We’re going to look back at the last 10 years. I will share some personal experiences. We’ll take a look at some books I’ve read you might find enlightening, entertaining, comedic and educational. We’ll take a look at news, film and music. We’ll close with some of the most beautiful ladies from this decade.
There are moments, many moments every year, that adjust our perspective. The simplest greeting from a stranger could buoy our spirits and take a negative day and transform it completely. That transformation could eventually lead us to meet someone special who then changes the course of our life, or, puts us on the radar of work superiors who notice something that might benefit the company and, in turn, our bank accounts (i.e. a promotion). You have probably heard of this phenomenon before. The single act that transforms outcomes in life we refer to as the “Butterfly Effect.” If you are unfamiliar with this you can clink the term above and it will take you to a definition.
These moments we just mentioned existed only in a years time. Take a moment while you’re reading this, right now in fact, to think of a small change you made in your life this past year that resulted in an unexpected, positive, result. There is bound to be a smile on your face. I would guess, even as you read this, that positive memory has bent the corners of your lips up towards your eyes. This moment that has you feeling a level of happiness happened in just last year. It’s about to be 2020 which means we have so many more moments occurring over a decade. How do all these personal moments shape our lives? Well, for me, I have learned a significant amount about myself. I discovered layers to who I am much deeper than I knew to exist. The last 10 years were moving forward in the direction I wanted, but, I can say that as I write this, my decade is ending very differently than I ever imagined.
The 2010’s were as wild a ride as I should’ve expected. I worked my way up the corporate ladder. I was a drummer for an R&B cover band of which I was the only white person. Whenever we covered “Play That Funky Music (White Boy)” the band leader would always tell the audience, who were also not primarily white, this song was dedicated to me. We had more fun than we probably should have and that’s ok. It’s entertainment! I was a recording engineer and producer for different poets, rappers, singer/songwriters and bands. I was part of a theater troupe where I acted, sang and played drums (not always at the same time). I moved from Arizona to Florida. That didn’t work out as well as I wanted and then moved back to Arizona. I travelled to South Africa and saw life being experienced very differently by people in that country. If you’re confused, South Africa is a country just like England, France or Germany. Africa is a continent. South Africa is a country. I wanted to mention this because most of the people I talked with seemed surprised I knew the difference in advance. This doesn’t really bode well for how people view American’s, FYI. If you’re an American reading this, make sure to know some facts on the countries you’re traveling to if you plan to travel abroad. Also, don’t be rude. I heard too many times, “you’re very nice for an American.” Which, again, does not bode well for us, my fellow Americans.
I wrote a book which you can read here: “Think.” It’s free. Enjoy. I also wrote, shot, edited, directed and published two short films. I then entered them into a short film competition. You can see these two films using this link, “Brunansky’s Vlog.” I also found that reviewing and critiquing films made creating films more enjoyable. You can read and watch my film reviews here on this blog if you go to the home page. And I’ve been enjoying some photography. My photo’s you should be able to view on the right hand side of this post. If you’re reading this on a mobile device you might not be able to. Here’s two of my shots that I particularly enjoy.
Secret Ocean Drive
Awaiting Angel
This decade wasn’t entirely full of promise and positive moments. There was the death of a close friend, some heart break with girlfriends ending the relationships, quitting a job, getting fired from another job, then, after being fired, I endured over 900 days of unemployment. Yes, over 900 days of submitting application after application and hearing nothing positive back. I am not making this up as ludicrous as it may sound. This long term unemployment resulted in having to borrow money from my parents to get by. Plus, my dog died. Everyone who knew me absolutely knew that I loved Austin the Dog like he was my own kid. I don’t have any kids FYI. I am just exaggerating the point that I loved that tiny fur ball of joy. You can see him below.
Austin the Dog
So, the 2010’s delivered an ebb and flow like I have never before experienced in my life. All hope is not lost, my dear readers. At present, I’ve been back in the gym and losing weight and shaping up. When I started working out, I didn’t need a belt because my pants, all of them, were tight enough. Now, I need a belt and I’m on the third set of holes. Getting healthier and looking good naked. Isn’t that why everyone works out? I’m pretty sure it is. I also found a job after 900 days of unemployment and while it is not a great job, it is a paycheck. Truth be told, it’s quite terrible. My job is to walk 5 aisles of approximately 46 rows with boxes of clothes stacked 6 high on both sides and pull clothes out of the boxes, place them in a blue bin and then send that blue bin on a conveyor belt to shipping. I’m averaging around 20,000 steps a day. It is not ideal, folks. When you’ve been unemployed for over 900 days, some pay is better than no pay and borrowing money from your parents (especially at my age). The job hunt continues while I search for a job that is more fitting to my resume. That’s enough about me and my unexplainable fall from grace.
As I mentioned at the top, we have news stories, music, movies, beautiful women. It’s all here. And while we’re at it, take a moment to examine how all of this impacted your perspective on life… or not. You’re an adult. Do what you want and keep reading. Ok, let us now see if some positive and some negative news shaped our view of “the now.” I’m sure it did. During this retrospective I’ll also share some of my favorite moments with you. Let’s begin with the news.
