Some of My Favorite Things of 2010

2010 sucked. Not just for me, others unfortunately suffered 2010's suckiness as well, but I'm speaking for myself when I say that last year seemed to be one long train wreck starting in January. If you feel the same, thanks, misery enjoys company, as they say. Despite all the hard times, I still managed to have myself a pretty darn good time. I'm a, “the glass is half full” kinda guy. I thought I'd share some of my favorite things from the past year, if for no other reason than to remind myself that it wasn't all bad. And it wasn't, so here goes:

Favorite Movie of 2010

I believe there were 651 movies released in the U.S. in 2010, and I managed to see less than one percent. Still, I saw some pretty awesome movies this past year and Inception was my favorite. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World was a close second, but Inception edged it out. I'm not sure Christopher Nolan has made a bad movie, and if he has I haven't seen it. Yeah, it had some eye popping special effects, but the intricate and engaging plot is what sold me on it. Though a blockbuster release, it wasn't saddled with the usual blockbuster cheese that many suffer from, meaning it wasn't cheesy like Avatar. It's a smart movie that sucks you in with a great story and great characters. When the final credits roll you've had yourself one heck of a movie experience. And Leonardo DiCaprio didn't look like a kid playing a grown up this time.

Favorite Album of 2010

Do we still call them albums? Should I call it a CD?

As I went through the albums I purchased in 2010 (yes, I'm one of the few people that still buys their music and doesn't pirate it) I was aghast to find out that none of them were actually released in 2010! I have several from 2009 that I assumed were released in 2010 because that's when I purchased them. Silly me. With that, let me tell you my favorite album released in 2009, but purchased in 2010; Gov't Mule's Hanging By a Thread. Warren C. Haynes and company never fail to produce pure listening bliss. Hanging By a Thread simply jams from one tune to the next and is all I need to enter the blessed state of a musical coma. Haynes virtuosic guitar playing can be missed in a market saturated by shredders that play as many notes per measure as they humanly can, but no one seems to reveal the soul of the guitar like Haynes, and Hanging By a Thread proves the point. If you're a music fan, do yourself a favor and check The Mule out.

Favorite Book of 2010

I thought I was going to be in the same boat with books as I was with albums. I wound up reading older books this year, like To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee, which, for some reason, I didn't read in junior high school like the rest of the U.S. It's a great book. Also, a friend recommended Stranger In a Strange Land, by Robert A. Heinlein, also a great book. Still, I did manage to read a few books actually released in 2010, my favorite being, Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, by Seth Grahame-Smith. It's a little jaunt through some revisionist history where we see the events that shaped the young Abe into the man that would become one of the greatest presidents of the United States. And if you thought The Civil War was fought over the evil of slavery, well I suggest you give this book a read and find out the real reason! Plus, Lincoln is an ax wielding maniac with a blood lust for vampires. What's not to like?

Favorite Concert of 2010

I had the pleasure of attending some great concerts this past year. A missed a few, too, like Gov't Mule three different times, but alas. This one was a little tough for me because I had two shows that rival to be the best concert I've ever attended, Porcupine Tree and Rush. I saw Porcupine Tree in the smallish and intimate House of Blues, where you feel like your on stage with the band. The mix and guitar tones are the best I've ever heard live, and with a two hour, plus set, I left the venue punch drunk on some progressive rock. I saw Rush in a huge amphitheater where the best view of the band was on the massive screens flanking the stage. But the show had everything, from great videos to accompany the songs to freakin' explosions! Their lighting rig loomed over the stage like a gargantuan robot, flexing with the music. They played everything off of the Moving Pictures album, plus about a million other songs. By the time the show was over, I felt like I'd been pummeled in a three hour pillow fight. With that, Rush gets my nod for favorite concert. Really, the pyrotechnics put them over the top, but hey, I'm a man who appreciates a good explosion. 

