2007 Roundup
Already? Wow. Well here goes:
Best value on the tube Project Runway Canada, Heroes (although I am expecting greater things), and The Amazing Race 12 (am so sad about my lovely goths).
Best Album
This is a funny one. There are albums I could list. We just got Serj Tankian's Elect the Dead. I also liked Ben Harper's Lifeline. But these are easy choices for me. I am a huge S.O.A.D fan and it would be weird if I didn't like Serj's solo effort. Same for Ben Harper - he can do no wrong. Probably the two greatest revelations were Storm Large's Ladylike Side 1 and Verbal Deception's Aurum Aetus Piraticus. I was very unadventurous this year with music and sitting down to write this I realise that this is kind of pathetic. So, for 2008 one of my resolutions is to make an effort to listen to more new music. Of course I will still rock the Dolly and the GnR but I need to step out of my comfort zone a bit (perhaps LJ will think of doing the same but I doubt it).
Best Show
Without any second of hesitation...Storm Large at the Warehouse. Woefully underpromoted (and so underattended) but a kick-ass awesome fabulous show.
Also great - 69 Eyes and Cradle of Filth at Mac Hall, Verbal Deception at the Canadian Legion, and Tim Hus at The Bar Named Sue in Jan (best anniversary celebration evah!).
Best Film
Again, these are films I watched in 2007, not necessarily those made or released in 2007.
Shut up and Sing. Love those Dixie Chicks.
Stardust. Just watched this one. Amazing.
Volver. Beautiful.
Notes on a Scandal. One of my favourite scripts ever. Also Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett - superb.
Best Food
I love thinking about this one because I am greedy :)
Eating out: Vietnamese subs at Trung Nguyen (much much better than Thi Thi if you ask me or LJ); Sushi (esp. veggie tempura rolls and salmon sashimi) at Sushi Kawa; fabulous curry in Brick Lane, London; and breathtaking french food with both my aunts this summer in France (too many places to single one out) and, finally (and my favourite) dinner at the Aldridge Lodge in Duncannon, Co. Wexford.
Eating in: Hungarian Goulash (from Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course), this was a triumph and so, so, easy; spiced couscous (I am looking for the link) which was a summer staple; Fondue by Jay and Shan; every single thing made by my aunts and my mum during our trip this summer, esp. cherry toms feta and black olive tart, homemade strawberry sorbet with tuile, and breakfast at mum's (eggs, white pudding, McCambridges bread, tomatoes).
Okay, I'm hungry now!
Best Offline Reads
This is a tougher category because I read so much for Uni and really don't read enough otherwise. I have been heavy on the non-fiction this year aswell (even when not reading for school).
Best for Uni: I have to say (because I have spent so much time with this book this year) Technologies of the Self: A Seminar with Michel Foucault, Martyrdom and Memory: Early Christian Culture Making, and Autobiographical Acts: The Changing Situation of a Literary Genre.
Just for Me (though sometimes also for school: Full Frontal Feminism (read this!); Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women who Created Her, Fingersmith, and In Cold Blood (I know, about time! sooo good).
Best Online Reads
Inside a Black Apple. As I've written here before, I love Emily Martin's art and her blog. This year I bought a couple of her prints for me and a couple for friends.
iCiNG. Gala Darling is a regular, detailed, and creative blogger. I love her style and I love her positivity.
Feministing. One of my long-term faves. The ladies over at Feministing have been doing wonderful things this year (including Jessica Valenti's great first book recommended above).
Trends n' stuff
Of course, Facebook. I think that a lot of Gen X'ers really got into FB this year.
Etsy. Fantastic wonderful Etsy. If you need a (not last-minute) gift (for others or yourself) and you don't want to get what everybody else has from the mall or from the trendy shops then get thee to Etsy!
Photoblogging. It's nothing new but I've been far more visually focused in my blog-perusal this year. Probably my favourite photoblog this year has been 3191 A Year of Mornings. Gorgeous photos from two creative friends who live 3191 miles apart. The year may be over but Stephanie and Mav are planning a year of evenings and there will be a book, yay!
