Lilith.

15 Things I Liked in 2011, Part 1.

I don’t feel like I partook in much in 2011. We didn’t go out to eat as much, in large part that I spent almost all of my free money on finishing Lilith. Movies were few and far between. Even my reading slowed down quite a bit due to my writing and work schedule. But, like last year, there were definitely some highlights.

15) Psycho Bunny. About two years ago I put a moratorium on buying any clothing made in China. It was largely an issue of human and worker’s rights. It’s also put a hell of a cramp on my personal style because everything I like seems to be made in China. And what isn’t made in China is ridiculously expensive. And then I found Psycho Bunny, a stylish British/ American label that makes some really, really cool clothes, and I don’t have to pay an arm for it. The quality is top-notch, the styles are kind of wacky with bold colors, and I was able to replace all the sweaters that were torn to shreds by our new kitten and not have to take a second mortgage out on my house.

14) Vinyl records with MP3 download codes. Just because you’ve got a set of pimped out Beats headphones doesn’t mean that you’re listening to music at its best quality. The amount of compression that goes into an MP3 is ridiculous, and the resultant sound quality is mediocre at best. The best sound reproduction quality, of course, is still found on heavy vinyl records, as it is a physical replication of sound. You don’t have to be an audiophile to notice the difference. But then there’s that issue of portability, and converting records to mp3’s is a pain in the ass. Just when iTunes was writing the death certificates of vinyl labels, they responded with a novel solution, which was to have a code to download the mp3s with the vinyl. This way, we get the best of both worlds. I get to revel in sleeve art, colored vinyl, and listen to the music the way it was intended to be heard, and I get to also listen to it all on the road without taking the ridiculous amount of time needed to convert it all. Three of my favorite vinyl releases were Matthew Friedberger’s Solos, Zola Jesus’ Conatus, and Electro Rapide by Jean-Claude Vannier.

13) Duncan the Wonder Dog by Adam Hines. It’s been a long time since a graphic novel has really challenged my brain, to make me question my moral responsibilities and my attitudes on life. I honestly think the last graphic novels to do that were Jimmy Corrigan and Maus, and both were a long time ago. And then in July, on a whim, I picked up a copy of Adam Hines’ Duncan the Wonder Dog. I saw that it had been the recipient of the Xeric Grant (always a fail safe barometer of a comic book’s quality), and while thumbing through it I loved the book’s graphic aesthetic, somewhere between a photoshop collage and the frenetic, midnight sketching of a classical artist trying their best to draw an adult animated version of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book.

And then I read it, and by god I’m still trying to work it out in my head, and that’s a wonderful thing. Like Maus the book uses animals, but in this instance the animals are not parables to ethnic groups, they are ethnic groups themselves. Centering around an act of terrorism, the book has stories-within-stories, layering each of them like clear sheets of acetate with the smallest drawing in each corner. The details are unnerving, brilliant and brimming with authentic feelings. Supposedly this is the first in nine volumes, and if this book is just a hint of what lay ahead, then we have on our hands a series that is worthy of the attention of not just casual readers, but the dead-serious literati as well. A special and momentous book.

12) French Berry Lemonade from Trader Joes. I’m not an addictive personality, but if I do have one thing that’s close to an addiction, it’s juice. I go through a half-gallon of OJ about every three to four days, and I dream of Orangina daily. That is until I got my hands on Trader Joes’ French Berry Lemonade. Hoooolllly sheeeit this stuff is good. Like fucking crack. It’s ridiculous, and I have no idea how they make it. If I die an early death, perhaps the most truly poetic way to go out is to drown in a vat of this shit. Seriously. It’s that good.

11) The Vitamix 5200 blender. This was a gift from my mother, who saw me struggle to make our weekly micronutrient juice concoction (kale, apples, celery, beets, lemon, ginger, spinach, carrots and cucumber) and she felt bad that we were throwing out so much valuable fiber into the garbage. She also knew that we make a ton of soup, hence the Vitamix, which is one of the most powerful fucking devices I’ve ever seen. I can blend just about anything in it (although it is no Blendtech, but who really needs to grind rocks and golf balls in their kitchen), and it’s opened up my cooking repertoire tenfold. Aside from soups (my favs are sunchoke soup, carrot and butternut squash varieties), I can make marinades, sauces, and awesome desserts. It’s odd how one tool can make the world of difference in your cooking, something akin to when I got my first chef’s knife as a college graduation gift. Essential to the home chef.

10) Korean Tacos. It took me awhile to jump on the bandwagon because I hate bandwagon-jumping, but this was well worth joining the masses on. Seoul-food at its finest, the mix of kimchi, sriracha aioli, battered deep-fried fish/ shrimp or bulgogi beef all on a freshly-made corn tortilla is simply sex on a plate. I can eat this stuff forever and never get tired of it, although I must admit that the naan-wich (a sandwich made with Indian naan bread) is slowly creeping its way into my heart (or my arteries).

