Top 10 Random Cultural/Sports Related Things of 2006
One of the things I loved about 2006.
10. Vince Young. It all started with the amazing Rose Bowl game last January, which we watched at Tina’s apartment, me rooting for UT because I “want to see a good game.” Well, we sure got one. And Mr. Young has made the Tennessee Titans the most exciting team to watch this year in the NFL, too. They bowed out of the playoff race just this afternoon, but they were fun to watch.
9. World Cup. Yes, it was marred by a poor effort from the U.S., bad officiating, and boorish behavior, but still, you can’t complain about three or four matches a day of world-class soccer for several weeks. Of course, the enduring image from this Cup will be Zidane’s headbutt on the Italian, but let’s not forget all the heroics and the graciousness of the host country up to that point. (And yes, I’m bummed out that the U.S. was unable to reach an agreement with Jürgen Klinsmann.)
8. Detroit Tigers. For much of the summer I watched them dominate the American League, but I couldn’t believe they’d actually do anything against a stacked Yankees team in the playoffs, let alone make it all the way to the World Series. It wasn’t until that 3rd game of the divisional series, when Rogers out-dueled the Unit to give the Tigers a 2-1 series lead, that I really started to think we might have something here. They went on to win and steam-rolled the A’s in the ALCS, but I don’t need to remind anyone
(or myself) what happened in the World Series. Still, a great year.
7. Little Miss Sunshine. In what was really another depressing year for movies, this one stood out as being meaningful, moving, and just a good couple of hours worth of entertainment. Since we live in the land of No Movies, it takes an extra effort to get out and see things beyond our little nest. This one was well worth it — and I honestly can’t say that about more than one or two other films for the entire year. Blech.
6. High Energy Constructs. While the rest of my trip to California to give a paper at a conference in Riverside was a blur of rental cars, hotel rooms, not being able to locate a bookstore, downing coffee and pastries and listening to overblown litspeak, the part of it that involved Michael Smoler’s new gallery in L.A.’s Chinatown was just perfect. Ever since I’ve known Michael — first in San Francisco, then New York — he’s talked about opening a gallery like this. The exhibits are fresh and cutting edge. The space is small but neat and well-organized. The owner/curator certainly brings “high energy” to the space and his vision. Highly recommended to anyone going through L.A.
5. Anderson’s Coffee. Perhaps I shouldn’t be putting this out there, since it’s such a great place and the tip was handed to me by an old-time Austinite who guards his favorite places like gold. But Pat’s moved to Denver, and I don’t think it’s much of a secret anymore that Anderson’s has the best damn coffee in these (or any?) parts. There’s just nothing better than waking up to some of their Kenyan, or French Roast, or whatever, and sipping a couple of cups down while having breakfast and listening to the radio in the morning.
4. The Wire/Deadwood. Both HBO original series, both excellent, both new obsessions over the past three or four months (in the case of the The Wire, even more recently). Just put it this way: you’d have to be a mope or a hooplehead to watch the first three episodes of either of these and not become immediately addicted.
3. Books on tape/CD. Over the summer, it was Flaubert, Chekhov, and Don Delillo’s vast masterpiece Underworld, which Tina and I both ended up reading, as well. On the trip we just took to Arizona, it was Cormac McCarthey’s No Country for Old Men and Phillip Roth’s The Plot Against America, the latter of which we still haven’t finished, but which is excellent so far. What a blast, though, to be driving through the actual landscape that McCarthy described in his book — Fort Stockton, Odessa, Van Horn, El Paso, etc. — while listening to the novel read out loud.
2. The San Marcos Activity Center. All right, so I get a tad upset at times during my bi-weekly racquetball games with a couple of local lads at the Activity Center. Sometimes, I even say things like “shoot,” or “darn it.” But it’s a great way to get the blood pumping and have some good, clean, competitive activity. Also, I go there to work out and swim, so sometimes I’m there three or four times a week. The center is a great deal, and especially convenient now that we’ve moved just a couple of blocks away.
1. Blogging. I’m about five years late to the game, but it’s been fun to keep a blog over the past half a year or so. I even had my students at Texas State do it, with mixed results. Overall, though, a fun way to mark certain events and moments, jot down some poems or thoughts, and rant (although I almost never do that). Some of my favorites to read this year have been Andrew Neuendorf’s Ape and Coffee, Sarah Peters (both the daily and memoir), and of course my wife’s excellent and thought-provoking site.
I guess that’s it — last post of 2006! Happy New Year…
