Wednesday, December 31, 2008

2008 RoundUp: Most Listened Music

Last.fm was one of my many many web discoveries of 2008. Not only is it fun to see what your friends are listening to, and share your playlists but it is a very handy tool when it comes to reviewing a year of music listening.

So, according to Last.fm (and after removing podcasts, radio shows and movie soundtracks that were accidentally left on repeat one night...) here is my top 10 listened to artists of 2008.

10 David Bowie
09 Liam Lynch
08 Relient K
07 Kate Nash
06 The Wombats
05 Morrissey
04 Flight of the Conchords
03 Jason Mraz
02 Robots in Disguise
01 The Smiths

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

2008 RoundUp: The 71 New-to-Me Flicks of 2008

Here is the full listing I mentioned in my previous entry, of movies watched in 2008.
NOTE: My rating is based solely on the level of my own enjoyment of the film, not necesserily on the quaility of said film. I do enjoy a crappy zombie flick.

JANUARY
24 Hour Party People (*****)
I Am Legend (** 1/2)
Green Street Hooligans (****)
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (*** 1/2)
Dawn of the Dead (2004) (** 1/2)
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (***)
Capturing the Friedmans Documentary (**** 1/2)

FEBRUARY
Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (**** 1/2)
St.Trinian's (*** 1/2)
Talking Canadian Documentary (***)
Diary of the Dead (*****)

MARCH
F**K: A Documentary (***)
Penelope (*** 1/2)

APRIL
Sunset Boulevard (**** 1/2)
Return of the Living Dead (***)
Return of the Living Dead Part II (** 1/2)
FleshEater (****)
Undead (**** 1/2)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall (**** 1/2)

MAY
Teeth (**)
Tonari no Totoro (*****)
The Ten (****)
Learners
(*** 1/2)
Wet Hot American Summer (**** 1/2)
Sex and the City (***)

JUNE
National Treasure 2 (***)

JULY
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (*****)
Hellboy (****)
Motel Hell (**)
Hellboy Animated: Blood and Iron (****)
Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (*** 1/2)
Dark Knight (*** 1/2)

AUGUST
Step Brothers (****)
Pineapple Express (****)
Tropic Thunder (****)
Meet the Spartans (*)
Killer Pad (***)
Hamlet 2 (****)
The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down (*****)

SEPTEMBER
Chain of Fools (***)
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (****)
American Zombie (****)
Amélie (****)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (***)
Young People Fucking (****)
Slacker Uprising (****)
Sicko (****)
Orlando (**** 1/2)
Fetching Cody (**** 1/2)

OCTOBER
À Bout de Souffle (Breathless) (****)
The Conversation (*** 1/2)
Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist (****)
El Espíritu de la colmena (*****)
The Astronaut Farmer (**)
Blindness (*** 1/2)
Lakeview Terrace (** 1/2)
Thirteen Ghosts (*** 1/2)
Brazil (**** 1/2)
I'm Reed Fish (****)
Iron Man (****)
The Baxter (*** 1/2)

NOVEMBER
Tank Girl (***)
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (***)
Mon Oncle Antoine (****)
Wisecracks (****)

DECEMBER
WALL·E (**** 1/2)
Bam Margera Presents: Where the #$&% Is Santa? (*** 1/2)
An Evening With Kevin Smith (**** 1/2)
An Evening With Kevin Smith 2: Evening Harder (**** 1/2)
My Name is Bruce (*** 1/2)
Sold Out - A Threevening with Kevin Smith (**** 1/2)

2008 RoundUp: Favourite Movies.

I began this year with the goal of watching 100 movies I had never seen before. Needless to say, I did not succeed. However I did get to see 71 new-to-me films, and I don't think that's too shabby!

I saw a lot of great films this year, but after much deliberation, I have come up with my top 10 films I viewed for the first time in 2008.

The most enjoyable movie I saw this year was:
The Boys & Girls Guide to Getting Down (2006)

Followed closely by (in no particular order)
24 Hour Party People (2002)
Diary of the Dead (2007)
Tonari no Totoro (1988)
Brazil (1985)
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
El Espíritu de la Colmena (1973)
Undead (2003)
WALL·E (2008)

Honourable Mentions:
Wet Hot American Summer (2001)
Orlando (1992)


I didn't see too many terrible flicks this year, but the ones I did see were stinkers indeed.

