31 December 2009

It's about that time... Maggie's Top 9s of '09

Because anyone can do a top 10, I decided to compile my top 9s.  When I look back on the year, here's the stuff I'll remember, or want to remember.  These are my personal top 9s in no particular order ('cept maybe chronological here and there), so yours may be completely different.  What's on your list?

Here goes:

Top 9 Songs of '09
  1. "Sleepytime" - Blitzen Trapper
  2. "Fresh Air" - Brother Ali
  3. "40 Day Dream" - Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes
  4. "Universal Mind Control" - Common
  5. "Help I'm Alive" - Metric
  6. "The Mountain" - Heartless Bastards
  7. "Sleepyhead" - Passion Pit
  8. "The Devil and Maggie Chascarillo" - Lucero
  9. "Dance Anthem of the '80s" - Regina Spektor

  • Honorable Mention: "Carpetbaggers" - Jenny Lewis feat. Elvis Costello (came out in 2008, but I didn't hear it until this year), and "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" - Ida Maria


Top 9 TV Episodes of '09
  1. "The Incident" - LOST, 13 May 2009.  Effectively, their last chance at a season finale cliffhanger, as next season will be its last.
  2. "Meet Jane Doe" - Dollhouse, 11 December 2009.  This episode took the show forward in leaps and bounds, explored the relationship between Echo and Ballard, showed the genius of Topher, the evils of Rossum, and the cutthroat ruthlessness of Adelle DeWitt.
  3. "Mr. Monk and the Foreign Man" - Monk, 14 August 2009.  I've seen all of this final season save the finale, which is probably fantastic, and I'm saving it up for a Monk Marathon with my mother.  However, this episode was absolutely heartbreaking, and really shows the depths of the character as well as how far he's come over the course of the show.
  4. "The Window" - How I Met Your Mother, 7 December 2009.  Best episode in a long time.  Does a great job of getting back to the fantastic cold openings of the first couple of seasons, and lays the groundwork for Ted meeting his kids' mother soon.  Also, includes my name as an acronym (Make Adjustments; Go Get It Energized!), and Jason Segal with a rat-tail.
  5. Episode 2 - The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brian, 2 June 2009.  What can I say - the first appearance of "Twitter Tracker," seemingly-coked-out Tom Hanks is interviewed and later hit by a meteor (which he then signs), and Conan's shopping spree on Rodeo Road.  FANTASTIC.
  6. Episode 57 - Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, 2 June 2009.  Yes, normally I hate this show because Jimmy Fallon is an idiot, a tool, and a terrible host, but this episode had Steve Martin and Paul Simon interviewing each other and ignoring the host.  A good host would not have let it go on as long as it did... a great host would have rolled with being verbally bitch-slapped by Paul Simon.  Jimmy Fallon didn't do either of these things, and it was FANTASTIC.
  7. "And In the End..." - ER, 2 April 2009.  I've been watching this show ever since it was on past my bedtime, and seeing it wrap up was an amazing treat.  The final episode was shockingly similar to the pilot, but was a true-to-form send-off for the show. 
  8. "Both Sides Now" - House, 11 May 2009.  Another season finale, but a good one.  Any show that brings back dead characters as a result of an elaborate hallucination due to excessive use of Vicodin is okay in my book... especially here.  That, and the patient had Alien Hand Syndrome which is... just... badass.
  9. "Wheels" - Glee, 11 November 2009.  A mid-season spectacle from newcomer Glee.  Highlights: the kids singing "Proud Mary" while performing on wheelchairs, the "diva-off" between Kurt and Rachel to see which would get to sing "Defying Gravity", the bake sale with "special" cupcakes, and, of course, the most poignant and honest representation of Sue Sylvester to date.  Also, Terri Schuster didn't appear, which was a welcome reprieve.

Top 9 News Stories of '09 (world events)
  1. January 20: Barack Obama is inaugarated the 44th President of the United States.
  2. June 11: H1N1, the strain of influenza known as "swine flu" is officially recognized as reaching pandemic levels.
  3. June 25: Michael Jackson's death far overshadows Farrah Fawcett's, becoming one of the biggest news stories of the year, and causing BET to have the best and most awesome music video marathon I've ever seen.
  4. July 22: The longest solar eclipse on record occurs over Asia and the Pacific, lasting up to almost 6 minutes and 39 seconds in some areas.
  5. August 16: Relatively unknown Y. E. Yang delivers a crushing defeat to Tiger Woods at Hazeltine.
  6. September 12: The Gopher's football team returns to the U of M campus with the opening of TCF Bank Stadium.
  7. October 2: The International Olympic Committee awards the 2016 Summer Games to Rio de Janeiro, making them the first to host in South America.
  8. Early October: The Metrodome closes out its last season as the home field for the Minnesota Twins (the 11th).  Brett Favre becomes the first quarterback to have defeated all 32 NFL franchises (the 5th).  The stadium's name changes to Mall of America Field at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome.
  9. November 3: Election Day - The Twin Cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis elect to keep their respective mayors, Chris Coleman and R.T. Rybak.


Top 9 Events of '09 (for me)
  1. I left the country for the first time in January, and lived on a boat off the coast of Honduras for a week, spending my days SCUBA diving and napping on deck, and my nights trying not to brain myself on the bulkheads.
  2. My oldest friend, Kat Krantz, had her baby girl, Irene Therese, in late January, and I got to be there with her for the delivery of my first "nitch" (it's like "niece," but not).
  3. March marked the opening of my Etsy shop and the grand design and introduction of http://www.bymaggie.com/, my costuming website.
  4. My little sister, Katie, graduates from college near the end of May, marking the last member of our family to graduate officially from the College of St. Catherine before the name change to St. Catherine's University on June 1st.
  5. July through August, I learned the hard way what it's like to have people who I thought were my friends completely turn on me, insulting me in every way possible, and leaving me in debt.  I am left so hurt from the experience that going to what was one of my favorite places is now nearly impossible.
  6. August 28: My sister's boyfriend, Tony, officially asks her to marry him.  About damn time.
  7. Early October - my beloved PT Cruiser, Elliot, takes a turn for the worse, and racks up a total of $4000 in potential repair costs.  I instead replace her with one of my dream cars, a Jeep Wrangler, and learn to drive a manual.
  8. End of October: My roommates, Kathy and Brent, welcome little Illyanna Lunasa Gallup-Strom into the world, and allow me to be a part of the journey that was bringing that adorable, happy, smart, smiley punk kid into the world.  I gain another "nitch," and discover that my maternal instincts have keyed up.  Interesting.
  9. In December, I decided to primarily make or buy handmade Christmas presents, making me super-extra busy for the month.  Another entry to follow about that!
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