YE GAWDS, NOT ANOTHER BEST OF THE YEAR SORTA THINGY -- THOSE THINGS ARE SO FULL OF CRAP
Given the disruption of my recent move, I find myself not unlike the the four-year-old on the playground with a tenuous grasp on gravity and the same for the chain. In less complicated words, I'm a bit out of the swing. I hereby endeavor to get back into it with an innocuous and cliched trope. The end-of-year, best-of (well, favorites, I'm not going to be the arbiter of the thing) list. These are in no particular order, in categories of my own devise and for the sake of those tired of hearing about it, anything about Aaron Sorkin (West Wing DVDs, Studio 60, whatever) will be excluded from the list. I reserve the right to add to the list without notice.
Favorite New Drug
Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper
Cherry Vanilla is still the awesome sauce, but I dig this crazy concoction from my personal physician. Give it whirl, all you have to lose is a buck or so.
Favorite TV Series
Battlestar Galactica
Veronica Mars was seriously in the running for this, for me, and it came down to tenths of second and video replay. Ultimately, I liked the crafting of the mystery of the first nine, but I'd gotten used to the wollop of closing a 22-episode mystery. It's a little hiccupy, I suppose, but not near as bad as some critics I've seen in their savaging of one of the best shows on the air. Still in my top two or three and always eagerly awaited.
Battlestar, this season though, has given me the insurgent's eye view, Saul killing Ellen, the hot-drop of a jumbo aircraft carrier, ramming a basestar with another, secret trials, the call for Sharon's new callsign, the reinvention of Gaeta, Baltar living with Cyclons, the boxing episode, and Luanne Katraine, CAG. Jane, if you thought you were following the Beatles, then you are surely the Stones.
You know, Doctor Who's second year was in it too. So was The Wire, (Jim True-Frost was great this year) but geekly tendencies won out. This time.
This entry leads me to...
Favorite Podcast
Ron Moore
Commentaries on virtually every episode of Battlestar and even full-on recorded writer's meetings. Must-hear-TV-but-not-TV.
Favorite New Series
Smith
Admittedly, not for everybody. The main characters are bad people. That's why it was good. Screw the people who can only accept stories about good people doing good things. Fucking puritans, they are. Doesn't matter. CBS canned it right quick with ratings as good as some other shows (on other networks, though) that didn't get canned then replaced it with something else that got canned equally quickly. Maybe the problem isn't the shows.
Favorite New Comics Series
52
Edged out the prime weirdness of NextWave only by virtue of being quality entertainment ( by some of comics biggest and best names) that comes out every fucking week. It's not just just the perfect meld of quality and quantity, but as a DC geek I love all the little bits and pieces of the DC universe being pulled out to make this thing. All the mad scientists, Super-Chief (such as he was) and even, my gawd, Ambush Bug.
Favorite Flick
V for Vendetta
Another photo finish, against The Prestige. I've gone with V for Vendetta because I've always had a soft spot for violent revolution and fighting in the streets (Fight Club stands as my favorite film to date). I love the source material, and while among the comics cognoscenti it may be anathema to say this, but I think the film revitalized that material for a new generation and it some parts even improved upon the story. Ultimately they are two different things for two different mediums, but both are great and sometimes Alan Moore is a genius and other times he's just a grumpy ass.
I just have to say that The Prestige was masterful and a perfect example of playing against an audience that thinks they're too clever.
Favorite Meal
The Capitol Grille in Charleston, NC
A meal is not just the food. A damn fine steak (if my unsophisticated palate does say) and a glass of Stella Artois (not a fave, but good enough), good chums, and a discussion of television with noted comics author Warren Ellis. He spoke to me of Nighty Night, we disagreed over the second season of Doctor Who, we agreed on Deadwood. There was also some talk of politics and what it was like in San Francisco on election night in 2004. All in all, a good reason to be in North Carolina that day. All graciously hosted by this this assbag.
