Year End Lists Continue

I always find it easier to pick my favourite movies than my favourite songs. So, while I try to come up with that list, here is my list of my favourite movies that came out this year.

10. Fast & Furious - just as horrible as the very first one, and that makes it awesome.

9. My Bloody Valentine - while the movie wasn't really great, it was the first one I saw in the new all 3D format. And it has Jensen Ackles - therefore, it has a special place in my heart.

8. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - it had its faults (the entire way they dealt with the Harry/Ginny relationship) but on the whole, I liked it.

7. Whip It - I love roller derby!

6. Julie & Julia - Amy Adams, you've come a long way since your one episode of Buffy.

5. District 9 - Not at all what I expected. I normally avoid movies involving aliens, but this was such a huge social commentary, specifically related to apartheid, that we were talking about it for weeks after seeing it.

4. Up (3D) –I wasn’t actually that interested in watching this movie, but having nothing to do one afternoon I went with a group of friends. Not only did we all love it, pretty much everyone ended up close to tears at some point during the movie. And then there was Doug – I slept under your porch because I love you.

3. Pirate Radio – An amazing cast. The best soundtrack of the year. Ridiculously great costuming. I loved everything about this movie.

2. 500 Days of Summer – Quirky, funny, a little too self-knowingly hip, but completely endearing.

Star Trek – Everything about this movie was awesome. Everything!


Honorable Mention goes to New Moon. Mostly because it was so much better than I expected, and has an amazing soundtrack. I feel shame over how much I liked this movie. A lot of shame – specifically related to Taylor Lautner’s 16-year-old abs.

A personal highlight of the year was getting to finally see Nightmare Before Christmas on the big screen in 3D. I’ve been trying to see this for years, but good shit just never comes to Edmonton.

Movies that didn’t live up to my expectation – 9, Where the Wild Things Are, and Coraline.

Year End Lists Start Now! My Favourite Songs in 2009

So I have been ruminating on the past year and have already started my year end lists. Let's start with songs. These are the songs that I enjoyed most this year. Maybe they were not released in this year, but I discovered them and listened the hell out of them in 2009:

1. Best I Ever Had – Drake
2. Zero – The Yeah Yeah Yeahs
3. I’m an Animal – Neko Case
4. Bulletproof - La Roux
5. Empire State of Mind – Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys
6. Ego – Beyonce
7. Sweet Dreams – Beyonce
8. Sarah – Bat for Lashes
9. Daniel – Bat for Lashes
10. Poker Face – Lady Gaga
11. Bad Romance – Lady Gaga
12. Help I’m Alive – Metric
13. Knock You Down – Keri Hilson, Kanye West & Neyo
14. Life in Marvelous Times – Mos Def
15. Blue Skies – Noah and the Whale
16. Panic Switch – Silversun Pickups
17. Oh My God – Ida Maria
18. Day and Night – Kid Cudi
19. Make Her Say – Kid Cudi, Kanye West & Common
20. Use Somebody – Kings of Leon
21. Saviour – Rise Against
22. Dead and Gone – T.I. feat. Justin Timberlake
23. My Life Would Suck Without you – Kelly Clarkson
24. Love Story – Taylor Swift
25. Hell – Tegan and Sara
26. Alligator – Tegan and Sara
27. I Run to you – Ladu Antebellum
28. You Belong With Me – Taylor Swift
29. Boys Wanna Be Her – Peaches
30. Last Dance – The Raveonettes
31. Young Pilgrims – The Shins
32. I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman - K-Os
33. Fino + Bleed – Die Mannequin
34. Auditorium – Mos Def
35. I Am Not the Sun – The Arkells

What did you enjoy listening to this year?

Songs titled "Wake Up"

I feel like my mind is in a perpetual state of drowsiness or at least not cooperating with my desire for it to function on a higher level. In a nice bit of synchronicity, my iPhone playlist decided to play "Wake Up" by The Arcade Fire and then immediately play "wake Up" by Rage Against the Machine. That got me thinking about how often a song title is used by different bands and so I wrote this list of bands / musicians that have songs titled "Wake Up". I'm sure this is not an exhaustive list and I certainly am not commenting on the quality of these songs, but off the top of my head this is a lot.

