008 to fill a niche, tapping into two key themes, environmental awareness and the economy.

Dr. Vino also suggests that the system is coming to the States within the year. But every time we have this discussion, people note that in the litigious USA, somebody will get sick and sue. There are people trying to do refillable bottles in America; Pend d'Oreille Winery sells wine in a refillable 1.5 litre jug. Wines and Vines writes:

The economic benefits have sweetened the environmental proposition that initially inspired the program. Since a local market for glass recyclables doesn't exist in Sandpoint, bottles were typically reintegrated with solid waste and sent to an Oregon landfill. Pend d'Oreille's program helps reduce that waste stream.

In British Columbia a lot of wineries are looking at refillable bottles.

Preliminary economic models developed by Dr. Ian Stuart of the Faculty of Management at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan in Kelowna pegged the per-bottle savings of the program at 46 cents (Canadian) per bottle (based on an annual flow of 840,000 bottles through the system). Smaller wineries typically pay between 85 cents to $1.20 Canadian (CA$1 = US$0.94) per new bottle.

In Michigan, you can bring your own bottles to Left Foot Charleys.

It's cheaper and better for the environment, obviously the greenest alternative. But what do we get peddled as green?

Boxes aren't Green

We noted earlier Ruben's wonderful article, where he questioned the green-ness of boxed wine, writing

While looking for wine in refilled bottles I had the misfortune to see one of those shrill displays of wine in Tetra Paks; this crap is being flogged as a "Green Solution." It's junk like this that drives me to the liquor store in the first place. Tetra Paks are here to save us because they weigh less, so less climate-changing diesel fuel is required to lug them across the ocean from Australia. Dear God, where to start?

He does go on, read the rest in Which Is Greener, Wine Bottle or Box? Neither.

TreeHugger Jenna, who does life cycle analyses for her day job, had a close look at boxed wine and concluded that it did have a lower carbon footprint than bottled.

Overall, the study concludes that the paperboard systems have the lowest total energy as well as the lowest greenhouse gas emissions; the glass systems have the highest total energy as well as the highest greenhouse gas emissions.

More in Hitting the Bottle or Hitting the Box? The Debate Continues

But as was noted in a post on the recycling of Tetra Pak,

Green is reusable. Green is refillable. Green is not disposable and downcylable, for the lucky 20% of Americans who have access to it, and landfill for the 80% who don't. Tetra Pak is the most elaborate greenwashing scheme ever, and they are doing a very good job of it.

(although I must point out that Pablo disagrees with me in his Defense of Tetrapak)

Others are trying to reduce their impact by putting wine in pouches, which are then put in a cardboard box. It is popular in Europe but has only six percent of the market in the USA, as everyone evidently thinks it is only for plonk suitable for rubbies. Alan Dufrêne, a wine consultant, blames the industry. "Don't put low quality wine in bag-in-box packaging," Dufrêne told wine makers. "It will only reduce its appeal." More in Which Is Greener, Wine Bottle or Box? Depends on the Box

PET Bottles were developed for the British market, so that yobs wouldn't kill each other at football games. Their claim is that they are lighter and smaller, taking less energy to ship. The bottles " are 88 percent lighter than glass bottles, and use less energy to manufacture than glass bottles. The lightweight plastic bottles also reduce distribution emissions." John isn't convinced and writes Marks & Spencer Delivers Wine in Plastic Bottles, but Is It Greener?

April wrote about Yealands Estate wine, packed in PET, noting that "its Full Circle sauvignon blanc bottles are 89% lighter than 750ml glass bottles, which means they generate 54% less greenhouse gas emissions and use nearly 20% less energy to produce than glass. " Ways to Wine: From Bottle to Box, Back to Bottle

April is also fond of wine in pouches, noting that they are a twentieth of the weight of glass, and quotes a study:

Even if 100% of wine bottles were recycled and 0% of wine pouches were recycled (because by the way, the mixed-material pouches are NOT currently recyclable) pouches would still have less environmental impact and contribute less waste.

It is a difficult issue. As Matt calculated in his post Ship or Truck Transport Makes All the Difference in Wine's Carbon Footprint , it doesn't really take a lot of energy to move wine by ship around the world. In fact, driving to the wine store probably has a bigger footprint than shipping the bottle from New Zealand. But it still takes a lot of energy to make a bottle or a box, energy that would be saved if we could refill our own jugs and bottles right from the tank. But notwithstanding Dr. Vino's optimism, I don't expect to see it any time soon.

