Best New Movie:
Zodiac
While I didn’t catch it in the theatre, I made it a point to see Zodiac once it hit DVD, if for no other reason but my love for director David Fincher. However, the deft direction and excellent camera work is only part of the reason this was my favorite movie of the year. The story is fascinating as it deals with the very real events surrounding the Zodiac killings in and around San Francisco in the late 1960s. Unlike most serial killer movies, though, this film isn’t so much about the killings themselves as it is about the men who attempted to solve the crimes. This film stuck with me; a week later, I was thinking about this one. There are certain scenes that I can still see in my mind today, some four months after seeing it only one time. It’s an amazing film that will probably, sadly, be overlooked come Oscar time, simply because it came out so early in the year. There’s a new 2-disc DVD coming out in early January and you can bet I’ll be picking it up. A great flick.

Honorable Mention:
3:10 to Yuma
I love Westerns. It took me a long time before I understood them and their complex, moral underpinnings, but I’m glad I finally figured them out, else I might have missed a great film like this one.

Best New CD:
Challengers by The New Pornographers
While not my favorite NP album, this is still a really solid effort from the group. A few songs stand out for me, namely “My Rights Versus Yours”, “Challengers”, “Myriad Harbour” and “Unguided”, but, as with most NP albums, the whole thing is pretty great.

Honorable Mention:
In Rainbows by Radiohead
This one is the Honorable Mention by default because it’s the only other new CD I bought this year. And it wasn’t even a CD, but a digital copy available for download at whatever price I decided to pay (I wound up paying around $10). It was an experiment in digital distribution and I wanted to support Radiohead’s efforts, even if I’m not a huge follower of their music. Honestly, I think I’ve only listened to the CD a handful of times, but I still feel like it was $10 well spent if for no other reason than to stick it to the traditional business model of the music moguls.

Best DVD:
Blade Runner 4-disc collector’s set
Holy cow. I love BR, but I would have never expected anything quite like this set. There are 4 different cuts of the film – a new one with extended scenes, added scenes, alternate scenes, and a few other things; the theatrical version (which I’ve only seen once and am interested to see again to compare and contrast with the 1992 director’s cut that I’ve seen at least a half-dozen times); the international version; and the 1992 director’s cut. That’s 2 discs! A third disc has a feature-length documentary that is a rather exhaustive look at the production of the film. Finally, disc 4 has tons of “normal” DVD extras with deleted scenes, new and vintage featurettes, trailers, etc., etc. This is simply an amazing DVD set. It doesn’t hurt that the film is pretty amazing, too. And believe it or not, but there’s a 5-disc set out there that comes in a cool, metal-looking briefcase and an entire disc of more features. The 4-disc set was plenty for me, thanks. This was definitely worth the $23 I got it for from Amazon. This is how to do DVD right.

Honorable Mention:
Knocked Up Unrated, 2-disc set
This 2-disc set is jammed with extra features that the Judd Apatow movies are becoming known for. Gag reels, deleted scenes, video diaries from the shoot, audition reels (including some that are fake and just as funny as the actual movie), and plenty more make this one DVD that was worth buying for the extra features alone.

Best Movie I Saw in 2007 That Didn’t Come Out in 2007
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer”
Ok, so technically this was released in the US on January 5, 2007, but it had been out in Europe for three or four months before that. Either way, this was an incredible film by a truly talented director, Tom Tykwer. This is another film that I’ve thought long and hard about and have been really taken by some of the ideas conveyed. It’s a serial killer movie, but for some reason you never see it that way. You simply watch as a creative genius does whatever he has to do to see his masterpiece completed. It’s bizarre and wonderful and definitely one of my favorite movies that I saw this year.

Honorable Mention:
The Fountain
It’s a little-seen film that will probably remain that way, unfortunately, but I’m happy to say I’m one who loves it.

Best Book I Read:
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Believe it or not, but I had never read Mockingbird until this year. I’ve owned the book for years, but never sat down and read it. And even after four years as an English major, it was never once assigned. I’m sure that’s because it’s usually read in high school, but I was never able to take the literature course at good ol’ Fisher High School where they read it. So, I had to make time for it and it took me a while to do so. After deciding that we would name our soon-to-be-born daughter after the author, I figured it was about time I get this one read. It’s a shame I waited so long.

