2018 year in review
Good evening Lj readers,
how are things? Hopefully well. Happy holidays!
Originally inspired by my friend QKellie, each year I made a list of new foods and drinks tried. Over the years I have tried quite a few! I have a 'master list' on a column to the left of my main blog page which - although sometimes not with a year to them - lists them.
In 2018 I tried...
drinks :
Aglianico (red wine) from Beneventano, Italy
apple & carrot-flavored kombucha (seasonal edition)
beet & cabbage-flavored tea
butterfly peaflower tea (blue herbal tea!)
broccoli & cilantro tea
carrot & curry tea
chaga mushroom herbal tea
cherry, coconut and lemongrass-flavored kombucha
coffee-flavored kombucha
elderflower, jasmine and violet-flavored kombucha
macadamia nut milk
root beer-flavored kombucha
quinoa milk
spinach & chive tea
Starbucks seasonal / limited edition beverages :
crystal ball frappuchino (peach), with purple sparkles
dragonfruit and mango refresher
juniper and sage-infused drink
Reserve coffee - Abakundakawa (from Rwanda)
strawberry and banana smoothie
sweets :
Bailey's Irish creme-flavored macaroon
blood orange mochi
butter-pecan-flavored yogurt
cardamon-flavored cookies
cherry-cola-flavored Oreos
chocolate-and-peppermint macaroon
cinnamon-toast-flavored cupcake
cinnamon-flavored pudding
cognac-and-gingerbread-flavored ice cream
creme-brulee-flavored "Oreo" (store brand) cookies
curry, mango and coconut-flavored doughnut hole
fig-flavored ice cream
grapefruit-flavored macaroon
Halva-flavored (coconut-milk-based) ice cream
jellybean flavors : cranberry sauce, eggnog, cocoa, mint and pumpkin pie
kettle-corn-flavored Oreos
marshmallow and Fruity Pebbles-flavored macaroon
pancake-flavored cake
peanut-butter-and-chocolate-flavored Greek yogurt
peppermint-bark-flavored Oreos
pickled-mango-flavored ice cream
pina-colada-flavored Oreo Thins
pine-nut-flavored ice cream
pomegranate-flavored Pop Tarts
red hot candy (cinnamon)-flavored Oreos
root-beer-flavored marshmallows (Peeps
rose-and-saffron-flavored marshmallows
soy-flavored macaroon
stone cherry jam
sweet-carrot-flavored yogurt
Thai-tea-flavored ice cream
yellow-cherry-flavored ice cream
waffle and pancake-flavored ice cream
white-chocolate-and-mocha-flavored yogurt
snacks :
ale-and-cheddar-flavored pretzels
avocado, cilantro and lime-flavored Triscuits
bayberries
evercrisp apple varietal
green dragon apple varietal
honey-and-orange-flavored potato chips
'Impossible' vegetarian slider from White Castle
lemon-and-lavender-flavored granola
peach Cheerios
pumpkin-spice-flavored Frosted Flakes
saffron buns
Santa Rosa plum varietal
smitten apple varietal
white eggplant
... for a total of 71 new items. Of those flavors I tried, I recommend elderflower / jasmine / violet kombucha (an annual seasonal varietal from company KT's), the 'Impossible' vegetarian slider from White Castle, ale-and-cheddar-flavored pretzels (from company Snyder's) and rose & saffron-flavored marshmallows (company Mmelo has them).
*******
2018 saw me continuing a previous trend of enjoying episode-based shows in a slightly-greater volume than stand-alone movies, though I experienced many examples of each. Overall I was able to see 14 movies and 16 seasons of shows.
Films : Annihilation, Bandersnatch, Coco, The Endless, Fantastic Beasts 2, Isle of Dogs, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Love Simon, The Polka King, Shadow of the Vampire, Sorry to Bother You, Star Wars : The Last Jedi, Three Identical Strangers and A Wrinkle in Time.
Series : Duck Tales (season 1), The Good Place (seasons 1-2), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (seasons 12-13), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (season 2), Portlandia (season 8), Reno 911 (season 1), Queer Eye (seasons 1-2), Stranger Things (season 2), Terrace House : Opening New Doors ('parts' 1-4) and Will & Grace (season 2 ; ongoing).
Of the media I saw, I recommend The Good Place, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Terrace House.
What can be said of The Good Place that has not been said already? Renewed for a 4th season, and available on both NBC and Netflix, this singular show is at once both funny and serious, ridiculous and highly ethical. An Arizona woman of questionable repute awakes in 'The Good Place' of the Afterlife and realizes she doesn't belong there. Things get fascinatingly complicated after that.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, very loosely based on an old Greek story, is the latest from European director Yorgos Lanthimos, who did equally-surreal / dark film The Lobster. A young man is friends with a happily-married doctor, who is always buying things for the youth. One day the young man explains the 'real' payment he needs. Ultimately a morality tale of 'unmovable' characters, this is a movie that stays with you after you see it.
Terrace House, Japan's answer to MTV's The Real World, seems an inverse of that show : quiet moments, only a few 'soundtrack' songs and a willingness to not only show memorable situations but even have a crew from Terrace House themselves occasionally chime in with commentary. Japan's culture, like all cultures of the world, is singular, and rather different from America's. Here is a quiet show, with an occasional rotating cast, that will introduce a version of young people's reality in Japan to the rest of the world.
While I can't quite recommend it (due to its violence and bleak endings), the one-of-a-kind experience that is Netflix's "choose your own adventure" movie, where the viewer literally makes decisions for the main character using your remote, is worth consideration. From the horror series Black Mirror, the name of the episode is a reference to Lewis Carroll's creature, Bandersnatch.
Okay. Thanks for reading, and have a good 2019!
