I was thinking of a way to sum up my thoughts about a whole bunch of things that I watched, read, saw, experienced, whatever-ed in 2012. As most of you know, I like structure. And it does kill me when I can't figure out a storyline that fits the facts I have. This methodology is Sherlock Holmes approved, by the way. Holmes said, "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly, one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts." So, yes, it annoys me when I cannot fit a story to a bunch of facts or ideas I'm trying to tell. It doubly annoys me when these facts or ideas are not arranged in a consistent manner. In other words, screw this. I'm just going to arbitrarily run through 2012.
Things that should have been on my Top 12 Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2012 list but weren't.
1. Mad Men Season 5.
Wtf man. Way to drop the ball. In my defense, it wasn't a certainty that Mad Men was going to be aired at all. In my offense, I dropped the ball. I saw this description on Grantland that best encapsulates why Mad Men is so great, by Chuck Klosterman:-
"This, I think, is what makes Breaking Bad and (especially) Mad Men so vastly different: When nothing happens, nothing is lost. The quiet moments are better than the loud ones. There is subtext in everything - the language, the clothes, and even the semiotics (once, on a JetBlue flight, I watched an early episode of Mad Men without audio and was amazed by how much could be deduced, simply by the various characters' posture and where they happened to be around the office). A week in which nothing happens might still be the apex of an entire season."
You gotta love any show that doesn't rely on "events" happening to still be an intensely rewarding series.
2. Wreck It Ralph
Dropped the ball again. This comes up again later.
Top 5 Books that I've read in 2012
Again, this only covers books that I've read in 2012. This doesn't mean, necessarily, that the books were published in 2012.
5. Dream Team by Jack McCallum - A book about the 1992 USA Men's Olympic Basketball team, otherwise more commonly known as the Dream Team. It goes through, in good detail for any basketball fan, the events leading up to the Olympics, how the team was chosen, what went on during the Olympics, and a fantastic recap of the greatest basketball game ever played. If you like basketball, you will like this book.
4. The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan - I wrote about it before here. A criminally underrated series vis-a-vis Harry Potter, Twilight, the Hunger Games and other such brand name book series. Good clean fun, well-written (doesn't abuse adverbs), quite funny and, at times, quite deep. Also, it does help with remembering or identifying the different Greek Gods.
3. Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo - A wonderful book on the new in-thing in Development Economics - randomized control trials. Loads of magnificent insights, particularly ways in understanding just how similar the poor is to the rich and as such, why we are more likely to find televisions in the homes of the poor but not necessarily food. A must read for anyone interested in the field.
2. Justice: What is the Right Thing to Do by Michael Sandel - A brief survey of the various political philosophies across time. From Aristotle to Bentham to Locke to Kant to Hayek to Rawls, it provides an excellent way in thinking of different issues in today's world. A great reminder that economic reasoning shouldn't be the only perspective with which we view issues - values should be brought to the table as well. A really thought-provoking read, perfect for the layperson who wishes to learn some other ways of thinking about things.
1. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - My book of the year. It does a fantastic job in highlighting the various systematic biases that we, as members of the human, face when we think. Does brilliantly in describing the various biases to thinking that affect us, despite how rational we believe we are. I learned an immense deal from the book, and I'm looking to apply that to my own thinking, just to make sure that I correct for or, at the very least, take into account the possible biases that may be structurally biasing my thought process. If I were lord and emperor of the free world, I'd make everyone read this book.
Honorable Mention (because I'm still reading it): The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson - I'm only about 1/3s of the way through the book. It's essentially a description of how evolution and natural selection has shaped the homo sapiens species into becoming the dominant eusocial species on earth and how it, via its social abilities, came to take control of the world over the other animal species. Gives a better description than any I've found about the improbability of the homo sapiens species dominance, actually.
[Before the creationists rejoice, I should add that any scenario in which we could have ended up was just as improbable as the other. By virtue of events turning out, it just so happened we ended up this way. And that's why things seem so improbable - the likelihood of things turning out this way is minimal, BUT, the likelihood of things turning out another specific way is just as minimal. We just happened to turn out this way - it's difficult to imagine what would happen if events unfolded in other ways.]
My Top 5 Most-Played Songs of 2012
Again, the songs need not have been released in 2012. It's just simply the songs that got the most rotation on my playlist throughout the year. If you listen to them and appreciate the lyrics, I think you can notice a certain pattern to the type of songs that get a lot of air time on my playlist. But here we go:-
5. Thrice - A Song for Milly Michaelson
An oldie but goodie. Since I was introduced to it in 2008 or so by Zain, this song has become one of my top 5 favorite songs. The lyrics are really sweet and I'd venture it to be one of the best love songs there is.
