Finals are over, Christmas is coming and I'm still reeling from our trivia championship last week. Here I am plowing through backlogged shows on our DVR (doing my "homework" as Mandy and I call it) and reflecting on a great year, pop culture wise. Sure the economy is in the tank, gas is expensive yada yada yada but did you see Jersey Shore!? In honor of our win last week (and in honor of being bored) I thought I would put together this list...
My Top 5 Pop Culture Moments of 2009.
5. Respectable critics return to At the Movies. With Siskel no longer with us and Ebert battling thyroid cancer and Roper moving on, the network made the worst decision possible and tried to make the show "hipper" (please note the ""). The result was nothing short of a televisual train wreck. The new format tanked faster than the Jay Leno Show and after a few months the producers were searching for new hosts. After the debacle that was the two Bens (Lyons/Mankiewicz), the twenty five year old franchise regained its credibility by hiring two highly respected critics. Michael Phillips from the Chicago Tribune has long been one of my favorite critics whose tastes seem to most mirror mine and I have always enjoyed reading A.O. Scott's reviews in the New York Times. I still hate the "See it, Rent it, Skip it" device and hope they move to a star, number or grade scale but for now I'm just enjoying a show that seems produced for me.
4. (Tie) Animated Movies and Documentaries. There has long been the misconception that animated movies are only for children. While plenty of animated movies certainly are aimed at youngsters there seems to be a new crop of films that appeal to everyone. Up, Coraline, The Fantastic Mr. Fox, Ponyo, 9, Monsters vs. Aliens are all films that seem to transcend the genre.
Now that movie making equipment and film distribution is readily accessible more documentarians are able to get their message/story out there. Whether it's released through the internet or in the movie theater documentaries are available now more than ever for us to watch and discuss. Food, Inc., The Yes Men Fix The World, Anvil! The Story of Anvil, The Cove, It Might Get Loud, The People Speak, 30 for 30, and Good Hair (still need to see it) all have me excited to learn.
3. HD. I know that I am late to the game on this one but last December Mandy and I were given an HDTV and we have never looked back. I still have yet to find something that I won't watch in HD (even Charlie Rose). Watching sports in HD is a revelation. When I have gone to games this year there is a part of me that thinks that being home on my couch is equally as exciting as being there to witness the game live. Aside from sports, Survivor in HD adds an element that could even convert the haters.
2. Podcasts. Another device that I was late to the game on. In January I downloaded my first podcast from iTunes and my world changed. There is a podcast for everyone and everything you can imagine. The amount of content available is very overwhelming and it is why I kept away for so long. But now I have at least five podcasts that I check in with every week.
1. Curb Your Enthusiasm and the Seinfeld Reunion. I still can't believe that this happened. The genius to reunite the Seinfeld gang within the world of Curb is something that only the mind of Larry David could concoct. Any other reunion would have been incredibly cheesy and could tarnish the memory we all have of that 90s gem. The best part is the episode of Seinfeld they write doesn't seem to miss a beat. The best part of the season was when Jason Alexander leaves the show on account of Larry and the crew is left without a George. Larry decides that since the character is based on him anyway he would be the best to play the part. In a fantastic meta moment (pictured above) Larry dresses as George and tries to play the part that was based on him but made famous by Jason Alexander. He fails miserably Personally, as much as I love Curb I would have been happy to see this be the series finale. I just don't know how they can top this season.
Every year boats on Lake Washington illuminate the water with lots of Christmas lights strung along their decks. 
Local choirs aboard the boats serenade the people along the shores as they pass by popular marinas and beaches.
We went down to Kirkland's Carillon Point this weekend and saw the ships and then went inside to a little bistro for some dinner with my family.
No... we're not lonely, Downtown just popped in my head when I was titling this post!
I will, however, gladly welcome "snow" inside Pacific Place anytime. It really does begin to look and feel a lot like Christmas!
Our next stop was the carousel which proved to be a little more zippy than we all expected. Ben and Tyler felt like they might lose their hot cocoa while we were spinning.
Taking pictures during the ride was particularly fun. Above, tying to capture us in one of the mirrors as we were going up and down and up and down.
The last stop we made was to see the infamous gingerbread houses, this year the theme was Holiday Movies.
Muppet's Christmas Carol
Charlie Brown Christmas
A Christmas Story
The Polar Express
Nightmare Before Christmas
Thanks for a great night T&S we had a MERRY time!
I'm a little late in posting these photos, a few weeks ago Seattle had the most glorious sun-shiny days. It was really cold, with no cloud cover our nights got down into the 20's and teens, which for Seattle is really really cold! Ben and I decided to take the kids I nanny for over to Ballard to a park called Sunset Park to enjoy the sunset... how fitting.
It was beautiful! The kids had a great time running around climbing up fences and in the trees.
We couldn't feel our fingers and toes by the time we left but we had a great time anyway! Then it was home for some hot cocoa!
Easy Street Records welcomed Maple Valley's own Brandi Carlile for a free show in November. Yes, that's right, FREE. Ben and his friend Joseph have tried to get tickets to see Brandi Carlile numerous times but they always seem to sell out quickly. I was the one who spotted the free show in "Seattle Weekly" and proposed we go. We weren't sure what to expect because Brandi Carlile sells out the Paramount and Benaroya Hall, how would all her fans fit in a record store?
Joseph got to the store about an hour in advance and staked out a great spot!
Brandi was great, very engaging and played about a one hour set!
Then after the show she stayed around a signed autographs for over 2 hours. Ben always says "If it's free take three," does that mean I've signed up for at least 2 more free Easy Street shows?
Ben and I went to our first Husky Football game (last game of the season) this Saturday. (We went with our friends Tom and Andrew.) We were playing University of California and all bets were against us, but we went in with hope that we could pull out a win! Ben and Andrew above making their "pilgrimage" as Ben put it, to the stadium. 
It was quite the trek through some wetlands we never new existed. Taking a break for an photo op.
We had great seats in the west end zone. The Huskies started the game running the ball towards us, this was very exciting as we witnessed the first few touch downs front and center!
W for "Winners" or U"W"? :)
Tom and Andrew sporting his new UW Jersey, Andrew became an over night Husky fan. Maybe in a few years he'll be a Husky?!?!?! 
Final score 42-10 UW!!! Against all odds! (Ben might add a bit more to this post re: actual plays... you know stuff boys remember/care about.)
We bought and decorated our tree last Monday! This is one of my favorite things to do probably because decorating the tree was a big deal in my house growing up. We always had to drive to several tree lots to find the most perfect shaped tree. Then for some reason my parents made the tree spend its first night in the garage "drying out." As a kid I never understood why. It was such a painful realization driving our tree home (that we spent hours searching for) just for my dad to hoist it off the car and place in water in the garage. I always wanted to get the decorating started right away! Now that I am responsible to get my own tree, I make sure we go somewhere covered so there won't be any reason to leave our tree out to dry before bringing it in. At the Watson house it is a one night ordeal, we go out buy it, tie it onto our car, drive it home, and plop it right into its stand in our family room! I usually start putting the lights on and Ben disappears... it's probably better this way because I have a certain way of doing the lights. Then Ben reappears just in time to help place the last few ornaments on the tree. Wishing you a Merry Christmastide!
Lydia must've been very pleased with her singing during our "Happy Birthday" serenade to Opa-lopes. (Lydia's nickname for Opa.)
2 seconds after: Take a bow!
3 seconds: Wave to the crowd!
My mom tried out a new cupcake place in Redmond called, "Pinkalicious." She wasn't as pleased with it as her favorite "Sweet Cakes" from Kirkland.... Micah didn't think they were too bad!
