Man, 2016 was a rough year. We’ve lost so many important people. Losing Bowie alone was crushing. But the rest of the musicians, actors, athletes and dignitaries that died compounded that feeling.
And then add the train wreck that is President Elect Trump and man, 2016 was just the worst.
I usually hate seeing end of the year posts on social media because the same people complain year after year that current year was awful and they can’t wait for the next year to begin. And repeat every year.
Other than President-Elect Trump, 2016 was another great year for us.
We saw several concerts, including The Avett Brothers, Iron & Wine, The Counting Crows, Rob Thomas, Goo Goo Dolls, Morris Day and the Time, Seu Jorge, and one of our new favorite bands, The Suffers, four times this year.
We spent an amazing week in Palm Springs and Joshua Tree National Park. Joshua Tree is honestly one of the coolest places that I’ve ever been to and I can’t wait to go back at some point.
We also spent a week in Wildwood, New Jersey for a vacation with my family – the first one that we’ve done in almost 20 years.
Our niece and nephews continue to grow in wonderful little people, and we will start off 2017 with a new niece or nephew in March!
We continued our exploration of Texas by taking a few road trips which has been doing nothing but psyching me up to do a big Texas road trip. One day that will happen.
On to the list! As a refresher, these are things that were new in 2016 that I think were awesome.
Best Comic Book (Series)
Huck
Huck is a miniseries written by Mark Millar with art by Rafael Albuquerque. The series follows Huck, who is a gas station attendant in a small town. But Huck has abilities, and he uses those abilities to secretly do one good deed a day. Sometimes it’s rescuing a baby from a fire, finding a lost dog, or finding a trinket thrown out in the garbage. He doesn’t do it for fame or fortune, just because he’s a good person who wants to help. (Superman fans will recognize this theme – Millar is a massive Superman fan).
However, when word gets out about Huck, people show up to try and use him for their gain. Huck’s fame also brings his past – and his origins – in a bad way.
You can order the collected series of Huck on Amazon.
Best album
Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead
I think this album surprised a lot of people when it was announced. One day Radiohead nukes all of their social media sites, then a few days later we’re presented with this video:
And then Moon Shaped Pool came out shortly after.
Honorable Mentions: Gore by Deftones, The Suffers by The Suffers
Best TV show (comedy)
Angie Tribeca
I love zany off the wall comedies, and Angie Tribeca is a great one. Created by Steve Carrell and Nancy (Walls) Carrel, it stars Rashida Jones as Angie Tribeca, a detective in Los Angeles.
It’s written and crafted in the same vein as Airplane! and the Naked Gun movies.
Best TV show (drama)
Stranger Things
Holy crap this show. It came out of nowhere. We started watching it one night after work and literally stayed up all night to finish it. Watching Stranger Things feels like you’re watching an 80’s sci-fi show, but more than that. It wraps up Stephen King, Steven Spielberg, and others all into one.
It follows three friends, who are trying to find the fourth of their group who mysteriously disappears. While looking in the woods for him one night, they find a frightened girl. From there, the show unravels into part sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and monster movie as the friends learn more about the mysterious girl and where their friend is, and how they are connected.
Best Movie (tie)
Other People
I heard about this movie on Twitter and we watched the trailer on iTunes and rented it that night. It’s an insane emotional rollercoaster. Other People tells the story of the writer’s life, dealing with his mother’s cancer, and death. Jesse Plemons plays the role of the son, who moves back home to help his mother and family. The movie is funny and heartbreaking.
Arrival
I didn’t know what to expect going in with Arrival. It’s one of the few movies I wanted to see without ever have seeing a trailer. All I knew about the movie, was from the poster. I had no idea if it was an invasion story, or what.
Arrival is an invasion story, but not in the traditional sense. The aliens show up over 12 sites across the globe, and are trying to communicate with us. It tells the story of a linguist (Amy Adams) who has been tasked by the military to try and communicate with the aliens.
It’s a sci-fi movie, but also political. If you’re opposed to sci-fi or alien movies, I urge you to still watch this.
Movies not out yet, but have potential: La La Land, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Passengers
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