At my advanced age – seriously, a younger colleague recently recounted being told that she was middle aged – the years bring less that is novel. Still, 2009 brought some new experiences, as well as some developments that will hopefully fade into obscurity.
Government
2009 proved that I still have some remnants of idealism that haven’t been lost in middle-aged cynicism, in that I was surprised to find myself disappointed by governments and their poll-driven pandering. Governments increasingly do what people want, rather than what’s necessary; follow rather than lead. Unfortunately what they are following is usually sentiment that’s been drummed up by PR manipulated mainstream media. 2010 promises more of the same. The first news story I read this year revealed the massive US aid package to Israel (with a substantial percentage earmarked for Israel to spend on US made military hardware) with additional funding to the Palestinian Authority to train security forces. Sounded a lot like profiting from continued instabiity to me.
Social Media
2009 was the end of Facebook for me. I quit it early in the year and found that my life was none the poorer for missing out on endless status updates of people I’d added only because it seemed churlish to keep them out. I managed to get through my year, despite not knowing which Brady Bunch character I was, which Thomas Pynchon novel I was, which Kanye remix I was, which Michael Bay special effect I was. If I’d ever had any regrets about not having a Facebook account, they disappeared over Christmas lunch, when my cousin’s teenage boy expressed shock that I wasn’t “on” Facebook: “Even Grandpa’s on it!”. Exactly.
On the other hand, Twitter came into its own. I’d joined up – in my real name – in 2008 but hadn’t really used it. In 2009 I set up my current Twitter account and started adding some of the “big names” (few of whom have survived into my 2010 list) and a couple of people whose blogs I’d been following. Where my Facebook circle was limited to people I knew, my Twitter circle had (until recently) no people I’d actually met. Our common interests (largely food, film and TV) kept the conversation going and, mostly, interesting.
Travel
We started the year off revisiting old haunts in Malaysia and tried something new in September with our first trip to China. I rely on having a trip to look forward to, but have realised that this approach is seriously flawed. Having already booked flights for our 2010/2011 holiday (South Africa via Hong Kong), I am now wishing away a year that has barely started.
Food
Both overseas trips were dominated by food. That was a motivating factor for going back to Malaysia, however the variety and quality of the food in China was a revelation. Locally, Cutler and Co made a big splash when it opened and I’m glad that 2010 is starting with another visit. Libertine continued to be the best local restaurant a person could possibly want, Hutong’s XLB are getting better the more distant the memory of Shanghai’s dumplings get, and my obsession with Gingerboy’s son-in-law eggs is nearly out of control.
On the home front, Fuschia Dunlop’s books dominated domestic output in 2009 and I don’t really see that changing in 2010. The most frequently cooked recipe, though, goes to Frank Camorra’s simple but delicious Wet Rice with Chicken from the Mo Vida cookbook.
As for reading about food, newspapers have given way to blogs. Blogs helped us plot our way around KL and Penang, gave us tips for China and keep us inspired to try new things at home. On the other hand, The Age’s once dispensible Epicure section became even more pointless with the recent departure of Matt Preston. His column kept me reading this year despite the weekly torture of Larissa Dubecki’s reviews, although she provided me with a fair bit of ranting material for this blog, so perhaps I should be grateful.
Work
For the past three of four years, I’ve felt as though I was starting anew with each new year. That gets tiring. 2009 was the first year that I didn’t have to build from scratch, which was not only refreshing but allowed me to explore some more interesting new approaches. 2010 should – hopefully – be more of the same, which is to say same, same, but different.
Television
2009 was the year of Foxtel. While we were in Malaysia, we had access to cable television and this made us feel as though our lives would be incomplete were we to miss the finale of the Iditarod: Toughest Race on Earth or the episode of Time Warp where a bullet was shot into a banana. As it happened, we didn’t watch any more of the sled dog race when we got home and the novelty of things in super slow motion wore off quickly – there’s no cutting to the chase when slowing things down is the raison d’être of the show. We did, however, become seduced by Andrew Zimmern as he travelled around the world eating Bizarre Foods and developed something of a dependency on a weekly dose of Anthony Bourdain. Plus there was the real Masterchef in various iterations (an amazing Professional version, and a Celeb version that left the Australian one in the shade), Top Models from a number of countries and wannabe designers of clothes and interiors. On slow days, Yes Minister and even The Goodies kept the tele on.