Personal Highs
Painting the living room. I took a week out this summer to paint our (large) living room. It was a fairly daunting mission - three coats on long, tall, walls and plenty of trim and windows to negotiate too. Afterwards I had bruises on the backs of my calves from leaning against the ladder. Now, whenever I look around at the room I spend a lot of time in I feel so happy. I especially adore my blue wall. It seems silly to feel so pleased about something so superficial but I do.
Enjoying both AoIR in Vancouver and the Women's Centre Conference in Calgary within a week of eachother. Lots of hard work, lots of fun. It was nice to attend and participate in an academic event and a more grassroots event almost at the same time. It was also great to spend time planning and enjoying both events with my thesis advisor and fellow student (at AoIR) and my mother in law (women's centre) as well as to meet such cool and interesting people for the first time. The first ICS grad conference in Leeds was also a wonderful day despite my jet-lag.
LJ starting his new job. I am so proud of him for making a positive career change. Things are a bit uncertain at the moment but we are hopeful that they will settle down in 2008.
We had some lovely visitors this year - shouts to Pippy, Beales, Talei and Josie, Nicole, and Sandi who all came into Calgary and made us smile. Also meeting more of LJs family and seeming some familiar faces again for his gma's 95th (yes, really!) was a real treat.
Finally...the release of the new Harry Potter. LJ and I had such a blast on the night of the release. It's something I plan to tell our kids about and hopefully they will think we are really really cool...or big nerds (which amounts to the same thing for us).
and lows
I think I've written about this before but I do find that (for me) there is a tendency to blog the good stuff and to just not mention the not-so-great stuff. 2007 was also a very sad year. Some of my closest friends here in Calgary lost a dear friend and a beautiful person. Robin was always lovely to me and I enjoyed every moment I spent in her company. Her death was shocking and very very sad. I don't really know what else to say except that I know that there are many many people who are working hard to make Robin proud and to honour her memory. I hope I can be as supportive of their endeavors as she would have been.
Okay, that's it from me for 2007. Let's hope I can be a better blogger in 2008 ;) Happy New Year!
Best value on the tube Project Runway Canada, Heroes (although I am expecting greater things), and The Amazing Race 12 (am so sad about my lovely goths).
Best Album
This is a funny one. There are albums I could list. We just got Serj Tankian's Elect the Dead. I also liked Ben Harper's Lifeline. But these are easy choices for me. I am a huge S.O.A.D fan and it would be weird if I didn't like Serj's solo effort. Same for Ben Harper - he can do no wrong. Probably the two greatest revelations were Storm Large's Ladylike Side 1 and Verbal Deception's Aurum Aetus Piraticus. I was very unadventurous this year with music and sitting down to write this I realise that this is kind of pathetic. So, for 2008 one of my resolutions is to make an effort to listen to more new music. Of course I will still rock the Dolly and the GnR but I need to step out of my comfort zone a bit (perhaps LJ will think of doing the same but I doubt it).
Best Show
Without any second of hesitation...Storm Large at the Warehouse. Woefully underpromoted (and so underattended) but a kick-ass awesome fabulous show.
Also great - 69 Eyes and Cradle of Filth at Mac Hall, Verbal Deception at the Canadian Legion, and Tim Hus at The Bar Named Sue in Jan (best anniversary celebration evah!).
Best Film
Again, these are films I watched in 2007, not necessarily those made or released in 2007.
Shut up and Sing. Love those Dixie Chicks.
Stardust. Just watched this one. Amazing.
Volver. Beautiful.
Notes on a Scandal. One of my favourite scripts ever. Also Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett - superb.
Best Food
I love thinking about this one because I am greedy :)
Eating out: Vietnamese subs at Trung Nguyen (much much better than Thi Thi if you ask me or LJ); Sushi (esp. veggie tempura rolls and salmon sashimi) at Sushi Kawa; fabulous curry in Brick Lane, London; and breathtaking french food with both my aunts this summer in France (too many places to single one out) and, finally (and my favourite) dinner at the Aldridge Lodge in Duncannon, Co. Wexford.
Eating in: Hungarian Goulash (from Delia Smith's Complete Cookery Course), this was a triumph and so, so, easy; spiced couscous (I am looking for the link) which was a summer staple; Fondue by Jay and Shan; every single thing made by my aunts and my mum during our trip this summer, esp. cherry toms feta and black olive tart, homemade strawberry sorbet with tuile, and breakfast at mum's (eggs, white pudding, McCambridges bread, tomatoes).
