Well 2021 had some disappointments. Not in my life and those around me but more of opportunities not being able to be taken. My wife and I were able to travel to the Comox valley area of Vancouver Island, visit her home in the Okanogan, stay in Tofino, and stop off at some wineries/distilleries around Duncan. It is missing the international travel that is a bummer. Lets look at some fun things that I was able to achieve.
Fiction Books Read: Eighteen books were read this year. The big standout was the Expanse series by James S.A. Correy which the TV series by the same name was based on. Other very good books were two Parker novels by Richard Stark (Sour Lemon Score and Deadly Edge), Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane, Tales of H.P. Lovecraft collection, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perking Gilman and Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome.
Comics Read: Twenty collected books were read, some larger than others. It was nice diving back into the illustrated stories. The very good ones were Invincible Compendium 1-3, Sensational Comics featuring Wonder Woman Volume 1&2, Swamp Thing Bronze Age Omnibus, and Trinity.
Non-Fiction Books Read: Seventeen magazines and 7 non-fiction books were read. I kept my subscription for Archeology Magazine (6; Nov/Dec 2020 to Sep/Oct 2021) and National Geographic Magazine (13; Aug 2019 to Aug 2020; still a little bit behind but catching up). Very good non-fiction books read were Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization by Barry J. Kemp, The Art of Thinking Clearly by Rolff Dobelli and World Without Us by Alan Weisman.
Music: There were three concerts I attended virtually:
Air de Coeur and Courtly Airs (EMSI), *
Dark Side of Vivaldi, and *
Cordiform by Duo Corvi (EMSI). I enjoyed a few videos on Youtube with The Charismatic Voice. Also saw 12 music centered documentaries and concerts which the one I liked the best was Classic Albums: Fleetwood Mac's Rumours. I also spend a laughingly small amount of time on the guitailele; only 150 min. I aim to improve that next year, at least by ten times.
Podcasts: In total I spent about 38 hrs listening to Podcasts on my phone painting models, cooking, or washing dishes. I've liked it and will do it more. The big standout was Open Yale Courses - Ancient Greek History with Prof Kagan (24; 1hr ea) for its overview of one of my favorite ancient locations. Another very good one has been Prehistory Podcast (17 so far; 30 min) for its comprehensive overview of the history of prehistory humans.
Documentaries: Seven film length documentaries were watched. My two favorites were Apollo 11 and Ornament of the World.
Movies in a Theater: Seven movies were watched in a theater and one documentary. The standout was Dune by far for its treatment of such a great sci-fi novel.
Animated Movies: Discovering the free animated films on Adult Swim TV network enabled me to watch many more of this genre than I normally do; 32 in total. Of all the ones, Adult Swim and otherwise, the ones I really liked were Batman: Hush, Batman: Soul of the Dragon, Batman: Year One, Constantine: City of Demons, Justice League and the Fatal Five, Justice League Dark, Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, Nausicaa in the Valley of the Wind, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, and Superman: Red Son.
Movies: Less time being able to go out meant more time at home for movies so 39 of them were watched. Some were watched before but its nice to revisit favorites. My favorites were Apollo 13, Attack the Block, Downfall, Four Feathers (1939), Groundhog Day, Harry Potter (first three re-watched so far), Infinity War and Endgame, Indiana Jones Trilogy, Ladykillers, Lavender Hill Mob, Lord of the Rings Trilogy extended edition, The Martian, My Cousin Vinny, Shawshank Redemption, Sons of Katie Elder, and The Killing.
Non-Fiction TV: Staying at home more doesn't mean rotting the brain on fun entertainment. It also means expanding your knowledge. Over 550 hrs worth! Some fantastic non-fiction shows and series were Around the World in 80 Gardens (10), Around the World in 80 Treasures (4), Human Universe (5), Inside Christie's: The World's Biggest Auction House (2), Jamie Oliver: Superfood (3), Ken Burns: The War (14), Nova (14; 1 2hrs), Power of Art (8), Predict My Future (4), and Vikings vs Wolves: The Battle of Finance.
Other very good ones were Ansel Adams, Art Detectives (4), Art of Japanese Life, Cheese: A Love Story (5), Dark Ages: An Age of Light (4), Earth's Sacred Wonders (2), Finding your Roots (15), Genius of Carl Fabrege, Ken Burns: Muhammed Ali (4; 2hrs), Last Days of Pompeii, Lost Kingdoms of South America (4), Making the Cut (S1:10, S2: 8), Nature (7), Olympics (69), Painted Land: In Search of the Group of Seven, Paralympics (10), Secrets of the Dead (8), Statue of Liberty, Tales from the Green Valley (12), The Story of Women in Art (3), Tutankhamen: Life, Death, Legacy (3)
Victorian Pharmacy, Walking Britain's Roman Roads (6), Wild Caribbean (2), Wild China (4), Wild Korea, and Wild Scotland.
Fiction TV: I decreased some of my TV watching and saw some of the boxed sets or seasons of TV I have purchased, and watched about 350 hrs worth of fictional TV. I was also more brutal in stopping series that wasn't doing anything that caught my attention. Some exceptional ones were Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal (30 min; 10), Invincible (8), Mandalorian S2 (5), Resident Alien (10), The Expanse (S4:10, S5:10), Young Justice (30 min; S1:26; S2 20; S3 26)
Some very good ones were Dune (2000 miniseries; 5hrs), Good Omens (6), Handmaid's Tale (10), I Spy S3 (26), Leverage S4 and S5 (18+15), Leverage Redemption (16), Rick and Morty (S1:6; S2:7; S3:6; S5:11; shorts), The Boys (S1: 5, S2 8), The Rookie (21), The Witcher (8), Trickster (2), Watchmen (10).
In 2022 I hope to read more and watch less fiction TV, but do want to go through my purchased TV series. Also aim to get at least 1500 minutes practicing on the guitalele.
