2005: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

Sorry about today’s delay. I had intended to blog from Joe’s Coffee Shop, but today there was no Wi-Fi.

Howdy folks! As I complete my first full calendar year of blogging I want to thank you for taking time out to read. While you know that I am far from happy at all times, I have been as honest as I can be (with the exception of my April Fool’s entry, and the omission of any incriminating business talk).

btw- I’d sure appreciate some comments on things you liked and those you don’t.

Here is how I perceived my 2005…

The Good
Live Music
2005 marked my return to seeing live music. I’m not sure why I hadn’t done this sooner since with the exception of about eighteen months I have made my own schedule. I love live music, especially in small clubs.

100% Less Carjacking
The 2004 event that re-shaped my life forever was my carjacking (see here for more). Thankfully, 2005 saw no violent crime in my life.

[UPDATE @4:28p, link about fixed. Thanks to the person who alerted me to the error]

Walking Off The Pounds, Well At Least I Am Walking
While a relatively new routine, I am really enjoying my walks back to my car. Eventhough I am walking through parts of town that I have driven and run through for the past eleven years, I am seeing Atlanta in new way.

New York! New York!
If you remember my August posts you’ll also remember the fun I had in New York. I have a feeling that there might be a return visit soon. Can you say “shoilet”? I knew you could.

Viva Las Vegas!
Turning forty drinking a Fat Tire with friends on the Las Vegas strip was fantastic!

I Made An Ass Of Myself Fewer Times
No red dress this year.
No Christmas carolling this year.
Fewer drunken nights (at least in public).

I Met (Sometimes Virtually) A Lot Of Interesting People
After a stutter-start, I managed to hook up with the Atlanta Blogging Drunks. By in large they are a really good bunch of people. I look forward to this continuing. I would love to branch out this venture.

The Bad
20 By 40
Whew, did I fuck this one up! My one goal was to drop twenty pounds by my fortieth birthday. As of today I have added a handful of pounds.

As of today I am blaming my weight gain on all of my friends who became pregnant this year; you know who you are!

Let’s Just Say That I Wasn’t Much Of A Chick Magnet
This was an exceptionally “dry” year in the dating category (not that you would read about this subject in this space often anyway).

If I Only Knew Then What I Know Now
On my first night in New York I had the opportunity to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah play, for free no less, and I passed! D’Oh, Fucking d’oh!

No Century Ridden
I had intended to ride a one-hundred mile bike ride in 2005. Good intention, bad execution. In fact, my tires didn’t receive much wear-and-tear this year.

I Still Don’t Speak Any New Languages
Computer languages that is…

I’ve Not Volunteered Nearly Enough
I used to be a dedicated volunteer, mostly for Trees Atlanta. I have no excuses, I’ve been lazy.

The Ugly
My Appearance
Suffice to say I am not pleased with the current state of my life. I figure that this is my life’s half-time. Hopefully, much like Meet The Hashers, I am a second-half team.

This Site’s Appearance
ITP is old and sluggish. I intend a rework nest year (yeah, I know you’ve heard that before).

Top Live Concerts From 2005
Unfortunately, I only started keeping my concert-viewing history in April so I don’t have an accurate account of all the shows I saw. From April to today I attended twenty-five concerts. Here is a list of my favorite shows

  • #6 – The New Pornographers (Variety Playhouse): Being a relative n00b to the New Pornographers I didn’t know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised.
  • #5 – A Fir-Ju Well (The Earl): I am speaking of the first time I saw them this year. This sparked an amazing interest in this band for me. If I manage to see them at The Earl tomorrow night I will have seen them four times in 2005.
  • #4 – Weezer (Tabernacle): I struggled on whether to pick this show over the one I saw with the Foo Fighters in Gwinnett (I know, location, location, location). Honestly, the crowd at the Tabernacle was there to see Weezer, and their energy drove that show to its success.
  • #3 – The Faint / Bright Eyes (Earthlink Live): And I never left the seat I was in! Old Man Paulie was sat with the parents that night. Had I seen the first show the night before, I would have been dancing throughout the The Faint’s set on the second night. [note to self, stop giving a fuck about what other people think of you.]
  • #2 – Bob Mould (Variety Playhouse): Mr. Mould and I have a twenty-plus year musical history. When he and the band launched into Husker Du songs it was like I was eighteen again. There are few people who can replenish my youth; Bob Mould is one.
  • #1 – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (The EARL): I felt like a fucking genius buying my ticket to a sold-out show months in advance. With only one CD to their name, CYHSH brough the house down.

Top CD Picks From 2005
Thanks to the wonders of Atlanta’s used CD stores and the purchase of my iPod, I’ve once again started buying music (although I still want to send out a big Fuck You to the RIAA). Here is a list of my favorite CDs, and I’ve spared you the loading time needed for cover art.