A woman named Marijuana plays it straight - and wins

From: http://www.jsonline.com/

enlarge photo

Jeffrey Phelps

Marijuana Pepsi Sawyer overcame a difficult youth, exacerbated by her name, and now is an educator.

more photos

Jeffrey Phelps

Marijuana Pepsi Sawyer overcame a difficult youth, exacerbated by her name, and now is an educator.

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Police years ago pulled over a young woman who rushed through an amber traffic light. "I'm about to arrest this person right now," the irritated officer radioed to a dispatcher. "She's telling me her name is Marijuana Pepsi Jackson."

It's the truth. Marijuana and Pepsi are her legal first and middle names, and the Beloit woman embraces them as a symbol of her struggle to succeed and to help other children overcome obstacles.

No Mary or Mary Jane or Mary Wanda for her. It's Marijuana, thank you, she's told bosses, co-workers and friends over the years, and even wore it on nametags at work.

This tall, striking, self-assured, motorcycle-riding woman is a schoolteacher with a master's degree in higher education administration. Soon, she'll start work on her doctorate.

All of her achievement came despite that smoky, carbonated name. And partly because of it. No one named Marijuana Pepsi gets lost in the crowd.

"Everybody I meet says this: You're nothing like I thought you'd be," she told me when we sat down for an interview in Beloit last week.

These days she goes by Marijuana Sawyer, the surname of her ex-husband from Georgia, where she spent 10 years before returning to Beloit in 2008 to fulfill a promise to make a difference in her hometown. She has a 6-year-old son named, mercifully, Isaac.

Sawyer's mother, Maggie Johnson, picked her name. Her father objected but lost the argument. To this day, a lot of family members and best buds call her Pepsi.

"She said that she knew when I was born that you could take this name and go around the world with it. At the time as a child, I'm thinking yeah, right. You named my older sister Kimberly. You named my younger sister Robin," Sawyer said.

I've tried several times over the years to find Marijuana - the person, that is. When I was a cub reporter at the Beloit Daily News in the early 1980s, there was a rumor around town about an elementary school girl named Marijuana Pepsi Jackson or maybe Jones.

Some people swore that pot and Pepsi were her mother's two favorite things. Others claimed a mix of both coursed through her bloodstream when the child was conceived or born or both. You'll find chatter about this on the Internet.

Sawyer's aunt, Mayetta Jackson of Chicago, clearly remembers when the name was picked in 1972. The newborn's mother and father were products of the post-Woodstock era when reefer was rampant.

"And they would cool off with a Pepsi," she said, which makes you think it's lucky for Sawyer that it wasn't Coke instead. "I thought it was crazy," her aunt said about the name, "but they were such fun-loving people that it suited them."

A couple years later, Sawyer's father, Aaron Jackson, put all that aside and became a Jehovah's Witness. The marriage ended. Young Marijuana lived with her father in Chicago until she was 9 and then moved to Beloit to a much less stable home situation with her mother.

The girl in her torn clothes and wild hair failed in school and was teased about her name, especially in junior high.

"Every single class, the teacher is taking attendance out loud, and as they slowly get down through the J's, I'm just like here it comes. 'Marianna? Marijuana?' And all the students turn to see who it is," she said.

Later in life, it wouldn't get any easier when she tried to order tickets over the telephone or fill out paperwork. People thought she was joking, or they wanted to hit her with 20 questions about why she was called that.

Turning life around

Sawyer left home at 15 with a few belongings in a pillowcase and began staying with relatives and friends. She cut out the truancy and started working on her subjects, and her grades shot up.

She gives a surprising amount of credit to her mother for making her resilient and resourceful. "She instilled in me that fighting attitude - never take no, you can do anything," Sawyer said.

By high school, her name was cool to many. "They were like, 'Oh yeah. Man, I wish I had your name. I love that. I'm going to name my kid after you.' I hear that so much and I go, Lord, please don't do that to that child."

Sawyer was the most improved student at graduation in 1990, and she received a $12,000 scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she studied to be a teacher. She was invited to a White House conference in 1995 and met President Bill Clinton, who swears he never inhaled.

