2005, Best ofs

I wanted to get a quickie in before the end of the year, what better way than to plop down a few best-of lists. The music one is legit, the others are more off-the-top-of-head.

Music. Yes, this is the playlist on the CD.

1. All These Things That I've Done - The Killers - say no more
   
2. Talk - coldplay - great buzz gig
   
3. Hard to Beat - Hard-Fi - seeing them at Horseshoe Tavern in January, album of the year
   
4. Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire - Montreal eclectic talent
   
5. Do You Want To - Franz Ferdinand - cheeky lads
   
6. Tiny Little Fractures - Snow Patrol - a little older album that just snuck in
   
7. Oh My God - Kaiser Chiefs - great performance at Live8
   
8. LSF(Lost Souls Forever) - Kasabian - Midlands lads with Manchester sounds
   
9. All Because of You - U2 - biggest band in the world ?
   
10. Better Now - Collective Soul - solid rock, Bowie or Iggy soundalike ?
    
11. Galvanize - The Chemical Brothers - what's that damn sample ?
    
12. Guilt Is A Useless Emotion - New Order - old geezers that can still put a good dance track together
    
13. Dare - Gorillaz - groovy baby
    
14. Forbidden Love - Madonna - alt track to big hit, great dance album
    
15. 24 - Jem - a diamond in the rough
    
16. Don`t Lie - Black Eyed Peas - a good dose of hip hop
    
17. Gold Digger (Feat. Jamie Foxx) - Kanye West - great hip hop, great sample, dodgy explicit lyrics
    
18. Other Side Of The World K.T. Tunstall - lovely Scottish lass who took the time to sign a CD cover for me "To Phil, love K.T." - you betcha
    
19. Folsom Prison Blues Joaquin Phoenix - I became an instant Johnny Cash fan after seeing Walk the Line a few weeks ago and Joaquin does a stellar job

Movies. Big variety, probably missed a few, but hey, I didn't see that many this year !

1. Crash
2. Walk the line
3. Cinderella man
4. Batman begins
5. Layer cake
6. Sin city
7. The station agent

TV. Simple (I don't watch much)

1. Jon Stewart
2. House
3. Dead like me
   

2005, Best ofs

I wanted to get a quickie in before the end of the year, what better way than to plop down a few best-of lists. The music one is legit, the others are more off-the-top-of-head.

Music. Yes, this is the playlist on the CD.

1. All These Things That I've Done - The Killers - say no more
   
2. Talk - coldplay - great buzz gig
   
3. Hard to Beat - Hard-Fi - seeing them at Horseshoe Tavern in January, album of the year
   
4. Rebellion (Lies) - Arcade Fire - Montreal eclectic talent
   
5. Do You Want To - Franz Ferdinand - cheeky lads
   
6. Tiny Little Fractures - Snow Patrol - a little older album that just snuck in
   
7. Oh My God - Kaiser Chiefs - great performance at Live8
   
8. LSF(Lost Souls Forever) - Kasabian - Midlands lads with Manchester sounds
   
9. All Because of You - U2 - biggest band in the world ?
   
10. Better Now - Collective Soul - solid rock, Bowie or Iggy soundalike ?
    
11. Galvanize - The Chemical Brothers - what's that damn sample ?
    
12. Guilt Is A Useless Emotion - New Order - old geezers that can still put a good dance track together
    
13. Dare - Gorillaz - groovy baby
    
14. Forbidden Love - Madonna - alt track to big hit, great dance album
    
15. 24 - Jem - a diamond in the rough
    
16. Don`t Lie - Black Eyed Peas - a good dose of hip hop
    
17. Gold Digger (Feat. Jamie Foxx) - Kanye West - great hip hop, great sample, dodgy explicit lyrics
    
18. Other Side Of The World K.T. Tunstall - lovely Scottish lass who took the time to sign a CD cover for me "To Phil, love K.T." - you betcha
    
19. Folsom Prison Blues Joaquin Phoenix - I became an instant Johnny Cash fan after seeing Walk the Line a few weeks ago and Joaquin does a stellar job

Movies. Big variety, probably missed a few, but hey, I didn't see that many this year !

1. Crash
2. Walk the line
3. Cinderella man
4. Batman begins
5. Layer cake
6. Sin city
7. The station agent

TV. Simple (I don't watch much)

1. Jon Stewart
2. House
3. Dead like me
   

How to proceed ?

I've been in a bit of a jam on this blog thing. I like the idea and the medium, but I'm having trouble keeping up a regular publishing routine. Any preference ? Short, casual posts or better prepared, deep content with lots of pics and links ?

I was thinking of adding a footer to my yahoo emails that would perhaps bring some new eyeballs here, but I am a little reluctant without increasing the frequency of new content. Anyone have any brainy ideas on how to monitor a web site (like my blog) for updates ? [Actually I just found a few - changenotes.com, changedetection.com and timelyweb.com] Or do I just send out a mass reminder to a reader list when I post something new - but doesn't that defeat the purpose a little ?

I've got quite a long list of topics that hopefully you'll find interesting, but my little perfectionist sidekick on my shoulder says I've got to keep the quality up - hence the spontaneity conflict of the posts.

I could always draw on my vast collection of inner thoughts (well a few anyway) or past stories (e.g. the Lads saga - I can hear the oh-nos already) !

Life with animals

In the inevitable journey toward adding a dog to the family, we made a small step toward owning a pet recently. We''re the proud owners of a fish, Johnny to be precise, an iridescent blue, Betta.

Here's an ironic note, we actually bought him from a seafood restaurant. We went to this new local chic placed called CFood last week, beautiful seafood, great service and fab decor, including - yep, a nice vase on each table with a Betta in it. They are being sold as part of a charity for North York children's hospital. A few glasses of wine later, and we thought it was just a great idea.

12/13/05 update - fish still alive, starting to recognize human faces ?

p.s. I was going to add a fishfoto, but still can't get the new digital camera to focus properly...