Standout Music:
~ John Butler Trio - Loved the new album 'Grand National', Better would be the standout track, what a motto for life!!! And even better was the gig I attended in Melbourne, at Festival Hall. He managed to make a real connection and moved me to make huge changes in my life.
~ Xavier Rudd - Coincidentally, the another gig I managed to get myself along too, but the new album 'White Moth' blew me away. Very intimate gig at Geelong and one of the best live music acts I've seen, specially as it was one bloke for most of the show.
~ Red Hot Chili Peppers - Another great gig teamed with a great album!! Open air gig, grassy hill , on a beautiful Melbourne evening at the Music Bowl and loving each and every song! Awesome all the way, still rockin' after all these years... nice to grow old with a band.
~ Angus and Julia Stone - The new love of my life. 'A Book Like this' was there first album and when I discovered them when Triple J featured it. Her hauntingly, high, quirky voice, teamed with his laid back, smokie voice makes for a album thats easy listening from start to finish.
~ Foo Fighters - New album 'Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace'. Still loving these guys after all these years. Standout tracks, 'Pretender' is awesome no matter how many times I've heard it, and 'Stranger Things Have Happened' is next pick.
Honourable Mentions -
~ Silverchair - 'Young Modern', these guys just get better and better.
~ Jose Gonzalez - Jon and I discovered him this year, easy listening, beautiful music. New album 'In Our Nature' ,made it all the more easy to access his music.
~ U.N.K.L.E - 'Burn my Shadow' in particular, but the album 'War Stories' was also great and look fwd to seeing them at Big Day Out.
~ Bjork - New album 'Volta' was another fine listen, always intriguing and again, looking fwd to BDO and my first live experience with an artist I've loved forever!!!
Standout Movies:
- in no particular order due to my viewing habits and range of genre this would be impossible
- 2007 being the year I first viewed them,
~ Pans Labyrinth - Dark and twisted, easily a standout
~ Little Miss Sunshine - twisted in the opposite way, Steve Carell at his best.
~ The Prestige - Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman make for a great movie.
~ An Inconvenient Truth - Such an important movie of our time. Made the issues of global warming understandable for the average person and put the issue in our faces, made us sit up and realise what we're doing to the planet.
~ Stranger Than Fiction - Wow.. Will Ferrell. Interesting and quirky.. and leads into the next fave movie..
~ Blades Of Glory - This was funny! And I really wasn't a fan of Will Ferrell so maybe I will give him a bit of credit....
~ Shut-up and Sing - Not a fan of the Dixie Chicks, but was interested this doco about such a rough point for them. Interesting to see how quickly the country music scene turned their backs of one of their own.
~ Sicko - When you see how bad the US health system is you'll never complain about Medicare again!
~ The Simpson's Movie - Surprisingly entertaining and hilarious.
~ Knocked Up - Laughed so much, I cried. Funniest movie of the year!
~ Superbad - Funny as. Newer and better American pie. (although all I could think was George Michael...)
~ Pirates 3 - Loved the final installment, loved Captain jack going mad, loved the darker elements, loved Elizabeth Swan as a captain with an Asian flair, loved Calypso, loved it!
Standout News/Event:
~ Rudd winning the election, finally Howard is gone and we can start moving in a new direction, where the environment is more of a priority.
~ Japanese whaling again, what, do they think there like cows or something...???... Humpbacks were on the brink of extinction 40 years ago when whaling was legal... 40 years is not that long ago.
Standout Personal events:
~ Common Threads project - Opened up my creativity to a new level... can more confidently call myself an artists... big thanks to my good friend Carly for motivating and inspiring me.
~ Wardrobe Re-fashion - Started a personal movement towards living a more conscious existence.
~ Moving to Ky/Working/Bain at daycare - Enjoying our new lives, in a great little town, enjoying working for great people and in a interesting industry of wine and tourism. Bain loving daycare and us as parents appreciating the many benefits.
My top 10 project 365 photographs:
This was an exciting and challenging project to take on and the personal growth as an artists is still occurring. Even simply learning more about my camera.
High Hopes For 2008:
~ Bain starting kinder - wow how the time goes.
~ Big Day Out - haven't been for a few years, very excited, hope I'm still up to it!
~ Felicity's Wedding - so happy for her and Glenn, what an exciting time, and me doing photos for them makes it even more special.
~ 30th Birthdays - bring on the year of party's - celebrate it people!!!
