End of 2018 and Beginning of 2019

This year was filled with lots of items but no big trips except local ones in the province of British Columbia. We went camping to Quadra Island, Hornby Island, took a visit to the Okanogan to see my wife's parents, went to a game convention in Kamloops, and spent Christmas in the Okanogan.

We also made the attempt to eat more vegetarian meals, as the science is conclusive that those that approach and exceed 50 years of age should do this to live better and longer. We do not eat meat for work week breakfasts anyways and my regular work week lunch is natural peanut butter on homemade bread, so our change has been to eat two vegetarian suppers a week, on average. Going to increase it to three in 2019. Also for fitness and such, going to learn Tai Chi this year.

I bought several music CDs this year, most of them best of ones like Billy Idol, Eagles, Elvis, Prince, Rolling Stones, and Yello. I finished listening to the 52 CD set of ABC's of the Blues and was thoroughly impressed by the variety. Brought a smile to my face at the heartfelt and soulful performances. Also picked up a superb new Robert Plant album, Lullaby and the ceaseless road and Tea Party's Transmission, as well as two old Metric albums (Old World Underground Where Are You Now?, Live it Out). Below are some videos from those albums. Going to try to learn electric guitar this year...honest.

Also saw one concert this year of Spanish Love songs, in which a friend of ours performed. My goal of learning the electric guitar was on the sidelines but still want to give it a try.

I read nine non-fiction books this year, an increase by three. These include 16th Century Mosque, A History of Port Royal/Annapolis Royal 1605-1800 by Brenda Dunn, Ancient Greek World: People and Places, Demon Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Darkness by Carl Sagan, DK: The Psychology Book, Haynes Apollo 11 Owners Manual, Landmark Xenophon's Hellenica, Lost Civilizations: Rediscovering Ancient Sites through New Technology by Austen Atkinson, and Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History by Stephen Jay Gould. Also read 23 magazines, a decrease from 26. These are National Geographic, National Geographic History, and Archaeology. I will be dropping the National Geographic: History magazine as I have too many and it is my least favorite out of the three.

For fiction books I read 18, a decrease of one from last year. My favorites were the Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, Persuasion by Jane Austin, Roadside Picnic by Stugatsky Bros, and Stories of my Life by Ted Chiang. I am no longer part of my local science-fiction and fantasy book club so that I can read more of my accumulating books.

Saw 14 films in a theater this year, down from 17. Favorites were Annihilation, Death of Stalin, Darkest Hour, Searching, and The Post. Had great fun for the yearly superhero films too.

Watched 57 films in a house this year, down from 63. Favorites include Blackboard Jungle, Eastern Promises, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Limits of Control, Mr. Holmes, Spotlight, The Hitman's Bodyguard, The Heiress, The Hustler, The Naked City, and To Be or not To Be (Mel Brooks). Super enjoyed re watching The Thing which I had not seen since I was a teenager.

Saw 430.25 hours of hour long non-fiction television (documentaries and such) this year, way up from about 280 last year. The best were The Sorrow and the Pity (Nazi occupation of France, 4.5 hrs), The Civil War by Ken Burns, Annie Leibowytch: Life through a Lens, Blue Planet 2 (7 episodes), Civilizations (8 episodes), Winter Olympics (51.5 hrs), Wonderful World of Blood, Wonders of Life (5 episodes), Wonders of the Universe (4 episodes). Other very good ones were American Experience: Pilgrims, Bombshell: The Hedy Lemarr Story, Nova (22 hrs), Calculating Ada: Countess of Computers, How the Universe Works (30 episodes), Johanna Lumley's Japan (3 episodes), Lost Kingdoms of Africa (4 episodes), Meet the Romans (3 episodes), Nature (20 episodes), Rubens: An Extra Large Story, Story of China (6 episodes), Treasures of Ancient Egypt (3 episodes), Treasures of Ancient Greece (3 episodes),

Fictional TV "hours" watched amounted to 300, an increase of 54 from least year, but less than the non-fictional TV watched which was a goal set for myself. Highlights include Baroness von Sketch, Handmaids Tale, Killing Eve, Luther, Penny Dreadful, Star Trek Discovery, The Crown, The Expanse, The Rookie, and classic Twilight Zone (143 episodes). Guilty pleasures include Agents of Shield, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Flash, Greatest American Hero, and Miss Fisher Murder Mysteries.