The overwhelming loser was:
Meet the Spartans (2008)

Followed by:
The Astronaut Farmer (2006)
Lakeview Terrace (2008)
I Am Legend (2007)
Zack Snyder's Dawn of the Dead (2004)

Despite this year's failure, I am trying again for 100 new-to-me movies in 2009.
Wish me luck!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Music Monday: David Bowie



One of the things I enjoy most about coming home is the inevitable playing of SingStar with the family. My mom most recently picked up SingStar Legends, which features some amazing tracks including previous Music Monday entry This Charming Man by The Smiths.
It also features one of my favourite Bowie songs: Life on Mars?
It's a really fun track to sing along to, and my sister Courtney and I do a rather.. enthusiastic.. rendition of it.

Also worth noting is how similar to Bowie's my eyes looked after my eye surgery in June.



I think if I ever need the surgery again, I should do my makeup like his. Why yes, I AM easily amused.

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Santa Baby

Happy Christmas!
I know, I know I am late with this post but it has been a busy couple of days.
A very good kind of busy though.

Santa was very good to me this year.
He brought me an Xbox 360!
My very first gaming console!

Bundled with the system was 5 games: Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, Kung Fu Panda, Turok, Gun and darkSector. Also included with my gift was Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2.

I must have been on the extra good list this year.

I am absolutely loving everything about my Xbox. The dashboard is super slick and easy to navigate. I love the wireless controller. I am finding the layout of it quite easy to use, and I can be confused easily. Also, the new Xbox Experience is so neat! Creating an avatar was fun, and I really do think it looks quite a lot like me.

I haven't had loads of time to pour into playing during this bustling holiday season, but I have played a little bit.

I was up before 5am on Boxing Day to go line up at Future Shop and check out their sales. While I didn't pick up anything that was on sale, or the game I was looking for, I did decide to grab Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. I AM SO GLAD I DID. I really didn't get to far into this but I am already blown away. First of all, the title and music for Star Wars intros always gives me big nerdy goosebumps, and this was no exception. Next, I really don't want to give spoilers for the game but HOLY COW! Being a huge Star Wars fan, and playing through that first section made me giddy as a schoolgirl. It also seems as though this game is going to have an awesome story to go along with it.
I was also completely flabbergasted at the graphics. They were completely breathtaking and I was playing on a standard def television. I cannot imagine what it would look like in HD! Can't wait to get back to playing some more.

I picked this baby up at Walmart today using the gift card I got from my Grandma. Please excuse my language, and Grandma cover your ears, but HOLY SHIT. I have no words for how amazing this game is. To quote a completely overused movie quote: it had me at hello. From the very beginning of the first cut scene I was completely enthralled. I like to think of myself as a zombie movie buff, and that little thing had me captivated, had more suspense and was more thrilling than a lot of actual feature films. And it did the trick by showing me what exactly I had gotten myself into and ramped up my energy for the first assault. Again, I don't want to give any spoilers, but I played through the first solo campaign and had so much fun, combined with so many "HOLY SHIT!" moments. I am so very excited to give the multiplayer a go with a bunch of my friends. Hands down, best game I have ever played.

And on a completely unrelated Christmassy note.... HOW AMAZING WAS THIS YEAR'S DOCTOR WHO CHRISTMAS SPECIAL?!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Music Monday: The Killers

This is it folks!
The last of my Christmas Music Mondays for 2008.
Okay okay. So I missed Monday again.
It's 3:17 Tuesday morning, but since I haven't been to sleep, it's still Monday night to me.

I saved my favourite for last.
Not a classic at all, but I find myself wanting to listen to this song throughout the whole year.
I also absolutely love the video. It was directed and edited (maybe also shot?) by amazing actor/artist/filmmaker Matthew Gray Gubler.
I really cannot say enough good things about Gubler, so I'll save the gushing for another day.
Long story short, I love his style and highly recommend buying the video on iTunes to view it in all its full resolution glory.


Thursday, December 18, 2008

Recent Aquisitions: PreChristmas Comic Goodies

Ahh, Christmas break. I amazingly have an entire month off so I am hoping to get some hardcore reading done.

I seem to have a bit of book A.D.D. though. Currently I am working my way through Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury), When You Are Engulfed In Flames (David Sedaris), The Portable Door (Tom Holt) and wrapping up Watchmen.

All that didn't stop me from picking up a few things at a local comic book shop before moving home for the holidays.

I've been meaning to pick this one up for a while now. As I am sure I have mentioned before I am a HUGE Hellboy fangirl. Love the movies, love the animated features, really love the comics. And since my favourite character of the franchise is Abe Sapien, my bookcase was sorely lacking without this trade sitting on it.