In 1998, she got a job teaching elementary school children in Atlanta. She also sold real estate there. It was the one time in her life that she went by MP Sawyer professionally because the name Marijuana was freaking out the customers and causing her for-sale signs to be stolen as souvenirs.

Over two semesters and a summer, she earned her master's degree from Georgia Southern University and moved back to Beloit with her son in May. She plans to fund a scholarship bearing her unique name.

At the moment she is a substitute teacher at a variety of city schools ("I heard of you!" the students will say), but she's looking for a job in academic advising and admissions at a college or university, preferably near Beloit. She has no doubt that her difficult childhood and the way she tenaciously rose above her name have helped her to reach kids with problems.

Carlton Jenkins was a teacher at Beloit Memorial High School when Sawyer attended there, and he's the principal now.

"They could make a movie about her," he said. "I could almost write a book on Marijuana myself in terms of a young student who's been so resilient and taken even her name and made it into a positive. We're so very proud of her. She's exactly what any kid in America needs to know about someone who can truly make it if they put their mind to it."

Sad to say, Sawyer is not close with her mom these days, but she's thankful for the many teachers and role models who helped her blossom, even with a name like Marijuana Pepsi.

In case you're wondering, she said she never once smoked the stuff and prefers orange soda.

Call Jim Stingl at (414) 224-2017 or e-mail at jstingl@journalsentinel.com

Proof here: http://www.uww.edu/advising/aaec/welcome/staff/sawyer.html

Glee receives 8-bit YouTube 'game' treatment

by Alexander Sliwinski
from http://www.joystiq.com/

Some of the fine folks who brought you 8-bit versions of Twilight and Dr. Horrible now deliver their most terrifying concept yet: 8-bit Glee. Just in time for tonight's second season premiere, the 8-bit "choose your own adventure" (utilizing the power of YouTube annotations) covers events of the musical (karaoke?) television series' first season.

Although losing before the finale may not be canon to the series, the "game" features Sue and Schuester's verbal sparring, (non-participatory) rhythm game cliches and all that sugary, inspirational stuff that got the show picked up for two more seasons.

• Via: Go Nintendo, GameSetWatch
• Source: YouTube

Surfer's Massive Fight

More Surfing Videos >>

Two surfers having a really massive fight on the shorebreak in Hawaii...

Marijuana ice cream has finally hit the shelves

From: http://guyism.com/

Like ice cream? Ever wanted to try ice cream flavors like Banannabis Foster, Straw-Mari Cheesecake and TRIPle Chocolate Brownie? Are you a stoner that always dreamed that one day eating ice cream would get you high? Today is your lucky day…

Pot ice cream has finally made it to shelves in Santa Cruz, California. That’s right, a marijuana dispensary there has developed half-pints of weed infused ice cream that will get you baked without all the bongs and whistles. Take that Ben and Jerry!

The current flavors owner Jonathan Kolodinski offers at Creme De Canna, which opened last week, are Banannabis Foster, Straw-Mari Cheesecake and TRIPle Chocolate Brownie. Kolodinski said more flavors are in the works.

OK, those flavors sound pretty good, but honestly, will people really want pot in their ice cream?

“Everybody who’s tried it has said they absolutely love it. A lot of people come back for seconds, thirds and fourths,” Kolodinksi said.

That’s a dangerous precedent you’re setting for people. It’s like the best of both worlds for hungry stoners. They’ve been trying hard for years to come up with adequate sustenance that would let them get rid of the munchies while also getting them even more high. Could this be the start of a vicious cycle? Weed smokers that eat ice cream, then when they are hungry they eat ice cream and then they get even higher, meaning that they’ll need to eat even more ice cream when those munchies kick in, until… well, until they come back for thirds and fourths.

Klodinski said there are about two to four doses of cannabis for each half-pint, which means finishing one would be similar to smoking an eighth of high-grade marijuana, the equivalent of eight joints.

Yikes. So gaining a few while eating a half a pint now isn’t your biggest concern when eating ice cream. Now you have to worry that you’ll be higher than you ever have been in your life. Things like taking your pants off and going for a walk or watching a marathon of Designing Women at 5am seem like moderately good ideas after downing a pint.

At $15 a piece, the half-pints of ice cream are potent.

