2007: Top 10 List of...Whatever...

So, it's 2008 and people have put up Best/Worst lists all over the web of 2007's...um, produce? Well, it is tradition I guess to do top 10 lists at the end of the year. Looking back at the year, I've realized that I wound up reading the web about stuff that was coming up or being reviewed more than I did actually viewing...um, stuff. That must change. However, as I look around the web, I see all the usual lists - movies, music, celeb moments, etc, etc, etc, all nicely broken down. So I think my list will be something different: a top 10 list of whatever I found intriguing in 2007, in no particular genre. Let's see what we got: 10. The WGA writer's strike in Hollywood. Odd to put this on the top 10, but there's a reason. With or without writers, there doesn't seem to be much good on TV these days. However, the strike just made that point glaringly obvious. As I'd flip through the channels, I found myself asking what am I truly sitting down to watch here? I came to the realization that I'm only keeping my cable for sports, Discovery Channel, and the Food Network. The rest fell off the TV map with the strike, and I found I didn't even miss it. I'm far better off with the internet, TV on DVD, and reading and writing. So thank you - both sides of this greedy Hollywood dispute - for that clarity. You may all come back when the strike is settled, but there's a pretty good chance I won't. 9. Watching the Ron James stand up comedy special on New Years Eve and laughing my ass off for the entire hour. Haven't laughed that much watching something since the movie 40 Year Old Virgin. 8. Finding, at long long last, Chris Ledoux's Tougher Than The Rest music video and the Mike Plume Bland's DiMaggio music video online. Downloaded and saved, thank you very much. Been a long time looking for those two. 7. Moving to the world of Apple: iPod Shuffle, Mac Mini. The shuffle was the best 60 bucks I ever spent, and I'm loving the Mac computer the more I use it. There are the obvious differences from Windows, but it's the little things I find that are like a breath of fresh air for this computer user. 6. Black Snake Moan - movie & soundtrack. How the three-quels, Wild Hogs, and Alvin and the Chipmunks rake in millions while this gem went largely unnoticed is a travesty. Black Snake Moan is an original, thought provoking, heartfelt, and entertaining piece of film. Not to mention Sam Jackson's finest work in ages. Deserved a better fate. 5. Criminal - noir comic series by Ed Brubaker. Shows how the comic medium can easily compete with anything TV or Film has to offer for entertainment and is a great read for any noir fan needing something new. Plus, the extra pages in the individual comics highlight interviews and general ramblings about movies and books in the noir genre are just as good, not to mention an education in noir. Great stuff. 4. Punisher Max - Garth Ennis. I bought the hard cover trade editions of this as I could find them, and reread them too as I wait for each new issue. With the Punisher Max stories, including Born and the one shots, Ennis has put on a clinic on writing involving characters with action, humor, and pathos. Yes, there is over the top lunacy and violence, but it's the quiet moments of the storylines that stick with the reader and rattle around the head long after reading. It'll be a sad day when he pens his last Punisher issue. 3. Gary Allan - Living Hard. After 2005's Tough All Over, this CD continues to show how good Gary Allan is as both singer and songwriter. He's been through a lot in his personal life, but the music that came out of it should be the stuff of country/rock legends. If only country radio played more stuff like this instead of the pop mess that currently permeates the airwaves. 2. Bruce Springsteen - Magic. Particularly Gypsy Biker. One helluva song. It only came out in October, but it's the most played song in my iTunes playcount list. There's a reason he's called The Boss. 1. Reading. This goes back to #10, but as movies and TV proved repeatedly disappointing, I rediscovered the joy of reading. Lots on the internet of course, but novels too, and particularly graphic novels and comics. The entertainment value is better, and it certainly is more mentally stimulating. On more than a few occasions this year, I found myself sitting on the floor reading something only to look up at the clock and laugh at how I had lost myself in the book and time had flown by. Makes me want to write something that would have that effect on somebody else someday...