Robo-Post: The Top Stuff That Wasn't TV of 2007

Hmmm....

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Because I can't remember the last book I stayed up late to finish.

Transformers-Because I am a child of the 80's and I still have the race car transformer in my room in my parents house.

iPhone-Even though I don't have one, I still think it's the single coolest invention this year.

Oh! Duh! And talking to you James! You're the highlight of my work day! (That and seeing how batsh%$ crazy the commenters over at Swampland get. Seriously. Those guys need to take a lithium and watch some Pushing Daisies.)

Chaddog? Karma? We're waiting!

Sound of Silver is the CD of the year, along with Of Montreal's newest (I'm not typing out that name, it's just too damn much)

Mine has nothing to do with entertainment and will probably be viewed as strange by others.

My wife's homemade tortilla soup is to die for. Any day she makes it is a special day.

My Petzl Tikka Plus LED Headlamp. I'm an Assistant Scoutmaster for my son's Boy Scout Troop. If you've ever had to set tents up in the dark and cold, you'll find that a headlamp that keeps your hands free is the best piece of equipment you don't want to leave home without.

My 150 lbs. Great Dane/Bull Mastiff mix dog Jake who passed away from old age (12 years) this summer. He was such a great dog, there literally is no dog who could ever replace him.

It is the simple things in life that make it special. I could go on, but I don't want to bore you.

Happy New Year all!!!

This speaks to the geek I am, but the anticipation leading up to and the arrival of HP & the Deathly Hallows really was a highlight of my year. Other high notes:

Books: I Love You Beth Cooper (Doyle), Sammy's House (Gore), My Antonia (not at all new - but I read it in 2007 for the first time and loved it)

Movies: Dan in Real Life, Juno, Across the Universe (bizarre but amazing)

CDs: Juno's soundtrack and Jimmy Eat World's Chase This Light

And, of course, discovering this site in particular and Time.com in general as ideal ways to pass the less interesting parts of my day

(@ C. Brown - I, too, am consistently amazed at the anger/insanity emanating from Swampland...)

2007 Highlights

1. Signed up for the daily emails of "tuned in." Even being so lazy, reading your blog is unavoidable as it comes directly into my inbox. Now how cool is that?

2. Movies: Juno and Waitress were two of the best new movies i saw this year. Incidentally, both involving unwanted pregnancies. If i had a biological clock, i'd read more into this.

3. Music: If you liked LCD, you may find THE RAPTURE (band) to be to your liking as well. Not sure if any members of the rapture went to school with Mrs. Tuned-In though.

4. Got into The 4400. Heroes has nothing on this show. Nothing. It's recent cancellation proves how clueless, network execs are when it comes to monetizing a great show. With some more marketing dollars, better marketing and a move to a network with a wider audience (the NBC-parent), this show could have easily been the hit that Lost is. But I'm sure if that had happened, the networks would have found a way to water down the plot, stretch out the story lines and generally bland-down the show. Maybe its a blessing that it stayed under the radar for four great seasons.

2007 Lowlights

1. The Cancellation of John from Cincinatti. Never really got it, but every week, i'd be glued to the TV trying to make sense of John's babble. Something about it kept me watching. i still maintain that given enough time, it would have turned into something incredible. It felt more like a series of great moments rather than any cohesive plot.

2. Flight of the Conchords. Incredibly talented musician/comedians that couldn't translate their act to the screen.

The list goes on.

Would I look like I was sucking up if I said this blog? I discovered it after I was combing the Internet for anyone who could make any kind of sense out of the Soprano's finale and I've been hooked ever since. Also, I'm so glad you robo post, because I check this thing all week and I think I would go through withdrawal if nothing new came up.

Also, unrelated to 2007 ... I just heard that Colbert and Stewart are going back on the air Jan. 6 2008 or something like that. Very exciting!!!

1) Discovering Jim Butcher novels. The Dresden Files and Codex Alera are some great reads.

2) Discovering New Music, including LCD Sound System and Scissor Sisters.

3) Listening to podcasts. I finally have something to do at work!

Alan, you just made me very sad by telling me that the 4400 would not be coming back. ARGGGG!

1) The conclusion of the Harry Potter series

2) Radio Paradise - an unbelievably wonderful Internet radio station

3) MSM and the 2008 Presidential campaign. You can't make up something as idiotic and comical as the mainstream media's never-ending obsession with every breath of the candidates 24 hours a day all year.

Scott Pilgrim, a great graphic novel series by Oni Press that just rocked HARD.

Oh, and the book The Blind Side by Michael Lewis, but that might have actually come out in 2006 and not 2007.

I just saw Juno. So also, Juno.

Thanks all who took me up on my transparent effort to get you to say "this blog," and also, all the rest of you. Happy new year.

