2010 : Year of the Big Leap

5th ANNUAL "END OF THE YEAR REPORT" for 2010

See Last Year's Report

BEST MOVIES
(1) Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows pt. 1
(2) Blue Valentine
(3) Scott Pilgrim vs the World
(4) The Social Network
(5) Somewhere
(6) Inception
(7) Paranormal Activity 2
(8) Black Swan
(9) True Grit
(10) Exit Through the Gift Shop

WORST MOVIES
(1) Skyline
(2) Cop Out
(3) Killers
(4) Tooth Fairy
(5) Clash of the Titans

BEST TELEVISION
(1) Community
(2) Mad Men
(3) Lost
(4) Terriers
(5) Rubicon
(6) Glee
(7) It's Always Sunny / The League
(8) The Good Wife
(9) The Walking Dead
(10) Bored to Death

WORST TELEVISION
(1) The Defenders
(2) Chase
(3) Blue Blood
(4) $#*)%@# My Dad Says
(5) Outsourced

FAVORITE BOOK (Not Year Specific)
(1) The Clash of Kings
(2) The Game of Thrones

Hopefully, I'll get to a point where I'm caught up and reading books that are of that year... but it's hard.  So many words... and I have so many...

BEST VIDEO GAMES
(1) Mass Effect 2
(2) Alan Wake
(3) Heavy Rain
(4) Bioshock 2
(5) Darksiders


Although, I haven't played Red Dead yet but I'm on it soon...

BEST ALBUM
(1) Beach House TEEN DREAM
(2) Sufjan Stevens AGE OF ADZ
(3) Vampire Weekend CONTRA
(4) Kanye West MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY
(5) Sleigh Bells TREATS
(6) Crystal Castles CRYSTAL CASTLES (II)
(7) Arcade Fire THE SUBURBS
(8) Broken Bells BROKEN BELLS
(9) The Radio Dept. CLINGING TO A SCHEME
(10) Daft Punk TRON: LEGACY OST

BEST SONGS 

(1) FUTILE DEVICES Sufjan Stevens
(2) 10 MILE STEREO Beach House
(3) BY SOME MIRACLE Philip Selway
(4) TAXI CAB Vampire Weekend

(5) RUNAWAY Kanye West

(6) MALL & THE MISERY Broken Bells

(7) DOMESTIC SCENE The Radio Dept.

(8) WE USED TO WAIT Arcade Fire
(9) GONNA GET ALONG WITH YOU NOW She & Him
(10) YOU Gold Panda
(11) TAKE IT EASY Surfer Blood
(12) WHO MAKES YOU MONEY Spoon
(13) SUFFOCATION Crystal Castles
(14) BOYFRIEND Best Coast
(15) ON MELANCHOLY HILL Gorillaz


HONORABLE MENTION
BED INTRUDER Antoine Doniel & Gregory Bros.
RILL RILL Sleigh Bells

BEST WEBSITES

(1) Huffington Post

(2) Twitter

(3) Facebook

(4) ESPN: Fantasy Football!

(5) Google My Maps

BEST FOODS

(1) Tostino's Pizza

(2) Chicken Pot Pies

(3) Ice Cream

(4) Homemade Donuts

(5) Thanksgiving Subs (Turkey, Stuffing, Cranberry... on a roll)

BEST (Personal) IDEAS

(1) Not Working Almost All Year

(2) Making 2 28

(3) Fear Between Vultures

(4) Refocusing My Perspective & Direction

(5) Investing in Myself

WORST (Personal) IDEAS

(1) Forgetting My Health/Diet

(2) Pressing a Programmer for More Information, after getting a very nice and sympathetic rejection letter.

(3) ***** (GH?)

(4) Dropping Bowe & TO in my Fantasy League

(5) Not Working All Year... loans, credit cards...

FAVORITE MONTH

September: Fantasy Football, finishing my film with all its promise ahead of it, a great birthday thanks to Eric & Aurora & Scott... I just felt ready to tackle the world.