And it’s actually quite affordable. Well, all I can say is look out Baskin Robbins, if they legalize pot in California in November you may be getting a 32nd flavor.

New Dispensary Offers Patients Pot-Laced Ice Cream [NBC 8]

Paralyzed Dog Scales Mount Washington in Wheelchair

posted by: Cris Popenoe
from: http://www.care2.com/

Lucy is a dog who was rescued from the streets of Puerto Rico after being paralyzed in a car accident. She received a Walkin' Wheels dog wheelchair and has learned to get around very well.

Her new owners decided to test out her determination and endurance by attempting a walk up New Hampshire's Mount Washington -- the tallest peak in the northeastern United States.

In the video, you'll see scenes from the walk made by Lucy and her canine and human friends.

25 Examples of Breathtaking Nature Photography

smashinghub.com — This collection included the scenes on this earth, sunset, places etc. Photographer has given the examples of beauty of this earth and they purely focus on the nature beauty. —

Click here for these fabulous Photos: http://smashinghub.com/

5 Tablet Offerings Explored, An Infographic

by Dave Altavilla

Ever since the iPad’s release, various manufacturers have been in a race to develop something as good as, or better than Apple’s current industry leading tablet. Frankly at the time of its launch, the iPad simply didn't have any real competitors with the same design elegance, polish and the total solution that Apple' s App Store brings to the table. That said, a mere six months later and manufacturers are starting to line up to give the iPad a run for its money. Here's a look at a few of the major tablet offerings we know of thus far, courtesy of our friends at Managed VPS. You can compare and contrast high-level features and functionality for yourself here. Do devices from Samsung and ViewSonic have what it takes to compete? Word is Dell has something larger on the horizon too. So many tablets, so little time. It's a good problem to have.

Click image for higher res.

Motive Industries Reveals Design For Hemp-Bodied Kestrel

Antony Ingram
From: http://www.allcarselectric.com/

September 16th, 2010 Sit back, relax, and take in the official design and specifications for the Kestrel, the hemp-bodied EV engineered by Canadian firm Motive Industries. We looked at the benefits of the environmentally friendly hemp construction last month, an avenue Lotus have also explored with their 2008 Eco Elise concept. Now we can see what the lightweight EV will look like. The swooping arches and modern features hide a 16 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack offering a range of 100 miles and a top speed around 84 miles per hour. Both these figures better the 2011 Smart Electric Drive we tested a few weeks back (on paper, at least) though Motive will only have running production prototypes in 2011. The light weight of 850 kilograms (1874 lb) no doubt helps the range and performance though, one of the benefits of the lightweight hemp bio-fiber body panels. The car should seat four passengers, though the interior design is yet to be revealed. Also yet to be revealed are Motive Industries' technology and manufacturing partners, though the consortium of 11 companies, coming under the banner of 'Project Eve', aims to 'bring together Canadian skills for the purpose of producing and supporting Canadian electric vehicles and components'. The project aims to take a holistic approach, designing technology that gives information back to the grid when the cars are recharged. As well as the Kestrel, the consortium is already testing a two-passenger EV, and intend to release a one-passenger three wheel vehicle, a small SUV and a delivery van. There's no word on whether the Kestrel has a future in the United States as of yet - the first sales will be to corporate or government fleets in Canada for beta testing, and public sales will depend on the success of these tests. If all goes to plan, production should begin in 2012. The company plans to seek foreign partners with whom they can licence the technology, so the Kestrel could become an international EV. [Motive Industries via Green Car Reports]

Motive Industries Kestrel EVGallery

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• 
• 

Sit back, relax, and take in the official design and specifications for the Kestrel, the hemp-bodied EV engineered by Canadian firm Motive Industries.

We looked at the benefits of the environmentally friendly hemp construction last month, an avenue Lotus have also explored with their 2008 Eco Elise concept. Now we can see what the lightweight EV will look like.

The swooping arches and modern features hide a 16 kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack offering a range of 100 miles and a top speed around 84 miles per hour. Both these figures better the 2011 Smart Electric Drive we tested a few weeks back (on paper, at least) though Motive will only have running production prototypes in 2011.

The light weight of 850 kilograms (1874 lb) no doubt helps the range and performance though, one of the benefits of the lightweight hemp bio-fiber body panels. The car should seat four passengers, though the interior design is yet to be revealed.