  • #10- Grandaddy “Excerpts From The Diary Of Todd Zilla”: I’ve finally jumped on the Grandaddy bandwagon, and probably as they release their final CD.
  • #9 – The White Stripes “Get Behind Me Satan”: Raw Rock n Roll. I still contend that Meg is a lousy drummer, but their music is uniquely theirs
  • #8 – Bright Eyes “I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning”: Love of hate Conor Oberst, but you should admit that the boy has talent.
  • #7 – Dressy Bessy “Electrified”: Dressy Bessy has a stripped down style. I still curse myself for not making it to their first show at The EARL, and I curse them for cancelling the second.
  • #6 – The New Pornographers “Twin Cinema”: I don’t have much to say, this was (and is) a fun album to hear.
  • #5 – Bloc Party “Silent Alarm”: Bloc Party hit our shores with a bang. I thought that would make me hate their CD, but alas I thought it was a really good product.
  • #4 – …And You’ll Know Us By Our Trail Of Dead “Worlds Apart”: This one should have made my “You Should Have Bought This CD” list. These guys are strange. I still regret not being able to see them live earlier this year (I had a long bike ride the next day).
  • #3 – Sufjan Stevens “Illinois”: Not #1 on my list? What, am I fucking stupid? No! There is a lot I love about this CD, and some that I could easily skip. I still don’t think he will make a release for all fifty states.
  • #2 – Stephen Malkmus “Face the Truth”: Well now, didn’t expect to see this here, did you? Let me state this for the record, Stephen Malkmus is a fucking musical genius! Yes, I did say that!
  • #1 – Clap Your Hands Say Yeah “Clap Your Hands Say Yeah”: Surprise! Okay, if you have been reading this space over the last six months, it’s no surprise. There is only one CD that I could listen to every day, and that is this one. CYHSY had a lot of hype, and people hated them for that. Not everybody liked CYHSY’s musical style, as for me I cannot wait to hear their next release.

note 1: Some Critics’ Choices CDs (for example Kanye West’s, The Decemberists, etc) didn’t make my list because I never got around to buying it (because I never found it used) or got to hear the entire CD.

note 2: 2004 releases (which is why they are not on the list): A Fir-Ju Well — “Absolutely”, Rilo Kiley — “More Adventurous”, The Faint — “Wet From Birth”, Modest Mouse — “Good News For People Who Like Bad News”

Please be safe tomorrow night. I hope to see you all on the other side of New Year’s Eve.

And now for some ideas stolen from LiveJournal…
Current Mood – reflective
Current Music – none, I am listening to the Geek News Central podcast
Website Of The Day – none, I am being lazy today.

If you ever want a quick glance of the sites I’ve picked for my Websites Of The Day, you can check them out on del.icio.us, my user name is InsideThePerimeter (go figure), and they are all tagged as “blogged.”

Exercise (b)Log – sadly none

Cheers!
Paulie [eatl/ga]

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7 Responses to 2005: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly

  1. k1ng says:

    Nice list. I haven’t listened to a few of the albums you mentioned, so I’ll give them a whirl.

    I would recommend you check out ‘The Decemberists – Picaresque’ album. It made the #1 spot on my list (CYHSY made #2).

    Keep up the good work on the site, I look forward to reading it every morning.

    Happy New Years

  2. i must say, i never felt like i was getting too old for things until i went to the trail of dead show at the variety. i swear it took me at least 3 days to recover my hearing.

    btw, i bet a lot of other people are smacking themselves for missing cyhsy because i just made a pretty penny selling my new years eve tickets on craigslist. yay capitalism.

  3. Anonymous says:

    I think you are way too hard on yourself about the weight issue. Why don’t you make a resolution for the New Year not to dwell on the issue on a daily basis? Do want you can and will about the weight and go on with your life. AND maybe you will find a woman that is more concerned with what is going inside your mind than how much you weigh.

  4. Oliver says:

    Have a great New Year Paulie. Looking forward to more good posts, and hopefully will get my blog up and running for your reading enjoyment. From a fellow computer dork, ITP dweller (L5P born and raised), and hoarder of useless knowledge (trivia at Moe’s & Joe’s Wednesday nights).

    And I’m gone…

  5. Paulie says:

    anon: I too agree that I am too hard on myself. My weight (with the exception of about ten years of my life) has always been an issue with me. While this doesn’t make it right, it makes it very hard to ignore.

    Oliver: When you are up, running, and ready to have others read, please let us know. I’ll be happy to stop on by and read your blog.

  6. katlanta says:

    That’s awesome! My top 10 would involve too much school and therefore be boring, so I’m going to borrow your opinions. 😉

    And I know of at least ONE instance where you biked about 32 miles in the SNOW!

  7. Paulie says:

    “And I know of at least ONE instance where you biked about 32 miles in the SNOW!”

    And was saved from freezing to death by the kindess person I know. 🙂

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