Favorite Book
Mountain Man Dance Moves by McSweeney's (Vintage Press)
The only book to come in 2006 that resulted in me getting paid. Funny stuff in there, too.
Favorite Drop (If you don't play World of Warcraft, don't even try to read this)
Manual of Eviscerate IX
Not because of what it is. As drops go, big fuckin' deal. After all, it's trainable after patch 2.0.1., but I liked that I got it early without paying 200+g for it. No. I liked this drop because five of us grouped up for a UBRS run and we were about to go looking for some PUGly types to fill out the raid and I said that this book will drop that night, so it was agreed that no rogues would be recruited for the run. Just me. Lo and behold, the book dropped and I was the only rogue in sight. Huzzah. WoW. A really good way to keep hanging out with folks that live half-a-country away.
Favorite Album
Ehn...
Album as collections of songs, not to be confused with record...made of vinyl. Nothing really rawked my world this year, as my peculiar and indefensible musical tastes go. I liked Gnarls Barkley, but it got way overplayed. The Dresden Dolls release was okay. First one was better. Tenacious D's Pick of Destiny was okay, but way too short. It was just stuff from the movie rather than a proper album. TV on the Radio was alright. Lily Allen's...amusing. Maybe I'll get some NIN in 2007.
Favorite TV on DVD Box Set
24 - Season Five
This choice reflects not just the quality of the program, but the quality of the extras and packaging and what not. Complete series sets are disqualified, because I'm a buy-by-the-season guy (it would have been The Complete M*A*S*H set with an unproduced script in the box).
Stylin' box, they finally ditched the fold-out box for the slimlines in a slip case. 12 commentaries, the customary made-for-DVD mini-episode to prequel the upcoming season, 23 deleted scenes and a full seventh disc of extra goodies (and at Best Buy, there was an eighth disc). And finally...after five years...PLAY ALL!!!!!!
Favorite Image
Shuttle Launch from the ISS
And I got to see this from the other side also.
Oh, our poor space program. Where did it all wrong?
Probably with the cutting of the Apollo budget and snowballing from there.
People can complain about the cost of the space program and get all upset when astronauts get killed, but the fact is, you don't go a day without depending on a dozen things that exist because of the space program. Astronauts know what they're getting in to and accept the risks.
/minirant
Click pic for make bigger.
Favorite New Drug
Berries & Cream Dr. Pepper
Cherry Vanilla is still the awesome sauce, but I dig this crazy concoction from my personal physician. Give it whirl, all you have to lose is a buck or so.
Favorite TV Series
Battlestar Galactica
Veronica Mars was seriously in the running for this, for me, and it came down to tenths of second and video replay. Ultimately, I liked the crafting of the mystery of the first nine, but I'd gotten used to the wollop of closing a 22-episode mystery. It's a little hiccupy, I suppose, but not near as bad as some critics I've seen in their savaging of one of the best shows on the air. Still in my top two or three and always eagerly awaited.
Battlestar, this season though, has given me the insurgent's eye view, Saul killing Ellen, the hot-drop of a jumbo aircraft carrier, ramming a basestar with another, secret trials, the call for Sharon's new callsign, the reinvention of Gaeta, Baltar living with Cyclons, the boxing episode, and Luanne Katraine, CAG. Jane, if you thought you were following the Beatles, then you are surely the Stones.You know, Doctor Who's second year was in it too. So was The Wire, (Jim True-Frost was great this year) but geekly tendencies won out. This time.
This entry leads me to...
Favorite Podcast
Ron Moore
Commentaries on virtually every episode of Battlestar and even full-on recorded writer's meetings. Must-hear-TV-but-not-TV.
