10 Fragrances Sure To Drive Him Wild

You've got the hot outfit…the candlelight…the wine….the music…now all you need is that sensual finishing touch -- the perfume that will put your guy in the mood and drive him wild. Here are some top 10 fragrances for kicking your romantic rendezvous into high gear.

1. Romance from Ralph Lauren – Who needs real flowers when you're wearing the sexy, sultry scents of fresh rose, ginger, marigold, violet, oakmoss and musk.

2. Pink Sugar by Aquolina – Satisfy his sweet tooth with Pink Sugar featuring notes of cotton candy, caramel, raspberry, bergamot, licorice, powder, fig leaves, orange, strawberry, and wood.

3. Jessica Simpson Fancy – Tickle his fancy with the sweet scents of amber crystals, apricot nectar, pear, gardenia, jasmine, caramel, vanilla creme, sandalwood, red fruits and toasted almonds.

4. Lacoste Touch Of Pink - Be oh-so-pretty in pink. A sexy blend of coriander leaf, blood orange, cardamom, musks, jasmine, carrot seed, violet leaf, touch of vanilla and sandalwood.

5. Burberry THE BEAT – His heart will skip a beat when he smells this beautiful wood floral scent with bergamot, cardamom, pink pepper, mandarin, Ceylon tea, iris, white musk, vetiver, and cedar.

6. D&G Light Blue – Color your night wild with D & G Light Blue and its notes of rose, apple, musk and jasmine.

7. Issey Miyake L’Eau D’Issey – A seductively simple, feminine fresh water floral scent.

8. Giorgio Armani Emporio Armani – Create a sexy air of mystery with this unexpected Eau De Parfum spray.

9. Chanel Chanel #5 – A classic scent by CoCo Chanel that continues to induce attraction with its sparkling floral fragrance notes.

10. Calvin Klein Obsession – The name says it all. Musk and spice and everything nice.

Apologize Again

I apologize again for minimal posting. A new one will be on here before Thanksgiving. I am hoping to get one once a week at least after that.

Top Eight Hanna-Barbera Cartoon Characters

Starting in the early 1960s and up until the syndication of weekday afternoon cartoons in the mid-1980s, American animation studio Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. dominated the highly popular Saturday morning cartoon category. Along with the creation of numerous successful cartoon shows came fortune and fame for animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, who created an entourage of cartoon characters that would pave the way for decades of animated entertainment. Below are the top eight cartoon characters ever created by the Hanna-Barbera Enterprise.

1. Fred Flintstone – Fred Flintstone is the blue-collared brontosaurus-crane operator from Bedrock who coined the catchphrase “Yabba-Dabba-Doo!” The loud-mouthed and aggressive Flintstone spends most of his time and efforts scheming up ways to improve the working class lot of his family, which consists of his wife Wilma and daughter Pebbles. Despite his appearance, Fred Flintstone is a highly skilled athlete who excels in sporting events such as bowling, golfing, football and pool. He even went to the extent of taking ballet lessons to improve his bowling skills where he adopted the nickname “Twinkletoes”, a name that stuck with him throughout his college football years.

2. George Jetson – 38-year-old George Jetson lives with wife Jane, teenage daughter Judy and 7-year-old Elroy in the fictional and futuristic Orbit City, where all of the buildings are set on giant poles, much like the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington. Formerly the star pitcher for the Orbit High School Spaceball team, Jetson is a digital index operator who works at Spacely’s Space Sprockets, a manufacturer of “sprockets” and other high tech equipment. Jetson often complains about his heavy workload, which requires him to push a single button on a computer for one hour, one day a week, and frequently loses his job at the whim of his short-tempered boss, Cosmo G. Spacely. Despite losing his job repeatedly, Jetson always regains his position by the end of the episode once Spacely has cooled off and come to his senses.