This is a series I have been wanting to read but for some reason never got around to picking up. It really interests me as I am similar in age to the main characters and since it is set in Toronto, I am familiar with a lot of the locations. I figured now was a great time to start reading since book 5 comes out in February and a film is in the works starring Michael Cera and being directed by my favourite director, Edgar Wright.



This one was an early Christmas present from my friend Damian. I don't know much about the Love and Rockets series (apart from what I looked up on Wikipedia after recieving the gift) but from what I can tell, this is going to be quite an enjoyable read. Can't wait to get into this one.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

What You Wearing Wednesday



It is so strange being home for the holidays. I still feel overwhelmingly stressed out, yet I have absolutely nothing to worry about.
I am done college. What am I so tense about?

Anyway, today this is my doing laundry and working on my Christmas cards outfit.
The scarf was $5 but I do not remember where I got it from. I got the Protest the Hero t-shirt at Warped Tour in Detroit this summer.

Hopefully I'll have some Christmas cards to show later today!

To join 'What You Wearing Wednesdays' visit Fi at her blog.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Music Tuesday?: Jonathan Coulton

In all the excitement of moving home from college for the holidays I missed putting up my Music Monday post yesterday!

This week's musical selection is another animated video. This time it is for the song Chiron Beta Prime by Jonathan Coulton and is perfect for anyone looking to spice up the holidays with a little glimpse of the post-apocalyptic future of mankind.
This fun little ditty is a musical letter from the Anderson family who are celebrating Christmas on an asteroid penal colony under the watchful eye of their robot overlords protectors..
Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

...when you're having fun

Well these past 4 years really flew by.
Tomorrow is my last day of classes.
Forever.

Next semester is just internship.
ONE MORE DAY of being a student.

After tomorrow I will have no more term papers.
No more exams.
No more grades.

I guess this also marks the end of seeing the insane/amazing people that are my classmates everyday.
Some of them are moving into the big city next semester.
I am not.
I will be an exciting commuter.

I hope everyone makes an effort to stay in touch but I know there is a good chance that, besides graduation, I will rarely if ever see some of these people again come January.

I suppose now is the time for growing up.
In a few months I am graduating and have to start living an adult life.
I have to find a career.
And make new friends.
And try to find a social life outside of college.

I don't know if growing up suits me.
I suppose that's why I chose film making.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Music Monday: Relient K

Yet another Christmassy treat for all of you!
This week I bring you the absolutely adorable animated video for Relient K's version of the Christmas classic Sleigh Ride.

I love their cover of this song, and their entire Christmas album, Let It Snow Baby... Let It Reindeer, as well!
Definitely check it out if you can.

17 Days til Christmas!



Relient K - Sleigh Ride from gotee on Vimeo.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Eye Spy Something in My Garden

I have a new game for Sundays!
After the end of This Is..., the lovely Cindy over at bugandpop took up the torch of hosting a new meme to fill the blogging void in our Sundays.

Eye Spy is a game where a new blogger is assigned every week to choose something for the rest of us to "spy". This week the theme is "Eye Spy Something in My Garden" brought to us by Curlypops.

I live on the 18th floor of an apartment building and at the moment my plant stand is empty as it is far too cold and snowy out now for my balcony garden. However there is a gorgeous bit of nature that graces me with its presence every evening as I work on my trusty laptop.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

What You Wearing Wednesday

Sorry that it's dark and only my upper half again. I still have no camera of my own (Christmas is coming!).

My entire outfit today I got from Penningtons. Simple black scoop-neck tshirt with puff sleeves, a super cute houndstooth bolero and jeans (not pictured). All items are from the MXM line.
There is little choice for plus sized apparel (let alone hip, young and plus sized) in my hometown, so MXM is often a lifesaver.

I like not looking grubby at school everyday, though I may have been a bit over dressed for my Lighting and Grip Tech class. Although, the gray in the bolero did match the gray in my work gloves...

To join 'What You Wearing Wednesdays' visit Fi at her blog.

Monday, December 1, 2008

Music Monday: Selma Blair & Rainn Wilson

It's December 1st! How the heck did that happen?
Two more weeks of classes and that is it for me. FOREVER!
And just a few weeks til Christmas. It is officially my favourite time of year.

I'm going to be honest with you. I've been listening to Christmas music since November 1st, but I thought I'd spare you until a more reasonable time.
So for the next four weeks leading up to the big day, Music Monday will be featuring holiday tunes.

Starting off with a bang, I bring you this week my all time favourite holiday song. I have about 5 or 6 versions of it on my holiday playlist.
This version is from this year's GAP Christmas commercial series and stars the amazing Rainn Wilson and Selma Blair. Quirky, fun and I love the choice of role reversal!