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Last year I wrote a blog entry that covered my favourite things from 2008.  So, why not start early on my 2010 resolution to blog more and write my favourite things of 2008.  I’m no Oprah, but I do have things I like!  I enjoy recommending things to people, especially when they like them too.    Some of these are in no particular order, some are.. you’ll just have to guess which it is.  So without anymore preamble, I’ll just get right into the list:

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.

On my way to work today I was listening to the radio and heard a news article on how Canadian Broadcasters are crying to the CRTC to allow them to reduce their local programming.  The Globe and Mail has an article up on the same issue.  Essentially, the broadcasters are in peril and local programming is losing them money.  To compensate for this down trend in the economy, and demand for local programming, they want to bring in more American programming and charge a fee to the other carriers for using their signal.  In the last few years there have been a microcosm of events that each on their own wouldn’t have caused this issue, but together is making the perfect storm.

1) The Internet – The interweb has created a completely level playing field.  My little blog on the net has as much of a chance of being viewed by people as a news article written on the Globe and Mail.  The know-how to get your message out there is next to nil now.  Me personally? I get more local news from a few Charlottetown bloggers than I do from The Guardian or the CBC.

2) Youtube – Now anyone can be a star.  Look at people like sXePhil, some guy who makes “what interested me videos” and puts them up.  He gets 300,000 views per video, daily.  His audience is world wide, his content is immediate, and more relevant than any fluff piece that the local tv station puts up.  This is only the beginning.

3) Torrents – You can now watch any show you want, within 1 hour of it being on TV without commercials and in High Definition on your TV.  Why would I sit through programming and force fed commercials that do not relate to me and waste my time, when I can digest any media I want, instantly and when I want.  (I am willing to pay for this service if stations offered it.  Give me the ability to download your shows on Demand, in perfect quality the second they air on TV and I will pay… no one offers this yet, wake me up when they do).

4) The Recession – Add in a recession to all of these things, people are cutting back.  I pay $40/month for my TV and $40/month for Internet.  What would I cut first? My TV of course, I rarely watch anything on satellite now, and would not miss it.  Advertisers are cutting back as well, so funds are being sucked from the broadcasters.

In 1998 Napster came out, the music industry had an opportunity to seize a new trend, make it their own and deliver us high quality music, DRM free for a fee.  They balked at it, and instead of embracing it they fought it, and have lost millions and millions in the process.  Imagine if they had bought Napster, turned that into a service and started the shift THEN to this new medium, I bet they would be in much better shape.  TV is going down the same path with the high availability of any show on the Internet, and people watching more Youtube than they do actual TV.  The CRTC and the broadcasters are clinging on to this old world and not embracing this new trend that will take over.  With the Internet, the world is flat, so stop fighting against it, embrace it.  I believe in local content, but I believe news will be brought to me by the local people on the ground, not traditional news outlets.  Look at what happened with Twitter and the Plane crash in the Hudson.  We were getting updates from the people IN the plane, not the fools out there with cameras and a microphone.

TV as we’ve known it for 50 years is dying.  The game is changing.  There is money out there, and great ideas for programming.  It’s just going to be delivered to us differently, and if the CBC, CTV and other Canadian programmers don’t realize this fast enough they will be left in the dark and eclipsed by some guy in his basement making funny videos with a webcam and he will be the rich one with the advertising dollars.

ps.  Print media is dying too, and that is a similar case to this.  Stop clinging to your old ways, adapt, embrace or be forgotten and out of a job.