The really big events of the year, though, were the finale of Battlestar Galactica, the penultimate season of Lost and the debut of Masterchef Australia. With BSG over, 2010 sees the debut of the related series Caprica, which could either be a triumph or a let-down. Lost starts in late January in the States and Channel Seven is advertising it already, although the ads give no hint as to whether it will be “fast tracked”. The second season of MCA is being filmed now – will it be as successful as the first?
Reading
I started the year really well, reading a number of books in a relatively short time during our Malaysia holiday. This just proved that the adage “start as you intend to continue” doesn’t mean that momentum will carry you through, as my reading fell off sharply once holidays were over (quite possibly because of the above). As the backlog of unopened New Yorkers piled up, I considered cancelling my subscription and admitting that I was no longer a reader. The Infinite Summer reading challenge got me back to print, and then the 100 must reads inspired me to “read a list”. That is, until I got halfway through Lord of the Flies and stopped. This year I intend to read more. At least one book a month. That should be achievable, unless I decide to pick up Gravity’s Rainbow again.
Movies
For the second year in a row we missed the Melbourne International Film Festival and we didn’t find much that gave us the energy to get to the cinema during the year. In addition, our last easy-walking-distance local video shop closed, so if we missed something at the cinema, it was gone (unless we could think of another way of seeing it… hmmm). Amongst the enjoyable were District 9, Inglorious Basterds (50% really good, 50% mediocre), Star Trek, Avatar, Coraline, Julie and Julia (possibly only because Meryl Streep was so amazing), In the Loop and Up. We have just signed up at the nearest video rental place, so will hopefully catch up on some of what we’ve missed.
Music
First, the good stuff from 2009. Neko Case’s Middle Cyclone is lovely and my first gig for 2010 will be seeing her at the Hifi. Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavillion gets a lot of iPod time, as does Grizzly Bear’s Veckatimest. Thanks to iTunes making it easy to download songs, I have spruced up my workout playlist a bit (Daft Punk has exactly the right BPM for cardio, but gets a bit tired after years of repetition), but they are songs I dread coming up when the iPod is shuffling away on the dock during a dinner party.
The bad stuff is largely a result of having Foxtel. It’s easy to put the TV onto Max, V, Vh1 or V Hits and that often forms the soundtrack for the weekend (during the week, the Food channel tends to be the background noise). This means that I hear more “new” music than I am used to being exposed to, but it also means that I suffer through a lot of crap. Approximately 90% of the music videos also bring me pain, for a couple of reasons.
- Pants or, more precisely, a lack thereof. Beyonce, Rihanna and Lady Gaga, I’m looking at you. Actually, I’m looking at more of you than I particularly care to, video after video. Put on some pants, or look into frocks. Thanks.
- I’d also like to see the death of relentlessly porny clips. I’m well aware of the fact that I can – and do – turn off the TV, but that’s beside the point. As is Shakira in a flesh coloured body suit performing stripper moves in a cage. Or Britney hanging off a bar in a skimpy white leotard humping a crew of dancers. Just stop.
- David Guetta. He crops up in collaboration with a number of singers and he could well be responsible for writing the songs, producing them, orchestrating them… whatever. I don’t care enough even to google him. The reasons I wish he’d disappear is because the music is boring and his contribution to the videos is to stand in the background looking like a Scandinavian serial killer. Creepy.
Oh, thought I’d finished ranting about music related things, but… auto-tune. I hate it. If a singer needs a producer to get them on key, they’re not a singer. If it were a case of nudging the occasional bum note, or if it were being used as a deliberate effect, I might feel differently. As it is, it’s being deployed so aggressively that a lot of new music sounds soul-less and robotic.