Favorite Video Game of 2010

I played some great games this past year.  Roaming the virtual wild, wild west of Red Dead Redemption was pretty neat, and there's something very satisfying about dismembering the infected with a chainsaw in Left 4 Dead 2, but my favorite goes to Super Mario Galaxy 2.  I think it's nothing less than platforming perfection!  Running around as Mario, then later as his brother Luigi, and jumping on Bowser's minions has never been so fun.  Well, Super Mario 64 for the N64 may still be my all time favorite, but Galaxy 2 is right up there in greatness.  The game goes from being super easy to so hard you wind up throwing your controller across the room!  I still have these two stars I just don't seem to have the reflexes to get, but that's one of the reasons the game is great; it keeps you coming back for more punishment...uh, I mean fun.  Nintendo's Wii console has wound up releasing a lot of crappy games since it hit the market, but when they do it right, it's the best, and Super Mario Galaxy 2 is just that, the best!

Favorite Culinary Experience of 2010

I had two finalist here, both of which I wrote about earlier in the year; Meg O'Malley's Irish Breakfast Burger and Munchie's 420 Café's Fat Daddy. The Irish Breakfast Burger is a half pound of charbroiled beef adorned with rashers (bacon), bangers (sausage), grilled tomatoes, caramelized onions, Dubliner cheese, and topped off with a fried egg. My taste buds were hopping with each delicious morsel. The Fat Daddy is this over stuffed monstrosity boasting a cheese burger, a philly cheese steak, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, fried potato wedges and a complement of condiments. It was ridiculous, and very tasty. After much consideration, The Fat Daddy edged out the Irish Breakfast Burger simply because of the amount of food present. Amazingly, every element in the sandwich was distinguishable and complemented the whole, which I didn't think was possible. Plus, I had the worst stomach ache after The Fat Daddy, as I also finished off a side order of spuds and half of Mrs. Muller's cheese steak sandwich. I'm a glutton.

Alright, so I found myself sucking the hind tit most of last year, but 2010 had it's bright moments as well. I'm hoping 2011 will be better, and should be, all thing considered. Thankfully, I had a few pleasant excursions and came away with some good memories in 2010.

So, here's to new adventures and hopes of a wonderful new year! And if you don't have one, it's your fault. Just sayin'.

All the Present I Needed

Behold, The Incredible Hulk Coaster!

My daughter put me up to this post. For some reason she wants the blogosphere to know that she's overcome her fear of roller coasters and has ridden The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Universal Studios' Islands Of Adventure theme park. I have to admit I was a little miffed at first because she did it without me being there, but I got over that and am very proud of her. Congratulations Lili!

Actually, at the age of 14, she's one of the most awesome people I know, her triumph over The Hulk only adding to her awesomeness. She exhibits the kind of character and fortitude most parents dream of in their children. Personally, she's my calm in the storm of life and the one person I know I can go to when I need a bit of sanity. That's a lot to expect from a 14 year old, but she seems to shoulder the responsibility without a complaint. And she could complain, with what she's gone through.

RSD Awareness

Lili (my nickname for her) has a chronic condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), a neurological syndrome in which she experiences continuous pain even though there is no physical trauma. It's like the neurological wiring of the reflex sympathetic nervous system is short circuited. She describes the feeling in her left leg as being on fire. Like it's burning! It took a lot of physical therapy to get her to walk without crutches and then allow anything to touch her leg; pants, sheets, water from a bath, anything.

On top of physical therapy, she's had spinal blocks, which helped her into partial remission, and hyperbolic oxygen therapy, where she was subjected to a pressurized chamber that allowed her blood to be saturated with oxygen, in hopes of curing her. As she lay in that chamber, holding back tears, being strong for her mom and me, we both knew we'd made a mistake. All it accomplished were her tears and the drainage of my wallet.

Oh, and there was the nutritional supplement that supposedly cured everything. Well, it didn't cure anything, and further drained my wallet.

Our biggest fear is an injury to any part of her body, because the RSD could potentially spread to the injured area. Mrs. Muller and I actually fear roller coasters because of the whipping around and banging that goes on, all potential injuries. She recently had to miss her best friend's birthday party because it was a skate party and I couldn't chance an injury. I think she still holds that against me.