Also yet to be revealed are Motive Industries' technology and manufacturing partners, though the consortium of 11 companies, coming under the banner of 'Project Eve', aims to 'bring together Canadian skills for the purpose of producing and supporting Canadian electric vehicles and components'.

The project aims to take a holistic approach, designing technology that gives information back to the grid when the cars

are recharged. As well as the Kestrel, the consortium is already testing a two-passenger EV, and intend to release a one-passenger three wheel vehicle, a small SUV and a delivery van.

There's no word on whether the Kestrel has a future in the United States as of yet - the first sales will be to corporate or government fleets in Canada for beta testing, and public sales will depend on the success of these tests.

If all goes to plan, production should begin in 2012. The company plans to seek foreign partners with whom they can licence the technology, so the Kestrel could become an international EV.

[Motive Industries via Green Car Reports]

Shaun White Wins Dew Tour In Salt Lake City

Is there anything this guy can't WIN?

This post was written by: doglife - on Skateboarding Magazine.

Shaun White claimed his second Dew Tour victor on Sunday. White out scored X Games 16 vert gold medalist Pierre-Luc Gagnon during the final jam with runs that had all sorts of hard tricks in them. White earned a total score of 94.75, a full 4.25 points higher than second place finisher Gagnon. “To be honest, I put the same amount of pressure on myself no matter what,” said White after claiming his second-consecutive win on the Dew Tour in Sunday’s skate vert competition at Energy Solutions Arena. “I always want to win.”

And even though he’d already laid down the toughest tricks, including back-to-back fakie fives, a heelflip 720 and his own creation, the Armadillo, he attempted a backside 900 on his final run. “Just narrowly missed it,” he said grinning. “I didn’t plan to do that until Vegas, but I got all excited.” Despite two consecutive wins, White is fifth in the Dew Tour standings, which means he has a lot of ground to make up if he wants to earn the overall prize of the Dew Cup.

Best 'Glee' Songs

Posted by Ashley Iasimone
From: http://www.aolradioblog.com/

The songs in the hit TV show 'Glee' mirror the lives of the students and teachers at McKinley High. Focused on the school's glee club, New Directions, the Golden Globe Award-winning series features show-stopping renditions of chart-topping hits as well as classic show tunes. Below, we count down the 15 Best 'Glee' Songs from Season One. To hear even more music from 'Glee,' tune in to 'Glee' Radio!

15

'Smile'

Charlie Chaplin

McKinley High's musically-talented social outcasts all seem to find themselves drawn to New Directions. Chaplin's classic tune -- originally sung by Nat King Cole in 1954 but performed as a lovely, harmonic cast number in the episode 'Mattress' -- can even cheer up the unpopular folks whose photos are bound to be doodled in the high school yearbook.

iTunes | Lyrics

14

'Papa Don't Preach'

Madonna

Before 'Glee' tackled an all-Madonna episode, Quinn Fabray (Dianna Agron) and Noah "Puck" Puckerman (Mark Salling) perform an acoustic 'Papa Don't Preach' in the episode 'Hairography.' The energy of the 1986 dance-pop track is replaced by a low-key sincerity that follows the pregnant cheerleader-turned-glee club member's storyline.

iTunes | Lyrics

13

'Gives You Hell'

All-American Rejects

Winning show choir competitions may be the primary focus for the kids of 'Glee,' but that doesn't mean they can't work some teen angst into their routines. In the episode 'Hell-O,' Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) delivers a bitter, emotionally-charged farewell to longtime crush Finn Hudson (Cory Monteith) singing AAR's punchy 2008 kiss-off hit.

iTunes | Lyrics

12

'Like a Prayer'

Madonna

The group's interpretation of Madge's 1989 hit may not have the scandal of the original (no burning crosses here), but it does have the pizzazz. Backed by a gospel choir, the finale of the episode 'The Power of Madonna' features multi-cast solos, including contributions from new member Jesse St. James (Jonathan Groff), formerly the male lead from competing team Vocal Adrenaline.

iTunes | Lyrics

11

'A House Is Not a Home'

Dionne Warwick

Growing up is tough, especially when only one parent is around. When cast member Kurt Hummel (Chris Colfer)'s dad hits it off with Finn's mom, a new idea of family arises. In the episode 'Home,' Kurt performs a sweet solo of the 1964 Warwick ballad to represent love and loss, while trying to convince Finn to accept their parents' relationship.

