2010 in Review

Strap in for another year in review... tis the season, after all. If I were to choose one word to sum it up, I'd go with overwhelming. There were many overwhelming moments along the way -- some happiness, some sadness, some heartbreak, some fearful and painful, some that were downright triumphant. Here's a list of 10 favorites from the past 365 days.

*Movie of the Year: This one is really tough because there was so little this year, movie-wise, that really stood out as great. "Inception" was cool, but had a feeling of missed opportunity to it. "True Grit" was a phenomenal movie, but didn't strike me in the same way you'd expect a favorite movie to really hit home. I enjoyed the heck out of "Tron: Legacy," but it certainly was not without flaws. I'd like to say "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1," because that's probably the closest thing to a favorite I had, but even that didn't stand head-and-shoulders above everything else for me this year. So we'll just let that absence of a favorite movie stand as a statement of hoping next year will be better.

*Puppet of the Year: Sid the Foul-Mouthed Bunny Rabbit from The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Sid makes me laugh out loud, and hard. But I concede there are a small number of people who would even know who he is, and of those people, probably even a smaller number who would appreciate him.

*TV Show of the Year: "Community." Seriously, if you aren't watching this, you are really missing out. I'm not sure I like the broader, more absurdist tone its taken on this year in place of the slightly more believable character interactions from the first season, but it's still the best thing out there right now. Although I am enjoying the subtle way "The Office" is beginning to set up Michael Scott exiting the show.

*Game of the Year: Angry Birds. There really isn't even a close second here.

*Concert of the Year: Rush at the Minnesota State Fair. A three-hour great moment.

*Album of the Year: Surprisingly enough for me, I have to go with "A Thousand Suns" by Linkin Park. Yes, they were one of those aggressive, in-your-face caricature rap-rock bands from the late 90s, but this album bordered on being conceptual, and was, I thought, a great example of how a band can evolve into something you'd never expect without drastically changing their style. A very, very close runner-up would have been the long-awaited (by me) "Alter Bridge III."

*Book of the Year: "The Passage," by Justin Cronin. A monster example of how a post-apocalyptic horror adventure can be character-driven and literary at the same time.

*Literary Agent of the Year: Suzie Townsend. Because even if she shot me down when it came to offering representation for "Following Infinity," she was the first one who was intrigued enough to consider it. For giving me that glimpse at the next step in becoming a published author and letting me speculate what it would be like for a little while, she gets the nod. Though I'd probably like her even more if she'd made an offer....

*Life-Changing Toy of the Year: The iPhone. I owned three cell phones before it, and used the more in the first month than I had the other three combined. A tectonic shift in my life. And for the record - Yeah, AT&T. I have yet to experience a dropped call. Just sayin'. Honorable Mention goes to my original blue yPod -- the iPod shuffle I listened to during my workouts this year. Without the motivation it provided me, I would not have been able to stay as consistent in my workout schedule as I was, and likely wouldn't have lost the 55 pounds (and counting) that I have.

*Artist of the Year: Rush. To think that three guys who have been playing together as long as they have can still be as vibrant and dynamic in their live shows and in the music the released this year (even if it was only two new songs).... pretty impressive. Not to mention that "Beyond the Lighted Stage" was probably the best rock and roll movie released in a long time. Having that movie come out three months before I got to see them live, and having two great new songs to play during the summer as serve as gateway songs to reintroduce a lot of their older music into my current iPod rotation really made the summer.

The thought that always goes through my mind on this day is to consider the calendar of the coming year, and to wonder what things are waiting to happen for all of us in the coming days and weeks and months that we won't see coming, and what changes they will inevitably bring into our lives. Here's hoping for more good than bad.

Greatest Hits (?)

This is admittedly self-indulgent, but nobody says you have to read any further than this. I was bored this afternoon and trying to distract myself from the vague depression that accompanies a stupid, gray, foggy, rainy day in late December, so I went back to find my favorite Facebook status updates from 2010. These were lines just for Facebook - no quotes, no word counts, not really any moments of important news being conveyed. Just lines I liked. Here we go....