Honorable Mention:
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Andrea recommended this one to me and I’m glad she did. I can guarantee you that you’ll never read another book like this one ever again. The basic plot is how the world ends and the only people left are a tour group who shipwreck on one of the Galapagos Islands. From there they evolve into seals. No, seriously. It’s a very imaginative book and, in typical Vonnegut fashion, there’s a method and message to the madness. A great read.

Best Magazine:
Esquire Magazine
Esquire reclaimed the #1 spot this year as the only magazine that inspires me to sit down and flip through it cover-to-cover shortly after I get it in the mail. Interesting articles, Chuck Klosterman, “Things I’ve Learned”, “The Genius Issue” – these are just some of the reasons I continue to read and look forward to this publication.

Honorable Mention:
Wired Magazine
I read the Wired website on a regular basis, but when I saw that a year of the publication was only $10, I figured why not. Definitely a good move on my part…

Best Website:
Tie between kottke.org and mental_floss
This is a tough call, because I check both of these sites on a daily basis, but for different things. Kottke is a website run by Jason Kottke. Who he is or what he does, I have no idea. All I do know is that he links to some of the most interesting, thought-provoking websites and articles on the web. On the other hand is mental_floss with their Trivial Pursuit-worthy blogs, usually consisting of easy-to-digest lists of random facts and quirky knowledge. I might have to get a subscription to the print magazine one of these days.

Honorable Mention:
Notcot.org features the best in many different types of design – fashion, graphic arts, toys, products, videos – pretty much anything creative. The site is updated constantly with quick links from the RSS feed to satiate my appetite for interesting eye candy.

Best Purchase:
Nintendo Wii
After months of searching I finally found one! It was a big deal and I haven’t been disappointed in my purchase since. It’s brought hours of joy to me, Andrea, and my family, including a really cool day when my 94-year old grandfather bowled a few games. I’m not what one would consider a “hardcore gamer” so maybe that’s why I don’t mind that there aren’t a million “A List” games out there for the Wii, but I think the technology has potential and hopefully we’ll see developers take more of an interest in the Wii’s features. In the meantime, I’ll keep playing Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid Prime 3 until the wee hours of the morn…

Honorable Mention:
La-Z-Boy furniture
You know you’re getting old when furniture is one of your best purchases of the year. As we were putting together the nursery, I was also looking to replace the decades-old recliner that I inherited years ago with something a bit more up-to-date. Since the old La-Z-Boy had served me well, I was going to consider a new one in the hopes it would hold up for 20+ years like the last one did. Well, La-Z-Boy didn’t have anything I was interested in at the moment, but we found a chair for the nursery that was originally $800, marked down to $250, and a coffee table that was originally $750, marked down to $50. We even got a free room divider out of the deal! Needless to say it was a good day of bargain hunting. Though I’m still looking for a recliner…

Best TV Show:
Lost
Lost continues to confound and inspire. There are still plenty of unanswered questions, but that’s the whole point. Who wants answers anyway? Where’s the fun in that? The big highlight of Season 3 was what the producers called “the game-changer”, when an event took place near the end of the season that completely messed with our heads. It was awesome. And I’m really excited by what I’ve seen of Season 4, which begins in just over a month.

Honorable Mention:
Project Runway
I think it’s about time I come out of the PR closet, so to speak. I’ve been religiously watching this show for the past 2 1/2 seasons and, despite what others might say, I think it’s one of the better reality shows on the air. It requires creativity, originality, and viable skills to succeed on this show. I’m sure there are some producers who prefer to keep around those who make the best TV, but the contestants can usually back up those choices with solid work.

Best CD That Didn’t Come Out in 2007:
Give Up, The Postal Service
A friend ripped this for me and I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve listened to it since. I don’t even completely understand why I love this album so much, I just do. I don’t know if it’s the electronic aspect, the light, simple lyrics, or just the plain catchiness of it all, but I listen to this CD all the time. Of course the highlight, “Such Great Heights”, is a favorite, but I’m also a big fan of pretty much every song. I wish I’d paid more attention to the hipsters a few years ago when this one was really hitting its stride. Actually, maybe I’m better off not discovering it until now so that it didn’t get played out for me. Either way, better late than never.