But she never complains.

The Muller and Lili

This year, when she was asked what she wanted for Christmas, she said the latest Taylor Swift CD. She knew money was very tight this year and didn't want to burden Mrs. Muller and I with the disappointment of not getting her what she really wanted, which was the the latest generation iPod Touch. Well, we did what many people do these days, we scrimped here and saved there, held that bill over 'til later, and got her the iPod Touch. I have to tell you, the look on her face when she opened it was all the present I needed on Christmas morning.

Hey, she's that awesome. Awesome enough to ride The Hulk, and awesome enough to get what she wanted for Christmas. She's let me play with it a little, too, so maybe she's over that birthday party thing after all.

Yeah, she might have put me up to this post, but I'm glad I did it. And did I mention she's awesome?

Please Make It Stop! A Short List of Annoying Christmas Songs

Nothing says, “Happy Birthday, Jesus,” quite like the incessant drone of Christmas music. One of the local radio stations in my neck of the woods starts the musical barrage Thanksgiving day and doesn't let up until December 26^th. Being that my family and I have succumbed to the avarice and hedonism that define the holiday season, I find myself confronted (or more aptly put, affronted) with all the musical Christmas joy one can stand. It's a wonder I don't go insane with all that joy.

With that, I thought I'd compile a short list of the songs I find most vexing. These tunes start out innocuous enough at the beginning, but by Christmas day are on my last olfactory nerve. The songs range from egregious to “please make it stop!”, but that order can change depending on my mood. I've also included a link to the song, because I can be sadistic like that. Enjoy!

Dominick the Italian Christmas Donkey

Why is there an Italian Christmas donkey? Was there a donkey at the manger (that's where Jesus was born, for all you heathens)? Was it as obnoxious sounding as the one in the song? If it was, I'm sure Joseph would have run that thing out!  Kids love the silly songs, and I bet the first time I heard this one, like thirty years ago, I probably thought it was cute, too. But now, I just want it to shut up.

Christmas Shoes

Don't get me wrong, it's a beautiful song and the story is very touching, but after getting all jacked up on Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer and The 12 Days of Christmas, this song is a killjoy! I thought Christmas was all about presents, parties, and other over indulgences. I know that to admit this I might have to turn in my man card, but this song has made me cry, and there's no crying at Christmas!

 Wonderful Christmas Time

Paul McCartney is a great song writer and performer, so it pains me to have to throw this one into the mix. My daughter loves this song and didn’t want me to include it, but that staccato synthesizer noise running throughout the song assaults my head like a jackhammer. And lyrically it's simply banal. Now, I like a humdrum Christmas song as much as the next guy, but this one gets irritating as it repeats, “simply having a wonderful Christmas time,” somewhere near 3000 times. I really want to, but not with this song playing.

Alvin and the Chipmunks:The Christmas Song

Do I really need to say anything here? Six year old’s love it, but it's "fingers to the chalkboard" for me. Ross Bagdasarian Sr., the creator and voice for the original Chipmunks, won a couple of Grammy awards for engineering that crazy chipmunk sound. I didn't know they handed out Grammys for sadism. My daughter likes this one too, and being a loving father I endure it for her sake. Barely.

Last Christmas

From the band, Wham! I could just pass this one off as some 80's pop pap if I heard it once or twice a holiday season, but they play it unmercifully all the time! George Michael whining about heartbreak simply does not encourage Christmas cheer!  And George creeping around public bathrooms looking for an “incidental hook-up” is bad, but it pales in comparison to the evil wrought by this supposed Christmas song. If I never hear this one again, it'll be too soon.

I'd like to make a few honorable mentions here; like Stevie Nick's scary rendition of Silent Night, Jars of Clay's odd sounding Little Drummer Boy and the tiresome Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer. I'm sure you have your picks for most annoying Christmas songs, so let me know what they are. At this point in the holiday season there's a good chance I’ll agree with you.

