I’ve decided I’m not dissimilar. My old favorites don’t lose their status just because a new favorite comes along; they just get added to the pile. Among the steady stream of dismal economic reports in 2009 there were several pick-me-ups.
Favorite Get Up and Dance — Grand by Matt & Kim
A young duo from Brooklyn that make me remember what it is like to be youthful and carefree. Grand’s most recognizable track is Daylight, which is probably the most exuberantly brilliant song I’ve heard in much more than a year. It is well balanced and cut, but seems to lack the over-production and corporate feel of most music including the alternative genre. Most importantly, it just makes me happy.Every year needs a series of devil-may-care, get-out-of-my-way-while-I-conquer-the-world songs. This wasn't the only one in '09 for me, but it started the ball rolling and I play it any time I want my day's tempo to pick up a bit.
Favorite Time Behind the Wheel — BMW 135i
After losing my beloved MCS to the flood of ’09, I shook off the shock and moved onto one of my favorite of life’s tasks: car shopping. Specifically, car shopping for me. I typically compile a long list and drive anything that strikes my fancy. Although I tend to gravitate back toward predictable marquees, I am truly open to something surprising me. Alas, there’s a reason that BMW keeps getting my money: they get what it means to love the road.Topping the M3, the A4, and the Hyundai Accent I rented in SLC, the hour I spent test-driving a 135i was the most grin-inducing, heart rate-elevating drive of the year. It is predictably tight and controllable like a roller coaster with a jet engine on the back and a direct link to afterburners with just a squeeze of the calf muscle. It was impossible to drive this car sanely. And thus it was disqualified from consideration; my budget doesn’t have room for $500/month in speeding tickets.
Favorite Replacement MINI — Clubman S
Typing out my reasons for the Clubman after writing about the 135i sounds like a little league coach telling a bunch of 10-year-olds that there’s nothing wrong with finishing the tournament in second place. It’s all a bunch of rationalization trying to convince myself that pragmatism is really important, too.There’s a decent point in there, though. Something I learned while having a car ten years ago that I was often afraid to drive for fear of being scratched, breathed on, or tailed by a cruiser with flashing lights. I’d rather have a car that gets driven and enjoys the road, potholes and all, than one that makes me sweat every time the $750 rims get close to a toll booth.
My ‘09 Clubman S is this car. Take everything I loved about the ’06 MCS, subtract a little bit of sport, and then add on heaps of space, smoothness, aesthetics, and a bike rack. I’m pretty sure I didn’t take the prior MINI for granted during the half-dozen 2000+ mile road trips (it crossed Rockies 8 times), but I can see the Clubman S doing even more. My first road trip is already scheduled for mid-January.
Favorite Life Device — iPhone 3GS
When I was in grade school, my teacher—who I probably had a crush on—handed out flimsy newspaper-like packets to the class so we could read aloud. I recall reading stories about the future holding promises of flying cars, vacations on the moon, and reliable Social Security checks. Being the sharp kid I was, I knew deep down that these things are absolute myths that weren’t in my future.Funny thing is, the iPhone was every bit as futuristic as those things but would have made sense anyway. What kid wouldn't dream about a computer to carry around that told them about weather, traffic, news, food, their weight gain from that food, and the direction of North? As a bonus, every so often it gets a signal strong enough to make phone calls.
I've no shame stating I had my iPhone on the day it was released and I upgraded to the 3GS almost exactly two-years later. And wow. The speed and faster connection make me feel like I'm connected to this expansive sky with all the information I can dream about. It has replaced my MacBook Pro as the most useful tool I have.
Favorite Thank Heaven for Unlimited Data Plans App — Pandora
I find myself more and more untethered. There is no land line at home or studio. I haven’t watched broadcast tv in 4 years. And except for one news station, my car’s radio presets are still on their factory settings.However, these days I read more news, keep up with tv shows, watch movies, listen to radio shows, and stay connected to the internet perpetually. Automatically syncing news feeds, podcasts, iTunes music, and AppleTV are vastly more efficient than the old system of living by the broadcasters’ schedules.
Pandora’s streaming radio, working like an iTunes Genius playlist, plays songs that I know and many, many that I’m discovering. It’s not just a brilliant concept, it actually changes my day for the better.
Favorite Improvement to a Disappointment — Magic Mouse
After losing the name "Mighty," Apple dubbed their new wireless pointing device as "Magic." It's a fitting name. Although the concept of the previous mouse with it's 'scroll pea' was solid, in practice I found myself cleaning the doggone pea several times a day just so I could keep panning around huge Illustrator files. I stuck with it, really, really wanting the feature to work but it continually let me down. For finite control I often used the trackpad on my MacBook Pro because I could just slide my fingers around the surface.The Magic Mouse is the mouse I've wanted for the last twenty years. (Yes, I had a NeXT in 1990 with a passable mouse.) Because the whole surface is a trackpad, I move my wrist less while just sliding fingers around in any direction. It never gums up, and it is weighted well. I've always felt that a mouse, like shoes and a bed, is worth spending money on since I'm connected to it almost constantly.
Favorite Story Disguised as a Kids' Movie — Up
I'm astounded at how much of my money and praise Steve Jobs gets. Pixar is full of really creative people who understand me. They know that the most important part of any movie is the storytelling. Flat-out, Pixar's stories are consistently better than their competitors'.The greatest thing about Up is that Pixar was willing to deviate from a known formula and create a kid's movie that not only entertains adults, it depresses all of them first. /Spoiler alert./ My young kids aren't thrilled that the first minutes of Up cover unfulfilled dreams, the hospital, and death. In fact, I don't think they like it at all. (They insist on skipping over the first 5 minutes of Finding Nemo, too.) But I dig it; it endears the movie to me and means that not every great accomplishment is one I set up when I was in my teens, or twenties.