Wow, tough question. A few select choices of things that I "got into" in 2007, non-television division:

- Amy Winehouse (the music, not the train-wrecked person who clearly needs "Rehab")
- Friday Night Lights: okay, an exception to the "non-television" rule above, but EVERYONE needs to be watching this show, and I recommend starting in the first season.
- Superbad: finally, a movie where teenage guys talked EXACTLY like me and my friends talked when we were teenagers
- Waitress: caught it on DVD, and since other people threw it out there, I thought I'd echo it's excellence
- The Wire: Another exception to the non-TV rule, and again, another show EVERYONE should run out and catch up with on DVD...I'm shocked that I love a gritty, realistic portrayal of the Balitmore drug trade and its impact on everyone in the city as much as I do, but it is honestly amazing.
- Once: RUN to get this DVD. A touching story of a busker in Ireland who "finds" his voice thanks to a beautiful Czech girl. A movie "musical" that is in no way contrived.
- getentertainmental.com: a fantastic blog, run by a friend.
- TV on DVD and the Internet: ABC.com has the best TV broadcast website, hands down (honestly, CBS, fire your web broadcast division); in the age of Netflix/Blockbuster online, TV watching has been revolutionized thanks to DVD.
- The Killers, Arcade Fire, the soundtrack to "I'm Not There", Scissor Sisters, Solomon Burke, Justin Timberlake, The Frames, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West's "Graduation", Wilco, Big & Rich, CSS, The Distants, and many more: a partial soundtrack of my year.
- "Standing Up" by Steve Martin: a fascinating study of the stand-up career of one of the best stand-up comics ever.
- Flags of Our Fathers: an amazing book.
- The pushed-up Iowa Caucus: way too early (which probably makes a 3rd party, Bloomberg candidacy more attractive), way too many candidates (really, did we need to hear from Kucinich and Alan Keyes?), but without a sitting president or vice-president, WAY TOO fascinating on both sides (although as a "conservative", I'm truly disappointed in my choices on the Republican side, since no one represents my views with any semblance of sanity...sorry Ron Paul, but you're insane).
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: a non-stop action movie on paper, and the perfect conclusion to one of the greatest literary series of all time. J.K. Rowling - I'll follow your writing wherever you choose to go from now on.
- "Slam" by Nick Hornby: I'm about 30 pages in to this book, and I can't begin to express how wonderful it is to have this author's nuanced understanding of the male psych back in my life.
- EW.com, Michael Ausiello and Matt Roush on TVGuide.com, Alan Sepinwall's blog linked on the right of James' site, Watch with Kristen on E! Online: my go-to "sources" for TV news and reviews, non "Tuned-In" division.
- And, of course, Tuned-In: a truly special and small community (at least when we're not discussing Don Imus, who I still feel is entirely culturally irrelevant). James - thanks for all the hard work, and great writing. If you and Robo-James ever leave, it would put a great void in my internet surfing life...

A few tops of '07:

The iPhone... even after paying $200 too much on the day it was released; it's still something that folks want to look at and play with from day to day.

The Bourne Ultimatum: A wonderfully constructed and plotted conclusion to one of the best movie trilogies of all time. Confirms Paul Greengrass' prowess as an action director.

Speaking of great movie trilogies, some fantastic, uber-geeky four- and five-disc special edition releases of the Lord of The Rings movie soundtracks (that's four discs per movie) were heaven for mouth-breathing fans of the movies such as myself.

Tom Brady's 2007 MVP season (tonight's game notwithstanding). Great season, even better since he was my fantasy QB as well.

Maverick... a really well-rounded roller coaster that opened in '07 at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Great mix of elements-- launch, loops and theming-- resulting in a great ride.

The Deathly Hallows was a fine finish to the series, too. Wondering if Universal will be able to create the 2009 attraction impressive enough that it will make the '09 best-of list...

Chaddog, Nick Hornby has a new book? Well thanks for letting me know.

@Karma - Yes, and I finished it. A truly amazing story about Tony Hawk, time travel, and teen pregnancy, of all things. I recommend it very highly - not as good as High Fidelity or All the Way Down, but still a quick, entertaining (and, at times, painfully poignant) read.

highlights:
- i don't care what anyone else says, the last of the sopranos was incredible, and i thought the ending, though it wasn't some in-your-face event that tied up all loose ends, was an appropriate (almost poignant, really) way to end it show. i know that's tv, but still.

-joining a csa (community-supported agriculture) group. i get fresh, organic, local, seasonal produce on the regular. AND i get to help plant/harvest it. how fun!

-blonde redhead's most recent album, "23". radiohead's latest effort is up there, too.

-paste magazine. just discovered it. actual music journalism, none of that self-important rolling stone nonsense.

seeing minus the bear live.

ian mcewan's book "saturday." it was released a few years ago, but i just read it in the spring. great piece of fiction.

lowlights:
-that lcd soundsystem album was SO hyped, and while "all my friends" and "north american scum" have both been included in every playlist i've made in recent months, the rest of the songs strike me as extremely lackluster.

-music theory class. no one told me it would feel so much like math.

bonnaroo. '06 was so good! '07 was just dusty and jam-packed with girls complaining about not getting to shower for three days. oh, and the police.

@Chaddog, I'm not allowed to read High Fidelity anymore because everytime I do (I've read it 3 times) my relationship at the time ends. My current girlfriend bought it for me but keeps it with her and won't let me read it =(.

@Rachel B, Blonde Redhead's owned. Loved that album.

@James, Check out Les Savy Fav if you like LCD Soundsystem. Similar sound, a little more instrumental than electronic but freaking awesome.