I'm a "Modern Mormon Men" Contributor

From the About section of the website:

"So, what is a modern mormon man? All three words – modern, mormon and man – are open to diverse interpretation. Figuring out the modern mormon man is less about defining who he is and more about exploring what he's made of. This blog, then, will explore those things the modern mormon man interacts with most and celebrate the spectrum that is sure to be found." 

I'm excited to be a part of this new site and look forward to seeing where it goes. How about you? Do you think it will be a smash hit? Or are there already too many Mormon-themed blogs out there? 

P.S. Please let me know what topics you'd like to see written about, either by me or my colleagues. 

My 2010 Favorite TV List

I feel like I watch a lot of TV. I didn't used to. I watched X-Files, Star Trek: TNG and Ed often back in the day but I never really scheduled my evening around what was on the Tube. In the Fall of 2002, I moved in with my best friend Eric D. Snider and was quickly was absorbed into his condo culture of watching a few shows with hardcore loyalty using a new technology called TiVo. It changed my entertainment life. I could go about my day and then come home and watch the shows I wanted. Back then, we watched with regularity Alias, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, The Simpsons, Saturday Night Live and a few others. By the time I moved out in 2004, I was hooked on serial TV programs and DVRs. I always got one with my cable wherever I lived from that point on. If I found something I liked, I set it up as a "Season Pass" and watched my shows each night before bed. Harmony.

When I got married in 2006, Amelia wasn't really a TV watcher either. But DVRs are a beautiful thing and now we have a handful of shows we watch together and some we watch apart (she's more of a Reality TV fan and I'm more of an Inappropriate Comedy fan). I love watching shows with her. She's in the industry and her technical understanding of how shows work, her comments about wardrobe, her understanding of story and genre make it a priceless experience. It's also great to have someone who laughs just as hard at the brilliance of 30 Rock and Community as I do.

OK, so about the list ... I'm sure I'm forgetting things but here is a summary of my TV life that was in 2010.

My Favorite Comedies
Community
30 Rock
Parks and Recreation
Modern Family
Adventure Time with Finn and Jake
The IT Crowd
South Park

My Favorite Dramas
Mad Men
Dexter
The Walking Dead
Southland
Justified
Monday Night Football

Hit and Miss but When It Hits, Oh Man, It's Great
Saturday Night Live
So You Think You Can Dance
Conan
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

Not As Good Anymore but Still Fun

The Office

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Futurama

Just OK but I Still Watch Sometimes
Outsourced
The Amazing Race
Project Runway
Undercover Boss
Ancient Aliens

Shows I Want to Catch Up On
Friday Night Lights
Vampire Diaries
Dexter
Eastbound and Down
Venture Bros.

Shows I Hate but Sometimes Watch Anyway

America's Next Top Model

The City

American Idol

The Bachelor/Bachelorette

Millionaire Matchmaker

Tool Academy

Shows We Tried but Gave Up On
The Event
Chase
No Ordinary Family
Running Wilde
The Mentalist
Louie
Hawaii 5-0

Shows We Watch that Were Cancelled
The Whole Truth
Lone Star
Rubicon
Lost

My 2010 Movie List

Here are, I think, all the movies I saw in 2010. I have tried to divide them up from best to worst according to how I feel right now about them. As you can see, we view a lot of "kid" movies. Most of the time we try to see the ones even parents will like and it usually turns out that way, thank goodness. There were actually some great family movies this year. Also, it should be noted that the top 5 are pretty interchangeable.

The Top of the Heap
1. Inception
2. The Social Network
3. How to Train Your Dragon
4. Toy Story 3
5. The King's Speech
6. Black Swan
7. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
8. True Grit
9. Nanny McPhee Returns
10. Tangled

Very Good, Indeed
The Fighter
127 Hours
Shutter Island
The Town
Iron Man 2
Kick Ass
The Kids Are All Right
The Other Guys

Hearty Entertainment
Megamind
Harvey Porter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1
Despicable Me
Cyrus
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole
It's Kind of a Funny Story
MacGruber
The Crazies
Get Him to the Greek

Had a Few Good Qualities
Let Me In
Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Sorcerer's Apprentice
A-Team
Splice
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Bored Me, Tried Too Hard or Both
Alice in Wonderland
Tron Legacy
Repo Men

But for the Company, a Total Waste of Time
Legion
Clash of the Titans
Jonah Hex

Haven't Seen But Wish I Had:
Ghost Writer
Knight and Day
Date Night
Salt
Hot Tub Time Machine

So how was your 2010 in movies? Let's hear it in the comments.

My 2010 Favorite Music List

I feel like I personally slacked in my music enjoyment duties this year. There were a few albums I completely missed by artists that I really like. There were new bands that I meant to check out that I never did. Life shifted into overdrive this year and it was really good but extremely busy. I blame my music slacking on that. Here's what I have for you.*

Songs:

"Fortune" - Midlake from The Courage of Others
"Sun Hands" - Local Natives from Gorilla Manor
"Swim" - Surfer Blood from Astro Coast
"Heirloom" and "Enchanting Ghost"- Sufjan Stevens from All Delighted People EP
"I Walked" - Sufjan Stevens from The Age of Adz
"Your Hands (Together)" - The New Pornographers from Together
"Excuses"- The Morning Benders from Big Echo
"All the Pennies" and "Hourglass" - Mindy Gledhill from Anchor
"That's Some Dream" - Good Old War from Good Old War
"On My Way Back Home" - Band of Horses from Infinite Arms
"We Used to Wait" and "Wasted Hours" - Arcade Fire from The Suburbs
"Careful Crossers" and "Dreams of Dreams" - Fang Island from Fang Island
"Sailing to Nowhere" - Broken Bells from Broken Bells
"Grenade" - Bruno Mars from Doo-Woops & Hooligans
"Double Rainbow Song (feat. Yosemitebear)" - The Gregory Brothers from the Internet
"Daddy Ate My Fries" - Marceline from Adventure Time (with Finn and Jake)
"Love is My Legs" - from Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (David Yazbek)

Albums:

The Suburbs - Arcade Fire
Astro Coast - Surfer Blood
All Delighted People EP - Sufjan Stevens
Anchor - Mindy Gledhill
Gorilla Manor - Local Natives
Fang Island - Fang Island
Broken Bells - Broken Bells
Teen Dream - Beach House
Odd Blood - Yeasayer
The Courage of Others - Midlake

*List subject to change as memories of 2010 come back to me.

Albums I might have liked if I had listened to them more (or at all):

Contra - Vampire Weekend
Halcyon Digest - Deerhunter
This is Happening - LCD Soundsystem
Body Talk - Robyn
Lisbon - The Walkmen
Congratulations - MGMT

So, readers, what did I miss? Tell me about your year in music.

Fall

Swirling leaves in the brisk air
smell sweet and wet, lost their green

Pumpkins carved, once shined so bright
are now memories and mold

Short days, rusty sunsets turn
fast to cold and smokey nights

Two figures woven tightly
together, cashmere sweater

One in his thoughts, the other
beautiful,
      have
     both
                            fallen

© 2002