WWTBAM Bored

Yes, I'm back from my annual pilgrimage to the World Boardgaming Championships in Pennsylvania. It was a very eventful trip for me as both a GM and a player. As the GM of Dominion, I presided over the third largest Dominion tournament field in WBC history. Dominion drew a total of 145 unique entrants across three heats this year--missing the pre-trumpvirus attendance numbers by just six people. As a player, I had my highest tournament finish to date--and it wasn't in any of my favorite games or even a game that I had played at WBC before. On a whim, I decided to play Facts in Five, a trivia game that serves as the unofficial closing ceremony of every WBC. It runs on the final night of the WBC from 9 PM to midnight. There's an open bar, as well as a ton of jokes embedded by GM John Corrado into the rules and the answers. Over 300 WBC members play annually, and I tied for the top score of 81/125 on my first go at the game. The tiebreaker was based on who had the most perfect columns. I had three perfect columns (shades of green beginning with C/J/M/P/T, shoe brands beginning with M/P/R/S/V, and moons of the Solar System beginning with A/C/G/H/T)... but past Facts in Five champion Jason Arvey had four perfect columns. I definitely can't complain about being the runner-up of an international competition--especially against a former champion. I'll definitely have to play Facts in Five every year now.

Anyway, let's get back to the music. That's what you came here for. We're now into my favorite songs of the second half of the 1990s. This year's list has dropped to 29 entries, compared to 32 entries in 2018. "I'll Stand by You" and "I Know" were reclassified as 1994 songs, and these four songs slipped off my Top 500.

#28. Get It On Tonite, Montell Jordan (1999)
#25. U Know What's Up, Donell Jones f/ Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes (1999)
#22. Pony, Ginuwine (1996)
#19. For You I Will, Monica (1996)

Three new songs have joined my list, and one of them will be featured today. Here we go!

#29. Brick, Ben Folds Five (1997) -- #27 in 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wt5EHAqhR1c

#28. Can't Stop Loving You, Van Halen (1995) -- #31 in 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYMcSHzHqxA

#27. When You Love a Woman, Journey (1996) -- #29 in 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idE1lsqG2Vc

#26. I Go Blind, Hootie & the Blowfish (1995) -- #16 in 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0oMalLf7qo

#25. Ray of Light, Madonna (1998) -- #26 in 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3ov9USxVxY

#24. Blessed, Elton John (1996) -- #32 in 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIYsjIm3zqU

#23. My Father's Eyes, Eric Clapton (1998) -- NEW!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IigRv6B763k

#22. You Are Not Alone, Michael Jackson (1995) -- #24 in 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAyKJAtDNCw

#21. Champagne Supernova, Oasis (1996) -- #21 in 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tI-5uv4wryI

More next week!