… I don’t feel any different.

Well as I’d like to make it my tradition, I wanted to mention my favorite things of 2006. Looking back, I don’t know whether I didn’t really do anything last year, or if I just can’t remember what I did. I suppose you can read through my trip diaries about my trips to Vancouver and San Francisco, the combination of which made me totally fall in love with the west coast. As far as other personal things from this past year, I played a lot of music (a LOT), which was fantastic, but exhausting. My band is amazing and I hope I don’t have to say goodbye to that anytime soon. I guess that’s really the thing that consumed much of my year.

And as the year comes to an end, it is with a sense of bittersweet, as I look back and see so many friends who have gotten divorced and several other broken relationships that fill me with sadness. And to end the year, the final thing was the announcement that the church that I’ve grown to love so much is closing. In one sense it’s kind of a relief in that I’m burned out from my duties there, as I know so many others are too. But it’s still sad, and the last couple services we’ve had have made it all too real that it really is ending. Denial isn’t going to cut it anymore in the next few weeks, and it’s going to be very sad and emotional. So as things end with 2006, I can only pray that things will be born and grown in 2007.

So before I go into my favorite pop culture things of last year, let me first rant about the Grammies.  They are a complete joke.  I started to feel this a couple years ago when The Reason by Hoobastank was nominated for “Song of the Year.”  It was then confirmed last year when Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani was nominated for the same category last year.  (quick Gwen Stefani sidenote, did anyone see her attempt at hip-hop-izing My Favorite Things from Sound of Music on SNL?  Wow it was awful)  Only the Grammies can have the following three things nominated for the same award:  My Hump  – Black Eyed Peas, I’ll Follow You into the Dark – Death Cab for Cutie, Dont’cha – The Pussycat Dolls.  Unbelievable.

Another thing with the Grammies I’ve noticed is that for all of their “non-popular” awards, the same people are nominated every year.  For example, Keb Mo is nominated every single year for just about every modern blues award there is.  Now I love Keb Mo, but is there really no one else in the country that can be nominated?  Maybe I’m just being skeptical, but it seems like the people on the committee get to the end of the year and think “oh yeah, we have to come up with nominations.  What was popular this year?”  They need to hire like a dozen people who literally do nothing all year but consume music.  They should have their finger on the pulse of music, and it seems to me like they so wildly miss the mark every year it’s ridiculous.  Maybe it’s just me.

Okay, rant over, here’s my awards for the year:

Favorite Movie (seen):

1 – Brokeback Mountain (I actually didn’t see this until this year, granted it was like January 3rd, or else it would have been at the top of my last year list)
2 – The Descent
3 – Capote

Favorite TV Show:

The Office

Top 5 Favorite Albums (bought during 2006):

1 – Anberlin – Never Take Friendship Personal (if you can’t tell, I went through kind of a poppy punk phase this year)
2 – The Weepies – Say I Am You
3 – The Forecast – In the Shadow of Two Gunmen
4 – Fall Out Boy – Under the Cork Tree
5 – Underoath – They’re Only Chasing Safety

* Honorable Mentions – John Mayer Continuum, The Killers Sam’s Town
Favorite Book (read):

I seriously I have no recollection of what I read this past year, but I’m reading Next by Michael Crichton right now, and it’s pretty good so far.

Favorite Controversy:

Racist Kramer
Well, those are the only highlights I can think of at the moment.

So here’s to an even more eventful 2007, and maybe those events will even be good events!

Cheers!