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One more time...| | Happy New Year everyone. Everyone that doesn't really read this anymore. And everyone that stumbles upon it. And everyone that actually does read it regularly. I discovered in 2008 that this post, this very post, the first post of the new year, is the reason I keep this thing going. Well, the number one reason. There are other reasons, sure, but I could achieve those elsewhere if need be...facebook for one. I could put this on facebook too, but I'm too much of an old-timer and an information controller to do that....facebook is too newsfeedified...it feels so needy, and the tagging system just complicates who you want to see what and who can't be tagged and everything like that...I remember the days after SLT, when everyone wrote notes it seemed. I felt like I kind of had to put it on facebook....but even that, I didn't like the exclusion and inclusion that went with tagging, even though we were all brothers and sisters of the same SLT class...if you call it that. I do. I might be getting ahead of myself, because I don't know how much I've talked about SLT on here for it to matter to anyone much that would read this...but I don't know who reads it either, and the only people that ever mention it to me anymore definitely know what SLT is/was. I don't think it's called SLT anymore. That would be cool, to have gone to the last SLT. But I could be wrong about that too.
I'm kind of expanding this post a bit. Even if about no one reads it, it's going to be more fun that way. Actually, I think I'll share the link on facebook. Or post the link. Whatever. If there's a difference, I'll find out when I'm done with this. That's kind of a cop out probably. Whatever.
I had a year-end survey that I thought was a lot better than most internet surveys when I happened upon it (on facebook no less...that's actually my least favorite thing about facebook and specifically facebook notes...people I respect doing trashy internet surveys) but upon actually filling it out, I discovered that it wasn't all that great at all, so I'm not posting it.
I don't know how to sum up 2008. It was a year. It was better than 2004. It was strangely similar...to 2004. 2009 will be a lot like 2005 too, I'm sure.
I feel like I've got a lot of stuff I could catch up on, since it's been so long since I've posted, and much longer since I've comunicated with this site. But now I'm thinking about how I'll put this on facebook, and don't feel like being so open. That's why I don't use facebook for "blogging."
One thing I can say is that I've thought a lot about what life is going to be like next new years. And Christmas, before, but especially new years. It's my favorite holiday; traditionally. There is so much hope and so much chance for change. It's not an at all Christian Holiday per se, but we celebrate it because it brings us exactly what Jesus brings us. Jesus did it better, but it's sort of the holiday equivalent of the Gospel, if you'll accept that. You don't have to, but that's kind of how I think about it. Life is going to be a lot different in just a few months. I'm only a little over 4 months away from stepping into the much more real, much more large world of post-college graduation. Moving on to college after high school is a lot more of a continuation of childhood than I would have admitted on new years 2005. But it is. You still come home to your parents. You still live with them for the most part. College is a great transition, for sure. But the real real world has to come after college, because I know it doesn't come after high school. And I can't be one of those that deny its existence. Sure, it doesn't exist as a lot of people think of it, but on the whole, the world doesn't exist as any single person thinks of it, I'm sure. So I've made some decisions. Not decisions I'll bore you with here, but decisions that have to do with the coming change. And I know they will be for the better, and I know there're the right decisions. Ultimately little things...but big things right now. Big things in the scope of the life I've led this far. Big surrenders really. I guess I might get to that in a round about way later...if you figure it out. You might.
Anyway, if you've been around a long time, you know what time it is. I've got some awards to hand out. Awards the recipients don't care about, but awards that my extroversion has to give away to let 2008 rest in peace.
Book of the Year: This is always one of the hardest awards to determine. Since last year when I started keeping track, it's even harder since I have a record of everything I read over the year. The totals? 10,218 pages over 38 books. I finally started Harry Potter, and it was better than expected I guess. That's not my book of the year, just an event you might find a little curious, if nothing else. As I look over my list, it's really hard to choose, but I think I'm actually going to have to go with the first non-fiction book to win the award: Knowing God, by J.I. Packer. There's not a better articulation of Christian theology in existence. Read it, do yourself a favor. It will change your life. If it doesn't, I'll buy it from you and give it to someone else. If you want to read it and don't have it or the money for it, let me know. I'll either buy it for you or give you my copy when I get it back...depending on how much money I have when you contact me. I am serious. Get out there and read that book.
