scotchneat.ca

Originally posted January 1, 2010

I’m not even gonna try to order these, and the selection process was excruciating, and ask me tomorrow and I may have a different answer, but here are some of the books that rocked my world published in the last 10 years. Some authors outdid themselves with several entries, so I put them together.

• Rush Home Road (2002) Lori Lansens. Honourable mention to The Girls (2005)
• The Dominion of Wyley McFadden (2001) Scott Gardiner. Honourable mention to King John of Canada (2007).
• Dead Girls (2003) Nancy Lee.
• American Gods (2001) Neil Gaiman.
• The Time Traveller’s Wife (2003) Audrey Niffenegger.
• The Road (2005) Cormac McCarthy.
• A Minor Planet For You: And Other Stories (2006) Leslie Greentree.
• The View From the Seventh Layer (2008) Kevin Brockmeier.
• Angel: After the Fall (2008-9) IDW Publishing.
• Alva and Irva (2004) Edward Carey.
• The Jen Casey Triology: Hammered, Scardown and Worldwired (2005) Elizabeth Bear.
• Resurrection Men (2004) Ian Rankin.
• Oryx and Crake (2004) Margaret Atwood.
• Under the Skin (2000) Michel Faber.
• The Thursday Next Series: The Eyre Affair, Lost in a Good Book, The Well of Lost Plots, Something Rotten and First Among Sequels (2001-07) Jasper Fforde.
• Magical Thinking: True Stories (2004), Possible Side Effects (2006), Running With Scissors: A Memoir (2002), Dry (2002) Augusten Burroughs.
• Fierce (2008) Hannah Holborn.
• Fierce Invalids Home From Hot Climates (2000), Villa Incognito (2003) Tom Robbins.

===
Honourable Mentions

• My Abandonment (2008) Peter Rock.
• The Lovely Bones (2002) Alice Sebold.
• The World Without Us (2007) Alan Weisman.
• Lullabies for Little Criminals (2006) Heather O’Neill.
• Fight Club (2005) Chuck Palahniuk.
• Spook Country (2007) William Gibson.
• The Corrections (2001) Jonathan Franzen.
• Anathem (2008) Neal Stephenson.

Originally posted December 28, 2009

TV shows are a bit easier to rate. I’m going to combine “real programming” with fiction. Numbers 6-2 are kind of interchangeable, as I love these ones pretty equally.

10. First season of Veronica Mars. The others were okay, but the first season was consistently good in terms of snark, mystery, romance and dysfunction. And I love it when you make me root for the asshole. Best ep: “Hot Dogs” – we start to see Logan through different eyes, Aaron Echolls goes after his daughter’s abusive boyfriend, and Weevil is further implicated in Lily’s murder.

9. The Daily Show/Rick Mercer Report. Like old-time American-Canadian cousins, Jon Stewart & Rick Mercer have done more for political awareness in either country than any news program every could. Both play the everyman, the buffoon and the astute correspondent in equal measures. Love.

8. The Office (UK version). Some of the most uncomfortable television I’ve ever watched. While it sometimes invoked PTSD from my corporate life, it is a great example of why the Brits are better than us (often) when it comes to playing it straight. Best ep: The Christmas Special.

7. Mythbusters. Adam and Jamie made geeks famous and introduced the scientific method to a whole new generation. It’s still not old for me yet.

6. Location, Location, Location. For a real estate pR0n addict like me, this show is the bomb. Kirstie and Phil are never coy, and their tours through houses across the UK (and beyond) is always enjoyable. I watch the eps over and over again.

5. Torchwood – “Children of Earth”. So this is kind of cheaty because I’m picking on one specific mini-series, but the calibre of writing for this arc was unbelievable. Particularly in how the politicians deal with the impending catastrophe and moral dilemmas of offering up the children. Really great television. And if that’s the end of the series, then we can’t ask for more than that.

4. BSG. I know this one will show up higher on someone else’s list, but my criteria included how willing I was to move or cancel plans so as to not miss the show in its first showing, and I was willing most of the time to watch this one as a download. BSG was a game changer. Loved its darkness, its moral ambiguity, its characters and ability to leave me gasping. Best ep: “33? – the fleet has to jump every 33 minutes to stay ahead of the Cylons. If I had a heart rate monitor during this ep, it would have been spiking.

3. True Blood. Ball has taken the books and turned something of a girlie drink into a freaky shot of post-sex scotch. The best news? This one isn’t done yet–can’t wait until June. Best ep: “I Will Rise Up” – Eric saves Sookie and then uses it to his advantage for some pretty hot mouth-to-wounds, and Godric becomes a saviour.

2. Buffy. For changing the game. For big stories on the little screen. For OMWF. For bringing us some of the best characters ever on television. I know it started in 1997, but its last seasons were in this decade, so it counts. Best ep: “Becoming” I and II (kinda cheaty) – we were so invested in the characters by the end of season 2, and the whole drama of her battle with Angel (one little word… “Me.”) and ultimately, her decision to sacrifice her love for the world. Wow. Just wow.

