There and Back Again

Pondering: Dear Lord… The gods have been good to me. For the first time in my life, everything is absolutely perfect just the way it is. So here’s the deal: You freeze everything the way it is, and I won’t ask for anything more. If that is OK, please give me absolutely no sign. OK, deal. (Homer Simpson)

Books Read That I’m Keeping on the Shelf

• On Chisel Beach (Ian McEwan)
• A Man Without A Country (Kurt Vonnegut)
• The Wrong Kind of Blood (Declan Hughes)
• Still Waters (Nigel McCrery)

Movies Watched on the Big Screen

• The Happening (so-so, though I love M. Night Shyamalan in general)
• Wanted (if only to get a quick glimpse of the great Marc Warren)
• Transiberia (loved it, plus Eduardo Noriega was in it)

Favorite TV Shows of 2008

• Criminal Minds (hands down!)
• Life (who can’t love Charlie Crews?)
• House (if only the old crew is back some more)
• Dogs 101 (makes me want to get every dog featured in the show)
• TMZ (tasteless indulgence, funny as hell)
• Amazing Race (still the best and only worthy reality show out there)
• The Tudors (saucy!)

Memorable Moments/Things

• Barack Obama being elected as the next president of America
• Kevin Garnett finally winning an NBA ring
• Coldplay and their colorful butterfly confetti
• The release of Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends
• Discovering friends and relatives in Facebook
• iPhone and all its copycats
• Going green
• Succession and workforce planning

Moments I’d Rather Forget

• The rise of the Jonas Brothers and all other Disney wanna-be singers
• NBC’s coverage of the 2008 Olympics
• The entire season of the SF 49ers (as are the other years)
• Beyonce’s Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) routine (trying too hard, B!)
• Suffering from food poisoning (or was it stomach flu) on Christmas Eve
• The stock market crash
• Lay offs, store closures, foreclosures, bankruptcies

Memorable DVD Movies Watched

• TransAmerica
• Jesus Christ Superstar (HD)
• Old Joy
• Control
• Lars and the Real Girl
• Time to Leave (French with subtitles)