'05 Review, '06 Preview

I've already spent some time reviewing 2005, but there are some items, accomplishments, and thoughts that should be highlighted or thought about in more detail.

1. Hopefully Lynda won't have such a hellacious year upcoming. She's worked plenty hard this past year. She deserves a bit more normalcy.
2. I read a lot more this year than in the past. I hope that I keep that up. The best books that I read this year? Well, I really enjoyed House of Leaves, The Da Vinci Code, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, and Everything Bad is Good for You. Which one was my favorite? Well, I've read Half Blood Prince twice this year, but that doesn't mean it's my favorite. I think that goes to House of Leaves. It's a great idea for a book done in a very arresting and imaginative way. I recommend it to anyone with enough desire to fight your way through its enigmatic design.
   
3. I also listened to a lot of good music this year--thanks to Jack T., Spec, and Raisinette. My favorite album this year ?According to iTunes, my most listened to song this year was "Mad World." No surprise there. However the most listened to album that was actually released in 2005 is Coldplay's X&Y. But that shouldn't really be an accurate indicator, since I got a lot of albums within the last calendar year that weren't actually released in 2005--I'm behind the times after all. Beck's Guero and Gorillaz's Demon Days were also high on my rotation.
4. Other favorite things that happened this year? Well, Sarah made strong improvements in her ability to ride a bike and swim. But she's not ready to solo on either front quite yet. One of the best occurrences of the past year has to be LOST--an imaginative show that broke boundaries, brought people together, made everyone think and talk . . . even if season two hasn't quite lived up to the mighty high expectations.
   
5. Hey, what about the big disappointments of 2005? Personally, I didn't host enough cookouts at the house this summer, and I didn't play nearly enough tennis. The depressing arrival of Ben and Jen (part II) and the birth of the Gaffleck . . . well, neither of these events helped my fantasy life, as you might guess. Combine that with a mediocre end to last season's Alias and the end of Alias this season presents one of the least satisfying Jennifer Garner years ever. And of course, Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith sucked really, really bad!
   

What's upcoming for 2006? Well . . . I hope that I can find a way to simplify our life a bit--and by that I mean heartlessly cull out the junk that isn't necessary. I don't know if I'll be able to pull that off, but I am always confronted by the amount of stuff we have overflowing in our house--clothes, toys, items of various persuasion. I need to either make it useful in some way or get rid of it. If it is sitting in a closet or otherwise gathering dust, maybe we can get along without it. Of course this will probably involve many weekends of wandering through the house with trash can liners and the recycling bin . . . but in the end I think our house will seem more inviting and (possibly) even larger. Decorations for decorations sake--can I make them go somewhere else? Probably also, this will have to be done when Lynda is off on a business trip and she can't be there to veto my actions. (All of this is something that I mention every year . . . but this time, I MEAN it! Come by my house and make me clean it up. Force me to live up to it!

We'll all be better off in the long run.