You may have noticed that Picture #4 won the Mark facial hair contest. This will be "columnist" picture from now on. Thanks for all your votes!
Many of my conservative friends have stated repeatedly on the posts and in conversations with me that I "hate" George Bush. It may sound like that and I will be the first to admit that I get carried away from time to time but I don't hate him. I hate his actions or inactions of the last five years.If President Bush had not lost a spy plane over China, all of our allies, our budget surplus, ignored warning after warning (just as Clinton did) about Al Qaeda, continued to ignore warning after warning about Al Qaeda, ignored Iran, completely ignored the 9/11 commission's most important recommendations, and failed miserably in assisting the City of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina then I would have to admit that he was a damn fine president.
I find that my anger is directed more towards the conservatives these days that defend President Bush much in the same way that liberals defend rapists and murderers. The same old tired line about it not being his fault, someone else made him do it etc....it all sounds the same to me. In looking ahead to 2006, I promise you that I will be taking these fuckers to the mat a lot more than our president.
And now on to the awards!
TV
This year in television has never been better. Loads of creepy new shows like Surface and Invasion and a re-vamped Battlestar Galactica with chicks so hot that I have actually been aroused to the point of erection on more than once occasion. Who would have thought that I would ever want to fuck Starbuck? And the blond Cylon chick when she was bent over the table in the lab? Daddy's home......
It isn't all about sex, though. It's about humor and that's why the best show on TV is Arrested Development. Hands down. Oh my god this show is absolutely the funniest fucking thing I have seen in long time. The Bluths are the most dysfunctional family in the history of families. Love them!! The show pushes the limits of "appropiate" primetime viewing. They are currently in Season 3. Season 1 and 2 are available as DVD boxsets. I highly recommend this show.MUSIC
Perhaps more great than the year in television was the year in music. I could list dozens of bands that just kicked ass up and down the calendar with great music but for now I am going to focus on two. The best song of 2005 is "I Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor" by The Arctic Monkeys. These young lads from Sheffield have taken the UK by storm with this single. They play pounding mega Brit Pop that will blow you away. Full length is due in out in the UK on Jan 30, 2006. You can get it through Amazon UK.
But the year 2005 belonged to the biggest band in the world. Coldplay's new album, "X and Y" is absolutely the most wonderful thing I have heard in years. Every track is gorgeous but the one that really stands out is "Fix You" which will go down in history as one of the greatest pop songs of all time. The first time I heard it I quite literally welled up. These guys continue to amaze me and I hope they do for years to come.FILM
This was a tough call for me this year. There were some really bad films and big disappointments this year. Star Wars III sucked, FF was horrible, and who really gives a shit about King Kong? I have seen this movie made over and over again. I know it is Peter Jackson (The Hobbitt now, please!) but if I want cool special effects, I'll just play the video game. Oh, wait. That's right. I am over the age of 12 and video games are FUCKING LAME!!!
So this year I decided that I would give my Best Film award to a person rather than a film because both of his 2005 offerings have been stellar. George Clooney has used his "hunkability" to bankroll intelligent, thought provoking films that would otherwise be unmade. He wrote and directed "Good Night and Good Luck," a film about the McCarthy era which has hauntingly parallel themes to the current political climate. And he stars in "Syriana," a film about oil and politics directed by Stephen Gaghan (Traffic). Gosh, I wonder where they got the idea to make this film? Some conservatives ignorantly dismiss it as liberal propaganda, but I thought it was more about how corporations control everything and politicians really don't control anything. I highly recommend both of these films.What are your picks for 2005?
2 comments:
TV
Are you kidding me, you do not list a single sporting event in your best of TV. Arrested Development is not bad thought. And you need more porn (or maybe I do) if you are getting aroused by syndicated TV (unless you are getting European feeds).
MUSIC
I do not know the Arctic Monkeys and am sorry to say, I will have to give more thought to a Song of the Year. I will go with the following.
Song Pressure Point The Zutons
Album Employment Kaiser Chiefs
Sorry to the Grammies if I do not know the proper eligibility dates as I know they were out at the beginning of 2005. Coldplay, X and Y, only got it recently, it is growing on me, but growing.
FILM
Still hard to choose, but from a big Star Wars fan, Episode III was a good movie. If there had not been the obvious studio pressure to wrap up all the lose strings and tie everything into the original 3 movies, it would have been great. Though I am sure George Lucas will make Episodes 1 thru 3 into the length of the Lord of the Rings movies (extended edition) before he dies, so I am not worried. So...
Honorable Mention - Star Wars Episode III
3rd - Sideways
2nd - 40 Year Old Virgin
Blue Ribbon - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Paul Johnson
TV - I'd call it a tie. The reigning First Family of TV -- The Simpsons -- will remain on top until dethroned or impeached by the lefties. But also worthy of the award was this year's coverage of the Kentucky Derby, most notably for the fact that for the first time (by my recollection) they provided coverage of the Derby undercard, as well. (The race wasn't bad, either.)
Movies -- I didn't see many, but certainly I'd have to give the nod to Episode III. As a Star Wars fan, it had everything I wanted and little of what I didn't want. It was too heavy on the special effects for my taste, but that seems to be the trend these days, so I'll let it slide.
Music -- I think I only bought two albums this year that were actually released in 2005, and neither of them was particularly noteworthy. So I'll have to go with an album that was actually released in 2004 but was new to me this year. The album is "Tangled in the Pines" by BR549. From top to bottom it's a great presentation of the strengths of the new lineup of the band. I didn't have high hopes when I bought it, but it turned out to be their best effort by far.
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