Top 3 Games:

It was the year of the sequel.  Each one of these games completely blew away the game before it.  The all deserve to be on this list, and if you haven’t played them, go out and put money down on them.  You will not regret it one bit.

1) Mass Effect 2 (xbox 360) – The first game was one amazing space opera.  It had some flaws, but overall was a much improved experience which took out all the stuff I hated in Mass Effect (Mako driving!).  The space mining was a bit tedious, but overall the game was executed very well.  I’m excited to see how this crazy space trilogy ends.

2) Starcraft 2 (PC) –12 years in the making? A rumoured 100 million spent to make it? Well all of that was worth it.  The best RTS game of all time has captured my attention since I got into the beta in March.  I still play it regularly and have a blast.  There is a pretty amazing e-sport scene surrounding the game over in Korea, and it makes watching the game played fun to watch.

3) Uncharted 2 (xbox 360) – Naughty Dog blended Indiana Jones and game playing perfectly, then improved on it.  This game was a ton of fun, and I’m really excited for the third one coming out sometime this year.

Runners Up: God of War 3(PS3), Assassins Creed 2(xbox 360)

Top 3 Albums:

1) Brothers(Deluxe) by The Black Keys – Hadn’t heard of them until their grammy nomination.  Now I can’t get enough of this blues rock brother combo.  Do not miss this album.  It’s like if you took Gnarls Barkley and Stevie Ray Vaughn and mashed them together.  So weird, yet so good.  Pick this one up.

2) Travel Vol 3 by Future of Forestry – The idea of releasing about 5 songs every 6 months or so is awesome.  More bands need to this more often.  I loved the first two volumes, and the third one of the set was by far the best.  The tempo was increased, more guitars added and the lyrics just as strong.  You need to pick this up.

3) Stone Temple Pilots – Stone Temple Pilots – After a many year hiatus, mutliple “super groups” and apparently a few times in rehab.  The group has reformed to put out which I think was one of the best albums of the year.  If you are a child of the 90s then you owe yourself to buy this album and give a good listen.

Top 3 Movies

1) Inception – Does Christopher Nolan ever make a bad movie? So far the answer is no, and this movie blew away my large expectations for it.  It is a bit mind bending, but simply amazing.

2) True Grit – This one squeaked into my top 3 at the very end of the year.  The Coen brothers do it again with this sort of remake of the original.  This movie was carried by the actors and the excellent dialogue written for them.  Go see it, you still have time.

3) Scott Pilgrim vs the World – This movie was about an hour and half of pure 90s video game references and inside jokes.  It was great to see a film that seem to have been made for my child hood growing up in Canada with the tastes that I have.  It is definitely not for everyone, but it was definitely for me.  If you did like the movie, make sure you go up and pick up the comic books the movie was based off of as well.

Runner Up: The Book of Eli

Top 3 Trips

1) The Hospital - I became a father this year.  Driving to the hospital after Jenn’s waterbroke was something I’ll never forget.  It’s been a pretty crazy experience over the last couple months, learning to be a father but I hav enjoyed every minute of it.. (well most minutes).

2) Europe (Germany, Italy, Austria) - Jenn and I finally got to do our planned trip to Europe.  We are still paying for the trip months later, but it was worth every penny.  Getting to see things like the coliseum and Dachau were pretty amazing.  I could go on for hours about the trip, but I won’t.  Oh yeah, and the food was awesome too.

3) San Francisco –San Fran makes it onto the list for the second straight year as I was able to attend my first GDC.  I had been following the event for many years, and now I was finally able to attend.  I don’t think I’ll get to go to it this year, but it was a blast nonetheless.

Top 3 Restaurants

1) Churchill Arms – For the second straight year, Churchill Arms makes my #1 favourite restaurant.  I still order the same thing every time.  They even got featured on Regis and Kelly this summer.  Get the curry half and half.  They’ll know what you mean and you won’t regret it.

2) Zen Sushi Bar – We are crazy blessed with Asian food now in Charlottetown.  We have Korean, Japanese, Thai, Chinese, and we just now need a Vietnamese place, but regardless of all that, the first real sushi restaurant opened and it good.  It’s a weekly tradition amongst some of my coworkers and we enjoy the trip to the small little shop every time.

