"Sigh..."

It's New Year's Eve and I'm home alone. No parties, no one to kiss at midnight, nothing...

I was actually invited to a party which could turn out to be a humdinger, but I forgot to get directions. I could be hanging out with some of the hot waitresses from the restaurant, but here I am posting. Doh! I figured that this is probably about lamest thing I could do right now other than actually sleeping through it. (Not that there's anything lame about posting.)

I can't even decide which shitty live New Year's Eve coverage to watch. Regis, Carson, or Dick Clark? Dick Clark is the obvious choice, but the poor guy had a stroke. That's not cool. Just another example of how shitty 2005 was. I wish him the best.

On a personal level 2005 was okay. I did go to Switzerland and have a fun "Up North" vacation, but overall it was a lackluster year. A few friends faced and are still facing some undeserved challenges. No major accomplishments or anything on my part and I'm still at the same miserable job.

On national and international levels 2005 was pure CRAP! Right off the wings of the killer tsunami of 2004, 2005 clumsily stumbled forward making an ass of itself. Dubya and the political scandals of his administration, f'ing Katrina, other major hurricanes, earthquakes in the Middle East/Asia, flooding in Europe...

hold on a second...the ball is dropping...
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Happy New Year! May 2006 bring you everything that 2005 didn't. Wishing you health, happiness, prosperity, and wishes come true. Let's hope that there are some changes-a-comin' in DC and that the fate of the rest of the world is peace and resolution. Be safe and be nice to people. Hopefully everyone will be nice to you in '06. ;)
Okay...back to the depressiing stuff...

...political upheavals, civil wars, Terri Schiavo, the London Underground bombings, Kwame winning...again, and more general shittiness. 2005 sucked balls! Americans are losing more of their civil rights under the current far right evangelical Christian administration and the Supreme Court won't do anything about it if Dubya has his way. I could make a blanket statement that 2005 was an entirely embarrassing year for the US, but the same could said of the last 6 years...

2005 was certainly a great year for Triump the Insult Comic Dog to poop on!


2005 in a nutshell.



Enough of this disheartening stuff...let's just look forward to a better 2006, but it won't get any better if you don't do your part. Do whatever it takes to make this world a better place. Walk softly on this planet, but speak loudly.

Okay...
I haven't really compiled any best of lists for 2005, but I'll throw a few things out there...

Best albums released in 2005 in no particular order-
Z by My Morning Jacket
B-Sides and Rarities by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Suspicious Activity? by The Bad Plus
Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
Thelonious Monk Quartet with John Coltrane at Carnegie Hall (Live)
Aerial by Kate Bush
Takk...by Sigur Ros
Who's Your New Professor? by Sam Prekop
Tender Buttons by Broadcast

Best Songs of 2005-
"Gideon" by My Morning Jacket (I've only had this album for a little over a week and this song is my #1 of the year.)
"Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens


Best movies of 2005 (I didn't see too many and I barely remember what I saw...Don't bitch that I haven't said Capote, Good Night, and Good Luck, Brokeback Mountain, Crash, Munich, or Syriana because I haven't seen them yet. Star Wars, Episode III- Revenge of the Sith? Better than the last two, but doesn't even touch Eps. IV-VI.

The Aristocrats
The Chronicles of Narnia- The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Broken Flowers
Downfall
Walk the Line
The Wedding Crashers
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
The Woodsman
Millions

Best TV Shows of 2005-
House
Arrested Development
Lost
Law and Order: SVU
Family Guy
Globetrekker
No Reservations
Stranded With Cash Peters
Any VH-1 version of I Love the 80's

Biggest Asshole of the Year (2005)-
Dubya

Best Vegetable of 2005-
Fennel/Terri Schiavo (TIE)

Best Cookie of 2005-
Chocolate Chip

Grape Varietal of the Year (2005)-
Shiraz! What else?