= = = = = = =
Have I made any resolutions? No, that would be setting myself up for failure! Along with reading more frequently, I plan to
- get back on the bike in an attempt to regain some semblance of fitness
- establish a more interesting week-day cooking repertoire
- attend at least ten MIFF sessions
- open the New Yorker as soon as it arrives, and abandon the idea that I have to read every article before moving onto the next issue
And, inspired by Daniel, I’m instituting mono-tasking January. One thing at a time!
On the other hand, I think I’ve caught the middle-aged cynicism bug a couple of decades too early. For a time at school this year my nickname was “Miss Cynical” because I would never, ever have faith in the innate goodness of people (mostly in Philosophy, when we were reading about how Socrates/Plato/Aristotle wanted people to be brainwashed into being “good citizens”…). I don’t think I become disappointed with governments which do crap — having come to expect it — but I do get irritated.
Facebook redid their layout not long ago, and since then it seems people have been doing far fewer quizzes. Now it’s all about joining funny groups, or becoming a fan of funny pages. But yeah, I do think I end up using Twitter more. I signed up for it in 2007 (as I recall, so I could document my trip to Perth by sending texts!) but only really began using it this winter. More addictive than Facebook, with no ads!
Haha, oh yes, music videos. I don’t watch them so I happily get to miss out on all that stuff. The purely auditory stimulus of the radio is enough for me!
I still prefer facebook over twitter. But like any other media, it depends on what you’re looking for and the people on your lists (and being fairly ruthless in culling…or if that’s too tough, blocking them from your wall….the friends list).
For me, the differing strengths and weaknesses of facebook and twitter were shown up during the Turnbull vs Abbott fight in the Liberal Party. In terms of being able to have in-depth discussions on the issue, facebook was stronger with it’s ability to link articles and then discuss them. However, in terms of getting news quickly, twitter was superior.
I have to confess I don’t think I have ever had a conversation on Facebook, but have done so on twitter. But then I am never on Facebook for any length of time. The downside of twitter is that you can waste far to much time on it my blogging output would be so much higher.
I like your little summary of your year, great way to keep a record of it without having to keep a journal. the Wet rice and chicken sounds delicious.
Happy New Year.
.-= reality raver´s last blog ..Happy New Year And Reality TV For The Beginning of 2010 =-.
One other observation about twitter vs facebook is that there are certain topics that suit twitter and others seem to work better on facebook.
Food issues seem to work better on twitter. The format suits it – short messages and the ability to link to pictures – and it works exceptionally well when people go to dinner and post pictures of what they eat. Following parliament also works on twitter, as anyone who has followed Annabel Crabb’s QT tweets will confirm.
Music discussion suits facebook. There is one person on my facebook who will post a series of video clips in the late evening – it’s like waking up to your own mini edition of Rage.
What a fantastic wrap up and thank you for your wonderful blog. It is a real pleasure to read and I’m finding that more and more I look to insightful and funny blogs to keep up to date far more than mainstream media these days especially to get a real balance of ideas. As I’ve just started blogging myself this year, I’m still getting the hang of it and trying to be more disciplined; I find your blog very inspiring!
I’m still trying to be optimistic about the future in terms of government, but I have to agree with you Injera, that it is so frustrating that those with the responsibility to lead don’t/won’t. It’s is like some kind of conservative hangover that keeps any real, positive change from happening. We’re screaming for it yet we’re stuck. Climate Change, Same Sex Marriage and Immigration policy/discussion has been frustrating and disappointing to follow as well when there just doesn’t seem to be any progress being made. I have my doubts that 2010 will bring about any change either. But I still hope!
