Another great year! 2012 was the first full year of this blog and it has continued to be fun to write for and maintain.

My standout item for 2012 would have to be The Dog Stars by Peter Heller. There are plenty of books that I love more, but the feeling captured by the first section of the book continues to float thru my mind and surface at unexpected moments...

In 2012, like 2011, I did most of my reading on my Android phone. In theory it seems like it should be a pretty poor experience (small screen, not as nice on the eyes as e-ink, dodgy battery life, not exactly beautiful to hold up for hours while reading, +(any number of additional complaints) - and I do own a Kindle, not frequently used any longer...), but in real life the phone is always around, always connected and I guess the details are all 'good enough' - glad I was not in-charge of any business decisions revolving around what people would read with, I have a feeling I would have made some very bad guesses...

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012) - Wow, even knowing that this would be bad and that this was mainly just an excuse to make a vacation day afternoon trip to the movies and eat popcorn this was painful. Slightly hesitant to even admit that I went and watched this - go ahead and laugh... Rating: 0 of 5

Fast, Cheap and Out of Control - I really enjoyed Errol Morris's Tabloid and The Thin Blue Line and looked forward to this since the summary blurb "What do an elderly topiary gardener, a retired lion tamer, a man fascinated by mole rats, and a cutting-edge robotics designer have in common?" seemed really unique/interesting - which it was for 30-45 minutes and then it really didn't hold my interest. Rating: 2 of 5

Sleepover, Alastair Reynolds - an apocalyptic science fiction short story not connected to any (current anyway) other of Reynold's worlds. This is a quick/short read and I would say is best read for the very cool idea (the characters/plot are ok I guess but really just an interesting way to present world/universe history) - as usual Reynolds does not disappoint and this is well worth a few hours for a science-fiction fan. Rating: 3 of 5

Ted - Not so good - but I have to admit that there was something absolutely surreal about moments of the film and every now and then it seemed like it could really take a turn into strange art film territory (but it really really didn't...). Rating: 1 of 5

The Alps - Great imagery of the Alps, Matterhorn and Switzerland - the film is short enough to enjoy just for that but if you do grab this film I have to warn you that a mountaineering film with a Queen soundtrack was a bit strange to me and the the plot/acting is very unlikely to draw you in. Rating: 2 of 5