3) Casa Mia - They keep me caffeinated daily.  That should say enough.

Top 3 websites

1) Netflix.ca – This year we finally got the video streaming service to Canada and it’s awesome.  The only draw back is that their selection is a tad on the week side.  With the cost only being $8/month, it is very easy to overloook the poor selection, because there is usually something to watch there.  It’s really only 1 movie rental to keep a subscription, so until there stops being stuff I want to watch, I’ll continue subscribing.  I also read somewhere this year that they were 95% of all Canadian web traffic one evening.. that is nuts.

2) Gawker Blogs – This company runs a ton of different blogs such as Kotaku, LifeHacker, and Gizmodo.  They keep me up to date on a ton of different topics and the information is pretty reliable and fast.

3) Huffington Post/Drudge Report- This is technically two different sites, but both exist on the extremes of Right and Left news.  Usually the truth lands somewhere in the middle, but they keep me informed of what’s going on in the world from two very different perspectives.

Runner Up: http://www.google.ca/ig?hl=en – It’s the first thing I see when I launch a browser, and therefor should always make my list until someone figures out a better replacement.

Top 3 Shows

1) The Walking Dead - As soon as you think zombies have been done way too many times, something fresh comes out.  This year it was AMC who are best known for Mad Men and Breaking Bad revealed a 6 part first season of the hit graphical novel of the same name.  It was very well done, and an excellent first real step into a series around zombies.

2) Fringe – This show has really pushed it story line forward this year and made some huge improvements over last years wishy washy parts.  So far the season has been great, and I hope it ends as strong as it began.

3) The Daily Show with John Stewart - The most trusted name in news for people of my age.  He leaves no one alone, and pokes great fun at the obsudirty that is American politics.  It’s a great way to kill 20 minutes while eating supper and always makes me laugh while keeping me informed.

Top 3 Books:

I did not read much this year, therefor this list is not as strong as it could have been.  I will be reading more this year for sure.

1) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins–I came across this on a “Best books you’ve probably never read” list.  I had never heard of it, but it got me hooked.  I finished the book in about 3 days staying up late to get through it.  It’s pure teen fiction.  Treat the book like fast food and you’ll enjoy it.  It isn’t going to change the world, but it was definitely a really fun read.

2) Tribes by Seth Godin – This small little book had some great quotes in it.  It takes a look at how each person has the capability of influencing others within their Tribe.  The world is becoming increasingly accessible to anyone.  Reading through this gave me a new perspective on just that.

3) Stuff Christians Like by Jon Acuff- Last year his website made my top list, now this year his book did.  It’s a funny take on the stupid and crazy things Christians do.  I love satire, and Jon Acuff does it well.  Pick it up if you like a good laugh.

Well that’s it for this year.  Hopefully 2011 will have just as many good movies, books, games, and trips.

Oh, I also became an uncle this year too, which was pretty sweet.

Top 3 Books:

1) Freakonomics – If you have ever thought “If crack dealers make so much money why do they still live with their mothers?” Then this book is for you.  It will change the way you approach problems and situations, and in a good way.

2) The Shack – Yeah it was hyped to insane levels, but for good reason.  This is a great read for people of faith or not.  It turns some of your preconceived notions of God on their heads.  Some people really didn’t like it, but I did.. so much I’ve given it out to a few people already.

3) 1984 - It’s a classic for a reason.  Finally got around to reading it this last year.  If you haven’t read this book why not? Go, buy it now.

Top 3 Games:

I game too much, but here are some games that if you have time to play do not miss them.

1) Batman: Arkham Asylum (xbox 360) – This game was perhaps the perfect mix of Batman style gameplay, memorable characters (they used the cartoon voice actors which added a huge amount of polish), and game pacing.  There were some minor gripes with the boss fights, and the detective mode, but it was an otherwise enjoyable experience.

