Post by orangejesus on Jan 11, 2009 12:32:44 GMT -5
I am intensely fond (this happens when you focus really, really hard on being fond) of Top Ten lists. I've been a longtime purveyor of such whimsical and bizarre enumerations (well before I had ever seen an episode of David Letterman).
In high school I would annoy my friends by insisting that they join me in deciding what were the ten best Batman: TAS episodes (the two-parter about Two-Face's creation tops the list--and it is still better than The Dark Knight's take, with apologies to Aaron Eckhart, who was awesome anyhow), the ten best songs with a colour in the title (I argued for "White Wedding" to be on that one, but was voted down in favor of "Black Velvet"), the ten best _____, the ten best ____, etc., etc., and etc. again.
So, when years wind down I often find myself wondering about my own top tens--the movies, songs, TV shows, plays, comics, and such that captivated me this year.
Thusly, I've adapted this into a new, and obscenely difficult to create, list. Ladies, Gentlemen, and Whatever P.C.-acceptable Pluralized Term There Is for the Not-So-Easily-Categorized Genders, I give you:
OJ's Top Ten Most Emotionally Satisfying Moments in Entertainment, '08:
10. "The Bracket" -- How I Met Your Mother, ep. 314. When this episode aired, I had missed already the previous three. Luckily, I have a caring and devoted friend who was kindly enough to DVR the entire season and wait on me to have time to watch them with him. This was the last one we got to that night, and it provided me with a single, twenty minute laugh. It started as a chuckle with Marshall and Ted in Lily's classroom and culminated in a guffaw with NPH's perfect line delivery in which he admits that, perhaps, he could have once sold a woman. It has also lead to easily 100 text messages between me and my aforementioned friend as we vehemently inform each other, "TRUST ME! I WAS THERE! IT'S 'FAKE BABY!'"
9. The moment I realized I could finally picture a live action Nick Fury without bursting into a rousing rendition of "Du."
8. I'm a huge Law & Order geek, but since starting college I haven't actually had a cable hook-up, nor have I been able to pick up anything via antenna, so I totally missed out on "Hang 'em High" Jack McCoy's ascension to the top chair in the D.A.'s office. Then I started working in a bar where I can actually control the channel, and. . . all I can say is God Bless USA. My first time seeing him argue with Batman's pop was, just, like. . . it was delicious. That's the only word I can use.
7. Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith. Yeah, it's an odd title, but saying it aloud it actually kinda works. I now have in my possession a solid 13 hours of that man just talking on a stage, and he manages to captivate me entirely--not dissimilar to the way Bill Hicks does, or Eddie Izzard. Kevin Smith may be my favorite comedian/storyteller ever. And the bit on this DVD about the relationship between his miniature Dachshund and Golden retriever is obscenely hilarious.
6. I'll admit, I went into Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with some trepidation, but the second Indy got dumped out of that car, and the silhouette stood up, I was there. I was in. And I wasn't disappointed at all--even when the CGI monkeys showed up.
5. This is a bit of a tangential one from what I've been talking about, but we're looking at ALL entertainment here. In January, I discovered that I could do a note perfect karaoke rendition of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" without ever looking at the screen. This is for the best, because where I do karaoke the screen faces the audience, so they can sing along as well and their copy has the words wrong. I got a half-room standing o' and won fifty on a bar tab in the karaoke contest. That was awesome.
4. Tiny Lister makes a decision for the boat. Yeah, I knew what was coming, but I also knew Harry and Sally were gonna end up together. Doesn't make it any less fun to watch.
3. In November I watched the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. Now, that in and of itself was atrocious (re: horrendous, terrifying, craptastic, it's-been-a-long-time-since-I-was-a-thumbsucker-but-now-I-know-what-relapse-feels-like BAD), but it left me with one deep seated feeling: I had sympathy for George Lucas. This was when I realized that, even though he's hurt me, I still care. . . *sniffle*
2. This year I made the best mix CD I've ever done. Check this: "Ice Cream Man" (Tom Waits), "ABC" (Jackson 5), "Business" (Eminem), "L.A." (Christian Kane), "Waiting for My Real Life to Begin" (Colin Haye), "Dr. Horrible Is Here" (Neil Patrick Harris), "Home" (Marc Broussard), "Think About It" (Flight of the Conchords), "Dracula From Houston" (Butthole Surfers), "Miss You" (Blink 182), "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" (Elton John), "Rantin' Rovin' Robin" (Jim Malcolm), "Guy Love" (Zach Braff and Donald Faison) and "Cigarrettes and Chocolate Milk" (Rufus Wainwright).
1. The Iron Man trailer. Yeah, I loved the movie--it was my favorite one this year. But this trailer was where that love started. Perfection in editing, awesome music, and what has easily become my favorite quote of the year: "That's how dad did it; that's how America does it. And it's worked out pretty well so far." Dear lord, that trailer is jazzy. I get a little shudder just thinking about it.