Some of the top news stories of the 2010’s really spanned the emotional spectrum. The Olympics, and the World Cup. Mother Nature freaked out and hit us with hurricanes, floods, volcano eruptions and earthquakes. There seemed to be no limit to natural disasters and at the same time, the outpour of people helping strangers across the globe seemed limitless. Hurricane Irma, The Haiti Earthquake and Hurricane Harvey. On top of these natural disasters, as well as others, we had man made disasters like “ObamaCare” being implemented and the cost to U.S. taxpayers for a government website that went along with it. Then, we endured Obama turning the IRS against Conservatives, and more recently, the FBI and James Comey showed the world how corrupt they can be. If that wasn’t enough we had Wikileaks, as well as, Edward Snowden telling the world what we all knew but never wanted to face about our Government… they spy on us almost all day long no matter what we’re doing. We probably also shouldn’t forget then President Obama using drones to kill innocent American civilians overseas. Plus, we had the United States credit rating drop and Benghazi. And people are still confused how a reality tv show host became President? Welcome to the White House President Donald Trump. We also saw Ebola in Africa. The Notre Dame fire and the rise and fall of ISIS. Plus, the deaths of Osama Bin Laden, Muammar Gaddafi, Kim Jong-il and Fidel Castro.
The news told us about the marriage of Prince William to Katie Middleton and the marriage of Prince Harry to Meghan Markle. We also had our first look at a black hole and we saw a solar eclipse. Catholics around the world saw their first Pope from Latin America in Pope Francis and Mother Teresa was sainted. Moving from Religion to Science, the world of Medical Science gave us incredible breakthroughs. A patient in London received a Stem Cell transplant and his HIV was undetectable after the treatment. Bone cancer and soft tissue cancer is now being cured with Carbon Ion Therapy which attacks the DNA of the actual cancer cells. These two incredible medical breakthroughs will alter the course of lives for countless people around the globe who didn’t see a promising future in their life. Plus, there was the “Pokemon Go” craze and sadly the death of Robin Williams, Stan Lee, Prince and Carrie Fisher. But all of this pales in comparison to the short lived phenomena that was Charlie Sheen getting the world over to say…
In film, we had an abundance of riches when it came to what to enjoy at our local cinema house. We had films like, John Wick, Inside Out, The Revenant, Game Night, Crazy Rich Asians, Midnight In Paris, True Grit, Atomic Blonde, Isle of Dogs, Night Crawler, Looper, Wolf of Wallstreet, The Expendables, Saving Mr. Banks, Ready Player One, The Big Sick, The Martian, Kick Ass, Jurassic World, Swiss Army Man, Tangled, Logan, Baby Driver, Dunkirk, The Big Short, La La Land, Get Out, Sing Street, Wonder Woman, 10 Cloverfield Lane, The Nice Guys, A Star Is Born and more. Plus we can’t forget the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, The rest of the DCEU, The James Bond franchise, as well as, the Mission Impossible films. From 2010 to 2018 we were absolutely spoiled rotten with quality storytelling. And this is just film, not television. There’s so much great content available for television it’s almost overwhelming. Let’s stick to film…
I feel the solid and obvious choice for who made a lasting impression on cinema this decade and for the decades going forward is fairly obvious. Kevin Feige. With his talented bunch of visual story-tellers, he changed the landscape for how movies can tell stories over a period of years. Approaching film similar to how comic books are published or television shows are delivered he guided the Marvel Cinematic Universe through story after story until we reached “Avengers: End Game.” The box office success of each film delivered by Feige and Marvel varied but what never changed was an appreciation for stories told well. Kevin Feige, I believe, is the most influential Producer of the past decade.
The past ten years also brought us Directors who made their directorial debut or delivered stories for the first time in new genre’s we weren’t used to them creating for. Directors like, Jordan Peele, Taika Waititi, James Gunn, Scott Derrickson, Joseph Kosinski, Josh Trank, Dan Gilroy, Chad Stahleski, Alex Garland, Kelly Freeman Craig, Tim Miller, Dan Trachtenberg, David Leitch, Aaron Sorkin, Bradley Cooper, Tyler Nelson and Michael Swartz, The Russo Brothers, Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck. The films each of these directors made show cased story-telling in various genre’s but the consistent was how each one delivered something fresh and new to the theaters for us to enjoy. If you aren’t familiar with some of these names, I recommend you IMDB them and check out their work.
As far as Box Office draw, the top three films of the decade were:
- Avengers End Game: $2,797,800,564
- Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens: $2,068,223,624
- Avengers: Infinity War: $2,048,359,754
The films that won the Academy Award for “Best Picture” are as follows:
2010: The Hurt Locker
2011: The Kings Speech
2012: The Artist
2013: Argo
2014: 12 Years A Slave
2015: Birdman
2016: Spotlight
2017: Moon Light
2018: The Shape of Water
2019: Green Book
For 2019, again, spoiled rotten. Who knows what films the Academy will select as winners. If you don’t follow that awards show, there’s still so many great films to go out and see on the biggest screen! Here’s a few that impressed me for one reason or another this year. The ones that absolutely won me over are ITALIC. Movies like: Alita: Battle Angel, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Captain Marvel, SHAZAM, Avengers: Endgame, Pokemon Detective Pikachu, All Is True, John Wick 3: Parabellum, Godzilla: King of Monsters, Pavarotti, Men In Black: International, Joker, Toy Story 4, Yesterday, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, Zombieland: Double Tap, JoJo Rabbit, Ford VS Ferrari, The Good Liar, A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood, Knives Out, Richard Jewell, Jumanji: The Next Level, Uncut Gems and The Peanut Butter Falcon.