Cool lyricism: Here we go, hold on tight and don't let go, I won't ever let you fall, I love the night - flying over these city lights, but I love you most of all.
4. Pavement - Spit on a Stranger
Also quite an old song. But it has great staying power. There's another version by Kathryn Williams that's more reflective, I suppose and some may enjoy it. But I think this is the best version. A generally introspective song.
Cool lyricism: I've been thinking long and hard about the things you said to me, and now I see the long, the short, the middle and what's in between.
3. The Explorer's Club - Forever
Taken from HIMYM. It's the scene where Marshall and Lily get back together in Season 2. HIMYM actually has quite a lot of brilliant songs on it's soundtrack. There's a track called "Rivers and Roads" by the Head and the Heart which should get an honorable mention but it just wasn't played enough. But it's good to give it a go. "Forever" is very sweet though - the vocals fit the song very well. They sound very innocent, hopeful and that sort of thing. A good short 2.5 minute track that tends to leave a feel-good notion.
Cool lyricsm: She's the kind of girl who's in my thoughts all night, and she's the kind of girls who makes your wrongs all right.
2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
This is the type of song with which you can lock yourself up in a wooden cabin for a month and just contemplate, life, the universe and everything. Maybe the "forever ago" bit adds to the whole melancholia and nostalgia sensations that kind of pervade the song. It's very soulful. A great end of the year song. But I did listen to it throughout the year, in fairness. Also, bonus points for the name "Emma." The vocals are really haunting.
Cool lyricism: I toured the light, so many foreign roads, for Emma, forever ago.
1. Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On
Uses the hook from Modest Mouse's "Float On" to great effect. "The Show Goes On" is a terrific song for any occasion. If you're in a good mood and want to pump yourself up, play it. If you're down and you want a lift, play it. If you're bogged down with tonnes of crap, play it. It's a song that's sure to encourage. If you choose to listen to it, which you really should, take some time to appreciate the lyrics. I should add, though, that Lupe himself didn't particularly want to do this song, which does sadden me a little, but the song is still good. And he did add a bit of retribution in the lyrics to the producers. But anyway, give it a listen and try to go along with the lyrics.
Cool lyricism: So no matter what you've been through, no matter what you in to, no matter what you see when you look outside your window, brown grass or green grass, picket fence or barbed wire, never ever put them down, you just lift your arms higher. Raise 'em till your arms tired, let 'em know you there, that you struggling and surviving, that you gon' persevere.
Top 5 Movies I've Watched in 2012
To be clear, I know that I've rated some of these movies before in other posts. But after the benchmarking and the normalizing of the ratings, I cannot find myself agreeing with some of the ratings I made earlier. The Dark Knight Rises is not an 8.5, for example. Neither is Hugo an 8.8. I have adjusted these ratings. I must also note that I should watch The Dark Knight Rises again some time in the future, this time, with my expectations managed so that I can evaluate it as a movie on its own.
5. 21 Jump Street (8.0/10)
A movie in which Channing Tatum was more hilarious than Jonah Hill. Overall, a very funny movie - comedy of the year. I think it's the type of movie everyone can enjoy - it's not overly 'bro' like The Hangover, neither does it take itself too seriously that it becomes unintentional comedy like most Nicolas Cage movies.
T-3. The Cabin in the Woods (8.3/10)
A really smart take on the classic horror/slasher genre. Hell of a ride, great entertainment with loads of laughs. And, it has Amy Acker:-
T-3. Wreck it Ralph (8.3/10)
As I mentioned earlier, I dropped the ball on this. I'm not even sure why. Maybe it wasn't on the IMDB releases list at end-2011. But in any case, a lot of nostalgia and familiarity with this one. Particularly poignant to you if you used to play a lot of old-school video games. But even if you didn't, the characters are easy to like and the story is easy to follow, and it will lead you to a good sense of satisfaction at the end. Very smartly-written and the graphics are great too.
2. Hugo (8.5/10)
I did say I reduced Hugo's ratings. But of course, not by that much. As I wrote before here, this was a really well-done adventure-imagination movie. I am quite the sucker for these types of movies, particularly if they're adventures by children and particularly if they go back in time to the mid 1900s etc. I mean, there's something really quite beautiful about a kid's adventures, I think. Maybe they hit the nail on the inner child's head in all of us. The world in which Huge was crafted to live in was rather magical (in the railway station), Chloe Moretz becomes more and more pwntastic each time she's on screen, and I do like that Hugo's own mini-life-goal was part of a bigger plan and bigger purpose for the movie. I strongly encourage you to watch the movie, you will like it.
