So… 2008 is history, and we have in our hands a brand new year to ruin.
Isn’t it exciting to get one’s dirty fingers on something that feels and smells entirely new… in order to destroy it? Or maybe I’m just sick.
So… 2008 in perspective. It wasn’t a horrible year… but maybe I’m biased because I’ve known incredibly horrible years, or maybe I’m just biased because 2009 is predicted to be terrible here.
In 2008 I did a bunch of things that I had been postponing for some time, so I guess my “To-do-in-life” list became shorter, which is good… as time runs out fast.
I’ve met a bunch of lovely people in 2008, and I am grateful for it. My sister and other relatives are healthy, as are my kitties… so I guess I shouldn’t protest much.
In entertainment, 2008 wasn’t a year that saw a lot of me. I didn’t go to see many movies, nor did I pay much attention to music releases or book releases.
One book I was hoping to get my grabby hands on is Snuff, by Chuck Palahniuk. Just because it is proof that smut can be literature too. However, I cannot give a review because I still haven’t gotten it.
Most of the books I read this year were released in previous years. One of them is Norwegian Wood, by Haruki Murakami; which was a great-great-great read. However, I think the one I enjoyed the most was Feodor Dostoevsky’s “The house of the dead”.
In music, I enjoyed listening to Bauhaus’ “Go away white” (which, coincidentally, I’m listening to right now too). If you expect classic Bauhaus, go and pick up their old stuff. I thought I’d hate this album, but much to my surprised I was OK with it and actually enjoyed listening to it! It’s not among my favorite Bauhaus albums, though. But it’s a good listen. Go buy it, it’s worth it.
The Cure’s 4:13 dream was…. OK. But you all know my bitter feelings regarding The Cure, so perhaps I am biased.
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds’ “Dig, Lazarus! Dig!!!” was probably the album I enjoyed the most among 2008’s releases. If you are of the dark persuation, I recommend getting a hold of that album. You can never go wrong with Nick, he is an incredibily talented musician and dark poet.
Enya’s “And winter came” is a nice, introspective, winter-themed album, that I found really enjoyable over the holidays.
Other 2008 albums that I liked were KMFDM’s Brimborium (re-mixes), REM’s Accelerate, Portishead’s Third, and to some degree Smashing Pumpkins’ American Gothic.
In Japanese music… erhm… nothing drove me crazy, to be honest. But that is perhaps because I haven’t been paying much attention to the JRock scene this year. I am still to listen to BUCK-TICK’s Memento Mori (Oh, dude… how I absolutely LOVE that name…). I liked their Galaxy single.
Full’s Tafuca Madara’s album was nice, btw. It reminds me of Suilen, which also had a nice release this (past) year.
In dorama… I think the only 2008 dorama I got hooked on was absolute boyfriend. I watched other doramas, but I think the one that put me on the edge of my seat was A.B. Recommendations anyone?
In movies… I haven’t gone to the movies a lot. I only watched the Batman movie and Wall-E. I liked both. I can’t say any of them drove me nuts, but they were enjoyable movies.
As for games, anime, manga… I am not interested in any of those, so I cannot say. There was some vampire-themed manga that was incredibly cheesy, but I read it nonetheless. I guess the fact that I don’t remember its name is sufficient proof that I am not a lot into this kind of thing.
In art… I am not up to date with art releases this year. X_x However, I did enjoy the works of several local artists, and attended a few gallery nights events this year.

… my balcony is a mess. The stupid container broke at the most unsuitable time.
.
(Yes, this is the tree-hugger speaking, in case you hadn’t noticed.)
2008 has taken away many icons already.
And
And we totally will.








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On the Road
Cat’s Cradle
The BFG (Puffin Fiction)