As for Twitter v Facebook, I’m new to Twitter and enjoy it and now that I have found the ‘hide’ function on Facebook, I enjoy using it much more. Especially as I’m home so much now being a mum, I find that it (FB) keeps me in touch with people. I have been thinking lately, however, that at times I’m not sure if social media makes me feel less or more isolated. Sometimes I think it gives me greater anxiety as there is another group that I’m not quite in, have I pissed that person off by making that comment, I don’t really have many followers on Twitter, I’m not that witty, I’m not really engaging in the world rather just here at my computer bangin’ on…if that makes sense. I get the feeling that people think you’re a bit of a loser if you’re constantly updating your status on FB and that people find it annoying if you do so it can be difficult to have a fluid conversation. But mostly, I believe that there are really interesting communities to be found using both Twitter and FB…if you work at it!
As for pants, YES! For fucks sake! Put pants on people!!
@Jess
I guess my disillusionment with governments is to be expected when the hopes for the new leaders were so irrational! I’m not sure why I got so sucked into having idealistic expectations for, say, the new US president when I’ve seen Democrats come and go before. Ah, well.
@Daniel and @Ceridwen
I understand what you say about Facebook offering the opportunities for a different kind of connection to what Twitter does. I guess in my case FB was keeping in touch with existing friends and… I keep in touch with them in other ways. It was the blasts-from-the-pasts that did me in!
@reality raver
It’s hard NOT to lose track of time when online! Sometimes it’s good time-suck, but sometimes it’s jeezus-is-that-the-time-what’s-for-dinner… to which the answer is most likely wet rice. It’s like an even easier paella – will bring the recipe to Syd!
@Ceridwen (again!)
I’m trying to be more disciplined with posting, since there have been times when I’ve pretty much left my blog for dead. I take inspiration from @Jess, who successfully completed NaBloPoMo – a post a day for a whole month. Sometimes it feels as though I’m just exercising my typing fingers but it does feel good to hit “publish”! Your blog is far more focussed than mine – and I’ve been getting inspiration for reading AND food from you. Two of my favourite things!
Thanks, all of you, for your comments! That helps with the motivation to post, too…
@injera The blasts from the pasts have been interesting. I’ve been getting back in touch with old school and university friends that I haven’t seen (in some cases) for about twenty years. The issue is that if you haven’t seen someone for almost two decades, the only reference point you have for that person is how they were half a lifetime ago. But I doubt that how someone was twenty years ago is a good basis to judge how they might be now – after all, if you think you’ve changed in that time, then how about the other person?
There doesn’t seem to be much of a link between how strong your friendship was then and how it behaves now. A few people who I knew as recently as ten years ago and I was quite close at the time have rejected my attempts at getting back in touch. And yet, others who I haven’t seen since leaving school and university have become quite good friends – there was even one person who I didn’t get along with that well at school, and who we’re now catching up with for the third time in a period of a few months.
But like any other technology, it comes down to how you use it. I’m thankful that the plague of quizzes is gone, although as someone else said, it’s now replaced by a plague of the most obscure groups you can become a fan of. But along with facebook’s habit of changing their format every six months, it’s a small irritation that I can deal with.
@Daniel
One of the things I was most sad about losing when I quit FB was the I heart Inzy group. I came across it and joined up (and got another friend to join) – it was just a couple of expat Pakistani guys in Hong Kong celebrating their love for Inzamam Ul Haq and I think they were quite surprised to have us in their group.
But… who doesn’t love Inzy?
You’re clearly a far more social person than I am. I cross the road to avoid running into old “friends”. I would hate to have to switch off my computer to achieve same!
Oddly enough, if I did see someone from my past walking down the street, the odds are that I would avoid them too. Hell, I even ended up sitting at a cafe next to my old house captain from school. I recognised him, and he was trying to figure out how he knew me – but I didn’t say a word to him, mainly because I knew that despite his good manners at school, deep down, he was nothing more than a hypocritical self-absorbed c***, and the way he treated his wife at that cafe only confirmed it for me…..but I digress.
So in a sense, facebook works for me. I can suss out the people, and there are some that are worthwhile creating face to face friendships with and others where being connected simply via the internet is enough contact.