And I'd Like To Thank The Academy...

Happy 2013

I'm taking the easy way out with this, my very first blog post of the new year, and borrowing from my fellow blogger Laura.

Best lists are always so subjective.  They are just one person's opinion of what they enjoyed during the year.  They are also highly addictive and enjoyable and just another way that my endlessly long reading, watching and listening lists get even further out of hand.

Oh well you can never have too much to read....

So with that in mind here are my awards for 2012.

Enjoy!

What I liked about 2012

A friend pointed out to me that as a blogger it was expected that I do a 'Top 5 of 2012' blog post. I like the sound of this and it seems fairly straight forward so I thought I'd give it a try; really it's just an excuse for me to be opinionated. 

So here is my top 5 Albums, TV shows and books and my top 10 songs for 2012. They're in no particular order and some of them aren't even from 2012 but I discovered them this year so I think that counts. 

Songs  
It was so hard to only pick 5 songs so I cheated and picked 10. It was still tricky deciding but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. There's a lot of country music on this list but I think that just reflects what a great year it's been in country music. Also, I don't like dub-step or most of the stuff they play on the radio. 


Better Dig Two – The Band Perry
Southern Comfort Zone – Brad Paisley 
Kiss Me – Ed Sheeran
Treacherous – Taylor Swift
Who Am I Drinking Tonight – Eden’s Edge
Cruise – Florida Georgia Line
Pontoon – Little Big Town
Hell on Heels – Pistol Annies
Here I am Alive – Yellowcard
Bonfire - Childish Gambino

Albums  I picked this list by choosing the albums that I put in my car stereo and they stayed there for a long time. Seemed a fairly straight forward way to choose. 

+ - Ed Sheeran
Red - Taylor Swift
Hell on Heels - Pistol Annies
Camp - Childish Gambino
Edens Edge - Edens Edge

TV  
30 Rock will always be my favourite show so that was a no-brainer. Community and P and R too (I really like NBC comedy). I still don't understand American Football but I've loved watching FNL and as I re-watched all of Buffy this year (and it was awesome) so I couldn't leave that off of the list! 

30 Rock
Community
Parks and Recreation
Friday Night Lights
Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Books
TFIOS is hands down the best books of the year Oprah, Time Entertainment, The NY Times and I say so.Also,  I never realised how much I like dystopian novels until I compiled this list. 

The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
Poison Study - Maria V Snyder
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Perks of Being A Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky

So there it is the cliché blog post about my favourite things of the year. Hopefully you like some of this too and if you've never heard of some of it that's okay! Make sure you check it out. I promise I have excellent taste.

Merry Christmas.

We are Sailing!

The Volvo Ocean Race – previously known as the Whitbread Round the World Race – has arrived in Auckland. Six of the world's fastest monohulls, including top contender Emirates Team New Zealand entry CAMPER (pictured) , have been racing since October last year, tackling a nine month marathon around the globe, deep into the bleak latitudes of the Southern Ocean and through the world’s most hostile seas. And you get the chance to check them out between now and the 18th of March when they take off again on the next leg of the trip to Brazil. Before they leave they will be competing in a couple of short races in Auckland Harbour.

For more information on the stopover check out the official website.

If you don't get the chance to get down to the Viaduct to check out this year's entries, you can always relive the past by checking out the books and other resources at Auckland Libraries on the Whitbread and some of our best boats.

Or maybe you have a dream of competing in the future. Check out our sailing and yachting resources to help you be the best you can be.

And as for me, I have tried sailing a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed it. I would like to do more. But the sort of things these guys get up to in the oceans is a little too rough for me. While I like the wind to fill the sails, I like somewhat calmer waters than I see on the TV coverage. I take my hat off to you.

Chillin' out under the stars with free movies

I'm excited about free movies in parks over the coming months, all over the Auckland region.

How cool to be able to head outdoors, with friends & a picnic, to sit back, relax and be entertained under the stars. Wicked.

There's a wide range of movies, including Kiwi flicks Sione's Wedding, Love Birds and Boy.

Check out the movie listings and locations online, and look for event updates on Facebook, or follow @moviesinparks on Twitter.

There's also the music in parks series of events happening too. Follow @musicinparks onTwitter for regular updates.

See you there!