Take care,
* Geoff
how are things? Hopefully well. Happy holidays!
Originally inspired by my friend QKellie, each year I made a list of new foods and drinks tried. Over the years I have tried quite a few! I have a 'master list' on a column to the left of my main blog page which - although sometimes not with a year to them - lists them.
In 2018 I tried...
drinks :
Aglianico (red wine) from Beneventano, Italy
apple & carrot-flavored kombucha (seasonal edition)
beet & cabbage-flavored tea
butterfly peaflower tea (blue herbal tea!)
broccoli & cilantro tea
carrot & curry tea
chaga mushroom herbal tea
cherry, coconut and lemongrass-flavored kombucha
coffee-flavored kombucha
elderflower, jasmine and violet-flavored kombucha
macadamia nut milk
root beer-flavored kombucha
quinoa milk
spinach & chive tea
Starbucks seasonal / limited edition beverages :
crystal ball frappuchino (peach), with purple sparkles
dragonfruit and mango refresher
juniper and sage-infused drink
Reserve coffee - Abakundakawa (from Rwanda)
strawberry and banana smoothie
sweets :
Bailey's Irish creme-flavored macaroon
blood orange mochi
butter-pecan-flavored yogurt
cardamon-flavored cookies
cherry-cola-flavored Oreos
chocolate-and-peppermint macaroon
cinnamon-toast-flavored cupcake
cinnamon-flavored pudding
cognac-and-gingerbread-flavored ice cream
creme-brulee-flavored "Oreo" (store brand) cookies
curry, mango and coconut-flavored doughnut hole
fig-flavored ice cream
grapefruit-flavored macaroon
Halva-flavored (coconut-milk-based) ice cream
jellybean flavors : cranberry sauce, eggnog, cocoa, mint and pumpkin pie
kettle-corn-flavored Oreos
marshmallow and Fruity Pebbles-flavored macaroon
pancake-flavored cake
peanut-butter-and-chocolate-flavored Greek yogurt
peppermint-bark-flavored Oreos
pickled-mango-flavored ice cream
pina-colada-flavored Oreo Thins
pine-nut-flavored ice cream
pomegranate-flavored Pop Tarts
red hot candy (cinnamon)-flavored Oreos
root-beer-flavored marshmallows (Peeps
rose-and-saffron-flavored marshmallows
soy-flavored macaroon
stone cherry jam
sweet-carrot-flavored yogurt
Thai-tea-flavored ice cream
yellow-cherry-flavored ice cream
waffle and pancake-flavored ice cream
white-chocolate-and-mocha-flavored yogurt
snacks :
ale-and-cheddar-flavored pretzels
avocado, cilantro and lime-flavored Triscuits
bayberries
evercrisp apple varietal
green dragon apple varietal
honey-and-orange-flavored potato chips
'Impossible' vegetarian slider from White Castle
lemon-and-lavender-flavored granola
peach Cheerios
pumpkin-spice-flavored Frosted Flakes
saffron buns
Santa Rosa plum varietal
smitten apple varietal
white eggplant
... for a total of 71 new items. Of those flavors I tried, I recommend elderflower / jasmine / violet kombucha (an annual seasonal varietal from company KT's), the 'Impossible' vegetarian slider from White Castle, ale-and-cheddar-flavored pretzels (from company Snyder's) and rose & saffron-flavored marshmallows (company Mmelo has them).
*******
2018 saw me continuing a previous trend of enjoying episode-based shows in a slightly-greater volume than stand-alone movies, though I experienced many examples of each. Overall I was able to see 14 movies and 16 seasons of shows.
Films : Annihilation, Bandersnatch, Coco, The Endless, Fantastic Beasts 2, Isle of Dogs, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Love Simon, The Polka King, Shadow of the Vampire, Sorry to Bother You, Star Wars : The Last Jedi, Three Identical Strangers and A Wrinkle in Time.
Series : Duck Tales (season 1), The Good Place (seasons 1-2), It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (seasons 12-13), Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (season 2), Portlandia (season 8), Reno 911 (season 1), Queer Eye (seasons 1-2), Stranger Things (season 2), Terrace House : Opening New Doors ('parts' 1-4) and Will & Grace (season 2 ; ongoing).
Of the media I saw, I recommend The Good Place, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Terrace House.
What can be said of The Good Place that has not been said already? Renewed for a 4th season, and available on both NBC and Netflix, this singular show is at once both funny and serious, ridiculous and highly ethical. An Arizona woman of questionable repute awakes in 'The Good Place' of the Afterlife and realizes she doesn't belong there. Things get fascinatingly complicated after that.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer, very loosely based on an old Greek story, is the latest from European director Yorgos Lanthimos, who did equally-surreal / dark film The Lobster. A young man is friends with a happily-married doctor, who is always buying things for the youth. One day the young man explains the 'real' payment he needs. Ultimately a morality tale of 'unmovable' characters, this is a movie that stays with you after you see it.
Terrace House, Japan's answer to MTV's The Real World, seems an inverse of that show : quiet moments, only a few 'soundtrack' songs and a willingness to not only show memorable situations but even have a crew from Terrace House themselves occasionally chime in with commentary. Japan's culture, like all cultures of the world, is singular, and rather different from America's. Here is a quiet show, with an occasional rotating cast, that will introduce a version of young people's reality in Japan to the rest of the world.
While I can't quite recommend it (due to its violence and bleak endings), the one-of-a-kind experience that is Netflix's "choose your own adventure" movie, where the viewer literally makes decisions for the main character using your remote, is worth consideration. From the horror series Black Mirror, the name of the episode is a reference to Lewis Carroll's creature, Bandersnatch.
Okay. Thanks for reading, and have a good 2019!
Take care,
* Geoff