2010: Year in Pop Culture

It's time for the time-wasters of 2010. I'd meant to get this out last week but I was too busy sitting on my ass watching NCIS reruns (best stay-cation ever!).

2010 Movies Seen in Theatres
1. The Ghost Writer
2. Alice in Wonderland
3. How to Train Your Dragon
4. Iron Man 2
5. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
6. Despicable Me
7. Inception
8. Knight and Day
9. The Switch
10. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
11. Easy A
12. The Social Network
13. Unstoppable

Analysis: This year I instituted the Alice in Wonderland Rule. If I am excited about seeing a movie, but it gets poor reviews from my trusted sources, then I need to re-think seeing said movie. This prevented me from seeing a couple of films this year, but I need to do a little better. In my defense, I went to Prince of Persia more as an opportunity to hang out with some of my Olney boys rather than see the film itself. Exceptions to the Alice in Wonderland Rule are if a boy is paying for the movie.

2010 Movies Seen on Planes or on DVD
1. The Joneses
2. Just Wright (well, the end, anyway. Who cares about the rest?)

Books Read (bolded titles are my personal recommendations)
1. John Adams by David McCullough. I loves me a good biography, and this one was meaty. It’s really long, though, so not something I’d recommend for a weekend getaway.
2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Very entertaining, humorous, and whimsical in that typical Neil Gaiman kind of way. It made Snowmageddon bearable.
3. Persuasion by Jane Austen. Another one that got me through Snowmageddon. Jane is wickedly funny and this story is so fun to read.
4. Size 14 is not Fat Either by Meg Cabot. Meh, Meg Cabot can be really funny, but her books are too light and frothy to have any lasting enjoyment.
5. Big Boned by Meg Cabot.
6. How I Became a Famous Novelistby Steve Hely. I’d definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a fun, quick read. It’ll make you hate people like Dan Brown, if you don’t already.
7. The Lost Life of Eva Braun by Angela Lambert. I believe I’ve reviewed this book here.
8. The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie. Ah, Agatha. Like Meg Cabot, a little goes a long way. And this is certainly not one of her most entertaining tales, but it was fine enough.
9. The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria Auguste von Trapp. I really enjoyed the first two-thirds of this book. However, their escape from Austria is covered in about two sentences, which is a highly unfortunate oversight. (They didn’t hike, FYI; they took a train out of town. Still, I would have loved some details.) Once they get to the States, the story becomes less interesting, although it’s funny to hear her take on learning English.
10. The Postmistress by Sarah Blake. This book BUGGED the crap out of me. I’m all about historical fiction, and I’m perfectly fine with taking liberties with official history. But don’t put a German U-boat in sight of US soil and expect me to take your story seriously. For ten pages, I was convinced it was a character’s hallucination, which I think made more sense in terms of his arc and the story in general.
11. The Opposite of Me by Sarah Pekkanen. I liked it well enough, although it’s not marketed very well. It turned out to be an entirely different story than what the back-of-the-book description would lead you to believe. And I thought it went off the rails in the end. But it was set in DC and Montgomery County, which was really fun.
12. Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby. I REALLY liked this story. All three main characters had depth and were relatable. I was on the fence about whether or not I liked Annie, but in the end I totally did. I need to read more Nick Hornby, methinks.
13. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I listened to this book on CD during my commute, and I think it would have been better enjoyed had I physically read it. However, I still found it gripping and worth the read.
14. The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton: I had high hopes for this one, as it was recommended by several friends. But I came away disappointed. There were a few plotlines that fizzled out without really going anywhere, and plot points that seemed to be presented as suspenseful or surprising were neither.
15. The Sociopath Next Door by Martha Stout. I needed something to read on the plane, and this proved to be rather interesting, if not very meaty. It felt like a bigger research project that was cut short due to time limits.
16. Great Catherine by Caroly Erickson. Bex and I are talking about going to Russia in 2011, so I’ve decided to begin my cultural research more than 2 weeks out. It’s a good read if you’re interested in Catherine’s love life, less so if you’re interested in her policy-making. Am I a boring person for wanting to know more about her attempts to make an accurate map of Russia?

TV Shows I Started to Watch
* Hawaii Five-O
* Curb Your Enthusiasm

TV Shows I Stopped Watching
* Hawaii Five-O (it’s just meh)
* Lost (duh)
* Glee (I just don’t think I can stomach it anymore, but I’m still listening to the music)
* Outsourced (I hate hate hated this show so much I don’t want to put it on the “started” list for fear that anyone thinks I still watch it)

Concerts Attended
* Ian Axel/Greg Holden, Easton MD
* Chris Ayer/Sleeperstar/Dan Mills, Jammin’ Java, Vienna VA
* Ian Axel/Joey Ryan/Andrew Hoover, Jammin’ Java, Vienna VA
* Shoshin, Godor Klub, Budapest Hungary (and again in Vienna Austria)
* The Airborne Toxic Event, Sixth and I Synagogue, Washington DC
* Ingrid Michaelson, Jefferson Theatre, Charlottesville VA
* Ben Folds and Nick Hornby (more like a concert/reading, but I’m counting it), Sixth and I Synagogue, Washington DC
* Joshua Radin and The Script, Electric Factory, Philadelphia PA
* The Morning Benders, The Black Cat, Washington DC
* Junip and Lost in the Trees, The Black Cat, Washington DC

Number of Songs Downloaded That Remain on My iPod (not all were 2010 releases): 170
Favorites: “Gasoline” by The Airborne Toxic Event
“This is the New Year” by Ian Axel
“Your Love is My Drug” by Ke$ha
“Borderline/Open Your Heart” from Glee (Madonna cover)
“4 Minutes” from Glee (Madonna/Justin Timberlake cover)
“Irish Pub Song” by Flogging Molly
“Body Language” by Jesse McCartney and T Pain
“Brand New Day” by Joshua Radin
“Nightswimming” by Ingrid Michaelson (REM cover)

New Podcasts
Stuff You Missed in History Class (this might have been added in late 2009, but I can’t tell)
Stuff You Should Know

Plays/Performances Attended
* Lend Me a Tenor, Broadway
* Mikey’s Theatre Program Final
* Elf the Musical

Fun Stats
Movies Seen in Indie Theatres: only 1 (sad)
Movies Seen in Foreign Countries: 2 (Knight and Day, and 1949’s The Third Man)
Concerts Attended outside the DC Metro Area: 4 (Ian, Shoshin, Ingrid, and Joshua)
Hitchcock Movies Watched (the quest continues): 4 (9, mostly silent or very early talking, to go!)
Percentage of Concerts Attended with Linds: 70%