Honorable Mention:
“Life on Mars” by David Bowie
While not a CD, I became somewhat obsessed with Bowie’s song this year after hearing it on the soundtrack to The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I’d heard it before, but for whatever reason it really dug into me this year and I listen to it quite often now, sometimes two or three times in a row when it comes up on my “Favorites” playlist. It’s weird, but it is what it is.

Best eBay Sale:
My Nintendo Stuff
It was difficult, but a few months ago I sold two Nintendos, a Super NES, an N64, a bunch of controllers and around 45 games. I set the minimum bid at $75, hoping to get up over $100. It got to $125 with three minutes left on the auction. By the time the fury of bids was over, it wound up being over $250 – a pretty nice little score. Of course all the money went towards Christmas gifts and various baby supplies, but it was $250 that I didn’t have before, so I can’t complain.

Honorable Mention:
5.25″ floppy discs of “Wasteland”
In 1986, some friends and I were enamored with a computer role-playing game called “Wasteland”. I had no idea until sometime in the mid-90s that this game was a huge cult favorite. For whatever reason I held onto my 5.25″ floppies of “Wasteland” for years, long after I didn’t even own a 5.25″ drive, taking them with me from apartment to apartment and finally to our condo where they sat in a drawer until about a week ago when I finally decided to get rid of them. I set the first bid at $5, hoping someone might be interested in some old floppies that may or may not work after 20 years. Well, the bidding came down between two guys, with the winner paying $26 for the discs. Amazing, huh? And it just goes to show that you can sell anything on the internet.

Best Time With Friends:
The 48-Hour Film Festival
You know you’ve found a good group of friends when you can stay up with them until 4:00 a.m. Friday night, shoot a film with them from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, help edit the film at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, and still feel like it was a good experience. Doing the 48-Hour Film Festival this year was something I’ll never forget and cannot wait to do again next year.

Honorable Mention:
MO Wine Tour
Just before we found out Andrea was pregnant, we spent a Saturday afternoon in Missouri wine country with all of our friends, sampling vintages from all kinds of vineyards. The weather was fairly decent with only a few bouts of rain early on, but it eventually cleared up and riding around in the back of JK’s Mustang became a highlight of the trip for me. It was a really fun day with our friends that we look forward to doing again once Andrea is able.

Best Project With High Hopes But Least Results:
Writing Anything
I have so many story ideas that I always seem to be working on, but never actually writing. I know it’s a pretty common problem for a lot of author-types and I guess I’m no exception. I keep trying to come up with new ways to get myself to take that next step, but I always seem to find watching a movie or surfing the web to be the way I wind up spending my available writing time. It’s something I want to work on now that I’m done with school, so here’s hoping 2008 will be a more prolific year.

Honorable Mention:
Neatline GIS
I thought I wanted to start a GIS news blog, but that was before I came to realize that there isn’t all that much GIS news out there, so pretty much every GIS website posts the same news. However, another part of Neatline was going to be a sort of professional blog where I would talk about the projects I’m working on. While I still like this idea for whatever reason, I just haven’t done it yet. Maybe I’ll work on that more in 2008 as well.

Best Life-Changing Event:
Finding Out I’m Going to Be a Father
I’d love to put “Becoming a Father” in this spot, but as of right now it just hasn’t happened. Until then I’ll have to put the day I found out Andrea was pregnant. It was a surreal moment when she called me saying, “I think I’m pregnant” and I told her to go out and buy the most expensive, no-confusion test she could find no matter what the cost, and take it again. Sure enough, the digital readout on the test read “Pregnant.” That kicked off seven months of insanity that will be culminating in a little girl entering our lives any day now. The concept of me being a dad is bizarre, but I’m also really excited about it. And the closer it gets the more excited I am.