Best Wines of 2005-
I had a lot of great wines in 2005, but these are a few standouts...
2004 De Lisio Khrystina McLaren Vale Shiraz
2003 Mr. Riggs McLaren Vale Shiraz
2003 Piping Shrike Barossa Valley Shiraz
2004 Winner's Tank Langhorne Creek Shiraz
2003 Glaetzer "Bishop" Barossa Valley Shiraz
1999 Pewsey Vale "The Contours" Eden Valley Riesling
2002 Noon Reserve Langhorne Creek Shiraz
2003 Henry's Drive Padthaway Shiraz
2004 Yalumba Y Series Viognier
2002 Brown Estate Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Peter Franus Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2003 Consilience Santa Barbara Petite Sirah
2003 Tir Na N'og McLaren Vale Grenache Old Vines
2004 Borsao Tres Picos Campo di Borja Garnacha
2003 Casa Lapostolle Colchagua Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
2002 Domaine Zind-Humbrecht Rotenberg Pinot Gris
2003 Rosenblum Harris Kratka Zinfandel
2002 DuMol Russian River Valley Pinot Noir
2003 Consilience Ashley's Vineyard Santa Barbara Pinot Noir
2004 Consilience Santa Barbara Viognier
2002 Jaffurs Melville Vineyard Syrah
2002 Adelaida Mountain Climber's White
Louis de Sacy Champagne NV

Best Bagel Flavor of 2005-
Asiago

Best alcoholic beverage of 2005-
Wine...Duh!

Best Meals of 2005-
(I didn't get out much in '05 and didn't have too many fancy meals. I do go to certain places more than others, but I won't mention those places here as they're not great, but good.)
Zingerman's Roadhouse in Ann Arbor
Agave in Detroit
Any meals prepared by friends, especially G. and C.
Any meals prepared by my uncle Koni in Switzerland
The Roesti at the brew house in Zurich
Lamb Vindaloo at the Italian/Indian restaurant in Neuhausen
Fondue at Alfred's


Best cheese of 2005-
Ewephoria Sheep's Milk Gouda

Best Bread of 2005-
Avalon Bakery/Zingerman's (TIE)

Best Books of 2005-
(I didn't actually read too many books that were actually published in '05.)

Best Books Read in 2005-
Take the Cannoli by Sarah Vowell
Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Bone in the Throat by Anthony Bourdain
Any cookbooks

Best toothcleaner of 2005-
Toothpaste and toothbrush

Worst Trends of 2005-
Music Downloading
General idiocy of "Red Staters"
Non-separation of church and state
Banning of peanut butter from schools
Corporate down-sizing
"Big 3" Lay-Offs/Firings
Americans believing what comes out of Dubya's mouth
Big Box stores
Burger King Commercials with that freaky looking "Burger King"
Road construction everyfrickin'where in the Detroit area

Best Trends of 2005-
Flying Spaghetti Monsterism
Blogging
Bitching about the government
Increase in home-cooking
Good wine in boxes
Screwcaps on quality wine bottles
Resurgence of quality restaurants/clubs in Detroit

Best color of 2005-
Black

Most anxiously awaited Detroit event/curiousity of 2006-
The Superbowl

Best thing in a bowl (2005)-
Soup

Best meat of 2005-
Beef short ribs/lamb shanks (TIE)

Best reason to get up in the morning (2005)-
Can't think of one.

Here's a link to the celebrities that died in 2005.
We'll miss you Johnny Carson and Richard Pryor...you were both the greatest!


I'm going to a party tomorrow at Julie and Glen's tomorrow for our group's Secret Santa Exchange. I'm bringing brownies. I pulled them out of the oven a while ago. I'll make a ganache for them tomorrow. The recipe is here. They're wicked good! There's a trend amongst sinful chocolate desserts to call them things like Chocolate Suicide, Death by Chocolate, etc. I like to follow the trend and call them Chocolate Skullf*** Brownies. They're pretty damn good, but I only use the best ingredients (organic eggs, Valrhona/El Ray/Scharffenberger/Green & Black chocolate, organic unbleached flour, natural vanilla, etc.). I look forward to hanging out with my friends tomorrow and to a better 2006. Wishing you the best!

Cheers,
Jason