1. Firefly. I watched it during first run and loved it even though the eps were shown out of order. My level of pissed-off-edness increases every time I watch it. Fox will never be able to make this up, and saving Dollhouse for an extra year is not payment enough. Of all things Joss, this show was the optimum of ensemble casting, wit, charm and challenge.  Best ep: “Out of Gas” – wherein we learn of origins and love and the complex hero that is Mal. Absolutely fabulous.

There are also some honourable mentions, like Angel (should be in the top 10 but I ran out of room), West Wing (when it was good, it was riveting and when it was bad, it was preachy), Dirty Jobs (Mike Rowe somehow manages to be condescending and humble at the same time, and some of those jobs are awesomely gruesome), Fear Factor (the original omg! show – especially the stuff they had to eat), Six Feet Under (wonderful combination of dark comedy and darker family), Intervention (some of the most riveting television there is – some call it exploitive, but there seems to be a lesson in every show), and Dr Who (really close to Top 10, but there’s as many blah episodes as there are good ones).

Originally posted December 22, 2009

This year, I’m grabbing the first line from the first post of each month. It’s scotchneat concrete poetry…

Jan: My selected holiday viewing this year was all of Firefly, and then of course, Serenity. Everyone should do this every year, actually. And when Mal Castle wore the browncoat for Hallowe’en? Sqee!! It was on last night again and I stayed awake long enough to enjoy the pose.

Feb: Momentarily. I’ve been locked out of Wordpress for several days – unable to do anything. That was the first time this year that I fubared my wp. The second time I got smart and called upon the mad skillz of Dana to fix it. Me & wp? Definitely not best friends.

Mar: First, BSG was Holy Frak! Yep. It certainly was.

Apr: We had the kind of rain today that is probably termed “a deluge”. Cocky geese is what I remember. Ah, April…when Spring is just around the corner. Not like some months I could mention, December.

May: “Briar Rose”. This week’s Dollhouse was the pay-off if you’ve been watching, and if you haven’t been watching, you’re dead to me. And please tell me you’ve been watching S2. In fact, the last 4 eps have been the best of the whole group, I think. I’m going to hate January when it’s all done.

Jun: Spin around, ninja. I’m still snorting at this one.

Jul: So I was reading Mark Morford’s latest post, “Your imminent apocalyptic death” and he got me to thinking (and yes, he is still delectably lickable). He still is.

Aug: I’m about to try to finish the bald spots on my hardwood floor. It turned out not half bad, really. Everything is done except for the office, which is on my Xmas break list.

Sept: I know I’m WAY late on this one, but if you haven’t seen District 9 yet, you definitely should. One of the best movies of the year, for sure.

Oct: 10 good things about being single. Here’s another one: all the chocolate in my house? Mine.

Nov: Thumbs down: Where the hell were the kids this Hallowe’en? I’m still flummoxed at that. Where’s the fun in bobbing for apples in the church basement?

Dec: Cathy &Jean, and Camie and I had dinner and went to the KW Symphony’s Jeans & Classics last night. Good time, too.

In honour of Melle’s birthday, I did a google meme on “Melle wants…”

• Melle wants to be the first and the best (which, today of all days, will be achieved absolutely)
• Melle wants to constantly offer the consumer new products (it’s true – she’s very interested in new and exciting things on the Interwebs)
• Melle wants you to join their band in Rockstars (she plays drums)
• Melle wants to see the Vikings be a part of the 2008 state playoffs (and she means, like, real Vikings–with berserkers and everything–so I would not want to be the other team in the state playoffs)
• Melle wants you to mind your own business (basically, stop asking her why she’s taken to wearing a parrot on her shoulder)
• Melle wants to be in control… (but you’ll like it ;)
• What Melle wants she gets (rawr).

Happy birthday!

I’m a day late on this one. Prepare to laugh uproariously and possibly, to snort.

(Link from Melle)

Last year, I grabbed the first line of the first post from each month so this year I’m grabbing the first line from the last post of each month.

Before I get to the meme part, though, I wish everyone a wonderful new year full of unexpected moments of glee, good fortune and karmic belly rubs.

