Keep Me Going Strong.
NFDC Happenings From TumblrWith less than eight hours to go, here’s the rest of my picks for 2008. These five kept shifting positions, so any one is probably interchangeable with another. The changes in position were based less on my own taste than the general state of the world.
- Jenny Lewis - Acid Tongue
- Gnarls Barkley - The Odd Couple
- Portishead - Third
- M83 - Saturdays = Youth
- The Foreign Exchange - Leave It All Behind
Nikki did it. So did Sara. And Amber.
So I might as well.
What did you do in 2008 that you have never done before?
Successfully piloted a pontoon boat, thus justifying my hard-earned Tennessee Boating License. As the son of a tourney-winning fisherman, this was much like taking up an ancestral mantle. Seriously.
How do I define “success” here? Cort, Julie and Nikki didn’t drown, nor were they forced to await rescue from a capsized pontoon boat. That is success.
Did you keep all of last years resolutions?
Did I make any resolutions for this year? Oh, yeah, I did. “Better posts. Better shape. Better, all around.” (Having a blog alleviates the need to actually remember things … kinda.)
I think I handled the first one well enough, as my blog posts have been coming with more regularity, augmented by regular Twitter-age and the very convenient Tumblr. I didn’t finish my Presidential Fantasy Cabinet, but the incoming reality-based Dream Team is turning out well enough. As far as that last “Love and Doctors Who” post goes … I’ve got about 12 days left. It might still happen.
Am I in better shape? Overall, sure. I feel better. I’ve cut out most of the HFCS from my diet (thanks, Michael Pollan), making rare exceptions only. Straight-up Coca-Cola has been replaced entirely by Diet Coke or Coke Zero. And Nikki and I have become big fans of the Whole Foods produce department, which helps us to realize that not every meal requires a meaty guest star.
Still, I need to exercise. Maybe next year.
Have you any resolutions for next year?
Sure. Probably more of the same (write better, be healthier), but I’m considering a few more ambitious ideas.
What countries did you visit?
The United States of America. And Florida.
What would you like to have in 2009 that you didn’t have in 2008?
More discipline. And more travel.
What date in 2008 will remain etched in your memory?
November 4, 2008.
We’re sorry to inform you that on Jan. 15, 2009, Ficlets will be shut down permanently.
For reasons that aren’t entirely clear — shouldn’t AOL have the means to maintain a simple social network for micro-writing? — the flash fiction site with an adorable name is going the way of the do-do and the Kozmo. As AOL suggests in their press release, I’ve gone into my own profile to retrieve the handful of 1024-character tales I wrote back in May. For a few weeks there, a few of us local blogging folks tried to keep to a regular schedule of Friday Ficlets. I was out of the game before June, though I believe Rusty and Seth kept on for a little bit longer.
So now they’ll live here, re-blogged each as their own post, backdated to their Ficlet birthday and marked as fiction:
If you did a few Ficlets of your own, I’d advise that you log in sooner rather than later. AOL is making it rather plain that by mid-January of next year, the creative output of several hundred writers-in-brief will vanish. Seems a shame, really.
Ever closer, we’re counting on down …
- Jeff Hanson - Madam Owl
- John Legend - Evolver
- TV On The Radio - Dear Science,
- Erykah Badu - New Amerykah, Part One (4th World War)
- Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It
So, I’m in a play. Not directing this time. I’m in this one. Playing a part I should know well enough: myself. The show is The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) — basically, all 37 plays performed by three actors in about 90 minutes.
My co-stars are Stephen Banks and Zip Rampy — seen together during our Spring 2008 production of Midsummer. We’re being directed by Jim Dailey, another refugee from Midsummer’s Tinker Town. Rehearsals have been hilariously awesome so far.
We’re doing a four week run, split between two houses. The first two weeks will be at Cumming Playhouse in the city of the same name. The last two will be at Kudzu Playhouse in Roswell. More information is readily available at the NFDC blog, or on Facebook, or (presumably) on the websites for each of the two theatres.
I’ve decided that there is really only one person to take over the Doctor Who role.
If for nothing else than to watch the heads of clueless fanboys explode in righteous indignation at the casting of an American actor, only to have their shame further deepened by learning that he’s really very, very British.
Also, I think Doctor Greg House with a time machine would be sweet. He’s already got a bunch of companions who respect him but rarely understand him. He has metric tons of gadgets at his disposal. And he has a total lack of respect for authority.
Someone get marketing on the phone, stat!
(And really, would my idea be any worse than this? I think not.)
There are 110 statues in play for 2008. 2008, by Grammy definition, runs from the first of October 2007 to the last day of September 2008. Every year, I look at the big list and think about doing some predictions, but then I get all caught up in the need to support each educated guess with informed commentary. Since I know nothing about Polka and have little desire to learn, that’s a whole Grammy category forfeited.
But you know … I’ve given a glance at the top nominations for 2008 and it looks like The Recording Academy really could care less about actual quality, so why should I worry? I can hold my own with some 2008 music trivia. And anything I don’t know, I can just guess. The ceremony isn’t until February and I’m in no hurry, so let’s do this. (more…)
Once again, I’m taking up the critic’s mantle. For no other reason than the fact that I can, I’m looking back at 2008’s musical offerings to determine those I find worthy of being called The Best.
And so, here begins my list of The Top Twenty Albums of 2008 … starting with the bottom five.
- Copeland - You Are My Sunshine
- David Byrne & Brian Eno - Everything That Happens Will Happen Today
- Sam Sparro - Sam Sparro
- The Roots - Rising Down
- Q-Tip - The Renaissance