3. Papa Smurf – After Grandpa and Nanny Smurf, Papa Smurf is the third oldest of the Smurfs, and has lived for an unprecedented 542 years. It is easy to recognize the gentle, wise and knowledgeable Papa Smurf, who stands out from the remainder of the 100-year-old Smurfs complements of his red attire and bushy white beard, which was once brown during his younger years. Serving as the leader and paternal figure of the Smurfs, the naturally altruistic Papa Smurf is always looking to lend a helping hand, and is constantly concerned with the harmony and well-being of the Smurf community. In his leisure time, Papa Smurf enjoys experimenting with magical chemistry, or alchemy, and his greatest hobby is creating elixirs that he uses to help fellow Smurfs who have gotten themselves into trouble.

4. Yogi Bear – In 1958, Yogi Bear made his television debut as a supporting character to Huck in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Three years later, in 1961, Hanna-Barbera Productions gave Yogi his own self-titled show, The Yogi Bear Show, which eventually became more popular than The Huckleberry Hound Show. Yogi was the first break-out character ever created by Hanna-Barbera Studios, but more significantly, he was one of the first of several characters created with a collar. The collar allowed his body to remain static so that only his head would need to be drawn in each frame while speaking, drastically reducing the number of drawings needed to create the cartoon. In fact, artists could now create a seven-minute cartoon, which usually requires 14,000 drawings, using only 2,000.

5. Scoobert “Scooby” Doo – Best friend and pet of Norville “Shaggy” Rogers, Scooby-Doo is the unique, seven-year-old (or forty-nine in dog years) Great Dane who gets scared just as easily as his master. Despite being terrified of what is lurking around the corner, close friends Velma, Daphne and Fred encourage Scooby to go after dangerous villains with enticing and irresistible “Scooby Snacks.” Unlike the other dogs in his reality, Scooby is able to speak, but only in broken English where he tends to pronounce words as if they started with an “R”. Scooby reveals this error in pronunciation at the end of the episode when he howls out his catch phrase, “Scooby-Dooby-Doo!” only it tends to sound more like “Rooby-Rooby-Roo!”

6. Huckleberry Hound – Despite having a name that is synonymous with being “average”, Huckleberry Hound is the blue dog who always seems to come out on top. Either through his slow and persistent style of tackling assignments, or just out of sheer luck, “Huck” has the remarkable ability to successfully complete his jobs, even in the face of backfiring results. Huckleberry Hound has taken on roles in numerous fields, including serving as a police officer and working as a dogcatcher, where he never fails to accomplish his goals with a relaxed, sweet and well-intentioned approach.

7. Tom Cat – Thomas “Tom” Cat is the blue and grey anthropomorphic cat who makes up 50% of the academy-award winning cat-and-mouse duo known to the world as Tom & Jerry. Since his first appearance in the 1940 animated short Puss Gets the Boot, Tom Cat has chased and competed with Jerry Mouse episode after episode, but rarely sets out to eat him despite the natural laws that define the food chain among the creatures of the animal kingdom. Tom spends most of his time setting traps for Jerry, but many of them backfire and end up hurting him rather than Jerry. It is worthy to note that Tom, who started out as a cat with normal feline intelligence, has changed dramatically over the years. Since his debut, Tom Cat has become almost completely bipedal, branching off from his quadrupedal nature to adopt an almost-human level of intelligence.

8. Jerry Mouse – Gerald “Jerry” Mouse makes up the other half of the dynamic duo, Tom & Jerry. The brown anthropomorphic mouse also made his first appearance in Puss Gets the Boot, where audiences knew him as simply, “the Mouse”. It was not until his next appearance in The Midnight Snack where he adopted the name Jerry. Jerry Mouse has walked on two legs since his debut, and made his last appearance in The Karate Guard, a 2005 Tom and Jerry cartoon produced and directed by Joseph Barbera before his death. The Karate Guard short remains the last theatrical cartoon to feature the famous cat-and-mouse duo.

Sorry for the Lack of Posting

Sorry for the lack of posting. Expect a new top 10 list post sometime this week.

Top 10 Wines Under $10

Finding a great wine can be an arduous task given the amount of different brands / types that are out there. When you are on a tight budget, this task can be even more difficult. There are, however, a lot of great wines out there that are still highly affordable. Below are the top 10 wines for under $10.