Now, if you’re the type of person who enjoys movies but prefers to jam out to your favorite tune or artist, the 2010’s had ear candy for days. No matter what streaming service you prefer or radio station you listened to, there was something for everyone.
I’ve made BOLD my favorite on each list.
Billboard’s Decade End Album Chart shows us these three albums as the top 3.
- Adele “21“
- Taylor Swift “1989“
- Ed Sheeran “Divide“
Billboards Decade End Song Chart lists these three as the top 3:
- “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars
- “Party Rock Anthem” by LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennet and Goon Rock
- “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran
Finally, the Grammy Winners for “Album of the Year” went to the following:
2010: “The Subarbs” Arcade Fire
2011: “21” Adele
2012: “Babel” Mumford and Sons
2013: “Random Access Memories” Daft Punk
2014: “Morning Phase” Beck
2015: “1989” Taylor Swift
2016: “25” Adele
2017: “24k Magic” Bruno Mars
2018: “Golden Hour” Kacey Musgraves
We can’t forget to mention the winners of the “Best New Artist” category. These winners weren’t necessarily brand new (in the case of the Zac Brown Band) but they became new to the popular zeitgeist which was enough to snag the votes for Best New Artists.
Best New Artist Grammy Winners:
2010: Zac Brown Band
2011: Esperanza Spalding (the only Jazz artist to win this category!)
2012: Bon Iver
2013: FUN
2014: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
2015: Sam Smith
2016: Meghan Trainor
2017: Chance the Rapper
2018: Alessia Cara
2019: Dua Lipa
If that’s not enough to keep you occupied when you aren’t at work or with loved ones, I’ve got some reading material headed your way. Here’s some books that absolutely won me over these past 10 years. We have historical, philosophical, Biographical, Graphic Novel, comedic, fiction, all here for you to dive into. So let’s jump in and take a look at some of the books that stretched my brain box, my heart and my imagination. They may have also tickled my funny bone. Here we go. If there is an asterisk * in the title it means I’m currently reading.
In alphabetical order by title…
“1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West” by Roger Crowley
“Batman: Hush” by Jeph Loeb
“Doctor Strange: Don’t Pay the Ferryman” by Roger Stern and Peter Gillis
“Fin-De-Siecle Vienna” by Carl Schorske
“Memoirs of a Mangy Lover” by Groucho Marx
“Modern Man In Search of a Soul” by Carl Jung
“Moon Knight” by Warren Ellis
“On the Social Contract” by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
“Saving Fish From Drowning” by Amy Tan*
“The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned From 15 Years As CEO of the Walt Disney Company” by Robert Iger
“Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power” by Jon Meacham*
“Two Treatises of Government and a Letter Concerning Toleration” by John Locke
Now, Gentlemen, let’s celebrate some of the beautiful women of the internet. These gorgeous bombshells have inspired us to never give up, work hard and aim as high as possible. While they continue to build their respective careers as models, influencers actresses or as Miss Universe, they are also our muse, a source of inspiration for our doing and achieving. You might be sitting on the couch right now reading this wanting to date a woman just like one of these successful women. Let them inspire you to get off the couch and get your life together. I guarantee you they aren’t looking for another mouth to feed. They probably want a partner to walk through life with, side by side. You can’t do much walking from a couch. So, get up and get moving. Let them inspire you to do more and be better. Who knows, you might meet someone special in the process. Thankfully, beautiful women have always been a source of influence and motivation for men. Don’t believe me? Just go hang out with a bunch of dudes and watch how they behave without a beautiful woman present. Then, let one of these sultry sirens enter the room and see the paradigm shift in the mens behavior. Still not convinced? Let’s take a look at history. In Greek mythology, two countries went to war over one woman! The Trojan War was fought over Helen of Troy. She was believed to be the most beautiful woman of that time. In the Bible, Samson and Delilah, also, David and Bathsheba. Women have a profound impact on men, for better or worse (hopefully for the better). I have been friends with guys who, once married, evolved into the best version of themselves because of the positive influence of the women they fell in love with. Other buddies, not so much. There’s no denying the intoxicating effect beautiful women have on men. So let’s celebrate their ability to change the course of history with just a look. And these ladies have given some of the best looks. I won’t rate them or suggest a favorite. This isn’t a competition. It’s a celebration of beauty.
In alphabetical order:
And that’s another decade done, folks. I hope you have enjoyed the previous 10 years as much if not more than any of the other years you have already had the pleasure of surviving. Make sure you check out some of the movies, directors, songs, artists and lovely ladies mentioned in this blog post.
Stay inspired for 2020 and beyond!
Happy New Year!
JB.
Brunansky's Blog 
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