The Decade (Part 1)

I know that the double-zero decade has passed but it is never too late to celebrate the awesome things that has happened to us for the past ten years. In this blog entry, I shall discuss the ten bests of various categories from the past decade. We all know how wild it has been – with the advancement of information technology as cellular phones and the Internet have been more utilized than it was in the 20th century. We have witnessed another people power revolution taking place and we have seen entertainment reach a new level thanks to technology. If there was one thing this past decade, it was the fact that the world rapidly changed in a matter of ten years but still I shall try to summarize the most notable moments and events in this writeup for us to have a better appreciation of what has been.

As compared to my previous journal entry, I shall be writing fewer descriptions in here as I shall be tackling ten instead of just five. This writeup despite having its own biases is aimed to be collective – meaning, it can be understood by people of different walks of life. You may or may not agree, but that is the essence of such rankings – there is no definitive way to rank them correctly. Everyone will always have his own biases. But, I will still try to show my explanations to provide my point of view.



Before I start off discussing the past decade, I will show my last top five ranking category from the previous year. I believe this should be the most important category.

Top Five Events of 2009 (Biased):
1. Ateneo winning back-to-back championships and sweeping the post-UAAP tourneys. Of course, Ateneo dominated the local basketball scene by winning in elementary, high school and college levels. The Blue Eagles also won the post-season tournaments. Unlike last year where some fans can dispute that DLSU got screwed when Maierhoffer was thrown out in Game 2, this year featured Ateneo convincingly winning two hard-fought games in the Finals. This prompted me to proclaim the Blue Eagles the basketball team of the decade.
2. Eraserheads' Final Concert
3. Manny Pacquiao beating Cotto. The record breaker.
4. Outcome of the TV shows in the May sweeps. I had the best TV series finale last year when Grey’s Anatomy and Lost featured outstanding series plot twists. American Idol, even if Kris Allen won it (although I like Kris Allen more than Adam Lambert more now), also had a superb finale with the strong star cast.
5. Manny Pacquiao beating Hatton

And now, the bests of the decade…

Best Bands
FYI: This category is based on the bands’ performance in the decade. I love the Eraserheads and the Smashing Pumpkins but they both belong in the 90s so you won’t see them here.

10. My Chemical Romance. Could have ranked better as I liked listening to MCR way back in 2005-06 but they have been irrelevant after The Black Parade.
9. The Used
8. Muse
7. Death Cab for Cutie
6. Weezer
5. Incubus
4. Imago
3. Jimmy Eat World. Best Lyrics from an Emo Band of the Decade. Not only do they write the lyrics that would strike your hearts, JEW also knows how to deliver the mood via their guitars.
2. Fall Out Boy

1. Paramore. I just can’t wait to watch them live this March!

Conclusion: It was an emo decade. From 2003 to 2007, emo music ruled my playlists. I liked it then because it was true to the heart and you can relate to it no matter how sad the lyrics are. It was just like art – it sometimes thrives when you touch the sad, melancholic side of humanity.

Best TV Actors
Just like my recent writeup, this is only about acting. It does not matter how much I relate to the character itself.

On the cusp: Zachary Quinto (Sylar in Heroes), Wentworth Miller (Michael Scofield in Prison Break)

10. Terry O'Quinn (John Locke in Lost)
9. Hugh Laurie (Dr. House in House, M.D.). Witty, sarcastic and real.
8. Jon Hamm (Donald Draper in Mad Men)
7. Josh Radnor (Ted Mosby in How I Met Your Mother). Of course, Ted should be in this list because I can easily relate to his character.
6. Jack Coleman (Noah Bennet in Heroes). I actually did not like his character initially but he soon became the MVP of Heroes because of his clever portrayal of Noah Bennet.
5. Matthew Fox (Jack Shephard in Lost). This could have been higher but Jack became less relevant in the latter seasons. Nevertheless, Matthew Fox was successful in delivering the leader of the Oceanic 7 survivors by being the dramatic force in Lost.
4. Jeremy Piven (Ari Gold in Entourage)
3. Michael Emerson (Benjamin Linus in Lost)
2. Topher Grace (Eric Forman in That 70s Show). Superb funny acting in That '70s Show. Topher can switch from funny to serious acting easily.
1. Neil Patrick Harris (Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother)

Best TV Actresses
Yup, it’s still about acting. I did not account likeability or attractiveness in here.

10. Tina Fey (Liz Lemon in 30 Rock)
9. Leighton Meester (Blair Waldorf in Gossip Girl)
8. Sandra Oh (Dr. Cristina Yang in Grey’s Anatomy). I hated her a lot because of her ice cold character. Superb acting.
7. Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester in Glee)
6. Mila Kunis (Jackie Burkhart in That ‘70s Show). She’s a hottie but because she played her character excellently, I got very annoyed of her bitchy character)
5. Kristen Bell (Elle Bishop in Heroes). Hottest of them all… oh wait, this is not about being attractive, right? Anyway, Kristen played such a wicked bitch in Heroes and it was very good. Too bad they eventually killed her character.
4. Cobie Smulders (Robin Scherbatsky in How I Met Your Mother)
3. Laura Prepon (Donna Pinciotti in That ‘70s Show)
2. Evangeline Lilly (Kate Austen in Lost)
1. Katherine Heigl (Dr. Izzie Stevens in Grey’s Anatomy)

Best Wrestlers
10. Eddie Guerrero. Too bad, he is dead. I liked his gimmick a lot. He also has the charisma and the sufficient skills. His buddy, Chris Benoit, should be in this list but he murdered his wife.
9. Randy Orton
8. Undertaker. I know that several people love the Undertaker but he just ranks eighth in my list. He knows how to sell his opponent’s moves but the other seven do it a lot better than him. However, he has this invincible aura that makes you think that he cannot be beaten.
7. Jeff Hardy. He lets his actions do the talking. Very skilled.
6. Chris Jericho
5. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Of course, the best wrestler ever should not be left out.
4. Edge
3. Kurt Angle. If I hated Triple H, I hated Kurt the most because he really does not have a likeable aura at all. But still, I respect the guy for bringing quality entertainment as a heel.
2. Triple H. I used to hate him a lot but he eventually earned my respect because he was so great at the mic and in stipulation matches.
1. Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak Kid shone the best in the ‘90s but this fact did not stop him from being the best this decade. I know that he has a lot of haters because he is the ‘cheesy wrestler’ – he can be mistaken to be overacting or he plays the underdog card a lot. But like it or not, HBK has jobbed the most this decade yet he still continues to entertain. He even steals the show. Case in point: Wrestlemania 22. His match against Vince McMahon (a non-wrestler) stole the show.

Best Songs
This is a biased list. Anyway, I never included non-rock bands in my music lists ever since I began ranking them.
10. Snow Patrol – Chasing Cars
9. Jason Mraz – The Remedy. OK, this is a pop song but it has been my guilty pleasure song because its melody had me in LSS mode before. Yes, listening to pop songs used to be a sin for me.
8. Paramore – That’s What You Get
7. Jimmy Eat World – Work
6. My Chemical Romance – Helena
5. Fall Out Boy – Sugar We’re Going Down
4. Weezer – Perfect Situation
3. The Used – The Taste of Ink. Chorus always gets me giddy that’s why this is my favorite inspirational song of the decade.
2. Jimmy Eat World – 23. JEW’s masterpiece. It is very emotional and the mood also suits it.
1. Paramore – Pressure

To be continued...