Looking Back on 2005, Looking Ahead to 2006, and Such
At the moment, I am enjoying a rather uneventful New Year's Eve. It is just after 9:00 CST and both Ashlee and Meyer are sleeping. (At least two of the four cats are still awake.) Each December 31 I feel pressured to participate in a raucous countdown to the subsequent January 1. This evening the pressure has subsided, and I am content typing and watching the Twilight Zone marathon on Sci-Fi.
Philosophically, I don't think that New Year's Day is a terribly meaningful holiday. (Rivers, one of the cats who was still awake as of the first paragraph, is now asleep.) I had been mentally piecing together the "Scrambies Best of 2005 Awards," but decided that writing and formatting my list of winners (and reasons for selecting them) would cause me unnecessary stress on a holiday weekend. Still, here are some thoughts on the year that, in just over two-and-a-half hours, will have passed:
Were I to name a "Scrambies Person of the Year", I would have chosen either Beth Stroud (the lesbian United Methodist minister from Pennsylvania who was officially defrocked on Halloween) or Jon Stewart (the host of The Daily Show). Since the politics of The United Methodist Church (particularly regarding homosexuality) is a primary subject of this blog, Stroud would be a natural choice. I commend Jon Stewart for his irreverance, his candor, and his commitment to holding accountable our political and cultural leaders; and I have cited him several times on this blog.
As far as music is concerned, my "Scrambies Album of the Year" award would go to either I'm Wide Awake; It's Morning by Bright Eyes, Guero by Beck, or Be by Common. (Kanye West gets plenty of critical acclaim; I want to be sure that Kanye's buddy Common gets the love he deserves.) I also considered Jetpack's The Art of Building a Moat, but didn't know if I should give the award to an EP. "Scrambies Songs of the Year" honors would probably go to "Late" by Ben Folds, "Harvard Hands" by the Foxymorons, and "Oh Lately It's So Quiet" by OK Go.
I think that the best novel published in 2005 would either be Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down or Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. The best novel I read in 2005 was Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife. I didn't read many non-fiction books that were published in 2005, but the best non-fiction book published in 2005 that I did read was Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. The best non-fiction book I read this year would have to be Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel.
Since I am raising a toddler, I don't get to see many movies. But the "Scrambies Movie of the Year" would either be Walk the Line or Fever Pitch. I also enjoyed each of the year's three blockbuster sci-fi/fantasy epics: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. All had their strengths, but Goblet of Fire was my favorite of the three.
My "Scrambies Athlete of the Year" award would have to go to tennis player Roger Federer; if you keep up with tennis, you know why. As an occasional cyclist who struggles to navigate the hills of Tennessee, I can appreciate Lance Armstrong's achievement (winning his seventh straight Tour de France). But Lance beat cancer to win his first Tour in 1999; he tied the record for Tour wins in 2003; and he broke the record in 2004. 2005 was just gravy. How many times can you award the same guy? Danica Patrick is also worthy of recognition, though it's hard to award an athlete who didn't win anything. Nonetheless, no woman has ever been so competitive against men in a major professional sport. While Danica often started races on the front row and sometimes finished in the top ten (pretty good for a rookie), the IRL circuit was dominated by Dan Wheldon. (Of course, no one would have heard of Wheldon if not for Danica Patrick.) I'd also like to recognize Robert Hudson, who was the point guard at Hillsboro High School here in Nashville before graduating this spring. (He is now playing at Emory and Henry University in Virginia.) Rob's story is so insprirational that it is worthy of a Disney movie.
That's all for now. Midnight is nearly two hours away. I may or may not make it. (After all, I have a radio show in the morning.)
Philosophically, I don't think that New Year's Day is a terribly meaningful holiday. (Rivers, one of the cats who was still awake as of the first paragraph, is now asleep.) I had been mentally piecing together the "Scrambies Best of 2005 Awards," but decided that writing and formatting my list of winners (and reasons for selecting them) would cause me unnecessary stress on a holiday weekend. Still, here are some thoughts on the year that, in just over two-and-a-half hours, will have passed:
Were I to name a "Scrambies Person of the Year", I would have chosen either Beth Stroud (the lesbian United Methodist minister from Pennsylvania who was officially defrocked on Halloween) or Jon Stewart (the host of The Daily Show). Since the politics of The United Methodist Church (particularly regarding homosexuality) is a primary subject of this blog, Stroud would be a natural choice. I commend Jon Stewart for his irreverance, his candor, and his commitment to holding accountable our political and cultural leaders; and I have cited him several times on this blog.
As far as music is concerned, my "Scrambies Album of the Year" award would go to either I'm Wide Awake; It's Morning by Bright Eyes, Guero by Beck, or Be by Common. (Kanye West gets plenty of critical acclaim; I want to be sure that Kanye's buddy Common gets the love he deserves.) I also considered Jetpack's The Art of Building a Moat, but didn't know if I should give the award to an EP. "Scrambies Songs of the Year" honors would probably go to "Late" by Ben Folds, "Harvard Hands" by the Foxymorons, and "Oh Lately It's So Quiet" by OK Go.I think that the best novel published in 2005 would either be Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down or Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling. The best novel I read in 2005 was Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife. I didn't read many non-fiction books that were published in 2005, but the best non-fiction book published in 2005 that I did read was Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. The best non-fiction book I read this year would have to be Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel.
Since I am raising a toddler, I don't get to see many movies. But the "Scrambies Movie of the Year" would either be Walk the Line or Fever Pitch. I also enjoyed each of the year's three blockbuster sci-fi/fantasy epics: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith, and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. All had their strengths, but Goblet of Fire was my favorite of the three.
My "Scrambies Athlete of the Year" award would have to go to tennis player Roger Federer; if you keep up with tennis, you know why. As an occasional cyclist who struggles to navigate the hills of Tennessee, I can appreciate Lance Armstrong's achievement (winning his seventh straight Tour de France). But Lance beat cancer to win his first Tour in 1999; he tied the record for Tour wins in 2003; and he broke the record in 2004. 2005 was just gravy. How many times can you award the same guy? Danica Patrick is also worthy of recognition, though it's hard to award an athlete who didn't win anything. Nonetheless, no woman has ever been so competitive against men in a major professional sport. While Danica often started races on the front row and sometimes finished in the top ten (pretty good for a rookie), the IRL circuit was dominated by Dan Wheldon. (Of course, no one would have heard of Wheldon if not for Danica Patrick.) I'd also like to recognize Robert Hudson, who was the point guard at Hillsboro High School here in Nashville before graduating this spring. (He is now playing at Emory and Henry University in Virginia.) Rob's story is so insprirational that it is worthy of a Disney movie.
That's all for now. Midnight is nearly two hours away. I may or may not make it. (After all, I have a radio show in the morning.)
posted by Tinley | 7:02 PM
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