Monday, December 31, 2007

One final entry...

As usual, wishing you all the best and hoping you have a fantastic New Year celebration and that you spend it surrounded by those you want to be with.

I am glad to be spending it with my beautiful wife and some very dear friends. One thing that you must do is follow any superstition that might come from your culture.

I for example am wearing red underwear for luck reasons and will be placing a note in each of my shoes before midnight takes place.

You see, back at home (Mexico) we believe that the way you receive the new year will set the way for how it will shape up. So that it is why it is so important to spend it with people whose company you enjoy. As well we do silly little things, or used to do, as superstitions, but now I think they might have served more as entertainment for us children.

You see, I am not sure as to whether to believe in fate or not. If it does exist, I feel that it needs an encouraging when it comes to good things. Those are the ones that take a while longer to happen if you just sit on your arse and wait for them to come and find you.

I am working on things and trying to line things up in order for 2008 to be a better year than 2007 for myself, my wife, family and very dear friends. All my friends are very dear.

I sound so lame, but it is true. I shall be having a few beers tonight in delightful company and will receive the new year in the best mood that I can. Whoever and wherever you are, I hope you have an amazing time and that 2008 is great for you and those you want it to be great.

More images to follow and I would like to add a movie suggestion... it was actually from 2007 and as I said, been buying DVDs on the sale. But you must watch 28 weeks later. It rocks, kicks arse and I think that it might even be slightly better than the first one. I say this basing it on the fact that I don't like incredibly happy endings and the hopelessness of this sequel really kept me on the edge of my seat.

To those about to rock... I salute you!!!

Friday, December 28, 2007

2007 review.

Like you could give a toss, but here you go anyway. I thought I might as well waste your time a little further with some of the things that I enjoyed in 2007 on top of living itself.

When it comes to music here's my top 5 (in no specific order):

  1. Interpol 'Our love to admire': I personally loved Antics and thought that the melancholy and edge of it was the pinnacle. How little did I know before Our love... was released. So melodic, honest and to the point. More than anything else it was a pleasure to listen to.
  2. Elvis Perkins 'Ash Wednesday': Funnily enough, I am listening to it as I type. I was lucky enough to see him opening for Willy Mason earlier this year. Sadly I had to wait for about three months until the album was released in the UK. A bitter-sweet joy to listen to and 'While you were sleeping' has got to be quite possibly my favourite track of the year itself.
  3. Gallows 'Orchestra of wolves': Some beautifully intense, passionate and in your face skate punk. More along the lines of Pennywise, maybe Fugazi, sounds like the days when Epitaph could only release great stuff. That album, though new it was full of memories and good ones at that. The joy of growing up stupidly and enjoying it with it's angst and the sheer oblivion of it all.
  4. Radiohead 'In rainbows': Because you have to admit that it is a masterpiece!!! I loved Hail to the thief, but this became even more melodically without compromising. They know wheat they're doing, they love doing it and they are great at doing it. And before you ask... yes I did pay for the download and YES, more than likely I will buy the boxset once it is out. To sum this album up: Believe me, you need it in your life!
  5. Porter 'Atemahawke': Mexico's finest. A fucking beauty of an album that did not disappoint or fail to deliver at any level. The class of it is beyond many things produced in other countries. A great follow up to their debut EP 'Donde los ponys pastan'. This album, like the one above, you need it in your life. You will need to search for this one as it is unlikely to come looking for you. But the search and effort will be more than rewarded.
Books. Because you need a great read on the train, or at home or whilst you try and ignore your family. Now that you have grown up, reading is not for geeks, it is OK. To put it this way, it is like smoking, it is cool, clever, big, sexy and chicks dig it. So in no specific order, here is my top 5:
  1. Kate Atkinson 'One good turn': I don't know what makes it literary, apart from the review quotes on the cover. All I know is that I don't care and it is a book that looks after itself and it's tale. Everything is tied up by the end and if not satisfaction, the simple acknowledgement makes it an enjoyable read. Brilliant and have already recommended it.
  2. Derek Landy 'Skulduggery Pleasant': Kids book, might not be the best and it has set itself a great challenge for the second book, but it is enjoyable, flows smoothly and a lot of fun. Great stuff and will be waiting for the second one eagerly.
  3. Ben MacIntyre 'Agent Zig-Zag': Top book!!! And it is all true!!! You have to read it. You will laugh, sympathize (which in my case is a lot to ask) and simply feel upset when it comes to an end. Fantastic!
  4. Charlie Higgson 'Hurricane Gold': New tome in the young Bond series. I met Higgson, might have freaked him out, but I loved the book. If you fear that it will be like Anthony Horrwitz ones, you are wrong. This are actually based back in the days when the "real" Bond would have been a teenager (around 1920's 30's). They are brilliant and all takes place thanks to sheer intelligence rather than flashy gizmos.
  5. CJ Sansom 'Sovereign': Because crime fiction in the Tudor times does work. Entertaining, thrilling and bloody educational as they have been amazingly and painstakingly researched. Though this is book 3 in a series, you can start with 'Dissolution' that it is book 1 and it is just as good.
Movies. Here I might be too obvious and a bit outdated as I didn't go much to the cinema and bought some of the DVDs on the sales and they might be from 2006 but I have only seen them now... so, random order top 5:
  1. The Bourne Ultimatum: Because it is the most exciting film you have seen since you were 8 years old. Nothing that I can say would do it justice, so do yourself a favour and buy a copy, watch it. Watch the extras and then watch it again. It gets better every time.
  2. Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix: Because it is brilliant and they have captured the darkness that can be found in those stories. In my opinion the book went on for about 100 pages too many after the story had in reality finished. I can't wait for the final two installments.
  3. The Departed: Oh my GOD!!! Chilling (and not in the mellow way, but in the shivery and speechless kind of way).
  4. Blade Runner 5 disc edition: Because the world has been a mess before it came out and if it continues to be a mess now that it has been finally released... well, that shows how stupid the world is. Though I am yet to watch the 5 discs in their entirety, I know that they rock and that they are what we all need.
  5. The Proposition: Because the genius of Nick Cave shows throughout the entire movie. The whole thing is a massive build up to a realisation framed by the most amazingly contrast of arid and beautiful landscapes. On the first viewing, when you get to the end, you might feel as if you have been punched really hard in the stomach and you're momentarily out of breath. But believe me that once you recover it, you will appreciate it.
Pictures to follow.