1. JM Fonseca Twin Vines - JM Fonseca Twin Vines is a white wine that is extremely refreshing and light (on both the palate and the wallet). This wine is a perfect compliment to any chicken or pasta dish as well.
Price: $9.99

2. Chauteau August - This merlot (the best for under $10) has a smooth taste and goes well with red meat and sharp cheeses.
Price: $8

3.Ravenswood Zinfadel - A fairly dry wine, but one of the best you can get for under $10. Extremely smooth with lots of flavor.
Price: $8.99

4. Twin Fin Pinot Noir - Has a slight "alcoholy" taste, but is very rich. Goes great with pizza, steak, or pasta with red sauce.
Price: $7.99

5. Voga Quattro - An interesting (and great tasting) blend of merlot, shiraz, cabernet sauvignon, and pinot noir.
Price: $8.99

6. D'Arenberg the Stump Jump - Has the smell and taste of dark berries. A very good red wine for under $10.
Price: $9.99

7. Veramonte Merlot Reserva - A mixture of blackberry and cherry aromas. This red wine has a great flavor.
Price: $8.95

8. HRM Rex Goliath Zinfandel - A California wine with a lot of blackberry and cherry flavors.
Price: $9

9. Banrock Station Riesling - A South Australian white wine with a hint of lemon flavor.
Price: $6.99

10. Domaine Houchart - A great summer wine that has hints of strawberry and watermelon.
Price: $9.97

10 Best Albums from the 90's

A while back we did a blog post entitled "10 Best Albums from the 90's". It is only fitting that a post dedicated to the best albums from the 90's is created as well. The 90's music scene shifted from the New Wave era into the grunge / post grunge era as bands like Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and Bush ruled the radio. While the ten albums below might not all fall under your top 10 list, there is no arguing their popularity and their influence on modern music.

10. Live - Throwing Copper: Throwing Copper was the best "Nirvana influenced" album of the 90's. When listening to the current (horrible) albums that Live has released, it is surprising that they ever put a great album like this. Nevertheless, Throwing Copper is a great record that doesn't include a filler track.

Best Track: Lightning Crashes

9. Oasis - (What's the Story) Morning Glory: I've listened to "Definitely Maybe" nearly as much as this album and I think the Morning Glory is the better album tune for tune. Oasis is hardly originial or innovative, but they take the music of their influences (primarily The Beatles) and turn it into a flawless pop album. Every track on this album is ridiculously catchy from the opener "Hello" all the way to the closer "Champagne Supernova".

Best Track: Champagne Supernova

8. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Magik: The first four releases from the RHCP were all very good (with the exception of maybe their debut), but they really came into their own on Blood Sugar Sex Magik. This album might be very long, but it is always enjoyable throughout. No other band was playing music like the Chili Peppers at the time and Blood Sugar Sex Magik illustrates why they were one of the best of the 90's.

Best Track: Under the Bridge

7. Pearl Jam - Ten: There is no question that this is a great album, but what makes Ten even more impressive is that it was a debut album. Eddie Vedder did work on other projects prior to Pearl Jam (Temple of the Dog), but that doesn't take away from the fact that this album is incredibly impressive for a debut (or any album for that matter). Pearl Jam did release other great albums during their still ongoing career (Vitalogy, Vs, Yield), but none have come close to the nearly perfect Ten.

Best Track: Black

6. Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream: I almost put "Mellon Collie" here instead. Even though "Mellon Collie" has some of my favorite Smashing Pumpkins tunes, the double album has too much filler to make the list. Siamese Dream, on the otherhand, is nearly a flawless album. Even though this piggy backed off of the success of Nirvana's Nevermind, it still had a huge influence on the post-grunce music scene.

Best Track: Today

5. Jimmy Eat World - Clarity: This is where all my credibility goes out the window right? For people who first heard Jimmy Eat World from the song "The Middle" (or future hits), you really need to give this release a listen. Clarity is completely different from the band's other releases. It is, without question, the best emo album of all time.