iTunes | Lyrics

10

'Any Way You Want It / Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin''

Journey

During a seamless mash-up of Journey hits, New Directions bring Season One to a close with sparkle and spunk. The songs, released in 1980 ('Any Way You Want It') and 1979 ('Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'), celebrate the group's commitment to competing at Regionals, even though the odds are stacked against them -- Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch) is judging, the then-pregnant Quinn's water breaks and celebrity judges Josh Groban and Olivia Newton-John are swayed by Aural Intensity conveniently performing Groban and Newton-John tunes.

iTunes | Lyrics

09

'Bad Romance'

Lady Gaga

When Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) has a bit of an identity crisis in the episode 'Theatricality,' she -- along with the glee club's other female members and Kurt (Chris Colfer) -- naturally turn to the genius of Lady Gaga. While the performance of the 2009 hit is certainly memorable, the cast's costumes are also noteworthy, particularly Tina's bubble-adorned outfit and Rachel's Kermit the Frog-inspired dress.

iTunes | Lyrics

08

'Don't Stop Believin''

Journey

As part of the previously mentioned Journey mash-up at Regionals, the 1982 classic is considered both Journey's signature song and the heart of the glee club, who first tackled it on the show's pilot. In fact, the 'Glee' take on the tune was released as a single and certified gold, achieving over 500,000 digital sales. Although they don't take the prize during the season finale, the group is rightfully euphoric after their performance.

iTunes | Lyrics

07

'Dream On'

Aerosmith

While plenty is going on with the New Directions in the episode 'Dream On,' the stand-out performance of the same name focuses entirely on Coach Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) and Bryan Ryan (Neil Patrick Harris), a former McKinley High glee club member. The pair sing a powerful duet of the Aerosmith rock ballad when they decide to pursue their dreams of auditioning for a local theatrical production.

iTunes | Lyrics

06

'Over the Rainbow'

Judy Garland

Will and Puck put an acoustic, Jason Mraz-like spin on the feel-good song in 'Journey,' the season finale. The rest of the glee club members are very touched by the duo's performance, as the 1939 Judy Garland/'Wizard of Oz' classic sets a sense of optimism around the rehearsal room. Fittingly, it's at this time that the group finds out that their club will live on during the following school year.

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05

'Total Eclipse of the Heart'

Bonnie Tyler

After putting herself into an unlikely love triangle, Rachel finds herself leading an emotionally-charged rendition of the 1982 Bonnie Tyler song. The scene, which takes place during the episode 'Bad Reputation,' features the worthy vocal performance, lots of feeling and an angry -- if a bit awkward -- ballet number.

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04

'Defying Gravity'

'Wicked' Cast

Both Rachel and Kurt wow their fellow glee club friends in a diva-off on the episode 'Wheels,' while auditioning to sing this song -- which initially gained popularity in 2003 as the main number from the musical 'Wicked.' Interestingly, Broadway's version of the track was recorded by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, both recurring characters on 'Glee.'

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03

'Sweet Caroline'

Neil Diamond

Much of the 'Glee' spotlight often centers on Rachel, Finn and Mr. Schuester (Matthew Morrison), but in the episode 'Mash-Up,' Puck -- fleetingly trying to impress Rachel -- gets a shot at his first solo with the 1969 pop hit. Story has it that Diamond was hesitant to license the song to the TV show, but loved the end result.

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02

'Somebody to Love'

Queen

The complex 1976 Freddie Mercury-penned tune gets the choral treatment in the episode 'The Rhodes Not Taken' -- and the 'Glee' kids nail it. The ensemble performance, which brings Rachel back into the club to share lead vocals with Finn after a hiatus, proves that the show must always go on -- and that the group really knows how to rock.

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01

'Faithfully'

Journey

While three Journey tracks have already made the countdown, the glee club seals its tribute to the band most successfully with the 1983 song. The tune opens their Regionals selection, which goes on to include 'Any Way You Want It,' 'Lovin' Touchin' Squeezin'' and 'Don't Stop Believing.' Before Cory begins to sing, he and Rachel share a look in a private backstage moment that assures that everything will be all right for them and the club.

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