Okay, I'm hungry now!
Best Offline Reads
This is a tougher category because I read so much for Uni and really don't read enough otherwise. I have been heavy on the non-fiction this year aswell (even when not reading for school).
Best for Uni: I have to say (because I have spent so much time with this book this year) Technologies of the Self: A Seminar with Michel Foucault, Martyrdom and Memory: Early Christian Culture Making, and Autobiographical Acts: The Changing Situation of a Literary Genre.
Just for Me (though sometimes also for school: Full Frontal Feminism (read this!); Girl Sleuth: Nancy Drew and the Women who Created Her, Fingersmith, and In Cold Blood (I know, about time! sooo good).
Best Online Reads
Inside a Black Apple. As I've written here before, I love Emily Martin's art and her blog. This year I bought a couple of her prints for me and a couple for friends.
iCiNG. Gala Darling is a regular, detailed, and creative blogger. I love her style and I love her positivity.
Feministing. One of my long-term faves. The ladies over at Feministing have been doing wonderful things this year (including Jessica Valenti's great first book recommended above).
Trends n' stuff
Of course, Facebook. I think that a lot of Gen X'ers really got into FB this year.
Etsy. Fantastic wonderful Etsy. If you need a (not last-minute) gift (for others or yourself) and you don't want to get what everybody else has from the mall or from the trendy shops then get thee to Etsy!
Photoblogging. It's nothing new but I've been far more visually focused in my blog-perusal this year. Probably my favourite photoblog this year has been 3191 A Year of Mornings. Gorgeous photos from two creative friends who live 3191 miles apart. The year may be over but Stephanie and Mav are planning a year of evenings and there will be a book, yay!
Personal Highs
Painting the living room. I took a week out this summer to paint our (large) living room. It was a fairly daunting mission - three coats on long, tall, walls and plenty of trim and windows to negotiate too. Afterwards I had bruises on the backs of my calves from leaning against the ladder. Now, whenever I look around at the room I spend a lot of time in I feel so happy. I especially adore my blue wall. It seems silly to feel so pleased about something so superficial but I do.
Enjoying both AoIR in Vancouver and the Women's Centre Conference in Calgary within a week of eachother. Lots of hard work, lots of fun. It was nice to attend and participate in an academic event and a more grassroots event almost at the same time. It was also great to spend time planning and enjoying both events with my thesis advisor and fellow student (at AoIR) and my mother in law (women's centre) as well as to meet such cool and interesting people for the first time. The first ICS grad conference in Leeds was also a wonderful day despite my jet-lag.
LJ starting his new job. I am so proud of him for making a positive career change. Things are a bit uncertain at the moment but we are hopeful that they will settle down in 2008.
We had some lovely visitors this year - shouts to Pippy, Beales, Talei and Josie, Nicole, and Sandi who all came into Calgary and made us smile. Also meeting more of LJs family and seeming some familiar faces again for his gma's 95th (yes, really!) was a real treat.
Finally...the release of the new Harry Potter. LJ and I had such a blast on the night of the release. It's something I plan to tell our kids about and hopefully they will think we are really really cool...or big nerds (which amounts to the same thing for us).
and lows
I think I've written about this before but I do find that (for me) there is a tendency to blog the good stuff and to just not mention the not-so-great stuff. 2007 was also a very sad year. Some of my closest friends here in Calgary lost a dear friend and a beautiful person. Robin was always lovely to me and I enjoyed every moment I spent in her company. Her death was shocking and very very sad. I don't really know what else to say except that I know that there are many many people who are working hard to make Robin proud and to honour her memory. I hope I can be as supportive of their endeavors as she would have been.
Okay, that's it from me for 2007. Let's hope I can be a better blogger in 2008 ;) Happy New Year!
posted by georgia at 6:50 PM
1 Comments:
For me and my little brain, I only have a few bests from last year.
The Album that got the most listening: Verbal Deception Aurum Aetus Piraticus.
Best Performances at a Metal Show: Cradle of Filth at Mac Hall and Verbal Deception Canadian Legion.
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