2) Shadow Complex (xbox 360 Arcade) – It was an arcade title this year done in the MetroidVania style.  It was an awesome game that kind of came out of nowhere for me.  If you haven’t played it, spend the Microsoft Points and pick it up.  I promise you won’t regret it.

3) Modern Warfare 2 (xbox 360) – It’s sold like a billion copies, and deservedly so.  The single player story can be extremely confusing, but the set pieces were amazing, but I bought this for the Multiplayer and I’ve played a lot of it.. probably too much.

Top 3 Albums:

1) Armistice by MuteMath - I LOVED their first album, and this one destroyed it.  It was my most anticipated album of 2009 and it did not disappoint me one bit.  Please go buy this one, it is simply amazing.  From some Jazz inspired hits, to some hard hitting rock songs it’s a varied piece that was well put together.

2) Church Music by David Crowder Band – A Collision was an absolute masterpiece, Remedy wasn’t that great or memorable, so how does Church Music stack up? Well they went back to their A Collision routes and wrote an album that has to be listened from first to last song as each flows right into the next.  I really loved this album and still play it months later.  It’s not as good as A Collision, but is definitely a close 2nd.

3) Travel Vol 1 & 2 by Future of Forestry – I had never heard of these guys before this year, but their unique sound grew on me.  The two EPs are basically half albums that make up a full set.  I wish more bands did this, release a few songs every few months rather then keeping a ton for one release every 2 years.

Top 3 Movies

1) District 9 – I love Science Fiction and I love Peter Jackson what happens when you put both together? You get an awesome directorial debut by Noel Kampann about an Alien race that landed in South Africa and is stuck and treated like garbage by us.  It was a fun ride, and I can’t wait for the inevitable sequel.

2) Zombieland – This movie kind of came out of no where.  It was a fun ride, the highest grossing Zombie movie of all time and had a sweet Bill Murray cameo.  If you haven’t seen this yet, go watch it now.

3) Avatar – This was closer to a Disney Ride than your typical movie.  If you haven’t watched this yet, go, now!  Do not wait to see this on a TV, it will never do the experience justice and you will walk away thinking that you just watched Pocahontas in space.  The 3D was crazy awesome.

Runner Up: Star Trek – It was awesome and JJ Abrahms touch is golden.

Top 3 Trips (I love to travel and do as much as possibly can!)

1) Alaska - I got to see Alaska with my Grandfather and Dad.  It was an amazing experience I will never forget.  The view and good times are something that you can only experience once in your life.

2) Bahamas - I went to the Bahamas with Jenn and her Family in May.. that was sweet.  I love beaches and hot weather, which I got a lot of.  I liked it much better then when I was in Jamaica a few years back.

3) San Francisco – I was there for work, which kinda sucked but regardless I have few nights to myself and I was able to go check out some sights and sounds of a pretty cool city.  I also had the opportunity to have dinner with the creator of Rolando.  That was a pretty sweet experience.

Top 3 Purchases

1) PS3 - Yeah, I was a hater at first.  The machine has potential, but right now the game library is just too small, hopefully that changes this year.

2) Tom’s Shoes – I bought myself a pair of Tom’s Shoes, I’ve blogged about them earlier as they give away a pair for every one they sell.  This is a sweet concept that I hope more companies jump on board with.

3) 23″ LG Monitor – Got this on a boxing day sale.  It’s nice going to 1080p, and it was an amazing deal.

Top 3 Restaurants

1) Churchill Arms – I love their curry, and rarely buy anything else when I’m there.

2) Gahan – Amazing pub food and very reasonable prices.

3) Casa Mia - I don’t eat here often, but their coffee is awesome, and they are next door to my office which is ++!

Top 3 websites

1) Twitter.com – It’s a weird site, that some people don’t get.  But it benefited me in 2009 in a few ways.  So it gets on my list. Follow me at @rfilsinger.  Even though it’s a great site for some things, it’s good for a laugh too… check this out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5Ff2X_3P_4 for a good satirical look at Twitter.

2) http://www.google.ca/ig?hl=en – Makes the list again this year.  No better homepage out there.  All my news in one easy to view spot.