Best Track: Lucky Denver Mint

4. Sublime - Sublime: What's frustrating to me about this album (Sublime's best release) is that lead singer Bradley Nowell died shortly before it's release; never, in my opinion, reaching his peak as a songwriter. Nevertheless, this album is truly one of the best ones released during the 90s. No other band had mixed reggae, rock, pop, and alternative music nearly as well as Sublime did. This album (along with 40oz to Freedom to a lesser extent) helped to influence modern bands such as Pepper and Slightly Stoopid.

Best Track: April 29, 1992

3. Nirvana - Nevermind: Nevermind completely changed the face of music. Nobody was making music like "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and "Lithium" and if they were, it certainly wasn't ruling the radiospace like Nirvana's tunes were. This album is hyped a lot due to Kurt Cobain's death, the fact that it was "different" than other music at the time, and because of how many bands this album influenced. This album is one of the rare ones that is just as good as the hype and even after 18 years (can't believe it's been out this long), it still continues to have an impact on newer generations from their very first listen.

Best Track: Smells Like Teen Spirit

2. Radiohead - Ok Computer: Even with the brilliance of "The Bends", nobody anticipated a release quite like this from Radiohead. Every single track on this album (with maybe the exception of "Fitter Happier") illustrates why this band is in a league of their own. This album almost always appears in people's top 3 for best 90's albums and rightfully so.

Best Track: Paranoid Android

1. Green Day - Dookie: Many would argue that while this is certainly worthy of the "top 10", it should not be in the number 1 spot. Green Day's Dookie, however, has had just as much impact on modern music as Nirvana's Nevermind and Radiohead's Ok Computer. This album, in my opinion, is not only one of the best albums from the 90's, but also one of the best of all time. Every song on here is an instant punk classic. Bands throughout the 90's and the new millenium tried to replicate the success of Dookie, but none have even come close. Green Day continues to make great music, but none of their future releases could compare to that of Dookie.

Best Track: Longview

Last Minute Rosh Hashanah Gift Ideas

Choosing the perfect gift is always an arduous task, but when it comes to last minute gift purchases this becomes even more difficult. Rosh Hashanah is only three days away which means that if you haven't purchased a gift yet your options are somewhat limited. However, there are still a lot of great Rosh Hashanah gifts that you can buy in time for the holiday. Below is a list of the top five Rosh Hashanah gifts that you can purchase at the last minute.

1. Rosh Hashanah Cookie Arrangement - Instead of cake, why not celebrate the New Year with a Rosh Hashanah Cookie Arrangement courtesy of Clever Cookie. Not only are these cookies Kosher (and dairy free), you can get your own personalized message incorporated onto a cookie. Same day shipping available for individuals within the New York area and next day shipping available for people outside the New York region. This unique gift idea is bound to be a success at any Rosh Hashanah gathering.


2. Bagels from Bagel Boss - When it comes to bagels, nobody does it better than New York. Sure you can get a bagel anywhere, but New York bagels are known for being the best (from my experience I can definitely tell you that this is true). My favorite bagel place has to be Bagel Boss (Egg bagel with lox cream cheese specifically). What's great about Bagel Boss is that if you are not in the New York region you can get them shipped to you from anywhere in the United States the next day.

3. Jewish Recipes - For those of you with no Rosh Hashanah gift budget, you can preparea custom cookbook of Jewish recipes. JewishRecipes.com offers thousands of different Kosher recipe ideas for free. Why not put together a few of these recipes into one booklet and give it to the indiviudal hosting the Rosh Hashanah gathering. This idea is not only thoughtful, but won't require you to spend a dime.

4. Jewish Calendar - Since Rosh Hashanah is a celebration of the new year, a Jewish calendar makes perfect sense for a gift idea. TraditionsJewishGifts.com offers a selection of Jewish calendars that you can receive in two days after your purchase.

5. Stars of David Jewelry - Judaica Web Store offers over 100 jewelry items for sale that contain the Star of David. This gift idea is definitely for somebody with a more lucrative budget, if you have the money it makes for a great gift idea. Jewelry from Judaica Web Store can be sent within 2 days after purchase.