FAVORITE DAY

Birthday, Sept 26th: Won my first game of Fantasy Football, got to see Beach House & Vampire Weekend at the Bowl, spent it with good friends.

FAVORITE MOMENT

Watching a tree dance in the wind during CONTRA sung by Vampire Weekend.  I used to watch trees move in the wind to music whenever I had a bad day and it was always so comforting, as if nature was making me smile.

WORST MONTH

March, my manager & I got into a disagreement about the film and ended up breaking up.  It felt like my last break up.  I didn't think the film would happen.  I missed my ex and I longed for a time before I knew about my health issues...

WORST DAY

Mid-August, I met with my manager after a long break, thinking things would be alright, that we could put 2 28 behind us and move forward, but she insisted on certain attachments to it that I disagreed were her rights, as she walked away from the project, and I knew for certain that it was over.

WORST MOMENT
Not learning my lesson.  And going back to things I know don't work.

FAVORITE THING I DID

Made my first feature film.  Whether it is the worst things since molded slice bread.  I made it.

THIS YEAR'S THEMES

(1) Taking A Leap

(2) Do What You Want

(3) Organize The Long Ignored

(4) Patience, Respect, Optimism, Gratitude, Intelligence (PROGI)

(5) Letting Things Go, When They Are Dead

HOPES / GOALS FOR THE NEXT YEAR

(1) Raise funds ($275,000) for "Fear Between Vultures"

(2) Shoot "Fear Between Vultures"

(3) Get "2 28" into a film festival

(4) Get caught up on books... and start reading current releases

(5) Get back into the gym, with a trainer - and get healthier

(6) Learn that food is a source of energy and not an intoxicating delicious drug

(7) Get new furniture

(8) Get financially back in good standing

(9) Buy a new car for Christmas

(10) Write 2 new screenplays

HOPES / GOALS FROM LAST YEAR FULFILLED?

(1) Shoot "2 28" (my first feature) & get into a major festival

             Half.  Shot it!  But we didn't get into a festival... yet.

(2) Finish the scripts for "Man of Peace," "The Western," "Fear Between Vultures," & a new script

             His Return, FBV both finished.  So, Half again...

(3) Be accepted into a Screenwriter's Lab or Fellowship

             Only applied to Sundance and didn't get in.

(4) Finish "Bright Like Neon Love" project

             Did not finish - 2 28 took over.

(5) Continue to find a living where I can write & be creative

             Unemployment helped me but I haven't gotten paid yet to filmmaker.

(6) Obama passes a SUCCESSFUL health care plan

             I think so - could of been better.

(7) Find a new boyfriend

             No, but I've been less intrested in this and more into my own career.

(8) Find a substancial financial lead for my "second" feature

             Just finished the first, so now need to work on this.

(9) Start writing short stories, get published

             Didn't do this at all.

(10) Start the new decade as a true filmmaker & artist

             This I feel most accomplished.

NEWS NEWS NEWS THIS YEAR

(1) Wikileaks

(2) Haiti Earthquake

(3) BP Oil Spill

(4) GOP "Take Over"

(5) Afghanistan... Still going

(6) iPad & iPhone 4

(7) World Cup

(8) Chili Miner Rescue

(9) Things Going Viral or... memes

(10) Winter Olympics... ho hum

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

God.  My family.  Eric.  Scott.  Erica.  The cast & crew of 2 28.  Beach House.  Apple.  Unemployment.  Dawn (for EMployment).  Things Working Out Just Right.  My Dad's creative & awesome drawings.  Technology.  Kinect.  Video Games.  Medicine.  

At the end of the year, it always feels shorter than it actually was.  In fact, I enjoyed this year so much thanks to the time off and now that I'm working again, it's starting to fly by.  I can't wait for a time when I can do what I have worked for a very long time to do.  It's a great feeling to feel empowered by your own creativity.  


Here's to 2011... and my 30th birthday.  Holy shit.