That’s perhaps too strong, but it certainly won’t go down as a good year. The death of my father, my uncle, and many others. The disintegration of the economy. The lack of any progress with my band. The loss of my job. Life just threw a lot at me and at the world in general.
It had its ups as well though. Burning Man AND Mexico. A new job that pays a lot more. A solo album written and just about ready to be recorded. And I have to say I’m very glad Obama won the White House.
So how would I bottom line it? Maybe that’s why I’m having a hard time writing this post because I just can’t summon up a strong reaction one way or the other. 2008 was a year of big changes, deep valleys, and moderate peaks. I think I grew a lot this year and certainly feel more the “adult” than I ever have in my life. Not adult old, but adult competent and adult assured. It’s a good feeling to be honest.
Other Things In My Life
- Got laid off from one job
- Sold off TONS of extra stuff I don’t need
- Struck up another job redesigning large parts of the Department of Energy Website which predicated:
- Wearing lots of suits
- Paying off lots of debt
- Riding my bike into work quite often
- Studied analog synthesizers and wrote an entire tutorial on how to program them called Synth Masters DVD – which nobody seemed to want to buy…
- Experienced my second earthquake
- Other firsts included
a psychic reading, contracting conjunctivitis, and a ride in a Ford Model T.
Trips
- Guanojuato Mexico
- The George Washington Masonic Temple
- Brief camping trip
- Steve and Troy’s B-day Camping Trip
- Burning Man 2008!
2008 Best Of Pictures
Again, the best pictures taken by me or of me. Lots this round – Burning Man will do that…
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Of Friends and Family
- My dad broke his femur and then, well..
- One of my oldest friends and his wife split up
- Mrs. Crenshaw was severely bitten by a rabid fox
- Amy moved in next door
- Jay and Laura were officially divorced
- Jay and Lea were official betrothed
- David H had twins – Benjamin and Samuel
- First Jake then Scott moved to Minnesota
In Passing
- Heath Ledger
- Roy Scheider
- William F. Buckley Jr.
- Orpheus Records
- E. Gary Gygax
- Polaroid Instamatic Film and cameras
- Arthur C. Clarke
- Charlton Heston
- Bebe Barron
- Harvy Corman
- Tim Russert
- Pets: Bolero, Bones, Maggie
- Uncle Gary
- George Carlin
- Verl Zanders – my former boss at Z-Tech
- Rob’s Dad
- Isaac Hayes
- My Father
- Paul Newman
- Rudy Ray Moore
- Barrak Obama’s grandmother – on the eve of the election!
- Michael Crichton
- Bettie Page
- “Deep Throat” Mark Felt
- Eartha Kitt – on Xmas (her Santa Baby had been playing on my mom’s stereo just hours earlier).
- VHS tape (although the players are still being made)
In the World
- Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals at the Beijing Olympics
- First the U.S. then the global economy went into meltdown. The word Depression began to be spoken for the first time since the 1930s.
- The US had the most fascinating and dramatic election season I can ever recall.
- The US elected a black man President for the first time in its history.
Films & Shows I’ll Remember
- I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone
- Ten Canoes
- Goodbye, Dragon Inn
- Cloverfield
- Kiss Me, Deadly
- Jerome Bixby’s Man From Earth
- The Grand Illusion
- Into the Wild
- Enchanted
- Mad Men Seasons 1 & 2
- Sorcerer
- Wall-E
- Vertigo
- Brick
- Laura
- Brand Upon the Brain
- Iron Man
- Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull
- The Big Lebowski
- Turok: Son of Stone
Books on the Night-stand
- Night of the Triffids – Simon Clark
- Sannikov Land – Vladimir Obruchev
- The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Salior – various
- Darwin’s Radio – Greg Bear
- The Dangerous Book for Boys – Conn and Hal Iqqulden
- The Moon Pool – Abraham Merritt
- The Four Hour Work Week – Tim Ferriss
- The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym – Edgar Alan Poe
- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About it – Michael Gerber
- – E. Gary Gygax
- The Mountains of Madness – H.P. Lovecraft
- Kamandi Archives, Volume 1 – Jack Kirby
- The Poison Belt – Arthur Conan Doyle
- Vocal Release Singing Manual – Eric Frey
- OVA – Open Versatile Anime Role-Playing Game
- The Watchmen – Alan Moore and (bracing for the movie)
- Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die – Dan and Chip Heath
Memorable Music in the Player
- Red Carpet Massacre – Duran Duran
- You And Me Make We – Daniel Cartier
- Radioactivity – Kraftwerk
- In The Court Of The Crimson King – King Crimson
- A Saucerful of Secrets – Pink Floyd
- Autobahn – Kraftwerk
- Aja – Steely Dan
- Venus on Earth – Dengue Fever
- The Tomita Planets – Isao Tomita
- The Wild Bull – Morton Subotnick – Loved this one. Can’t tell you how many times I listened to it
- Feel Free – Julie Clark
- Sorcerer – Tangerine Dream – another fantastic electronic album; so good I rented the movie
- Beastiary – Robert Rich
- Modern Guilt – Beck
- Change Your Mind – Julie Clark
- Exile On Main St – The Rolling Stones
- Firestarter- Tangerine Dream
- Change Your Mind – Julie Clark
- John Foxx – Metamatic
- Music Fiction – Rithma
- The Brothers Four Greatest Hits – The Brothers Four
- Thief – Tangerine Dream
- Prolong the Magic – Cake
- Radio Retaliation – Thievery Corporation
- Also many, many downtempo singles from artists like Sixtoo, Telepopmusick, Hexstatic and more