Favorite New Series
Smith
Admittedly, not for everybody. The main characters are bad people. That's why it was good. Screw the people who can only accept stories about good people doing good things. Fucking puritans, they are. Doesn't matter. CBS canned it right quick with ratings as good as some other shows (on other networks, though) that didn't get canned then replaced it with something else that got canned equally quickly. Maybe the problem isn't the shows.Favorite New Comics Series
52
Edged out the prime weirdness of NextWave only by virtue of being quality entertainment ( by some of comics biggest and best names) that comes out every fucking week. It's not just just the perfect meld of quality and quantity, but as a DC geek I love all the little bits and pieces of the DC universe being pulled out to make this thing. All the mad scientists, Super-Chief (such as he was) and even, my gawd, Ambush Bug.Favorite FlickV for Vendetta
Another photo finish, against The Prestige. I've gone with V for Vendetta because I've always had a soft spot for violent revolution and fighting in the streets (Fight Club stands as my favorite film to date). I love the source material, and while among the comics cognoscenti it may be anathema to say this, but I think the film revitalized that material for a new generation and it some parts even improved upon the story. Ultimately they are two different things for two different mediums, but both are great and sometimes Alan Moore is a genius and other times he's just a grumpy ass.
I just have to say that The Prestige was masterful and a perfect example of playing against an audience that thinks they're too clever.
Favorite Meal
The Capitol Grille in Charleston, NC
A meal is not just the food. A damn fine steak (if my unsophisticated palate does say) and a glass of Stella Artois (not a fave, but good enough), good chums, and a discussion of television with noted comics author Warren Ellis. He spoke to me of Nighty Night, we disagreed over the second season of Doctor Who, we agreed on Deadwood. There was also some talk of politics and what it was like in San Francisco on election night in 2004. All in all, a good reason to be in North Carolina that day. All graciously hosted by this this assbag.
Favorite Book
Mountain Man Dance Moves by McSweeney's (Vintage Press)
The only book to come in 2006 that resulted in me getting paid. Funny stuff in there, too.
Favorite Drop (If you don't play World of Warcraft, don't even try to read this)
Manual of Eviscerate IX
Not because of what it is. As drops go, big fuckin' deal. After all, it's trainable after patch 2.0.1., but I liked that I got it early without paying 200+g for it. No. I liked this drop because five of us grouped up for a UBRS run and we were about to go looking for some PUGly types to fill out the raid and I said that this book will drop that night, so it was agreed that no rogues would be recruited for the run. Just me. Lo and behold, the book dropped and I was the only rogue in sight. Huzzah. WoW. A really good way to keep hanging out with folks that live half-a-country away.
Favorite Album
Ehn...
Album as collections of songs, not to be confused with record...made of vinyl. Nothing really rawked my world this year, as my peculiar and indefensible musical tastes go. I liked Gnarls Barkley, but it got way overplayed. The Dresden Dolls release was okay. First one was better. Tenacious D's Pick of Destiny was okay, but way too short. It was just stuff from the movie rather than a proper album. TV on the Radio was alright. Lily Allen's...amusing. Maybe I'll get some NIN in 2007.
Favorite TV on DVD Box Set
24 - Season Five
This choice reflects not just the quality of the program, but the quality of the extras and packaging and what not. Complete series sets are disqualified, because I'm a buy-by-the-season guy (it would have been The Complete M*A*S*H set with an unproduced script in the box).Stylin' box, they finally ditched the fold-out box for the slimlines in a slip case. 12 commentaries, the customary made-for-DVD mini-episode to prequel the upcoming season, 23 deleted scenes and a full seventh disc of extra goodies (and at Best Buy, there was an eighth disc). And finally...after five years...PLAY ALL!!!!!!
Favorite Image
Shuttle Launch from the ISS
And I got to see this from the other side also.Oh, our poor space program. Where did it all wrong?
Probably with the cutting of the Apollo budget and snowballing from there.
People can complain about the cost of the space program and get all upset when astronauts get killed, but the fact is, you don't go a day without depending on a dozen things that exist because of the space program. Astronauts know what they're getting in to and accept the risks.
/minirant
Click pic for make bigger.