********************

Just watched "Memento" and "Groundhog Day" back to back. The world does not make sense to me right now.

Today was a long week.

Graffiti from the back of a spelling test: "Yo-Yo Wats up??? I'm freakishly bored! Hi!! I love dance! So psyched for Saturday!! Heyyyyy!!!! Wazz up homedog???" Front of the test: A perfect score with hearts dotting the 'i's. I think I should at least be referred to as "Mr. Homedog."

The smoke alarm telling you the battery is low? Yeah. Better ways to wake up in the morning.

I hate my phone so much I want to smash it into individual atoms.

Relay for Life this evening. While at the Y I'm on the treadmill, watching The Today Show. Train performs on the summer concert series. Of course. (Only a small number of people would understand this, but trust me -- it's meaningful.)

In a simple two-week period, Silly Bandz have gone from something of which I only had a passing awareness to the bane of my very existence.

Screw the laws of physics. I'm makin' up my own.

Dear Troy Aikman - you either 'establish' a routine, or you 'continue' a routine. You cannot do both concurrently. Stop trying to use big words before you hurt yourself.

When was it decided that "applewood-smoked" bacon was supposed to be any better? I don't remember being consulted on this.

Dear Paul McCartney, thank you for not playing your truly awful Christmas song on SNL. It would have ruined my day.

Overthinking 2011

Anyone who knows me, who really, truly knows me, is familiar with my nearly obsessive manner of over-thinking things. Here's an example.

I get an e-mail coupon from Borders this morning, pointing out all of their great post-holiday deals. For the most part I don't care much, but I notice that all of their calendars are on sale for 50% off. Which is great, because I don't have one yet! Not that I desperately need a calendar since I have at least two at school and at least three electronic ones at my disposal, but I have a place on the wall in my kitchen that has kind of become The Calendar Hanging Place, and it needs to be filled.

Then it gets tricky. The calendar you pick becomes a temporary part of your design; something that you've chosen to decorate the home for a specific amount of time, but also something that represents a more recent choice than most of the other things you have up on the walls. So the question emerges: Which calendar will best represent my aesthetic sensibilities for the coming year? Normally, not a big deal. But if you wait until the last minute to make this decision like yours truly, then your options become pretty limited. Because all of the good calendars are gone. And this inner dialogue comes to life:

"There sure are a lot of dog calendars. Well, I've gone that route before, and it's all just a bit too precious. I don't need to show people what kind of dog I have when he's already lying there on the floor."

"Comic strips? Well... I am a grown-up here... maybe not...."

"TV shows... in my kitchen? Nah. Wait - are you kidding me? The cast of The Jersey Shore actually has a calendar? Should I be surprised there are more of these still on the shelf than any of these other left overs?"

"Movies? Was there a movie out this year that (a) I cared about enough to want a calendar for that (b) had a big enough spot in popular culture to earn a calendar? Not so much. Wow - Tron, already? That's like two weeks old. Yes, Olivia Wilde was lookin' good in Tron, but... no. And wouldn't I have to live through at least four months of light cycles as well? No no no no no. Even I'm not that big of a nerd."

"Which leads us to Sports Illustrated cover girls. Since dorm rooms are the only socially acceptable place for these, I'll leave them for the college boys to pick over."

"Sports. The little caring I do about any local sports team only happens during their seasons, so there's just no point. I'll leave those for the tailgating face-painters or lifelong fans."

"Art? Watercolor flowers? That could not be more emasculating if it came with a complimentary purse."

"Fantasy? Yikes. No battle axes, wizards, or unicorns allowed."

"Space? Hubble Telescope images? Maybe at school. I don't want to be needlessly or even subconsciously reminded about school while I'm eating."

"Castles? Lighthouses? Cities from 'Round the World? That would be fairly harmless and neutral, I guess. WAIT! THERE IT IS! Neutral! That's what I'm going for! Now I have some direction."

So what did I wind up with? "Wild and Scenic Minnesota." Snow, lakes, birch trees, wildflowers, waterfalls. And a place to hang the little stickers I get to remind me when my dental appointments are, which is all I was looking for in the first place.

If you stop by my home this year, be sure to take in the view.