3) http://stuffchristianslike.net - He is a very funny blogger who organized people to raise $60,000 to build a Kindergarden in Vietnam.  If you love Christian Satire presented in a unique way, this is definitely a great site to read.

Runner Up: Wikipedia .. because it has taught me so much, so quickly.

Top 3 Shows

1) V - It’s only 4 episodes in, but it has me hooked.  I’m just a SciFi junkie though, so I’m easily hooked by half way decent science fiction.

2) Fringe – JJ Abrahms at it again.. this guy works magic.  It has one of the best TV characters of all time in Walter.  A decent cross of  X-files and lost.

3) Dexter - In season 4, they blew us away with an ending no one will ever forget.  Glad to see the writers go somewhere tough in this weirdly styled show.

Well that’s it for this year.  Hopefully 2010 will have just as many good movies, books, games, and trips.

It is now two years later, and I still have that bitter taste in my mouth over my disappointing concert experience, still feeling like he owes me $15 or at least a free concert.  He has released his fourth studio album (after saying publicly he’d only ever put out 1 ), and it is titled YES!.  The first single is titled 4321, which is also the moniker for his disc launch website 4321.fm .  Which, by the way is where you can now listen to his entire album, online for free!  So due to being cheap, lazy, and unsure if I wanted to give this man my money, I listened to the entire thing online, several times tonight to get a feel for it.  So, all that introduction aside, here is what I think of it.  One last thing before I dive into it, I generally do not like hip hop, rap, R&B, etc, it is just one of those genres of music I could never really understand, relate to, or sink my teeth into.  There are a few *very* rare exceptions, one being Gnarls Barkley, and the other most notably, being the man himself, K-OS.  I have liked his stuff pretty much from day one, maybe it’s his rhymes, or his voice, or the crunchy guitar he likes to throw in here and there or a combination of all three.

To put it simply, and out front; this album really is quite good.  It starts off with Zambony which is a great opening song that is a strong example of what I think Kevin does very well.  He presents the listener with digestible hip hop verses, with a singable chorus that are separated with very smooth transitions.  Next up on the list is Astronaut, which has some great verses, a good beat, an interesting world music vibe, but the modified voice overs through out the song, just ruin it for me.

After that is Burning Bridges, which reminds me strongly of “Sunday Morning”, which is a good thing.  That was one of my favourite songs from his last outing and the song structure works well here.  Singing about caring what other people think of him, hopefully he has taken these lyrics to heart and performs for the people that came to hear him, and not for those who didn’t.  He follows that one up with Uptown Girl which is another stand out on the album.

Almost half way through we get treated with what I like to describe as the most stereotypical hip hop song on the entire album.  It has classic female harmony sung by Nelly Fertado, hard over the top rap lyrics, which usually isn’t my thing, but for some reason it works here and I liked it.

As mentioned earlier, 4321 is the first single from the album, and is fine on it’s own, and was probably the most logical choice for a single on the whole album.  Not much to say, other than that.

Right after that is the follow up Eye Know Something, which has some heavy synth, voice overs and K-OS’ alien voice makes a comeback.  It is another song that I normally wouldn’t like, but it brings me in and I hate that I like it.  If that makes any sense.

In Aviator we see a slower tune, with some funk guitar overlaid, and is a good setup to Fun! which is probably my second favourite track on the entire album.  Which is opened up with some heavy guitar, dj scratching, and scathing lyrics.

Sometimes, the best is followed with the worst, and so is the case with Mr. Telephone Man.  If musicians can have “gimmick” songs, than Mr Telephone Man is one.. with the repeating dialing tones playing in the background, stuttering verses, and lyrics surrounding the topic.  Easily the weakest track on the album, seems like he just sat bored one day in a room staring at his phone and out popped track 10.  The last two songs are WhipC.R.E.A.M and The Avenue, which are not really not worthy, and easily forgettable.

K-OS really shines when the music gets out of his way, sets up the back beat and his lyrics just flow from topic to topic.  For the most part, he does this on the album, but it’s marred by some over sampling and trying to do much here and there.  This album is not as musically diverse as his other outings, but that doesn’t detract from the overall experience…  I did really enjoy the album, and I am probably going to buy it.  If you liked any of his earlier work, I recommend you pick it up, you won’t be disappointed.

