Shooflypie

My goal for the year was to read 64 books, which would put me at 4 more than last year's 60. I only managed to read 62; I say "only" but that's more than I've read since I started keeping track in 2001. Heck, it's double what I used to read. Sometimes I was reading more than one book at a time but there were also times when I wasn't reading a book. I picked up and put down a bunch of books this year; I mostly chalk that up to the wrong book at the wrong time (one I put down on initial read is one this list). 11 of those 62 were non-fiction, which is probably my highest percentage ever. Regardless of the stats and goals, I found plenty of books to love this year... 1. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - I almost stopped reading this book because at its outset it seemed like yet another novel about the apocalypse and at the time, I just couldn't see myself reading another one of those. Luckily, I stuck with it. It's more a novel about what h...

I listen to most of my music via Spotify these days, though I will buy mp3 albums when the price is decent and I have some spare cash. That means I'm able to listen to way more albums than I used to and I'm able to try new artists that I never would have gotten around to in the old days. There was a lot of great music in 2014 and here are 10 albums that I loved... 1. Spoon/They Want My Soul - This is Spoon's sixth straight fantastic album and might actually be my favorite. That's hard to do 8 albums into a career. I don't know if the 4 years off the band had in between albums or if maybe Britt Daniel's time in Divine Fits contributed to the greatness of these 10 songs but something did. From the opening rock of "Rent I Pay" to the spacey, synth sound of "Inside Out" to the sunny sounding "Do You" to the whistling on "Knock Knock Knock," there is so much to be found here. In fact, I'm playing this album while I write...

I read 270 single issues and 15 trade paperbacks this year (yes, I do keep track) (yes, I know I'm a giant nerd) (have you met me?). However, I didn't even come close to reading everything I wanted to; I started a lot of series (especially from Image) but wasn't able to afford to keep up with them (luckily, Comixology has a sale going on right now that will help me catch up) (might have to reread those first issues too). Regardless, I think the comics medium is in great shape, not only because of these great comics... 1. The Multiversity - The long-awaited Grant Morrison series about the DC multiverse finally arrived in August and it completely exceeded my expectations. After an opening issue introducing the concepts and characters (hello, Captain Carrot!), we got 4 one-shots by Morrison and a wonderful group of artists that took closer looks at different Earths. Each one was fascinating and made me want more set in that particular world. Of special note were Thunderworl...

I might have watched fewer TV shows this year than ever before. I certainly lost the thread on many that I was watching. It wasn't for lack of interest necessarily...I just made a choice to watch sports or read or do something else instead. Still, there are some shows that I thought were great... 1. Brooklyn Nine-Nine - Michael Schur took everything he learned from launching Parks & Recreation (I'm rewatching the show now and those first 6 episodes were not great) and applied it to getting this show out of the gate. The show came out swinging in the second half of the first season with "Pontiac Bandit"as its first episode of 2014 (a great episode that just had a sequel) and continued to throw comedy haymakers all year long as the second season got underway. This is a top-notch cast (Andre Braugher as the straight-laced Captain Holt is the best) performing material that is truly funny. The jokes aren't just jokes either (though there are plenty) - much of t...

I saw only 10 movies in the theater this year and only 9 of those were official 2014 releases. I didn't see The Grand Budapest Hotel or Boyhood . I didn't see Birdman or Gone Girl . I wanted to but I either didn't get around to them or they didn't come close to me. I will see them. Anyway, here are my five favorites of what I did see, plus a bonus... 1. Guardians of the Galaxy - I'll admit I was skeptical when Marvel put this on their slate. It seemed like an odd choice. When the first trailer came out, I got excited. Really excited. Then the movie finally came out and it was awesome. It is full of heart and humor. Chris Pratt is great as Peter Quill. Rocket Raccoon and Groot worked perfectly onscreen. The soundtrack is the glue that holds the whole thing together. The movie had such a perfect Star Wars feel to it and I left the theater with a grin on my face. So. Much. Fun. 2. The Lego Movie - Speaking of Chris Pratt and fun, I loved this movie as well. I w...

This is the year that podcasts finally broke into the mainstream, thanks to Serial. Of course, podcasts have been around for much longer than the media coverage will have you believe. I've been listening to podcasts for about 4 years and I was way late to the game. The problem is that there are so many worthwhile podcasts out there that I can't get to them all. Heck, I haven't even gotten to Serial yet. In fact, this year I unsubscribed on some podcasts I really like, such as Baseball Tonight, Book Riot, and Sound Opinions (I have cherry-picked some episodes of the last one, at least). I'm still behind on just about everything but these podcasts are ones I am always trying to catch up on... 1. Comedy Bang Bang - The Old 97s finally brought me to this podcast, which I've known about for a long time. Heck, Glen Weldon on Pop Culture Happy Hour had recommended it more than once and I just hadn't gotten around to it. Scott Aukerman is the host and is always funn...

I haven't put up a mix since early April, though I have been accumulating songs since that time. This one covers songs I liked from 2014, excluding ones from bands I already used on that earlier mix. It ballooned to 30 songs. Oops. Anyway, I hope you enjoy... 1. Goshen '97/Strand of Oaks - This great slice of rock is the lead track from HEAL . It's about Tom Showalter's musical beginnings and features J Mascis on lead guitar. For those who don't know, Goshen is in Indiana. 2. Turtles All the Way Down/Sturgill Simpson - I don't listen to much country music and have no idea what the popular songs of the genre are these days. This, though, reminds me of the country I listened to back in the early 80s. It's got a great little groove. 3. Don't Wanna Lose/Ex Hex - This is the only exception to leaving off bands that were on the You Gotta Get Back Out There mix; that one included Ex Hex's "Hot and Cold." This band rocks so much and has go...

