The year 2023, for me, was one of change. I retired from my job of 33.5 years and moved into a non-working life. I hate to say retirement because I am starting classes in writing next week, something I am excited and nervous about which are good feelings to have to go into the future. Here is a look at things done, travelled to, read, listened to, attended, and watched.
Things done: Besides "retirement" there was a wonderful three week trip to Spain, relaxing trip to my wife's parents place with wine tasting thrown in, camping on Hornby, storm watching in Tofino, dinosaur bones and Ankor Wat at the museum, and a relaxing Christmas at my wife's parents place. Tried several new restaurants and revisited old ones. Also saw two performances: Duo Corvi and Charlie Ross's One Man Pride and Prejudice, both excellent. There was also a lot of work; downsizing "stuff", making a more robust will, errands, organizing, repair and maintenance of house, and helping friends. "Retiring" does not equal total relaxation, nor should it as it is a stationary stone that gathers moss.
Non-Fiction Books Read: Only six non-fiction books read, two less than last year. Standouts were A Man on the Moon by Andrew Chaiken and On Writing by Stephen King. Other notables were Landmark: Xenophon's Anabasis, Robert Silverberg's Worlds of Wonder, Sagrada Familia by Gijs Van Hensbergen, and The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers. Also read the magazines Archeology (Jan/Feb 23-Nov/Dec 23) and National Geographic (Dec 21-Jan 23). This year will mean reading more books about writing as I expand my knowledge about that craft.
Fiction Books Read: A whopping 23 books were read, nearly double what I normally read. This is good because a good writer should read a lot, and of different genres too. Standouts were all by Connie Willis (Doomsday Book, Blackout and All Clear). Notables were Agatha H, and the Voice of the Castle as well as The Siege of Mechanicsburg by Phil and Kaja Foglio, Passages and Remake by Connie Willis, The Duke and I by Julia Quinn (my first romance book), and Three Men in a Brummel by Jerome K Jerome. The rest were four Battletech short stories, Battletech: Decision at Thunder Rift, Mercenary Star, and Price of Glory by William H Keith, Butcher's Moon by Richard Stark, Iron Heel by Jack London, Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, Mockingbird by Walter Tevis, Samurai Mysteries by Laura Joh Rowland; Samurai's Wife and Black Lotus, Shattered Sylph by L.J. McDonald, The Last Man by Mary Shelley, and To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis.
Comic Book Collections Read: Eleven comic book collections were read. Outstanding ones were the Sandman books (Preludes and Nocturns, Dream Country, Doll's House, Season of Mists). Notables were Lady Killer and Mouse Guard (Tales of the Guard vol 2 and 3). Others were Cyborg: Unplugged,
Essential Punisher vol 1, Harley Quinn and Her Gang of Harleys, and Inhuman.
Music Concerts Watched: I discovered some music concerts on PBS, Knowledge, and music video channels. They were nice to have in the background while doing other things. There were also several that were awful, for various reasons (over the hill singers or not well filmed) which I will not mention. Here are the best of the bunch: Come from Away, Depeche Mode: Rock AM Ring, Dios de los Muertos, Elvis Presley: '68 Comeback Special, Linkin Park: Live in New York, Molly Tuttle and the Golden Highway, Queen and Adam Lambert, Sting: Vina del Mar, Willie Nelson: Live in Budokan. The rest were Alice in Chains: Unplugged, Band in Seattle; 30 min, 10 episodes, Billy Joel: Live at Yankee Stadium, Carol King: Home Again live in Central Park, Dolly Parton and Friends: 50 Years at the Grand Old Opera, Doobie Brothers: 50th Anniversary in Radio City Music Hall, Duran Duran through time, Kenny Rogers: 1983, Johnny Cash: Man in Black - Live in Denmark 1971, Roy Orbison: Black and White Night, Santana: Live at the Us Festival, Sting: Live at Olympia Paris, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Live at Soundstage, Willie Nelson: Last of the Breed, Willie Nelson: The Show Must Go On.
