Well, it's the end of the year, or at least it was some time ago. Xanga has become more or less of a wasteland these past few months. It went from a few folks to one or two, and I guess it's time to go out in a blaze of glory. With a year past since the last time I've done it, I suppose it's time for my last annual awards ceremony. On Xanga anyway. I won't give out personal ones this time, but if you've done anything special, you should be proud of yourself.
Also, a thanks in advance to all the places I'm "borrowing" these images from. To find out who supplied them, just right click and save the shortcut.
Best series - Nana It managed to combine punk rock with a soap opera and created something amazing. In a year where I watched shows like The Sopranos, Rome, The Wire, The Prisoner, and many other great ones, I'm amazed that this was the one that stuck out in my mind the most. Maybe because I watched it about a month ago, but I've never been so moved by an anime before. It's the difference between sad, and heartbreaking. I recommend this to anyone who has a soul. Heck, I'm buying the manga now just to experience the story in its original format, that's gotta mean something.
Worst Comic - One More Day While I'm not married to the marriage(bad pun for a bad story!), Spider-Man making a deal with the devil is idiotic. I'm not going to waste any more time on this waste of money. If I run into Joe Queseda, I'm going to ask for my money back. I would have preferred the above story.
Best Movie - Hott Fuzz I didn't see many movies this year, but this one was definitely the best out of the small pile of stubs I had leftover. I'm a sucker for action movies, especially those from the 80's, and this was one of the best I've seen in a while. If you haven't seen it, then you know what's at the top of your list.
Best Game - Super Mario Galaxy Having started out as an NES gamer, you could say that the fundamental factor in what type of games I like start with Mario, that is, games that are fun. While I was actually left a little cold on this one, it was still the best game I played this year. Then again, that isn't saying too much as a broken 360 kept me from playing some other great ones. Still, I doubt they'd topple Mario. Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn comes awfully close though.
Best Clix - Devil Dinosaur & Moon Boy It's a small Neanderthal boy riding a giant red dinosaur. How could this not be the best one?
Best Manga - Monster I always forget how good this series is until I read the newest volume. Each time it's a gentle reminder of why it's the best manga I'm reading. Heck, it's the best comic period. With the series coming closer to the end, it makes me wonder what my favourite will be in 2009...I'm guessing 20th Century Boys. By the same mangaka, naturally.
Best DVD - Ice Spiders It's probably too cold for theaters to handle. The story of how a ski instructor takes on a group of a giant genetically engineered ice spiders is one the sages will sing of for an eternity. Legendary, without a doubt.
Best Gift - Jon Bon Jovi Toy I got some nice gifts during the year, but this one made them all look like pieces of shit. Even the gift of cash is completely crappy unless you exchange it for this piece of greatness. I can look at a miniature version of Jovi every night and imagine his voice sending shock waves of awesome through me. I always wake up with tears in my eyes realizing that this truly is my life...dun dun!
So I think that'll wrap it up. You can't go out on a higher note then Jovi. I thought of maybe thinking about how Xanga used to be a means of keeping old friendships going in spite of a lack of communication (for better or worse), and how something like Facebook will never do as good a job as its more of a means of collecting long lists of people you kinda know on to a list without actually interacting, but it hardly seems like it'd be worth it at this point. Oh well, I guess I'll just wrap this up with a goodbye. Maybe I'll use this space again, maybe not. Guess we'll just see in the future.
You could think of that last entry as a sorta test to see if you had a soul. If anyone is curious, that little thing really got to me too.
With Christmas coming up, I think it's time to bring up the deal again. I think you all remember it well since the few people that mentioned it to me seemed to like it. With so many presents to get for the holidays, I'm once again instating my no gift deal with pretty much everyone. I find it much easier this way, and I've been told many times that I'm really tough to shop for. I suppose that's what happens when there isn't much you want, and what you do want you buy on your own.
In other news, I'm officially done with school. Luckily all the classes I'm still in are full year ones which means no final exam. In fact, my Canadian Fiction class doesn't have an exam at all which is nice. I wrote my last test yesterday and the rest of my classes have been cancelled since all the tests are written and essays are handed in. It's rather nice to have all of this off of my shoulders and I look forward to a relaxing break. I should get a head start on my reading and hopefully the next semester will go a lot better then this last one did.
Remember that X-Box 360 I won a little while back? The one that broke down four days later? Well, I got a replacement a little while afterwards, or what I thought was a replacement. I was sent the same X-Box 360 I sent in instead of the promised replacement and it still didn't work. So I sent it in again, and the replacement actually arrived quicker then usual. In fact, I sent it in on Monday and got a new one on Thursday. I was a little annoyed to pick it up, but with a new serial number, I was glad to get a working console. Then again, I forgot the term "working" from Microsoft just means slightly less broken. It definitely starts up and runs which is nice, but it can't read ANY discs, games or movies. So all I can play is the Hexic game I found on my hard drive or flip through the menu. Fun. So, Microsoft is sending me yet another box for me to send it in for repairs. This has gotten ridiculous and if I could, I'd demand my money back. I keep getting sent a free month of X-Box Live with each repair, but what good is that if I can't get more then a few days use of the thing at a time?
It is without a doubt the worst console I've ever owned. It's a shame too because it's got a really strong line up and I'd recommend it to almost anyone IF the hardware was the least bit reliable. Which is isn't.
Well, it's time for a little good news over here. It seems like things are looking up for most things going on with me right now outside of school and maybe one or two other things. The only problem is the good stuff is more nice then necessary. Here's a great example, I got a car a little while ago. A friend of dad had a Mercedes he didn't really use anymore so since he's pretty well off, doesn't really have any family over here (he's from Spain) and my dad is one of his better friends; he gave it to me. Being an old guy means he had a very good reason why I was the top choice, and that's because I don't do any drugs. I always assumed I'd be rewarded with a well balanced physical chemistry, but a car is a nice bonus. For those curious, it's a 93 Mercedes, I think it's a Benz 190 but I'm not entirely sure. It looks like this:
Well, it sorta looks like that, just a lot dirtier and in need of some maintenance due to lack of use. It's got a little under 180 000 km on it which is nice for a 14 year old car. The only downside is that I still need my G2 so I can't really drive it on my own. At least I have some motivation to do that now. I still think we really only need one car, but my dad, who never drives his, doesn't seem to agree. I think even with two cars, we'll have a combined usage of three times a week. Apparently the insurance is so low that my dad is more enamored with the deal.
In honour of Spanish people, here's a short video about a Mexican.
