2006: The Best and the Worst

2006 has been a year of survival. Surviving a move of house, surviving the final year of my degree, surviving a year long placement and surviving and surviving on a lack of money. But it has also been a year of amazing things as well including music, books, games and writing. There are many but here is a stab at the best and the worst of 2006



THE BEST OF 2006

MUSIC
The year I saw Blind Guardian in Concert
Seeing Blind Guardian live at KoKo in London was an ambition fulfilled. It was their first tour to Britain and it was amazing. Valhala and The Bard's Song (In The Forest) stand out as memorable forever!

my Permalink


The year I bought some more Albums

• Blind Guardian's 'A Twist in the Myth' came out. Brilliant artwork, excellent songs, a nod to a more commercial offering but memorable anthems and they work well live.
• Mastodon - 'Blood Mountain', heavy, playable heavy, play it!
• Dragonforce - 'Inhuman Rampage' Not normally what I regularly listen to and not what I expected but I keep coming back to it. I love the speed and the flourishes of humour.
• My most played album this year was Blind Guardian's 'Live'. Coupled with the DVD, the hairs still stand out on the back of my neck.

The year I actually finished watching an opera on TV

• Mozart's 'Cosi Fan Tuti'. I actually watched all this and it was sooo funny!

BOOKS
The year I discovered JG Ballard
JG Ballard's 'Kingdom Come' is his latest book, the first I've read by him and the most excellent book I've read! Ever! Closely followed by 'The Drowned World', his nth book. Hauntingly good, and poignant for today's global worries. Both books work on your mind long after reading. I cannot praise Ballard enough! Check the website - The Ballardian.

The year I read Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams - 'The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To The Galaxy', 'Life, the universe and everything' and 'The Restaurant at the End of the Universe' all inspired me to get my writing off the ground earlier than I had planned.

The year I built a Rupert the Bear book collection
'You have to see Bestall's endpapers!'

• 'The life and works of Alfred Bestall illustrator of Rupert Bear' - Caroline G. Bott.
• A tatty 'A Bear's Life' - George Perry with Alfred bestall
• Rupert Annual 1961
• Rupert Annual 1969
• Rupert Facsimile Annuals 1955, 1957 & 1958
• Plus others...
  

Rupert The Bear shop


The year I discovered Rackham
'The French roleplaying company, not Arthur'

• Cadwallon The Free City - Player's Handbook
  

Rackham website



GAMES
The year I got into games

Nintendo DS Lite - cool piece of technology with great games

• New Super Mario Bros.
• Animal Crossing: Wild World
• Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow
• Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

____________ (space where Nintendo Wii should be)

• The legend of Zelda - Twilight Princess - for Wii (no Wii yet though!)
• Metroid Prime 2 - Echoes for Gamecube (I'll play it on my Wii when I get one)

Game On exhibition. See my Permalink



COMICS
The year I got back into comics games

• Mnemovore - Vertigo [review]
• Army of Darkness - Dynamite Entertainment
• Wonderland - SLG Publishing Disney
• Fear Agent - Image
  

WRITING
The year I wrote a Short Story or three!

• The Old House
• Dead Manse
• Bedlam

And started a Novel

• Tales of Magistery and Confabulation

And wrote more Poems

• Dark Wonderland
• The Dark Tide
• Rust Hut
• The Mission

WEB
The year I developed the website and started a blog and found cool stuff

Wonderland- games related, has to be checked every day, cool, games-related stuff from around the world
Rackham- tabletop roleplaying from France, amazing graphics
Nintendo- the best
UK Gamespot, Pocket Gamer Blog, Eurogamer, British Gaming Blog, Joystiq, SPOnG - all for game news
Firefox - where would I be without it? Thanks Mozilla
THE GREEN ORCHARD, Tales of Magistery... and A Green Orchard (this blog!) ;-)



FILMS
'Cinema, DVD, TV etc.'

• Howl's Moving Castle - saw this at The Watershed in Bristol - Wow!
  
• Night Watch - Author - Book - Film - DVD: BBC review
• Doctor Who Up Close exhibition (for my birthday :-))
• Dracula & The Ruby in the Smoke - my permalink

PLACES
The year we discovered Dorset

• Lyme Regis - the best restaurants with a cool old bookshop
• Bridport - the best place with a cool old bookshop
• Dorchester - the best teashop and a cool old bookshop
• Castleton, Derbyshire - was great at Christmas and a cool old bookshop

THE WORST OF 2006

MOVING HOUSE
Had to be done but it was the most traumatic episode I ever had to go through!

DEGREE
Struggling through this final year of my BSc (Hons) Adult Nursing degree, working, being on placement, no money and having to write a dissertation made this DIFF-I-CULT beyond belief!

FINANCES
What finances?

Wii
Should have been the best thing of 2006 but didn't manage to get one! >>> best of 2007 :-)

WARS
Wars, all wars, no exceptions!


rustle



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