Ok, this is a new one, haven't heard of photo tag before, but I guess I'll play along. It said to go to My Pictures, open the 4th folder, and post the 4th picture in said folder. Here we are. My fourth folder happened to be one of my FMA folders, and this image, I believe, is from the manga. Edward Elric is in the foreground, and his brother Alphonse (the suit of armor) is in the background, and as per usual, it looks like they're causing some destruction. This may even be a manga cover from an early volume, I forget. I got it ages ago from a picture request thread on the ASMB.
I had the greatest dream last night, and the best part was that I remember it so vividly. It seemed like a combination of some of the things I miss most and am most excited for in the coming months, and included people I haven't seen in ages. The first part of the dream involved theatre, and somehow some people, including a girl named Chelsea from my high school drama class, were putting an impromptu play on in my living room, which looked like a black box theatre. There was a pulley system on the curtain rods for drops, and Chels asked if anyone knew the fly lines, because they needed help. I said I did, since it was something I did well in college, and I remember also that the play was based on Fruits Basket, one of my favorite anime, and that they were using my mom's spider lamp for spotlights on a mobile that hung from a pipe with stuffed animals from the anime on it. Next thing I know I'm at a sort of B&B that reminded me of our retreat campus for school, called Baca, with a group of my friends, and we're all getting ready to go see the drag races. I realized that my two favorite racers, Tony and Cruz Pedregon, were staying there too, and talked for a bit with Cruz, which is unusual, since he's not as talkative or outgoing as his brother Tony. Then I was sitting outside with friends including my friend Matt from college, who was being a bit of a crybaby for some reason about a giant lollipop shaped like a teddy bear, and my friend Taylor from high school, who was showing me some tattoos on her chest, some which looked real and others that looked like she'd drawn them in marker. I woke up excited and hyper, looking forward to the race. I think this came from my dad saying we might try to go to the one in Phoenix in February, which we've never been to before. I think Baca came into the dream because I'm hoping to go there if I'm allowed to see my friends for our annual retreat with the school's Catholic Community. I only have a couple years left where there will be students I know well and am close to in the community since the ones who were freshmen when I was a senior are graduating next year. I have no idea how the random people wound up there, since I haven't thought about most of them in a while, but it was interesting nonetheless. As for theatre, it's one of the things I miss most from school. I loved working there in the drama department and learning all the different building and technical skills, then seeing the product of my work when the show went up, and then venting any frustration as I helped take it down.
My Best of List for 2008, mostly at Kate's urging, but I did have fun thinking about these things. And now on, with no further ado.
Best Film: Dark Knight- This was a worthy successor to Batman Begins. I have a soft spot for Batman anyway, and Christian Bale makes him that much more drool-worthy. Heath Ledger was spectacular and left an unforgettable Joker etched in all our memories. Aaron Eckhart was a very strong Harvey Dent, and the cinematography and all Batman's new toys were amazing. Fingers crossed for at least a couple Oscars for this film, including a very much-deserved Best Actor awarded posthumously to Mr. Ledger.
Best TV Show: Jon & Kate + 8- Currently TLC's highest rating show, this follows the family life of the Gosselins, who have a pair of 8 year old twins, Mady and Cara, and a set of 4 year old sextuplets, Alexis, Hannah, Aaden, Collin, Leah, and Joel. Very realistic, and no touchy subjects avoided. We get to see the sweet moments, the tantrums and meltdowns, and even fights between Jon and Kate, not to mention opinions and insights from the adults and older children...even a bit from the little ones, now that they're able to articulate thoughts and feelings. Very refreshing to see a real family that you can agree and disagree with and not feel like you're stepping on toes.
Best Anime: One Piece- I've seen plenty of anime that are way better than One Piece, but since I first started it this year and enjoyed it way more than I expected to, it gets the honors. My original opinions were formed by the 4Kids dub, which was frankly horrible, but FUNi got hold of it and made vast improvements. I'm dying to find out what happens next, and also interested in starting the manga, if I can afford it. Honorable mentions: Shin Chan and Baccano! Neither of these won for various reasons, but again, I enjoy them and am looking forward to seeing more.
Best Manga: Fruits Basket- I know I've been reading this for some time, but it takes the top over any of the other things I've read in the past few years. From a somewhat silly story about people changing into animals under unusual circumstances, it's become a powerful and heartfelt story of love, trust, betrayal, and very real people trying to deal with all this on top of their zodiac curse. There are two issues left in the English release, things are starting to fall apart for the Sohma family, Tohru is caught in the thick of it, and I'm so worried about Kyo's fate that if it goes the way I don't want it to I'll be throwing things. I just wish the anime could get this far and hadn't stopped after the most minor of all the dramatic moments of the series.
Best Book: The Harry Potter Series- Again, not the first time I've read any of these, and certainly not something new from this year, but since I've been reading so much literary criticism and studying them so intensively with the intention of writing a critical paper on them as part of my entrance package for grad school that I've come to love them on a whole deeper level. A powerfully written story of the classic hero's journey with memorable characters, magic, mystery, and real emotion that lets you relate to the characters to a point I've rarely experienced without reading an autobiography. Honorable Mention: JRR Tolkien: A Biography- Heightened my respect for my absolute favorite writer of all time, and realizing his very strong ideals and values and everything that he's been through that led him to create Middle-Earth and the races and situations that make me long to be an Elf...nuff said.
Best Sports Moment: Cruz Pedregon's NHRA championship- He started the season not doing so well, making adjustments to new aspects of his car and getting a feel for those adjustments as a driver...you could say he started out in a rebuilding year, not expecting to shine. First an inconsistent car, and then an inconsistent driver were definitely against him. He made it to finals several times, but until right before the end of the season he hadn't won any, though he was still sixth in points. Three wins and a couple of key losses by points leader Tim Wilkerson put Cruz in a place he hasn't been for 18 years: Points leader and championship winner for the year. Looking forward to another great season by him and his brother Tony!
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