Runner up: Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie
Film of the Year: Taking after the success of keeping track of my books from 2007, I decided to keep track of my movies of 2008 as well. I saw 145 movies in 2008. That's over 2 a week. The best though, a hard decision in its own right. However, Spirited Away, by Hayao Miyazaki still comes to mind almost daily. It is beautiful. I saw a lot of amazing films this year, but it is so astoundingly good, it outdistances all of them for me.
Runner up: Hiroshima Mon Amour, Alain Resnais
Director of the Year: This is a new award this year, going to the director that most impacted my film viewing world this year. The reason I don't have an author of the year award is because I rarely read more than a couple books by a single author in a year. But directors are different, and my movie count more than 100 larger. And I.S. dictates that I select Joel and Ethan Coen
Runner Up: Hayao Miyazaki
Video Game of the Year: This could be the last year for this award, but, for the time being it stays and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is the winner
Runner Up: God of War
T.V. Show of the Year: I seem to watch less and less t.v. as the years go by, thanks to DVDs, but I count DVDs, and I love T.V. on DVD. This year I'm going to have to go with The Office all because of SLT and because it's awesome.
Runner Up: Heroes
Song of the Year (rock/pop): I'm kind of amplifying how I handle my music awards this year, because it was a bit too simplistic in the past. You'll get it before too long. This is the easiest award I've had to hand out yet. I discovered the recipient last January and never stopped listening to it. There is a Light that Never Goes Out, The Smiths may eventually be my favorite song of all time. It's perfect. Absolutely perfect.
Runner Up: Harbor, Vienna Teng
Song of the Year (Rap/Hip-hop): Since I can't really listen to the two styles in conjunction all that easily (well, I read to the first genre and write to this one) I figured I can't really compare them fairly either. This award is not at all easy, but I will have to go with Homecoming, Kanye West
Runner Up: Stand Up, Flobots
Song of the Year (worship): I've always felt that I couldn't compare worship songs with the rest of the songs I consider for awards, because it's just a different thing. So it's a new category this year! Aren't you excited? Came to My Rescue by Hillsong United definitely meant a lot to me this year, from Spring Break through SLT and beyond.
Runner Up: The Stand, Hillsong United
Artist of the Year (rock/pop): Anberlin. It's not even close. Their concert I went to was the best concert I've ever been to and I caught a drumstick. They are always up there, year in and year out, and this year, they take it outright without much competition (mostly because Joy Electric's 2008 album is totally disappointing).
Runner Up: The Smiths.
Artist of the Year (rap/hip-hop): Kanye West. He's much maligned in the media, by all means. He's hated by a lot of people that haven't listened to any of his albums in their entirety. And he's the most innovative individual in hip hop of all time, whcn you consider his abilities as a producer and a rapper.
Runner Up: Flobots
Album of the year (rock/pop): This might not be totally necessary this year, but it's a category I wanted to add because I think an album is a special sort of art that is slowly being destroyed by iTunes. Consider this my small part to undo that. New Surrender, Anberlin. There is so mush right with this album and right with its placement in my life. Its very exacting placement in my life. And I caught a drumstick.
Runner Up: Opposite Way, Leeland
Album of the year (rap/hip-hop): Finally the inversion: Fight with Tools, Flobots. It should change your life, or you're not trying hard enough.
Runner up: 808s and Heartbreaks, Kanye West
Sports team of the year: This goes to the team that I follow that performed the best. While last year this meant picking from a huge amount of runners up, this year, it just meant picking O-G Titan Boys Basketball because of a state championship.
Runner Up: The Cleveland Cavaliers
This used to be the place for the worst sports team I follow of the year, but I'm eliminating all dubious honors for the sake of being positive. There is nothing loving about calling something worst.
I'm also eliminating my day of the year award. Not because there weren't any days worth it, but I no longer believe it disecting the year like that. Last year, I picked some random day in China as my runner up, but that just proved to me that I couldn't tear days from each other....in actuality, China was amazing as a 6 week experience, and each day was building upon the last...just like SLT and any of a number of great things that happened in 2008. So that mostly turned into my music awards...but I think it was necessary. If I kept this blog up enough and had a digital camera, I might have a t-shirt of the year award.
Until next time...hopefully not next year,
-Zack
"to die by your side, the pleasure, the privilege is mine"
-There is a Light that Never goes out, The Smiths
| | | Posted 1/2/2009 2:37 AM - 37 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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