Honorable Mention:
Finally Graduating From College
While I don’t know if I’ll ever actually use my English degree, the fact that I stuck it out for four years of late nights is something I’m proud of. Now I just have to start paying back those student loans…

Best SMX Entry:
Employee Spotlight
This one was a blast to write, even if it wasn’t all that deep. What’s funny is, I wrote this entry because I never thought the employee newsletter people would ask me to fill out their survey. Well, they DID ask me to fill out the survey earlier this month. My answers, which vary only slightly from what you read here, were in every employee’s paycheck on December 28th. Ahh, irony.

Honorable Mention:
Girl-On-Girl Action!
I haven’t written an entry like this one in a long, long time, so it was nice to get back to sort of a more journalistic approach to the site. That it was telling of the coolness that is flat-track roller derby only made it better.

Thanks for reading for yet another year as I ramble on and on about, well, whatever it is I ramble on and on about. Keep coming back because I can guarantee you that 2008′s entries will be worth reading as I become a father for the first time. I have a feeling I’ll have plenty of topics to write about.

Happy New Year and may 2008 be better for you than 2007.

Whew! What a weekend…

The entire Lammle clan came to our place for Christmas this year, meaning 17 people were crammed into our condo to open gifts and enjoy a time-honored meal of tacos (thankfully they all had hotel rooms for sleep). It was a great to see everyone since we haven’t been able to go home since October due to school conflicts and Andrea’s pregnancy travel lockdown. We even went out and enjoyed an excellent dinner at J. Buck’s to celebrate Christmas and my graduating college. It was quite a fun weekend for all involved. Now we just have to wait until Harper is here to see them all again.

My family left Monday, meaning Andrea and I had a little time to ourselves to clean and prepare for more family members, this time Andrea’s immediate family, for Christmas dinner. We had a gigantic standing rib roast and all the fixings, with plenty of leftovers to enjoy this week. A good time was had by all.

On the baby front, news is sparse. Andrea has been having contractions for a week now, but nothing with any severity or consistency, just the occasional wince-inducing moment. It’s been frustrating because we are definitely ready for Harper to get here. We both know it’s inevitable, but it’s the waiting that’s killing us. The anticipation, wondering when the moment will come when Andrea calls me at work and says, “It’s time.” And, more importantly, getting to meet Harper for the first time. But, I suppose we’ll just have to wait until the little girl is good and ready.

Not much more to tell at the moment, but everyone be on the look out for my annual year-end review of all things pointless. I’m going to start working on it today and will have it posted before January 1. Until then, I hope you all had a great Christmas and will soon have a Happy New Year.

Seven years ago today I started working at the City. It’s pretty crazy for me to think about, really. It’s sort of the epitome of getting stuck, as my “foot in the door” job took me five years to finally get my foot in the door I wanted it in. And what’s funny is, when I moved here, I didn’t know the door I’m in now even existed.

So needless to say, while the last seven years have had their ups and downs, overall I’m happy I’m here. I’ve worked easier jobs, better jobs, but also some that have come pretty close to being worse jobs.

When I think back over the last seven years, I’m just amazed how much my life has changed. When I moved here I was a very overweight, very depressed, pretty angry young man. I was upset, not at any one person (other than myself, perhaps), but just sort of angsty that my plans hadn’t worked out as I had wanted them to. I was supposed to be making six figures selling computers or websites (or both). I was supposed to have a big house, a nice car, a great computer, a giant TV – the whole shebang that you think is important when you’re 25. When I look back, though, I realize that I had no actual “plan”. I just worked as little as I could to keep my job, went home at 5:00, and ate McDonald’s or a pizza while watching TV all night long. I did nothing to improve my situation or myself. I just expected things to come to me. It’s no wonder I was so upset at the world for not delivering.

I don’t really know where it was along the line that I finally figured out that I wasn’t entitled to everything I ever wanted, but it has finally sunk in – at least to the extent it can in America, where the attitude seems to be somewhat of an epidemic. Now I’m much more content to be happy with the things I have in life – a wonderful wife, a baby on the way, a decent roof over our heads, dependable transportation…and at least a fairly good-sized TV.