I started running in 2012 but this year I made some significant changes in how I approach it... 1. I used to run where I could find the time in my day but now I will get up early to run before work. 2. I used to run inside when the weather was colder but now I get out there even if the wind chill is near zero. In fact, I just ran inside for the first time since early May and that was only because it was raining (still not a fan of running in the rain). 3. I used to run 3 times a week at most but now I get out there every other day with only minimal adjustments for schedule purposes (or to take an extra day of rest before a race). Even with all that, I still had some significant periods when I wasn't running. I injured myself twice this year and had some significant gaps in my regimen, especially from early September to the end of October. That second period of rest has let me come back strong to close out the year. Stats I ran 100 times this year for a total of 310 mile...

I thought I'd finish out the month with another installment that focuses on one band. Spoon is one of my favorite bands and they put out a great album this year that I'll probably be talking about in my year-end posts over the course of the week. I recently ripped the last couple albums I had on CD, so my entire Spoon collection is on iTunes. I won't do last played today; instead, I'll tell from what albums the songs come. 1. Don't Buy the Realistic (6) - from Telephono 2. All the Negatives Have Been Destroyed (4) - from Telephono 3. Black Like Me (13) - from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 4. They Want My Soul (6) - from They Want My Soul 5. Before Destruction (18) - from Transference 6. Fitted Shirt (2) - from Girls Can Tell 7. Someone Something (1) - from Kill The Moonlight 8. Was It You? (13) - from Gimme Fiction 9. My Little Japanese Cigarette Case (13) - from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga 10. Out Go the Lights (16) - from Transference

Last chance for Christmas music to be in the mix... 1. If I Can't Change Your Mind/Sugar (9) - last played on 10/5/13 2. Water Wings/Superchunk (17) - last played on 7/22/14 3. City Swan/Neko Case (19) - last played on 9/21/14 4. Great Dane/Mates Of State (5) - last played on 7/29/12 5. Technology/The Whigs (3) - last played on 1/1/12 6. Bay of Pigs/Destroyer (3) - last played on 10/30/14 7. Don't You Wanna Come Out/The Redwalls (4) - last played on 8/19/12 8. The Toro and The Toreador/Ted Leo (7) - last played on 1/20/13 9. Sacred Trickster/Sonic Youth (3) - last played on 5/20/12 10. Baby and the Band/Imperial Teen (4) - last played on 10/2/11 *Note on "Bay of Pigs": This is the single version; the version on Kaputt has 9 plays *Note on "The Toro and The Toreador": The credit should read Ted Leo/Pharmacists too many slashes are confusing

Will my iTunes serve up Christmas songs in today's ten again? Let's find out... 1. Pregnant/Cold War Kids (5) - last played on 3/24/13 2. I Like To Keep Myself In Pain/Kelly Hogan (14) - last played on 3/20/14 3. Hell or High Water/Blue Giant (4) - last played on 10/5/14 4. Unless It's Kicks/Okkervil River (10) - last played on 10/26/13 5. The Rover/Led Zeppelin (7) - last played on 8/17/14 6. See You/Dinosaur Jr. (12) - last played on 8/6/12 7. No Dreams Last Night/The Clientele (5) - last played on 3/31/12 8. Be Your Man/Ivan & Alyosha (7) - last played on 12/1713 9. One-Month Marathon/Eleanor Friedberger (6) - last played on 9/15/13 10. Bombs Away/Eels (14) - last played on 12/2/13

I was going to skip today then remembered I only have a few weeks every year where the Christmas music is eligible and I haven't heard much Christmas music yet, so here we are. We'll see if any turn up in today's ten or if it will be after the Sunday Shuffle stops but the shuffling keeps on going... 1. Hold Me Up/Velvet Crush (12) - last played on 9/28/14 2. Keep It Moving/Deep Sea Diver (12) - last played on 9/14/13 3. Ready For You/Sloan (17) - last played on 11/28/14 4. I Want Her She Wants Me/The Zombies (14) - last played on 10/31/12 5. My Heartbeat's Dying/The Raveonettes (4) - last played on 2/23/14 6. The Weight Of Guilt/Lucero (6) - last played on 4/14/13 7. Christmas Is Coming (alternate take 1)/Vince Guaraldi (3) - last played on 12/16/11 8. Christmastime/Aimee Mann (5) - last played on 12/13/13 9. Backstairs/The New Pornographers (4) - last played on 11/22/14 10. Nantes/Beirut (3) - last played on 2/19/12

I have watched the trailer for Star Wars: The Force Awakens several times now. I realize that it shows a fraction of the footage that will be in a film that doesn't come out for over a year. I also realize that the prequels were not my favorite thing and this is not something for which I should get my hopes up. And yet... I like that there are new faces. I like that ball droid thing. I like that it sounds like Star Wars. I recognize that some people have a problem with that new lightsaber hilt but I think it looks cool. I like seeing X-Wing Fighters. I love, yes, love when the John Williams score swells at the exact moment the Millennium Falcon appears and engages some Tie Fighters. Did I mention how I love that last part? It thrills the part of me that Star Wars imprinted when I was 6 years old as well as the 43 year-old version of me typing these words right now. You know what? The trailer does what a trailer should do - get you excited to see a movie. That...