We’re definitely experiencing a culinary revolution, a new nouvelle cuisine, which was the French high -end repurposing of what we thought was ‘peasant food.’ Tacos made with wagyu beef, pork belly used in BLTs, gherkins instead of pickles, and the appropriation of international street foods into our domestic fare. It’s a great time to be a chef.

9) Black Up by Shabazz Palaces. This is the best record of the year, without hesitation. On one end we have Odd Future and Tyler the Creator trying to be dark by ratcheting up the taboos of rape and murder, and on the other end we have Shabazz Palaces plumbing the depths of darkness by dissecting the recesses of our civilized brain. This is real darkness, with no shock value at all, which makes it all the more chilling. It’s also a fine return to form for what’s left of the legendary hip-hop crew Digable Planets, who sadly were last heard being used as background music for a Tide commercial. The group also gave us what I consider the best music video of the year for their track Belhaven Meridian. Again unlike Odd Future, the video lacks any kind of pyrotechnics - it is simple, a single take with a literal twist. But its contents delve into the young history of contemporary black art and film, with a specific shout-out to Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep, arguably the foundation of black cinema. It’s a wonder to simply roam in, and itself is a magnificent piece of art.

8) Cineskates. As the DSLR filmmaking revolution continues, we’re now in the battle of creating a stable image. Despite advanced anti-vibration technology, the DSLR image is still shaky and prone to tremors, but once stabilized, it can match a high-end movie camera in terms of image quality. Stabilization and movement are key components of storytelling and are a key differential between a shoddy vs. professional look, and to have to compromise on them due to technological limitation is a shame.

But as we are an ingenious breed, people are rising to the challenge with simple and elegant solutions to image stabilization. My favorite of the bunch has been the invention of the Cineskates, a simple set of rollerblade wheels that firmly attach to the legs of a Gorilla Tripod, which itself is a wonderful, wonderful invention. The Cineskates allow us to create a stable, smooth tabletop dolly that opens up our cinematic language with the DSLR, and it can be configured in a multitude of ways. The project started out as an idea on Kickstarter, and it went on to one of the largest collections in Kickstarter history. I’ve used the Cineskates and can attest to their quality, ans while it is no replacement for a dolly, it gives the DIY filmmaker a tool that can strive to a dolly’s greatness. Like any other grip tool, it requires patience, practice and precision, but once you get the hang of it, it’s absolutely liberating. Cat videos on YouTube will never be the same again.

7) The Republican Party. Usually it’s painful to watch someone go down in flames right in front of your eyes, but I’ve taken particular joy in watching consecutive GOP candidates shoot themselves in the foot and choke on their own vomit as they joust for the Republican presidential candidacy.

I’m not saying it’s a lock for Barack Obama to get reelected - far from it, as John Kerry proved - but it doesn’t hurt that the dipshit strategies of the GOP aren’t helping their cause. Obama has repeatedly stated that what we’re facing is a challenge, and that there are no easy solutions to our main problem - the economy. It’s the Achilles heel of the conservative agenda, which before has risen on the platform of being against gay marriage, reproductive rights, and stem-cell research. You can try to punch the homophobic ticket, but hey even an asshole bigot needs a job. You can try to justify the sanctity of unborn life, but even a teen mother needs health insurance. You simply can’t play religious cards in the face of a monumental economic meltdown. So the GOP, stripped of their bigoted security blanket, must face the music about the economy, and they haven’t got any solutions. Everyone’s at a loss. Only the face of leadership and forward-thinking will gain the Presidential throne, and so far none of the GOP has demonstrated that, as they continue to spin their assholey rhetoric. So keep being dickheads, Republicans, and reveal the ugly face of who you are so that we can continue to make an honest decision at the polls in November.

6) The BBC. Lost in all the TV-hubbub of the failed “marriage” of Kim Kardashian and the replacement of car-crash incarnate Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men is the stellar - nay, magnificent - track record of the TV output of the British Broadcasting Corporation. Taking the HBO lead of quality over quantity, the BBC has had an absolutely banner year - nay, decade - which has given us some of the finest short-form storytelling in recent memory. From gritty crime dramas like the chilling Luther (Idris Elba is a god, I tell you, a god) to whip-smart reimaginings of classics like Sherlock, to BBC historical stalwarts like Downton Abbey and Cranford, the BBC has committed itself to character and quality. Each program is meticulously directed and lit, and the writing is some of the best in recent memory. Too bad then that these shows are destined to be remade in America and given the ‘TNT Knows Drama’ treatment, and the only American product to match the guts of their British counterparts was Boardwalk Empire. Even The Walking Dead, which I praised in my list last year, has taken a sour turn towards American soap opera drudgery. We’ve something else to learn from the BBC, which is knowing the right time to bring a show to its end. Although fans of Lark Rise to Candleford will disagree.

Part 2 next!