Faves of 2010

CLICK!

That's me exiting Microsoft outlook with flourish. Work's done, and i don't have to think about it till 28th Dec. X-mas is here people, and I can fiiiiiinally shoo away the year.

If I can summarize 2010 in one sentence I'd call it the year of "Nilikuwa tu,"

You know; not bad, not wow with lots of chunky, sucky bits in between that made me want to huddle in a corner, retreat within...if only for a little while...just so i could count to ten and breathe...BUT holiday cheer has me all giddy, so what you say we let the sucky bits be bygones and rehash the fluffily fun bits of 2010 instead?

Fave reads of 2010: Jellicoe road by Melina Marchetta.True, it's not a book that came out this year. In fact, it's been around for a few years now. But I was unable to get my hands on a copy till now (let's hear it for the go-to guys. Again). And peeps, it was worth the wait;

This book stole my heart from the get go:

"...And then a kid called Fitz came riding by on a stolen bike and saved our lives.

Someone asked us later, "Didn't you wonder why no one came across you sooner?"

Did i wonder?

When you see your parents zipped up in black body bags on the Jellicoe Road like they're some kind of garbage, don't you know?

Wonder dies."

It's a hauntingly enthralling story that gently swirls around you, pulling you in and before you know it, your background's faded...

Fave read # 2 goes to Johnny & the dead by Terry Pratchett followed by The year of secret assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty (fyi, not new books either) for making me laugh out loud in mat rides which in turn had people giving me the raised eyebrows.

Tv shows I enjoyed immensely in 2010: Top on the list, hands down, has to be Vampire diaries season 2. Mystic fall's queen of mambo bad came back to town and started wreaking havoc. Did the other characters keel over from fright? Naaah, they dug in their heels and anted up their awesome badassness. Even *gasp* the once-upon-a-time annoying Caroline...and the cool bit is, we're only halfway into the season. Sweeeet!.

2nd place honors goes to my fave bikers in Sons of Anarchy season 3 and the n.o 3 spot goes to Boardwalk Empire season 1. Don't you all love Al Capone in this show? I do.

Fave songs of 2010: It has to be 'Love the way you lie' by Eminem & Rihanna. It was so beautifully heart rending, them dark and twisties hooowled...and let's not forget Kidum & Lady Jay D's soulful 'Nitafanya' which came in a close 2nd; so close, i almost declared it a tie...except Em's unhinged anger and pain makes me want to soothingly tell him it will be alright in the end (I hope) and Rihanna's messed up helplessness made me want to cry...

A minute please as we indulge in a moment of the profound:

Leader who made a huge impression in 2010: That's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the outgoing Brazilian president. The Daily Nation did a piece on him when he visited Kenya and Time magazine honored him. For me, 2010 was a year where Kenyan leaders had me all jaded -so much so i watched the local news on mute. Power play and ridiculously protecting their own was all they ever seemed to do, so when i read about this guy, I was amazed. This is a leader who is improving the quality of life of the Brazilian mwanainchi by ensuring that quality health care, education, food, clean water are accessible to all (ponder on the words, quality of life...visualize, the same way you would a dream car). That's my dream president...and he's real...

Now back to my holiday cheer inspired zaniness.

Fave movie of 2010: Inception, Inception, beautiful people: I'd call watching this movie a beautifully heady experience, except that doesn't quite do it justice. So picture your fave drink; it could be an iced cappuccino brewed just right, or a beautifully chilled beer maybe even an ice cold coke, on a sunny day. Now picture it being IVed into your brain....feel that ka-mental rush kick in...your brain's demanding that you DON'T blink isn't it? That's what Inception did for me. And don't even get me started on THAT bloody spinning top...

N.o 2 was Harry Potter & the deathly Hallows pt 1. The wizard fights were so fast and bad ass, they made me wish i had a wand to zap me some death eaters. And oh, you ever noticed how oh so fun it is to watch a movie in a theater full of kids? Kids don't eye roll or make unsolicited snarky comments.What's even cooler, they know how to get into the spirit of things...no dream is too far out for them. Shutter Island and Tangled came in at 3rd and 4th place respectively while Social network rounds up my top movie magic five...

Fave Movie Trailer of 2010: Pirates of the Caribbean: On stranger tides...the movie debuts next year, but it's trailer which came out a few weeks back, just floored me. Aye, Capt. Jack Sparrow always brings out the fan girl in me. And no, I'm not ashamed of it. But aside from Jack being his ridiculously hilarious self, Black Beard (fiiinally) makes an appearance and I'm betting my payslip that he'll make Barbossa look like an altar boy. I mean, this is Black Beard; if you're into pirate history like I am, you know how wrong the guy was. What's even more super awesome, the character of Black beard is been played by one Ian McShane aka Al Swearengen. Now let me hear an Arrrrgh!!!!

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Quote of the day: "The proper behavior all through the holiday season is to be drunk.
This drunkenness culminates on New year's eve, when you get so drunk you kiss the person you're married to" P.J O' Rourke

Here's to an awesome 2011, peeps.

Mob wendos,

Nyambura