30 December 2009

Best Whatever of 2009

So yeah... I'm doing that...

Best music I bought this year: It is a close race this year for me. The Mastadon record is amazing... the Black Crowes record is magnificent. But for me, the one I like the most is the John Mayer Live in LA. The second set (his blues trio) got me back into the blues and is just damn fine.
EDIT: Yeah... I have to change my vote here... Blueprint III is too good. It will get a whole post devoted to it in the next week or so.

Best movie I saw: Wish I could say Watchmen, but it was just sort of flawed. I can't really put my finger on why. GI Joe is a hilarious nostalgia fest for me, and only lacked someone turning to the camera and saying "America... FUCK YEAH" to just be Team America without puppets. For me tho, I think this year, it was Inglorious Bastards. Christolph Waltz (the main SS officer) is unfathomably good in this. I can't wait to watch the guy in things, and wish I could appreciate more German cinema. The first scene in the cabin is worth the price of admission by itself. Also, Brad Pitt being so over the top as a Tennessee officer was amazing. I love that the guy can embed himself into a character like that and make it something memorable and not a joke. He walks the line, and pulls it off, which is really damn hard.

Best tech that actually delivered:  The year started with me drooling over the possibilities of the Palm Pre. Man it looked good at CES didn't it? Too bad the keyboard is criminally small and the apps aren't worth writing home about. For me tho, watching Android evolve into its own niche of a geeky iPhone was awesome. I have one (HTC Hero) and I freaking love it. Honorable mention goes to my swanky LCD TV and Blu-Ray player. I can actually watch football at home without wanting to choke someone. Going to games live and seeing the whole field spoils you in ways you can't understand until you've done it yourself. Another note... Windows 7 is actually good. It is so unproblematic that I forgot to include it.

Best Add-On for Firefox: This comes down to two for me... Stylish and Feedly. Yeah, I know, neither were new this year. But I got them for the first time this year. Stylish plays to me UI Config fetish, and Feedly is a superb RSS aggregation tool. Once you have either, you can't see the web the same again.

Best New Habit: I has a blog now. It clears my head and whether or not anyone reads it, its fun to do it.

Best Renewal of Old: I got back into Warhammer with the Bell Of Lost Souls Tourney in August. It is back as my main hobby, and I'm glad to be back. I'm committed to going to tourneys in 2010 and learning more about the game... and actually painting my Orks...

Best Texas Football Thing: 1530 bring Geoff and Chad together is pretty sweet... 1300's morning show is brilliant (Ahmad Brooks will be a national analyst... just watch... its only a matter of time)... Seeing Colt get the love from the DKRMS faithful... Seeing the look on my father's face whenever Shipley broke one... The sound of my mother screaming "COME ON HORNS". For me tho... the best... was seeing Texas fight for every inch on every play. They never quit all year. I'm proud to be a fan of this team and can't wait for the big game next week.

Best Comic Book Thing: The fruition of years of plans by Brian Bendis has been a fun thing to watch, and it promises to truly pay off with The Siege. Blackest Night is fun as hell. Fraction's Iron Man is brilliant. Brubaker showing everyone that he had a plan from the start with Captain America is like that moment when you knew you trusted a friend no matter what anyone said, and he paid off that trust like gang busters. For me tho, the best of the year goes to something no one created... it came to my realization that what I truly love about comics is sequential, serialized story telling as its own art form. See the previous "What makes good comics" post for more on this.


Okay... I'm sure there is more... that's what I have for now. At some point I'm going to put up a wish list for 2010.

Oh and one last thing... to the God of War, the Crowbar and the Dog Barber... you three are my rocks, and I wouldn't have had the best year of my life without you.

Much love to all. Happy New Year... and don't break nothing what can't be fixed.

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