Personal Top Fives of 2009.

This thread is about the Top Fives that you experienced in 2009. The item does not have to have an origin in 2009, but it has to have had an impact on you in 2009. So if you just recently got around to listening to a band or watching a movie, it is fair game for this set of Top Five lists.

Here are a couple of mine. I am sure my lists suffer from the recency effect because I can more easily recall things from later in the year… so there might be some later revisions.

Feel free to post yours and even add new categories that I left out.

Books
5. Predictibly Irrational. By Dan Ariely
4. The Canon. By Natalie Angier
3. The Greatest Show on Earth. By Richard Dawkins
2. Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman! By Richard Feynman
1. The Fabric of Reality. By David Deutsch

Movies
5. Layer Cake
4. Whatever Works
3. Inglorious Bastards
2. City of God
1. Primer

Television
5. Freaks and Geeks
4. The Office
3. Arrested Development
2. Big Bang Theory
1. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Lectures / Debates
5. MBB 2009 Distinguished Lecture Series: Brains, Computers, and Minds with Professor Daniel Dennett
4. Darwin 2009 Lecture: Deceit and self-deception with Robert Trivers
3. Q2C Quantum to Cosmos Festival
2. ASU Origins Symposium
1. Shelly Kagan vs. William Lane Craig: Is God Necessary for Morality?

Audio Entertainment
5. Rick and Brad KATT
4. All Things Considered NPR
3. Talk of the Nation NPR
2. Tim Minchin
1. The Beatles

Internet
5. ISOHunt
4. Netflix
3. Pharangula
2. 52 Blogs to Christ
1. Reddit

Games
5. Pinball
4. Words with friends
3. Scrabble
2. Sudoku
1. Cryptoquote

Television
5. Freaks and Geeks
4. The Big Bang Theory
3. 30 Rock
2. The Office
1. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Music
5. Fiest
4. Led Zeppelin
3. Animal Liberation Orchestra
2. Kings of Leon
1. The Beatles

Shopping
5. Payless Shoe Source
4. Francesca's Collection
3. World Market
2. Target
1. Hobby Lobby

Hobbies
5. Decorative sewing on canvas
4. Making cards
3. Painting
2. Decorating the house/shopping
1. Psychedelics

top drinks

5. half and half (Guiness and lager)
4. Sierra Nevada Fresh Hops series
3. Hudson Baby Bourbon
2. Old Fashioned
1. 18 year Macallan

top movies

5. Rocky II
4. Rocky III
3. Rocky IV
2. Rocky Balboa
1. Rocky

activities
5. Working on creative projects and meditating
4. Settlers of Cataan
3. Debating online
2. Conversing about existence
1. Exploring family life


books

5. Groundhog’s Day at the Doctor by .....I forget...
4. Bread and Honey by Frank Asch
3. The Great Transformation by Karen Armstrong
2. Universal Salvation: The Current Debate edited by Partridge/Parry
1. The Birth of Christianity by John Dominic Crossan


songs/pieces
5. "Corcovado" as performed by jazz pianist Martial Solal on his Live from the Village Vanguard album (he’s about 80)
4. Duruflé: Requiem - Lux Aeterna (the music that will play when the world ends!)
3. Somebody Changed by The Clientele
2. Amarillo Highway by Terry Allen
1. “Hitting on all Sixes” for concert band composed by Edward Knight (OCU)

debates/lectures

5. Does God Exist? - Rabbi Wolpe and Sam Harris
4. Is God Necessary for Morality? - Shelley Kagan and William Lane Craig
3 The Resurrection Debate- Richard Carrier and Mike Licona
2. Did Jesus Rise Bodily from the Dead? -Arif Ahmed and Gary Habermas
1. The Nature of Consciousness - Alan Watts

After a long hiatus, I"m back on Discourse. I probably won't be on much in the next six months. But tonight I'm in a hotel, so here goes

Movies
5. Up
4. Adventureland
3. I Love You Man
2. The Hangover
1. Star Trek

Books
5. Good Calories, Bad Calories (Gary Taubes)
4. The 86% Solution (Mahajan & Banga)
3. Pursuit of Honor (Vince Flynn)
2. Mouse Driver Chronicles (Lusk & Harrison)
1. Outliers (Gladwell)

TV
5. Heroes
4. NCIS (completely formulaic and predictable, but we like it)
3. 30 Rock
2. The Office (admittedly haven't watched current season...don't tell me what happens!)
1. Freaks and Geeks

Albums
5. Sleep Through the Static (Jack Johnson)
4. The Shepherd's Dog (Iron & Wine)
3. Veneer (Jose Gonzalez)
2. Plans (Death Cab)
1. Consolers of the Lonely (Raconteurs)

Internet:
5. kayak.com
4. rottentomatoes.com
3. reddit.com
2. pandora.com
1. CrossFit.com

I also suspect that I'm biased towards more recent experiences. But this is a good start

The top five things that I can remember enjoying from 2009, as compiled in a list form and then later to be revised in my head while in bed at night trying to sleep:

Books or Stories:
1. Rabbit, Run by John Updike
2. Rabbit Redux by John Updike
3. The Afterlife and Other Stories by John Updike
4. Rabbit Is Rich by John Updike (I'm actually not quite finished with it, but I definitely started it in 2009.)
5. For Esme With Love and Squalor by JD Salinger

Albums:
1. Rocky IV soundtrack. I make no apologies. It is brilliant workout music.
2. The Age Of Plastic by the Buggles
3. The Pleasure Principle by Gary Numan
4. Ricky Lee Jones by Ricky Lee Jones
5. Our Ill Wills by the Shout Out Louds

Internet:
1. I refuse to put Facebook but who am I kidding.
2. The Pioneer Woman
3. Apartment Therapy
4. The Sartorialist
5. The New York Times, mostly columns, headlines, and the style section. Again, I'm just going to be honest here.

Television:
1. Mad Men
2. True Blood
3. 30 Rock
4. Curb Your Enthusiasm
5. The Office

Film:
1. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince
2. all of the Rocky movies but mostly Rocky I and IV.
3. Cabaret
4. Coraline
5. Iron Giant/Religulous/Whatever Works. I just squoze three together in one because of indecision.

Moments:
1. Meeting Skyhook and CarbonMade, and the porch that got lots of company from it.
2. The inauguration (of Obama, in case that needed clarifying)
3. Severin becoming less of a small pet and more of a human.
4. Going to NYC
5. Having lots of time to hang with Steven in the evenings because he seems to like to do that, too.

Drinks:
1. Old Fashioned
2. Manhattan
3. Coop Ale Works beer when I can afford them.
3. Vanilla and strawberry vodkas with club soda.
4. Box wine.

Ending with box wine...oooohhh, yeahh.