2006 Roundup

2006 was quite a year! I went on two vacations (possible because I've passed the five-year mark at work and got an extra week of holiday time!), one to the sunny south and one to the UK. I made some new friends, my roomie moved out, I joined a Stitch & Bitch group and the Queen Street Darts League, participated in the Knitting Olympics (the whole reason I started this blog in the first place), took a digital photography class (which was only half worth it), bought a new computer (The Metatron™) and a new printer and a carpet shampooer (ooh, big ticket items!), had foreign visitors, started dating someone awfully sweet, Dad had hernia surgery and then went through cancer treatments (all looks well - don't smoke kids!), and had three deaths in the family (it always seems to come in threes, doesn't it?). All in all, a pretty eventful year.

Where did my money go this year, otherwise?

Movies:

• An Inconvenient Truth - it's obvious that this is what Gore really wants to do with his life, he's very engaging.
• Brick - oooh, film noir coolness
• Casino Royale - Best Bond Movie ever. No question.
• Crank - like a giant video game, fun!
• The DaVinci Code - I liked it better than most of the critics did, but it wasn't fabulous, just well adapted I think.
• The Descent - scariest movie of the year. My heart didn't stop pounding until I'd been home for two hours.
• The Devil Wears Prada - fluff
• Flushed Away - goofy and fun!
• The Fountain - hrm. It was beautiful, well-acted, looked fantastic, sounded fantastic... and left the entire audience wondering what the hell that was.
• Good Night And Good Luck - beautiful
• The Hills Have Eyes - taught me many things about what not to do in the desert
• The Holiday - fluff, yes, but Jack Black was surprisingly good and Jude Law wasn't creepy!
• The Illusionist - beautiful, Ed Norton is so engaging
• The Lake House - less chick-flick-y than I expected, nice - but obvious that the original film was written after having read the Griffin & Sabine stories.
• The Libertine - you'd have to be a Depp fan to enjoy it. Which I am.
• Lucky Number Slevin - better than expected - but a stupid title
• Man Of The Year - hrm. Interesting. Kinda what would happen if Jon Stewart really ran for president.
• The Matador - hilarious, and Pierce Brosnan was so not hot...
• Night Watch - odd, and not for everyone, but I liked it. I want to see pt 2
• Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - fun! Not as fun as the first one, but still fun!
• The Prestige - also good, but of the two I preferred The Illusionist. But it gets extra points for having Nicola Tesla as a character. And more for having Bowie in that role.
• Tristram Shandy: A Cock & Bull Story - a lot of fun, weird too
• Silent Hill - very much a video game in a movie format. But fun!
• Superman Returns - hmm, well done!
• Syriana - convoluted, but in a good way
• Thank You For Smoking - SO FUNNY!
• V For Vendetta - uneven but enjoyable
• X-Men III - okay I guess, but it didn't grab me
• Young Triffie's Been Made Away With - I haven't seen it on wide release yet, very Canadian

Gigs:

• Belle & Sebastian with New Pornographers at The Docks - Great show. Horrible venue. I'll never see another show there again
• The Dears and Jason Collett at Harbourfront - Went for The Dears, but it was Jason Collett who really impressed me.
• The Editors with Tin Bangs and Lake Trout at the Opera House - Tin Bangs were so-so, Lake Trout were quite good, but The Editors were fantastic! Great show!
• Spamalot - Fun! But there was a jerk sitting in front of me who seemed to think that laughing shouldn't be allowed, grr...
• The Bowlie All-Dayer at Buffalo Bar in London, England - so many bands! I'd say Gresham Flyers and My Favourite Dress were my favourites though.
• Regina Spektor with Only Son at The Phoenix - What a fun show! She's really cute...
• Billy Connolly at Massey Hall - He sounded great at least - I had really sucky seats and couldn't see him at all...
• Sloan at Koolhaus - An inconsistent show, sometimes fabulous and sometimes boring...
• The Raging Butanes at the Black Swan - mmm, blues...
• Ron James at the Convention Centre - what a funny little man!