1. The Hobbit (9.0/10)
I've already watched this movie thrice - 2D, 3D and 3D Imax. Just bloody go watch it.
Things that should have been on my Top 12 Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2012 list but weren't.
1. Mad Men Season 5.
 |
| A basic metaphorical summary of everything you need to know about Don Draper |
"This, I think, is what makes Breaking Bad and (especially) Mad Men so vastly different: When nothing happens, nothing is lost. The quiet moments are better than the loud ones. There is subtext in everything - the language, the clothes, and even the semiotics (once, on a JetBlue flight, I watched an early episode of Mad Men without audio and was amazed by how much could be deduced, simply by the various characters' posture and where they happened to be around the office). A week in which nothing happens might still be the apex of an entire season."
You gotta love any show that doesn't rely on "events" happening to still be an intensely rewarding series.
2. Wreck It Ralph
Dropped the ball again. This comes up again later.
Top 5 Books that I've read in 2012
Again, this only covers books that I've read in 2012. This doesn't mean, necessarily, that the books were published in 2012.
5. Dream Team by Jack McCallum - A book about the 1992 USA Men's Olympic Basketball team, otherwise more commonly known as the Dream Team. It goes through, in good detail for any basketball fan, the events leading up to the Olympics, how the team was chosen, what went on during the Olympics, and a fantastic recap of the greatest basketball game ever played. If you like basketball, you will like this book.
4. The Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan - I wrote about it before here. A criminally underrated series vis-a-vis Harry Potter, Twilight, the Hunger Games and other such brand name book series. Good clean fun, well-written (doesn't abuse adverbs), quite funny and, at times, quite deep. Also, it does help with remembering or identifying the different Greek Gods.
3. Poor Economics by Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo - A wonderful book on the new in-thing in Development Economics - randomized control trials. Loads of magnificent insights, particularly ways in understanding just how similar the poor is to the rich and as such, why we are more likely to find televisions in the homes of the poor but not necessarily food. A must read for anyone interested in the field.
2. Justice: What is the Right Thing to Do by Michael Sandel - A brief survey of the various political philosophies across time. From Aristotle to Bentham to Locke to Kant to Hayek to Rawls, it provides an excellent way in thinking of different issues in today's world. A great reminder that economic reasoning shouldn't be the only perspective with which we view issues - values should be brought to the table as well. A really thought-provoking read, perfect for the layperson who wishes to learn some other ways of thinking about things.
1. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman - My book of the year. It does a fantastic job in highlighting the various systematic biases that we, as members of the human, face when we think. Does brilliantly in describing the various biases to thinking that affect us, despite how rational we believe we are. I learned an immense deal from the book, and I'm looking to apply that to my own thinking, just to make sure that I correct for or, at the very least, take into account the possible biases that may be structurally biasing my thought process. If I were lord and emperor of the free world, I'd make everyone read this book.
Honorable Mention (because I'm still reading it): The Social Conquest of Earth by Edward O. Wilson - I'm only about 1/3s of the way through the book. It's essentially a description of how evolution and natural selection has shaped the homo sapiens species into becoming the dominant eusocial species on earth and how it, via its social abilities, came to take control of the world over the other animal species. Gives a better description than any I've found about the improbability of the homo sapiens species dominance, actually.
[Before the creationists rejoice, I should add that any scenario in which we could have ended up was just as improbable as the other. By virtue of events turning out, it just so happened we ended up this way. And that's why things seem so improbable - the likelihood of things turning out this way is minimal, BUT, the likelihood of things turning out another specific way is just as minimal. We just happened to turn out this way - it's difficult to imagine what would happen if events unfolded in other ways.]
My Top 5 Most-Played Songs of 2012
Again, the songs need not have been released in 2012. It's just simply the songs that got the most rotation on my playlist throughout the year. If you listen to them and appreciate the lyrics, I think you can notice a certain pattern to the type of songs that get a lot of air time on my playlist. But here we go:-
5. Thrice - A Song for Milly Michaelson
An oldie but goodie. Since I was introduced to it in 2008 or so by Zain, this song has become one of my top 5 favorite songs. The lyrics are really sweet and I'd venture it to be one of the best love songs there is.
Cool lyricism: Here we go, hold on tight and don't let go, I won't ever let you fall, I love the night - flying over these city lights, but I love you most of all.