I give this album 4 concert refunds out of 5.

As a final note he is touring the country for free in a “pay what you want” type of concert.  Maybe he’s trying to make up for his walk out in PEI, or maybe that is just my imposing my wants onto his publicity stunt.  And the cherry on top, is that I won VIP passes to any of the shows in Canada, but I can’t attend any of them.

K-OS, if you ever read this, or it comes across your desk, come back to PEI, I’ll buy the ticket again, just give me the full show, and we’ll call it even.

1. “Zambony” – 3:46
2. “Astronaut” – 3:14
3. “Burning Bridges” – 3:32
4. “Uptown Girl” (featuring Emily Haines from Metric & Murray Lightburn) – 3:38
5. “I Wish I Knew Natalie Portman” (featuring Saukrates & Nelly Furtado) – 3:10
6. “4, 3, 2, 1″ – 3:54
7. “Eye Know Something” – 3:36
8. “The Aviator” – 3:27
9. “FUN!” – 5:27
10. “Mr. Telephone Man” – 6:06
11. “WhipC.R.E.A.M.” – 2:56
12. “The Avenue” – 9:23

Since then, Reznor has pioneered a new, fan-centered business model that radically breaks with the practices of the struggling music industry. His embrace of “freemium” pricing, torrent distribution, fan remixes and social media seem to be paying off financially even as they have helped him forge deeper connections with the Nine Inch Nails faithful.

It’s something he never could have done before, even on an indie label. “Anyone who’s an executive at a record label does not understand what the internet is, how it works, how people use it, how fans and consumers interact — no idea,” he declares. “I’m surprised they know how to use e-mail. They have built a business around selling plastic discs, and nobody wants plastic discs any more.”

Meanwhile, the entire system that for a lucky few turned those discs into hits — rock radio, MTV, music mags, CD megastores — has crumbled, and label execs have no idea where to turn. “They’re in such a state of denial it’s impossible for them to understand what’s happening,” Reznor says. “As an artist, you are now the market.”(emphasis mine)

I believe you should have to pay for music, but nobody wants plastic discs anymore.  The last plastic disc I bought for myself was 3 years ago, but now I buy more music than I ever have.  I listen to all my music through my iPod or on my laptop at work.  Why would I want a disc that I have to rip and then just put away?  I want music digitally, cheap and fast.  Even today I bought the new Hip album on iTunes and didn’t have to go hunting for it.  Just clicked two things and now I’m listening to it.

I’ll scream on this soap box for a while I think.  Media is shifting, don’t get left behind.  This applies to all apsects of our lives, religion, tv, print, music, video, tourism.  The 21st century culture shift isn’t coming, it’s already here.  What are you going to do about it?

Well today on my twitter stream I saw an article about being able to buy the entire PUSA discography for $3.  I was intrigued, so I checked it out.  Most of my day is spent in the iTunes store and iPhone applications due to my job, so I am always checking out new stuff and this peaked my interest.  PUSA released their entire discography through an application that you download.  So I plunked down my $2.99 and downloaded the app.  I figured there would be at least one catch, that you had to use the app to listen to the songs, instead of your music app on your iPhone or iTouch.  But there are two more catches, that keep from completely loving this idea.  First is that you MUST have an internet connection of some kind.  Me having an iPod Touch only means I have to have wifi connected, and that means on my flight today I will not be able to listen to the music.  Second is that you cannot select specific songs, only albums and it will randomly shuffle through the songs.  These two issues keep me from completely falling in love with this idea.  But kudos to you PUSA for trying something different to get me to listen to your music.  Maybe i’ll go and pay that $0.99 for “Peaches”, so I can have that flashback feeling to 1995 where I was awkward and nerdy.   (maybe i still am… lol ).

If you don’t mind the two restrictions I mentioned, then go and spend your $3. The music quality is fantastic and now I get a full preview of their new album for the price of two coffees.