However it is I got here, I’m glad I made it. I know for a fact that I’m happier now than I was exactly seven years ago today. And I consider myself pretty lucky for being able to say that, because I know not everyone can. Here’s hoping I can say the same thing seven years from today, no matter where I’m working or where I am in life. That’s what we’re all really hoping for, isn’t it?

The Onion A.V. Club has released their rather exhaustive list of the worst band names of the year.

As you know, I have a thing for phrases that could be used as band names, so this was especially amusing to me.

Some of my favorites from the list include:

Mental Afro
Dyslexic Speedreaders
Pistol Whipping Party Penguins
Baboon Torture Division
Penguins With Shotguns
Capitalist Hippie Complex
Candygram For Mongo
Psychedelic Horseshit
Wookie Hangover
The Dead Kenny Gs
Haunting Oboe Music
Doofgoblin
Human Being Lawnmower
Crochet’d Machete
Goat Motor
Car Full Of Midgets

Not all of them make sense. Some are kinda funny. Some are just strange. But they’re all pretty great, even if only in an ironic way.

For the rest of the list, go here.

Be forewarned that a lot of bands are trying to be hardcore or edgy, so they use names that some could definitely find offensive. Personally, I laugh at those bands because their attempts to be hardcore or edgy only come off as juvenile, but I guess that’s sort of what certain types of music are all about, too.

Enjoy!

This is it – my last week of school. Last night was my Linguistics final, which is the main one I was concerned about studying for. It was tough, as every test has been, but I think I did fairly well. I’m thinking it’ll be a B, which I’ll be thrilled with considering the level of difficulty for this class.

Editing is tomorrow night and I’m much more at ease with this one. I knew most of the concepts going in, so I’ve done pretty well in that class, getting all A’s except for one B on the second test of the semester.

It’s really blowing my mind that I’m almost done with school. This has been a constant in my life – really the only constant if you think about it – since 2003, so the idea that it won’t be there next year is kind of a foreign concept. I know I’ll have plenty to occupy my time with Harper coming any day now, but this is different. School has been a source of stress in my life. Enjoyable stress at times, mind you, but stress nonetheless.

Over the last four years, school has kept me up late to study, required I make a one-hour round-trip commute sometimes up to four times in a week, and has made my “normal” end of the day fall somewhere around 8:30 at night. I know it has impacted my health by making me less interested in getting to the gym as much as I once did. I feel like my GIS career has been hurt by my mind being preoccupied with conjugating irregular Spanish verbs, trying to interpret Walt Whitman poems, and writing uninspired papers on the moral shortcomings of the characters in Theodore Dreiser’s “Sister Carrie.” It’s been a huge distraction and has really worn me down. Now I understand why people go to college when they’re 18 instead of the ripe old age of 28.

Yet, like a hostage with Stockholm Syndrome, I feel like I’m going to miss it just a little bit. I know I’m going to be one of those people who is sort of constantly taking some kind of class, even if it’s just for my own personal growth. But the idea that this constant in my life will be gone is a bit disconcerting. I’m already asking myself what I’m going to do after work now. Will I begin watching my favorite TV shows as they air, rather than on the TiVo sometime later in the week? Will I get back to the gym on a daily basis like I used to? Will I read more? write more? sleep more?

It’s funny, because I’m already starting to get the answers to some of these questions. Last night I took my final and was home by about 7:15. I ate dinner, hooked up our TV equipment after a recent entertainment center redesign (I’ll post pictures soon), and then…nothing. I had nothing to do. I watched a TiVo’d Project Runway from a couple of weeks ago that I’d missed and then I got antsy. So I did what anyone with a slight bit of OCD would do – I began cleaning at 11:30 at night. I got our living room back in fairly normal order after the chaos it had become after Andrea had to bring some of her work home with her a few nights this week. I then went to bed a little over an hour later and read…for pleasure. It was a nice feeling. I’m sure this inability to sit still will be with me for another week as I come down from the semester and will probably just start to wane as Harper gets here, which will throw me back into a tizzy. Ahh, the roller coaster of life.

So I look to the next chapter in my life with some trepidation, but mostly with a feeling of relief. It’s been a long road, but I think it’s been worth traveling. That is until I get my first student loan bill in a few months, anyway.