Podcasts Listened To: Lots of knowledge and/or insight was gained by listening to knowledgeable folks in 2023 with 363 podcasts. Going to continue into this year. Outstanding ones were Jordan Harbinger and the series The Flamethrowers. Notables were Gone Medieval, Not Just the Tudors, The Ancients, and select (about 40%) episodes of Ideas. Others listened to were American History Hit, Betwixt the Sheets, Dan Snow History Hit, Debaters, and Rick Steves Spain.
Documentary Length Watched: I like to be surprised by documentaries for what I did not know before or at least made more aware of a subject. Here are the outstanding ones watched: Casa Suzanna, In the Shadow of the Moon, Ruthless: Monopoly's Secret History, and Putin's Witnesses. Other ones seen were Georgia O'Keefe: The Far Away, King Tut: A Century of Secrets, Quest for Tonewood, Tupperware, Unzipped, Yvres St Laurent: His life and times, and Zora Neale Hurston.
Non-Fiction TV: Like documentary length features, I like to be surprised or made more aware by topics. Here were the standouts out of 143 programs and episodes of programs: A Nation Soars, Ancient Worlds, Professor Jim Al-Khalili (Beginning and End of the Universe, Gravity and Me, Joy of AI, Order and Disorder, Secrets of Quantum Physics, Secrets of Size), Return to Belsen, Sacred Rivers with Simon Reeve, Stuff the British Stole, Truth and Lies.
Competition TV: What we prefer for competition TV in our house are shows that make you smile, not the vengeful nor vindictive stuff that is out there. We watched 150 hours worth. That includes America's Got Talent, Amazing Race Canada, Canada's Got Talent, Great British Baking Show, Great British Sewing Bee, Great Canadian Baking Show, Great Pottery throwdown, Project Runway, Race Against the Tide, Top Chef, and Ultimate Challenge Canada. I did watch three episodes of Traitors and although the mechanics of the show are very interesting the people were not.
Films in a Theater: Last year six movies were seen. Spider Man: Across the Multiverse was the outstanding one with special mention to the rest: Dinosaurs of Antarctica IMAX, Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among Thieves, Godzilla Minus One, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, John Wick 4, and Wings over Water IMAX.
Fiction Films: Twenty eight movies were seen at home or on a plane. Standout was Everything, Everywhere, All at Once and Lion in Winter. Other notable films were: Big Night, Enola Holmes 1&2, Glass Onion: A Knives Out! Mystery, Spider Man: No Way Home, Star Wars Saga (Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, New Hope, Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, Rise of Skywalker), and two filmed performances at the Stratford Festival (The Tempest as well as Caesar and Cleopatra).
Animated Films: Thanks to Adult Swim, many cartoon films were seen in addition to other sources. Standouts were Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, Harley Quinn Valentine's Day Special, and Justice League: Doom.
Animated Fiction TV: I like well done animated/stop motion programs and the standouts were Cowboy Bebop, Scavengers Reign, and Young Justice: Phantoms. Other notables were Rick and Morty, Simpsons Treehouse of Horror, and Star Trek: Lower Decks.
Fiction TV: A whopping 367.5 hours of fiction TV were watched, of which most were good but few rose to great and near perfection. At least in my estimation. Most were watched by just me over breakfast, lunch, and break days where I binged. This is something that has to change in 2024 so I can concentrate on school, reading, and writing. I will save TV for the stuff I like. The ones that were perfect or near perfect were: Daredevil S1 & S2, For All Mankind, Jessica Jones S1 & S2, Mrs Davis, Punisher S1, Severance, and Ted Lasso. The greats were: Cranford, Doom Patrol, Interview with a Vampire, Luke Cage S1, Luther, Mandalorian S3, Manhunt, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Picard S3, Whose Line is it Anyways.
There was 2023 in brief. Here is to everyone for a better 2024,