So what of it gang? How'd '08 treat you in the a&e fields?
In high school I would annoy my friends by insisting that they join me in deciding what were the ten best Batman: TAS episodes (the two-parter about Two-Face's creation tops the list--and it is still better than The Dark Knight's take, with apologies to Aaron Eckhart, who was awesome anyhow), the ten best songs with a colour in the title (I argued for "White Wedding" to be on that one, but was voted down in favor of "Black Velvet"), the ten best _____, the ten best ____, etc., etc., and etc. again.
So, when years wind down I often find myself wondering about my own top tens--the movies, songs, TV shows, plays, comics, and such that captivated me this year.
Thusly, I've adapted this into a new, and obscenely difficult to create, list. Ladies, Gentlemen, and Whatever P.C.-acceptable Pluralized Term There Is for the Not-So-Easily-Categorized Genders, I give you:
OJ's Top Ten Most Emotionally Satisfying Moments in Entertainment, '08:
10. "The Bracket" -- How I Met Your Mother, ep. 314. When this episode aired, I had missed already the previous three. Luckily, I have a caring and devoted friend who was kindly enough to DVR the entire season and wait on me to have time to watch them with him. This was the last one we got to that night, and it provided me with a single, twenty minute laugh. It started as a chuckle with Marshall and Ted in Lily's classroom and culminated in a guffaw with NPH's perfect line delivery in which he admits that, perhaps, he could have once sold a woman. It has also lead to easily 100 text messages between me and my aforementioned friend as we vehemently inform each other, "TRUST ME! I WAS THERE! IT'S 'FAKE BABY!'"
9. The moment I realized I could finally picture a live action Nick Fury without bursting into a rousing rendition of "Du."
8. I'm a huge Law & Order geek, but since starting college I haven't actually had a cable hook-up, nor have I been able to pick up anything via antenna, so I totally missed out on "Hang 'em High" Jack McCoy's ascension to the top chair in the D.A.'s office. Then I started working in a bar where I can actually control the channel, and. . . all I can say is God Bless USA. My first time seeing him argue with Batman's pop was, just, like. . . it was delicious. That's the only word I can use.
7. Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith. Yeah, it's an odd title, but saying it aloud it actually kinda works. I now have in my possession a solid 13 hours of that man just talking on a stage, and he manages to captivate me entirely--not dissimilar to the way Bill Hicks does, or Eddie Izzard. Kevin Smith may be my favorite comedian/storyteller ever. And the bit on this DVD about the relationship between his miniature Dachshund and Golden retriever is obscenely hilarious.
6. I'll admit, I went into Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with some trepidation, but the second Indy got dumped out of that car, and the silhouette stood up, I was there. I was in. And I wasn't disappointed at all--even when the CGI monkeys showed up.
5. This is a bit of a tangential one from what I've been talking about, but we're looking at ALL entertainment here. In January, I discovered that I could do a note perfect karaoke rendition of Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" without ever looking at the screen. This is for the best, because where I do karaoke the screen faces the audience, so they can sing along as well and their copy has the words wrong. I got a half-room standing o' and won fifty on a bar tab in the karaoke contest. That was awesome.
4. Tiny Lister makes a decision for the boat. Yeah, I knew what was coming, but I also knew Harry and Sally were gonna end up together. Doesn't make it any less fun to watch.
3. In November I watched the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. Now, that in and of itself was atrocious (re: horrendous, terrifying, craptastic, it's-been-a-long-time-since-I-was-a-thumbsucker-but-now-I-know-what-relapse-feels-like BAD), but it left me with one deep seated feeling: I had sympathy for George Lucas. This was when I realized that, even though he's hurt me, I still care. . . *sniffle*
2. This year I made the best mix CD I've ever done. Check this: "Ice Cream Man" (Tom Waits), "ABC" (Jackson 5), "Business" (Eminem), "L.A." (Christian Kane), "Waiting for My Real Life to Begin" (Colin Haye), "Dr. Horrible Is Here" (Neil Patrick Harris), "Home" (Marc Broussard), "Think About It" (Flight of the Conchords), "Dracula From Houston" (Butthole Surfers), "Miss You" (Blink 182), "I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues" (Elton John), "Rantin' Rovin' Robin" (Jim Malcolm), "Guy Love" (Zach Braff and Donald Faison) and "Cigarrettes and Chocolate Milk" (Rufus Wainwright).
1. The Iron Man trailer. Yeah, I loved the movie--it was my favorite one this year. But this trailer was where that love started. Perfection in editing, awesome music, and what has easily become my favorite quote of the year: "That's how dad did it; that's how America does it. And it's worked out pretty well so far." Dear lord, that trailer is jazzy. I get a little shudder just thinking about it.
So what of it gang? How'd '08 treat you in the a&e fields?
"If I'm going to be desensitized into a mindless stock animal, I may as well do it with a cushy ergonomic seat and magnificent THX-certified sound. -Kevin Murphy
