OK, you guys. Here goes: my 2008 Top Nine Miscellany (but don't expect it to be as comprehensive and hilarious as Dave Barry's 2008 wrap-up):
9. What I missed most: Season 7 of 24. Cancelled because of the writers' strike. Let's hope an extra year gave the writing team for 24 enough time to come up with a story arc that outperforms Season 6--or gave the producers enough time to hire writers with some new ideas that don't involve cougars. It shouldn't be hard, since season 6 completely jumped the shark.
8. Biggest "yay" moment: This one's easy. Election night 2008. I know that many Green Room readers were not infected with Obama fever, and that's OK. But seriously. Was that night not totally excellent? Even John McCain's thoughtful, touching concession speech, with its tone of reconciliation and honesty, added to the overall touchy-feely-ness of the evening.
[Too much champagne...must finish the list tomorrow...]
7. I only read about 18 books in 2008*, but several of them deserve to be mentioned here:
a) Empire Falls by Richard Russo, reviewed here.
b) Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl--a book that will make you hungry and make you laugh.
c) Infidel by Aayan Hirsi Ali, reviewed here.
d) The Translator: A tribesman's memoir of Darfur by Daoud Hari. From my review on LibraryThing: "...[the events are] real, and frightening, and sad, and inspiring. And the author, Daoud Hari, writes with a sweet, matter-of-fact style, and never overplays his emotional hand, even when the subject matter is deeply, compellingly emotional."
(*You can check out the entire 2008 list on my LibraryThing catalog by searching for books with the 2008 tag.)
6. Best new recipe that I tried: BBQ pulled pork with apple chutney. Holy tangy tastebuds, Batman! This meal has earned a spot in the regular rotation at the Peevie domicile.
5. Top thing I learned about myself: I am consumed by guilt. "You can't say more than two or three sentences without dumping on yourself for something you did that you shouldn't have, or something you didn't do that you should have done," my therapist told me. I'm sure this will be a topic for a future blog post.
4. My best accomplishment of 2008: Hmmmm. Still thinking about this one. My accomplishments are mostly prosaic and quotidian, like getting the basement cleaned up or getting rid of a nasty carpenter ant infestation.
3. Funniest TV moment: Equal opportunity photo finish between two brilliant SNL moments--Tina Fey as Sarah Palin (all of the sketches) and Ben Affleck's hilarious over-the-top Keith Olbermann.
2. Most meaningful spiritual truth learned: I am the Avon Lady.
1. My favorite post of the year: Stinky and the Giant Poo. (Those with delicate sensibilities might want to avoid this one.)
What were your top moments in 2008? What books did you read? What was your "aha" moment?
Thanks for tuning in to the Green Room in 2008. Here's to a New Year of contentment, self-awareness, and lots of great television!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Hey, can I borrow your Garlic and Sapphires book? I was just thinking the other day that I wanted to read that book by that lady about food. I think this is it. Did she dress in disguise?
- from anonymous but really from Queen (is that my name?)
Queen--Yes, you can borrow the book if I still have it or can get it. I may have returned it to its rightful owner--but she lives across the street.
And yes, that's the restaurant critic who dressed in disguise. She also wrote two other memoirs, Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me with Apples, which were both excellent also.
And finally, we do need a better nickname for you. I'll work on it.
Post a Comment