And with that, I'd like to say to all of you that celebrate Christmas, have a good 'un. If you don't, well have a good 'un anyway.

A Gift For My Favorite Guitarist

I love music. Music is my drug of choice, the place I go when I need an escape, the poignancy in a sometimes pointless life. There's music for every moment, be it in the pit of despair or in the highest of euphoria, and all places in between. Music compliments and gives definition, it takes the mundane and makes it beautiful. I love music.

I exclude rap from my praise, as I have a tough time calling it music. That's just me.

I find that my favorite instrument to emote the grandeur of music is the guitar. Though not possessing the octave range of a piano, the guitar is the most versatile instrument for musical expression that I can think of. Every style of music can be more than adequately represented through it's strings and no other instrument can sing the soul of the musician like a guitar. It's also one of the most accessible instruments, in that it's easy to learn and inexpensive. I've heard some amazing music come from self taught musicians on cheap equipment.

My son, losing at Scrabble.

There is quite an impressive pantheon of great guitar players in the world with an equally impressive amount of work to keep an enthusiast like myself engrossed. And I have my favorites; Julian Bream, Phil Keaggy, Stevie Ray Vaughn, John Petrucci, just to name a few. I'm sure other guitar enthusiast are familiar with those names. Still, my favorite player is one you haven't heard about, maybe never will, but someone I have the distinct pleasure to listen to on a regular basis; my son.

I bet you didn't see that one coming, did you?

He's become an exceptional player. I think he got interested in the guitar from watching me play, though he might not admit that. I'm not very good, so after a year of lessons and practicing until his fingers were sore, he surpassed my meager abilities. My wife and I thought to get him some quality equipment one year for Christmas, an acoustic Washburn in our price range, and with that guitar he continued to excel. It was joyful to behold.

"Ghettocaster and "Good Acoustic" on an animal comforter.

Maybe three years ago now, I won an electric guitar at a raffle during The Winter Garden Music Festival here in my home town. It was a low end Fender Stratocaster, black with a white faceplate and poor electronics, but he took to it like he was in love. He dubbed it “The Ghettocaster” and it's known as such by all his friends to this day. Soon he was tearing through Stevie Ray Vaughn's work like I wish I could. David Gilmour was another favorite of his to learn, and I used to marvel to hear him play the lead to Comfortably Numb, arguably considered the greatest guitar lead of all time.

This year, Christmas spending has been limited, because my income is extremely limited. Still, I was able to find a gift I believe my son will enjoy and appreciate. It's a Lace Sensor Red Red Dually pickup for The Ghettocaster. He loves to modify The Ghettocaster and has turned it into something of a quality piece of equipment. Even though he practices to play like John Petrucci and Michael Romeo, he really wants to sound like Johnny Greenwood, and the Red Red Dually gets him closer to it.

I got the idea to buy him equipment after we visited a used music store that just opened by the Irish pub in town. We walked in and played guitars, some very nice one's, too, looked at amplifiers and drum kits. The owner escorted us about and told us to play anything we wanted. As we stood by a drum kit my son asked me, “So, do you still suck?” He was referring to the fact that I haven't played drums in a while. He picked up a Fender Telecaster and I drum sticks, and we jammed. The owner was also a drummer and joined in. We made a beautiful noise! My son picked this little number that alternated time signatures between 4/4 and 3/4, throwing off the owner, and me most of the time. After that he wanted to do “this thing I think is in 7/4”, giving use a chance to show off our drum licks and him his riffing ability. It was a blast! After the jam and leaving the store, he told me, “I really liked your fills. They were good.” I took that as quite a compliment coming from a musician of his talent.

I was able to find the Red Red Dually at a half off discount and knew it was the right gift. It was right for him, and it was right for my wallet. So, The Ghettocaster will get some further modifications and I'll get to hear more wonderful music. I'm pretty fortunate; I was able to find a great gift for my favorite guitar player, and I reap the benefit. Yeah, I'm fortunate, indeed.