4. Pavement - Spit on a Stranger
Also quite an old song. But it has great staying power. There's another version by Kathryn Williams that's more reflective, I suppose and some may enjoy it. But I think this is the best version. A generally introspective song.
Cool lyricism: I've been thinking long and hard about the things you said to me, and now I see the long, the short, the middle and what's in between.
3. The Explorer's Club - Forever
Taken from HIMYM. It's the scene where Marshall and Lily get back together in Season 2. HIMYM actually has quite a lot of brilliant songs on it's soundtrack. There's a track called "Rivers and Roads" by the Head and the Heart which should get an honorable mention but it just wasn't played enough. But it's good to give it a go. "Forever" is very sweet though - the vocals fit the song very well. They sound very innocent, hopeful and that sort of thing. A good short 2.5 minute track that tends to leave a feel-good notion.
Cool lyricsm: She's the kind of girl who's in my thoughts all night, and she's the kind of girls who makes your wrongs all right.
2. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago
This is the type of song with which you can lock yourself up in a wooden cabin for a month and just contemplate, life, the universe and everything. Maybe the "forever ago" bit adds to the whole melancholia and nostalgia sensations that kind of pervade the song. It's very soulful. A great end of the year song. But I did listen to it throughout the year, in fairness. Also, bonus points for the name "Emma." The vocals are really haunting.
Cool lyricism: I toured the light, so many foreign roads, for Emma, forever ago.
1. Lupe Fiasco - The Show Goes On
Uses the hook from Modest Mouse's "Float On" to great effect. "The Show Goes On" is a terrific song for any occasion. If you're in a good mood and want to pump yourself up, play it. If you're down and you want a lift, play it. If you're bogged down with tonnes of crap, play it. It's a song that's sure to encourage. If you choose to listen to it, which you really should, take some time to appreciate the lyrics. I should add, though, that Lupe himself didn't particularly want to do this song, which does sadden me a little, but the song is still good. And he did add a bit of retribution in the lyrics to the producers. But anyway, give it a listen and try to go along with the lyrics.
Cool lyricism: So no matter what you've been through, no matter what you in to, no matter what you see when you look outside your window, brown grass or green grass, picket fence or barbed wire, never ever put them down, you just lift your arms higher. Raise 'em till your arms tired, let 'em know you there, that you struggling and surviving, that you gon' persevere.
Top 5 Movies I've Watched in 2012
To be clear, I know that I've rated some of these movies before in other posts. But after the benchmarking and the normalizing of the ratings, I cannot find myself agreeing with some of the ratings I made earlier. The Dark Knight Rises is not an 8.5, for example. Neither is Hugo an 8.8. I have adjusted these ratings. I must also note that I should watch The Dark Knight Rises again some time in the future, this time, with my expectations managed so that I can evaluate it as a movie on its own.
5. 21 Jump Street (8.0/10)
A movie in which Channing Tatum was more hilarious than Jonah Hill. Overall, a very funny movie - comedy of the year. I think it's the type of movie everyone can enjoy - it's not overly 'bro' like The Hangover, neither does it take itself too seriously that it becomes unintentional comedy like most Nicolas Cage movies.
T-3. The Cabin in the Woods (8.3/10)
A really smart take on the classic horror/slasher genre. Hell of a ride, great entertainment with loads of laughs. And, it has Amy Acker:-
 |
| Still my dream girl after all these years. |
As I mentioned earlier, I dropped the ball on this. I'm not even sure why. Maybe it wasn't on the IMDB releases list at end-2011. But in any case, a lot of nostalgia and familiarity with this one. Particularly poignant to you if you used to play a lot of old-school video games. But even if you didn't, the characters are easy to like and the story is easy to follow, and it will lead you to a good sense of satisfaction at the end. Very smartly-written and the graphics are great too.
2. Hugo (8.5/10)
I did say I reduced Hugo's ratings. But of course, not by that much. As I wrote before here, this was a really well-done adventure-imagination movie. I am quite the sucker for these types of movies, particularly if they're adventures by children and particularly if they go back in time to the mid 1900s etc. I mean, there's something really quite beautiful about a kid's adventures, I think. Maybe they hit the nail on the inner child's head in all of us. The world in which Huge was crafted to live in was rather magical (in the railway station), Chloe Moretz becomes more and more pwntastic each time she's on screen, and I do like that Hugo's own mini-life-goal was part of a bigger plan and bigger purpose for the movie. I strongly encourage you to watch the movie, you will like it.
1. The Hobbit (9.0/10)
 |
| Radagast the Brown! |
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