CDs:

• Beatles (1)
• Belle & Sebastian (Tigermilk; If You're Feeling Sinister; Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant; The Life Pursuit - that's right, I'm stocking up)
• Concrete Blonde (Walking In London)
• Broken Social Scene (Feel Good Lost; Broken Social Scene)
• Bruford (The Bruford Tapes)
• Kate Bush (Kick Inside)
• Captain (This Is Hazelville)
• Dalbello (whomanfoursays; She; Whore)
• Dead Can Dance (Serpent's Egg; Within The Realm Of A Dying Sun)
• Death Cab For Cutie (We Have The Facts And We're Voting Yes; You Can Play These Songs With Chords; Plans)
• Delgados (Hate)
• Neil Diamond (Gold)
• Bob Dylan (Greatest Hits Vol 1)
• Fiery Furnaces (EP)
• Frausdots (Couture, Couture, Couture)
  
• Futureheads (Futureheads)
• Helio Sequence (Love And Distance)
• Hidden Cameras (The Smell Of Our Own)
• Iron & Wine (Our Endless Numbered Days)
• Eddie Izzard (Definite Article)
• Japan (Souvenir From Japan)
• Mick Karn (The Tooth Mother)
• King Crimson (Compact King Crimson)
• Sondre Lerche and the Faces Down Quartet (Duper Sessions)
• John Linnell (State Songs)
• The Magnetic Fields (I)
• Mono Puff (It's Fun To Steal; Unsupervised)
• Van Morrison (Moondance)
• Negativland (No Business)
• Florent Pagny (Bienvenue Chez Moi)
• John Peel's Festive 15
• Postal Service (Such Great Heights EP)
• Propaganda (A Secret Wish)
• Pulp (Different Class)
• Leon Redbone (Live 1992)
• Rough Trade Shops (Indie Pop 1)
• Rush (Gold)
• Sigur Rós (Agaetis Byrjun; ())
• Sing Sing (The Joy of Sing Sing)
• Sisters Of Mercy (Floodland)
• Skaface (Mamooska)
• Skinny Puppy (12" Anthology)
• Sloan (Never Hear The End Of It)
• Sparks (Gratuitous Sax And Senseless Violins)
• Cat Stevens (Gold)
• Sting (Nothing Like The Sun)
• They Might Be Giants (The Spine)
• Throwing Muses (The Real Ramona)
• Ultra-Lounge (Cocktail Capers)
• Various (Choice Cuts; Now Hear This)
• Wall Of Voodoo (Happy Planet)
• Wings (Greatest)

DVDs:
Music:

• Acquired Taste (sub-pop video collection)

Movies:

• Afraid Of The Dark
• Astronaut's Wife
• Bollywood Hollywood
• The Bourne Supremacy
• The Call Of Cthulhu
• Charlie & The Chocolate Factory (the new one)
• The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
• Cool Runnings: The Reggae Movie
• The DaVinci Code
• Dick Van Dyke episodes
• Don Juan Demarco
• Lynch's Dune (collector tin)
• Empire Of The Wolves
• Flightplan
• Gothic/Chiller
• A History Of Violence
• Johnny English
• Lie With Me
• Mambo Italiano
• Monty Python’s Flying Circus: The Life Of Brian
• My Kingdom
• Pink Panther Film Collection
• The Professional
• Snakes On A Plane preview disc
• A Touch Of Pink
• Undercover Brother
• War Of The Worlds
• Yellowbeard

TV:

• Alexei Sayle seasons 1-3
• 'Allo 'Allo seasons 1-4
• The Avengers Set 2
• Dr Who: Pyramids Of Mars
• Dr Who 1996 telefilm
• Dr Who Series 1 (with Mr Ecclesbum)
• Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story
• Little Britain Season 2
• Lost Seasons 1&2
• Space Above And Beyond
• Star Trek: The Animated Series
• Titus Volumes 1&2
• Twin Peaks Season 1
• West Wing Season 5

And now, I need to purge...