1. The Arcade Fire
2. Rage Against the Machine
3. Coheed and Cambria
4. Hillary Duff
5. Three Days Grace
6. Slapshock
7. Korn
8. Fergie
9. Tavares
10. Alanis Morrissette
11. Run DMC
12. The Doors
13. Merle Haggard
14. Missy Elliot
15. Alicia Keyes
16. The Replacements
17. Story of the Year
18. The Living End
19. Sarah Slean
20. Orbit
21. Hanson
22. Alphaville
23. XTC
24. Powerman 5000

What am I missing?

10 on Tuesday: Thankful

This week, 10 on Tuesday suggests we list 10 things we are thankful for. These are the first 10 things that popped into my mind and I felt really good after writing this!

1. My partner – He untangles my tangles and carries the heavy stuff and hugs me just when I need it
2. My best friend – She’s known me for 15 years and hasn’t run away scared yet. That is dedication!
3. My family – They entertain me with their drama and they love me unconditionally
4. Living in Canada (no explanation necessary)
5. My job – It is challenging and offers a lot of learning opportunities even though I complain about it sometimes…okay, often
6. My Macs (G5 upstairs Mac Mini downstairs) – No silly Windows problems for me!
7. My iPhone – Can you tell I’m a Mac person? I really have no idea how I lived without this little gadget all my life
8. Libraries – I can get almost any book delivered to a library near me and take at least 3 weeks to read it!
9. All the nature parks around southern Ontario – they are beautiful and I love nature!
10. My camera! – I’ve always been a visually stimulated person yet my camera has helped me pay attention to the beauty around me more

So, what are you thankful for?

Friday Favourites: Foods

I love to cook, and also love to eat, so here are my favourite foods!

1. Spaghetti and meatballs – I make an amazing Sicilian Sunday Gravy and it is perfect with Sicilian meatballs and spaghetti
2. Lobster – Unadulterated except maybe a little garlic butter
3. Shrimp – Shrimp anything, but especially with garlic and butter
4. Bruschetta – So simple and yummy
5. Steak – Grilled medium-rare with lots of mushrooms
6. Mashed potatoes – With garlic, with skins, with gravy or with butter…yum!
7. Pancakes – I eat a lot of pancakes. I have them at least once a week
8. Atlantic Salmon – It does taste different than Pacific salmon; its better! With lemon and tomatoes and garlic.
9. Couscous – Made with chicken broth, some ground cumin and turmeric and mixed with sautéed fresh veggies
10. Sweet potato fries
11. Fish and chips! I was in heaven getting to eat fish and chips with a beer in a pub in the UK

So, what are your favourite foods?

Thursday Thirteen: What a Productive Day List!

Well, this is my first ever Thursday 13, so I am going to keep it simple. I did not go to work today (I didn't fake sick, I actually had the day off)yet, I was incredibly productive at home! Here are 13 things I accomplished today:

1. 3 loads of laundry
2. Ran the dishwasher
3. Cleaned the entire kitchen
4. Baked chocolate chip cookies
5. Baked Skor Cookies
6. Finalized my weekend plans (Yes, that includes deciding to go see New Moon tomorrow)
7. Moved a dresser back into my bedroom from the guest room
8. Emptied the garbage (Yuck, I hate this and usually make someone else do it)
9. Started a new Christmas painting
10.Made the bed
11.Cooked a healthy dinner (Mmmm, CousCous)
12.Answered work calls
13.Cleaned the master bedroom

All on one coffee and I'm not even tired! What will I accomplish tomorrow?

10 Things I Wish I Knew How To Do

10 on Tuesday today is all about things we wish we knew how to do. Here are my ten:

1. Play guitar
2. Speak Italian
3. Make pizza dough from scratch
4. Speak Japanese
5. Play piano
6. Meditate
7. Develop web pages
8. Knit something other than a scarf
9. Use Photoshop to its full functionality
10. Speak Spanish

Hopefully I actually knock a couple of these off my list soon.

What things do you want to learn?