• So, my television has decided, on its own, that I’m blind and/or hard of hearing. This is still true and now it’s overcompensating. I have one channel that I can’t watch at all because the voiceovers are on top of what the actors are saying, and if I put the thing on mute, the closed captions appear automagically. If I hear it say something like, “I’m sorry, scotchneat, I’m afraid I can’t do that”, I’m going to pull the plug or maybe flip the breaker in the basement in case I can’t get near the powerbar.
• I was flipping channels and the CP24 ticker flashed something about “North American polyester shortage”, and I said wah?? Still pretty much a wtf.
• I like to watch the real estate programs. Although this actual post is a rant about the housing crisis in the US and how frakked it is going to make us – and how prescient am I since this was back in March and the meltdown was still about 6 months away at that point?! Anyway, I DO love me a real estate program, but more on the house renos. I’m officially fed up with flipping shows, and flipping doesn’t seem to make as much fiscal sense anymore anyway. But there’s this great British program that shows people who buy a run-down barn in the Outer Hebrides or something and then spend every penny they have restoring it – total house porn.
• I was interviewing a brand new uni graduate for a job on my team. And then she made me feel old. That’s about the whole post.
• As Maggie points out, they don’t really tell you HOW this helps you to “interact with and understand others”. Okay, kind of cheating in that there is a quiz about left/right-brain above this.
• Fascinating article about itching. It was. You should go read it.
• For a while now, there been some schmutz in the drain of my bathroom sink. Ah yes, this is when I first lost the use of my bathroom sink – will you think any differently of me if I tell you that it’s still not working :) Long story involving relatives.
• In the morning on my street, the sun first kisses my front porch and gardens, more than my neighbours, who have trees and whatnot providing shade well into the day. Well that’s pretty damn poetic, but you should see the punchline. Not so much.
• See if you can find Cory… The hint is “air balloon”.
• My brother picked me up first thing this morning and we drove down to my uncle’s memorial service. We did, and it was some quality brother time even though it was a sad occasion.
• Usually I flick right by cnn.com for obvious reasons, but I stopped tonight because Wolf was interviewing a Canadian man who was in the Oberoi in Mumbai and managed to escape and then get to the airport and safety. I’m still impressed by what Jonathan Ehrlich had to say.
• As in 2007 and 2006, here we go (the year-end questionnaire, which you probably just read :)

As in 2007 and 2006, here we go:

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Ate duck fat and beans

2. Did you keep your New Years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Some of my intentions were achieved. Some not.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes – I have a new nephew!

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Yes, unfortunately. Uncle G and Uncle J.

5. What countries did you visit?
France with Melle. It was awesome.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
A training budget.

7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory?
October 12th

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Some good things at work; helping JL to get (mostly) better

9. What was your biggest failure?
Not as much online activity as I wanted to do.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
More UCIs (unidentified construction injuries), but nothing major

11. What was the best thing you bought?
Some good gifts for my family

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration?
American voters

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed?
Canadian politicians; Californian h8ters

14. Where did most of your money go?
Housey things again – never ends

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Stephen Hawking is coming to Waterloo!

16. What song/album will always remind you of 2008?
“Let it Rock”

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

1. happier or sadder? same
2. thinner or fatter? shade heavier
3. richer or poorer? richer

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Consulting work

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Procrastinating

20. How will you be spending Christmas?
Quietly

21. Who did you spend the most time on the phone with?
Same as last year, so probably my Dad.

22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Nico is a nice bit of toffee.

23. How many one night stands in this last year?
Nope.

24. What was your favourite TV programme?
True Blood. Absolutely.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
I don’t hate; I dismiss.

26. What was the best book(s) you read?
The Gargoyle/Andrew Davidson, Little Brother/Cory Doctorow, The God Delusion/Richard Dawkins

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
–

28. What did you want and get?
A healthier JL

29. What did you want and not get?
A fireplace. … STILL.

30. What were your favourite films of this year?
Once again, I can’t even remember which films I saw.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
On my 41st birthday, I celebrated with friends and family.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Winning the lottery.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
What the hell happens to your thighs after 40? Like, flesh pantaloons or something.

34. What kept you sane?
books and the couch

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Lafayette

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Prop 8 in California; the prorogation in Canada

37. Who did you miss?
Friends I don’t get to see very often.

38. Who was the best new person you met?
Melissa is lovely.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.
Do not eat an extra hot curry and jerk chicken in the same day.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year?
I got soul, but I’m not a soldier
I got soul, but I’m not a soldier

GenderAnalyzer is only 55% sure that this site is written by a woman. It’s “quite gender neutral”.

(Link courtesy of Schmutzie)

Stolen from Melle who stole it from Violet…

You have to answer each question with one word, and one only.

1. Where is your cell phone? Couch
2. Where is your significant other? Dreams
3. Your hair color? Blondish
4. Your mother? North
5. Your father? South
6. Your favorite thing? Kittehs
7. Your dream last night? Violent
8. Your dream/goal? Comfort
9. The room you’re in? Living
10. Your hobby? Books
11. Your fear? Vulnerability
12. Where do you want to be in six years? Home
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. What you’re not? Fluffy
15. One of your wish list items? Fireplace
16. Where you grew up? Border
17. The last thing you did? Read
18. What are you wearing? Flannel
19. Your T.V.? On
20. Your pet? Cat
21. Your computer? Patsy
22. Your mood? Tired
23. Missing someone? Nope
24. Your car? Dented
25. Something you’re not wearing? Bra
26. Favorite store? Book
27. Your Summer? Fine
28. Love someone? Yep
29. Your favorite color? Moss
30. When is the last time you laughed? Today
31. Last time you cried? Dunno